October 6, 2009     I-77 Speedway Banquet

 Richburg, SC (October 6, 2009) -

Richburg, SC (October 6, 2009) – Team 65 celebrated with closure of the 2009 season with the champions banquet on Tuesday evening. As always, the Mosley family provided a terrific event for everyone to enjoy.

David presented his fourth place trophy to Team 65 crew member Ash Wilson for the hard work he put in during his first year with the team. Ash and his wife, Ashley have become part of the family and they worked tirelessly all year. Congratulations to them both for a job well done and a huge thank you from the rest of the team and family.

David and Maureen at the banquet.

Greg was awarded a trophy for placing fifth in the points and Donnie Tanner was honored with the “Hard Luck” award. Considering Donnie’s horrible luck and engine troubles this year the award certainly fit. The team accepted the award on Donnie’s behalf.

Sue was the photographer for the team since Sam and MacD could not make the trip to the banquet. The remaining photos can be seen in the galleries.

This closes out 2009. There are no plans for any additional races at this point so there may not be any updates for some time.

September 21, 2009     Promising Start Goes Sour

 Richburg, SC (September 21, 2009) -

The season ending Robert Pursley & Friends Memorial race weekend was held at I-77 Speedway with a good field of cars on hand for qualifying and heats on Friday night and a full field of cars for the Main events on Saturday.

After Greg’s wreck last weekend that took the 65M out of commission the decision was made to take Greg’s motor and put it in David’s car. The motor in David’s car was blown the week before at Lancaster Motor Speedway. The team pieced together what we had left so David could race.

It looked hopeful on Friday night when David qualified fifth fastest and won his heat race, setting him to start third in the main behind fastest qualifiers Jeffrey McGuirt (#07) and Wes Helms (#98). David looked strong in the early going but with two laps to go blew a head gasket ending the night and the season the same way we started, in the pits under the hood.

We were only able to get in two and a half races before the rains came ending the night early. The event is being rescheduled for a few weeks down the road. We are unsure if the Super Stock 4s will be back racing or not.

The team evaluates what went wrong.

It was great to have the Bell Racing family back with us at the Speedway this weekend. It was Chris’s first run on the new configuration and he quickly got back to his winning ways setting fourth fastest time and winning his heat race in the Crate Sportsman division. Unfortunately, he was in the line up to race next when it started to rain.

Chris Bell

Team 65 fan Stacy Mauney went over the top this weekend with a nice banner for David Scott. Stacy and Jeff were very kind to let the Team 65 trailers spend the night at their house Friday night. Thank you Jeff and Stacy for taking care of the team!

Stacy with a sign for her hero!

I am not sure how much we will be updating this site moving forward. For now, David is considering some races at Lancaster into October. If that happens I will continue to provide updates and race results. If not, enjoy the off season. We will see you all next year!

September 05, 2009     Post season racing takes a toll on Team 65

 Richburg, SC (September 14, 2009) -

After a disappointing season in the points at I-77 Speedway Team 65 was looking forward to the post season to do some racing just for the fun of it. The post season started with David running at Lancaster Speedway the weekend of September 5th. Unfortunately David’s bad luck continued, first with a flat tire on the first lap of the Main and then with a blown motor a few laps later. That ended the season for David.

This past weekend Greg brought the 65M to I-77 Speedway for the Shrine race. The night started off stellar with Greg showing some real speed getting the win in his heat and starting outside pole in the Main. Now the bad news. At the drop of the green flag on Greg got a good run on pole sitter Michael Thomas but Thomas went very high in turn two pushing Greg up the track toward the wall. To avoid the wall Greg turned down and was clobbered by just about every other car in the race. Greg banged his elbow very hard and took a short trip in the ambulance but he did not need to go to the hospital. The same could not be said for Beauty as she got beat up and banged up pretty bad. That ended the season for Greg. Some pictures of the car taken the next day at the house are below.

So much for the off-season! The team has decided to take the one good motor left from Greg’s car and put in the one good race car left, David’s, and try again this weekend at I-77 Speedway’s Robert Pursley Memorial Race.

