3/17/12
By J M Hallas

Pleasanton, Tx.,(March 17^th, 2012) Racing season kicked off at I-37 Raceway's ¼ mile, semi-banked, clay oval, Saturday night with familiar faces in familiar places, as well as some new or returning drivers. Friday night was one final test-n-tune for drivers/teams to get their cars dialed in for the first race of the year for many, while others with a few races already under their belts did some fine tuning.

Saturday night's turnout saw an overflow in the pits with teams having to pit in the outer parking area and a good crowd of spectators filling the stands. Despite the Friday practice session and strong southerly winds, the track held up throughout the night with drivers finding bite on the high and low side during the features.

Looking to defend their 2011 championships are Greg Dinsmore(IMCA Modified), Johnny Torres(IMCA Southern Sportmod), Trey Votion(Limited Late Model) and Wade Jones(Street Stock). Pure Stock champion, Frank Okruhlik moves to a variety of classes for 2012, while Front Runner champ, Cody Earnhardt gets his introduction into the Pure Stocks.

Dinsmore, Votion and Jones all scored feature wins, Torres gave JJ Jennings a good run in the Sportmods but came up one position short, with Okruhlik falling out of both the Pure and Street Stock events. Cody Earnhardt's Pure Stock debut was delayed after they were unable to complete the car in time.