J.P. Morgan jumped to an early lead at Daytona and was never headed, finishing 17 seconds ahead of Clay Young in second. Daytona Beach, Fla., Nov. 12 – In the final race of the 2005 US LEC Stock Car Road Racing tour, J.P. Morgan won the battle in convincing style, but Clay Young won the war. Winning the battle, Morgan made it look easy, qualifying more than two seconds faster than the second-place qualifier and driving to a 17-second winning margin over Clay Young’s second place Monte Carlo. But the war – the season-long points championship – was decided the minute Clay Young took the green flag to start the race. At this final race, the Late Model Stock Cars (LMSC) of the US LEC Tour would share the track with the Historic Stock Cars of Historic Sports Car racing. There was some concern going in that there might be some problems with closing speeds on the long Daytona straights between the powerful Historic Cup and Busch cars and the horsepower and RPM-limited LMSC cars. They needn’t have worried. The US LEC Late Models surprised everyone (including themselves) with their speed on the Daytona high banks. LMSC pole-sitter Morgan qualified within 1.3 seconds of the Historic Stock pole time, and the horsepower-limited Late Models – after starting behind the Cup and Busch field in a split start – occupied four of the top ten finishing spots overall at race’s end. Within the LMSC field, Morgan qualified his Monte Carlo on pole, followed by Clay Young, also in a Chevrolet. Jack Finch started third in his Dodge Charger, with John Goodson’s Ford Taurus going off fourth. Behind them were the Monte Carlos of Roger Reuse and brother Bobby Reuse and the Taurus of Steve Graham. Steve Dunn’s Chevrolet would start the race from pit road and the Monte Carlos of brothers Kenny and Chris Liesfeld failed to make the start due to engine problems. The split start would have two separate packs taking the same green flag, with the LMSC cars following the Cup and Busch cars by about 75 yards. Even with the split start, the LMSC leaders were among the tail-end Cup and Busch cars before the first turn. From that point on, the race would see LMSC cars battle each other even as they tried to work their way through the Historic Stock Cars. Morgan immediately jumped to a good lead, followed by Finch’s Dodge in second. Roger Reuse got by Goodson at the start, and Clay Young got away in third, opening up a sizable gap before Goodson was able to get back by Reuse and set sail after the leaders. In the opening laps, a full-course caution bunched the field back up after Steve Graham was knocked off into the tire barrier (actually, onto the tire barrier) by one of the historic cars entering the infield horseshoe. Graham was finished for the day.

At the restart, Clay Young got the jump on Finch, taking second and slowly pulling away. Finch opened a sizable lead on Goodson in fourth while the Ford was caught up in traffic. Clay Young wrapped up his first US LEC series championship at Daytona, becoming the series fourth different champion in four seasons. Meanwhile, at the front, J.P. Morgan continued to pass Historic Cup cars, working his way all the way up to fourth overall, an impressive drive for a car and driver spotting the Historic cars as much as 300 horsepower. As the finish neared, Goodson finally ran down the third-place Dodge, catching Finch with only two to go, but then ran off course at the infield hairpin. The top four finished the way they started: Morgan, Young, Finch and Goodson. Following was Bobby Reuse in fifth. Roger Reuse came home sixth, having to pit with one to go. Steve Dunn and Steve Graham occupied seventh and eighth spots. Season-long consistency allowed Steve Dunn to finish the year second in points. The 2005 US LEC Stock Car Road Racing Champion, Clay Young, became the fourth champion in the series’ four-year history. Two early-season wins allowed Young to weather a run of bad luck in mid-season and drive to the championship. Season-long consistency paid off for Steve Dunn. By starting on pit road and nursing his ailing clutch to complete one lap, Dunn garnered enough points to finish the season second in points. John Goodson and J.P. Morgan, the 2004 and 2003 series champions, finished the year tied for fourth in points. Chris Liesfeld rounded out the top five point totals. RESULTS: Daytona International Speedway POS. NO. NAME LAPS BEST 1 11 J.P Morgan 13 1:56.852 2 77 Clay Young 13 1:58.087 3 14 Jack Finch 13 4:07.489 4 96 John Goodson 13 1:58.179 5 4 Bobby Reuse 13 2:05.530 6 8 Roger Reuse 12 2:00.961 7 7 Steve Dun 1 – 8 71 Steve Graham 1 2:07.230