Poor Sue was a mess after the wreck and was inconsolable. She does want to thank Amber Helms for the nursing care and Keith Hudson and the other EMTs that helped Greg in the ambulance. So many drivers, crew, track officials and friends came by to check on Greg that the team was overwhelmed. The mama’s and the driver’s wives always stick together when something like this happens so thank you to Denise Lewis, Hope Graves, Marcia Caviness, Traci Harding for doing your best to keep Sue calm.

I was out in Ohio at the World 100 so missed the whole thing. You can only imagine how hard it was for me to be so far away with Greg hurt and Sue hysterical.

Oh, and the race? It was won by the #58 Michael Thomas who was protested by Jeff McGuirt (#07) with help from a very frustrated Team 65. Thomas refused the protest and was disqualified. The win went to Jeff McGuirt. Congratulations, Jeff!

The night we went to Lancaster Speedway we brought a new comer to his first race ever. Friend Fred Gullatt got to see the world where racing starts right down in the pits at a fast dirt track. Fred had a blast and already said he wants to come back.

Fred Gullatt with David Scott’s #65.

August 22, 2009     Race Results!

Richburg, SC (August 22, 2009) -

Sorry for the delay providing this update. Considering how much fun we had this past Saturday night I was anxious to get this story on the web. Sadly, our mom got very ill over the weekend and I was unable to work on this or much of anything else this week. I am glad to report that mom is out of the hospital and is at home recuperating. For now we are all getting back to our normal routines and that includes an update on last week’s great racing.

David leads the pack in the Heat Race.

Greg had the 65M flying.

The picture on the front page shows Greg Murphy setting up a pass on David Scott during the Mod 4 Main. This was the culmination of a great night of racing for Greg and while it did not garner a win, it was still a great finish. David and Greg had good runs in their heat races with each finishing second so they started third and fourth in the Main. Wes Helms (#98) and Jerry Oliver (#51) quickly got to the front with Greg and David in pursuit. Dustin Sweatt (#s1), Bob Hill (#33) and Shannon Barnhill (#X) were all in hot pursuit. Greg was moving fast while David was fading.
It was awesome to see Greg charging to the front, passing David. At the front of the pack Oliver and Helms got tangled up on the front stretch and Greg and Sweatt also managed to get caught in their mess. Oliver and Sweatt had to pit but Helms and Greg, followed by David managed to continue. At the checkers it was Helms getting the win with Greg second, David Scott third, Bob Hill fourth and Dustin Sweatt fifth.

In the Super Street race Jeff Graves (#Y44) and Rusty Robinson (#44) put on an amazing race running side by side nearly the entire Main with Graves in front until the last half of the last lap with Robinson just getting by for the win. Jeff got second place. Donnie Tanner gave the Chris Crawford #27 another ride in the Super Street division, garnering a top ten finish for the second week in a row.

Ray Dockery’s #8D Crate Late Model

In the Crate Late Model race Ray Dockery’s luck from last weekend didn’t manage to carry over. Ray didn’t get a great start and lost several positions in the first lap and settled for a sixth place finish.

Team 65 crew member Mike Caine celebrated his 27th birthday this past weekend. Happy Birthday, Mike! Crew member AJ Murphy celebrates his 21st birthday this weekend and the Murphy twins, James and Jared, turn 8 on September 8th!! Happy Birthday boys!

Mike blows out the candles on his birthday cupcakes.

Jamie won the Jr. Fan Club drawing this week and selected his daddy as his favorite driver. Thank you to Speedway Photo for the great shot and also for the cool picture on our front page this week.

Jamie Murphy selected his dad, Greg, as his favorite driver.

This weekend’s race capped off the points season at I-77 Speedway. After a dismal start and a mediocre rest of the season we were pleased that David managed to get 4th in points and Greg 5th, but these are still our lowest finishes in five years so the entire team is looking forward to a better year next year!

August 15, 2009     A Night of Much Better Results!

Richburg, SC (August 15, 2009) -

There was an exciting night of racing this past Saturday night at I-77 Speedway. Not only did the Team 65 cars do better but some of the MacD sponsored cars also had an excellent night.

