By Jerry Curry, Staff Writer
The Salem Speedway fueled by The Hoosier Lottery was the second leg of “The King of The High Banks.”
The first stop of this series, that includes the Vores Compact Tour, The Midwest Modifieds Tour and the CRA Street Stock/Diesel Boys Gas Series, was at Bristol Speedway in Tennessee. Collective points will be awarded at each track for the driver in each series. The three winners in each series will be the King and receive a ring.
The last time The Midwest Modified had been at the Salem track was June 6, 2009.
In that time things have improved, and Chuck Barnes Jr. set a new track qualification record at 17.332 sec. for an average speed of over 115 M.P.H.
Barnes Jr. also did double duty in his Gas car in a later race.
First on the high bank track were the VORES Compact Tour with a 40-lap race.
This race was plagued with a few yellows on lap 19, six cars collided between turns 3 and 4, taking out all six. Kyle Farmer, leading at the 31st lap, crashed in-between turns 1 and 2. Also, Justin Brown and Nick Cooper got together-- Brown had a broken left front wheel.
Jake Albright won the race with Nick Cooper second and third Chris Jennings third. The Vores series are front wheel drive cars.
The next series on the track were the Midwest Modified Tour. Matt Dimit of Ft. Wayne won, with Brett Hudson placing second and Danny Jackson third.
Chuck Barnes Jr., the fastest man of the day, had engine problems on lap 30 and finished 12th. Six cars of the 19 entries were on the lead lap.
The main and last event was the 75-lap CRA/GAS Street Stocks. The winning driver was Brett Hudson, second-place was Chuck Barnes Jr. and third-place, Dalton Conner. The 2023 champion Heath Helton was fourth.
Listed as Kid’s Night there were several things for the kids to do including bouncy houses and free kids' spectator rides. The kids could ride in the Fisher Towing Craftsmen truck or the ARCA Menards Series, two-seaters on the ½ mile during intermission.
The next race will be June 22 when the Semi’s return to the high banks. Supporting them will be the Crown Vics on the high banks as well as on the smaller track. Scrapper will also be present.