Friday, September 13, 2013

Auton update

Auton enjoys new challenge as boss of Nationwide Series

Posted: Thursday, September 12, 2013 11:00 pm | Updated: 11:54 pm, Thu Sep 12, 2013.
By TOM GILLISPIE Special to the Record

HICKORY -- Wayne Auton cringes when his first race as NASCAR Nationwide Series director is mentioned.

WAYNE AUTON IS IN HIS FIRST SEASON AS NASCAR
NATIONWIDE SERIES
 DIRECTOR.  (NASCAR PHOTO)
“You would bring that race up,” he said.

That was this year’s season-opening Nationwide race at Daytona, when Kyle Larson smashed against the fence and fans were injured on a last-lap multi-car crash. Fortunately, no one was badly hurt, and the season since has proceeded nicely.

“I don’t have a good starting record at Daytona,” said Auton, who says he turned 55 on the 55th running of the Daytona 500.

“In the Dash Series, we lost a driver on the first lap, Joe Booher,” Auton said. “And we’ve had wrecks with Geoff Bodine in the Truck Series and Kyle Larson in the Nationwide Series.

“That (Bodine wreck) was a pretty bad deal, but No. 1 Geoffrey was OK, and everybody else was OK.

“The coolest thing after that wreck was that the drivers got out of their trucks and went to turn four and were signing autographs for fans.”

Auton, a 1976 graduate of St. Stephens High, is one of the names on Hickory Motor Speedway’s Wall of Fame. He was director of NASCAR’s Dash Series from 1990 to 1995, and he held the same job with the Truck Series from late 1995 to last December.

Auton says he got his current job on Dec. 11, 2012 during a Tuesday meeting with NASCAR officials Mike Helton, president; Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition; John Darby, Sprint Cup Series director, and Steve O’Donnell, senior vice president of racing operations.

And Auton says this season is “actually going pretty good. I’m pleased where we’re at, especially with the points battle, which they tell me is the closest in the history of the series.”

But Auton admits it’s tougher to be the director of the Nationwide Series than it was to have the same job of the NASCAR Truck Series from 1995 until last season.

“Absolutely,” he said with a laugh. “There’s a whole lot more technology in this series, and you’re always dealing with more engineers than what the Truck Series had.”

The toughest part of switching series, Auton said, “is learning the (Nationwide) garage and the people in it, as well as the philosophies of the drivers and others.

“You have to learn how they set these (cars) up to get through inspection and beat other competitors, how they use limited tires to get through the weekend. This series allows six sets of tires per weekend and five (sets) for the race.”

Auton, who still lives in Hickory, says he’d travel maybe 125 days a year in the Truck Series. For the Nationwide Series, “We’ll push 200 days this year,” he said.

The other negative, if you can call it that, is the length of the races.

“We used to run 125 to 200 miles” in the Truck Series, he said. “We run 200, 250 or 300 miles in the Nationwide Series. I find it harder to keep concentrating on the race. Late in the race, I’m pointing to my left arm, calling for them to bring in relief.”

Of course, Auton is kidding, something normal with him. He says he’s enjoyed the Nationwide Series immensely.

“I didn’t want to leave the Truck Series,” he said. “I loved the series and the people in it. But I’d done all I could do.”

Said Auton: “The racing has been phenomenal this year, and I hope the fans have enjoyed it. I've definitely enjoyed this season.

“It was great to part of something special in the Truck Series, and this division has all of the ingredients to be special. I like what we’ve got now.”

Tom Gillispie, the author of “Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.,” writes about racing at Hickory Motor Speedway for HDR Sports. He can be reached at nc3022@yahoo.com.

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Thursday, September 12, 2013

Shuman was remembered at HMS

AUSTIN MCDANIEL (12) BATTLES BLAKE JONES
DURING SATURDAY'S LATE MODEL RACE AT
HICKORY MOTOR SPEEDWAY.
(PHOTO BY NICK AND SHERRI STEARNS)
HMS NOTEBOOK: Shuman was remembered for years at Hickory Motor Speedway

Posted: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 11:06 pm
By Tom Gillispie Special to the Record

HICKORY, N.C. -- Who was Buddy Shuman? And why do I ask?

I’ve often pointed out that Tiny Lund won the last NASCAR Cup run at Hickory Motor Speedway. That was the Buddy Shuman 276, run on Aug. 28, 1971.

When I was looking up birthdays, I noticed that Shuman would have been 98 on Sept. 8. So I looked Buddy up online.
Louis Grier “Buddy” Shuman, born in Charlotte in 1915, ran in 29 Grand National (now Sprint Cup) Series from 1951 to ’55. His only win came in 1952 at Stamford Park in Niagara Falls, Ont. That was the first NASCAR race run in Canada.
He wound up with four top-five and 16 top-10 finishes, and won a total of $8,087.

In 1955, he finished ninth at Hickory Speedway on May 7. He also finished sixth in a race at Charlotte on Aug. 5, 1955. He died on Nov. 13, 1955 in a hotel fire in Hickory.