Sue gets a victory lane photo with good friend, Ray Dockery

The racing program for this week was a continuation of the rained out events from last Saturday night. The Modified 4 Main began with Michael Thomas (#58) selecting the outside pole with Wes Helms (#98) on the inside. David lined up third with Jerry Oliver (#51) fourth, Greg fifth, Dustin Sweatt (s1) sixth, Shannon Barnhill (1x) seventh and Shane Faile (#91) eighth. Helms got off to a quick start and had the lead going to turn one and never let it go. The race was between Oliver and Scott who quickly got by Thomas. Lap after lap David pulled along side Jerry trying to complete the pass. Sweatt and Murphy also passed the #58, moving into the fourth and fifth places.

On the last lap coming to the checkered flag David tried one more time and managed to get the nose of the #65 just ahead of Oliver, getting the second place finish. Helms got the win followed by David Scott, Jerry Oliver, Dustin Sweatt, Greg Murphy, Michael Thomas, Shane Faile and Shannon Barnhill.

The biggest news of the night was in the Crate Late Model race where Ray Dockery had a dominating night in the heats and the Main. Ray won his heat and started on pole in the main. At the drop of the green in the Main Jay Sessoms grabbed the lead but Ray never gave up and worked on Sessoms lap after lap, eventually getting beside and then past Sessoms to take the lead. He never looked back. Ray captured the very popular win with Andy Blackwood (#57) second, Pat Lindsay (#21) third, Johnny Pursley (#9) fourth and Chris Cantrell (#114) rounding out the top 5. MacD Racing Partners is very proud to sponsor the Kenneth and Ravonda King owned 8D. Ray is a good friend and a terrific race car driver. This was a big win for their team and we were very glad to be a part of it.

In the Super Street race Jeff Graves (y44) had another great run with a heat win and a strong second place finish in the Main. This week Chris Crawford (#27) was unable to race due to his grandmother’s serious illness. Chris and his mother traveled to Ohio to be with family so Donnie Tanner substituted for Chris. It was fun to see Donnie giving Chris’s car a workout. Donnie was careful not to break Chris’s toy and managed to get a nice 8th place finish.

There’s just one more points race this season (August 22nd) and then just two special races in September and the 2009 season will be over.

Lights Out!         August 8, 2009

Richburg, SC (August 8, 2009) -

There was a full pits of cars and a grandstand full of fans this past weekend at I-77 Speedway but no lights on the track. Due to a power failure with the track lights the program had to be scrapped and everyone sent home. A few heat races were run prior to it getting dark and that included the Modified 4 race. David started on pole, Michael Thomas (#58) started 2nd, Wes Helms (#98) started 3rd, and Greg started 4th with Jerry Oliver (#51) and Dustin Sweatt (#s1) in 5th and 6th. The race was won by Thomas followed by Helms, Scott, Oliver, Murphy and Sweatt.

Always nice to have Ray Dockery around!

The remainder of the cancelled program will be run this Saturday night (August 15th) with the results of the heats already run standing. The program will resume where it left off.

August 1st was an off night for racing so Sam and I went over to Conway, SC to visit with friends and MacD team mates Terri and Vance Langston. The city of Conway is celebrating local artists with a day long celebration every Saturday in August. There are local crafts people located in many of the shops in downtown Conway displaying their artwork.

What’s more beautiful than a brand new race car? Vance brought his hot new Super Street downtown where it was on display. It gathered a good crowd and got a really nice response. If you are in Conway on a Saturday morning, be sure to stop by Norman’s Alley, just off Main Street. You will find Vance there with the race car for a few hours. You need to come by before 2:00 pm because Vance will be loading her up to go racing Saturday nights at Dublin Speedway in Dublin, NC.

Race Result from July 25, 2009

Richburg, SC (July 25, 2009) -

The racing was fast and furious again this past weekend. It was another scorcher with temperatures in the mid 90's by race time. Greg and David got good draws on the heats and they both started on the front row of Heat 2 with Greg on the pole and David second. Fourth starting Wes Helms (#98) got the best of both of them and got the heat win with David second and Greg third. They started fourth and sixth in the Main. The main ran pretty much according to the starting line up with the win going to Helms followed by Jerry Oliver (#51), Dustin Sweatt (#s1), David finishing fourth and Greg fifth.

Greg makes good time in the heat race

Donnie continues to be plagued by motor issues and was unable to make the Main after the engine blew during the heat race. It seems hard to believe that this bad luck could continue but it has and the team is pretty discouraged. At this point a finish of any kind would feel like a win.

