Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Kevin Eby feature from 2012


HMS NOTEBOOK: Eby doesn't enjoy running away from the field

By:  Tom Gillispie  |     Hickory Daily Record  
Published: October 03, 2012  Updated: October 03, 2012 - 10:32 PM  
HICKORY, N.C. -- Kevin Eby, this year's Street Stock champion at Hickory Motor Speedway, isn't into boring racing.
EBY AND DAUGHTER KAYLA
"My enjoyment is to go out (and) race hard against somebody," said Eby, who lives in Lenoir but works at Shenandoah Furniture in Valdese. "I may have had to work hard to get around No. 33, but I enjoy it when I get somebody to race against.
"When you're just out front and riding, that's boring. I enjoy being side by side and racing, but I know not to tear stuff up."
Eby, 42, says he moved down from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in late 1994 and began racing Super Sports at Hickory in 1995.
"It wasn't Street Stock, and it wasn't Limited (Late Model)," he said. "It was halfway in between. We had more motor than we have now."
Among track championships that Eby won were those in Street Stocks at Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson (2004, 2005 and 2007).
"The championships do not get boring, because we put just as much work into winning each one," Eby said. "Every time a new race season begins, it's like starting back at square one. So each championship is hard earned and unique."
If you saw all of the Street Stock races this year, you might have seen Eby with seven-year-old daughter Kayla, who joins him in the pits for many of his races.
He says his next race is a 100-lap Street Stocks race in mid-October at Lonesome Pines Speedway in Coeburn, Va., and he may run a Frank Kimmel race at Rockingham.
Webb improving
You may recall the horrific wreck Ken Webb survived nearly a month ago in a Sportsman Classic race at HMS.
"He's improving, but it's not going to be a fast process," said Mackie Webb, Ken's brother and president of the Classic Sportsman Racing Association. "He's doing OK. He got out of the hospital on the Wednesday after the wreck on Saturday.
"He's going to stay flat on his back for eight to 12 weeks."
Ken Webb, 53, was driving his No. 77 Chevelle in the Sportsman Classics race when his car hit the wall and got airborne. The 1965 Chevelle landed on its nose and spun before stopping in the middle of the track.
Webb was taken to N.C. Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, and he got out the following Wednesday. He said he had "busted four vertebrae" and they put him in "a body bag."
Mackie Webb says his brother can walk a bit.
"He can do that to get to the bathroom," he said. "He has to keep it to the minimum. He's able to do that, but it's painful."
Trivia question
Where did Dale Earnhardt Jr. get his first Cup win?
Last Saturday's results
In the Fall Brawl last Saturday, young Pietro Fittipaldi won the Late Model feature, with David Garbo Jr., Josh Wimbish, Trey Gibson and track champion Austin McDaniel rounding out the top five. Chad Reed, the motocross/supercross star, finished 16th in a 22-car field.
Shane Lee, the track's 2012 Limited Late Model champion, won the 15-car Limited race, followed by Jeremy Pelfrey, Brandon Setzer, Roger Pitts II and Brandon Atkinson.
In the eight-car Renegades race, Gregory Austin finished ahead of Carroll McKinney, Darren Dickinson, Daniel Moore and Dillon Crouch.
Upcoming at HMS
The Rev-Oil Pro Cup race is Oct. 20 and The Fall Classic is Oct. 27, with a 100-lap Limited Late Models race, plus trucks and Renegades.
Happy birthday
Bill Elliott will be 57 on Monday. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be 38 on Wednesday. Morgan Shepherd (71) and Ned Jarrett (80) have birthdays on Oct. 12.
Worth quoting
Joey Logano, from For the Love of Racing online: "They don't pay you for winning practice."
Trivia answer
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won twice his rookie year (2000), at Texas and Richmond. The famous photo of the two Dale Earnhardts hugging came at Texas.
Tom Gillispie, the author of "Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.", writes about racing at Hickory Motor Speedway for HDR Sports. If you have a favorite story about HMS, he'd like to hear it. You can reach him at nc3022@yahoo.com.
EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

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