Heat races, time trial, random draw — no, that’s not what Thunder Mountain Speedway used to line up its Jr. FWD class. Instead, the Kentucky track used a potato sack race.
It’s one of several ways promoters Dennis and Lori Barton try to make things fun. The two consistently brainstorm new ideas and bounce them off of race director Kyle Parker.
The Jr. FWD drivers picked someone to represent them in the potato sack race. The competition took place on the frontstretch. Haylee Ramey chose Austin Leech, a friend of her mother’s, as her representative, and he won.
“[Ramey] was so nervous, never being on the pole before,” Parker said. “When I yelled at her to get out on the track, she thought I was mad at her. Austin said, ‘Not so, that’s the way he talks to all of us.’”
Ramey finished fifth, while Easton Ray, who started in fourth, won the actual race.
This Saturday, Thunder Mountain Speedway hosts Girl Power at the Races. The Girl Scouts of Kentucky’s Wilderness Road troop 2792 will be selling cookies. Jr. FWD drivers Ramey and Maddie Partin will also participate. They will bring their cars behind the grandstand and talk with young girls about what it takes to get into racing.
“We are off to a good start this season,” Dennis Barton said. “We’ve got some of the big events fans love coming up soon.”
One of those events will be in June, the inaugural Kentucky Speed Week. Thunder Mountain Speedway will work with four other Kentucky dirt tracks, featuring super late models. It kicks of Tuesday, June 9 at Thunder Mountain.
“It’s only the second time super late models have been at our track,” Barton said. “The promoters drew for their dates, and I drew the opener. We’re kicking it off, and since the World of Outlaws are driving by to get to West Virginia, we may pick up a few drivers who want to try for a $5,000 win.”
Other specials include stops from touring series such as the Cumberland Plateau Open Wheel Series, Best Plumber 604 Racing Series, KDRA Super Stock Series and Crate Racin’ USA.
“We’ll have something for everyone,” Barton said. “There will be plenty of excitement all season long.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