J.P. Morgan had to overcome two off-course excursions to take the win at the 2005 VIR Stock Car Spectacular. DANVILLE, Va., Sept. 4 – At today’s second annual Virginia International Raceway Stock Car Spectacular, 2003 series champion J.P. Morgan sat on the pole and won the race, the same thing he did last year. That’s where the similarities end. In 2004, Morgan led every lap and made it look easy. This time, he had to overcome a strong challenge from Aaron Dudley’s Dodge Charger, come back from two off-course excursions, get a little help from Dudley, and finally survive a seriously overheating engine at the end. Ron Fariss, in only his second race of the year, finished a strong second. Kenny Liesfeld ran third, while local favorite Peyton Sellers and 2002 series champion Chris Mitchum rounded out the top five. Three very fast cars would start from the back of the field. Series points leader Clay Young encountered engine trouble in qualifying and posted no time. A penalty moved Kenny Liesfeld to the back, and local star Peyton Sellers was unable to qualify his car due to a conflict with a race at nearby South Boston Speedway (which he won). After qualifying, the top three were the same as last month at BeaveRun, with Morgan’s Monte Carlo on the pole, Aaron Dudley second and the Ford Taurus of John Goodson third. Ron Fariss’ Monte Carlo sat outside Goodson in fourth, followed by Chris Mitchum’s Chevrolet in fifth. At the start, Morgan got away first, followed by Dudley. Ron Fariss got by Goodson for third. But coming out of VIR’s signature Oak Tree Turn onto the long back straight, Morgan ran wide into the dirt and Dudley got by for the lead, which he held at the end of lap one. Meanwhile, Chris Mitchum also passed Goodson to take fourth. On lap two, Morgan repassed Dudley at turn one to resume the lead. Shortly after, Chris Mitchum ran off at turn three, allowing Goodson to slip back into fourth. The Monte Carlos of Chris Liesfeld and Marshall McLeod came together in turn nine, causing extensive damage to the BeaveRun winner’s car. He was able to continue, but sans hood and much of the front bodywork. Meanwhile, the Liesfeld/Sellers/Young train was coming from the back in a hurry. On lap three, near-disaster struck the leader when Morgan ran way off exiting the downhill esses leading onto the front straight. While Morgan was mowing the grass, five cars got by. Now Dudley had a solid lead and was pulling away from Fariss in second. Liesfeld and Sellers continued their charge from the back, but Clay Young’s mechanical woes returned, requiring a call in the pits. He would ultimately finish, but in seventh, a lap down. Again, Morgan picked his way back to second, and ever so slowly was closing on the Dodge of Dudley. Would he have time, and could he get by?

Then, on lap 13, mechanical failure and near catastrophe settled the issue. At the fastest point on the track, entering the braking zone at the end of the mile-long back straight, bolts fastening the rear axle on the Dodge sheared off, leaving Dudley with virtually zero brakes. The car shot straight off the end of the straight, down the hill and went head-on into the tire barrier. Only multiple layers of tires prevented the Dodge from being destroyed. From that point on, Morgan was able to cruise to the victory, but not without concern. His last off-course excursion had partially blocked the grille opening with grass. The Chevrolet began overheating, but Morgan was able to nurse it home. Ron Fariss came home second in a near-flawless run. Coming from the back, Kenny Liesfeld and Peyton Sellers were able to catch and pass Chris Mitchum who had been running fourth. They would pick up one more position to finish third and fourth respectively when John Goodson’s Taurus dropped out with a cooked engine. Local driver Al Zimmerman in a Monte Carlo came across the line in sixth, followed by Clay Young, Chris Liesfeld, Julie Allen and Steve Dunn. By nursing his ailing car home in seventh, Clay Young solidified his hold on the points lead with 960 points. Steve Dunn and Chris Liesfeld continued in second and third place with 790 and 785 points respectively. 2004 Champion John Goodson remained in fourth, but the team’s 12th-place DNF, their fourth DNF in a row, saw them mathematically eliminated from the points chase. Dunn and Liesfeld both have a mathematical chance, but by simply taking the green flag at the Daytona season finale, Clay Young appears a virtual lock for the 2005 points title. Dunn or Liesfeld would have to win the race with Young finishing 13th or worse. Second place, however, remains up for grabs between Dunn, Liesfeld and Goodson. After a two-month hiatus, the series concludes the season at Daytona International Speedway the weekend of November 12-13. RESULTS: VIR StockCar Spectacular POS. NO. NAME LAPS BEST 1 11 J.P Morgan 21 1:59.812 2 22 Ron Fariss 21 2:01.368 3 92 Kenny Liesfeld 21 2:01.089 4 21 Peyton Sellers 21 2:02.171 5 6 Chris Mitchum 21 2:01.105 6 06 Al Zimmerman 21 2:03.700 7 77 Clay Young 20 2:01.660 8 95 Chris Liesfeld 19 2:01.788 9 51 Julie Allen 18 2:18.616 10 7 Steve Dunn 17 2:11.225 11 16 Ron Read 16 2:05.552 12 96 John Goodson 14 2:01.585 13 14 Aaron Dudley 12 1:59.989 14 17 Marshall McLeod 11 2:01.949 DNF 19 Bob Davis 4 2:03.644 DNS 71 Steve Graham 0 –

