BY GRADY H. THORNTON

Birmingham, Alabama -April 26, 2008- Except for those left behind, who doesn’t enjoy seeing Ken McFarland winning races? The Hueytown native who won the annual Birmingham Super Series Davey Allison Memorial at Birmingham International Raceway Saturday evening accepted the win with gratitude toward his crew and family and humility for his position as top dog.

One would have thought the highly talented driver had nothing to do with the performance that handed him the lead on lead on the 59th of 100 trips around the relatively flat oval. He never used the word “I” in the post-race interview, only “we” and “they ”. “We had a good car, “ the winner declared. “The car was really turning good. If a car is set up to turn good and easy, you can get off the corners faster. We work hard in getting the car to go through the turns.” Through the corners, off the turns, and down the straights McFarland was off the chain.

For the third consecutive long race at BIR in 2008, McFarland was the fastest qualifier, leader of the most laps, and the winner. His qualifying time of 20.369-seconds/110.461 mph) was the fastest of the eight (8) cars that clocked under 21 seconds. A roll of “5” on the die put him inside rookie Brandon Parker and behind John Bolen and Gary Nix. The front row had Chris Serio on the point flanked by rookie Josh Belter. The race was green flagged by Lauren Wallace, the youngster who is seen in a go-cart on the Geico television ads.

Serio hit the afterburners and launched into the lead with Bolen in tow. Bolen and Belter swapped ground a few times until Bolen took the second spot. On the ninth lap Serio slipped up high in turn two and Bolen made his move to the lead.

The first quarter of the race Bolen was a man unto himself, keeping Nix at bay and stretching their lead to over 50 yards. McFarland had taken third running position on the same lap as Bolen’s pass. Gary Sanford, Jr., who started eighth, followed with Parker, Belter, Justin South, Keith Cahela, Serio, and Clint Folsom comprising the top ten.

The first of four cautions came out when Pat Cruise spun in turn four on the 27th lap. Cruise, Serio with an ill-handling car, and open-wheel ace “Mad” Max Papis pitted. Later it would be reported Serio’s car would not handle. Between he and his weekend team partner, Papis, they would have three flats, taking both cars out of contention.

The 32nd lap restart gave Nix an opportunity to make a run for the lead, showing again he used a good restart strategy. Two laps later when Cruise’s team could not get the car restarted and he was dangerously close to the fast lane, another caution period was flagged.

Action resumed with Bolen leading, but bobbling on the 37th lap restart. McFarland snatched runner-up spot from Nix, setting up his take over of the lead. McFarland applied the pressure, running a bit over a groove lower than Bolen’s leading car. McFarland used that low groove to take the lead on the 41st lap.

On the first lap of the second half of the event, 2007 BSS champion Sanford took over third position behind Bolen and leader McFarland. On lap 57 the third caution period was on when Folsom hit the second turn wall in the same spot he hit in the Early BIRd 125 in February.

With the clean up completed, the race was resumed without Folsom on the 62nd lap. While McFarland casually lead the pack, duels developed behind him. Sanford could reign in Bolen around the track, but lost ground coming off the second turn each lap.

A fourth turn melee involving the cars of Serio, Justin Cruise, P. Cruise, and Matt Swartz initially looked dramatic. Momentarily after they were blocking the track, however, they all rolled off and made it to the pits or the back of the line.

When McFarland carried the race to a hurried win under the white flag, Blake Ferguson made a bid for third place coming out of turn two. ARCA driver Justin South and Ferguson tangled, taking Ferguson from a potential third to a spun out 12th as the checkered were thrown for McFarland. Coming across the line behind him were Bolen, Sanford, South, and Belter. Cahela, Chase Knox, Serio, Mark Singleton, and Papis made up the top ten finishers list.

In addition to winning the Davey Allison Memorial 100, McFarland also received the FEL-PRO Winner’s Bonus and Sonic Clutches Bonus. The FEL-PRO Highest Finishing Rookie Bonus went to Josh Belter. The Victory Communications Hard Charger Award went to Chase Knox. The Sonic Clutches Fifth Place Bonus went to Belter.

