10/22/2021
The X-CUP Racing Series is an inexpensive southern USA form of racing. We ran a couple of exhibition races in 2020 when many other series were not racing. Here in 2021 we waited until most other short track racing was concluded, as well. We ran our only points racing event so far, recently at the famed ROCKINGHAM SPEEDWAY on October 10, 2021. Everyone really enjoyed themselves, even one gentleman that exploded a motor in very dramatic fashion still said it was his most enjoyable day of racing in his multi decades racing career. Lots of fun was had by everyone. We had planned to have a second points race at another speedway in the south on November 13,2021, to conclude our 2021 mini season championship.
Unfortunately, by being so late in the season being mid-November, many folks are saying that they are done for the year. Working around the house, already disassembling their cars for rebuilding for 2022, etc. With these complications, of insuring a sufficient number of race vehicles, to be worthy of a race date at another great high speed short track, being Franklin County speedway, we regretfully canceled that date today. We ran our exhibition races of 2020, at that 3/8ths mile high banked facility in Virginia, and the fans loved our racing. We still plan to center our 2022 season around Franklin , as our home track, with us running multiple short tracks in a fairly close proximity, with our farthest travel to ROCKINGHAM for our special event, or events.
We in X-Cup welcome both cars and trucks in our races. Even though the poor trucks have the aerodynamics of a BRICK a truck did win one of the 2 , races in 2020, LOL..
Our race vehicles are X-ARCA cars, X-BUSCH cars, X- HO***RS CUP cars, X-NASCAR CUP cars, X-XFINITY cars, and X-NASCAR CRAFTSMAN trucks. Basically any full bodied, truck trailing armed,3300 lbs minimum weight, race vehicles.
A great opportunity presented itself, after a suggestion was made by one of our entered teams (SUPASHOE RACING) in our ROCKINGHAM, RUMBLE ON THE ROCK SHOWDOWN, where we raced our cars and trucks in alternating races. We are replacing our canceled Franklin date with another ROCKINGHAM SPEEDWAY race on that same date of NOVEMBER 13, 2021. in this new replacement race date, on the ROCK’s 1.017 mile high banked SPEEDWAY, we finally get to mix our trucks and cars together in the same races again. At Franklin county speedway, we needed to guarantee a certain number of entries to have a stand alone date for us to race on November 13. at the Rock, we have a large field of other vehicles virtually guaranteed to fill the days events.
As soon as we know how many total races we will be able to run on NOV 13th, we will announce our qualifying race points valuations, since we only ran 1 preliminary race, and a feature event on our first racin’ the ROCK. We expect multiple preliminary races on NOV 13th.
There will be more details available in the coming days.
The entire entry fee will be $200 per vehicle. $150 paid in advance ( only 30 slots available so don’t wait, too long, or you could lose the opportunity to race the Rock in 2021), is paid online. Go to M4theM.com, and sign up paying $150, by c.c. or debit card, and you pay the remaining $50 in cash at the event. When filling out your entry online, be sure to put “X-CUP”, in your vehicle description. That is what makes you eligible to run all of the classic car times on track, as well as our X-CUP exhibition portion of the program, in each hour. We are really excited to be able to
co-venture with this great group of motorsports fanatics. We will be displaying our vehicles, while a car show, among other things are going on. Bring a car that you want to sell, it may find
a new home. LOL.
A recap of our first RUMBLE ON THE ROCK SHOWDOWN is as follows:
we had transponder timing at the RUMBLE (which we will not at the NOV 13th event), so we had qualifying at the RUMBLE. Which ever was the fastest laps in any of the practice sessions, was your qualifying lap speed in the X-CUP car division or the X-CUP truck division. There were actually 4 different divisions in the truck racing. It was billed as a FASTRUCKs race.
That means:
From All Series Trucks. That was quite a mix, with some being very similar to super late model cars with truck bodies, no truck trailing arms, coil over springs, etc… Little rockets with tires. LOL.
The RUMBLE ON THE ROCK SHOWDOWN was being put together since late January 2021 , and had always had the trucks racing, as the final day of a huge truck show, and truck competitions festival. The car racing of X-CUP RACING SERIES, came together to be added to the program in the summer months. For this reason each of the car racing entrants had been offered deals to either purchase race trucks, or co-venture a race truck to drive one, or rent a truck opportunity. Since this event promoter only would allow cars to race with cars, and trucks race with trucks, we created these races alternating throughout the day.
Dusty Silvers was the fastest qualifier of the X-CUP cars, and John Miller paced the X-CUP trucks division. Lauren Butler was quite the quick study. She was the 2nd fastest qualifier of the cars.
Both Miller, and Silvers had taken part in the tire testing during the summer, to be sure that the correct tire compounds would be on the 4 very distinctly different classes of trucks, and also safe tires on all the X-CUP cars. Many other groups of racers have planned or announced racing the ROCK in the past years. There was always some form of tire complication that kept each of these other racing groups to take the green flag. We in X-CUP did the due diligence and invested in many different compounds, and tire brands to have something suitable and safe for all the different racers. We in X-CUP not only took all the scheduled green Flags, we also had ZERO tire failures during any of the races. We even had competition cautions for checking tires and the right to change tires without losing position in the running order. No racer chose to change a tire. So hats off to the tire selections of all the teams, good Job!
