Story By: RYAN DELPH / SPRING NATIONALS SERIES – BRASSTOWN, NC – Fresh off an Alabama doubleheader last weekend that saw Joseph Joiner and Brandon Overton grace victory lane, the Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals Series presented by Coltman Farms Racing and fueled by Sunoco action heats right back up on April 7-8 in the states of Virginia and Tennessee.
The most lucrative weekend on the miniseries schedule will start this Friday night at the picturesque Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Virginia with a $10,053 to win showdown. On Saturday evening, the dirt-slinging competition quickly shifts to the bad-fast Tazewell Speedway in Tazewell, Tennessee for the ‘Lil Bill Corum Memorial,’ which shells out a $21,000 first place prize.
At Wythe Raceway on Friday night, April 7, the Super Street, Modified, Pro Mini, UCAR, and KCAR classes will join the Super Late Models on the racing card. The pit gates will open at 3:00pm, the grandstands will open at 5:00pm, and hot laps are scheduled for approximately 7:00pm. Grandstand admission is $35.00 for adults, $32.00 for seniors and military, and $5.00 for kids ages 7-12. Children ages 6 and under will be allowed into the stands for FREE. Pit admission at the 1/2-mile speedplant is $45.00.
In the lone Spring Nationals visit to Wythe, Brandon Overton pulled off a dramatic last lap pass on Jonathan Davenport in 2022 to bag the $10,053 payday. Chris Ferguson, Ross Bailes, and Dale McDowell rounded out the top five in last year’s 53-lap affair. Wythe Raceway is located at 164 Race Track Road in Rural Retreat, Virginia.
On Saturday evening, April 8, the 3rd edition of the ‘Lil Bill Corum Memorial’ will take center stage at Tazewell Speedway. The Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals Series and Iron-Man Racing Series will co-sanction the contest, which will carry a $21,000 winner’s check out of a $64,000 total purse. In addition, a $2,100 Fast Time Award has been posted by the track courtesy of Toyota Knoxville for drivers that pre-entered for the event prior to March 29. The Sportsman ($1,000 to win) and Classic Car ($600 to win) divisions will join the ground-pounding Super Late Models at the high-banked venue.
Adult grandstand admission on Saturday will be $30.00, while kids 9 and under will be admitted into the stands for FREE. Pit admission will be $45.00 for adults and $35.00 for children ages 12 and under. There are also a limited number of camping spots (first come, first serve) available on the grounds for $20.00 nightly. The pit gates will swing open at Tazewell starting at 2:00pm, while the grandstands will start to allow patrons into the hillside bleachers starting at 5:00pm. The driver’s meeting is slated for 6:00pm with hot laps set to take to the racetrack at 6:30pm.
Jonathan Davenport won the inaugural version of the ‘Lil Bill Corum Memorial’ back in 2021 over a top five that included runner-up Kyle Larson, Tyler Erb, Dale McDowell, and Donald McIntosh. Chris Madden added his name to the winner’s list in 2022 by besting Ricky Weiss, Dale McDowell, Scott Bloomquist, and Dakotah Knuckles.
The single-day program memorializes Lil’ Bill Corum, who was the winner of more than 300 races and is a Hall of Fame Member at three different racetracks. His career spanned from 1959 through 1989 in east Tennessee and north Georgia and he won the first event at Knoxville Raceway, was a two-time winner of the ‘Tennessee Dirt Track Championship,’ and he captured the NDRA’s ‘Strohs 100’ at Atomic Motor Speedway in 1981. Corum also competed in the only ARCA race that was held at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, Tennessee – finishing third in 1973. He collected track championships at 411 Motor Speedway, Atomic Motor Speedway, Tazewell Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, Ashway Speedway, Appalachian Speedway, and Newport Speedway.
Defending Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals Series Champion Carson Ferguson comes into Easter weekend leading the point standings by only sixteen markers over Ross Bailes. Kenny Collins sits third, Haiden Cowan finds himself in the fourth position, and Caden Mullinax rounds out the top five. There have been four different winners on the tour in five races so far in 2023, as Brandon Overton (Swainsboro Raceway), Wil Herrington (Senoia Raceway), Cory Hedgecock (411 Motor Speedway), Joseph Joiner (Buckshot Speedway), and Brandon Overton (East Alabama Motor Speedway) have all celebrated in Schaeffer’s Oil victory lane.