August 28, 2010 David Scott Gets 4th Win of the SeasonThere was lots of fun and celebration at I-77 Speedway this past weekend. The final points racing of the season saw the MacD family gather a couple of wins, a championship and some solid finishes. Richburg, SC (Aug 28, 2010)
David Scott celebrates in victory lane with family, friends and team mates |
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 In the Pure Stock 4 Division Jamie Varnadore put the finishing touches on his Championship winning season with his third feature win in a row. Jamie was consistent all year long but in the final stretch of the season he really came on strong. The Pure Stock feature was a mix of crazy wrecks and some tense restarts but Jamie held on to the lead to take the checkered flag. Ashley Harding (#44) was involved in one of the early wrecks and tore off the front end of her Mustang, but she kept digging. She had second place right up to the fourth turn on the final lap but two cars go by her, sending her back to fourth. She drove her butt off in that race and we were very proud of her! Way to go Ashley!
MacD finally managed to get his broken foot in a victory lane photo. |
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In the Super Stock 4 division David Scott was the dominant car all night long, winning both his heat and the feature race with division Champion, Ken Appleton in hot pursuit. This was David’s fourth victory on the season. He wrapped up finishing second in the championship to Ken. 
David Scott and MacD celebrate David’s 4th feature |
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 Greg Murphy’s Crate Sportsman #65M In the Crate Sportsman race Greg Murphy (#65M) had a solid night of racing that included a side by side race for sixth place in the Main with Adam McKay (#33) that lasted five or six laps. That side by side, door to door racing was some of the best action of the night. In the end McKay held on for the position and Greg finished seventh. After the race Murphy and McKay talked about how much fun that race was. Ben Watkins (#71) had a great night winning both the feature event and the Crate Sportsman Championship. |
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 Donnie Tanner’s Limited Late Model #22
In the Late Model division Donnie Tanner (#22) again showed some consistency with both handling and speed. The #22 looked better than is has in some time and Donnie got a good 7th place finish in the feature. |
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 Vance Langston’s Super Street #00 at Dublin Motor Speedway
In other MacD team racing Vance Langston continues to rack strong, competitive starts but each is matched with a bad luck finish. Vance is giving it his all at the Dublin Motor Speedway but has yet to get a finish worthy of his good runs. I am still hoping to catch Vance in a race at Dublin before the season is over. |
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In the North East Classic Lites action in New Hampshire the Helliwell Motorsports boys keep racking up great finishes. George Helliwell (#07) is currently sitting atop the point standings with just a handful of races left to go in the season. This could be the second Championship for a MacD sponsored team so we are sending good luck wishes to George for the remaining races. This weekend concluded the points season for I-77 Speedway. There is a non-points race on September 18th for the Shriner’s and a final race of the season on September 25th. |
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August 21, 2010 Crate Sportsman Twin Feature NightGreg Murphy
Another hot Saturday night brought some great racing to the I-77 Speedway this past weekend. The Crate Sportsmen were in the spotlight this week with a unique double feature. All 20 of the cars qualified on time with Greg clocking in at 14th quickest. The first main would be run for 10 laps. Greg started 14th and quickly got up to 8th position, where he finished. The race was won by Nick Norris (#5). The top six cars were inverted so the sixth place car started on the pole with the fifth place car in second. The second feature was 20 laps but it was marred by multiple caution flags at the start of the race and during the race and it seemed like Greg was involved in many of them. The battle scars on the 65M this week certainly prove that. Greg’s car was running very hot and at one point he had to come into the pits to hose down the radiator. He managed to rejoin the field with out losing a lap and finished the second feature in 7th. The second feature was won by Ben Watkins (#71). |
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It was Ken Appleton’s night at I-77 Speedway. MacD and Jamie Varnadore celebrate Jamie’s win. 
In the Super Stock 4 race David Scott finished his heat in third place behind Bob Hill (#33) and Damon Crump (#71), putting him in fifth starting position in the Main. Ken Appleton (#56) was the dominant car this night, winning his heat race and starting on the pole in the Main. In the feature Ken Appleton quickly got out in front of the field and set a very fast pace with Taylor Puckett (#28), David Scott and Damon Crump in pursuit. Bob Hill had mechanical problems and was not able to take the green flag in the Main. At the checkered flag the win went to Appleton, his first ever win at I-77 Speedway, followed by Puckett, Scott, Crump and Bill Hyatt (#21). In the Pure Stock 4 class the field was set by heat winners Tyler Funderburk (#01) and Dylan Terlinde (#29) with Jamie Varnadore starting right behind Terlinde. Ashley Harding (#44) finished second in her heat but experienced mechanical issues and was unable to make the feature. Funderburk had multiple handling issues and finished at the back of the field. It was Terlinde who took the checkered flag followed by Jamie Varnadore. Varnadore protested the Terlinde car and the protest was declined by Terlinde, forfeiting the win to Varnadore, his second in a row. |
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Donnie Tanner was fast before a mechanical failure sidelined him for the night.
