BRISTOL, TN – Jimmy Mars of Elk Mound, WI loves Speedway Motorsports, Inc. owned race tracks for United Dirt Track Racing Association Pro DirtCar Series action because he wins at them.

Mars drove his ParkerStore MasterSbilt/Pro Power Monte Carlo to his second UDTRA Pro DirtCar Series victory of the season Friday night in the 30-lap main event in the Battle of Bristol Presented by Free Service Tire Auto Centers and Advance Auto Parts at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mars first UDTRA win came on March 31 at SMI’s Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, TX.

"I love these SMI tracks and I wish we could race every week at them," Mars said after the $10,000 win. "I’d like to thank Bristol Motor Speedway for what they’ve done here, and the fans for supporting it."

The event was delayed over three hours by rain earlier in the day and a second shower early in the evening, but most of the fans stuck around and were not disappointed with the racing action by the UDTRA Pro DirtCar Series.

Mars battled all night long with 1996 UDTRA Champion Freddy Smith of Knoxville, TN, who for the second night in a row led the race early, but had to settle for second in the Christenberry Trucking and Farms GRT/Custom Monte Carlo. Smith started on the pole position and used the outside groove to lead the first 18 laps of the race, while Mars challenged on the inside.

As the two leaders came up to lap Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN on lap 19, Mars had the clear line coming off the bottom of turn two, while Smith had to check up to keep from hitting the rear of Johnson’s car.

That gave Mars the point, as Smith could not regain his outside groove momentum to the checkered flag in his Christenberry Trucking and Farms GRT/Custom Monte Carlo.

"My car worked best on the bottom groove and Freddy was working good on the top," Mars said. "That made a good show for the fans, and I appreciate all of them for waiting out the rain delay, and I hope we put on a good show for them. After Wednesday night and last night, I can’t believe I’m here in the winner’s circle, but that’s what I wanted to do, and I did it!"

Mars reference to Wednesday night was the disappointment he had in breaking the rear end gears in his car on the first qualification lap that forced him to start at the tail of a heat race. Mars had to take a provisional starting spot to make the show on Thursday night. Mars started 20th and finished 15th.

Smith led all but the last 20 feet of Thursday night’s main event at the Battle of Bristol, only to loose to the defending and four-time UDTRA Champion Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN at the checkered flag. Smith said he had a brake problem on Thursday night, but had no hesitation in saying why he was the runner-up for the second straight night.

"We just got outrun," Smith said after the Friday night race. "We were running good on the top early in the race, but I just stayed up there too long. Jimmy ran a good race, and just plain out ran us."

Ronnie Johnson brought out the only caution flag of the race on lap 23, when he stalled in turn four. That set up Dan Schlieper of Pewaukee, WI for a third place finish in the Performance Roofing Systems Rayburn/Pro Power Monte Carlo. On the restart, Schlieper dove inside Ray Cook of Brasstown, NC and Skip Arp of Georgetown, TN to move from fifth to third.

"The car was really working well on the bottom, and that caution flag gave me a chance to cool off the tires," Schlieper said. "It feels good to run well here at Bristol, and maybe we can put it all together and win here tomorrow."

Arp took the fourth spot in the Curtis Equipment GRT/Cornett Mustang, and Cook finished fifth in the English Mountain Spring Water GRT/Cornett Mustang. It was ironic that Arp and Cook finished in the top five together, as the night before, Arp gave up the seat in his ride to Cook, who started the race as the first alternate.

Wendell Wallace of Batesville, AR claimed the sixth spot in the JFR Graphics/Monday Motorsports GRT/Russell Baker Grand Prix, and Steve Francis of Ashland, KY was seventh in the Valvoline/Mopar Performance Rocket/Stanton Dodge.

The 1999 UDTRA Champion Dale McDowell of Rossville, GA picked up the eighth spot in the Larry Shaw Race Cars Larry Shaw/Hatfield Grand Prix. Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, FL finished ninth in the Dunn-Benson Ford Rocket/Eatmon Mustang, and Scott Sexton of Pigeon Forge, TN rounded out the top ten in the Smooth Cut Lawn Care Stinger/Custom Grand Prix.

UDTRA point leader Rick Eckert of York, PA struggled all night long, having to take a provisional starting spot after losing a fuel pump in his Raye Vest Rocket/Cornett Mustang in his consolation race. Eckert earned the JE Pistons Hard Charger of the Race Award after starting 23rd and finishing 13th. Eckert’s point lead over Francis is now 175 points.

