Fighting to be a champion

November 17, 2017

This will be a special NASCAR Playoff column covering last week’s events at Phoenix Raceway and setting the stage for the upcoming Playoff races held at Homestead-Miami Speedway. All three NASCAR traveling series Championships will be decided there this weekend. I’m still not sold on this “one race decides the Champion” format but it does bring excitement to a fever pitch. In each division, four drivers enter this final event even in the point’s battle and literally how they finish in this race decides the top four finishers in those perspective divisions, and one will ...

Banquet honors local drivers

November 16, 2017

On Saturday evening some of the best racers in the region gathered together in the Beverly Fire Hall for the final event of the 2017 season. The Elkins Raceway Championship Awards Banquet is always one of the most fun events of our season. It’s nice to clean up, put on our nicer clothes and share a meal and do some “bench racin’” as I call it. There’s congratulations and hope for next season. We can reflect on the good and the bad. Thoughts are already turned toward next season. The track management said that there will be no major changes and if last year was any ...

Hunting vital to tourism

November 11, 2017

In a Nov. 3 news release, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources announced that three new initiatives are being considered to increase fishing and hunting opportunities for recreational tourism. The new concepts to expand state park hunts should be finalized and presented to the WVDNR commissioners during the February meeting. The first of these new initiatives is to increase the opportunities to enhance trout fishing in and near certain state parks next year. Fish hatchery personnel are making plans to stock trout in selected state parks on Saturdays. In addition to this, ...

Titles won on the dirt tracks

November 9, 2017

There were several points titles settled in the two major dirt late model series. The Lucas Oil SLM series crowned Shinston’s Josh Richards Champion after his win in the Dirt Track World Championship race two weeks ago in Portsmouth, Ohio. This past weekend all eyes were focused on the dirt track at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the World of Outlaws World Finals. A total of 76 of the very best SLM race teams were on hand and the crowd saw great racing both Friday and Saturday nights. Brandon Sheppard won Friday night’s feature and also took the Points Championship in the Rocket ...

Small game season in high gear

November 4, 2017

It is now the first weekend of November. A large percentage of the leaves are still on the trees with about one-third of them still green. West Virginia’s fall hunting season is really in high gear. This past Monday, the split fall wild turkey season reopened for Grant, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Randolph, Tucker and Webster counties. This season will remain in until Nov. 18. The second half of the small game season opens today for bobwhite quail, cottontail rabbit, ring-necked pheasant, red and gray fox (both hunting and trapping), bobcat (hunting and trapping), and Snowshoe hare. Most ...

Tempers flare in playoffs

November 2, 2017

“He didn’t slam ya, or hit ya. He rubbed you. son! And rubbin’ is racin!” This was a favorite line of mine from the movie “Days of Thunder.” This past weekend rubbin’ certainly was racin’ at the tough old short track. Martinsville’s half-mile race track is one of the oldest tracks on the NASCAR schedule. Kyle Petty said there are always bent fenders and hurt feelings there. He wasn’t wrong. On Saturday, the Camping World Truck series ran the Texas Roadhouse 200, and as Martinsville races go it was very calm. Veterans Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter appeared to ...