Layne Clifton
One of the biggest Limited(Steelhead) Late Model races of the year in east Tennessee will be held this Saturday night at Volunteer Speedway as competitors will fight for a winner’s purse of $3,000 at the Bulls Gap facility. Track promoter Mitch McCarter is staging the race that some see as a testing ground for the class that has struggled at some area tracks in terms of car counts.
After recently eliminating the Steelhead division from the weekly programs at Volunteer Speedway where he serves as promoter and the 411 Motor Speedway he owns, McCarter is calling on all Limited Late Models in the area not committed to other tracks to make their presence known this weekend.
One of those racers hoping for a successful event not only for himself but also for the division as a whole is Layne Clifton. The Seymour, Tenn. driver plans on giving the Showdown his best effort after a bit of a struggle in the recent $3,700-to-win Dylan Kennedy Memorial race held at Wartburg(TN) Speedway for the Steelhead division.
“It’s going to be one of the biggest races of the year,” Clifton said in an interview with InsideDirtRacing.com. “We had a pretty big race at Wartburg a few weeks back and it paid quite a bit to the winner but I think this race is going to pay a little better all the way through the field. I think you’re going to see a lot of cars up there.”
Clifton recently took to Facebook to urge other Limited Late Model racers to make their way to this race in hopes of encouraging McCarter and competition director Rick Brooks to stage similar big money races during the second half of the season.
“I think the guys that want to run the Steelhead class need to be there if they want to race anymore this year,” the 22-year-old driver insisted. “I think there’s going to be a lot of eyes on this race including Mitch and Rick and those guys with 411 and Bulls Gap. They’re going to see this as an opportunity for us and if we make the best of it we may get the chance to run for some more money this year. I know we’re not going to be able to run weekly again, and to be honest, that’s fine with me because of my work schedule and family and everything else. A few money races a couple of times a month would be good. I think it’s a good deal and I think a lot of people need to show up if they want to race this class.”
Clifton’s No. 23 machine
Clifton believes the trend toward liberalizing engine rules that was adopted by some east Tennessee tracks over the past few years took its toll on the car counts for weekly races and special events involving this class.
“I think the motor rules got out of hand a few years ago with the Steelheads,” he declared. “They should have never let the rules get this big where it kind of priced a lot of guys out of this class. It’s made it harder for the guys who have been able to stay in this class but I think it has kind of cycled back around. A lot of guys have switched to Crate Late Models and have found out there’s a lot of things going on there that’s not the way it needs to be and it’s going to cost them almost as much as it is to run a Steelhead. It all just comes back to the motor rules. I think they need to go back to a smaller motor rule if this class is going to make it. Guys just can’t afford to pay $20,000 or $30,000 for a Steelhead motor when they can just build an aluminium open motor and go super racing.”
Clifton likes the fact that the Showdown event will take place on a race track where he feels comfortable.
“It’s great for me and a lot of the guys that run around here,” he said. “411 and Volunteer are my home tracks because I’ve ran there a lot more than some of the others like Wartburg. We went out there a few weeks ago and struggled a little bit so I feel a little more confident going somewhere like Bulls Gap because it’s one of the nicest facilities in the area and I feel like I know my way around it better than I do some of these other race tracks.”
Volunteer Speedway can provide a great challenge for racers. The turn one and two end with the scoreboard and billboards on the west side of the speedway falls under the shade much earlier the night than the east side of the track which creates two very different conditions for the dirt surface. Clifton believes that the experience of having raced in Bulls Gap numerous times will serve him well this Saturday.
“Every track has something like that,” he pointed out. “There’s not going to be a perfect track to set up for. Once you find yourself a little bit at Volunteer it’s a good place to race. It’s not as tough as some people make it out to be. I always say that 411 is tougher than Bulls Gap for me. We’re going to have a good race car up there and a lot of other guys are going to have good race cars up there. It’s going to be a tough race this weekend. I believe I’ve got the equipment and I’ve got the support behind me. I need a little bit of luck and to do a good job behind the wheel with the Good Lord above with me and I think we can come out pretty good in this race.”
