By DAVID MILLER
Special to The Dispatch
When the Southern All-Stars Racing Series began in 1983, founder and Birmingham, Ala. race promotor BJ Parker wanted to give regional racers a chance to travel and race for larger prize money.
Parker, who died in 2011, would smile at the milestone the series will reach this weekend at Magnolia Motor Speedway.
SAS will feature a two-day show at the 12th annual Governor’s Cup starting tonight, including features in Super Late Models, Crate Late Models, Street Stocks and Factory Stocks for the largest-ever total purse in the 32-year history of the series: $40,000. The payouts also include $1,000-to-start.
“Magnolia is a premier stop on our series,” said Lynn Acklin, SAS director. “(Magnolia track promoter) Johnny Stokes, he was a real follower of Southern All-Stars and won several races. Since he’s had Magnolia, we’ve been coming over. I’m glad we could get this deal done.”
Acklin said Stokes was the only track promoter on the series slate to bid on an experimental, two-day race weekend. He expects more than 40 Super Late Model drivers to show up this weekend, some from Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.
“It may work, it may not,” Acklin said. “We’ve done what we can to get it out there.”
The SAS has been attached to the Governor’s Cup for six years. Last year’s race was rained out. The race has had four different Super Late Model winners in six years.
The race is the second major-money feature on Magnolia’s schedule following the Lucas Oil Clash at the Mag in June, where $20,000 went to the winner and more than $80,000 was awarded over the weekend.
This weekend, with $1,000 to start the race, local racers have a chance to earn what they’d normally make for winning a Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series race simply by finishing in the top 5. And with the cost of running Super Late Models each weekend, starting purses alone could cover significant operational costs.
“If you’re gonna run with those boys in Supers, they’re gonna break out new tires every week,” said Chad McCool, who runs both Super Late Models and Crate Late Models. “You’re looking at $160 a tire to a $50 in Crates. In my Crate car, I spend about $30 on gas. It’s gonna eat up $100 on fuel in Super Late Models.”
McCool will only run the NeSmith/Limited Late model races this weekend and will enjoy “watching the bad boys” in the Super Late Model show, despite solid odds of making the feature. At The Clash, McCool won his B-main race to crack the field of 24 — with a Crate car. Still, he doesn’t want to risk losing money in that attempt.
“You gotta look at reality — and there’s a good chance you could make the show if it falls in your favor,” he said. “They had 46 Super Late Models several weeks ago, and I made the show with a Crate motor. We got lucky, and you’re not gonna make the show every time that way.”
McCool has been selective about how many Super Late Model races he’s participated in, mostly sticking to weekly racing events. Tires and fuel are one factor for drivers, but maintenance on a Super Late Model motor is just as great of a concern, he said.
“Everything is tedious,” McCool said. “Maintenance on a big motor is 10 times more than a Crate motor — you change valve springs, don’t run it hot, you’re good with a Crate motor. I’ve run six years on my Crate motor; you put 600 laps on a super late engine, it needs to be freshened up.
“The money this weekend would help any Super Late Model driver.”
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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