February 1, 2012...

American Racer Returns in 2012

The Southern Superstars Short Track Series has announced the tire program for the upcoming 2012 season.  The series will once again utilize the American Racer EC 31 tire for the season and as in years past the tire will be sold by Wagner racing Tires in Harvest, AL.

The tires will also have a new price as we have managed to work with American Racer and get the tire prices lowered for the 2012 season as compared to last year.

A new incentive program for the top five is also being put in place for this year for the top five drivers at each event in the series points standings will receive one free tire for that night’s event as they are in the top five in the point standings.  This program will kick off at the series second event at Huntsville Speedway on April 21st.

The 2011 Southern Superstars banquet will be held Sunday afternoon In Huntsville in association with the Huntsville Speedway banquet as Mark Day of Clarksville, TN., took home his second consecutive series title and Chase Spradlin of Oak Grove, AL., took the AR Bodies Rookie of the Year award.

The series will kick off the 2012 season Saturday night May 31st at the Sayre Speedway in Sayre, AL., for the Earlybird 100.

January 20, 2012...

Muscle Cars Are Back in Southern Superstars Series

HUNTSVILLE, AL—The 2012 Southern Superstars Short Track announced today that the AR Bodies Muscle Cars are eligible to run with the Southern Superstars Short Track Series for the 2012 season.  These cars resemble the muscle car looks of the Chevrolet Camano, Ford Mustang and the Dodge Challenger that will also be available soon.

The cars will have to fit the measurements of the current AR Bodies Muscle Car diagrams and will have to weigh the same as the current ABC bodies will have to weight.  This rule however can be adjusted or amended as needed in the fairness of competition, which will be evaluated throughout out the season with this style of body.

Jerry Criswell of AR Bodies is excited about the series running the body and is working on some contingency programs for drivers that choose to run that style body.  “I think we need to get back to what we can see on the streets and this race car body is pretty close” says Criswell.  “We need for the fans to connect with the cars and the drivers and if they see their favorite drivers running in a Camano, Mustang or Challenger, then they might have that in the parking lot and drive it home or they may go out and look for one at the car dealerships, which is what it is all about.”

This body is not a mandatory change but and option that may open up opportunities with your race teams as to sponsorships now and in the future.

CLICK HERE for AR Bodies Muscle Car diagram.

NOTE: This diagram requires Adobe Reader to be installed on your computer. If you need Adobe Reader, click here.

January 5, 2012...

Southern Superstars Awards Banquet Set for Sunday, February 12

It's almost time for the Superstars to honor their 2011 series champion, sponsors, rookie of the year, and other achievements, as well as recognize those that contributed to the series' success this past year.  Once again, the Southern Superstars will be holding it's annual awards banquet at Knight Moves in Hazel Green, Alabama.

The event will be held on Sunday evening, February 12th from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM, with dinner served at 5:00 PM.  The awards presentations will begin at 6:00 PM.  Tickets to the event are $25.00 per person, payable to Huntsville Speedway on or before February 1, 2012.  For details on how to send your ticket money in, visit Huntsville Speedway's website at www.huntsvillespeedway.com. You will find a form to fill out there, as well as the mailing address.

November 10, 2011...

Southern Superstars Releases Early Dates for 2012 Season of Racing

By Lynn Acklin

HUNTSVILLE, AL—The Southern Superstars Short Track Series will return for the 2012 season and will basically keep to its roots and stay close to home with series races being set at Sayre Speedway in Sayre, AL., located outside of Birmingham, AL., and Huntsville Speedway in Huntsville, AL. Both of these tracks are quarter mile facilities’ and provide the series with action packed racing that seems to be working and bringing in fans to the tracks to see the Southern Superstars in action.
As of now there are no other tracks that have signed on for a series race, but we are talking to a few others and hope to have a complete 10-12 race schedule complete by the first of the year.

Mark Day of Clarksville, TN., was once again the series champion as he continued his dominance in the early part of the season, but then in the last of part he has his set backs and troubles, but still has enough to clinch his second series title. Lee Hansard of Tyrone, GA., came home in the second spot with the 2011 AR Bodies Rookie of The Year Chase Spradlin of Oak Grove, AL., third, Chase Oliver of Crossville, AL., fourth and Hunter Spivey of Decatur, AL., rounding out the top five.

