Lately, the temperatures have kept many people indoors, soaking up the cool air, but once the race cars hit the clay oval at Super Bee, race fans tend to forget how hot the air actually is. Saturday, August 15th was a 100-degree day, with temps dropping to the mid-to-low 80s around 10 pm. That did not stop the racers or the race fans from enjoying an awesome night of side-by-side racing action.
The USRA Limited Modifieds class was first on the track, with Mickey Steele (Ball, LA) taking the win in the Heat race as well as the Feature event. Ronny Freeland and Chris Freeland (both of Bastrop, LA) finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively, while Kyle Stassen (Jonesboro) came in 4th and Kyler Henderson (Quitman) rounded out the Top 5.
The ASCS Gulfsouth Hurricane Region Series brought 13 amazingly fast Sprint racers to Chatham for a night of edge-of-your-seat excitement. Heat race winners in the Sprints were: Cody Gardner and Caleb Ingle. During the 25-lap Feature event, it was Gardner leading the way to the checkered flag and taking the trophy home to Benton, Arkansas. Hayden Branch (Olive Grove, MS) finished 2nd, followed by Lee Moore (Moundville, Ala) in 3rd, Caleb Ingle (Little Rock, AR) in 4th, and Josh McCord (Bossier City, LA) in 5th. McCord moved up 7 positions from a 12th-place starting spot for the night.
CRUSA Crate Late Models were next on the track for the night. Heat race winners were Rob Litton and Seth Traweek. Litton was also the #1 Qualifier for the night with a 15.222-second lap time during the qualifying session. The 20-lap Feature race ended with Rob Litton (Alexandria, LA) in 1st place, Darin Patrick (West Monroe) in 2nd, Seth Traweek (West Monroe) in 3rd, Bubba Mullins (West Monroe) in 4th, and Robbie Stuart (DeRidder, LA) rounding out the Top 5.
The ProMod class held an 11-car field Saturday night, with Taylor Free and Wayne Patton taking Heat wins. The Feature event saw Taylor Free (Glenmora) 1st to the checkers, Wayne Patton (Ruston) in 2nd, Adam Tarver (Ball) in 3rd, Willie Neal (Winnfield) in 4th, and Michael Rawls (Winnsboro) in 5th.
The Sportster class was next in the running order and saw Kobe Kulp and Brandon Malone capturing Heat race wins. In the 20-lap Feature event, Kobe Kulp (Eros) took 1st place, followed by Robby Jones (Bastrop) in 2nd, Cody Womack (Jonesboro) in 3rd, Remington Budd (Haughton) in 4th, and the 5th-place car was Shane Walker and Squeak (Choudrant). Walker started in the 13th seat in the Starting order and advanced 8 positions through the field, giving him and Squeak “Hard Charger” bragging rights!
The final class for the night brought the 17-car field of USRA Factory Stocks to the track. 1st place finishers in the two Heat races were Rodney Howell and Nathan Wiley. Though both showed great potential to capture the Feature win, neither finished the 20-lap Feature. The Top 5 Feature finishers were: Matthew Driskill (Ruston) taking the win, Shane Walker (Choudrant) in 2nd place, Cecil Ross (West Monroe) in 3rd, Austin Trichell (Bastrop) in 4th, and Richard Roberts (Rocky Branch) taking the 5th place position.
The next race at Super Bee Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, September 5th, and will present all of the regular classes plus a “Mechanics Race,” where the ones behind the scenes that help keep these cars running and race-ready each week will have an opportunity to strap into the driver’s seat and show off their driving abilities. Are the Mechanics better drivers than the normal racers??? You’ve got to be there to find out for yourself!!