ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. — Crate Racin’ USA 602 Late Model drivers will be competing for the first time ever Feb. 18-20 at East Bay Raceway Park, a trio of events that is drawing increasing attention from drivers as the big four-day weekend at the third-mile oval looms ahead.
While the track is always a tough one for drivers to figure out, Seth Wimpey of Blue Ridge, Ga., who claimed a big victory in the fast-growing division’s $1,500-to-win portion of the recent Ice Bowl at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., will be heading to the semibanked oval with a very important thought in his mind.
“I’m just hoping for a little sunshine and good weather,” the good-natured Wimpey said. “It’s been cold and dreary around home here lately.”
While enjoying good weather is always a fine reason to visit the Sunshine State in February, life gets better for stock car drivers when there are races involved. In this case, three events will dot the weekend, the first two [Feb. 18-19] paying $1,000 to win and the finale [Feb. 20] offering $2,500 to the first driver across the stripe. A practice session will be held Wed., Feb. 17.
Since winning the Ice Bowl, Wimpey has actually added two more victories to his 2021 results sheet, giving him three big wins on the new season after claiming the checkered flag in his division’s portion of the annual Cabin Fever event held Jan. 30 at Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, Ga. That one was worth $1,000.
A week later, he earned $1,500 in the 602 Late Model Sportsman portion of the Winter Freeze at Moulton (Ala.) Speedway as Keith and Amanda Steele reopened the track Feb. 7 with a huge crowd on hand and 192 cars in the pits. That success occurred after a long stretch of inactivity at the facility, which will feature several different Crate Racin' USA-sanctioned divisions during the 2021 Weekly Racing Series season that's set to begin in late March.
So that’s now three wins tallied for Wimpey, who will be looking for at least a fourth as he rolls through the pit gates at East Bay in less than 48 hours to compete at one of the most notoriously-difficult tracks in the country.
“Everyone knows it's a tough place," Wimpey said. “We’ve been blessed with work, and we started racing these 602 Late Model Sportsman cars because it’s not such a crazy deal on the shocks. It’s a division that’s a little more affordable for us.”
Wimpey has been working closely with fellow racer Booger Brooks, a notable driver who has experienced success through his entire career in whatever division he chooses to compete. Brooks flipped violently last October in a heat race during the annual World Short Track Championships at the Dirt Track at Charlotte, and was actually sitting in a Longhorn Chassis owned by Wimpey.
Their fortunes together turned quickly three months later, and the pair stood side by side in the winner’s circle at Talladega Short Track on Jan. 10 after Wimpey won the Ice Bowl in a Train Chassis entry built by Benji Cole. They’re on a roll, and have clearly established a hot streak heading to the region near Tampa, Fla.
“I actually finished second at Charlotte after Booger [Brooks] had that crash earlier in the weekend, but my car was found to be nine pounds light and we got disqualified,” Wimpey said. “Booger [Brooks] and I got hooked up, and while that really didn’t turn out to a be a great weekend for us results-wise, we’ve really been having some good runs together here lately.”
Wimpey has his eyes peeled toward the Tri-Cities in upper East Tennessee, and is planning to compete in his division at the famed Bristol Motor Speedway as the famed oval makes a transition to dirt for the Bristol Dirt Nationals slated March 15-20 at the high-banked oval.
But first, there’s East Bay just ahead for the brother-in-law of former Southern All Stars Dirt Late Model Series champion Shane Tankersley.
“East Bay is surely a different place, but we’re definitely running pretty well and we’ve managed to win a few races, so we’re gonna go down there and see what comes out of it,” Wimpey said.
Article Credit: Brian McLeod