By DAVID MILLER
Special to The Dispatch
Scooter Ware can thank his team’s hands-off approach for his recent successes in Factory Stocks racing.
The West Point native decided last season to stop building his race motors in-house and purchase motors from Russell Wells out of Walnut.
Since he switched to WRE, which supplies powerplants for the likes of Shay Knight and Johnny Kelly, Ware has won four feature so far this year, including three out of the four races held at Magnolia Motor Speedway. Ware won the $1,000 prize at the Fall Classic at Whynot Motorsports Park in October of last year and had just passed for the lead in the $1,000-to-win Factory Stock/Pure Stock Challenge at Columbus Speedway in March before he retired due to transmission issues.
Ware also credits his performances to his shocks-builder, Kevin DuPont.
“We were building our own but started having issues, like having rocker arms backing off and stuff,” Ware said. “I ran Johnny Kelly’s late model some – it had a Wells motor in it – and I liked it. We worked out a deal with Russell, and we’ve been happy with it.”
Ware currently leads the Factory Stocks points at Magnolia, just 12 points ahead of John Beard, after winning his first track points championship there in 2017.
Ware is eyeing a handful of big-money races, including features at Whynot and Jackson, and two of the largest payouts for the division in the state at Columbus: the $2,500-to-win Factory/Pure Stock Madness in late June, and the $5,000-to-win Factory Stock/Pure Stock Nationals in October.
Ware also plans to run races outside the state to chase both big payouts and to “change stuff up.”
“I don’t like to focus on just one track,” Ware said. “Traveling helps you get better driving through the rear and passing people. Like last weekend – May 12 at Magnolia – we had to start last and won the race.”
Ware, who cut his teeth in go-karts and raced Street Stocks from 2007 to 2015, said he’d entertain full-time offers to drive late models if the right deal came along. He’s won two heat races in Kelly’s late model, but he said he’s had to lay off the throttle a bit in features as not to win races, as those who compete in Factory Stocks – an entry-level class – can be disqualified for winning features in late models.
“All the stuff at our house is Factory Stock, and it’s the best class right now,” Ware said. “So it makes sense [to continue driving Factory Stocks].”
Ware also likes the routine he’s ironed out when his children – Chloe, 6, and Cambree, 4 – are in town every other weekend, mainly for races at The Mag, he said. Chloe’s more interested in racing than Cambree, but both enjoy riding in Ware’s two-seater Factory Stock – driven by friend Brandon Hardin – to pack the track.
Winning and getting their photos taken after the race has been the icing on the cake.
“That’s the biggest thing for me,” Ware said.
Columbus close to finalizing schedule
Columbus Speedway’s plans to run on Saturday nights have been nixed just a third of the way through the season.
Track manager Rod Taylor postponed a State Series race scheduled for May 19 and shifted close to a dozen dates on the schedule, which, aside from a few dates, is nearly complete, he said.
Taylor said the turnout hasn’t been what he’s hoped thus far.
“I knew last year that Friday night was where we needed to be, but all through the season, everybody kept saying Saturday night would be so much better, because it would be easier to get here,” said Taylor, who is in his second full season running the track full-time. “I thought about it all offseason … there’s six other tracks running within a two-hour radius, and in my opinion, there’s just not enough race cars to go around.”
The new schedule simply shifts most of the races from Saturday to Friday; the State Series race will be announced in the coming weeks, Taylor said.
The reworked slate is as follows:
May 25 – Kajun Mini-Stocks Association, weekly racing
June 8 – weekly racing
June 21, 22, 23 – Factory/Pure Stock Madness, $2500 to win
June 29 – USCS sprints, weekly racing
July 6 -weekly racing
July 20 – weekly racing
Aug. 3 – (tentative) 602 special, Southern Sportsman
Aug. 31 – weekly racing
Sept. 8 – Midsouth Big 10/Mississippi Street Stocks co-sanctioned $1000-to-win
Sept. 28 – Weekly racing
Oct. 18-20 – Factory Stock/Pure Stock Nationals $5000-to-win
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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