Jeff Graves looked awesome in the heat race in the Y44 Super Street. Unfortunately there was a question about the shocks on the car and Jeff was required to change them prior to the Main, putting him at the rear of the field for the start. The setup on the car was then off and Jeff only managed to get to a seventh place finish.

Also making a great showing in the heat race this week was Travis Caviness (#83). Travis got the heat win this week and started on pole in the main. Travis gave it a good run in the main and got a sixth place finish.

We have the weekend of August 1st off so I hope to travel up to Dublin Speedway to see Vance Langston run his Super Street.

David and Maureen

A Full House at I-77 Speedway

Richburg, SC (July 19, 2009) -

A full house in the pits and in the grandstands were treated to a great night of racing at I-77 Speedway this past Saturday night. Team 65 did not have the best results but we had a good night of racing and had a lot of great friends, old and new, with us this weekend.

The packed observation deck for Kenny Ramsey and
Ben Watkins.

David and Greg each finished 3rd in their respective heats and lined up for the Main behind Jerry Oliver (#51) Wes Helms (#98) and Dustin Sweatt (#s1). Chase Wilson (#c23) finished ahead of David in the heat but changed cars for the main so was dropped back a spot. At the green flag Oliver jumped to the lead with Helms following and David close behind followed by Sweatt, Wilson, Greg and Ken Appleton (#56). Coming out of turn two Sweatt got up to David’s rear quarter panel and got close enough to break of the valve stem from David’s left rear tire, causing it to go flat. He had to restart at the back of the pack.

With just a few laps to go Greg to tapped from behind by Bill Hyatt (#21) sending him to the inside wall and popping the nose on the 65m, ending his night. David got up to fifth and put on a three lap side by side battle with good friend, Ken Appleton for fourth place but in the end it was Oliver with the win, Helms in second, Sweatt third, Appleton fourth and David Scott 5th. Greg had to settle for 10th after not returning to the track after his wreck.

It was a good night for the Graves Racing team this week. After bad news that the limited late model was pretty much done for the season last week Jeff put some extra work into the old Y44 named "Forrest". With borrowed doors from the old crate/llm Forrest became "Forrest Patches" and looked pretty good. Jeff got a win in the heat race and finished second in the Main to Ben Watkins. The car reminded me of the Forrest of several years ago that won a lot of races up at Carolina Speedway. Congratulations to Jeff and Hope. I know it is disappointing that the LLM is down but you guys can have some fun with Forrest for the rest of the year.

Also joining us this week was our good friend Ken Appleton (#56) and his Bad Apple Motorsports crew. Ken put in a great performance this week and got a solid fourth place finish in the Main. It's always great to have these longtime Team 65 allies with us in the pits.

Our pits are usually full of friends and family so you will never know who you'll find there! It was great to see our long-time friend Robbie Buckner back in the house.

The Mosley’s never stop surprising me. After the girls “donated” some fans for the ladies restroom Maureen was awarded a beautiful “trophy” this week.

The rules at Dublin allow Super Streets to look like Late Models so Vance won't be bringing his ride to I-77. Vance and Terri thought the show at I-77 was awesome and may be back as fans. I hope so! I know that I will be making the trip over to Dublin on some of our off racing weeks.

Dustin Sweatt helps David Scott get to the green flag.

Another week of solid finishes

Richburg, SC (July 11, 2009) – Another hot summer night of racing yielded solid finishes for Team 65 but not the season’s first win. David and Greg both ran strong in their heats and the Main and garnered a third place finish for David and a seventh place finish for Greg. This week’s winner in the Modified 4 division was Wes Helms (#98) followed by Jerry Oliver (#51).

The news was not good for Donnie Tanner in the limited late model. Donnie is still plagued with highly unsatisfactory motor performance and using a motor borrowed for the night managed a 10th place finish.

Donnie Tanner in the LLM #22.

Jeff Graves brought the old #Y44 Super Street to race this week following some unfortunate engine trouble at Carolina Speedway on Friday night. The old girl put on a good show for Jeff and he managed a fifth place finish in the main against a stout field of cars. It’s a blast to watch Jeff run this old car as it might be an oldie but it’s a goodie. I know that Hope still calls it her favorite.