McFarland came up through the ranks of the Legends Series at the local tracks. He first drove a Late Model at BIR in 1998, and was recognized as Rookie of the Year. In 1999 he won the Late Model championship. In the Davey Allison Memorial 100, Birmingham Auto Auction, and City Auto Sales sponsored McFarland. The car is a Frankie Grill Grand American Race Cars chassis with a Hamner Performance Racing Chevrolet engine. The sheet metal is that of a Ford Fusion.

OFFICIAL DAVEY ALLISON 100 FINISH, STARTING POSITION, AND STATUS AT END OF RACE--1. Ken McFarland, (5), running; 2. John Bolen, (3), running; 3. Gary Sanford, Jr., (8), running; 4. Justin South, (9), running; 5. Josh Belter, (2), running; 6. Keith Cahela, (12), running; 7. Chase Knox, (15), running; 8. Chris Serio, (1), running; 9. Mark Singleton, (11), running; 10. Max Papis, (13), running; 11. Brandon Parker, (5), running; 12. Blake Ferguson, (10), running; 13. Matt Swartz, (18), running; 14. Pat Cruise, (14), running; 15. Gary Nix, (5), suspension; 16. Justin Cruise, (16), tie rod; 17. Shannon Dodson, (17), rear end/drive shaft; 18. Clint Folsom, (7), wreck.

SUPPORT DIVISIONS IN MEMORIAL PROVIDE MEMORIAL RACING The support divisions in the Davey Allison Memorial provided fans with plenty of action.

In the Open Wheel main, Billy Melvin of Trussville took a new car out of the box, took the lead on the ninth lap, and won the race. Johnny Brazier drove the Roy Cantrell car to the fastest time of 21.290 seconds/105.683 mph and started in a five-car inversion. Jeff Letson started on the front and led the first eight laps. Melvin worked his way up and took the lead on the ninth lap and went the rest of the 30-lap distance. Dustin Knowles had a great run for a second place finish with Brazier, Gary Nix, and Greg Powers following. In the second group were Letson, Rocky Rogers, Roger Wood, Jr., Brandon Curren, Ricky Holland, and Nick Martin.

Roger Cain had to overtake a strong car to win the 20-lap Limited Sportsman feature. Shawn Kyzer jumped into the lead from his second row starting position and would go on to lead almost half of the race. Cain snaked his Renaissance Electronics Chevrolet Monte Carlo up to the front and took the lead on the 10th lap, the position he would maintain on into the Winner’s Circle. Kyzer held his second spot, followed by Joel Falls, Jimmy Roberts, Rusty Alverson, and Cody Browning. It was Cain’s fourth consecutive feature win.

Roddy Moore of Hueytown won the Mini-Modified 20-lapper in the Mini Modified feature. Carrying carried the sponsorship of Chris Z’s and Jimmy’s Hot Dogs all the way to victory, Moore’s third consecutive win. Lee Streetman, an early leader, was second, followed by Chris Knight, Jacob Wyatt, Roger Wood, Jr., Charlie Melvin, Jonathan Goolsby, and Justin Bonnett. Kevin Bennett was a DNS.

After winning the Mini-Stock (formerly BUZZZ division) feature two years ago, won the Renegade feature, his first win in that division. Amick wrestled with points leader Jarrod Washington in the first five laps before taking the lead for the remainder of the 12-lap event. Amick’s Gray Ghost Lincoln Continental, sponsored by Jimmy’s Muffler Shop and Amick Auto Sales, kept Washington in second place at the end. Daniel Hubbard and Joseph Freeman followed.

A very popular first occurred when Eddie Dodd, Jr., won the Mini-Stock feature. Dodd has been a runner-up many times in the four-cylinder divisions, but it was at this point he took his first BIR win. The Trussville racer was followed by Kevin Higgins, Chris Cole, Jeremy Gwin, Chuck Mann, and Robert Fucich.