The series will honor these drives plus the remaining top ten at the series awards banquet to be announced later this month in association with Huntsville Speedway.

The following are the set dates for the 2012 Southern Superstars Short Track Series Schedule:

 March 31—Early Bird 100-Sayre Speedway—Sayre, AL—100 Laps
April 21—Huntsville Speedway—Huntsville, AL—100 Laps
May 19—Huntsville Speedway—Huntsville, AL—100 Laps
May 26—Sayre Speedway—Sayre, AL—100 Laps
June 16—Huntsville Speedway—Huntsville, AL—100 Laps
July 3—Huntsville Speedway—Huntsville, AL—100 Laps
July 28—Sayre Speedway—Sayre, AL—100 Lap
August 4—Huntsville Speedway—Huntsville, AL—100 Lap
September 2—24th Annual World Classic—Huntsville Speedway—Huntsville, AL-150 Lap

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September 13, 2011...

John Wilkinson III Captures 23rd Annual World Classic

By Lynn Acklin

HUNTSVILLE, AL—The Southern Superstars and the Huntsville Speedway held the final 2011 campaign of the Southern Superstars Series as the 23rd Annual World Classic ran Sunday night and a 24 car field took the green flag and when all the smoke had cleared John Wilkinson III o Hueytown, AL., scored the win and the trophy.

Wilkinson started in the fourth spot alongside fast qualifier Brad Lemley of Grant, AL., who rolled a three for the inversion and started 3rd with the front row being held down by Jeff Letson of Madison, AL., on the pole and Johnny Brazier of Lickskillet, AL., on the outside pole.

Letson moved into the lead at the drop of the green flag and was pulling away in and looked to be wanting to add another win to his resume in the same night as he won the earlier modified race. Letson was cruising out front while Brazier had to hold off Lemley for the first few laps of the race until Lemley got under Brazier with Wilkinson right behind Brazier who would later fall back father in the field as lapped cars boxed Brazier in and dropped him back to the 10th spot before he got back in line.

Letson, Lemley and Wilkinson were now the three at the top spots and all three had fast cars, then the trio ran upon the lapped cars of Phillip Norton and Kenny Andrews down the front stretch. The cars of Letson and Lemley weaved their way around the lapped cars Wilkinson dove inside and crossed the line first giving in the lead. Then they entered turn one and the lapped car of Norton made contact with Letson that sent him up the track into the car of Lemley sending Lemley spinning around and receiving body damage. Letson continued in his second spot and Lemley would have remained in the third spot if he did not have to go the pits and remove the front body work as the wreck was charged to lapped cars and all drivers were getting their
spots back.

On the restart Wilkinson then drove a steady clean race working the lapped traffic in the turns and keeping the car of Letson just far enough behind him to have a comfortable lead. Letson meanwhile got a late race challenge from Keith Cahela of Boaz, AL., who was battling for the fifth spot with Chase Oliver for a long time till he got around Oliver and then closed the gap on the top two spot, but just did not have enough laps at the end.

Wilkinson now can add his name to the list of the winners for the World Classic as went on to take the win, with Letson finishing in the second spot, third to Cahela, fourth to Johnny Brazier who came back from dropping all the way to 10th and fifth to Chris Whorton who also recovered from a clip of the front stretch wall knocking the air out of the tire for a fifth place finish.
Finishing in the sixth spot was Chase Oliver or Crossville, AL., seventh Lee Hansard of Tyrone, GA., eighth to the 2011 and first back to back Southern Superstars Series champion Mark Day of Clarksville,TN., ninth to Phil Renfroe of Maysville, AL., and tenth to Hunter Spivey of Decatur, AL.

The 2011 AR Bodies Rookie of the Year went to Chase Spradlin of Bessemer, AL., who overheated late in the race and finished 17th.

