Auto Racing

Search Results

Close Previous Now showing: of Next

Previous Next Close

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable as well as posts that are attacking other users. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.

comments powered by Disqus

June 13, 2009

Don Smith Classic, two other features at Action Track tonight

By Craig Pearson The Tribune Star Sat Jun 13, 2009, 12:08 AM EDT

TERRE HAUTE — Robert Ballou took home the first checkered flag under the Terre Haute Action Track’s renaissance under new ownership last spring.

Ballou will try to defend his Don Smith Classic victory today in the 20-year-old California native’s fourth trip to Terre Haute’s 1⁄2-mile dirt oval.

“I’ve run a couple of USAC cards,” Ballou said. “I only got three laps in this year [in the Tony Hulman Classic] and broke a motor. I probably could’ve ran well. One of these days, I’ll get me one of those darn guns [referring to the prize of a Winchester rifle].”

In last year’s Don Smith Classic that opened the Midwest Sprint Car Series schedule, Jesse Hockett and Ballou battled back and forth in the final laps for last year’s $3,000 prize, making for entertaining racing.

“I seem to do a lot better on the big race tracks because I keep the car straighter and the speed doesn’t bother me,” Ballou said. “Terre Haute and Lawrenceburg (Ill.) are the only two you can actually race on. You’re not bumping and dinging like you do on the little quarter miles around here.”

Ballou, funded by Terre Haute native Jim Plew and Dallas Mulbaney, will have plenty of challengers in one of three features to be contested tonight.

The 2008 points champion, Kyle Cummins, has already taken home one checkered flag through four of the series’ 16 races. He leads the points standings with Nic Faas, Hud Cone, 2008 Rookie of the Year Ricky Williams and Terre Haute’s Brandon Mattox not far behind.

Two other features, the brand-new SCORA Sprint Cars and the Indiana Late Models, will take place at the track.

“With infield tickets starting at just ten dollars, bleacher seats at $15 and free ticket coupons available for kids 12 and under for bleacher and grandstand seats, I’m not sure you’re going to find a better bang for your racing buck at any track,” said Mike King of Action Promotions.

Fans can get coupons for free kids tickets (12 and under) for grandstand and bleacher seating at First Financial Bank locations, online at mywabashvalley.com, or just present your Kroger Plus card at the Action Track ticket office at time of purchase. Adult purchase is required to receive free kids tickets. The popular Infield Family Pass will also be available, as two adults and up to 4 children 12 and under can get into the infield for just $25.

Fan gates will open at 4 p.m., and the racing action will be virtually non-stop, with the first Midwest Sprint Car Series hot lap session set to begin just after 4 p.m.

Fans will also enjoy the music of a popular Wabash Valley group during the first “HI-99 Sundown Concert Series” event. The Midwest Playboys will play live as the action takes a break from 8:30 until approximately 9:15 for the sun to set. The setting sun presents a huge vision problem for drivers trying to set-up for turn 3, and rather than risk tearing up race cars Action Promotions, in cooperation with the participating series, have planned downtime for the sunset period.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Auto Racing

• TRACKSIDE: Valley racing showed best, worst of times in 2011

  A look back on the 2011 Wabash Valley auto racing season reveals the best and worst of times the sport has to offer.

  January 1, 2012  

• Action Track to play host to 4 USAC events

  U.S. Auto Club officials have released preliminary schedules for next season and four events are listed to be run at The Action Track.

  December 15, 2011  

• ISU's Troxell, Crossroads Dragway in running for NHRA awards

  Indiana State University student Derick Troxell and the Crossroads Dragway are both in the running for annual National Hot Rod Association awards.

  November 23, 2011  

• Memorial service for Wheldon attracts thousands

  Thousands came to honor deceased IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon during a memorial service at Conseco Fieldhouse on Sunday.

  October 24, 2011  

• Indy remembers Wheldon

  Dan Wheldon’s biggest fans wanted one more chance to thank their favorite driver.
  One by one, they turned Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s main gate into a memorial for the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, who was killed Sunday in a fiery crash at Las Vegas.
   

  October 18, 2011  

• Wheldon fans leave tributes at Indianapolis track

  Dozens of fans have left flowers, candles and notes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway gates in memory of two-time Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon.

  October 17, 2011  

• Indy 500 winner Wheldon dies after massive wreck

  Race car drivers always know the worst can happen whenever they get behind the wheel.

  October 17, 2011 8 Photos  

• UPDATE: Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon dies after massive crash in Vegas

  Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after his car became ensnarled in a fiery 15-car pileup, flew over another vehicle and landed in a catch fence just outside turn 2.

  October 16, 2011 8 Photos  

• It was a frigid ending to oval dirt track season

  The oval dirt track part of the 2011 Wabash Valley racing season came to a highly successful and climactic end over the weekend at Lincoln Park Speedway.

  October 5, 2011  

• Windom’s impressive streak evokes lofty comparisons

  In the storied history of the Terre Haute Action Track no name is more synonymous with winning and dominance than the late Jim Hurtubise.