In the Limited Late Model division Donnie Tanner (#22) was finally off to a good start. He started outside pole in the heat race and finished in a strong second place. Unfortunately, on the last lap the motor broke a rocker arm so he was unable to make the feature. It was another heartbreak for a team that has suffered more than their share of bad luck. |
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 Happy Birthday, Mike Caine
Team 65 member Mike Caine celebrates his 28th birthday this week. Happy Birthday, Mike! |
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August 28th will be the final points race for the season. There will be two non-points races in September with the Shriner’s race on the 18th and a season finale on September 25th. |
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Richburg, SC (Aug 22, 2010) -August 14, 2010 Rain Washes Out RacingMacD with the 65
Heavy rains washed out all racing at I-77 Speedway this past Saturday night. The evening started hot and sunny but just as the cars were getting ready for hotlaps the big clouds rolled and soon heavy rains fell on the track. The pit area at I-77 Speedway is notorious for quickly turning to a mud pit so many teams got out quickly. We will try again next weekend. |
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Richburg, SC (Aug 14, 2010) -
August 7, 2010 Varnadore’s First Win Saves The DayJamie Varnadore and MacD celebrate Jamie’s win.
In a weekend that celebrated the return of MacD to the race track after a five week absence the MacD Racing Partners team had something even better to celebrate as Jamie Varnadore captured his first win. After a mediocre performance in his heat race, which included a spin in the mud requiring assistance from the track crew, Jamie took his starting place in fourth for the Main. |
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Jamie spun in the heat race. Jamie got a traditional roll in the mud after his win! 
Right from the start Jamie was very fast and quickly worked his way to the front. By the halfway mark Jamie had the lead and was unstoppable. At the checkered flag Jamie got the win followed by Ray Pollard (21A), Chris Threatt (42), Justin Timmons (J2), and Frank Vinson (EE). Ashley Harding had a bad night after a brush with the wall during her heat race and limped home with a 7th place finish. With this win Jamie takes over possession of the points lead in the Pure Stock 4 division. Jamie got his traditional roll in the mud for his first feature win. David and Greg made sure of that! In the Super Stock 4 race it looked good for David Scott to possibly get his third win in a row as he easily won his heat and started on the pole in the Main. It was not to be though as right side shock issues hampered the handling of the 65. From the start David started to fall back from the lead. He ran third for much of the race but right at the end he and Ken Appleton (#56) made contact coming out of turn two and David fell to sixth. On the last lap he managed to pass Evan Benton (#06) and got fifth place. Long time competitor Bob Hill (#33) captured his first ever win at I-77 Speedway followed closely by Ken Appleton, Taylor Puckett (#28), and Damon Crump (#71). |
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 Greg Murphy was fast in the 65M. In the Crate Sportsman race Greg Murphy returned to quick form and was very fast in his heat race, capturing the win to start on the outside of the front row in the Main. At the drop of the green Ben Watkins (#71) and Nick Norris (#5) got by Greg but he held on to third place for the entire race. He fought hard for the position holding off strong challenges from Joe Stephenson (#j0e) and Kenny Ramsey (#22). In turn four on the final lap Ramsey made one last challenge, making contact with Greg and spinning to the inside, collecting several other cars. Greg recovered and passed under the checkered flag in third place but scoring called the caution on Greg, moving his finish back to 11th. We could not have disagreed more but there is no changing the mind of the officials after the race. Had Greg not been body slammed by the fourth place car on the last lap he would have finished third place uncontested. I believe the caution should have been on the #22 for making contact with the #65M. It was a shame. Greg had worked hard on the set up of the car to get it handling much better and it appeared that his efforts paid off. |
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 Donnie Tanner #22 Limited Late Model. It was another frustrating week for Donnie Tanner in the #22 Limited Late model. Donnie started and finished 8th in the Main this week and could not seem to get the car to handle just right. He was looking pretty fast in the main but had contact with the #39 car of Steve Blackburn, cut his left rear tire and spun. Donnie lost a lap changing the tire in the pits and after that he seemed to struggle even more. We want so much for Donnie to just have a good run! |
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 George Helliwell wins another in the North East Classic Lites series. News from other MacD teams this weekend range from continued struggles and bad luck to a win. Vance Langston was again very fast in the #00 Super Street at Dublin Speedway but had a radiator hose let go, ruining any chance for a good finish. The elusive bad boy Chris Bell made it back to Lancaster Speedway this weekend in the #92 Crate Sportsman. Chris captured second place in the Main. Our New Hampshire Helliwell Motorsports boys in the North East Classic Lites series raced at Riverside Park Speedway with George Helliwell (#07) getting yet another win. George is really racking them up! I am still waiting for final confirmation from George’s technophobe brother Hollywood Dave Helliwell with his results. George thinks his brother finished fifth in the same race George won but that has yet to be confirmed. |
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Dwayne Sims visited the Team 65 pit this week. It was great to see Dwayne |
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 Jamie came to the trailer top after his mud roll. It was a very last minute decision for me to come back to the track this weekend. After finally getting back to work and realizing that I can probably get around pretty well I made the decision to go. It was awesome to surprise everyone and to get the well wishes from all of my friends. I want to thank the guys who helped lug my wheelchair up onto the trailer so I could sit. Crawling up and down the ladder required lots of spotters. Big thanks to the Varnadore family for pretty much creating a human cushion at the bottom of the stairs! I want to also take just a moment to thank the Varnadore family for letting us enjoy Jamie’s first win. We were fans of Jamie’s long before we decided we wanted to be sponsors. We have had a great year together as a team and as friends. I could not be more proud of Jamie and his win. I was physically unable to get to victory lane for the pictures so was very glad everyone came up to see me on top of the trailer. I guess if I can’t get to victory lane you can bring victory lane to me! I will be in my wheelchair for the rest of the season but now hope to be back every week. |
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Richburg, SC (Aug 7, 2010) -
July 24, 2010 David Scott Gets Third Win of The SeasonThe Team 65 gang celebrate David’s win.