RANDOM NOTES ON THE DAVEY ALLISON MEMORIAL*** (Comments and observations in this section are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the BIR Management Team and may or may not be influenced by middle age fatigue, lack of sleep, political views, hunger, a passionate love for BIR action but a longing to be with the wife, hard living at an earlier age, the price of eggs in China, the price of gasoline in Center Point, migraine headaches, who’ s on first, and/or phases of the moon.) I started this race report out asking, “Who doesn’t enjoy seeing Ken McFarland win a race?” Ken takes time with fans that come to congratulate him after a race. He pays attention to what they say, treats them with respect, and shares himself with them. When they leave his pit, he has made THEM feel like winners….While McFarland added another mark in his already crowded W column, it was great to see some first timer winners over the weekend. Billy Ammons in the Street Stocks and Kevin Higgins in the Mini-Stocks were shining stars Friday. Phillip Amick’s Renegade win, his first since leaving the Mini-Stocks and Eddie Dodd’s first BIR win in the Mini-Stocks were joyous for us as well in Saturday‘s program….Friday’s show was double points for the locals, so watch the website for updates….Cop Caught with Speed---see story about Tarrant Policeman Kevin Higgins’ win… .OK, so where else would you find the group of luminaries present at BIR over the weekend? Everybody is agreeing we will adopt Max Papis as one of our own homeboys. You know who he is, and you saw his wife, Tatiana, and their son, Marco. Did you know, however, the family from which Tatiana came? How about a maiden name of Fittipauldi, as in the daughter of Brazilian-born racing great Emerson Fittipauldi? Fittipauldi as in one of the world’s most honored racing legends? And then getting to see our own Bobby Allison and Larry McReyonlds coming back to say “Hello”. The rest of the racing nation would have loved to see them, had a chat with them and got autographs. Special thanks to Bobby Allison Racing who allowed us to get some great deals on Allison souvenirs. The Bobby, Donnie, and Red autographed Alabama Gang poster was the greatest deal. I did my Christmas shopping on the stage at the autograph session before the race….How about ESPN personality Kate Jackson? How about Lauren Wallace, the youngster in the go-cart in the Geico ads? How about CJ, the human in the gecko suit? It doesn’t get much better than this for the motorsports fan. By the way, Max’s real name is Massimiliano Papis….Be sure to visit _www.bobbyallison.com_ () , MaxPapis.com, and karnac.com….Good to see Johnny Brazier in the #2 Open Wheel car….The Salute to Hueytown was a success. Many new fans were born into the racing family as a result of the work of BIR Director of Marketing Brian Crocker and Managers Joey Sims and Ray Tennyson. In addition to those mentioned in the race reports, the beautiful young lady with the angelic voice singing the National Anthem was Hueytown High School coed Kelsie Gaylor. The minister with the Invocation each night was Pastor Doug O’Brien of Hueytown’s North Highland Baptist Church….Some of the BIR sponsors who were in attendance were John’s Plumbi ng, local Geico agent Rhonda Evans, Applebee’s, Oscar Mann, Acceptance Loan Company, and Lisa, the name of endearment for the owner of Biskit’s Restaurant… .The greater BIR family extends it’s sympathy and love to Debra Forbus and her family in the recent death of her mother, Edna Hollon. Edna was a fixture at BIR and later on the All Pro circuit for years….Inaugural BSS champion Gary Sanford, Jr., finished third on the straightaway with the leaders, a high finish for the crate motor boys….There is always a race for every position: did you notice the outstanding runs for John Bolen, Josh Belter, and Blake Ferguson? Each driver cracked the top five. Ferguson was going for fourth on the last lap when a spin around with Justin South dropped him back. South, by the way, represented Alabama in the ARCA Remax Series, where he proved he has what it takes to run with the big boys….Ever notice who is strong on the BSS restarts? Veteran Gary Nix is a jackrabbit when the green flag flies. Car owner/crew chief Will Blocksome acknowledged his engineering skills were lacking. He put together an experimental suspension setup that gave way under pressure. Will is still a great example of a Southern Gentleman and a good friend of BIR. It is doubtful, however, that NASA will pay any attention to his resume….Time to close out the RANDOM NOTES section. I had a great time meeting new fans at BIR this weekend. I was glad to have the opportunity to say prayers at the Driver’s meeting and read a short scripture from 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13, sometimes referred to as the love chapter. I did it because racing people love racing, we love people, and we love life. I end with the quote of the evening: “I love you,” spoken by brothers Ken and Corky McFarland to each other as they left the speed plant Saturday evening. Every day we don’t tell a family member we love them is a day not fully lived.

Race hard. Pray hard.


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