KIL-KARE SPEEDWAY
Today: Military Night; NASCAR Whelen All-American Series late models, modifieds, street stocks, compacts. Gates open at 6 p.m., racing at 8.
WAYNESFIELD RACEWAY PARK
Saturday: Memorial Classic; National Racing Alliance, ASCS/SOD, UMP modifieds, stocks, mini sprints, trucks, compacts. Gates open at 5 p.m., hot laps at 6, racing at 7.
ELDORA SPEEDWAY
Sunday: Johnny Appleseed Classic; Sunoco American late models, NRA Sprint Invaders, UMP DIRT car modifieds. Gates open at 4 p.m., hot laps at 6, racing at 7:30.
SHADYBOWL SPEEDWAY
Saturday: CRA street stocks, modifieds, compacts, dwarfs. Practice at 2 p.m., qualifying at 5:30, racing at 7.
Sunday: ARCA/CRA Super Series late models, street stocks. Practice 2-6 p.m.
Monday: ARCA/CRA Super Series, CRA street stocks. Practice at 11 a.m., qualifying at 1 p.m. Racing starts at 2:30 p.m.
KIL-KARE DRAGWAY
Saturday and Sunday: NHRA-sanctioned drag racing. Gates open at 9 a.m., time trials at 11 a.m.
EDGEWATER SPORTS PARK
Saturday: NHRA-sanctioned drag racing. Gates open at 2 p.m., racing at 7.
TRI-STATE DRAGWAY
Saturday: Championship Bracket Series; super pro, pro, juniors. Gates open at 9:30 a.m., time trials at 11 a.m.
Sunday: Championship Bracket Series; super pro, pro, sportsman, juniors. Gates open at 9:30 a.m., time trials at 11 a.m.
Monday: Championship Bracket Series; super pro, pro, sportsman, juniors. Gates open at 9:30 a.m., time trials at 11 a.m.
After 45 years of racing, New Carlisle’s Dick Dunlevy Jr. plans to make this one his last. The goal is to treat his final laps around Kil-Kare Speedway as a victory tour.
And he’s taking Beavercreek car owners Joann and Eddie Simpson along for the ride.
Dunlevy, who has 521 feature wins following his late model victory at Kil-Kare on May 18, wants to go out with another late model track title. It would be the first for Eddie Simpson as either a car owner or driver.
“We’d love to. That’s what we’re shooting for this year. I want a track championship bad,” said Simpson, who has several runner-up finishes including one to Dunlevy’s son, Ryan, in the pro stocks in 2001. “I don’t want another second, I want a win.”
The team of Simpson and Dunlevy finished second in the late model division in 2011, just four points behind champion Donald Mahaffey.
Entering tonight’s race, they hold a 19-point lead over Moraine’s Robert Sibila. The next closest drivers are at least 88 points back.
After driving the late model himself for several seasons, Simpson approached Dunlevy about driving the No. 40 Archers Tavern/Ohio Pain Clinic/Burke Orthodontics/Duncan Oil-sponsored ride.
“I just asked. Dick gave me a lot of pointers when I first started driving years ago,” Simpson said. “He got me up to speed real quick. He gave me some real important pointers on how to get around this track.”
Simpson said he often wrenched the car himself as a driver. That got to be too much, so he sought out someone to pilot his ride.
“I was a one-man show. It was too much for one guy,” he said. “If I put a guy in the car and I work on it, maybe we have a chance. We started winning races because I’ve been fortunate to have a good driver and I can focus on working on the car. ... Dick’s a good driver, he’s real good.”
The No. 40 team also receives pit crew help from Donnie Sowers, Norm Wright and Ryan Dunlevy.
If this season ends with a championship, Dunlevy will likely help Ryan in his racing endeavors. Dunlevy has left the door cracked open to a possible run in 2013 if they come up short.
“My son put it a nice way. He sacrificed his season to help me try to accomplish my goal. He said, ‘Dad, you’ve got a lot more yesterdays behind you than you have tomorrows in front of you.’ He said he would try to help me accomplish what I wanted to do. Maybe next year I can give him a helping hand,” said Dunlevy, a Stivers High School graduate who added that a win in front of his classmates would have extra meaning.
“I’d like to win the track championship and retire a champion. After racing 45 years, and being 65 years old, it’s only a matter of time before my health or my reflexes or my eyesight gives up. I’d just as soon be remembered as a winner instead of staying around too long. ... I don’t want to come and just ride around and be back of the pack. If I can’t run in the top three and have an opportunity to win the race, I’ll help somebody else.”
This year, he hopes it’s the Simpsons.
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