For more information concerning the Southern Superstars Series visit us at www.superstarsracing.com

OFFICIAL FINISH 23RD ANNUAL WORLD CLASSIC: 1.John Wilkinson III; 2.Jeff Letson; 3.Keith Cahela; 4.Johnny Brazier; 5.Chris Whorton; 6.Chase Oliver; 7.Lee Hansard; 8.Mark day; 9.Phil Renfroe; 10.Hunter Spivey; 11.BrainBentley; 12.Brittany Finley; 13.Jim Wall; 14.Brad Lemley; 15.Blake Armitage; 16.Kenny Andrews; 17.Chase Spradlin; 18.John Thomas; 19.Phllip Norton; 20.Scott Dunn; 21.Gary Nix; 22.John Henegar Jr; 23.Marc Burleson; 24.Craig Bell.

September 5, 2011...

23rd Annual World Classic Set for Huntsville Speedway Sunday

By Lynn Acklin

HUNTSVILLE, AL—The Southern Superstars Short Track Series will return to the Huntsville Speedway Sunday night September 11th to close out their 2011 series campaign with the 23rd Annual World Classic 150. The World Classic started by promoter B J Parker and now that Parker passed away in April the Southern Superstars Short Track Series that he once promoted will continue the tradition and keep the race alive in memory of Parker.

The race has been held at several venues through out the southeast, it started in Birmingham at the Birmingham Int’l Raceway that first event was won by Jack Ingram of Ashville, NC., since then there has been 22 events, with 14 different winner, 7 of them have won twice and only one driver has one the race three times and that is Johnny Brazier of Lickskillet, AL., who will be on hand to try and make it a fourth time.

The 2011 Southern Superstars Short Track Champion mark Day of Clarksville, TN., will be lading the way for the series as he now has won his second consecutive series title, but from 2 on back there still is a point battle as Chase Spradlin of Bessemer, AL., Lee Hansard of Tyrone, GA., Chase Oliver of Crossville, AL., all still battling out for a spot to finish in the top five.

Other drivers that can be expected to be in action include Hunter Spivey of Decatur, AL., Jeff Letson of Madison, AL., T W fisher of Whitehouse, TN., Phil Renfroe, AL., Brad Lemley of Grant, AL., John Henagar Jr of Scottsboro, AL., Marc Burleson of New Hope, AL., John Thomas of Harvest, AL., Justin Ashburn of Whitehouse, TN., Chris Whorton of Boaz, AL., John Wilkinson III of Hueytown, AL., and local Supertrucks race Jim Wall of Monrovia, AL., will also make his Super Late Model debut this weekend on one of Johnny Brazier’s cars.

Along with the 150 lap World Classic there will be a full racing program, with pats gates open at 11 am on Sunday morning with qualifying at 6 pm and race time at 7 pm.

It should be one of the biggest racing weekends of the year at Huntsville Speedway so for more information contact the speedway at 256-882-9191 or www.huntsvillespeedway.com or www.superstarsracing.com .

SOUTHERN SUPERSTARS TOP TEN POINT STANDINGS:1.Mark Day 672; 2.Chase Spradlin 582; 3.Lee Hansard 578; 4.Chase Oliver 556; 5.Hunter Spivey 508; 6.Jeff Letson 486; 7.Kenny Andrews 474; 8.T W Fisher 368; 9.Phil Renfroe 340; 10.John Henegar Jr 316

August 14, 2011...

Letson and Whorton Score Southern Superstars Wins at Huntsville Speedway

By Lynn Acklin

HUNTSVILLE, AL—The Southern Superstars Short Track Series was in action Saturday night at Huntsville Speedway and the series held its annual Twin 75 events sponsored by Window World and after the night action was over with Jeff Letson and Chris Whorton both picked up series wins for the season.

Chase Oliver started on the pole for the first 75 lap event by the result of the inversion when Brad Lemley of Grant, AL., set fast time with a 12.682 second lap and drew a six out for his starting spot.  At the drop of the green flag outside front row starter Letson moved into the lead and then moved ahead by half a straight with Johnny Brazier and Chris Whorton running second and third.  Lemley meanwhile was moving up the field and was moving into the second spot when coming off turn four his car slowed and he pulled into the pits.  The throttle linkage came off and forced him into the pits for repairs.  The team fixed the problem then he went back on the track to run a few more laps then retired from race one.  Meanwhile Letson had little trouble as he lead every lap to take the top spot over Brazier, Whorton, Michael Bolden and Lee Hansard rounding out the top five.  Finishing sixth through tenth in the first event was John Thomas, Marc Burleson, Phil Renfroe, John Henegar Jr and Chase Spradlin.