Bloomquist set fast time for the second night in a row, out-qualifying the 76 entrants with a lap around the .533-mile high-banked clay-on-concrete oval in 16. 370 seconds for an average speed of 117.214 miles per hour to earn the $1,000 Die Cast Digest Magazine Fast Qualifier Award. After that it was nothing but trouble for Bloomquist.

Lining up on the track for the first heat, the rear-end of Bloomquist’s Miller Brothers Coal Warrior/Custom Mustang broke, sidelining the car for the night. Bloomquist took a provisional and started Duke Whiseant’s A-1 Auto Salvage Rocket/Dickens Grand Prix from the 24th starting spot. Bloomquist parked the car after completing 17 laps and finishing 21st.

Smith won the Scott Performance Wire $50 Bonus Award with his first Borla Performance 10-lap heat race win, and Cook picked up a $200 bonus for winning the JE Pistons fourth heat race. Mars won the second heat, with Arp taking the third heat race, Johnson won the fifth heat race, and Schlieper won the sixth heat race.

Randy Korte of Highland, IL took a hard hit against the fourth turn wall in the second heat race, and was then tagged by two other cars as he bounced off the wall. Korte complained of back pain, as Bristol Motor Speedway Medical personnel had to extricate him from his destroyed race car. Korte was checked out at a local hospital and released with a bruised shoulder.

Randle Chupp of Mooresville, NC won the Renegade Transporters 1st 10-lap Consolation Race driving the Biscotti’s Restaurant and Winery/Park Ohio Rocket/Draime Monte Carlo, and Davey Johnson of Greensburg, PA won the Polaris ATVs 2nd 10-lap Consolation Race in the Rocket Chassis Rocket/Draime Monte Carlo.

The grand finale of the 2nd Annual Battle of Bristol Presented By Free Service Tire and Auto Centers and Advance Auto Parts will be Saturday night with a 60-lap $25,000-to-win main event. Their will be no time trials Saturday, as the heat race line-ups will be determined by each drivers fastest qualifying time between Wednesday and Friday night’s qualification runs.

The Saturday schedule of events will have the grandstand gates opening at 5 p.m., with hot laps scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and racing scheduled for 7:30 p.m. For ticket and race day information call Bristol Motor Speedway at (423) 784-1161 or visit their web site at www.bristolmotorspeedway.com.

Action T-Shirts will present live internet updates and a live internet audio feed of Saturday night’s UDTRA Pro DirtCar Series action from Bristol Motor Speedway.

The live updates are scheduled to be on the UDTRA web site at www.udtra.com, and the live audio feed will be on Action’s web site at www.actionshirts.com. The Action T-Shirts web site will also be accessible from the UDTRA web site.

(Photos by David Allio)

OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 19 AT BRISTOL
MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN BRISTOL, TN ON 6/1/01:

POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CAR LAPS $ WON

1. 2 28m Jimmy Mars Elk Mound, WI Chev. 30 $10,000
2. 1 00 Freddy Smith Knoxville, TN Chev. 30 $6,050
3. 6 s9 Dan Schlieper Pewaukee, WI Chev. 30 $3,000
4. 3 31 Skip Arp Georgetown, TN Ford 30 $2,500
5. 4 53 Ray Cook Brasstown, NC Ford 30 $2,200
6. 7 6m Wendell Wallace Batesville, AR Pont. 30 $1,800
7. 8 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY Dodge 30 $1,600
8. 10 17m Dale McDowell Rossville, GA Chev. 30 $1,400
9. 11 1p Earl Pearson Jr. Jacksonville, FL Ford 30 $1,200
10. 15 52 Scott Sexton Pigeon Forge, TN Pont. 30 $1,100
11. 9 66 Bill Frye Greenbrier, AR Ford 30 $1,000
12. 14 15b Brian Birkhofer Muscatine, IA Pont. 30 $950
13. 23 24 Rick Eckert York, PA Ford 30 $900
14. 17 E1 Mike Balzano Parkersburg, WV Chev. 30 $875
15. 12 71m Lance Mathees Winona, MN Chev. 30 $850
16. 14 18 Shannon Babb Decatur, IL Chev. 30 $825
17. 18 15j Jimmy McCormick Dobson, NC Ford 30 $800
18. 5 5j Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN Pont. 22 $750
19. 19 114 Randle Chupp Mooresville, NC Chev. 22 $700
20. 21 h2 Duayne Hommel Newport, TN Chev. 21 $700
21. 24 a1 Scott Bloomquist Mooresburg, TN Pont. 17 $700
22. 13 71 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN Chev. 12 $700
23. 22 21 Billy Moyer Batesville, AR Chev. 12 $700
24. 20 1j Davey Johnson Greensburg, PA Chev. 1 $700