SpringfieldNewsSun.com

When it comes to helping young drivers, Miamisburg's Toby Alfrey stands behind them with advice and car assistance.

When it comes to his own racing, Alfrey is firmly positioned out in front.

The veteran driver — who has given support to area drivers Megan Reitenour, Sloan Henderson and Ty Rose, among others — has more than 100 feature wins, including a stretch with about 25 checkered flags in the past four seasons. Alfrey, 40, has no plans of slowing down.

"I love the excitement and the adrenaline — it's great," said Alfrey, who picked up another KOIL Legends win at Kil-Kare Speedway on April 18. "(I'll race) until I start losing. As a matter of fact, I was just working on a car for a guy who's 72 and still driving."

Alfrey, who started racing when he was 7 and has competed mostly in Midget sprint cars, Legends and Late Models, also is running the Wolverine Outlaw Midget Series (WOMS) when time and gas prices allow. He scored one of his biggest racing wins at Springport Motor Speedway last season. A "bounty" was placed on eventual points champion Chris Hettinger after he had won the first three events. Alfrey denied Hettinger a fourth straight by beating him to the line for a .029-second victory, one of the closest in WOMS history.

"When you run up front with those guys you've done something," said Alfrey, whose pit crew is basically his friend Matt Hollon. "That's a tough crowd."

Alfrey, sponsored by Sleep Tite Mattress Factory in Franklin, runs this weekend at Florence Speedway in Kentucky.

Hot Laps

Ron Hemelgarn and Buddy Lazier have teamed up again for another run at the Indianapolis 500. Lazier, who won the event in 1996 with Hemelgarn Racing, will drive the No. 91 car. This will be Hemelgarn's 30th Indy 500 as either a sponsor or team owner.

For those who haven't heard, an added emphasis on local racing is up and running at Dayton DailyNews.com/localracing. Check it out for additional racing features and coverage, photos from area tracks, blogs, area track schedules and more.

Quotable

"It's kind of tough. It's $81 a week in gas for my truck. ... I haven't heard people saying they're not going to race this year. We'll see this week. The points start (Saturday) and that will tell you. I'm sure it's affecting some people."

Xenia resident and Kil-Kare drag racer Doug Caplinger on competing despite rising gas prices.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2400, ext. 6991 or gbilling@

DaytonDailyNews.com

Weekend schedule

Today: Late Models, Modifieds, Sport Stocks, Compacts. Gates open at 6 p.m., qualifying at 6:30, heats at 7, racing at 8.

Kil-Kare Dragway

Saturday: NHRA-sanctioned racing (Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman, Pro Bike, Jr. Dragster, high school). Gates open at noon.

Shady Bowl Speedway

Saturday: Late Model, Modifieds, Compacts, Sport Stocks, Detroit Iron. Gates open at 3 p.m., hot laps at 4, qualifying at 5, racing at 7.

Waynesfield Motorsports Park

Saturday: Non-wing Sprints, 600 Mini-Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Trucks. Gates open at 4 p.m., hot laps at 6, racing at 7.

Winchester Speedway

Sunday: ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series, CRA Street Stocks. Gates open at 10 a.m., racing at 2 p.m.

Eldora Speedway

Next race: Saturday, May 10

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