In the second 75 lap feature Hansard and Bolden would be on the front row and at the drop of the green flag Hansard would take the lead with Bolden falling into second, Whorton third and Brazier fourth.  Whorton and Braxier moved under Bolden for the second spot then worked their way around and under Hansard to take over the top two spots, but Brad Lemley who started last in the 15 car field was working the high side and coming with Mar Day behind him as they both started at the rear of the field.  Lemley worked his way up tot the top spot and took the lead away from Whorton late in the race and then proceeded to take the checkered flag, but after the race his car was two pounds light at the scales and there fore his win was taken away and this moved Whorton into the top spot with Day coming home second, Letson third, Renfroe fourth and Brazier fifth.  Rounding out the top ten were Marc Burleson, Hunter Spivey, John Henegar Jr, Lee Hansard and Michael Bolden.

The next Southern Superstars event will be on Sunday night September 4th at the Huntsville Speedway the Annual World Classic 150 for more information go to www.huntsvillesppeedway.com or www.superstarsracing.com

OFFICIAL FINISH WINDOW WORLD TWIN 75#1:Jeff Letson; 2.Johnny Brazier; 3.Chris Whorton; 4.Michael Bolden; 5.Lee Hansard; 6.John Thomas; 7.Marc Burleson; 8.Phil Renfroe; 9.John Henegar Jr; 10.Chase Spradlin; 11.Chase Oliver; 12.Mark Day; 13.Hunter Spivey; 14.Keith Cahela; 15.Justin Ashburn; 16.T W Fisher; 17.Brad Lemley

OFFICIAL FINISH WINDOW WORLD TWIN 75 #2:1.Chris Whorton; 2.Mark Day; 3.Jefff Letson; 4.Phil Renfroe; 5.Johnny Brazier; 6.Marc Burleson; 7.Hunter Spivey; 8.John Henegar Jr; 9.Lee Hansard; 10.Michael Bolden; 11.Chase Spradlin; 12.John Thomas; 13.Justin Ashburn; 14.Chase Oliver; 15.T W Fisher; 16.Keith Cahela; 17.Brad Lemley

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August 3, 2011...

Mark Day Wins Southern Superstars BJ Parker Memorial 100

By Lynn Acklin

SAYRE, AL—The Southern Superstars Short Track Series returned to the Sayre Speedway Saturday night for a special night oaf racing with the B J Parker Memorial Racing For A Cure 100 benefitting the American Cancer Society and Mark Day of Clarksville, TN., took over the lead from Crossville, AL., driver Chase Oliver to take the win.

Day who won his third straight race at the tight ¼ mile oval located just west of Birmingham, AL., stayed glued to the back bumper of Oliver who earlier in the day cut the end of his finger off while working on his shocks, needing to go the hospital to get it taken care of Oliver first decided to race then he would take care of the finger.  Well he almost got the win but late in the race Day got by him and then cruised on to take the win.  Jeff Letson of Madison, AL., came back from having to got the rear and worked his way into the second spot at the end with Oliver third, Andy Antinoro of Hueytown, AL., fourth and Gary Nix of Adamsville, AL., fifth.Rounding out the top then were Josh Brock, Hunter Spivey, Kenny Andrews, Chase Spradlin, and Lee Hansard.The next event will be this Saturday night August 6th at the Huntsville Speedway in Huntsville, AL., as it will be Window World Fan Appreciation Night and also Twin 75 lap Southern Superstar event plus a full racing program.Pits gates open at 1 pm with practice set for 3pm qualifying at 6:15 pm and race time set for 7:30pm.  For more information contact the Huntsville Speedway at 256-882-9191 or www.huntsvillespeedway.com or www.superstarsracing.com

OFFICIAL FINISH B J PARKER MEMORIAL 100:1.Mark Day; 2.Jeff Letson; 3.Chase Oliver; 4.Andy Antinoro; 5.Gary Nix; 6.Josh Brock; 7.Hunter Spivey; 8.Kenny Andrews; 9.Chase Spradlin; 10.Lee Hansard; 11.Nathan Davis

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July 5, 2011...