For the third time this season and for the second race week in a row David Scott found himself in Victory Lane at I-77 Speedway. To accommodate the visiting Open Wheel Sprint cars this week the Super Stock 4 and Pure Stock 4 divisions did not run heat races but drew for starting positions in the main. David started 7th out of 13 cars in the main but was in the lead by lap five and never looked back. At the checkered flag following David across the finish line was Evan Benton (06) in second, Ken Appleton (56) third (after an 11th place start), Chase Wilson (c23) fourth and Bob Hill (33) in fifth. Greg continues to have handling issues in the Crate Sportsman #65m and finished 8th. Ashley Harding (44) and Jamie Varnadore (991/2) continue their consistent runs finishing second and third respectively in the Pure Stock 4 main. Robert Gregory (08) was the race winner, his first ever. Chris Crawford did not race this week after totaling the Renegade #27 last week. A new car is being built but will not be ready for some time. The Limited Late Models did not race this weekend so Donnie Tanner was not there. Apologies for the skimpy reporting and lack of photo coverage as I continue to stay home and miss races with a broken foot. I am looking forward to a possible return for at least one or two more races late in August. |
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Myrtle Beach, SC (July 10, 2010) -July 10, 2010 David Scott Gets Win Number TwoMiles Mintz, David Scott and Lee Mintz celebrate David’s win.
Before getting to the race results I have to admit that I have broken my left foot and was unable to go to the races for the past two weeks. In fact, I probably may not get there for the rest of the season as the break is bad and I have to stay off my foot. I won’t have the pictures we normally have but both Maureen and Sue promise to bring their cameras and share their photos each week after this. For now, I am just going to pass on the information on race results from Maureen and Sue’s race reports David Scott was unbeatable this past weekend at I-77 Speedway winning both his heat race and the Main event to get his second feature win of the season. David was followed across the finish line by Ken Appleton (#56), Adam Piercy (#06x), Bill Stutler (#67) and Bill Hyatt (#21). Greg Murphy struggled with an overheating engine this week and was unable to be very competitive. Greg finished 7th in the Crate Sportsman main event. Donnie Tanner had this limited late model running much better this weekend and had a solid sixth place finish. Jamie Varnadore finished third in the Pure Stock 4 Main event and reports that his car was a little better this week on power but needed some changes to handle better. |
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Chris Crawford’s demolished Renegade 
The worst news of the night was for young Chris Crawford in the Renegades. Chris has an axle hub break while he was running second in the Main. The break caused the car to dig into the track, sending it into a violent barrel role. The beautiful #27 was totally demolished in the wreck. Chris was checked out at the hospital with bangs and bruises but nothing broken. Chris sent me some pictures of his car the next day after he got it home. |
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 Bill Helliwell
MacD Racing Partners is pleased to add yet one more Helliwell Motorsport Team to our family of sponsored teams. MacD already sponsors David and George Helliwell in the Northeast Classic Lites division and now we will be with Bill Helliwell in the Hobby Stock class. Bill will be racing at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, NH and Hudson Speedway in Hudson, NH. |
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 Miles Mintz in his late model MacD Racing Partners and AtlasBear Photography are working on a deal to help sponsor young Miles Mintz in the near future. Miles has been racing karts for several years and his planning to move to full sized cars in a big way. It looks like Miles will be running a limited late model. Miles’ dad Lee Mintz has been the engine builder for MacD Racing Partners for years. We proudly run the Mintz Racing Engines logo on our cars and already consider Lee and his family part of our family so joining up with Miles is a no brainer. We can’t wait to see Miles at the track soon with his late model.
