Thursday, September 21, 2000

Checkered Flag
More than 500 cars expected for Abilene Shootout
By Al Pickett

The eighth annual Abilene Shootout drag race is just around the corner.

The race, the largest two-day bracket race in the U.S., will be held Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at the Abilene Regional Airport. Abilene Motor Sports, Inc., and the Performance Car Association are sponsoring the event, which is run annually to raise money for Abilene charities. The money will be distributed to local non-profit projects through the Abilene Rotary Club.

“Everything is on track for the drag race which is expected to attract over 500 race teams and cars to compete for the over $20,000 in prize money,” said Gary Glenn, president of Abilene Motor Sports, Inc.

Spectators should enter the race area from the west side of the airport. The access road from Loop 322 has been recently changed so those unfamiliar with the area should be alert to the racing signs marking the exits from Loop 322.

Tickets for Saturday’s race are $10, while tickets for Sunday are $12. Pit admission is an additional $3 each day. A $20 ticket provides gate admission and pit admission for both days.

To order tickets, fans can call the Rotary Club office at (915) 675-6329.

Soft wall

Lowe’s Motor Speedway will use a newly developed “soft wall” for its October race to lessen the trauma on drivers when their cars hit the retaining wall.

The energy-absorbing wall will be installed in the inside retaining walls of Turns 2 and 4 before the Oct. 8 UAW-GM Quality 500 in Concord, N.C.

The soft walls are in response to renewed safety concerns since the on-track deaths of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin. The two drivers were killed this year when their cars hit the concrete wall at about 150 mph in separate accidents at New Hampshire International Speedway.

The soft wall is encapsulated polystyrene. In common terms, it’s a block of plastic foam covered in cases made out of polyethylene — the same kind of material used to make gasoline containers. The polyethylene is molded into a one-piece shell that is filled with the full foam core.

The wall is the creation of Cellofoam, a Georgia company that was making and marketing the walls as floating boat docks. They are built to sustain the impact of a boat crashing into them.

The theory for using them at the race track is that when a car hits the wall at high speed, the wall can absorb the blow and limit the collision’s effects on the driver.

Tracks currently use a variety of barriers ranging from tires, barrels filled with water and regular foam blocks around their inside retaining walls.

Mesquite Hills

Here are the results from the races last weekend at Mesquite Hills Moto-cross Park in Abilene:

80cc — 1. Ty Bufkin; 2. Michael Walden; 3. Cole Taylor; 4. Josh Clemons; 5. Stephen Robison; 6. Daniel Alexander

60cc — 1. Cole Taylor; 2. Michael Walden; 3. Joshua Clemons; 4. Stephen Robison

50cc — 1. Dylan Cooke; 2. Quade Darby

250cc beginner — 1. Chris Anderson; 2. Tyler Crump; 3. Marty Fritz; 4. Steven Sebesta; 5. Chris Martinez

125cc beginner — 1. Chris Anderson; 2. Jason Hudson; 3. Tyler Crump; 4. Jay Parramore; 5. Aaron Pond; 6. Josh Fritz; 7. Aaron Loftin; 8. Don Crowder

Over 30 — 1. Tommy Crump; 2. Chris Villabos

Contact sports editor Al Pickett at 676-6772 or picketta@abinews.com. We are on the Web at sports.texnews.com.