Mark Day Back on Track at Southern Superstars Huntsville Independence 100

By Lynn Acklin

HUNTSVILLE, AL—The Southern Superstars Short Track Series returned to the Huntsville Speedway Sunday night for the Independence 100 and before a record breaking crowd Mark Day of Clarksville, TN., returned to victory lane to pick up his fourth win of the season and also stretch his point lead out in the 2011 series standings.

Lee Hansard of Tyrone, GA., set quick time of the night with a 12.968 seconds, but then pulled the #6 pill for the inversion gave the front row to Phil Renfroe and Chase Spradlin, both these drivers looking for their first win on the season lead the field to the green flag, with Spradlin taking the lead until the race came to a halt on lap two as Hansard and Chris Oliver touched down the backstretch with Hansard hitting the inside all hard and then with the car on fire, rolled to a stop on the front stretch completely destroying the car.  Hansard was uninjured in the crash.

On the restart Spradlin brought the field around with Renfroe in second, Brad Lemley third and Day in fourth.  Renfroe moved under Spradlin to take over the top spot with Lemley and Day close behind, then several laps later Lemley got by Renfroe with Day right on his tail and then the two looked as if they were going to be the two that would decide who was going to win this race.  The two made contact several times racing around the fast 1/4mile but it was good hard racing.

The on lap 60 Lemley slowed going into turn one and his night ended as his motor started having problems giving Day the lead for the final 40 laps.  Chris Whorton in the second spot now was running Day down on the long green flag run, but two late race cautions did not allow Whorton another chance to make a long run at Day and try to take the win. 

Day came across the line in first with Chris Whorton of Boaz, AL., in the second spot, third to Chase Spradlin of Oak Grove, AL., fourth to Phil Renfroe Gurley, AL and fifth to Chase Olive of Crossville, AL.,

Finishing the in the sixth spot was T W Fisher, seventh to Brian Bentley, eighth to Hunter Spivey, ninth John Henegar Jr and tenth to John Thomas.

The Southern Superstars Short Track and the Huntsville Speedway would like to thank all the fans that showed up for this event as it was a record breaking event at the speedway.

The Southern Superstars will be back in action on Saturday July 30th at the Sayre Speedway in Sayre, AL., for the B J Parker Memorial 100 along with a full racing program.

For more information www.superstarsracing.com or www.sayrespeedway.com

OFFICIAL FINISH INDEPENDENC 100 AT HUNTSVILLE SPEEDWAY:1.Mark Day; 2.Chris Whorton; 3.Chase Spradlin; 4.Phil Renfroe; 5.Chase Oliver; 6.T W Fisher; 7.Brian Bentley; 8.Huunter Spivey; 9.John Henegar Jr; 10.John Thomas; 11.Marc Burleson; 12.Brad Lemley; 13.Kenny Andrews; 14.Justin Ashburn; 15.Johnnny Moore; 16.Lee Hansard.

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June 16th, 2011...

Lemley Wins Southern Superstars at Huntsville

By Lynn Acklin

HUNTSVILLE, AL-The Southern Superstars Short Track Series returned to the Huntsville Speedway Saturday night and the series did not disappoint the fans in attendance as they put on a great night action in the Huntsville 100 presented by Window World as Brad Lemley of Grant, AL., took home his first win of the season with the series.

Lemley set the tone for the night when he set fat time around the ¼ mile oval at 12.898 as qualifying was really close and one bobble pout you in the middle of pack or near the end o the 21 car field as the field all qualified with .624 second of each other to make one of the fastest starting fields ever at the speedway.

Lemley pulled a six on the invert and gave the front row to Hunter Spivey of Decatur, AL., and Keith Cahela of Boaz, AL., AS Spivey lead the field to the green flag he moved ahead of Cahela who slipped high in turn one and Spivey moved into the top spot with Chase Oliver of Crossville, AL., and Jeff Letson of Madison, AL., right on his tail. Spivey then proceeded to stretch his lead over the second place car and then had built almost a half straight lead over the rest of the field until Letson got around Oliver for the second spot and then set his sights on Spivey as he took the lead from Spivey on lay 16.