I am hoping to get back to the track in a few weeks but by then the season will be nearly over! |
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Myrtle Beach, SC (July 10, 2010) -June 19, 2010 Lousy Week for Team 65
It was a rotten weekend for Team 65 at I-77 Speedway. Neither of our cars was up to speed and each had a disappointing finish. First up was a birthday celebration for Ashley Wilson. Our beautiful Ashley was presented with a big old cake for everyone to share and a happy birthday song sing along.
Birthday Girl Ashley Wilson |
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 David Scott Modified 4
In the Modified 4 race David started at the back of his heat and finished third. He started fifth in the main and never did get up to full speed. He was running fourth when a radiator hose broke loose and he pitted, ending his night. He was scored with an 8th place finish. The race was won by Michael Brown (#06) with Ken Appleton (#56) second, Ted McDaniel (#67) third. |
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In the Crate Sportsman race Greg also was not up to speed and started last in his heat, finishing 5th. He opted to start scratch in the Main and through attrition in the field managed to salvage a 7th place finish.  Greg Murphy Crate Sportsman Not our best week in performance but with some luck and work on the cars we should be better this weekend. |
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Jamie Varnadore Pure Stock 4 Ashley Harding in victory lane 
Jamie Varnadore is still struggling to find the right combination on the 99 ½ in the Pure Stock 4 division. Jamie finished 2nd in his heat but when the winner was disqualified Jamie was scored first and started on the pole in the Main. He wasn’t up to full speed but managed to finish third. The surprise of the night was Team 65 close friend, Ashley Harding. Ashley scored her first win much to the delight of almost everyone in the pits and the packed grandstand. Ashley crossed the finish line in second place but a protest was filed on the winning car driven by Dallas Miller (B9). The protest found that Miller’s car was illegal so they declined the protest and withdrew, giving the win to Ashley. We could not be more proud of Ashley and congratulate her on the big win! In the Renegade division Chris Crawford (#27) blew his motor and is likely done for the season if not for the foreseeable future. This is a heartbreak for Chris as he was getting better in that car every week. |
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CJ and Amanda Grace Alexander were part of the Team 65 crew this weekend.
The Helliwell boys raced at New Canaan Speedway this past weekend. George Helliwell finished 2nd and David Helliwell finished third! Great run for those guys. George and David’s brother Bill is also going to be racing soon. MacD Racing Partners is proud to be helping Bill with his efforts and look forward to seeing some great results from this FOURTH Helliwell brother to be racing. Sam brought his beautiful nieces, Amanda Grace and CJ to the races this week. It was nice to have the girls with us and they seemed to really enjoy themselves. |
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Team 65 gathered at Maureen and David’s house on Sunday for a Father’s Day celebration with our dad Mac. We also planted a live oak tree to celebrate and remember mom. It was a great day together with family. Dad with the "Tree of Life" planted for Mom MacD with a broken foot
 Finally, I managed to break my foot at the track on Saturday night. After a trip to the emergency room I am in a cast for the next month or so while it heals. |
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Richburg, SC (June 19, 2010) -
Donnie Tanner didn’t compete this past weekend.June 05, 2010 Hot Night, Cool Results
It was summertime hot this past weekend at I-77 Speedway and the packed pits promised a hot night of racing as well. As with last week we had a mixed bag of results. Miss Layla picks Team 65 as her favorite! |
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In the Crate Sportsman division Greg Murphy (#65m) had a second week in a row with bad luck. In the heat race Greg got a flat tire and while he was able to come in and get the tire changed he still finished last in his heat. In the main Greg started 11th but worked his way up to sixth and was moving in on fifth place when the #24 of Chad Adams slid high in turn three and collected Greg, breaking the left front upper controller arm, ending his race for the night. It was a disappointing 10th place finish for Greg. Greg had a flat tire in his heat race. David ready for the Main event.