After an early lap mishap, Chris Liesfeld came back through the field at BeaveRun to take his first stock car road racing win. PITTSBURGH, August 8 – BeaveRun’s reputation is safe. The most unpredictable race on the schedule outdid itself on this Sunday afternoon as the top three starters all crashed out and the fourth-place qualifier went all the way to the back before charging back through the field to take the win. Chris Liesfeld certainly got his first win the hard way. At the start of the day, Liesfeld’s chances didn’t look good. In fact, the chances for anybody besides J.P. Morgan or Aaron Dudley looked just plain dismal. In qualifying, Morgan’s Monte Carlo and Dudley’s Dodge Charger blistered the short, tight BeaveRun course a full half-second better than anyone else. John Goodson’s Ford Taurus and the Monte Carlos of Marshall McLeod and Chris Liesfeld filled out the top five. The two front row cars were only a tenth of a second apart, and when the green flag flew, the pair figured to leave everyone else behind. For the first seven laps, that’s just what happened. But this is BeaveRun, where the pole sitter still has never won, and the unexpected is the rule. On lap one, the treacherous turn 10 hairpin appeared to claim its first victim, when Chris Liesfeld, after grabbing third place on the start, locked them up going in and slid off track, falling all the way to last place. From the start, the gap between Morgan in the lead and Dudley in second was never more than a few lengths. Morgan appeared to be quicker in the tight sections, but the Dodge would close the gap on the straights. Then on lap seven, going into turn 10, Morgan locked the back brakes and spun. Too close to avoid the spinning Monte Carlo, Dudley collected Morgan. With extensive front-end damage, both cars were effectively finished. As the number 96 Goodson Ford took over the lead, it began to look as if the terrible luck that has plagued the Prototech team all year had finally turned. Marshall McLeod now held second, with Ron Read’s Pontiac in third. RESULTS: BeaveRun POS. NO. NAME LAPS BEST 1 95 Chris Liesfeld 43 1:00.939 2 17 Marshall McLeod 43 1:00.789 3 16 Ron Read 42 1:01.293 4 7 Steve Dunn 41 1:03.331 5 4 Bobby Reuse 39 1:06.544 6 96 John Goodson 29 59.996 7 71 Steve Graham 14 1:01.084 8 14 Aaron Dudley 7 59.332 9 11 J.P. Morgan 7 59.205 DNS 6 Chris Mitchum 0 – DNS 22 Ron Farris 0 – DNS 92 Kenny Liesfeld 0 –

Meanwhile, further back, Chris Liesfeld had begun his charge through the field, and was turning times virtually identical to the leader. In the lead, the Taurus appeared to be running like a train, and at one point opened up a 52-second lead on second place. Carving through the field, Chris Liesfeld caught second-place Marshall McLeod. The two raced for two laps, but McLeod, with brake woes, couldn’t hold off the charging Liesfeld. Liesfeld was now second, but the lead looked secure. It was all an illusion. The 2004 championship team’s luck hadn’t changed at all. With just over 15 minutes to go, Goodson’s Taurus began sputtering exiting turns with a fuel pickup problem. The finishing blow came when a ball joint broke braking for – where else? – turn 10, and the Ford went for a wild ride through the dirt, coming to rest at the same spot where Morgan and Dudley had come to grief a half hour earlier. Suddenly, for the first time in his career, Chris Liesfeld was in the lead of a professional road race. After he passed the Ford sitting on the outside of turn 10, Chris “... just made sure I kept it on the track. I told myself just not to screw up.” That’s how it stayed for the final 13 laps to the end, with Liesfeld’s Monte Carlo holding a comfortable lead over McLeod’s Chevrolet. Ron Read’s Grand Prix came home a solid third to give Pontiac their first top three of the year. Steve Dunn, ever consistent, cruised to a fourth, followed by Bobby Reuse, for his second straight top five in his first two stock car road races. In the points chase, Clay Young held on to the lead despite missing the weekend. Steve Dunn held on to second and the win vaulted Chris Liesfeld past John Goodson into third. Marshall McLeod rounded out the top five. The next stop for the series is a return to Virginia International Raceway, for the second annual Labor Day Stock Car Spectacular weekend, September 3-5. J.P Morgan, last year’s winner, will have his Monte Carlo back together and will be ready to defend his race championship against Aaron Dudley’s Dodge, the winner at VIR in July.

