By: Jill Frischmann,
Hickory Motor Speedway


Newton, NC -June 21, 2008- It started out as another great night of auto racing until Mother Nature reared her ugly head at the World’s Most Famous Short Track, Hickory Motor Speedway. Fans witnessed some great racing action from the Jewelry Exchange Limited Late Models, the Advance Auto Parts Super Trucks, the Hickory Pro 4’s, plus a few laps from the Bojangles Late Models when the thunder, lightning, high speed winds, and heavy rain rolled in postponing the remaining portion of the event.

The Jewelry Exchange Limited Late Models put on an awesome show for the fans as Dexter Canipe Jr. took his #3 hot rod to victory circle from his WynnCom Pole Position. That’s right fans, “When Junior Wins, You Win!”, just take your ticket stub from Saturday night’s show to a Little Caesar’s Pizza near you on Monday and receive a FREE 2 liter bottle of Pepsi with the purchase of a pizza for only $5.

The racing action was fierce during the 35 lap caution filled feature. The first of five cautions falling before the field was able to complete the first lap. A collision heading into to turn four collected the #05 of Jordan McGregor, the #45 of Kenneth Pardue, the #32 of Jeremy Harrell, the #75 Eric Evans, and the #84 of Donnie Harmon. It didn’t take long for the second caution to fall, when Evans and the #4 of Brad Burg went for a spin on the front stretch on lap six. From the restart Canipe Jr. pulled back out to the lead and pulled away from the field, leaving the #27 of Chris Chapman and the #28 of Jason Crouse to battle for second. Crouse picked up momentum in the corners allowing him to close in on Chapman who got a better run on the front and back stretch. Crouse ran hard but was unable to make the move on Chapman and take over the position. The third caution was brought out on lap 16 when the #77 of Mark Goin went for a spin heading into turn two. It didn’t take long for caution number four to fall when Berg went for a spin coming out of four on lap 20. The fifth and final caution fell with five laps to go, when Goin got into the back of the #1 of Joe Chafin, sending Chafin for a spin coming out of turn four.
Canipe Jr. was able to hold off the field for the win, bringing with him Chapman for an impressive second place finish. “These were good tires, but we just didn’t have it,” explained Chapman during a post race interview. The #94 of Josh Wright, the #04 of David Currier Jr., and Crouse completed the top five.

The Hickory Pro 4’s put on a fun show for the fans to watch as the eight car field took to .363 mile asphalt oval. The #57 of Josh Wimbish looked like he was the car to beat as he started the 25 lap feature in the second place position, but when he missed a shift at the green flag he quickly fell back in the pack. “I think I’m going to have to get me an automatic, I can’t shift on the restarts,” Wimbish later stated during a post race interview, It didn’t take long for Wimbish to move back to the second place as he captured the position by lap six. By lap 16 Wimbish had moved into lead taking the position from the WynnComm Pole Sitter of Todd Harrington (#21). Wimbish would hold onto the position for the duration of the race. On lap 19 the first and only caution of the feature fell as the #59 of Donn Wardo spun heading into the turn four. Harrington was able to hold onto second place, while the #09 of Randy Canipe, the #89 of Shane Canipe and the #17 of Curtis Pardue finished third thru fifth respectively.

During the Advance Auto Parts Super Truck feature the #97 of WynnComm Pole Sitter Keith Bumgarner showed that he was a force to reckon with as he was able to hold onto his lead and take the checkers during the 35 lap event. The battle for fourth was the real excitement during the first portion of the race, as the #6 of Dexter Canipe Jr. and the #59 of Rock Harris were beating and banging against one another for the fourth position with Canipe Jr. proving the victor. The first caution of the event came out when the #29 of Ricky Dennie Jr. spun on the back stretch putting the back of his truck into the wall. The restart put Canipe Jr. in the prime position to battle the #94 of Ben Ebeling for the third place position. Canipe Jr. used the momentum he gained coming off the corners to make his move on Ebeling, moving into the third place position on lap 19.
A second caution fell on lap 21 when Harris and Ebeling made contact heading into turn three, with Harris into the outside wall. The #10 of Barry Williams was unable to slow down in time to miss the wreck as he cleared turn three causing him to pile into Harris, bringing out the red flag allowing the Hickory Motor Speedway Safety Crew time to clean up the wreckage. Canipe Jr. tried to use the restart to his advantage again as he made his move on the #69 of Trevor Hignutt for the second place position. Time ran out before Canipe Jr. was able to make his final move on Hignutt, leaving him with a solid third place finish. The #7 of Joseph Boyer and Harris made up the top five.