In the Super Stock 4 race David finished second in his heat race and started third in the Main. The front row of Chase Wilson (#c23) and Michael Brown (#06) was going to be tough to get by. Past Champion Wes Helms (#98) started outside of David in fourth. At the green Helms quickly got by Brown and he and Wilson then checked out on the field. David swapped places with Brown for much of the race in a dual for third place as Wilson and Helms checked out on the field. A fast moving Ken Appleton (#56) got by David on the last lap to grab fourth place, putting David in fifth for the night. The win went to Wilson, followed by Helms, Brown, Appleton and Scott. |
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Donnie Tanner Jamie Varnadore’s new and improved 99 ½ 
In the Late Model race Donnie Tanner (#22) did not seem to have the car quite right this week as he struggled in the heat and the main. Donnie started and finished in 7th place in the Main this week. In the Stock 4 race Jamie Varnadore showed up with his new race car this week. The set up on the new car was not quite right so the team has some work to do but the car sure looked beautiful. Jamie has worked very hard on this car and we can’t wait for it to run as good as it looks. Jamie’s 20th birthday is June 12th and the entire MacD Racing Partners family wishes him a very happy birthday. |
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 Chris Crawford
In the Renegade race Chris Crawford (#27) was looking awesome. Chris had his strongest finish yet with a second place run in his heat. Unfortunately, in the main Chris tangled with another car and got a flat tire. He managed to get to the pits and change the tire to rejoin the field at the back but then got caught up in another wreck, ending his night. It was a shame because Chris’s confidence was high and the car was fast. |
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 Levi Carigan
My friend, Levi Carigan (#312) brought his Super Stock 4 to the track this weekend for the first time this season. After much work getting the car ready the night ended on a disappointing note with a run in with the wall. Luckily the car was not too badly damaged, but Levi’s night ended early. |
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Richburg, SC (June 05, 2010) -May 22, 2010 I-77 Speedway
Sorry for the update delay this week! A business trip out of town left me too busy to get this done. Rain threatened that activities this past weekend at the race track but we managed to get in a full night of racing with mixed results. Busy pit area at I-77 Speedway |
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 David Scott
In the Modified 4 division David got a 2nd place finish in his heat and started 4th in the main. He quickly got to second place and tried hard to catch leader Chase Wilson (c23) but was unable to. Wilson got the win followed by David, Ken Appleton (56), Taylor Puckett and Bill Stutler (67). |
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Ken Appleton
Greg Murphy
In the Crate Sportsman division Greg Murphy started his heat in 5th position but on lap one a misguided attempt to pass by Kenny Ramsey (22) got Ramsey into the side of the 65m and gave Greg a flat tire. Greg came to the pits but the heat was over before he could get back to the track. Ramsey was involved in two additional on track incidents in the heat and wound up getting black flagged. This put a very angry Murphy and Ramsey together at the back of the Main. As expected, Murphy and Ramsey had contact with Ramsey going around and Murphy going to the back. Greg got as high as fifth after the restart but faded to seventh place on the last lap. Ramsey managed to get all the way to 2nd. The race was won by Tyler Love (92), followed by Ramsey, Rooster Ghant (48), Danny Greene (2) and Gene Bennett (14). |
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Donnie Tanner
Chris Crawford
In the Late Model race Donnie Tanner (22) came in early from his heat run so he started 12th in the field in the Main. He managed to climb up just a few spots to finish 9th. He is still trying to get the car just right. In the Renegade race Chris Crawford worked hard on staying in the race and getting a good finish. After crashing the past couple of weeks this is what Chris needed to do and he got it done. A nice top ten finish (8th).   Jamie gets a hug from his granny after his heat win. Jamie Varnador In the Pure Street 4 division Jamie Varnadore started the night off perfectly with a win in his heat! Jamie started on the pole in the Main but got loose and quickly fell back to 4th. Coming out of turn 4 Jamie said something on the front end let go and he barreled head on into the wall, wrecking the 991/2 pretty badly. It was a disappointing finish after what looked like it was going to be Jamie’s night to win. In New England Classic Lites action at Hudson Speedway, Hudson, NH this past weekend George Helliwell started 21st in the Main and got all the way to the front, winning his second race in a row! Congratulations, George!   George Helliwell David Helliwell The Sponsored Teams gallery also now includes some recent pictures of David Helliwell and his #77 NECL race car sponsored by MacD Racing Partners. We are off for the Memorial Day holiday weekend but will be back in action on Saturday night, June 5th. |
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Richburg, SC (May 22, 2010) - May 9, 2010 David Scott Gets First Win of 2010
David Scott ended a year long winless streak in fine fashion this past Saturday night, taking a commanding win at I-77 Speedway. The win was not without controversy however, as a protest was filed by second place finisher Chase Wilson (#c23). The race was marred by several caution flags that caused the field to be restarted multiple times. Several times leader Wilson was told over the raceceiver to stop break checking the field on restarts. Doing so bunched up everyone behind him. After getting checked up on two consecutive restarts David did not give Wilson room the third time. When the green flew for the last lap David gave Wilson a bump and run and drove under him to take the lead and the win. Sometimes break checking the field backfires. The Wilsons protested David on head and cam and both were found to be legal. David protested the c23 back and they too were found to be legal, as we had expected. The caution filled, time shortened race was a frustrating one for the rest of the field, including points leader Ken Appleton who barely had time to come through the field and settled for a sixth place finish. The top five were Scott, Wilson, Evan Benton (#06), Donno Shealy (#99), and Michael Brown (#06). Greg Murphy had another solid finish this week in the Crate Sportsman division, finishing fifth. Greg is currently leading in the Crate Sportsman points. |