We had visitors from the Ken Appleton Black and Blue Crew with us in the pits this week.

The team continues to look for that first win of the season and we will be back at the track this Saturday night for the Rite Care race. MacD Racing Partners is a proud supporter and sponsor of this race for the second year in a row.

MacD

Team 65 crew members and sponsors, Ashley and Ashley Wilson.

Racing Results Finally Improve

Richburg, SC (June 28, 2009) – With a very hot June night of racing Team 65 finally saw some improvement in our racing performance and results. It was still not the best night of racing but there was good performance and the team had a lot of fun this week. We had a good crowd of friends and crew with us in the pits. We have not been able to catch up much with our newest team members Ashley and Ashley Wilson from Outdoor Lighting, our newest sponsor. Both Ashley’s are blast to be around and are now valued members of our team. They have fit right in with the rest of the nuts in our family and we are proud to have them with us.

Also in the house this weekend was Sam’s niece, CJ Alexander. A few weeks ago CJ’s brother Nick was with us and now it was CJ’s turn. CJ is a delight to be with and she seemed to really enjoy her first time racing. We will probably see her back again soon!

The racing action got off to a great start with Greg showing some real speed in his heat race. He started 7th and quickly got to third place where he finished. Greg’s car was handling great and had some speed and looked awesome.

David’s heat was next and he started fourth and finished second, also showing good speed and handling. The boys were set to start fourth and fifth in the Main.

Just before the Modified 4 Main the track officials opted to rewater the racing surface, completely drenching the track. The field had to roll in the track for many laps before the green flag could be waived. Pole sitter Dustin Sweatt (s1) took off from the start with Jerry Oliver (51) in pursuit with Evan Thomas (59) and David and Greg right behind. David got by Thomas while Greg slipped back, later to be passed by Shannon Barnhill (x1) and Wes Helms (98). At the finish it was Dustin Sweatt getting his first win of the season in his Modified 4, followed by Jerry Oliver, David Scott, Shannon Barnhill, Wes Helms, Evan Thomas and Greg rounding out the top 7. We had a full 16 car field this week. While a third place finish for David might not normally be something to celebrate we were very pleased considering our recent luck so the team was very happy. Greg’s car did not seem to like the change in the track surface and his finish suffered but the car still ran great and shows a lot of promise.

In the Crate Sportsman race at I-77 Speedway this week friend of Team 65 Kenny Ramsey grabbed is first feature win of the season in his beautiful #22. Cousin Kenny was bad fast this week and survived a strange crash in the Main when Chicken Outlaw’s car (x13) broke while leading the race and Kenny had no choice but to bump him. It looked like Kenny took out Chicken and he was put to the rear but Chicken let officials know that his car had broken and the spin was not Kenny’s fault. This put Kenny back to the front, much to the delight of a roaring grandstand and the overloaded observation decks of the #22 and #65 trailers. Kenny has been our pit neighbor this year and we were very happy to see him get that first win.

Sue with Crate Sportsman driver Michael Hough

Different Night, Same Results

Richburg, SC (June 13, 2009) - It was another bitterly disappointing night of racing for Team 65 this past Saturday night at I-77 Speedway. It all started with yet another lousy draw for the heats with both David and Greg drawing for the last starting spot in their respective heats. Unimpressive heat finishes started them 12th and 13th in the Main. Neither of our cars was fast nor moving forward during the Main and the finishes show that we were not at the top of our game.

Greg pitted with two laps to go with a nearly flat tire. David did manage to finally finish the race, an accomplishment since he has not been able to for several weeks, but the car was not running at full speed and he only managed a 9th place finish. Our team still has work to do on the cars to get them back up front where they belong and where we know our drivers want to be.

It was nice to see Jeff Graves (Y44) back in the house with the limited late model. He and Donnie Tanner (22) had respectable finishes in the late model Main with Jeff finishing sixth and Donnie seventh.

Ray Dockery (8D) did not compete this week after experiencing a bad crash at Lancaster Speedway last weekend. We missed Ray and his family and look forward to seeing the orange 8D back on the track soon.

