Loxley, AL - Saturday night, October 31, 2009, marked the final night of racing for the 2009 season at Deep South Speedway. It was night 2 of the “Spook Nationals”. There were many ghosts, goblins, and princesses in attendance as the children were able to participate in trick or treating during intermission in the pit area which both the kids and drivers enjoyed. A live skeleton (if that’s possible) was spotted in the #74 modified during track packing along with a gorilla hanging out of the topless #G17 modified. On this Halloween night there was a full moon and it shined bright on the nights events and possibly caused one of the most crash filled nights of the year. The Late Models and Modifieds would also race Topless on this final night of the 2009 season when all classes were racing for increased purses.

The Vintage class took to the speedway for the first feature of the evening. Billy Boothe in his #D27 would jump out into the early lead followed by the #3D of Danny Joe Thomas would follow closely. But just 2 laps into the #2 of Nathan Ingersoll would come to a stop on the front straight to pull a caution, he would return later in the race a hand full of laps down. Thomas would pressure Boothe the entire race and keep taking looks on both sides but could never get the momentum he needed to attempt a pass. Boothe would finish first followed by Thomas and the #64 of David Kelly in third place.

The Stinger division got underway next and on the second lap the #51 of Bruce Parks crashed into the front straight wall coming out of turn four. The driver was complaining of neck and back pain and as a precautionary was transported to a local hospital. When the race got going again just 2 laps later the #4 of Dylan Barfield slid up the track into the 48G of Gary Watson and hit the wall on the back straight retiring the #4 car for the evening. On the ensuing restart going through turn 2 the #48G of Watson would pass the #22 of Curtis Gentry and the #07 of Harry Beatty Jr. around the high side. Watson would never look back leading Gentry and Beatty across the line.

On the original start of the Street Stock race, the #7W of David Windom and the #8 of Shannon Hodges would have contact causing both to spin but they both would restart. The race would have several solo spins by a number of different cars and a few lost tires. On one of the restarts the #MS25 of Jenny Woods, who was running second, would have trouble on the front straight, collecting a mid pack car #5R of Allan Jenkins. The #19 of Micheal Williams would lead the entire race to take the
win and never really got any pressure from behind. The #7W of Windom would feel the heat in the closing laps though. Throughout the race the #6M of Daniel Higdon, who started in the rear of the field, would work his way through traffic and avoid
number of spinning cars. The last 2 laps he would do everything but hit the second place car of Windom. In the end, Higdon would have to settle for third.

The Bomber division had 19 cars attend the nights events and on lap 1 of the feature the #82 of Tanner Parmer would stall in turn 2 pulling a caution. After the lap 2 restart the #24 of Kenneth Pugh and the #4x of Russell McNannally would get together causing the #24 to hit the wall and pull another caution. On lap 4, #12 Jerry Nellums and #00 Doc McDaniel would have contact on the front straight stopping the #00 abruptly. The #82 of Parmer, who had a run on the #1 of Jay Coleman, would then slam into the rear of the McDaniel, virtually destroying the #82 car. The youngster Parmer would be ok. In the closing laps Nellum would have contact with the #8 of Ronald Ross causing the #8 to spin in turn four however, both drivers would continue. While there was a ton of action in the middle and rear of the pack during the race, the #96 of Keith Presnall would slowly work his way from the eighth starting spot to take the win followed by Joseph Adams and Jay Coleman for the top 3 spots.

Late Models would take to the track for their topless race next. On the original start, Friday nights winner, #22G Ricky Haugen, would have his motor expire going into turn one. On the third lap the #37 of Kyle Johnson would spin and a few laps later leave track with steam pouring from under the hood. He would return later in the race several laps down. The #7S of David Seffens left the track under caution on lap 10 for debris but would return for the restart. Meanwhile, Joseph Joiner in his #10 machine would lead the entire race to take the win. In the closing laps the #99J of Jonathan Joiner was making up ground but ran out of laps and would have to settle for second. He was followed by the #99 of Isaiah Day.

The Modified Topless Race would be the final race of the 2009 season at Deep South Speedway. On the second lap of the race the #6 of Ryan Fowler was running a very high line out of turn four and slammed into the outside wall. He would destroy the right side of the car and have to retire from the event. The #66 of Mike Paillou who was leading the race on lap 9 had a hair rising close call. The #28 of John Rutherford at the tail end of the lead lap was having a bit of trouble with his car fish tailing on the front straight causing the #66 to hesitate passing him. Paillou would hit the #28 as it bounced off the wall but Paillou would not stop and continued with very little cosmetic damage to the nose of his machine. Lap 13 things got exciting when the #18 of Chris Rutherford spun in turn 2. The #29 of Cole Griffith would collide with him causing the #29 to roll onto its side. When the car was rolled back to its wheels a fire ignited under the hood but was quickly extinguished and both drivers were okay.