Lemley was working his way up from his sixt5h starting spot and used the high side to move himself into the second spot for the last part of the race. Letson was doing all he could do to keep Lemley behind until late in the race when Letson’s tires finally gave up and Lemley moved to the outside on lap 95 and took the win. Letson finished in the second spot, with three time series winner Mark day of Clarksville, TN., putting on a show as he worked his way up from his 12th starting spot to finish third, Clay Alexander of Franklin, TN., had another strong showing as he came him in fourth spot and Keith Cahela rebounded from numerous battles to bring home a fifth place finish.

Finishing in the sixth spot was Huntsville Speedway track owners son Marty Pierce of Orlando, FL., in his return to the track, Hunter Spivey hung on for a 7th place finish after his strong run early in the race, eighth went to Marc Burleson of Owens Cross Roads, AL., ninth to Chase Spradlin of Oak Grove, AL., who started in the 21st spot and in the first practice broke a driveshaft, crew chief Ray Jones went back to Pleasant Grove, AL., to get a new driveshaft, he got to the track in time to start the race and worked his way into the top 10 and also earned the ARP Hard Charger award for the event and rounding out the top ten was Bobby Good of Lake Mary, FL., in his first race ever at Huntsville.

Out of the 21 cars that started the 100 lap event 14 of them finished the race and 13 of them were on the lead lap, not a bad night for quarter mile racing.

The next event will be on Sunday night July 3rd at the Huntsville Speedway another 100 lap event along with a full racing program for the holiday weekend, so make plans to come and see another great night of Southern Superstars action at Huntsville. For more information go to www.superstarsracing.com or www.huntsvillespeedway.com

OFFICIAL FINISH HUNTSVILLE 100:1.Brad Lemley; 2.Jeff Letson; 3.Mark Day; 4.Clay Alexander; 5.Keith Cahela; 6.Marty Pierce; 7.Hunter Spivey; 8.Marc Burleson; 9.Chase Spradlin; 10.Bobby Good; 11.Lee Hansard; 12.Chase Oliver; 13.John Henegar Jr; 14.John Thomas; 15.Phil Renfroe; 16.Justin Ashburn; 17.T W Fisher; 18.Kenny Andrews; 19.Bobby Castleberry; 20.Scott Dunn; 21.Michael Bolden

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June 2nd, 2011...

Mark Day Three for Three after Win at Sayre Speedway

By Ray Tennyson

The Southern Superstars rolled into Sayre Speedway on Saturday, May 28th to kick off Memorial Day weekend for the Hall of Fame 100. Eleven drivers checked in to battle it out on the ¼ mile speedway located in Jefferson County, just West of Birmingham, AL.

Current points leader Mark Day of Clarksville, TN would be going for his third straight win of the 2011 season. Day, the 2010 series champion, had all eyes on him to see if he could continue his streak alive.

Crossville, AL driver Chase Oliver posted the quick time of the night. Oliver, that drives the #5 Chevrolet Impala looked to be the early favorite as the numbers seemed to be in his favor. In his qualifying draw, he drew the #5 position to go out for qualifying. After winning the pole, Oliver then rolled a 5 for the inversion. He was smiling as it was his first fastest time for the series. The 2009 ARP Bodies Rookie of the Year was liking his odds.

Madison, AL driver Jeff Letson started on the pole from the 5 car inversion. From the start, it looked like Letson would be the man to beat as he took the lead from the start. The Ford Fusion driver held the top spot for more than half the race, but Day slowly ran down Letson from his 4th starting position. Oliver Made several pit stops during a couple of cautions as his machine was not handling to his liking. He retired early due to a broken trailing arm.

Once Day caught Letson after the halfway point, he tried high and low to get around the 131 machine, but just could not put the pass together. He followed Letson and off turn 4, he nudged his nose underneath Letson. The two drivers battle door handle to door handle for two laps until day made the pass complete. The crowd was on their feet to cheer the two drivers on. Once the pass was made, it was just a matter of time until Day had his third straight win of the season in the bag.

