As racers from across the Golden Triangle and bordering states ate steaks and toasted to another season at Magnolia Motor Speedway, the Crate Late Model drivers were treated to an extra special dessert.
That night in February, track promoter Johnny Stokes announced the annual Possum Town Grand Prix would move from Columbus Speedway – which had shutdown – to Magnolia, where the track would host a $10,000-to-win NeSmith Crate race at the end of the 2016 season.
The response mirrored the collective “oooohh” one might hear at a basketball court after someone gets crossed up. Jamie Pickard’s response was to buy a new motor.
Pickard, 38, had been racing in the Limited Late Model division at Columbus and the Super Late Model division at Magnolia, where, because of the track’s affiliation with NeSmith, only cars with sealed Crate motors were allowed in the Limited Late Model division, typically just one rung below Super Late Models at most tracks.
And with Columbus Speedway closed indefinitely, Pickard decided to invest $6,000 in a new Crate motor and add a new late model car.
“I was on the fence about it until Johnny made that announcement,” Pickard said. “I made up my mind that I would do it. I wanted to see if I could compete with them and get my game together, maybe make the main event at that race. There will be people coming from everywhere to get in that race.”
The NeSmith Crate series is a burgeoning division throughout the Southeast. Scott Dedwylder said he chose to race NeSmith over Super Late Models because it’s more affordable. He’s currently the leader in series points. Then there are drivers like Craig Barham, who sold both of his Street Stock cars to move up to Crates. For Pickard, it was just a matter of replacing a motor; he’d already raced Limited Late Models, and, strangely enough, finished in the top 3 in Super Late Model points at Magnolia last season, though he was always at a power disadvantage.
“There would be weeks where it would be an advantage and some not,” Pickard said. “I was at 525 horsepower, and some others were coming out in 700 or 800. But once the track slicked off, we could compete.”
The greatest disadvantage last season, however, were his lack of options to race outside of the Golden Triangle. Because of his old motor, the 2007 points champion at Columbus couldn’t race at tracks like Whynot, Moulton or Corinth. Pickard, currently third in Crate points at Magnolia, will attempt to make every points race and compete for the title.
“If you can finish in the top 10 every week and not get torn up, you’re doing really, really good as far as competing with these guys,” Pickard said. “Evan Ellis, Jeremy Shaw, Kyle Shaw – they’re top notch.”
Pickard’s greatest asset this season is his garage, where his father, Mike, and his son, Caleb, man his crew and help him maintain his two late model cars, both of which are relatively new. He has a 2014 Bob Pierce car, which he raced last season, and a new Barry Wright car. Pickard raced the newer of the two last Sunday in a Super Late Model race at Magnolia and finished 11th. Pickard said he doesn’t have strategy to selecting which car he’ll race each weekend, but the goal is to get a feel for the new car, which is awaiting new shocks.
“Each car drives different,” he said. “One car might work off the whole right side, while the other one might drive off the right front … it takes getting used to.
“I’m more comfortable right now in the Bob Pierce because I’ve been driving it for the last year and a half. I may feel different about the new Barry Wright car once I get the new shocks on it. From what I gather from others, it drives like a MasterSbilt, and I liked the way those drove.”
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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