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

MS Dirt Track Series @ Causeyville - March 20, 2010

The MS Dirt Track Series opener was at Causeyville Raceway on March 20, 2010. We were excited about starting the series out at our home track and were also happy to have Rowdy and Pam from Chase'n Race'n Illustrated here to cover the race.

Spencer qualified on the pole for the Jr Purple race. At the start of the feature Spencer pulled out to a slight lead but Jacob Pender was hot on his heels. They caught up to a lap kart and Spencer tried to pass him on the outside but the kart turned up into Spencer and allowed Jacob to snatch the lead. A caution tightened the field up and in a couple of laps Spencer got his nose under Jacob coming in to turn 3 but Jacob was coming down and his left rear clipped Spencer's nose and it turned him around. In my opinion neither driver was at fault and they should have been put back in 1st and 2nd but they didn't ask my opinion and sent Spencer to the rear. He was back up to 2nd in a couple of laps but ran out of time to challenge for the lead. Congratulations to Jacob on the win!

The video is posted here.


At the end of the night they held the 1st annual Rodney Bounds Memorial Jr Pro and Sr Pro Shootouts in honor of a long time racer who recently passed away. The Jr Pro was originaly set for $750 winner take all but the series promoter let the drivers vote at the drivers meeting and they voted overwhelmingly to pay $500 to win and $250 for 2nd.

Spencer qualified 3rd for the shootout. After one try at a double file start and several tries at single file (karts kept going dead) the race finally went green and stayed green flag to flag. Spencer was able to move up to 2nd and he held off some hard charges by Jarrod May and others before finally using lap traffic to put a comfortable distance between himself and 3rd place. Congratulations to the winner Cole Daffron and to Spencer for hanging tough and bringing home the 2nd place money! For those of you who aren't fellow racers Jr Pro is for ages 9 to 14 and just in case you're wondering about the level of competition Cole Daffron is the defending Maxxis National Champion in Jr 2 (age 10 to 12) ;) Many thanks to the Bounds family for sponsoring this event!

Here's the video.



Jennifer took over 400 pics. I'm sure she will have them posted soon.

* Actually, I ended up taking 501 photos. Not all are great, but time prohibits me from editing and sorting. Enjoy! - Jennifer

Causeyville Practice Day

We had a great day of practice on March 6th! Johnny even got in one to test it out. Ellie quickly showed him how to pass! ;)

Brandon, MS-Indoor Thunder #3

Life's kinda busy right now with non-racing stuff. Strange, I know, that we dare to have other things going on beside racing. ;) I'll try to get Johnny to update you on what all happened. Until then, here's the still shots I was able to take. If you need larger images for printing purposes, send me an email and I'll see what I can do.
Thanks - Jennifer

Well of course the coldest weather in 20 years rolled in for the Brandon Race. After hoping and praying it would be called off we (Spencer and I) decided that if they were having it we would be there. When Spencer got ready to go out for practice Friday night it was so cold the little bit of moisture inside his throttle cable housing froze and we had to replace the throttle cable before he could go out. Thankfully Ellie decided not to practice and 1 round was enough for Spencer.

We arrived back at the track bright and early Saturday morning with temps in the lower teens and 15 to 20 MPH winds. It really was not too bad since we had heaters and cold weather clothes but it was cold enough to make me swear off any future winter racing plans. There's a reason racing is supposed to be a summertime sport ;)

Ellie qualified on the pole and led every lap of the Beginner Boxstock $100 to win shootout race! Woo Hoo go Ellie.

Spencer qualified 2nd in Jr Purple and he was in the lead by lap 3 and led the rest of the race. Spencer didn't have quite as much luck in the Jr Pro shootout. He qualified 9th and was able to move up to 6th.

Jennifer ordered a professional video from Kato Video Productions so as soon as it comes in the mail we will try to post it.

See ya'll when it warms up,
Johnny

3rd Annual Maxxis National Championship

So, this past weekend was the 3rd Annual Maxxis National Championship in Neeses, SC at the Thundervalley Motorplex. This is an invitation-only event and only the top 20 qualifiers in the purple class could race in the feature. At the first drivers meeting, the event staff reported that 19 states were represented there to race.

Here are the photos from this weekend. I'm going to apologize now for the quality of photos and the soon to be uploaded video. I don't feel either are up to my usual standard. I'm also not going to go into detail about the racing results as I find Johnny does a much better job writing that up. :)

If you want quality photos, I strongly suggest you check out Rowdy's site!



The Race Report

We arrived on Friday afternoon but the track was just too wet. They had rain for I think they said 12 out of the past 13 days. We got everything unloaded and the karts registered and run through safety tech then we enjoyed a free barbeque dinner provided by Chester Hester and Maxxis Tires.

Saturday we arrived bright and early only to find that the track was still too wet. Practice was delayed and we finaly were able to get on the track around lunch time. They would get the track rolled in and looking good but every time the karts got up to speed it would start breaking apart. Finaly Mr James Moore got back on the motor grader and cut it about 2 foot deep until he found some drier dirt. Qualifying finaly got started around 5:00 PM. Spencer qualified 19th out of 30 karts and made it into the feature race.

Next it was Ms Ellie's turn to make her debut at a National event. She ran in the Chase'n Race'n Kids class. They drew for starting position and she started 5th. She was able to move up one spot and bring home a 4th place finish.