Speaking of Lancaster Speedway, we got great news that Chris Bell (92) won his first race of the season in the Crate Sportsman division on Saturday night. Chris’s win was the best finish for a MacD sponsored car so far this season. Congratulations, Chris. We hope your good luck rubs off on the rest of us!

It was nice to see “cousin” Kenny Ramsey (#22 crate sportsman) with us this weekend. Kenny’s sharp #22 had a new body on it and it looked awesome. He wound up third in the Main behind winner Dustin Sweatt (S1) and Tyler Love (92). Tyler has been looking better every week and he had his #92 hot on Dustin’s tail the whole race. This division puts on a dynamite race week after week.

Young rookie driver Chris Crawford (27) made his first ever start in a race car in the Super Street division on Saturday night. Chris is a big fan of Donnie Tanner and a strong supporter of Team 65. Chris is just 14 so has some seat time he needs to work on but he looked good out there on the track Saturday night. We are proud of young Chris and join his dad Bryant and mom Becky wishing him the best of luck.

I missed going racing two weeks ago due to a work commitment. I got to participate in the Myrtle Beach Military Appreciation Days Festival and had an awesome time. I sure did miss racing but our results were not that hot so I didn’t miss so much. I did miss Maureen’s 50th (!!!!) birthday celebration. The team went all out for her and I know she had a blast. The Ken Appleton 'Black and Blue' crew even brought her a cake!

The Team 65 crew recently ventured out to Gordon Park Speedway for some fun with our friend Ken Appleton. Ken finished second that night behind Donnie Shealy, Jr. I was not there but it looks like everyone had a great time!

As the setting sun reminded us this past weekend, we still have a long hot summer of racing ahead of us.

The sun sets over I-77 Speedway

Another Night of Disappointing Results

Myrtle Beach, SC (May 25, 2009) - There's no need for a lot of details regarding our team's performance this week as all of our cars experienced some kind of issue that prevented any good results. In the Modified 4 Main David and Greg each had issues. David had a mechanical failure and exited the race after just two laps, getting a very disappointing 20th place finish. Greg had a flat tire and lost two laps getting it changed. He ended up finishing 13th.

In the Crate Late Model race Ray Dockery was doing well and moving up when he was involved in a horrific crash with Anthony Sanders (#421). The Sanders car took a very scary barrel roll on the back stretch. Ray's car was not severely damaged but Ray hurt his wrist and was done for the night.

Donnie Tanner's bad luck started in the Limited Late Model heat race where he was broadsided in turn two by Brett Hamm (#18), looping Donnie's car around and into the wall. The damage was bad. The crew, along with a lot of help from other teams, including the Rusty Robinson team, Chad Paxton team, Ken Appleton team, Ray Dockery team and several others worked hard to get Donnie's car fixed to run the Main. While they didn't get the car back to normal they did get it so that it could run. Donnie managed to get a 7th place finish on the night, the best out of the MacD teams.

We all look forward to making another go of it next week where things can only get better.

Team 65 Snags High Profile New Sponsor

Myrtle Beach, SC (May 5, 2009) - Maureen Caine was pleased to announce today that Team 65 has won a coveted sponsorship from racing supplier website, SafeRacer.com. The sponsorship was awarded as part of a contest promoted by SafeRacer and open to race teams all across the country. Maureen submitted our team's winning proposal and it was selected out of hundreds of other entries. We will begin displaying the SafeRacer logo immediately and will be promoting the website on our own www.macdracingpartners.com site. We were already customers of this terrific racing supply company and encourage all to check them out for your racing equipment. They sell all of the major brands like Simpson, G-Force, Sparco, Oakley, Bell and others and always provide free shipping in the continental USA on orders over $99. Thank you, SafeRacer!!

Results Don't Show Best Efforts

Myrtle Beach, SC (May 4, 2009) - The threat of severe weather in the area did not dampen the excitement for racing this past Saturday night at I-77 Speedway. Even though there were storms all around and racing was cancelled at other local track we managed to get in a full night's program at I-77 Speedway.

David and Greg each finished second in their respective heats, setting them up for David to start third in the main and Greg fourth behind Jerry Oliver (#51) and Wes Helms (#98). David was quick from the start and after working hard on Helms for second for several laps he experienced a mechanical failure as the throttle linkage broke and the car was dead in the water. He was lucky not to get run over by the remainder of the 18-car field. Greg was not happy with his car this week and after starting fourth he faded to seventh where he finished for the week. The win went to Oliver followed by Helms, Jeffrey McGuirt (#07), Shannon Barnhill (#X) and Eric Caskey (#25).