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  Donnie Tanner Jamie Varnador Donnie Tanner got an eight place finish in the Limited Late Model feature while Jamie Varnadore got fifth in the Pure Street 4. Jamie was leading the race when he spun and had to restart from the rear. There was a lot of poor sportsmanship and immature behavior in the PS4 division this week and the race was cut short. Jamie managed to get back to fifth place before the checkered flag flew. Chris Crawford had a great run going in the Renegade class. He had the car moving and was up to fourth place when a wheel bearing failed and he had to come into the pits. It was a heart break for the team who was really giving Chris a lot of support with his great run. Chris seems to get better every week but is having some bad luck with other people wrecking in front of him or having mechanical issues. Helliwell Motorsports got a nice win on Friday night (May 7th) at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire. MacD Racing Partners sponsored George Helliwell got his first win of the season in the North East Classic Lites main event. George also set fast time and was his heat winner! |
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 George Helliwell in victory Lane (left) and with him mom, Sherry Helliwell (Right) Sam George was unable to be with us this weekend so our selection of photos is pretty slim. I should not be in charge of a camera. |
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Richburg, SC (May 09, 2010) - May 1, 2010 The MacD Team Loses Mom - Frances MacDougal
It was with profound sadness that the MacD Racing Partners team took to the track on Saturday night. Our beautiful mother, Frances Elizabeth MacDougal, passed away quietly in her sleep early in the morning on April 28th. Mom was 84 years old. She was a lovely, funny, sweet and generous lady and was loved by everyone she ever met. She was known as Ma by most if not all of our friends. To her and dad, everyone was family. She is survived by our Dad, Maurice MacDougal, also 84, and five children, Kathleen MacDougal Helliwell, Michael MacDougal, Maureen MacDougal Caine, Mark MacDougal and Susan MacDougal Murphy and their families. She was preceded in death by our oldest brother, Miles MacDougal. Mom and dad were together for nearly 70 years and just this year celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. Mom was enormously supportive of our family racing efforts and introduced her children to racing at a very young age. We all remember piling into the car on weekends to "go to the races". Clearly that love for racing never left as we are still at it all these years later and now we drag our children along with us. Mom was not well enough to join us at the track on Saturday nights but demanded a full recap each Sunday morning at the breakfast table. She wanted to not only know what happened with Greg and David but also with the many teams we sponsor. She loved that we were all together as a family. She will be sadly missed by all of us that loved her. |
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May 1, 2010 Racing Results
After the disastrous events of opening night a few weeks ago for David we were anxious to get back to the track and try again. The boys worked very hard to get Beauty ready as the substitute since Brutus had more damage than could be fixed in time to go racing. Beauty was called back into service once again. In David’s heat race the car ran well. David started 4th and finished second. He started third in the main and slid back to 4th. He spun in turn two and had to restart at the rear of the 15 car field. He managed to get back to 6th place, where he finished. This was a good effort considering the bad luck of last season as well as the rotten start to the season so we were pleased.
The SS4 Main was won by Chase Wilson (#c23), followed by Taylor Puckett (#28), Ken Appleton (#56), Donnie Shealy (#99), Travis Greene (#131) and David. Team 65 good friend Ken Appleton is off to a great start with a pair of top five finishes and is leading in the SS4 points.
Ken Appleton's "Bad Apple Motorsports" hot rod. |
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In the Crate Sportsman division Main event Greg started 8th and worked his way up to the top five, finishing 5th. This was another good solid run for Greg, finishing behind Ben Watkins (#71), Kenny Ramsey (#22), Travis Mosley (#24) and Jason Conner (#m2). Greg’s strong start on the season has him atop the point standings in the Crate Sportsman division.
In the Limited Late Model division Donnie Tanner finished fourth in his heat and fourth in the Main. The best news of the night was that the car ran very well and Donnie finally had some luck on his side. Like David, Donnie’s luck has been pretty miserable so a good top five finish is just what was needed. Donnie Tanner
In the Pure Stock 4 Division Jamie Varnadore (#99 ½) struggled in his heat after the Tyler Greene (#114) car spun out right in front of him. Jamie’s car suffered some damage to the left front with the entire left side valance getting torn off. Jamie and crew put on a replacement valance and started the Main event in 10th place. Jamie tore through the field, coming from 10th to 2nd in just two laps where he then fought an awesome, clean race with Chuck Levister (#c7). Chuck hung on to get the win but Jamie was on his bumper the whole time. Following Jamie in third was Tyler Funderburk (#01), CJ Slack (#c8) and Tyler Greene (#114). Jamie Varnadore with some front end damage Chris Crawford (#27) had some bad luck in the Renegade race. The field bunched up in front of him and he had nowhere to go. He wound up with a busted radiator and bent front end. Chris Bell (#92) got another win in the Crate Sportsman division at Lancaster Speedway this past weekend. It’s Chris’s second win of the season. The Bell family dedicated the win to Mom, which was very special. Our thanks go out to the Bell family for being such wonderful friends. My family also thanks the Mosley family and the wonderful drivers and teams that allowed us to run a memorial lap for mom on Saturday night. Led by Greg Murphy and David Scott a silent lap was run in mom’s memory.
A full field of cars line up for the Ma MacD memorial lapLauren Caine drove Ashley Harding’s race car Following Greg and David was surprise driver, Lauren Caine, Maureen’s daughter, who drove the Ashley Harding car. What a very special surprise this was for us as the Harding family made the car available for Lauren to drive. It was Ashley’s prom night so she could not be there for the memorial lap but wanted her car to participate. Lauren was thrilled to be able to get behind the wheel of a race car to honor her grandmother.
