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Some worthy news from the racing world

Well Ho Ho Ho and Merry Christmas!

At this time next week Christmas will have come and gone. The greatest gift to all mankind was born in Bethlehem and that gift keeps giving for all eternity.

So if you consider yourself a Christian please keep sharing that gift each and every day! If you would like to know more about what I’m talking about just contact me (Glenn Miller) through Facebook or come visit our church, Canaan Baptist Church in Mill Creek, and I will be honored to answer any question you may have.

Now for the racing news this week.

This is usually a pretty quiet week in motorsports. Year-end banquets have taken place and plans are being set for the coming year. Many of the super stars of the sport step away to be with families and either head out on vacations or gather around families for this special time of year.

There have been a few announcements in the past week, however.

Richard Childress racing is switching the number on the 31 car and it will carry the familiar No. 8 with another Kannapolis, North Carolina, driver at the wheel.

Xfinity standout Daniel Hemric will move up to the Monster Energy Cup series and challenge not only for wins but the Rookie of the Year title. The No. 8 will be predominately gold in color for many of the races; however selected races may reflect other sponsors wishes.

Team and car sponsors include the following companies, Caterpillar, Bass Pro Shops, Liberty National Life Insurance and VF Workwear, which are returning as RCR sponsor partners. Textron Aviation’s Cessna brand will be on the No. 8 car in selected races as a new partner in RCR. This change puts both numbers associated with legendary driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. under the roof at RCR. Austin Dillon will continue to carry Dow Chemicals on the familiar No. 3 car and the team will stay with Chevrolet and the Camaro ZL1.

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I’m excited to report this next story because finally there may be a real old- school style female driver on the horizon. This one has Earnhardt blood running in her veins. Karsen Elledge, the 18-year-old daughter of Kelly Earnhardt Miller and ex-husband veteran crew chief Jimmy Elledge, will attempt to make a start in the legendary “Chili Bowl” for midget open wheeled cars in January. Karsen has been learning the craft of racing, running a motorcycle-engine powered mini sprint car on tracks primarily in North Carolina. But this season, she has ventured to tracks out west in California and Montana. She has aligned herself with Tucker-Boat Motorsports for this Oklahoma classic. The Boat in Tucker-Boat is a multi-time champion in open-wheeled cars, Billy Boat. She will be driving first class equipment for this shot against the likes of Justin Allgaier, Alex Bowman, Kasey Kayne and more than 200 of the very best in open-wheeled competition. If she can make the feature in this field of drivers it will be nothing short of amazing. The preliminary races kick off Jan. 14 inside the Tulsa Expo Center and I will try to bring you updates on her progress.

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Last Saturday night my wife and I attended the AMRA banquet in Ripley.

This was quite an event for grass roots racers across our region. Over $49,000 in cash prizes were awarded in three divisions. There were also thousands of dollars in parts and discount coupons for racing supplies and parts given as door prizes. The AMRA open-wheeled modified division saw 25 drivers, many of whom were weekly competitors at Elkins Raceway, receive a beautiful trophy and a nice points fund check. The AMRA late model division recognized the top 15 drivers and the AMRA Sport Mods honored the top 10. The food was wonderful and there was a strong sense of “family” there.

The future of the AMRA is in question but there is work being done to try and insure that the 26 years of quality sanctioning of races and consistent rules across the region will continue in 2019.

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I personally want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and remember the true meaning of the season by sharing with your friends and family Luke Chapter 2 from the Bible as you gather for the holidays. Enjoy your family and some great food and remember at the end of the straightaway there’s Another Left Turn!

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