Meanwhile near the front Michael Booker in his #25 machine was working his way to the leaders. He would pull off a nice pass on both the #33 of Nathan Ingersoll and the #41 of Bennie Spicer in his late race charge putting him in the third position. He would gain quickly on the leader, #66 of Paillou and at the time second place #7c of Rick Culpepper. Paillou appeared to be experiencing handling problems in the closing laps and had some trouble slowing him and Culpepper. Booker looked to make the pass on both for the lead in turns 1 & 2 but a caution came out for a spinning car on the other end of the track. On the restart Booker would pass Culpepper to move into second and he had one and a half laps to catch and pass the #66 of
Paillou. He would run him down but could not pull off a clean pass and crossed the line on the rear bumper of the winner Paillou. The #25 of Randy Booker was second followed by the #7c of Culpepper in third.

Deep South Speedway, The Day family, and staff would like to extend their appreciation to everyone who supported them on this last race weekend and the entire season. Keep an eye on the website at www.DeepSouthDirt.com for upcoming information throughout the winter on the 2010 season.

Loxley, Alabama - Night 1 of the Spook Nationals saw a ton of exciting action on the highbanks of Deep South Speedway. The 4/10 mile speedway was a bit wet to start the night because of an early evening shower but by the time the features got underway the track was in beautiful shape and made for a great show. Some of the first timers at the track would say this place was “Spooky Fast” by the end of the night as it’s the fastest dirt track anywhere on the Gulf Coast.

The Bombers took to the track first and would see cars throughout the field running side by side and passing for position. In the end Jay Coleman in the #1C, who drove a flawless and very smooth race, would take the checkers first and take home the top
prize. The #2 of Greg Burton was looking to make a late race pass for 2nd but the #96 of Keith Presnall held the position in the end with Burton 3rd.

The Stinger division would have it’s share of accidents on the night including a 3 car pileup in turn 3 midway through the race taking out 2 fast cars, the #48 of Ronald Barlow and the #28 of Geoffrey Adkins. The last 2 laps would prove to be the best 2 laps of racing in any division on the night. The top 3 cars would muscle for position all the way around the speedway with Gary Watson coming from deep in the field to take the first place finish over the #22 Curtis Gentry and the #77 of Bob Tarrant who was 3rd.

Modifieds would take to the track for the third feature of the night but they looked different tonight… NO ROOFS! They were racing topless on Friday night as they are preparing for Saturday Nights Topless 31! To open the the #G17 of Greg Hopkins would lead with a wicked fast car and lead til about half way til his right rear tire started going down allowing a handful of cars to slide by in the closing laps. Mike Ladner in the #3 would be the benefitiary as he would take his machine to the lead and not look back to take the win. The 2nd place finisher was a very fast #66 of Mike Paillou. Bennie Spicer in the #41 would be in 3rd place holding off a hard charding #37 of Kyle Rutkoski who had a nice run

The Late Models capped the night off… “uncapped”. They would race topless as well, and will again on Saturday night. This division had the hardest time getting the race started with a hand full of restarts and several wrecked cars before finally the #04 of David Odom would lead the first few laps in dominating style. Odom would have mechanical trouble though causing him to hit the wall on the front straight. As Odom bounced off the wall he collected the rocket ship #L97 of Randy Little, retiring both cars for the night. Ricky Haugen in the #22G would work his way to the lead after staring deep in the field to take the win followed by the #1 of Kevin Maher in 2nd with a fast Dale Little in the #99L in 3rd.

Saturday nights action will get started at 8pm with heat races followed by the features. All 6 weekly divisions will be on hand at Deep South Speedway including Bombers, Street Stocks, Stingers, Vintage, and of course the Topless Modifieds and Topless Late Models. All 6 classes will be racing for increased purses. The 2009 DSS Points Champions will be honored during the night. Also bring your kids in halloween costume, we will have “Trick or Treating” in the pit area with them as most of the drivers will have something for them. Deep South Speedway is located on Hwy 59 in Loxley, AL, 4 miles north of Interstate 10 exit #44. Track website is www.DeepSouthDirt.com and the phone number is (251) 964-6953.