virginiasprintseries

By Jim Haines ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (May 14) – The first visit to his home turf at Dixieland Speedway this season had local fans happy as Daren Bolac swept the evening, winning his heat and leading ever lap of the Virginia Sprint Series feature Friday night. Chris Ware and Bolac paced the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car field to green with Bolac out first with Mike Leraas and Ben McCall giving chase as the high line showed to be the fastest. Soon after, Dylan Shatzer, Billy Hubbard and C.J. Faison were after McCall for third.  Bolac and Leraas inched away from the field as the third place battle raged lap after lap on the tricky, fast oval. McCall tried to close on Leraas but slipped up, spun and had to rejoin the back of the field, leaving Shatzer, Faison and Hubbard to continue to race for third. Bolac and Leraas stayed smooth to keep their space but Shatzer had to really rim ride to keep his advantage as he tried everything to close in but the [Read More]

By Jim Haines  NATURAL BRIDGE, Va. (April 17) – The first dirt race of the year for the Virginia Sprint Series was an exciting one as defending champion Mike Leraas made his way to the front and fought off race-long chal­lengers and a failure at the last lap but held on for the Saturday win at Natural Bridge Speedway.  Matt Mullins and Chris Ware paced  the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car field to green. Ware was out first with Leraas, Bill Rice and Jerald Harris giving chase. Leraas got by, leaving Rice and Harris to fight with Ware for second. Ware got high in turn two with Harris getting by Rice to go after Leraas and Rice in a solid third.  A quick spinner tightened up the field after they had caught the back of the field. Leraas was off again and Harris was right on him with Rice staying tough in third.  The top two went after it lap after lap until coming down for the white flag Leraas started to smoke badly. But even with [Read More]

By Jim Haines SHENANDOAH, Va. (April 10) – Billy Hubbard has raced stock cars for many years and after stepping into an IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car last year he has been a quick study, sweeping Saturday’s opening night Virginia Sprint Series show at Shenandoah Speedway. Matt Mullins and Hubbard paced the field to green with Hubbard out front first and Mike Keeton hanging close with Jerald Harris getting to third quickly. Hubbard showed lap after lap the car was working as Keeton kept the pressure on and Harris stayed within striking distance of both as the race wore on.  Keeton gave it a final push as the laps were winding down but it would not be enough as Hubbard flashed under the checkered flag for his first win in a Sprint Car after many wins in other divisions. At the line it was Keeton, Harris, Bill Rice and Mullins making up the top five. Next week it’s the first dirt race of the season at Natural Bridge Speedway on Saturday, April 17.  

By Jim Haines NATURAL BRIDGE, Va. (Sept. 19) – On the first clear, cool night of the year, Jerald Harris had a hot night on track by topping both features for the Virginia Sprint Series at Natural Bridge Speed­way.  The make-up event for the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car feature rained out in August had Daren Bolac out first at the drop of the green and running smooth out front with Mike Leraas in tow.  The 20-lap feature was going by fast as the track surface was changing and Leraas was closing in with Mike Keeton and Harris catching up fast as well.  Leraas got by for the lead with the back of the field quickly coming into his path. With the white flag out, Leraas and Bolac were still up front on the lower side but Harris moved up and was gain­ing ground fast. Coming off turn four to the checkers, the last car on the lead lap bobbled, causing Leraas and Bolac to lift. Harris seized the moment to go high next to the wall, [Read More]

By Jim Haines  SHENANDOAH, Va. (July 18) – On the hot, humid, summer day, the real heat was on the track as Mike Leraas won his first Virginia Sprint Series race of the season by a few feet. Saturday’s feature-only pavement show for IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars at Shenandoah Speed­way had Chris Ware and Leraas pace the field to green with Leraas out first and Jerald Harris on his bumper. Bill Rice raced with Ware to get third as the front two were already hard at it for the top spot lap. Rice got by Ware as Billy Hubbard was all over Rice for third. Lap after lap, Harris got in the turns bet­ter but Leraas was better on the exit and they were never more than a few feet apart. Hubbard got by Rice for third with a few laps to go. Harris edged closer as the white flag waved and set up a dash for the finish. With the checkered flag in the air, Harris moved high to the outside and put on [Read More]

By Jim Haines HAMPTON, Va. (July 4) – Bill Rice showed his heat race win was no fluke as he was a rocket all night en route to his first Virginia Sprint Series win of the year Saturday at Langley Speedway. Rice and Matt Mullins paced the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car field to green with Rice out first and staying low and fast. After a shuffle at the front, Daren Bolac settled into second with Mike Leraas and Jerald Harris following closely. Harris made the move to work his way to second while Mike Keeton was show­ing speed after a pit stop on the start and was up to fourth.  Rice continued to lead as Harris closed with Leraas and Keeton next. Harris was less than a se­cond off the pace as the white flag waved but could get no closer as Rice flashed under the check­ered flag first. On Saturday, July 11, the series is at Natural Bridge Speedway for the first visit of the season.  Feature results – 1. Bill Rice; 2. Jerald Harris; 3. Mike [Read More]