2010 MS Dirt Track Series Jr Purple Champion

Wow what a year. As you can see it's been a long time since I posted any updates. June 10th my dad Stanley Hughes aka "Grandaddy Chief" passed away unexpectedly in his sleep. Needless to say this turned our world upside down.


Thankfully we had a couple of weeks off from racing but we resumed our season June 26th with the Mississippi Dirt Track Series race at Jackson Motor Speedway in Byram, MS. Spencer qualified 2nd in Jr Purple but was able to catch the other #11 Cruz Skinner and after swapping the lead a few times Spencer was able to pull away and bring home the win. This was also the first race for our new 2010 Ultramax Excentrik chassis in Jr Pro. We had a flat in the staging area before the race and the left rear tire we wound up running was not optimal but Spencer was able to salvage a 4th place finish in Jr Pro.


July 4th weekend we made the trip to Georgia Karting Komplex in Carnesville, GA for the 1st annual Maxx Daddy Championships. In the Purple heavy class we qualified 5th but dropped back a bit in the feature and finished 7th. Next up was Purple light. Spencer qualified 7th and was able to advance to 5th bringing home his first top 5 at a national event. Then it was time for the big 50 lap Maxx Daddy race. Spencer qualified 3rd and moved up to 2nd during the early laps. The kart was a bit off so he had dropped back to 5th by the halfway fuel stop. After the restart he started moving back up before he could make his move the 3rd and 4th place karts got together and Spencer got caught up in the aftermath. A bent wheel ended our hopes for a Maxx Daddy but we'll be back to try again next year.


Next up was the Aug 7th double points race at Causeyville. There were no other Purple plates so Spencer moved up to Blue plate and won. Ellie finished 2nd in her race.

August 14th we traveled to Pontotoc, MS for the 5th MSDTS race. Spencer qualified on the pole and the storms rolled in after qualifying so we came home with a rain shortened victory.

The last race of the Mississippi Dirt Track Series was September 11th at Causeyville. Spencer finished 2nd in the race but won the MSDTS Jr Purple Championship by 8 points over Jacob Pender. He will be getting his leather jacket at the first race of next season.

The last regular points race at Causeyville was Sept 18th. Spencer qualified on the pole and won the race to lock in his 3rd track championship. Ellie made it a bit more interesting. She qualified on the pole and was leading the heat race but she tried to pass a lapped kart on the outside and spun. She started 5th in the feature but brought it to the front for an impressive win over Chase Griffith. Chase was flying but Ellie was a woman on a mission :)






October 15th and 16th found us at Thunder Valley Motorplex in Neeses, SC for the Maxxis National Championships. On Saturday we decided to run the Element. Spencer qualified 21st and was able to advance a bit in the feature to finish 17th. Sunday morning we attended a great church service at the track led by Brett Miller. Thanks Brett for sharing God's word through your Karting Crusaders ministry. We decided to run the 2010 Excentrik and with a lot of help from Kevin Bishop with the Ultramax factory team Spencer was able to advance from his 13th place starting position to finish 5th and earn his first podium finish at the Maxxis Nationals.





We finished up the 2010 season at Causeyville Nov 7th with the Jody Pierce Performance Shootout. Spencer qualified 4th in Jr Purple but was able to bring it to the front for the win. In the Jr Pro shootout he started 8th and had dropped back to around 12th during the early laps. After a caution Spencer's tires came in and he started charging back through the field. He was up to 5th when he left the track to avoid a spin in front of him, jumped a pile of dirt and bashed his ankle on the gas pedal when he landed. No broken bones thankfully but he was unable to continue.

Spencer wound up with 11th Feature wins for 2010 and Ellie had 4 Feature wins. We are skipping the winter races this year and plan to hit the track again around March.

Whynot MS Dirt Track Series Race - 5/22/2010

Saturday May 22nd the MS Dirt Track series made a stop at Whynot Motorsports Park. We got a lot of rain Thursday and Friday but it was hot and dry Saturday and the track was in good shape. Spencer qualified 2nd and started out strong but the other #11 kart, Cruz Skinner was able to hold on to the lead and cruise to the win but the race was on between Spencer Hughes and Aidan Eldridge for 2nd. Unfortunately the tape in the camcorder ran out with 2 laps to go but they were side by side coming off turn 4 on the final lap and Aidan beat Spencer to the stripe by 1/100th of a second. It doesn't get much closer than that :) Check out the video.



I also made my Whynot go kart debut in the adult clone engine class. I qualified 6th out of 21 but on the 1st lap the 6 kart and the 13 got together sending the 13 spinning. I though he was gonna spin towards the infield but just as I made my move to go high his kart shot back up the track in front of me. My kart hit his the backed into the wall then was hit again by the kart behind me. I was unable to continue due to a bent bearing hanger on the right rear but other than that and the bumper both the kart and driver are in good shape. I do hope they invest in a few more hay bales next time cause that concrete wall doesn't budge ;) Here's the video.



Jennifer took lots of pictures. They will be posted on the P & R Photos site as soon as she can get them sorted and uploaded.

Causeyville Raceway - 5/15/2010

Saturday May 15th we returned to Causeyville Raceway for a regular Saturday night show. We had some storms roll through around 3:00 PM but although there was a lot of wind and lightning not a lot of rain fell. After some track work by the Dirt Track Doctor, Bill Moffett the track was in great shape but because of the time and the fog rolling in the decision was made to cancel the heat races and go directly from qualifying to the features.

Ellie qualified 2nd and was able to take the lead in her feature race but Chase Griffith was hot on her heels. An entanglement with a lapped kart was all Chase needed to snatch the lead. Congratulations to Chase on the win and Ellie for a very hard fought 2nd place. The video is below.



