By Grady H. Thornton
Birmingham, Alabama (September 21). Dennis Reno, Jr., had the perfect car and drove the perfect race to win the Teddy Bear 100 Benefiting Children’s Hospital at Birmingham International Raceway Sunday afternoon. It was the sixth installment of the 2008 Birmingham Super Series Late Model Challenge and Reno’s first win at the famed 5/8-mile paved oval since taking home the win in last year’s World Classic.
BSS point leader Ken McFarland of Hoover once again turned in the fastest qualifying time with a best run of 20.353 seconds/110.548 seconds. That was his team’s good news, the bad news was that he drew an eight-car inversion start. This would become a factor in the outcome of the race before 15 laps would be completed.
Rookies Chase Knox and Josh Belter occupied the front row on the pace laps. Belter got the jump and took the lead as the race started. Reno followed from his second row starting spot as cars bunched up behind the lead duo. A cluster of race cars behind Belter--Reno, Gary Nix, Knox, John Bolen, and McFarland--were all challenging for the lead as if it were the final lap. Reno took the inside groove and passed Belter for the lead on the sixth lap. Knox made it around Nix and was running good in third position. The cars were too fast to be running that close. A few taps to the rear bumper of Knox’s car on the back stretch and going into turns three and four sent him spinning. Bolen was collected as he and Knox spun in turn four. McFarland came upon the melee and looked as if he would make it through unscathed when his car took a blow on the right side.
A five-lap caution beginning with lap 15 allowed cleanup time for the safety crew and patch up time for the cars. Both Knox and Bolen eventually returned to the track but had to retire early. Suspension damage was evident in the handling of McFarland’s car. Although he returned to the race and finished on the lead lap, he was never in contention for the win after the damage to the car.
Reno resumed the lead and re-established his dominance as Nix and later Justin South ran in second position. Chase Oliver spun out to bring out the second caution on the 38th lap. With the tires cooled and the field lined up, Reno once again set the pace. With half of the 100 laps in the books, Reno held a 40-yard lead over South, with Nix 100 yards behind South. Belter, McFarland, Chris Serio, Keith Cahela, Scott Dunn, Roger Cain, and Andy Antinoro composed the top ten position order at that point. Within a few laps Reno was way out front with half a lap separating his car and that of the seventh place car. The third caution came out on lap 64 when Cain spun out.
"On each restart the car was tight," Reno said. "After that it was perfect." A fourth caution period started on the 85th lap when a debris clean up was necessary. Once again, Reno pulled out to a comfortable lead. The rest of the race was all about Reno as he led South, Belter, Serio, and Scott Dunn to the finish. McFarland, Blake Ferguson, Antinoro, Brandon Parker, and Mark Singleton, in that order, were the other top ten finishers. The top five was a career best at BIR for Dunn.
"For some reason that car won’t qualify good," Reno said after the race. "But when it picked up, it was awesome." The car was consistent once dialed in. Reno took the lead on the sixth lap with an unofficial lap time of 21.05 seconds. On the 90th lap he was lapping at 21.24 seconds. The winning car was the same one in which he won the November, 2007 World Classic. Reno listed his sponsors as Alabama Oil and Gas Recovery, Five Star Racing Bodies, Extreme Suspension Technology, RPM, Royal Tees, and Swift Springs.
Chris Serio earned the Hard Charger Award, advancing from 14th starting position to a fourth place finish. Josh Belter earned the Highest Finishing Rookie Award. The six DNF’s were Roger Cain (mechanical), Chase Knox (wreck), Gary Nix (water in oil), Chase Oliver (wreck), John Bolen (wreck) and Sandy Howton (engine).
OFFICIAL FINISHING ORDER, TEDDY BEAR 100 BENEFITING CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
1. Dennis Reno, Jr.; 2. Justin South; 3. Josh Belter; 4. Chris Serio; 5. Scott Dunn; 6. Ken McFarland; 7. Blake Ferguson; 8. Andy Antinoro; 9. Brandon Parker; 10. Mark Singleton; 11. Clint Folsom; 12. Keith Cahela; 13. Bobby Castleberry; 14. Roger Cain; 15. Chase Knox; 16. Gary Nix; 17. Chase Oliver; 18. John Bolen; 19. Sandy Howton
The Teddy Bear 100 was a joint effort by BIR, the Harley Owners Group (HOG), and Children’s Hospital. HOG sponsors an annual event in which they raise money to buy teddy bears for sick and injured children at Children’s Hospital. Racers took up money in the pits and in the grandstand. Kimberly Dickinson and Jennifer Deneke represented Children’s and received donations totaling $1,510.00 from BIR fans.