Clay Young took the lead at the start and drove to his first US LEC Stock Car Road Racing Championship win. GAINESVILLE, Ga., May 1 – Road Atlanta continued its tradition of rewarding first-time winners and punishing pole sitters, as Clay Young drove to his first win in the US LEC Stock Car Road Racing Championship. Young took the lead from the start and was never headed during the short sprint race run in conjunction with Historic Sportscar Racing’s Mitty Challenge at Road Atlanta. After the speed the team showed at the opener at Barber Motorsports Park, it was clearly only a matter of time before the two-time IMSA Kelly Challenge champion broke into the US LEC Tour win column. In the four races run by the series at Road Atlanta, the pole sitter has never won. The weekend began with nine US LEC Tour Late Model (LMSC) Road Racing Stock Cars ready to take the track with 20 Historic Stock Cars. But by race time, only five had survived an attrition-heavy practice and qualifying. Steve Graham was a victim of mechanical woes before even taking to the track. Last autumn’s Road Atlanta winner Kenny Liesfeld made only a few laps of practice before being sidelined with a blown engine. Ron Read crashed out his brand-new Pontiac Grand Prix in practice, then the same fate befell Roger Reuse in qualifying.   When the five survivors took the green flag with the other stock cars, a crash at start-finish immediately slowed the field for a long full-course caution. When racing resumed, pole-sitter Goodson hounded leader Young for the remainder of the short race, but was not able to get by Young as the two made their way through slower traffic.   Thousands of spectators crowded into Road Atlanta for two days of historic sports car and stock car racing. Marshall McLeod briefly made it a three-car race for the lead, but came together with a slower car and retired two laps later with damage. Chris Liesfeld’s Monte Carlo succumbed to mechanical problems, allowing Steve Dunn to bring his Chevrolet home for a personal-best third place finish. The win was especially sweet for the Team 7 Monte Carlo of Young after the disappointment of crashing out at Barber as they were closing in on the leader. After two races, the Prototech Ford Team of John Goodson moved into the points lead, with Clay Young’s Team 7 Accutech Chevrolet only 20 points behind in second. The next stop for the series is Lowe’s Motor Speedway June 18-19.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., April 3 – J.P. Morgan won the first round of the 2005 Stock Car Road Racing Championship series at Barber Motorsports Park today, but halfway through the race, the outcome looked anything but certain. A disappointingly slim field of five LMSC cars showed up for the season kickoff at Barber to run with historic stock cars of the Historic Sportscar Racing dash series. Last-minute cancellations by six series regulars left the field small, but spectators still saw an exciting race that was in question until near the end. The reason: Clay Young, in Mack Gouge’s Monte Carlo. The front row of the race was filled by the 2003 and 2004 series champions. 2003 champion J.P. Morgan sat on pole in a Chevrolet, with ‘04 champion John Goodson’s Ford Taurus beside him, only two-tenths of a second off the pole time. Behind them were the Chevy and Pontiac of newcomers Clay Young and Todd Carter, followed by Roger Reuse, also in a Monte Carlo. At the green, Morgan took the lead, with Goodson giving chase, but slowly dropping back. It began to look like a repeat of last year’s VIR Labor Day weekend race, where Morgan dominated.   But behind Morgan, things were changing. Clay Young was coming. After battling with Goodson for three laps, Young got by the Taurus into second. Then Young began to show why he was a two-time IMSA Kelly Challenge Champion. Slowly at first, then more rapidly, the white #77 Monte Carlo began to cut down the gap between first and second. Lap after lap, Morgan’s advantage shrank. It seemed just a matter of time before Young would be there. But when he had cut the lead to only a few lengths, disaster struck. Entering the 180 degree hairpin behind Morgan, Young’s car appeared to jump out from under him. The Monte Carlo slid off the right side and went hard into the guard rail. Young’s race was over. In the final few laps, Goodson was able to close slightly on Morgan, but never enough to pressure, as the leader cruised to the flag. Behind the lead trio, Roger Reuse had pulled in with mechanical trouble, while Todd Carter’s engine began going off, and he limped home in third. Morgan’s win, his sixth, extended his lead as the series’ all-time leader in wins, and positioned him as the early-season points leader in his quest to become the series’ first two-time champion. Clay Young served notice that he intends to be someone to reckon with, and the Team 7 Monte Carlo showed it has the speed to contend for wins. The series’ next stop is Road Atlanta May 1.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 10 – Over the seven-race schedule in 2005, competitors in the Stock Car Road Racing Champ-ionship will fight it out for over $30,000 in cash and contingency prizes, a 70% increase over 2004 awards. Purses for five of the seven races will see a significant increase, two will see a small increase and ten new contingency sponsors will chip in with over $8,000 in contingency awards. In 2004, two of the seven races, the Stock Car Shootout at BeaveRun and the VIR Stock Car Spectacular carried $5000 purses that paid through fifth place. The five races run at SCCA regional races paid a $1,500 purse that also paid down five places. In 2005, those five races, four with HSR and one with SCCA, will pay a minimum of $2,600 each, paying through sixth place, and the other two will see a slight increase in payout to a minimum of $5,500, also paying down to sixth place. Contingency prizes will be awarded on a per-race basis and year-end points.   Ten new contingency sponsors have signed on for 2005. They are: Bassett Racing Wheels CV Products Doughton Racing Products (DRP) Hoerr Racing Products Tilton Engineering Racing Radios QA-1 Precision Products Five Star Racing Bodies Tex Racing Jones Racing Products Said series director John Goodson: “We’re not where we want to be yet, not by a long shot, but the trend is good and we expect it to continue. The obvious missing piece right now is a point fund. Whether we can make that happen this year or not is problematical, but it’s high on the needs list.” In a period where many race series are sweating car counts, the Stock Car Road Racing Championship will see a significant growth in competitors in 2005. The 2005 schedule kicks off at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham April 1-3.