Following behind Lauren were the MacD team cars of Donnie Tanner, Jamie Varnadore and Chris Crawford. My family passed out “In Loving Memory of Ma MacD” stickers and anyone that wanted to join us for the memorial lap was welcome. A full field of cars, from PS4s to late models joined in the lap, which was very emotional for us. It is a moment that we will never forget. After the lap driver passed through victory lane to pay respects to the family.
Star Graphix created a memorial sticker
I already mentioned earlier that Ashley Harding had her prom on Saturday night. You have got to love the dedication of this young lady as she managed to both go to the prom and race in the Main event for the PS4 division. She arrived, in her gown, ready to race.
MacD Racing Partners is proud to sponsor George and Dave Helliwell and Helliwell Motorsports as they compete in the 2010 North East Classic Lites legends cars in southern New Hampshire. George and Dave are grandsons of MacD brother-in-law George Helliwell.
It’s the first season for the guys in the Lites and we are looking forward to some friendly family competition as well as success for them both. Pictures and results for the guys will be showing up here soon.
George Helliwell and Dave Helliwell’s North East Classic Lite cars. Vance Langston got out to Dublin Speedway two weeks ago in the Super Street #00 but had some mechanical issues. I will be keeping up with Vance and hope to get over to Dublin on some of our off weekends at I-77 Speedway. After the emotional rollercoaster of the past couple of weeks the entire team can not wait to get back to racing and back to normal. Wouldn't that be nice? |
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April 28, 2010 
Richburg, SC (May 1, 2010) - 
April 10, 2010 Scott Wrecks, Murphy Shines
Sue Murphy greets husband Greg after his 2nd place finish in the Crate Sportsman feature event. Opening night at I-77 Speedway brought mixed results for Team 65 and MacD Racing Partners. The first race of the night (and the season) was heat race one for the Super Stock 4s. David had a bad draw and started in sixth in the 10 car field. Coming to the green he experienced a skip in the motor and fell back a few spots but got up to full speed coming off turn two. Approaching turn three the car of Michael Thomas (#58) spun out right in front of David and they hit head on at full speed, demolishing both cars. Bill Hyatt (#21) had nowhere to go and he also hit the Thomas car. First lap of the first race of the year and three cars wrecked. David’s car was not only done for the night, it’s pretty much done for the season. It’s a heart break after working on the car all winter to get it ready. David will put the motor in one of the old cars and run that. Luckily all three drivers escaped injury. The SS4 main was won by Jeffrey McGuirt (#07), with Michael Brown (#06), Bill Stutler (#67), Ken Appleton (#56) and Travis Greene, Jr. (#131) rounding out the top five. |
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  David’s night ended on the hook. Chris Threatt’s #42 was heavily damaged. The next race was heat one for the Pure Stock 4 cars and Team 65 friend Ashley Harding (#44) was at the wheel of a borrowed ride after her car was demolished last week at Carolina Speedway. Again in turn three cars got together and Chris Threatt (#42) and Ashley came together with Ashley going airborn and rolling. She was banged up and bruised and the car was a total wreck. |
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  The badly damaged car of Ashley Harding. Ashley Harding was banged up and bruised following the heat race crash.
The next race was the second Pure Stock 4 heat with Jamie Varnadore (#99 ½). Jamie got off to a great start and was pressuring Tyler Funderburk (#01) for the lead when he hit a rut in the track (again in unlucky turn three), spun around and backed into the inside wall. He was able to continue and made it to the Main ready to race. In the Main Jamie was fourth to the checkered flag, however, the winning car (#52) was disqualified for having a spoiler and a beadlock on the right front tire, not allowed in PS4. The 2nd place car, Michael Deese (#2) was protested for motor but refused to tear down and was also disqualified. Tyler Funderburk (#01) was handed the win, his first, with Jamie moving up to second, Kevin Dover (#D16) third, Robert Gregory (#08) fourth and Tyler Greene (#114) fifth.
Greg Murphy
Donnie managed a 9th place finish in the Limited Late Model feature event even after this damage.
Donnie Tanner (#22) had a great run going in the Limited Late Model heat race. Donnie was a strong second place on the last lap when he hit a rut in turn two, something broke and he shot into the wall. The team worked hard to get the car back together for the Main. It was not competitive but Donnie was able to salvage a top 10 finish, coming in 9th. After a week of mixed results we are definitely looking forward to getting on with the regular weekly scheduled events starting with the next race on April 24th.