The car and truck heat races had the finishing orders identical to their starting orders. Unfortunately, for Lauren Butler in the EDLIN AUTOMOTIVE SPECIAL, she already could feel something slowing her car, but she was able to hold off a charging Rob Hindt, who was closing fast in the second half of the heat, and was all over the back of the pink/purple race car, in the closing laps. John Miller was driving the SHO-TIME MOTORSPORTS X-ARCA car in the heat race. The car owner (Sho-Time Mike), had so much fun driving THE ROCK, for his first time in the practice sessions, that he drove all of those qualifying laps, so Miller had not ever sat in the car yet with the motor running, at the start of the heat. Miller was also the only driver doing double duty in the car races and truck races. Let it be said fat, old men should not try to run the length of pit road after climbing quickly out of the
ECC ( ENGINEERED COMPONENTS COMPANY), SHO-TIME racecar, jogging through the garage area, then seeing the truck race already slowly moving down pitroad in formation for the pace laps of the next X-CUP TRUCK race, so he tried to run the length of pitroad to his truck. Not pretty.
Well the old man managed to get to his truck, and make the start, and lasted to the checkered, in his Craftsman truck without power steering. LOL.
As we moved to feature races time, Miller was somewhat overcome with all of the exercise of the day, and he suggested that SHO-TIME MIKE, should drive the feature race in his own car in the car race.
Mike declined the opportunity to drive it, and said he would rather preserve the value of the beautifully prepared car to possibly sell it, or run for the POLE qualifying of the first races of 2022.
SHO-TIME was extremely pleased with its performance, and was content to load it up and relax, with receiving the fun of practice and qualifying, and he still received show up points for the feature, since he would have been the driver, if the car had taken the green. Miller received the points from the heat race that he ran the entirety of.
The car feature race was a beauty. Dusty driving THE BONEYARD INC. Ho***rs cup car had led practice, qualifying, and every lap of the heat race and also led every lap of the feature until the competition caution.
After everyone looked over their tires, everyone was satisfied they had what they wanted to run the remaining laps to the checkered. Dusty stretched out his lead again, quite quickly but this time with about 4 laps to go , his lead stopped expanding, and Rob Hindt began closing in on Dusty rather quickly.
Rob had clearly saved the best for last. He started using less brake on corner entry, and really started driving it in harder. It paid off. Saving his tires for the finish, worked as after receiving the white flag with only that last lap to go, Rob had a perfect exit off of the tricky turn 2. Dusty had a slight bobble coming off of 2, and Rob pounced on the opportunity. Rob drove his WORKS OF WOODY Chevy into the lead before entering turn 3.
The checkered was waving as Rob, Dusty and Lauren came across the stripe 1,2,3 in the first feature race on the ROCK in many years. Rob’s WORKS OF WOODY is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching families and teachers how to help autistic people live a fulfilling life. Rob’s wife,
Stacy Hindt did an awesome job of taking professional photos of the weekends events. Stacy is also running the Equine therapy of the WORKS OF WOODY non-profit corporation. You may request photos from the racing from SLH Photograghy, by emailing [email protected]
The truck feature event, also had a last lap pass for the lead of the X-CUP truck SHOWDOWN, OF THE RUMBLE ON THE ROCK. Larry Wilcox driving The DADDY K’S BBQ RACING SPECIAL, grabbed the lead on the last lap coming to the caution flag for the competition caution of the truck race.
Shotgun Miller in the Southeastern truck series division of From All Series trucks race stayed on track during this yellow, for a competition caution, as did John Miller from the X-CUP series. They both were confident that they had not abused their tires and were just idling around expecting the rest of the trucks to rejoin them on track for the last half of the race. After another lap of riding around they were forced onto the pit road, where they were told to shut off their engines. The track management had noticed a slice of pavement about 3 inches wide, and several inches long had broken loose in turn 1. The Fass Big Rigs series had just finished their race that afternoon, and possibly the stress of those heavy monsters thundering around may have contributed to that issue. Well, that competition caution yellow flag, then became the checkered flag, so Larry Wilcox was declared the winner of the X-CUP truck race, leaving John Miller relegated to second place, proving that it may have been smarter in hindsight to have tried harder to lead that last lap before the halfway break, that actually ended up being the finish of the days racing. Larry Wilcox had previously successfully crewcheifed a craftsman NASCAR truck in the final nascar race on the ROCK, oh so long ago. Maybe his experience paid off for him, since he was able to WIN the first feature race of trucks on the iconic ROCKINGHAM SPEEDWAY, in the many years since he was a crew chief in NASCAR.