In the limited late model division the team had some great results to cheer for as Donnie Tanner got his first heat win in the late model. You would have thought he had won the feature based on the team’s excitement but we are so proud of Donnie and his hard work that even a heat win was something to celebrate. Donnie started on the pole in the main and held the third place for much of the race. With just a few laps to go he went high in turn two and Chad Paxton (#16), Robbie Bailey (#72) and Randy Smith (#84x) got by, relegating Donnie to a sixth place finish behind winner John Pursley {#9) and Jay Sessoms (#84).

In the crate late model race Ray Dockery had nothing but trouble. After an awesome race in the heat between Ray and Ronnie Mosley (#6) he was ready for action in the main. Right at the start Ray was broadsided by an eager John Pursley (#9)who nearly tore the side off Ray’s car. After the contact the car was not handling right and Ray then got caught up in a wreck with several other cars, forcing him to pit for the night with a very disappointing 10th place finish.

We were very happy to have Sam’s nephew Nick Alexander with us this week. We are looking forward to Nick and his brothers and sisters joining us for future races!

We were very sad to get the news this week that Jeff Graves’ father, Jesse, had died of a massive heart attack. The MacD Family extends our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers to Jeff, Hope and the Graves family.

Team 65 Has Mixed Results

Richburg, SC (April 21, 2009) - The I-77 Speedway 2009 season got underway under bright sunny skies this past Saturday. Teams and fans came out in force with well over 100 cars in the pits and the grandstands near full. It seemed like everyone was ready for the racing season to finally get started. The track was in awesome shape and the newly renovated facilities were perfect!

The night started with Greg on the pole of his heat with Jerry Oliver (#51) right behind him. The two drove hard, side by side for three awesome laps of racing with Oliver finally getting past Greg just before the last lap and capturing the heat win. Greg's second place finish set him up to start third in the Main. David started outside pole in his heat, next to Wes Helms (#98). Heading into turn one on lap one he got high and into the mud, allowing four or five cars to pass him, putting him from second all the way back to sixth. He recovered to third at the finish, setting him up to start sixth in the Main.

In the Main, Oliver and Helms had the front row covered and quickly set the pace. Greg held onto third for several laps but then fell back a few spots as David started moving toward the front. With just a few laps to go David was up to third when Greg got tapped in the back, sending him spinning into the inside wall in turn four. The result was enough damage to prevent him from finishing the race.

At the checkered flag it was Wes Helms getting the win in the first race of the season with Oliver finishing second and David Scott third. Shannon Barnhill (#X) and Jake Bobo (#4) rounded out the top five.

In the limited late model heat Donnie Tanner (#22) drew the shotgun starting spot and finished 7th, setting him up to start way in the back in the Main. Jeff Graves (#Y44) started the heat up front and finished a strong third. The limited late model main had a batch of yellow flags for spins and wrecks, including a spin by Donnie that put him at the tail of the field. At the end of the race the win went to John Pursley (#9), followed by Randy Smith (#2), Robbie Bailey (#72), Jeff Graves and Donnie Tanner. It was Donnie's birthday this past weekend so getting a solid top five finish was a pretty good present.

In the Crate Late model race Ray Dockery looked strong all night long with a solid finish in the heat race and a third place finish in the Main. I think we will see "Ray Ray" in victory lane a lot sooner than later!

The guys will have Greg's car back in racing shape and ready for the next race on May 2nd.

The Bad Apple Motorsports team visited us this weekend. Ken Appleton is the 2008 track champion at Gordon Park Speedway and a good friend to Team 65. We are always glad to see these guys and hope to see them race some this year.

Our team welcomed new associate sponsors, Ashley and Ashley Wilson from Outdoor Lighting Systems (www.polelightson.com) this weekend. It was great having them visit us in the pits and we look forward to them coming back soon!

I-77 Speedway Holds Car Show and Practice

Richburg, SC (April 6, 2009) - Under a beautiful sunny blue sky the competitors and fans of racing at I-77 Speedway came out in force this past Saturday. The day promised many the first look at the new cars for 2009 plus our first run on the newly renovated track.