Bojangles Late Models got 7 laps into their scheduled 50-lap event when the lightning started flashing and the skies opened up. With dangerous conditions for both drivers and fans, and with some serious storm damage to the track, common sense dictated that the evening was over.

The Bojangles Late Models and the Red Baron Race Parts Hobby Stock features scheduled to run during the show were postponed for a special Wednesday evening show. These events will be run on Wednesday, June 25th, with gates opening at 6pm and racing at 8pm. Rain checks will be honored and a special price of $5 for General Admission will be offered to any fans who were not able to make Saturday’s events. Winner’s Circle Concessions will be offering BBQ dinners for only $5 for fans who want to come directly from work, enjoy the races, and not worry about dinner!

For more information please visit our website at www.hickorymotorspeedway.com or by phone at 828-464-3655. We can’t wait to see you at the races!

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Hickory Motor Speedway is a .363 mile asphalt track. The track held its first event in June of 1951 posting Gwyn Staley as the event winner. Hickory Motor Speedway has supported series such as the now Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. Currently the Speedway is sanctioned by NASCAR featuring the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. The Speedway also hosts a wide variety of touring series that travel throughout the country.
Hickory Motor Speedway runs Saturday nights, mid-March through October. Grandstands open at 5 PM with racing beginning at 7 PM.
For more information visit www.hickorymotorspeedway.com.

Official Results:

Bojangles Late Model 50
Race Postponed due to Rain.

Jewelry Exchange Limited Late Model 35
1.(3) Dexter Canipe Jr.
2.(27) Chris Chapman
3.(94) Josh Wright
4.(04) David Currier
5.(28) Jason Clark
6.(07) Tyler Church
7.(39) Lee Queen
8.(17) Kyle Mansch
9.(84) Donnie Harmon
10.(32) Jeremy Harrell
11.(05) Jordan McGregor
12.(25) Nick Profitt
13.(77) Mark Goins
14.(1) Joe Chafin
15.(4) Brad Burg
16.(73) Eric Evans
17.(45) Kenneth Pardue
18.(7) Jason Smith

Advance Auto Parts Super Trucks 30
1.(97) Keith Bumgarner
2.(69) Trevor Hignutt
3.(6) Dexter Canipe Jr.
4.(7) Joseph Boyer
5.(59) Rock Harris
6.(0) Jody Church
7.(54) Jennifer Crossman
8.(94) Ben Ebeling
9.(10) Barry Williams
10.(29) Ricky Dennie Jr.

Hickory Pro 4’s 25
1.(57) Josh Wimbish
2.(21) Todd Harrington
3.(09) Randy Canipe
4.(89) Shane Canipe
5.(17) Curtis Pardue
6.(07) Matt Laws
7.(00) Dennis Hinkle
8.(59) Donn Wardo

Red Baron Race Parts Hobby Stock 20
Race Postponed due to Rain.

WynnCom Pole Award
Bojangles Late Models:
(10) Andy Mercer – 15.102 seconds
Jewelry Exchange Limited Late Model:
(3) Dexter Canipe – 15.810 seconds
Advance Auto Parts Super Trucks:
(97) Keith Bumgarner – 15.825 seconds
Hickory Pro 4’s:
(21) Todd Harrington – 1.960 seconds





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