Battling for Bucks in Open Wheel Warfare
By Brian McLeod / Dirt Scenes
EASTABOGA, Ala. (Aug. 29) — When Michael Blakeney of Oxford, Ala., pulled his open-wheeled machine into the winner's circle Saturday night at Talladega Short Track, his excitement was obvious to onlookers when a primal-sounding scream emitted from the cockpit of his No. 80 machine.
That ear-splitting noise paled in comparison to the victorious celebration that Blakeney staged after climbing to the roof of his Crate Racin' USA-style Modified Sportsman, just a few moments after winning the inaugural Open Wheel Warfare event at the third-mile oval.
The victory was worth $1,700 to Blakeney, who carried home a purse amount that unexpectedly kept growing with assistance from over 35 local and racing-related businesses that helped support the inaugural event, which drew 27 cars to the high-banked facility.
The win couldn't have come at a better time for Blakeney, who has been sitting on the sidelines for close to a month. He held off a midrace challenge from Chris Hill, and turned back a late threat from runnerup finisher Luke Riddle to claim the honors.
Hill settled for third in the 23-car feature field over David Kay and Corey Maye.
"I got in a wreck three weeks ago, and it knocked the rear end out of the car, and tore up the right-front suspension," Blakeney said. "I work out of town with a utility company, and I've been away in Pennsylvania, and couldn't get the car repaired. I'm basically the only one on a regular basis who's doing the work on it."
When Blakeney returned home from his work-related duties, he started making repairs to his bright yellow entry.
"We went through everything on the car from the rear bumper to the front bumper," he said. "As a matter of fact, we had to make a front bumper right before we got here. I don't buy much of anything to race. Can't really afford to do that, so we make a lot of our own stuff. We've got mismatched shocks on every corner of the car. I have a friend who puts them on a shock dyno for us, but that's about it."
Blakeney isn't a stranger to the winner's circle at the historic oval, which opened in the mid-to-late 70s. He revealed that he's won 37 races in the Thunder Car division, but that class no longer exists. That's a significant amount of victories, but nothing that compares to his most recent one.
"Considering the caliber of cars here tonight, this is our best and biggest win ever," Blakeney said. "I don't think we've ever won a race more important. We earned this one, based purely on time and hours involved in getting the car ready for it. I absolutely loved it!"
Modified Warfare: 1. Michael Blakeney, 2. Luke Riddle, 3. Chris Hill, 4. David Kay, 5. Corey Maye, 6. Tim Staples, 7. Sam Hughes, 8. Chris Yarbrough, 9. Eric Hickerson, 10. Don Jenkins, 11. Seth Johnston, 12. Jarrad Gray, 13. Logan Phillips, 14. Josh Salisbury, 15. Carlton Freeman, 16. Corey Elliot, 17. Jammie Gowers, 18. Tyler Cox, 19. Kenneth Brown, 20. Blake Swann, 21. Tyler Hurst, 22. Brandon Busby, 23. Randy Holder.
Did not start - Jordan Phillips, Blazz Trull, Jason Byrd, Paul Poe.