The MacD Racing Partners sponsored teams were out in force with five of our seven sponsored cars on display at the car show, plus one more ready for practice. The Team 65 cars of David Scott and Greg Murphy debuted the 2009 paint schemes recently completed by Wayne Clayton at Clayton Graphics. Wayne is the popular host of the www.TrackForums.com website and we could not be more pleased with the beautiful work he did on our cars this year. We made sure that the paint schemes were created to make David's and Greg's cars different looking on the track but still clearly be team cars. Greg's car will sport a red roof, spoiler and hood and David will keep the traditional black. Sue worked closely with Wayne to get the cars looking just they way we wanted.

Donnie Tanner brought his beautiful limited late model out to the car show and captured 2nd place in his class. Donnie's car was done by Chris Steele at S&S Custom Decals and we think it turned out beautifully.

Ray Dockery, I-77 Speedway's 2008 Crate Late Model Champion, brought his beautiful 2009 car out for show and practice. This year MacD Racing Partners and AtlasBear Photography are very pleased to be with Ray and his family.

Jeff Graves hits the track this season in a limited late model. We are big Jeff Graves fans and are proud to have our name on his car again this year.

Joining the MacD Racing Partners family this year is young Travis Caviness in his Caviness Fabrications Pure Stock 4. Travis's car was beautifully decaled by Screamin' Graphicz.

The only MacD sponsored car missing from the day was Bell Racing's #92. The Bells will be competing at Lancaster Speedway again this year but we do hope to see them come across the river to I-77 Speedway from time to time.

We had a great day at the speedway and had a rare treat to get the whole MacD Family out to the track, including mom and dad. It's rare to get the whole MacD bunch together at the track so it was great to have mom and dad join us!

Team 65 and MacD Racing Partners Prepare for 2009

Myrtle Beach, SC (December 31, 2009) - The holidays are over. The Christmas lights and decorations are being put away and race teams have been very, very busy. Team 65 has been no exception. Our team's 2009 cars are complete or nearly complete. We have a few adjustments to go and they will be ready for the decals. We can't wait. We don't want to give away too much but we have done a lot of work over the off season on our power and set up. David and Greg can't wait to get on the track to try out the new changes. Team 65 did not have our best year last year and we guarantee that the same will not be said for 2009. The cars are not the only things making changes. Bring ya wallets and wrenches and be ready to rock and roll!

I would like to thank our primary sponsor, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina for rejoining us in 2009. This is our fourth full year with Blue Cross on board and we could not do what we do without them.

The MacD Racing Partners family of sponsored teams grew over the winter. We are pleased to be sponsoring some of our favorite drivers and teams again in 2009 including Limited Late Model driver Donnie Tanner, #22. Last year was Donnie's first season behind the wheel of a late model and he can't wait to get back to racing. Likely to compete with Donnie this year will be MacD sponsored Jeff Graves (#y44), who moves up from Crate Late Model to the Limited division. We wish both of these awesome drivers the best of luck!

MacD Racing continues to sponsor Bell Racing's Chris Bell in the #92 Sportsman Crate division. I-77 will be running the Sportsman Crates in 2009 and we hope to lure Chris and Buster over from Lancaster Speedway from time to time. We have been with the Bells for a few years now and we are pleased to be back in 2009.

MacD Racing could not be more pleased to be joining forces with Team 8D Motorsports and Ray Dockery in 2009. Ray is the 2008 Crate Late Model division champion at I-77 Speedway and are thrilled to have the MacD logo on the side of this race car. Our team photographer, Sam George, has also extended sponsorship to the 8D with his AtlasBear Photography business.

MacD Racing is also on board with Caviness Racing this year sponsoring the Pure Stock 4 driven by young Travis Caviness. Travis has continued to improve each week behind the #83 and I think 2009 is going to be his breakout year. Mom Marcia is unsure if Travis will be at I-77 every week but we hope he will make it his home track. This division put on some awesome races last year as the Rookie 4 division. Opening it up as Pure Stock will only make that much better.

There's a lot still to come and with racing just around the corner I hope to get back to providing more frequent updates when I can.

MacD