By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Those who knew Scrapp Fox recall him as a guy with a sunny personality.
But there has been nothing sunny about the memorial race that bears the former local driver’s name.
The annual crown-jewel event for open-wheel modifieds at Beebe Speedway began in 2003 and has been rained out at least once every year since.
The 2004 race was rained out three times and the field for the 2005 race was lining up for the feature when flash flooding hit southwestern White County.
And little has changed since new promoter Harold Mahoney took over the track in late 2008. Last year’s eventwas originally scheduled for the middle of June, but was pushed back to July 3 because of rain.
“I think we’ve postponed it two or three times the last couple of years,” Mahoney said. “We’ve moved it back a little bit this year.
We usually see rain when we run this deal. It can rain Monday or Tuesday, but I don’t want to see any on Friday.”
Vilonia driver Curtis Cook won last year’s race after leading flag-to-flag in front of Dale Proctor and Jack Sullivan. Cook and four-time defending track champion Randy Weaver are the two previous winners of the event and are expected to be on hand Friday.
Andy Brown, winner of the inaugural event in 2003 and in 2005, has not competed at Beebe in over three years, while 2006 SFM champ Jared Landers now drives a late model in the North Carolina area for Sprint-Cup star Clint Bowyer.
Walt Butler and Peyton Taylor, Scrapp Fox champions in 2004 and 2007 respectively, have made sporadic appearances in recent months.
A handful of non-regular drivers showed up last week to shake down their machines for the Scrapp Fox Memorial, including Ben Waggoner, Tony Anglin, Brandon Hunter, Jacob Cooper, Sam Osman, Phillip James and Micah Gavin.
This is the third year for the race as a one-day event. From 2003-2007, it was a two-day event held with heats on Thursday and the feature on Friday.
The 2006 race also had a preliminary feature on Thursday night that set the first half of the A-main lineup.
This year’s race will have heats and inverted heats, which will be scored by passing points just as they have in the past. The purse is $2,000 to the winner and $300 to start.
Should the weather cooperate, the next obstacle is the summer heat. High temperatures cause the track to slick over at a faster pace, but Mahoney has gone with a different approach to track preparation in recent weeks and has been pleased with the results.
“I try to make it as smooth as I can,” Mahoney said. “But the biggest thing is trying to get as much water in it as I can. With the temperatures we’re having right now, it’s pretty hard to keep it from drying up. We do our best, but Mother Nature has a say in that.”
As a local promoter, Mahoney is a bit uncomfortable taking on the time-honored tradition of picking the winning driver for a crown-jewel event. He eventually chose Weaver when backed into a corner, but was also quick to point out Cook could be considered a favorite if the track becomes dry-slick.
Mahoney added that veteran driver Mike Bowers of North Little Rock is capable of winning regardless of track conditions.
Mahoney correctly predicted Cook to win last year’s race.
The statistics this season support Mahoney’s choice of Weaver, who leads with seven victories compared to three for Cook and two for Bowers.
“Weaver can run that top, Cook is good when it gets black, and Bowers, he’s tough no matter what the track does,” Mahoney said. “But the way it’s been going, I say it’s possible that Weaver could win if the track has that outside line he likes. If the track has an outside, he can give anyone a run for their money.”
