By DAVID MILLER
Special to The Dispatch
One would think Jennifer Byrd would be pumped for another season running mini stocks. After her first points title at Magnolia Motor Speedway, the Eldridge, Ala. resident was primed to lead the division once more.
Even though Magnolia has opted to eliminate the division in favor of a new, V-8 factory stock class, Byrd could have raced a mini stock slate throughout Alabama and Mississippi, including Columbus Speedway.
But like the path that led her from drag racing to the dirt track — the thrill of a new challenge — it was initiated with abrupt change. Byrd sold all of her mini-stock equipment to purchase a 1980s-era Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
And just like that, she was all-in for the first season of factory stocks at Magnolia.
“Been eyeing this move for a while,” Byrd said. “Only reason I stayed in mini stocks for so long is because I had the parts, and the street stock division was out of my budget.”
Byrd and Magnolia track manager Johnny Stokes hope a significantly cheaper budget to race — Byrd said she’s put as much into her new car as the cost of her mini-stock motor — will draw racers who have tighter budgets and newbies looking to get their feet wet in the sport.
“We needed an entry-level class that’s more affordable to get into,” Stokes said. “”That’s what it’s all about. We’ve had tons of class about it, tons of feedback.”
But how easy and affordable is it to meet race-day specs for the factory stock class?
“You have to be completely stock,” Stokes said.
Well, sort of.
It isn’t as easy as taking your ’08 Ford Mustang to the track and having some fun. In fact, it’ll be tough for anyone with anything other than Chevy vehicles to run in the division. Byrd said 80s and 90s-era Monte Carlos and Camaros are the most popular in the division.
“I can only recall one Dodge or maybe two Fords in any of the classes as long as I’ve been racing,” Byrd said. “Not sure if it’s because you can’t get a lot of parts for them or if it’s just there’s a horsepower advantage with the makes of the vehicles. It might do with suspension too — Chevy versus Ford — also. The handling of the car on dirt can be a factor, too.”
Whichever vehicle interested racers choose, it must have a carbureted motor and be, for the most part, all-factory. Drivers are allowed to gut the gar and replace the front bumper and rear end, but otherwise, chassis and drivetrain must remain stock.
“You can put a cage in it, but no sheet metal,” Byrd said. “We can change our doors. We’ll gut them out. It would not be very difficult at all.”
“Even in the mini stock, it’s gotten out of hand as far as the modifides. I preached it for a while to go to a ‘stock’ mini stock. To be competitive in minis, you got to spend $3,500 to $5,000 for a good 4-cylinder head. This class, I won’t have $4,000 in my whole car this year.”
Though Stokes isn’t sure of the payouts for features, both he and Byrd believe it’ll mirror the mini stock scale from last year, around $200 to win.
But there’s a more interesting draw to the division, one that no other class can claim: passengers. Hearkening to previous years when two-man cruisers, when one driver would brake and steer and the other throttle, it’s possible Magnolia can have 15-20 cars the track with twice as many people enjoying the thrill of racing.
“I’ve already got people lined up,” Byrd said. “I put a second seat in my car. A couple of other ladies are dying to ride with me. They may end up going just once, but I have three lined up so far. I’m glad they’re allowing that, too.”
Byrd said she isn’t sure if all drivers will outfit their cars to accommodate ride-alongs, but she hopes everyone takes advantage of it.
“I certainly understand the competitiveness of racers and how easily that can be a distraction,” she said. “But it’ll help get more people interested and make it that much more fun for a lot more people.”
Frostbuster pushed back
Magnolia Motor Speedway was set to kick off its 2015 campaign tonight with the annual USCS Frostbuster 250, which would have featured former full-time Sprint Cup drivers Kenny Schrader and Kenny Wallace in sprint modifides.
But nature turned up this weekend and dumped snow on the Golden Triangle. As a result, the event has been pushed back to next Friday and Saturday. While all events will be run as originally scheduled — including the new pro stock class — Stokes said he was unsure if Schrader and Wallace would make it.
Magnolia’s use of the rain-out slot also pushes back the Winter Classic at Columbus Speedway, which was postponed last weekend due to rain.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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