ELLISVILLE, Fla. (Oct. 23) — There were gradual hints through the weekend at the 26th annual Powell Family Memorial, but when Newport, Tenn., driver Jimmy Owens finally served official notification to the field that he was going to be difficult to beat in the 67-lap event Saturday night at All-Tech Raceway, the fourth-place starter did so with a decisive series of first-lap maneuvers that launched him into the lead on the second lap of the prestigious event at the half-mile oval.
The early launch in his Rocket XR-1 machine included splitting the cars of third-place starter Derike Bennett and pole position starter Clay Harris in the third corner to move into second place behind first-lap pacesetter Cameron Weaver, and then passing the Crossville, Tenn., youngster and son of veteran driver Randy Weaver to emerge as the early leader. Owens continued to a $26,000 victory at the half-mile oval as 73 drivers turned out to compete for 29 starting spots in the Newsome Raceway Parts-sponsored Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model Series event.
Owens headed the field for the final 66 circuits in the prestigious event that honors the memory of six members of the Powell family, all of whom lost their lives in a plane crash near Gainesville, Fla., on June 7, 1995. James "Buddy" Powell, himself a noted race car driver from Astor, Fla., was killed along with his wife Elizabeth. Their son James Powell III, who was in the midst of his own racing career in the Sunshine State when the accident occurred, lost his twin daughters Ashley and Nicole. His aunt Loveda McNair and uncle C.J. Powell, also were killed.
The much-respected race was established by former Ocala (Fla.) Speedway track promoter Paul Pitre, who had previously purchased the track from the Powell family, and the event has since grown to enormous proportions. It has been held on both dirt and asphalt tracks, and is widely considered to be one of Florida’s biggest dirt Late Model events, and has been contested on both dirt and asphalt facilities during its lengthy history. It has been hosted by All-Tech for the last two years, and each time has drawn a packed house to the Wendell Durrance-promoted facility.
“I don’t race these Crate Late Model cars very often and they’re different and take some figuring out compared to running a Super Late Model, but to win a race of this caliber and against this kind of competition is a really big deal,” Owens said after climbing from his Michael Lloyd-owned car. “You can feel the overall excitement and respect for the event, and there’s a huge crowd. The importance of this event you can feel through the whole weekend.”
The veteran driver’s car was part of a two-car operation that also featured Kyle Bronson as a driver, and Bronson looked headed at times for a runnerup performance before Carson Ferguson snatched the spot away during a series of late-race exchanges of the position on restarts that happened as the track’s groove narrowed during the last half of the event.
Trailing Owens, Ferguson and Bronson to the stripe were Jason Welshan and 16th-place starter Shan Smith.
Twas’ a Crate Experience
Although his performance in the main event was a near picture-perfect display of superiority over the field that included quickly-established, strong leads for him on most of the race’s nine restarts, Owens’ weekend started out on a less-than-perfect foundation. His car needed some work to be faster, and he accepted advice from Bronson and his associates and team members. Bronson does often race in the Crate Late Model division, and has much experience in those cars during his career.
Owens admitted that based on Bronson’s experience and advice about the facility, and watching track conditions closely through the weekend, he was worried about the track taking rubber in the feature event. Owens continued to look for the magic key to handling in a Chevrolet Performance Circle Track Engine-equipped machine that is much different than the higher-powered, open-type Super Late Model powerplants he normally has under the hood.
His early struggles started to disappear, and come race time Owens was more than ready. Firing to the front with machine-gun quickness and accuracy, he established an early lead and when the track’s multi-grooved action did begin to steadily narrow just a bit near the midway point, Owens was wheeling the car to beat. He also held a lead that it appeared nobody was going to be able to steal away.
“That was one of the best cars I’ve probably ever had on a racetrack,” Owens told track announcer Joe Kelly after climbing from his machine in the winner’s circle. “I wouldn’t mind taking it back to Tennessee with me.”
The winner wasted precious few moments and made his most successful maneuvers in the opening moments of the race, and was already sitting in the catbird seat when the track showed its earliest signs of taking rubber around the lap 30-35 mark.
“The car was really good early in the slick and the racetrack was extremely racy at that point like it had been all weekend, but Kyle [Bronson] and those guys told me the track might possibly take rubber, and I was really worried about that,” Owens said. “I was searching around while leading later in the show, and could see the high groove starting to blacken up. That rubber started to move down lower, and move down some more, and then I was glad we’d made those early moves. I was just in a hurry, I guess. I really felt I needed to capitalize on any opportunities that we had.”
Happy Car Owner
Michael Lloyd has done more than his share of racing over the years, but it’s been getting harder and harder to maintain a team and also handle the driving duties. He spent the weekend overseeing his two-car operation, and reaped the benefits fielding machines for two of the top three finishers.
“I’m really excited about the whole night,” Lloyd said. “I’ve not really got enough crew help to race for myself a lot, so we do what we can, and when we can do it,” he said. “We’ve been working our butts off on these cars until those two guys [Owens and Bronson] got here for the weekend. Kyle is going to marry my daughter Amber, so that was the connection to having Jimmy drive the second car. Then he added with a grin, “I guess both those guys showed me tonight that they’re a lot better than me.”
Lloyd went on to remember a friend. Tommy Scott with Multifire Spark Plugs has been sick, and couldn’t be in attendance.
“He’s having some health problems and he’s in the hospital, and we all sure thought about him a lot this weekend,” Lloyd said.
Ferguson’s Stock Goes Up
At the end of the race, Ferguson was Owens’ closest challenger. The 21-year-old competitor has a decade of racing under his belt in various divisions, and is a cousin to Super Late Model standout Chris Ferguson. He has shined brightly in major Crate Late Model events the past few weeks, leading all but a handful of laps and posting a second-place finish to five-time series winner Matt Henderson in the Chevrolet Performance World Championship on Labor Day weekend at Cochran (Ga.) Motor Speedway.
