JIMMY OWENS "DA MAN" AT VCS
By Jack Taylor

(8/31/01)Danville, IL One of 42 entries in Vermilion County Speedway's UMP Thunder and Lightning show, Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tennessee rode the top of the track to victory in the 30-lap feature on Friday night. Not only did he capture the $1,000 prize and trophy, he ensured himself a spot in the $4,000 to win feature at VCS on Sunday. The Friday winner automatically is qualified for the Sunday show.

An evening which started with an onslaught of Hornet cars pulling into the pits when word got out that promoter Bill Marietta was paying $600.00 to win in the Hornet feature, continued to drag it's feet all night as the dreaded Hornets were also 42 strong in entries, they qualified along with the Modifieds, the ambulance was called away during qualifying, there were four serious red flags thrown during racing, it was the final points night for regular drivers, three roll-overs, four mechanics races, and A FULL MOON. And the UMP Modified travelers were still departing the speedway by 11:30 PM. Everyone else remained for a while longer. The lights were dimmed at 12:45. Oh well. That's racing. The total car count for the final regular show of 2001 was around 145. Sorry, I lost count when they started bringing in the Hornets on transporters, Where do they grow those things?

In Modified action, Dale Hayes of Crawfordsville, IN, set fast time to set the stage for four heats and two semi's to narrow the field to 22 for the main event. Heat winners were Darrell Herbert, Chuck Haga, Tommy Burnside, and Larry Raines. Jason Lakey and Brian McDaniel won the Semi's.

With Herbert and Haga leading the pack to the green, it took only two laps for the first yellow on the fast two-groove track. On the restart, Tommy Burnside took over the lead and proceeded to widen it until another caution on lap 8. Before the green dropped again, Burnside went into the pits, surrendering the lead back to Herbert. Following the third yellow on the next lap, Denny Schwartz jumped into the lead, using the top side of the track, which has been his trademark. Herbert was having none of this and the battle was on side-by-side. The fourth caution on lap 18, put Herbert back into the lead, and another yellow a lap later kept the same lineup.

With about 7 laps to go, Schwartz again took command over Herbert, but there was another driver using the top rail and closing fast. The Lightning car of Jimmy Owens shot past Herbert for second and with five to go, set his sights on Schwartz. This wasn't going to work with both using the top groove, but Owens dropped down to the inside and took over the lead. A very good race, too many cautions, but great driving. At the finish, the top five were Owens, Schwartz, Herbert, Haga, and Wes Steidinger.

SUMMARY

Fast time- Dale Hayes
Heat 1-Darrell Herbert, Arby Burton, Steve Foust, Jerry Hathaway
Heat 2-Chuck Haga, Denny Schwartz, Terry Duncan, Cory Rolfe
Heat 3-Tommy Burnside, Wes Steidingr, Jimmy Owens, Michael Bradley
Heat 4-Larry Raines, Doug St.Myers, Don Kiger, Brad Wright
Semi 1-Jason Lackey, Rick Hufford, Rob Fuqua
Semi 2-Brian McDaniel, John Hollifield, Robin Huffman
Feature- Owens, Schwartz, Herbert, Haga, Steidinger, St.Myers, Fuqua, Hathaway, Bradley, McDaniel,
Raines, Kiger, Burton, Hollifield, Foust, Rolfe, Lakey, Duncan, Huffman, Wright, Burnside, Hufford.

Saturday night, the UMP Thunder and Lightning Series moves to Charleston for a $2,000 to win show and returns to Vermilion County Speedway Sunday for a $4,000 to win program.