Columbus, Georgia’s Team Seven To Campaign Full Series TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Jan. 20 – Team Seven isn’t totally new to the series – they entered one race in 2004, the American Road Race of Champions at Road Atlanta, but internal engine woes kept them from starting the race. In 2005, the team, owned by Mack Gouge, will run the full series with their #77 Monte Carlo. Driver Clay Young is no newcomer to professional road racing. With 33 years’ experience, Clay has 17 career wins, including 15 IMSA Kelly Challenge victories. He was the IMSA Kelly Challenge Champion in 1989 and 1990. He has also competed in the ARCA Supercar series, Craftsman Truck, Winston Cup and PartsPro Trucks. Roger Reuse To Return To Series In 2005 Roger Reuse, who campaigned the 2003 season in stock car road racing, will return in 2005 after a year away from the series. The team picked up a Monte Carlo last week, a Howe-chassis car bought from a team in the Midwest. The Birmingham-based team, who finished fourth in the 2003 points standings, plans to be ready for the season opener at Barber Motorsports Park.

PITTSBURGH, Pa., May 20 – It was announced today that The Beaver County Times will be the presenting sponsor for the Independence Day Stock Car Road Racing Championship event. “We’re pleased to have The Beaver County Times on board.” said BeaveRun Motorsports Complex owner Tim Silbaugh. “We’re loooking forward to bringing the excitement of professional road racing to race fans in Western Pennsylvania, and to be able to help a very worthy charitable organization.” A portion of the race proceeds will go to help Girls’ Hope, an area charity. In addition to the stock cars of the Stock Car Road Racing Championship, the race wekend, July 5 & 6, will feature touring cars and pro Spec Miatas. In total, over 100 cars are expected for the three races.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., May 17 – After discussions with team owners, the Stock Car Road Racing Championship 2004 rules package will raise the allowable horsepower for SCRRC cars to 400 bhp, as measured at the rear wheels. This seems to be a more convenient number for all concerned. It was also announced that the same chassis dynamometer package will be used at 2004 races. The Dynapack 3000 to be at each race will provided and operated under contract with B & T Motorsports of Lorton, Virginia.

DANVILLE, Va., April 15 – It was made official today that the Stock Car Road Racing Championship will be one of the feature races of the 2004 VIR Stock Car Spectacular, along with the ARCA Lincoln Welders Trucks, the HSCRA Historic Stock Cars and the American V8 Supercars. The three day Labor Day weekend event at one of America’s most picturesque racing venues will also include Vintage/Historic races, Factory Five Sports Cars, Legends Cars and other races on two separate tracks. The SCRRC race will be the concluding race of the weekend with a 50-minute sprint.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., April 1 – Following the March announcement of the cancellation of the 2004 Stock Car Championship Series schedule, the teams of the series have agreed to reorganize under a new name, the Stock Car Road Racing Championship. A seven-race schedule was announced, to include five races run in conjunction with the SCCA and two dates co-promoted with race tracks. All but two of the 2003 core teams have committed to the new series. The two unable to run the series in 2004 were due to circle track commitments. So far, three new teams have committed to run in 2004, and one returns from 2002.