In 1957, NASCAR established the Buddy Shuman Award for outstanding contributions to NASCAR racing, and the award winners have included, among others, Richard Petty, the late Banjo Matthews, Rick Hendrick, former Cup racer Dave Marcis and former TV announcer Ken Squier (2012).

Out-of-state drivers

Most of the drivers in last Saturday’s Late Model field at Hickory were from North Carolina, but four were listed as out of state: Blake Jones (Sevierville, Tenn.), David Garbo Jr. (Stonington, Conn.), Doug Barnes (Whiteford, Md.) and Jack Madrid (San Clemente, Calif.).

The Aug. 31 Bobby Isaac Memorial race featured eight out-of-state drivers in a 31-car field, including Garbo (the winner) and Jones. The others were Josh Berry (Hendersonville, Tenn.), Jake Keaton (Huntington, W.Va.), Will Gallaher (Santa Rosa, Calif.), Will Burns (Simpsonville, S.C.), Ben Rhodes (Louisville, Ky.) and Reid Lanpher (Manchester, Me.).

Most of the drivers in the other divisions are from North Carolina, but at least two are from out of state: Justin Bolton of Greensburg, Pa., and Marcus Lambert of Woodbridge, Va., both in Limited Late Models.

HMS results from Saturday

Matthew Elledge won the nine-car 4-Cylinder race, with Chase Pollard, Nathaniel Kanupp, Eddie Gilbert and Adam Beaver filling out the top five.

Austin McDaniel won the pole and topped a 13-car field in the first 50-lap Late Model race, followed by Blake Jones, former track champion Keith Bumgarner, Matt Piercy and Shane Lee.

Garbo won the second 50-lap Late Model race, followed by Jones, McDaniel, Jack Madrid and Dan Moore.

Landon Huffman took the 15-car Limited Late Model race, followed by Justin Bolton, pole-winner Lee, Casey Pierce and Kyle Mansch.

Charlie Neill won the 12-car Renegades race from the pole, followed by Shawn Hayes, Carroll McKinney, Daniel Moore and Blake Walker.

Mark Whitten finished first in the 13-car Street Stocks feature, with Marshall Sutton, Kevin Eby, Baron Kuritzky and Troy DeMarmels filling out the top five.

Trivia question

What was Donnie Allison’s real name? Hint: No, it wasn’t Donald.

This week

A ZLOOP Challenge is set for Saturday. Practice is at 2:10 p.m., with the drivers’ meeting at 4:30 p.m., qualifying at 5, autographs at 6 and racing at 7 (4-Cylinders 25 laps; Street Stocks 30 laps; Limited Late Models 35 laps; Super Trucks 35 laps; Late Models 100 laps, and Renegades 20 laps).

Upcoming HMS schedule

• The PASS Super Late Models are set to race at HMS on Sept. 21.

• The Fall Classic is scheduled on Sept. 28, featuring a 100-lap Limited Late Model race. The trucks, Renegades and Ford Focus cars will also run.

• There will be a 200-lap Late Model race on Oct. 12, with the Limited Late Models, Renegades and Sportsman Racing Classic cars also running.

National leaders

• Through Sept. 4, three HMS part-timers were among the top 30 drivers in NASCAR’s national Division I Asphalt short-track standings. Josh Berry was 20th, Anthony Anders 28th and Brandon Dean 30th. All three race at multiple tracks, including the Motor Mile, Southern National, Greenville-Pickens, Kingsport and Caraway.
David Garbo was 50th nationally, and HMS Late Model points leader Austin McDaniel (64th) is the only Hickory regular in the top 70. Part-timer Mike Darne was 75th.

• McDaniel was 12th in the Division I North Carolina rankings, with Dean 13th, Mike Darne 15th and Berry 19th.

• Shane Lee, the Limited Late Model points leader at HMS, was eighth in NASCAR’s national Division II Asphalt standings through Sept. 5. Also in the Division II top 75 were Landon Huffman (23rd), Jeremy Pelfrey (41st), Casey Pierce (51st) and Monty Cox (71st).

• Kevin Eby (Street Stocks) was 79th nationally in Division III, with Marshall Sutton 99th.

Happy birthday

Sept. 9 was a great day for racing birthdays. Cup car owner Felix Sabates was 71; former Cup driver Jerry Nadeau was 43; Jeff Hammond, a former Cup crew chief and current TV analyst, was 57, and former Cup driver Phil Barkdall was 76.

Worth quoting

HMS Late Model driver Dan Moore, on how he got started: “It (racing) was always a life-long dream. A guy said, ‘Why not buy a car and go racing?’ Our company was having an outing at the racetrack, and we bought a Mustang dirt car, a 4-cylinder.”

Trivia answer

Dunkiny “Donnie” Allison, 74 on Sept. 7, is probably best remembered for the turn-three fight in the 1979 Daytona 500. Donnie wrecked with Cale Yarborough on the last lap, and his brother Bobby joined the famous fray.

Tom Gillispie, the author of “Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.,” writes about racing at Hickory Motor Speedway for HDR Sports. He can be reached at nc3022@yahoo.com.


Contact: I can be reached at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. Also, my Twitter handle is EDITORatWORK.