SUPPORT DIVISIONS REPORT
Seven support divisions contributed to the success of the Teddy Bear 100 weekend. Dustin Knowles won the 25-lap Open Wheel Modified feature after posting the fastest qualifying time of 21.265 seconds/105.807 mph. Knowles, a Jacksonville State University senior from Trussville, powered his Haselton Company/Brindley Construction/Express Oil Change #2 Trussville car to lead the race wire-to-wire. He was followed by Jared Land, Gary Nix, Johnny Brazier, Greg Powers, Wayne Hill, Rickey Holland, Jason Miller, and Marlin Gunter.
History was made in the Super Trucks race when Brittney Finley became the first woman to win a major event at BIR. Finley missed the fastest qualifying time of 23.624 seconds set by Wesley Davis by just .02 seconds. She took the lead of the race at the start, however, and led all 25 laps. Jeff Thompson was closing in in the final laps, but could not get around her. Thompson’s 20th lap spinout sealed the win for Finley in that no other driver could get close. It was her first win since taking over the duties of driving the racing trucks. Davis was second, Jamie Cook was third, Thompson fourth, Chris Wagner fifth, and Dale Langston sixth.
Roger Cain of Sterrett won the Sportsman feature by finishing second. Assumed winner Paul Jean was disqualified for a restart infraction. BIR rules stipulate a race can be started in a lower gear, with the driver shifting up at the drop of the green. However, restarts have to be in high gear. Jean, not a regular at BIR, started in third gear on a 16th lap restart. He was black flagged three laps, then no longer scored. Cain’s Renaissance Electric/Jerry Bradford Chevrolet was awarded the win. Shawn Kyzer was second, Jeff Powers third, Jimmy Roberts fourth, Josh Ross fifth, Joel Falls sixth, Michael Scoby seventh, and G.A. Sherer (DNS).
In the Street Stock feature, Joel Falls took his Jefferson County Auto Parts/Pit Stop Lounge Oldsmobile to his third consecutive win. Stan McClure was smoking tires to finish second, with Richard Patino in third, Roger Cain fourth, Tim Sims in fifth, and Rusty Alverson in sixth. Alverson was involved in a hard third turn crash that sent him to the hospital to be checked out. He was released and returned to the track later to pick up his car.
Roddy Moore padded his points lead in the Mini Modified division by winning another feature. Moore’s Ron Burke Collision/ Chris Z’s/Rozar’s Auto Paint Ford Mustang started ninth and was leading on the fourth lap. Chris Knight posted his best finish of the year in second, with Jeremy Williams, Lee Streetman, and Jacob Wyatt following. Justin Bonnett was sixth, Frankie Spradlin seventh, followed by Nick Bridier, Ashley Bridgmon, Jonathan Goolsby, Chase Spradlin, and Phillip Norton.
Jarrod Washington won the Renegade feature in his West Coast Customs/Jimmy’s Muffler Shop Dodge. He was followed by Daniel "Real Deal" Hubbard, Josh Phillips, Roger Wood, Jr., Jason Richardson and Tommy Bolden.
Chris Wagner from Huntsville won the Mini-Stock feature, his first win a BIR. Eddie Dodd, Jr., was second, followed by points leader Kevin Higgins, Chuck Mann and Jeremy Gwin. Floyd Brown, David Passmore, Robert Fucich, Tim Uptain, Mike Collins, and Cindy McClure finished in that order behind them. Roger E. Wood, Sr., was disqualified for shifting gears on a restart.
RANDOM NOTES ON THE TEDDY BEAR 100
(The comments and observations here are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the view of BIR management.)
Thanks to everybody in the donation of over $1,500.00 to purchase teddy bears for kids at Children’s Hospital. Thanks also to Dennis Reno, Jr., Justin South, Chris Serio, Ken McFarland, and Brandon Parker for visiting with the kids at the hospital Friday. The stories the drivers related at Drivers Meeting were moving.