  September 14, 2011  

• Windom drives away from field at Action Track

  Chris Windom led all 30 laps to capture the Jim Hurtubise Classic presented by First Financial Bank for USAC National Sprints at the Terre Haute Action Track on Saturday.

  September 11, 2011  

• USAC cars return to Action Track today

  The United States Auto Club sprint cars return to the Terre Haute Action Track tonight for the Jim Hurtubise Classic presented by First Financial Bank.

  September 10, 2011  

• Points titles are on the line at Wabash Valley race tracks

  They have become as much a part of the motorsports scene as the traditional green and checkered flags.

  September 7, 2011  

• Stock cars: ‘backbones’ of short tracks

  It was a familiar scene played out every Saturday night throughout the summer at hundreds of short tracks scattered across the country.

  August 10, 2011  

• Menard pulls off the upset

  Thirteen different drivers held the lead for at least one lap in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Paul Menard led 21 of them — including 11 of the last 12 and the last four — to take the checkered flag.

  August 1, 2011  

• Family: Menard’s team won IRL title

  Although it took 35 years, the name Menard finally made it to victory circle at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.

  August 1, 2011  

• Sprint Summer Showdown begins at Indianapolis

  The Sprint Summer Showdown begins today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Brickyard 400 for NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers is the first of five races in the new event that will culminate with the AdvoCare 500 in Atlanta.

  July 31, 2011  

• Johnson knocked off pole by upstart Ragan at Brickyard

  The 18th Brickyard 400 will be run today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

  July 31, 2011  

• Billboard aims to curb race fans’ hot dog cravings

  A new billboard is warning Brickyard 400 fans that eating hot dogs can be dangerous to their health.

  July 26, 2011  

• Hinchliffe looking forward to IndyCar's Canadian stops

  James Hinchcliffe is looking forward to the next two IZOD IndyCar Series events to be run in his native Canada. First up is Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto to be run on the streets of Toronto. Versus will carry the action live at 2 p.m. EDT.

  July 8, 2011  

• Safety rules at track

  A race delayed for more than two hours by overnight rain was eventually forced to be postponed by extreme heat and deteriorating track conditions as the vagaries of Mother Nature found another way to plague the Terre Haute Action Track on Sunday.

   

   

  July 4, 2011 4 Photos  

• Sumar Classic hits track Sunday

  Jason McCord remembers how he used to watch racing, playing catch with his father on the infield during lulls in the action on the track.

   

   

  July 2, 2011  

• TRACKSIDE: Coons should be favorite for Sunday

  When the U.S. Auto Club Silver Crown contingent motors into the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds this weekend for the SUMAR Classic it would appear that Jerry Coons Jr. would be the odds-on favorite to win Sunday’s 100-lap main event.
  After all, the veteran driver has all the credentials to make him a winner.

  June 29, 2011  

• TRACKSIDE: Decision to stick with USAC pays off

  When the 2011 USAC Indiana Sprint Weeks schedule was announced back in January, there were many who expressed their share of disappointment that Lincoln Park Speedway had once again been snubbed for one of the coveted series dates.

  June 15, 2011  

• Stunning victory

  After one of the craziest finishes in racing history, Dan Wheldon emerged as winner of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
  Just when it looked like rookie J.R. Hildebrand was one corner away from giving Panther Racing its first Indy 500 victory, he got up into the marbles in the fourth turn, bouncing the right side of the car into the wall.

  May 30, 2011 3 Photos  

• Field still split over double-file restarts

  For the first time ever at the Indianapolis 500, the IZOD IndyCar Series began using double-file restarts during the race.

  May 30, 2011  

• Centennial Indianapolis 500 fill have deep meeting to today's winner

  In the words of Al Unser Jr. as he stood in the winners circle in 1992, “You just don’t know what Indy means.”

  May 29, 2011  

• USAC Tony Hulman Classic tonight

  The 41st running of The Tony Hulman Classic for United States Auto Club cars is set for tonight at The Action Track.

  May 26, 2011 1 Photo  

• TRACKSIDE: Auto racing in May in Indiana runs on history and tradition

  Possibly nowhere in the sports world does history and tradition play such a key role in an event’s success and future as that found in auto racing.

  May 25, 2011  

• MARCO, DANICA MAKE THE CUT

  Every year on Bump Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the question is “Who will make it?”
  The question this year was who wasn’t going to make it in the centennial running of the Indianapolis 500. When it was all over, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick were in. Teammates Mike Conway and Ryan Hunter-Reay were out.

   

  May 23, 2011 2 Photos 1 Story  

• More Auto Racing Headlines

© 2012 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. · CNHI Classified Advertising Network · CNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2012. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope. Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
Privacy Policy | AP News Registry privacy policy
Terms and Conditions
Advertiser Index

Events by eviesays.com

News From Terre Haute, Indiana 222 S 7th St Terre Haute, IN 47807