Next it was Spencer's turn. Since there were no other purple plate karts we had to switch engines and add 25 pounds so he could move up and run with the blue plate class. He qualified on the pole and cruised to the win in the feature. Below is the video.



Finally it was time for the highly anticipated Adult Amature Clone aka The Old Man Class. With some driving tips from Spencer and Ellie and some top notch tire prep from Jennifer and Grandaddy Chief I was also able to qualify on the pole and cruise to the win ahead of Ernie Burgess, John Griffith, and Randy "Too Fast" Rawson. Take a look at the video.



This week we will be heading to Whynot Motorsports Park where Spencer and I will be racing in the MS Dirt Track Series race. Ellie will be working collecting transponders when the karts come off the track and Jennifer will be fulfilling her pit crew duties as well as taking pictures for P&R Photos.

Hope to see you there!

Hughes Family Racing on WMOX radio

On Thursday May 13th the Hughes Family Racing Team made a guest appearance on Sportsline 1010 on WMOX 1010 AM. Unfortunately there was a mishap with the recording equipment and the first half of the show where Spencer and Ellie did most of the talking did not get recorded but the last half of the show can be heard at

http://www.wmox.net/index.php/category/recorded-live/

We really enjoyed our visit and want to thank the show host "The Wizard" and the station owner Bill Smith for having us.

Dalton Riley Benefit Race

It started raining about 8:00 PM Friday and a very light rain kept on until around 11:00 AM Saturday. Most of the out of town racers didn't show because of the rain but the local folks were there along with a few from Louisiana and Alabama. Thankfully a lot of people showed up to buy BBQ plates. Spencers bottle tree went into a raffle along with some gift baskets donated by Mathis Peaches and Produce and some free magazine subscriptions from Chase'n Race'n Illustrated. All of the racers who finished in the money donated their winnings to Dalton. Over $5000 was raised at the track and several of the racers who could not make it are sending donations in the mail.

It was a really good day for the Hughes Family Racing team. Ellie won her class. No other karts were there in Spencer's class so he moved up to the 10 to 12 year old "blue plate' class and he won also. Finally it was my turn. I qualified 3rd and was running 2nd when the leader politely spun out and I inherited the lead. So the old man was able to pull out a victory in his first ever go kart race. After the race Randy Rawson, Causeyville Raceway and MS Dirt Track series promoter borrowed our go kart for a special grudge match with Denise Lamonte from Louisiana. Denise won (although Randy swears she cheated) so Randy will be wearing a pink dress to the drivers meeting at the Whynot MSDTS race on May 22nd.

Sorry no videos from this one but the photos are online at P & R Photos We are very excited since this was Jennifer's first time shooting pics for P&R Photos/Chase'n Race'n Illustrated. This is an opportunity for Jennifer to learn from the best in the business, Rowdy Jordan and it also gives our readers the opportunity to order prints and other great merchandise from P&R Photos such as, Checkbook Covers, Coffee Mugs, Dog Tags, Eye Glass Cases, Hitch Covers, Key Chains, Key Hangers, License Plates, License Plate Frames, Light Switch Covers, Memo Holders, Mouse Pads, Photo Tees, Wall Clocks, Wall Plaques, and Water Bottles. Customized Photo Products from P&R Photos are an outstanding way to show your support for your favorite racer! Our products also make great gifts for any occasion! All of our products are Dye-Sublimated, a process that actually "fuses" inks onto the product. This results in vibrant, long lasting images that resist fading and certainly won't peel like a heat transfer.

This week we have a regular Saturday night race at Causeyville then next week we go to Whynot. Results to follow.

Bottled Up! Help a local family

Causeyville Raceway is having a benefit race this Saturday May 1st for Dalton Riley. Dalton is 14 years old and needs a kidney transplant. His Dad is the only available donor so in addition to the medical expenses he will be out of work for around 4 months. All proceeds from the race are going to the Riley's. BBQ chicken plates will be on sale beginning at 10:30 AM for $5. You do not have to pay an admission fee to come in and pick up plates but if you stay to watch the races a $5 donation is requested. Pit passes are $20.

Spencer has made a bottle tree to be auctioned off at the race. Check out the pictures below.

MS Dirt Track Series - Booneville - 2010

So, I think I've figured out a way to post the photos without going to a paid site. This is a short-term solution and I'm looking into other uploading venues. I took over 1600 photos Saturday, so you've got a few to look at. I may have to put a paypal button to the side to help support the photo/video fee. I'd love to hear from our readers to see if they'd be willing to donate a dollar to keep seeing them. :)

I'll let Johnny do his usual magic with the video and write up. It may be a couple of days, so hang in there.

Thanks - Jennifer

Race Report

Spencer qualified on the pole for the Jr Purple class. When the feature race started he was able to pull out to a pretty good lead but caution after caution kept slowing the field. After hanging in there for 12 laps we had one last restart on lap 13. Jacob was in 2nd place and pulled a smooth move on Spencer going into turn one to take the lead. Another kart hit Spencer from behind and wheel hopped him almost giving his Mom a heart attack but he was able to hold on and bring home another 2nd place finish. Congratulations to Jacob on the win! This is a short week and we haven't even had time to watch the video but I will try to get it posted soon.

This week is a regular Saturday night show at Causeyville then we have a week off before the big Dalton Riley Benefit Race at Causeyville on May 1st. Dalton has major medical problems and is in need of a kidney transplant. His dad is the donor so on top of all the medical bills he will have to be off work for several months. The race format will be the same as the MS Dirt Track Series but all proceeds will go to the Riley family. BBQ plates will be sold for $5 each. Tickets are available now at BJ's Tire and Service Center in Quitman, MS.

Johnny