In Victory Lane, Day had nothing but praise for Letson for the great battle they had on the track. “Jeff is a tough driver and on the quarter mile tracks, it is so tough to pass. I got into him once and he held his line and I knew it was going to be tough to pass him. We struggled during practice today to get the car to handle as it was hot and slick, but once the race started under the lights, the car was just so good. I have never had a car that would roll through 3 and 4 like this one did. I tried to pass Jeff high and low and finally got my nose under him down the back straight, but still had to battle him side by side. We are just so happy to be able to be sitting here in Victory Lane once again.”

Coming home 3rd was Tyrone, GA driver Lee Hansard. In a rare interview on microphone anytime, Hansard told the crowd of his best finish of the year. “I wanted to win this race tonight for B. J. and had a real good run tonight. It was a good night for us and we made some money, but I wanted to win it for him and his family.”

Hansard was refering to B. J. Parker, the Southern Superstars founder, that lost his battle to Breast Cancer in April. It was the first trip back to the home track of Parker that once owned the speedway. Hansard has competed in every race for the Superstars since it was founded in 2009. He also competed in the 1980’s and 90’s when parker also had the Southern All-Stars Asphalt Series.

Rounding out the top 5 was local favorite Nathan Davis from Bagley, AL coming in 4th and the top finishing ARP Bodies Rookie of the Year candidate was Decatur, AL driver Hunter Spivey in the 5th position.

Before the race, Sayre Speedway inducted three new members into their Hall of Fame. Gary Sanford, a former racer and father of Gary Jr., Jason and Allison, was inducted first. All three of his children were there to accept the plaque on his behalf. Sanford won numerous races at Sayre along with several championships. He was also a well know car builder and mechanic. Sanford lost his battle to cancer 10 years ago, but the crowd remembered him well.

Next to be inducted was Clyde and Nib Haynes. Clyde, who was the flagman in the 70’s and 80’s was represented by his daughter, Christine Landreth and son Ronnie. The surprise to them was when it was revealed that not only was their Dad being inducted, but their Mom also. Nib sold tickets at the tracks front gate when Clyde was the flagman and it just seemed right they were inducted together. Ronnie climbed the flag stand and in honor of his Dad, raised his left foot as Clyde was so famous for when waving the green flag for the start of the race, and the Hall of Fame 100 was underway.

The Southern Superstars returns to action at the beautiful Huntsville Speedway in Huntsville, AL on Saturday, June 11. For more information, check out The Southern Superstars at http://www.superstarsracing.com or http://www.huntsvillespeedway.com .

Official finish for the Hall of Fame 100:
1. Mark Day
2. Jeff Letson
3. Lee Hansard
4. Nathan Davis
5. Hunter Spivey
6. Chase Spradlin
7. T. W. Fisher
8. Justin Ashburn
9. Kenny Andrews
10. Chase Oliver
11. Gary Nix

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May 15th, 2011...

Mark Day Dominates Rocket 100 at Huntsville Speedway Saturday Night

By Ronnie White

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Mark Day may not have started off as the fastest, but you would have a hard time finding anyone who would believe that.

The Clarksville, Tenn., driver qualified fifth in the Southern Superstars Window World Rocket 100-lapper Saturday night at Huntsville Speedway, but the luck of the draw put him on the pole position.

As soon as the green flag fell, the race was over. Day not only dominated the race, he led all 100 laps.

"This is a fast and tight race track," Day said. "I really thought the last 16 laps was going to be a lot closer with Brad Lemley and Jeff Letson running behind me.

"I know I always say this, but our car wasn't very good in practice. We went back to the package we had and the car was really fast."

Lemley kept pressure on Day, but it was never enough and had to settle for second place, followed by Letson, Phil Renfroe and Clay Alexander fifth.

"My game plan was to take it easy the first part of the race, but the lap cars would break your pattern," Lemley said.

Saturday night was the first race ever without its founder and president B.J. Parker.

Parker, who founded the nation's longest-running dirt late model racing series and had a huge impact on short-track racing in Alabama, died April 5 after a long bout with breast cancer.

"It was tough not having B.J. with us," Speedway owner Martin Pierce said. "With all the weather problems we had tonight, I sure could have used him to bring a smile to everyone's face."