He followed that up with a fifth-place finish and another strong showing in the unsanctioned $50,000-to-win Super Bee 100 held Sept. 25 at Super Bee Speedway in Chatham, La.
Third time wasn’t quite the charm, but Ferguson walked away with more knowledge and experience from racing with many established drivers at the top of their game. During driver introductions as the various competitors exchanged greetings on the frontstretch, Ferguson approached Owens, who was leaning against his own car waiting to be introduced to a jam-packed crowd in the facility’s grandstands.
“It was awesome to race with him down here, and I really wanted to tell him that,” Ferguson said. “I’ve talked to him a time or two, but not very often. I told him it was cool to have an opportunity to run against him and to maybe have a small chance to actually race with him. He told me thank you, and that was basically the whole conversation.”
Few words perhaps, but Owens probably won’t forget Ferguson considering the young driver showed up on his rear deck lid, scattering his presence through a small handful of late-race restarts, and was part of a core of frontrunners who battled for $26,000.
The winner’s share actually represented the most money Owens has won in a single event during the current season. He has claimed a pair of $20,000 victories, collecting those amounts Sept. 25 in a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway and Oct. 12 in a Castrol Flo Racing Night in America event at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, Tenn.
“A lot of guys kinda despise when Super Late Model drivers come into these races and often leave with all the money, but I’m not thinking like that,” Ferguson said. “Sure I wish I could say I won $26,000 tonight, but we got $10,000 for a second-place finish behind one of the best drivers in the sport, and I’ll take that any day. To accomplish something like that this early in my career in these Crate Late Models is a really big deal for our little team.”
Sponsors, Schedules and a Title
Owens’ car was a Rocket XR-1 that carried sponsorship from Staycool Sprayfoam, Tillman Roofing, Concrete Construction Services and Dependable Well and Pump Services.
The chase for the series title on the Adam Stewart-managed touring series has gripped observers all season, and rarely have the top four competitors been separated by much. While 100 markers now separate the top four drivers [Jimmy Thomas, Jason Welshan, Jake Knowles and Tanner Collins] in the points standings with three events remaining on the schedule, there’s just 16 points between the currently-leading Thomas and his closest challenger Jason Welshan.
Two races ago, that margin was 70 points. Upcoming events include Nov. 5-6 at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss., and a doubleheader race weekend slated Nov. 19-20 at Needmore Speedway in Norman Park, Ga.
26th Powell Family Memorial: 1. Jimmy Owens, 2. Carson Ferguson, 3. Kyle Bronson, 4. Jason Welshan, 5. Shan Smith, 6. Cameron Weaver, 7. Wil Herrington, 8. Trynt Lloyd, 9. Ches Chester, 10. Jimmy Thomas, 11. Clay Harris, 12. Bud Chancey, 13. Jason Fitzgerald, 14. David Whitener, 15. Jake Knowles, 16. Mike Combs, 17. Trey Mills, 18. Russell Brown Jr., 19. Mark Whitener, 20. Garrett Mosley, 21. Joseph Joiner, 22. Tanner Collins, 23. Troy Dixon, 24. Richard Ferry, 25. Nevin Gainey, 26. Matt Henderson, 27. Derike Bennett, 28. Jeremy Steele, 29. Layton Sullivan.
Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model Series (current points): 1. Jimmy Thomas, 1,530 points; 2. Jason Welshan, 1,514; 3. Jake Knowles, 1,482; 4. Tanner Collins, 1,430; 5. Mike Combs, 1,176; 6. Troy Dixon, 1,086; 7. Matt Henderson, 575; 8. Colton Leyendecker, 563; 9. Jadon Frame, 524; 10. Mark Whitener, 504; 11. T.J. Brittain, 440; 12. Wil Herrington, 406; 13. Jake Rainey, 402; 14. Trynt Lloyd, 346; 15. Austin Horton, 340; 16. Jimmy Elliott, 334; 17. Brad Skinner, 322; 18. Monte Skinner, 296; 19. Russell Brown Jr., 284; 20. Christian Hanger, 281.
Total entries: 73
Boyd-Bilt Fabrication Fast Qualifier: Henry Carter Jr., 19.860 seconds
Lap leaders: Cameron Weaver 1, Jimmy Owens 2-67.
Margin of victory: 0.685 seconds
Cautions: 9
KRC Power Steering Heat winners: Derike Bennett, Cameron Weaver, Clay Harris, Wil Herrington, Joseph Joiner, Jimmy Owens.
KRC Power Steering B-main winners: Tanner Collins, Bud Chancey, David Whitener.
C-feature winner: Jeremy Steele.
About Crate Racin’ USA
The economical Chevrolet Performance 602 and 604 Circle Track Engine is utilized by competitors in the various divisions presented by Crate Racin’ USA. It’s in stock and available for free, next-day delivery from Newsome Raceway Parts in Hartsville, S.C.
Each engine is built and sealed at the factory to prevent any expensive modifications. To place an order, call 1-877-497-3624.
For more information and rules, visit the organization’s website at www.crateracinusa.com, or follow our extensive social media programs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Newsome Raceway Parts, a division of Raceway Chevrolet in Hartsville, S.C., is the title sponsor of Crate Racin’ USA. E-Z-GO Golf Carts is the title sponsor of the newly-established E-Z-GO $100,000+ Challenge.
Chevrolet Performance is an official sponsor of the organization, along with Advanced Laser & Machine, Cruise with the Champions, Hoosier Racing Tire, KRC Power Steering, Knowles Race Parts and Bodies, My Race Pass, VP Racing Fuels and Lubricants and Willy’s Carburetors.
Official chassis sponsors include Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis and CVR Race Cars.