Published: Sunday, May 4, 2008
Evergreen Speedway notes; Cool weather a hot topic
By Scott Whitmore
Herald Writer
MONROE — Once again one of the hottest topics for discussion at Evergreen Speedway was the weather.
While the talk was heated on Saturday, the weather was not.
Cold, rainy conditions early in the afternoon kept many race teams from the super stock division lined up outside of the speedway’s back gate, unwilling to pay for pit access until it was they would race.
“It’s getting real old,” said Frank Coleman of Coleman Motorsports. “I’ll take 60-65 (degrees) with the sun shining. Get rid of the cold.”
Coleman stood next to the No. 51 driven by John Zaretzke. Just four other super stocks were in sight at the time he spoke: Naima Lang’s No. 00, Jill Lang’s No. 27, Jeff Knight’s No. 70 and Chris Preston’s No. 28.
When a patch of blue sky formed to the south and west of the Monroe speedway, the prevailing opinion in the pits turned to a belief that the top-tier division of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series would indeed race.
Outside the gate, Ryan Zahnow, owner of the No. 11 driven by Mike Holden and the No. 18 driven by Brad Zahnow, made the decision to take a chance and buy in.
Soon the No. 48 of Tom Hughs and the No. 99 of Scott LaCross followed, and eventually 14 late models were lined up along the pit set up on the speedway’s five-eighths mile track.
Thirty degrees difference: Dennis and Debbie Nelson of Hickory, N.C., were at Evergreen Speedway on Saturday as part of a promotional appearance for Braun Racing.
The Nelsons were displaying the Great Clips No. 38 Toyota Camry normally driven in the NASCAR Nationwide Series by Jason Leffler.
Monroe was the fifth appearance Dennis and Debbie Nelson had made with the car. They started in Dallas, moved on to Phoenix, then Los Angeles, and Sacramento.
Following the Evergreen appearance, the Nelsons were scheduled to return to Hickory, which is also where newly retired NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett makes his home.
Asked what she thought of the weather in Monroe, Debbie Nelson smiled and paused before answering.
“It’s 80 degrees back home,” she said.
Family affair: Ryan Zahnow owns the No. 11 super stock driven by Mike Holden and the No. 18, which was driven on Saturday by Brad Zahnow.
Brad Zahnow is Ryan Zahnow’s brother.
Mike Holden’s brother, Jeff Holden, drives the No. 12 car, which is owned by Mark Bold.
Mark Bold is Ryan and Brad Zahnow’s cousin.
Honorary mention, use of tape award: The No. 18 driven by Brad Zahnow was also the No. 9 driven to victory by Kelly Mann a week earlier on April 26.
Mann and Brad Zahnow will share driving duties in the car this season, but are not sharing the car number.
The deft application of black tape turned the numeral 9 into an 8, and another strip of black tape turned the 8 into an 18.
Why 18?
Brad Zahnow explained it was the only option. No other combinations involving the number 9 were available — 91 was taken and 19 retired — and 81 was also taken.
Early holiday: The crews of Lane Sundholm, and Naima and Jill Lang have a reputation for putting on a feed before races, and Saturday was no exception.
With Cinco De Mayo on the following Monday, there was appropriate fare cooking in the Sundholm and Lang trailers.
Steak fajitas were served in Sundholm’s trailer and beef tacos could be had in the Langs’.
“Everybody comes here because they know we have food,” Lang crewmember “Big” Wayne Sagiao said.
Another vote for heat races: Count second year super stock driver Jeff Knight as being pleased with the addition of heat races this season.
Knight said he liked getting additional seat time with other cars on the track, and having the opportunity to make adjustments between the heat and the main.
Asked what he thought about the level of competition in the heat races so far this season, Knight referred to the first heat race on April 26.
In that race, Kelly Mann and Jason Fraser battled side-by-side for much of the 10 laps — with Knight right behind them.
“That was great,” Knight said. “I had the best seat in the house.”
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