Two of the most famous racing names in the Southern Tier will join together in this Saturday's "Hoosier Daddy Night" ASA Member Track racing program presented by Hoosier Tires at Shangri-La II Motor Speedway. J.R. Kent, a two-time champion of the original Shangri-La Speedway and the son of all-time modified winner George Kent, will drive for the Zacharias Racing team in both the Modified and Sportsman Modified divisions. J.R. Kent has been a regular in the Sportsman ranks at Shangri-La II this season, but he will be making his 2010 Modified debut at the Concrete Castle.
Car owner Terrry Zacharias explained that the arrangement, which is on a race-to-race basis at this time, should work for both parties. Kent will have the opportunity to race a competitive Modified and upgrade his Sportsman program, while the team's lead driver, Jimmy Zacharias, will benefit from Kent's experience as both teammate and mentor as he seeks to move forward in his own racing career.
The SpeedSTRs, open cockpit cars which created such a positive impression among Shangri-La II Motor Speedway racing fans in 2009, are set for their first of two appearances at the Concrete Castle on Hoosier Daddy Night presented by Hoosier Racing Tires this Saturday, June 12. Race time is 5:00 p.m. for the five-class ASA Member Track program that includes the headline tour-type Modifieds, the ASA Late Models, the Sportsman Modifieds, and the Street Stocks.
The SpeedSTR class is the creation of racing veteran Richie Tobias, who conceived and produced a racer that looks and performs much like a midget car from the USAC or ARDC circuits, but at a fraction of the cost. A sealed four-cylinder Mopar engine of 280 horsepower permits lap speeds close to the Sportsman Modifieds at a price of $17,000, ready to race.
When it was first introduced, the SpeedSTR class was most notable for its celebrity competitors like Ray Evernham and Erin Crocker, but now it is producing talent for the higher ranks of open cockpit racing, like Billy Van Inwegen who has moved on to the limited sprint car ranks with success. Among the SpeedSTR rookies of 2010 is Fred Rahmer Jr., the teenage son of sprint car legend "Fast Freddy" Rahmer.
They say the best way to get in racing shape is to race. Jim Storace is proving that as he comes back from his hard crash in the Race of Champions at Shangri-La II on May 16. Five days after the accident he raced with the RoC at Albany-Saratoga on Friday and took seventh at Shangri-La II on Saturday. Over Memorial Day he scored a top ten at Oswego on Saturday and then won at the Concrete Castle on Sunday. It was his second career win at Shangri-La II.
Jimmy has been a two-class performer since the Concrete Castle opened last July, driving his father Terry's equipment. In 2009, he was second to uncle Rick Zacharias in the Sportsman points and tied Rick for second in the Modifieds. A couple of weeks ago the Zacharias garage opened its doors to a pair of ASA Late Models purchased from Roland Teed. Both Jimmy and uncle Chris were fast the first time out on Race of Champions day, with Jimmy leading until fuel starvation sent him to the pits. Here' a quick look at Jimmy's long day at the office last Saturday.
