Sprague Wins Busch Race at Nashville Superspeedway

Only three hours southeast of Carroll County is the newest Nascar-sanctioned track in the United States. Nashville Superspeedway is quickly earning a reputation of the finest facilities around. Except for an unexpected water problem that adversely affected the proper flushing of toilets, the weekend of racing, concerts, and military jet fly-bys went without a hitch. The weather could not have been more complementing to the sellout crowd of some 30,000.

Situated some 30 miles southeast of Nashville in Wilson County lies only one of three concrete tracks on the Nascar circuit. Annually, the 1.33-mile track hosts two Busch series races. Indy series racing and the Craftsman Truck Series race returns on July 18-20.

For the price of admission to the Saturday evening Busch race, fans witnessed a concert by John Michael Montgomery, a short set of songs by the Jackson-based Delacardos - a sextet singing a cappela, a skydiving exhibition by the 101st Airborne Division based in Clarksville, and 300 miles of racing by the best in the Busch series - the junior league to the Nascar's Winston Cup. Although the cars are slightly slower than the Winston Cup series, the boys from the Busch series always provide a top-notch show. The loud roar of the engines, the smell of tires burning rubber, and the distinct smell of the high-octane fuel soon becomes a staple of any race fan. Nascar is the fastest growing sport with attendance at venues such as Daytona, Bristol, Talladega easily outpacing any football, basketball outing. Sitting in the driver's seat are disciplined athletes who forgo the need for earrings (save Kyle Petty), tattoos, or backward caps (save Dale, Jr.). The sport attracts a loyal throng of spectators, who buy the sponsors products and wear shirts and caps sporting their favorite driver's name and sponsor.

Jack Sprague - driving the #24 NetZero Chevrolet. Sprague, the all-time leading money winner in the Craftsman Truck Series, edged out Bobby Hamilton, Jr. of Nashville to win the 7:00 p.m. Inside Traxx 300. Hamilton was a local favorite, driving the Ford Taurus car sponsored by the U.S. Marines. Officers from the Marine Corps were on hand to substantiate the sponsorship and were visible in Hamilton's pits throughout the race. Coming in third was Greg Biffle, driving the Grainger-sponsored Ford Taurus.

During the production, Fox Network was busy televising the live broadcast along with members of the Motor Racing Network, which provided a live radio broadcast. Still photographers from Winston Cup Scene and area newspapers were on hand as well.
 

Area Junior High Teams Compete in Bethel Shootout

McKenzie Middle School, Clarksburg Junior High, West Middle of Jackson, Greenfield Junior High and two teams each from Hickman Co. Middle (KY) and Mayfield Middle (KY) competed in three games each in the one-day event.

In the opening contest of the morning, Hickman Co. defeated McKenzie 26-19 in a tough battle. Game two saw Mayfield down Clarksburg 32-6. Other results from the day included: West Middle over Hickman Co. 43-13; Mayfield defeated McKenzie 31-21; Greenfield over Hickman Co. 25-14; Hickman Co. downed Clarksburg 31-10; Mayfield over Greenfield 28-16; West over McKenzie 45-10; Greenfield over Hickman Co. 36-24; Mayfield defeated Clarksburg 20-6. In the final contest of the day, the two undefeated teams of the day, Mayfield (8th grade team) and West Middle of Jackson faced off. Mayfield cruised to an easy 43-26 victory.

Bethel College will host a Boy's Individual Basketball camp for ages 8-17 on June 28-30 at Baker Fieldhouse at Bethel College. Coach Jeff Britt and the Wildcat Coaching staff will instruct the camp. For more information, please contact Coach Britt at 731-352-4203.