National notebook
Notes: Potts survives barrel rolls at Brighton
Officials remove the car of Phil Potts at Brighton Speedway. (Clayton Johns)
Phil Potts went for a wild ride in Saturday’s RUSH-sanctioned Crate Late Model feature at Brighton (Ontario) Speedway with the Frankford, Ontario, driver avoiding injury.
Following a lap-three restart, Potts was trying to break into the top five when he exited turn four in the inside lane with Austin King to his outside. The two drivers made contact midway down the straightaway. Potts was sideways and the car began to roll.
“A car clipped me on the right-rear corner, turned me sideways. Once he pushed up the car, the left-rear tire dug in and I started to barrel-roll,” Potts said.
“As soon as the drivers door slammed the track, I just crossed my arms, grabbed my belts and was along for the ride. On the last roll, I grabbed the steering wheel again, but by the time you grab the steering wheel you’re already stopped.”
Potts, thankfully, was uninjured by the wicked wreck. He rolled twice, although it seemed like 10, with the impact of the first roll sending him high enough in the air to land on the outside retaining wall.
“You see light, dark, light, dark. That’s basically what I saw. The hardest hit was the first time when I hit the track on the driver’s door,” Potts said. “Beyond that, it was pretty gentle. The car absorbed most of the energy.”
The No. 29 Potts started the night with is completely destroyed. The team does have a backup car, which it will use to race the rest of the Brighton season and with the Go Nuclear Late Model tour.
“We all know it’s the chance we take every time we go on the track. It just doesn’t make it any better. It’s not an easier pill to swallow.”
Potts was also quick to thank the Brighton Speedway safety crew for their speedy response to the wreck that sent the crowd in attendance in to a panic.
“You have to give hats off to the Brighton safety crew. The car hadn’t hit the ground yet and I could see Brett Minaker already on the run,” Potts said. “I’m barely getting focused and Brett’s almost there.”
Following the incident, Potts didn’t have even a scratch on his body and was without pain the next day. He credits his car owners, Stu and April Archer, for buying the best safety equipment available and forcing him to buy a NecksGen neck restraint at the start of the season.
“I was cursing him when I first got it. I hated the thing,” Potts said. “Now, I’ll probably never race without one again.” — Clayton Johns
Landers getting on track
After a four-race stretch on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series with finishes of 15th or worse, things are looking up for Jared Landers of Batesville, Ark.
The 33-year-old driver was languishing outside the top 10 in points on the national tour while clicking off finishes of 21st, 18th, 22nd and 15th from mid-May through early April, but in the four series races since, he’s been sixth or better, including June 13’s runner-up finish in the $20,000-to-win Clash at the Mag won by streaking points leader Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss.
Landers charged from eighth to second in the 100-lap finale and moved into 10th in the points chase and within 45 points of sixth place.
“We had a really good car all weekend,” Landers said in a team press release. “My crew guys told me after the race that in the last 10 or so laps that I was actually turning faster laps than Jonathan. However, I know that catching him and passing him would’ve been two different things.
“It just feels good to be a contender again. Every time that we unload I feel like we have a chance now. I have to thank my crew and sponsors for their great support and help. Hopefully we can knock some more wins down in the very near future.”
Landers’s lone victory in 2015 came in Lucas Oil Midwest LateModel Racing Association action April 11 at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. The Double L Motorsports team is gearing up for a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series tripleheader June 18-20 at Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C., and Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tenn. — Ben Shelton
Palmer dominates Hagerstown
Scott Palmer of Greencastle, Pa., won all four Late Model Sportsman features in May at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway before Travis Stickley ended his streak on June 6.
But Palmer got right back in the groove June 13 at the half-mile oval, dominating to win the Hoosier Daddy Topless event by nearly five seconds in hopes of starting another streak.
Fast qualifier Paul Cursey led the first lap, but Kyle Lee took over on lap No. 2 as Palmer worked his way to the front. Palmer took second from Cursey on the seventh lap and went ahead after a lap-eight restart, cruising the rest of the way to win by 4.92 seconds over Lee.
“I haven’t said anything about the builder of this car all year and I think they deserve credit,” Palmer said. ”It’s a MastersBilt by Huey. (The late) Huey (Wilcoxon) actually built this car last year. Billy’s just been awesome to work with and they put together a really strong car and that makes it a whole lot easier for me.
“I’ve been doing this 14 years and it took till last year when we really broke out of the box and started winning consistently. When you run that many years, you don’t get too big of a chip on your shoulder just because you get a few wins. I’m very happy and fortunate that I’m doing this well. Each race, I’m just happy to have that situation.”
Hagerstown’s Limited Late Models are off June 20 for an AMA motorcycle event, but they’ll return to action June 27 on the undercard of the $2,500-to-win Nininger Memorial for Super Late Models. — Bob Vores