Afer Ellie's race it was Spencer's turn again. He started 19th and was up to 12th but the race was caution filled and we ran out of fuel and had to pull in. He wound up with a 17th place finish in the Jr 1 Lite class. During the next race of the night the rain came and the rest of the features had to be postponed until Sunday.

Sunday morning they finished the remaining classes from Saturday then had a brief drivers meeting and a church service led by Brett Miller of Kerting Crusaders. Spencer qualified 17th out of 30 and again made the feature. We struggled all weekend with the setup on that slick South Carolina clay but he was on the move in the feature until a nudge from behind sent him off the track on the back straight away. Knowing that he had gone a lap down and would not have a chance at the win Spencer elected to pull off the track. While I was disappointed he didn't finish it may have been the best move because they had a big pile up on the next lap and even red flaged the race so the officials could have a talk with the kids about rough driving. Congratulations to Brody Pope for his win in the Jr 1 Heavy class Sunday. We first met Brody at the Mid West Jr Kahuna in Warrensburg, MO and he is a super nice kid!

Chester and crew did a great job of keeping the program moving along and after collecting Ellie's plaque we were on the road by 9:30 PM.

All in all we had a really good time, met a lot of great people, and learned a lot. We plan to go back next year and hopefully bring home that leather jacket.

Johnny

MS Dirt Track Series @ Pontotoc Kart Speedway 10-3-09

We went into the final race knowing that to win the Series championship we would have to finish ahead of 03 Cole Brown. Unfortunately for us Cole did an outstanding job, qualifying on the pole and leading every lap to secure the win and the championship. Congratulations to Cole for an awesome season! We had 6 races and 4 different winners with Spencer and Cole picking up 2 wins each and Konner Copeland and Jacob Pender with one win each.

Spencer qualified 3rd and fell back a couple of spots early in the race. On the flatheads if you fill them too full of fuel it will cause the motor to stumble when they go through the corner. Although we filled it to the same point we always do, we had not been on a track where we turned 10 second lap times and the additional gforce must have caused the fuel to slosh up and block the vent. The 2nd place kart spun out and during the caution Spencer pulled into the pits because he thought his motor was messing up. I realized what was happening and sent him back out but the rule is that if a kart leaves the track for any reason they have to start in the rear. To complicate matters the transponder (scoring device) got knocked of the kart in the wreck and it came down to a photo finish between Spencer and Jacob for 3rd place. From our view as well as Spencer and Jacob's view it looked like Spencer passed him before the start finish line but Jacob was scored in 3rd place.

It was a heartbreaker for the #11 team but we were able to hang on to a 2nd place finish in the points and we are now looking forward to the Maxxis National Championships Oct 16-18 in Neeses, SC.

Big thanks to Russell Hunt with Outlaw Motorsports and Jeff White for all the setup help throughout the year!!

Here's the video from the feature.


Here are the photos from Saturday. I've gotten my camera back from surgery, but I think there may be some scar tissue. ;) I'm still trying to convince Johnny that a D300s would make the kids go faster.

MS Dirt Track Series - Whynot Motorsports Park Sept 5, 2009

After a 3 hour rain delay we wound up chasing the setup all day. We were much better in the feature and wound up with a strong 3rd place finish. Congratulations to 1st place Konner Copeland and 2nd Cole Brown!!

Here's the video from the feature.


Here are the still shots that were taken that day. They were captured using the iPhone, the JVC camcorder and the Nikon Coolpix. My D80 had to be sent to the hospital for surgery. We're praying for a fast and effective (and not too expensive) recovery. Also, if you're thinking of getting the JVC Everio camcorder for recording racing - don't. We've actually returned that model to the store due to picture quality being so bad and image stabilization being nonexistent!

Jr Kahuna/MASN - Missouri

Here's one of the videos where Spencer is accepting his award from Mr. Rowdy Jordan of Chase'n Race'n Illustrated.

Jr Kahuna/MASN - Missouri

iPhone:


Coolpix:


Nikon D80 (before death):




edited: I would really like to thank my sister, Renea, for allowing me to use her camera, for taking most of the photos and for taking most of the videos! You're an awesome Aunt Nea!!

Jr Kahuna/MASN - Missouri

Please be patient with me. I'm trying to gather all the photos and videos that were taken. My main camera (Nikon D80) died on Friday while shooting the practice. I had to borrow my sister's Coolpix and use the iPhone. I'll get an update here hopefully later today or tomorrow.

Thanks - Jennifer

PS - If you know of a good way to explain to my husband why this is a good time to move up to the D300, please let me know. ;)

Causeyville Racetrack

August 15, 2009



Spencer was sent to the rear and came up to finish 1st! Ellie started and finished 1st! It was a good night of racing for the Hughes family. :)

Ellie's Feature Race


Spencer's Feature Race

MS Dirt Track Series - Causeyville

August 8, 2009

Aug 8th MS Dirt Track Series - Jr Purple Feature

Spencer qualified 4th but was able to bring it to the front for the win!

He Won!!!

Our son has won the Chase'n Race'n Illustrated Hired Gun contest! This is HUGE. I'll post more information once I calm down and my hands quick shaking so much from the excitement! :)

Take care - Me (very very proud, praying, thankful Mom)

Also - I've added the Chase'n Race'n Illustrated link to the side bar - check them out! My pictures want to be like them when they grow up. :)

http://karting.4cycle.com/showthread.php?t=269437