AUTO RACING: Counts Adds to Dream Week with Victory at Lonesome Pine Raceway

By Allen Gregory
Sports Writer / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: May 24, 2008

Jeff Counts realized a dream last week, and he still has the trophy to show for it.

The Castlewood resident teamed with NHRA Top Fuel racer Doug Kalitta to win the inaugural NHRA Circle Track Challenge at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Saturday night, Counts rode the same Camaro to victory in the Street Stock division at Lonesome Pine Raceway.

“It’s been a quite a week,” said Counts, who has been racing since 1986. “The good Lord has blessed us, and we just want to share our success with all our friends and fellow racers.
“We’re all fierce competitors, but we’re also one big family over here.”

Counts was joined by many familiar faces at the scenic LPR facility, which opened on May 10th with new ownership and sanctioning from the American Speed Association.

Short tracks across the country are struggling due to high gas prices and competition from Saturday night NASCAR races. In fact, the owner of Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn. decided recently decided to cancel all races for the month of May.

The car count for the LPR opener was around 50, and nearly that many cars returned Saturday.

“We realize how gas prices are impacting folks, and that’s why we’re working on deals to cut our gate and food prices so a family of four can come out,” said Abingdon’s Jeff Roark, one of the co-owners of LPR “We’re competing against movies and other attractions, so you have to be creative and keep costs in check.”

The LPR Late Model drivers actually tossed tennis balls featuring free race passes into the stands Saturday night.

“I keep up to date with every race track I can find information on, and we’re all facing challenges,” Roark said. “We didn’t run against a Sprint Cup race earlier this season due to a televised NASCAR racer. And you never want to compete against the Richmond and Bristol Saturday night races. Our goal is to offer affordable family entertainment and build some local heroes.”

Bristol Motor Speedway vice-president of events Wayne Estes was among the spectators at LPR Saturday. Estes has helped to build interest in grassroots racing, creating diverse racing programs at BMS featuring regional touring series such as the UARA and Hooters’s Pro Cup Series.

“We’re all in this together,” Estes said.

Jeff Bobo, a veteran competitor in the Pure 4 division, is employing a unique method to spark more interest in the weekly LPR show.

Thanks to a loan from the Mount Carmel, Tenn. Fire Department, Bobo has mounted a camera inside his 1986 Dodge Omni. Bobo’s in-car footage, along with interviews of fellow racers, are shown on a public access cable channel in Mount Carmel.

“We’re all doing this for fun, but we do want to put on a good show and get more people coming out to the races,” Bobo said. “NASCAR kills us with all these Saturday night events, but we have local drivers over here and we all race hard.”

Bobo admits that the gas prices are a major handicap to low-budget racers.

“It cost me $50 just to get to the track, and that’s not including any up-keep on the race car,” Bobo said. “It’s killing me.”

Jody Bostic (Vansant, Va.) won Saturday’s opening event in the Mod-4 division, while Linton Perry of Scott County, Va. posted the win in the Pure 4 class. Perry, and several other LPR racers, have stickers on their cars in memory of female racer Wanda Phillips, who died after an accident at the track last year.

The Late Model race, which was still underway at press time, featured defending track champion Wayne Hale (Bluff City) along with part-time UARA competitor Josh Hale (Honaker), Nate Monteith (Bluff City) and 2004 NASCAR regional racing series champion Steve Blackburn.

No drivers had more fun Saturday than Counts or Charger division racer Caleb Roark. The 15-year-old Roark finished second in the Charger race at BMS last Saturday despite running on only seven cylinders.
“I practice the video game for Bristol all the time, and just had a blast actually racing on the track,” Roark said. “I was so excited the night before the race that I only slept three hours, but I got used the track after a few laps and was able to race without letting off the gas at all.

“I definitely want to do it again.Counts shares that feeling. After his emotional win at Bristol, the Castlewood racer spent Sunday with the Kalitta family watching Doug compete in the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

“I kept the car just the way it finished the race at Bristol, dents and all,” Counts said. “I wanted to share it with my friends over here at Lonesome Pine.”

Ironically, Counts built the engine for Robert Austin, who finished second in Saturday’s Street Stock class.
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