By DAVID MILLER
Special to The Dispatch
The top of the Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series will not have a repeat champion or runner-up this season.
As the MSCCS Super Late Model season kicks off Saturday at Columbus Motor Speedway, last year’s points champion, Oktibbeha County resident David Breazeale will be a spectator.
Breazeale, who edged New Hope’s Rick Rickman by 55 points last season, had a tough choice to make at the end of 2014: race a full slate, or take a step back to dedicate more time and effort to his logging business.
He chose the latter.
“In a way, it’s relieving,” Breazeale said. “I get so busy, especially in the summer, when racing also picks up. Just takes such a toll, mentally and physically.
“But if I’m not working, I want to be racing.”
Breazeale did anticipate weather adversely affecting the logging industry — and the racing season — for the last month. Now, with free time, there’s still a chance he may get a call to race someone’s car this weekend. Breazeale left open the chance to run on a race-by-race basis if anyone needs a driver, much like he did three years ago, his final year driving for Leon Henderson.
“Haven’t been out trying to get anything for this weekend, either,” Breazeale said. “I decided at the end of last year to take a step back. Didn’t want to commit to anything knowing my work schedule and how busy I’d be.”
Breazeale likely would have been a favorite for Saturday night’s feature, as he won two MSCCS races and finished second in another at “The Bullring” in 2014.
Breazeale said Bud McCool, of Vicksburg, has taken over his former ride owned by Randy Thompson.
With Breazeale out this weekend — for now — Rick Rickman is a favorite to win the $2,500-to-win State race. Rickman is banking on another new Bob Pierce race car will produce the same fresh-out-the-box result as last year, when he used a brand-new Pierce car to win at Whynot Speedway in Meridian. Rickman said he’ll have his one-year-old Bob Pierce car as a backup, either for himself or another member of the Rickman team, which includes brother, Brian, who finished third in the MSCCS standings last year.
“The new car hasn’t touched the dirt year,” Rick Rickman said. “We’ve all been itching to get on a track — anywhere.
While Rickman is happy to see an additional state race at Columbus this year — now up to four — he likely will not have a chance to use the advantage of his hometown track to chase a championship. Rickman said he’ll dedicate more time in the late summer and fall to watching son, Trey, who also races, play his final season of football at New Hope High School.
“I missed a lot of games last year,” he said. “We’ll run the majority of the races, but I won’t miss his games this year, like I did last year.”
Rickman said his brother, Brian, is still undecided on running a full MSCCS slate, a decision that’ll likely be made after the first few races of the season. If he does, he’ll be a favorite to claim his first MSCCS points title.
“He was tough all year,” Breazeale said. “If he races all year, he’ll be at the top. Chad Thrash came on strong the last several years, too. The last couple of years he’s missed a couple for different reasons, but he’ll be tough. Neil Baggett will be tough, too.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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