DANVILLE, VA, May 10 – Two hundred years ago, family feuds were common in the hills and hollows of Southwest Virginia. This Saturday, the tradition was revived, only this time the weapons were late model stock cars and the families were the Liesfelds and Reuses.
At the end of the day, a Liesfeld prevailed.
The season-opener for the LMSC cars of the Stock Car Road Racing Championship would be run at the SCCA’s annual Al Fairer VIR SAARC Challenge. Going into the Friday-Saturday race weekend, the weather forecast called for rain both days; but the weather held off and the track stayed dry and fast.
And fast was just what Kenny Liesfeld was in his new Chevrolet Monte Carlo, qualifying first in LMSC and fifth overall in a 55-car field of big-bore GT cars and stock cars.
The large field and crowded track made qualifying difficult, and a lot of fast cars never got anything like a clean lap. Right behind Kenny was brother Chris Liesfeld in second (sixth OA). Next came Roger Reuse, also in a Monte Carlo (third LMSC, 17th OA). Qualified in a tight pack were the fourth through sixth-place LMSC entries of Steve Dunn (Chevrolet, fourth LMSC, 25th OA), Steve Graham (Ford, fifth LMSC, 26th OA) and Bobby Reuse (sixth LMSC, 28th OA). New series competitor Bobby Longbottom in a Chevrolet didn’t get a full lap in qualifying and would start from the back in seventh LMSC, 55th overall.

At the green flag, Kenny Liesfeld took off like a shot, and would never be challenged for the LMSC lead throughout the race. Kenny put a car between himself and brother Chris running in second, first Lee Arnold in an unlimited Late Model, and then by passing Brian Dobyns in the class-leading GTA stock car. But Chris continued to press the issue until tangling with another car on lap six, dropping to 16th overall.
On lap eight, Roger Reuse, who had been moving up, got by Chris for second in LMSC, who dropped two more spots to 18th overall. As Chris recovered, the two continued to move toward the front in that order, with Roger eventually coming tenth OA and second in LMSC, with Chris right behind him in 11th OA, third LMSC.
Further back, Bobby Reuse, after starting back in 28th overall, would work his way through the crowded field to come 18th overall and fourth LMSC. In the process, he passed Steve Graham and Steve Dunn to pick up the Hoerr Charger Award. Steve Graham’s day would come to an early end in the pits with overheating problems. Steve Dunn finished the day on the lead lap in 19th OA.
And new competitor Bobby Longbottom, in his very first road race, would pick up the most overall spots of anyone, persevering to move from 55th starting spot to finish in 34th, a gain of 21 positions.
The final order in LMSC: Kenny Liesfeld, Roger Reuse, Chris Liesfeld, Bobby Reuse, Steve Dunn, Bobby Longbottom and Steve Graham.
In addition to his share of the $2,000 purse paid through 5th place, Chris Liesfeld scored the largest contingency award, a pair of new Brembo brake calipers valued at over $3,000, awarded to the third place finisher.
After the first race, the series points standings are in the same order as the race finish.
In June, the series returns to VIR for the second race of the season, at the VIR Gold Cup weekend June 7-8.

TALLAHASSEE, Feb. 25 – Blame it on the economy. Due to popular demand, the 2008 season-opener has been shifted to May 10-11 at Virginia International Raceway.
The 2008 Stock Car Road Racing Championship season will now kick off at Virginia International Raceway in May and end at Daytona International Speedway in November.

The LMSC Road Racing Stock Cars To Run Three SCCA Dates And Three Appearances With The Historic Stock Cars
Over the course of the year, the SCRRC will run two races at VIR, two at Road Atlanta and one each at Mid-Ohio and Daytona.
Three races will be run at SCCA events and three with the Historic Stock Cars of HSR. Two of the races run with the Historic Stock Cars will actually be at events sanctioned by Sportscar Vintage Racing (SVRA), which is owned by HSR.
The season starts at VIR May 10-11 at the SCCA SAARC-MARRS Challenge. The 2007 race went to Bob Davis, driving Ron Fariss’ Chevrolet Monte Carlo. This annual event at the fast and challenging Virginia track draws over 400 cars, and fields for each race are huge. Expect the big bore race, in which the LMSC cars of the Stock Car Road Racing Championship will compete, to start at least 25 stock cars.

In July the series moves to Road Atlanta, again with the SCCA. The first of two visits in 2008 to the Atlanta venue, this race win also went to Bob Davis in 2007.
After taking August off, the series moves to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course September 6-7 with the Ohio Valley Region SCCA. John Goodson inherited the 2007 rain-shortened event, and will look to repeat.
Three weeks later, the series returns to VIR with the Historic Stock Cars, sanctioned by SVRA. This is a new date at VIR. The last previous fall VIR date went to J.P. Morgan’s Monte Carlo, but the LMSC cars ran at VIR with the historic stock cars in the Spring of 2007, with Aaron Dudley taking the win after a close race with Kenny Liesfeld. Both return this year looking for the victory.
October sees the series back at Road Atlanta, again with the Historic Stock Cars and SVRA. The last time the series ran Road Atlanta with the historic stocks was in 2006, where Clay Young took a close win, chased to the flag by John Goodson. Kenny Liesfeld also won at Road Atlanta in 2006, at the American Road race of Champions. Both Goodson and Liesfeld will look to fight it out again for the win in 2008.
The season concludes again this year at Daytona International Speedway with the Historic Stock Cars and HSR. Aaron Dudley took the 2007 Daytona sprint in dominating style, and will be back in Jack Finch’s Dodge to defend his race title in 2008.