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Richburg, SC (April 10, 2010) - 
Jamie Varnadore
In the Crate Sportsman division it was the first time out for Greg Murphy (#65m). Greg started his heat on the pole and managed a very respectable 3rd place finish. After the disastrous first three races we were so relieved that Greg finished in one piece you would have thought he’d won. In the Main Greg started sixth, quickly got to fifth and then fourth. Greg worked his way up to second place at the checkered flag and had the Team 65 crew on their feet. The race was won by Travis Payne (#29) with Greg second, Michael Outlaw (#13) third, Jason Connor (#m2) fourth and Danny Greene (#2) fifth.
April 3, 2010 Bell Wins at Lancaster
– It was win number one on the season for both Chris Bell and MacD Racing Partners as Chris Bell put the Morgan Motors, MacD Racing Partners #92 Crate Sportsman in victory lane. Chris was fast from the start in both his heat and in the Main as was not to be denied. He was challenged by Kenny Ramsey (#22) and Travis Payne (#29) but held on for the win. In doing so Chris earned the MacD Racing Partners $500 bonus for the first MacD sponsored car to win in 2010. In the pits earlier in the evening Chris’s dad, Buster, said they had “changed everything on the car except the driver” and really thought they had something for the race that night. Buster credits Crew Chief Mark Gantt with making the changes needed to get the car to the front and it paid off. I was thrilled to be part of the win after making a last minute decision to go to LMS to see some racing. With our season starting on April 10th I couldn’t wait any longer. I am a huge fan of Bell Racing, both Chris and sister Amanda and am very proud to sponsor this family’s racing efforts. |
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  Sister and brother, Amanda and Chris Bell MacD in Victory Lane with Chris Bell’s #92 Sam (AtlasBear Photography) and I had a great time at Lancaster and were joined by MacD team driver, Jamie Varnadore and his girlfriend, Kayla Slack. A big thank you to my friend Larrie Ervin for the great photos of Chris in Victory Lane. |
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Lancaster, SC (April 3, 2010) - March 22, 2010 Car Show and Practice
The I-77 Speedway 2010 season kicked off this past weekend with their annual car show and practice session. The Team 65 cars were there to debut our 2010 schemes. This year we used Star Graphix and we were very pleased with the results. The cars stay in our familiar black and red theme with just a little blue for highlighting. David got third place in the Super Stock 4 class. Practice for both David and Greg went smoothly. It was Greg’s first time out in the V8 Crate Sportsman and after a couple of laps he really seemed to get a good feel on the car and was doing great. David’s SS4 was fast from the start and looked and felt great. Both of our drivers are eager and ready and can’t wait for April 10th when the season officially begins. Donnie Tanner (#22) picked up where he left off last year with something amiss in the motor. After a couple of promising laps something went wrong. It looks like it is nothing too serious and Donnie should be able to get his taken car of before we go racing. |
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  Jamie Varnadore (#99 1/2) debuted his new Stock 4 ride for 2010 and he was also fast. Jamie said the car was a little loose off the turns but it felt smooth and it looked great. |
 Chris Crawford (#27) switched to a great looking black and red scheme this year and won in his division. Chris also looked strong during his practice laps. |
The galleries have been updated with some of the pictures from the car show and practice |
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Richburg, SC (March 22, 2010) - MacD Racing Partners and Team 65 Plans UnderwayMyrtle Beach, SC (February 23, 2010) - The 2010 racing season is just around the corner and MacD Racing Partners and Team 65 have been hard at work finalizing plans, building race cars and working with our sponsored teams to be ready when the green flag flies. Team 65 is undergoing some changes this year. The worst kept secret is that Greg Murphy (65M) is moving from the Super Stock 4 division up the V8 Crate Sportsman division. The Crate Sportsman division uses full bodied race cars (Monte Carlos, Camaros, etc.) with a GM Performance 602 Crate engine. This will be Greg’s first year in the V8 so it will be a season of learning. Greg and the team are very excited about this change. The car is nearly complete the graphics will be going on soon. David Scott will be making a run for the 2010 championship in the Super Stock 4 division. 2009 was not a great year for David and some big changes have been made to put a lot of those issues behind us. David’s car is also nearly ready with graphics soon to come. The MacD Racing Partners sponsored cars will be out in force in 2010. Our partners this year include:
In addition to these great teams MacD Racing Partners is sponsoring Helliwell Motorsports based out of Pelham, New Hampshire. Brothers David and George Helliwell will be racing in North East Classic Lites (www.neclassiclites.com) division Legends cars up in Southern New Hampshire. David and George are my brother-in-law’s grandkids and are awesome young men just getting started in racing. They come from a family of racing champions with father Wayne and brother Wayne, Jr. both multiple championship winning drivers. We’ll be sponsoring and following David in the #77 and George in the #07 all season. I will have photos of all of the race cars as soon as these drivers let me get some pictures! We can’t wait to get started. Once again I-77 Speedway will be our home track. They initially released a schedule of just 10 races for the season but as of February 23rd that has expanded to 14 races with several more a good possibility. The season opens with the car show and practice on Saturday, March 20th and the first race of the season on April 10th. The season schedule as of right now is as follows:
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