WHEATLAND, MO. (April 13, 2023) – Opening night at Lucas Oil Speedway was the ultimate good news/bad news outcome for JC Newell in the Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod division.
Debuting a new Allen Autosports car – without so much as a lap of practice – the 26-year-old from Buffalo didn’t know what to expect when he unloaded back on March 25th.
“I was pretty nervous going into that weekend,” Newell said. “It was the first time I’d taken a new car out like that, with no practice. I was surprised for it to be as quick as it was.”
Newell led the first 11 laps in the feature and had a 1.5-second command when he suddenly slowed and pulled to the infield. What appeared to be a victory with his grasp disappeared in a blink.
“A maintenance issue on my end kind of cost us,” Newell said, noting a throttle linkage fell off the carburetor. “We were just excited to come right out of the box with the speed we had the first night, but definitely upset because we felt we gave one away. But we’d rather break leading than running 10th or something.”
Newell looks forward to getting into a regular racing rhythm, beginning with Saturday night’s Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series program. The Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods are the headline class, running a 25-lap feature for $750 to win.
He’s also looking forward to getting back to regular contention at Lucas Oil Speedway, where he was fourth in B-Mod season points in 2021 with one feature win and four other top-five finishes. Newell wound up fifth in the deep, talented B-Mod division in 2020.
Last year saw a curtailed schedule after Newell and wife Lindsey welcomed son Deacon in February. Now 14 months, Deacon is enjoying his time around the track, probably destined to someday become a fourth-generation Newell racer.
“We also had some problems getting some engine parts and didn’t have our motor for most of the season,” Newell said of 2022. “So we ran a pretty limited schedule last year.”
Racing definitely is a family affair. Newell’s younger brother Dayton and dad Ben race Midwest Mods and his grandfather “Big JC” drove pavement cars until recent years. His father-in-law, Scotty Allen, is well known for both his driving and car-building skills. Allen, Ben Newell and “Big JC” all are members of the Ozarks Area Racers Foundation Hall of Fame.
JC Newell said he’s looking forward to racing with Allen some this season as Scotty gets a chance to compete in B-Mods.
“Just hopefully try and win some races,” JC Newell said of his goals in a new-look car that has a primary color of orange. He figured the new car was a perfect time to change up the appearance.
“My dad used to race an orange car back in the day and I wanted to do something bright and different and stand out,” JC said of the new look. “We had run red and white and it seemed like a lot of guys were in red and white. We just wanted to try something different.”
Newell’s sponsors include Prime Inc., Los Hermanos Mexican Restaurant, The Butcher Shop, Royal Heating and Air, Pomme Plumbing LLC, Bite Me Hooks, Scotty’s Signs & Wraps, KR Performance Fuels LLC, RACE Schock Service and Ruble Racing Engines.
The Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods will headline Round Two of the Weekly Racing Series Presented by Townsquare Media and KIX 105.7 FM. The Hermitage Lumber Late Models, Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modifieds and O’Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars also will be in action.
Pit gates open at 4 p.m. with grandstands at 5, hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.
Kids’ Pit Tour: Resuming this week will be the Frogs Jr Fan Club Pit Tour, led by flagman Mike Striegel. Prior to each weekly dirt-track racing program this season, Striegel will lead a pit tour on a large golf cart for youngsters ages 5-12 with the youngsters signing up for a drawing each week to be a part of the tour.
Striegel will drive them through the pits and stop and visit with various drivers where the youngsters can see the race cars up close, take pictures and collect autographs.
Kids can sign up for the Frogs Jr Fan Club on the south end of the Midway after gates open at 5 p.m. for a chance to go on the pit tour.
Ticket info:
Advance Discount Tickets online only (16 and up) $12
Adults (16 and up) $15
Seniors (62 and up)/Military $12
Youth (6-15) $5
Kids (5 and under) FREE
Family Pass $35
Pit Pass $35
SRX roster of drivers expands, with tickets on sale: General admission tickets for the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) race scheduled for Aug. 17 at Lucas Oil Speedway remain on sale. Some of the biggest names in racing will be on hand as the SRX Thursday Night Thunder event will be the finale in the six-race series.
Drivers previously announced for the Wheatland event include Tony Stewart, Kenny Wallace, Hailie Deegan, Brad Keselowski, Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, Helio Castroneves, Clint Bowyer, reigning SRX Champion Marco Andretti, Paul Tracy and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Tickets for the SRX event are $35 in advance and $40 at the gate (ages 16 and over). Kids (ages 6-15) will be $20 with ages 5-and-under free. Advance tickets can now be purchased via Stubwire – https://www.stubwire.com/event/srxespnthursdaynightthunder/lucasoilspeedway/wheatland/28075/ Pit passes are $50 and must be purchased the day of the event.
For information about any event at Lucas Oil Speedway in 2023 contact admissions director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or email her at nichole@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information.
CONTACT:
Danny Lorton
Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager
Office: (417) 282-5984