Huntsville Speedway returns to action Saturday night with a 50-lap Super Trucks feature.

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April 14th, 2011...

Mark Day Wins Earlybird 100 @ Sayre

The Southern Superstars kicked off their third season of Super Late Models races on Saturday, April 2 after the March 26th date was cancelled due to threatening weather at Sayre Speedway in Sayre, AL.

With much anticipation of the drivers that was going to be on hand for the 100 lapper, the 2010 Southern Superstars Champion Mark Day made a late entrance of sorts to the ¼ mile track. “We got to the shop at 8 o’clock this morning, cranked the generator on the rig, went to push the button to lower the lift door and nothing” explained Day as he worked off his open trailer arriving just moments before the first practice. “ We just threw what we thought we would need and headed to the track 3 hours later than planned on leaving.” Day is from Clarksville, TN and with a 3 to 4 hour drive to Sayre, they brought just what they needed.

In qualifying, Day set fast time of the 12 drivers checked in. Qualifying 2nd was Oak Grove’s Chase Spradlin and Crossville, AL driver Chase Oliver rounding out the top three. After rolling a six, Day would have to start mid-pack. This put Tyrone, GA driver Lee Hansard on the pole with Michael House of Murfreesboro, TN outside front row. Rounding out the top six in qualifying was local driver Nathan Davis starting third.

At the drop of the green flag, House wasted little time taking the high line into turn 1 and grabbing the lead down the back straight. The top six jumped into single file and paced the first 11 laps getting a feel for their cars. On lap 12, Spradlin and Hansard tangled going into turn 3 and collected Hueytown, AL Andy Antinoro. Antinoro headed to the pits for repairs as track crew worked to get Spradlin’s machine off the inside wall. Once pitted, Spradlin’s crew worked and both drivers were able to continue without loosing a lap. Antinoro returned to the pits as the green flag flew on lap 17 and his night was over.

House continued to pace the field as Day slowly worked his way from his 6th starting spot to 3rd as the field took the green flag. On lap 22, day passed Davis for 2nd and set his sights on House that had led since the start. On lap 42, Day made his move and took the lead and would not look back. Caution flew on lap 45 as Davis spun, bringing out the 2nd yellow. Southern Superstars count the first 5 laps of caution and then restart counting laps when green flag racing restarts.

At the halfway point, the running order was Day, House, Oliver, Decatur, AL Hunter Spivey, Spradlin, Hayden, AL Gary Nix, Murfreesboro,TN Brice Crabtree, Hansard, Davis and Crossville, TN Kenny Andrews.

On lap 50, Spivey and Spradlin made contact down the back stretch to bring out the 3rd and final caution of the evening. The drivers were running 4th and 5th respectively and looking to bring home solid top 5 finishes. The race was red flagged as debris was cleaned up as gravel was kicked on the track from the spinning cars. Racing resumed on lap 52 with Spivey restarting 7th and Spradlin 8th.
The final 48 laps were run under green as Day, House and Crabtree crossed the finish line at the checkered flag. The Tennessee Trio scored al top 3 finish for the first time in the series young history. Rounding out the finishing order was Spradlin, Oliver, Spivey, Nix, Hansard, Andrews, Davis and Antinoro.

After post race inspection, Crabtree’s car failed post race inspection. Southern Superstars officials found an illegal motor part.

The Southern Superstars return to the ¼ mile April 16th as they visit the beautiful Huntsville Speedway and present The Rocket 100.

April 2nd, 2011...

Follow the Superstars on Facebook

Keep up with the Southern Superstars even if you can't make the race.  Follow us with live updates on race night by adding us to your favorites on Facebook.

Tonight the Superstars will be at Sayre Speedway in Dora, Alabama for the season-opening Earlybird.  We'll have periodic live updates online during the race tonight, so check us out!  Just click on the Facebook image to the left.

Watch the Southern Superstars website for a full race recap of the night's action.

February 19th, 2011...

Banquet Video DVD Available from JR Productions

Anyone interested in getting a DVD of the awards banquet held on February 13th at Knight Moves should contact Johnny Rogers Productions.  I have a clip of BJ Parker giving his appreciation speech on our Video Clips page.