Sprint cars coming to Bulls Gap on Saturday

Volunteer Speedway will be the site of fast speeds and thrilling action when the winged sprint cars come to the high-banked dirt track this Saturday. The Carolina Sprint Tour will test the 4/10-mile Bulls Gap oval for a second straight year. It's the only chance for fans to see winged sprint cars in Northeast Tennessee this year. Jadan Bowling won last year's Carolina Sprint Tour race at Volunteer Speedway. Former NASCAR Cup Series star Kasey Kahne set the all-time qualifying record at Bulls Gap in a sprint car in 2010. Kahne zoomed around the steeply-banked clay oval in 10.258 seconds at an average of 140.378 mph. Like the famous infomercials said, "Wait, there's more." Besides heat races and a 25-lap feature for the sprint cars, there will be other chances to see high-speed action and slide jobs. There are features for the Open Wheel Modified, Sportsman Late Model, Street Stock and Front Wheel Drive classes. Hot laps begin at 7 p.m. followed by heat races and features. KINGSPORT SPEEDWAY Kingsport Speedway has a second straight week of NASCAR Local Racing Series action on Friday night. "The Concrete Jungle" lived up to its nickname at the end of last Friday's Crown Vic race. Ricky Shelton slid across the finish line ahead of Josh Harris, much like the famous Terry Labonte win over Dale Earnhardt at Bristol in 1995. But, the end of this race also included a charge by third-place Daniel McMurray and the lapped car of Keegan Lane crashing head-on into the front stretch wall. More exciting action is scheduled for Friday night. Grandstands open at 5 p.m. with practice and qualifying. Racing is scheduled for 8 p.m. LONESOME PINE RACEWAY Lonesome Pine Raceway has a full schedule of asphalt short track racing on Saturday night. Classes at the 3/8-mile asphalt oval in Coeburn, Va., include: Late Models, Limited Late Models, Super Street, Street Stock, Mod 4, Pure 4, Stock FWD, Crown Vics and Bandeloros. That's nine classes of racing action with the purchase of a single ticket. Saturday's races are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. NEWPORT SPEEDWAY Former Kingsport Speedway champion Jacob York won the Limited Late Model race at Newport Speedway last Saturday, while Steven Watts improved to 7-for-7 on the season. York, the 2023 Kingsport Speedway champion from Asheville, drove his No. 97 Ford to the feature win at the high-banked, 4/10-mile oval. It was a small field of cars with just four Late Models in the race. Another Asheville racer, Greg Bohanon Jr., won the Super Street feature. Watts, who also has wins at Kingsport and Lonesome Pine, stayed undefeated in his black No. 05 car as he won a combined feature of Pure 4 and Stock 4 cars. David "Animal" Trent ran second for a 1-2 finish of Kingsport drivers. Kentucky racer Jamie Mosely swept Grand National Super Series races with North Carolina driver Chris Burns second in both. Brandon Kinzer, an accomplished Open Wheel Modified racer on dirt tracks, finished third. Knoxville drivers Wyatt Collins and Aidan Walker took the two top spots in Legends with Mardy Roberts III from Church Hill third. There were 15 Crown Vics in Saturday's feature with Newport's own Robert Barndt taking the victory. Cooper Harvey was second with Logan Chambers third. Racing returns to Newport with its regular program on Saturday, May 23. The track is scheduled to host the IHRA Stock Car Series on May 30. COMING UP Cherokee Race Park has a test-and-tune scheduled for Friday. Gates open at 5 p.m. There's a bracket points race on Saturday. Gates open at 10 a.m. with time trials to begin at noon. Bristol Dragway's new surface will be tested with the DER Bracket Series featuring a long weekend of racing from Friday, May 22 to Monday, May 25. Memorial Day weekend is the biggest racing weekend of the year, and the local drag racers are highly anticipating being on the new track surface. Friday will be a test-and-tune, followed by three days of racing action. That same weekend, there's motocross action at Muddy Creek Raceway which hosts the AMA Southeast Region Championship.