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