John Millers ECC decorated truck wasn’t as pretty as the ECC car he drove, but he was happy to have made it to checkered flags in all 3 races that he drove. Although he only was in the seat of the X-CUP car for a total of 8 laps, John surprisingly drove both vehicles to almost identical fastest laps for each vehicle at 28.77 and 28.79 in the first half of that abbreviated truck feature. He said it left a hunger for more with the truck race ending that way, after offering away the car ride to the car owner, in that feature. He figured he had a great deal of untapped speed available in each vehicle, that he was saving for both features final laps. Especially the car, of SHO-TIME. Miller also was fortunate earlier when a truck had burst into flames, as it came dangerously close to right-rearing him near the entry to turn 1, as Miller completed the Pass, in the first practice/qualifying session. ROCKINGHAM has the reputation of being a tire management track, and saving something for the end usually has some value.
ECC was on everything John drove at THE RUMBLE ON THE ROCK SHOWDOWN.
Glass half full mentality said it was the best ROCKINGHAM RACE DAY result, his family had ever enjoyed. LOL. Rockingham used to be referred to as WRECKINGHAM, by his family. LOL.
We look forward to ECC supporting X-CUP RACING with Bob Schacht driving with that ECC logo in 2022, as he has for many years with tremendous success, in many feature event victories, Pole positions, and a championship, running an array of different venues. Bob ran NASCAR CUP, and NASCAR TRUCKS, as well as victorious multiple times in ARCA races, and winning Poles.
We hope Bob will be able to come run with us on the Rock in our November 2021 event, but is unconfirmed as of the writing of this article.
So our final X-CUP car feature winner, and our X-CUP truck feature winner, both closed the gaps in points leads that the fast qualifying, and heat race winning, and most laps led in all races,
duo of J. Miller, and D. Silvers had compiled, respectfully in X-CUP truck and car races.
As we roll into the ROCK again for November 13, we have 5 drivers within 40 points of the lead, so with multiple races on the 13th of NOVEMBER, the overall championship is still very much up for grabs. J. Miller had earned 88 points in finishing the
X-CUP car heat race, which combined with his truck racing points would have given him a large points lead overall. But Miller declined those car points being added in to his total. He said to not count them at all, and simply retain them in the event he ties any other driver, for any position, at the end of the final ROCK races in November. So in that case his 88 car earned points earned will be reduced to a single (1) point, to break a tie. So with those 88 points presently out of the standings we have a TWO-WAY tie for first place in points and 3 other drivers less than 40 behind those 2 leaders. Without transponders in November, and multiple races during the day, there will not be any qualifying points awarded at this final ROCK RACING Day. But multiple races during the day (NOV 13) it will make it possible for any of those 5 leading drivers to win the overall championship. Actually mathematically possible for the 6th and 7th place points accumulators to win it all.
5 of our top 7 have already pre-entered the NOVEMBER 13 finale.
Points tabulation tables has been on the X-CUP RACING SERIES page since may, 2021.
a full breakdown of lap leaders, hardcharger points, etc, will follow in the next post.
So as SUPASHOE suggested , we started at THE ROCK, lets finish it at THE ROCK.
A couple of the racers made some comments to be entered in this racing recap, as follows:
Rob Hindt/ WORKS OF WOODY said:
Racing at ROCKINGHAM was a dream come true.
Winning at ROCKINGHAM was a plus, that is hard to describe.
The track is rough, and requires you to be focused every lap, and there is more than one way around so side by side racing really is possible.
A real racers dream.
I hope we can do it again.
Jimmy Simmons/owner/tire tech of Ryan(Shotgun) Miller, winner of southeastern truck series division and showdown winner
Racing at the Rock is ALWAYS THE ULTIMATE DRIVERS EXPERIENCE for the short track racers. Its like the Daytona of the short track world. Its been 21 plus years since we raced lay down enduro karts at the Rock, and over 10 years since we raced with the UARA series here in which both were very eventful. in enduros and lost a wheel in the LMSC race. This weekend is by far the most gratifying since it was our first Full Bodied Stock car/Truck win as an owner, and my drivers first win, Ryan (stotgun) Miller in a truck. Robert Blackwood was very elated to have his first win as a crewchief, since his Father passed away. I want to thank the whole crew for jobs very well done, Robert Blackwell, Joe Fitzgerald, Randy Miller, Audrey Miller, Josh Hooks, and John Miller for all your help and support. We couldn’t have dominated like we did without all of these people.
Billy Strehle/ Truck Rumble race director and driver of CRS truck said:
Although my day at the Rock went up in flames, this was the best experience I ever had in a racecar/truck. The speed and feeling of the High Banks really can’t be described.
Dusty Silvers/ THE BONEYARD INC. said;
It was Good, I hope they invite us back.
SHO-TIME Mike/ECC Engineered Components Co. said;
That turn 2 exit wall of THUNDER ALLEY comes up quick, This really is fun once you learn how to get around here. I was catching You!!!!
LarryWilcox/ DADDY K’s BBQ said;
I was just a hired Hotshoe to come and WIN, and I did!!!!!!
Casey Meyer/crewchief of Larry Wilcox said;
Great day of racing on the Rock. There was a lot of excitement from drivers racing side by side for laps and drivers battling back and forth for positions.
Mike Harmon/ MHR said;
“John, what happened to the power steering”(after driving during tire testing)
John said, “nothing happened to it, it simply doesn’t have power steering”.
Mike said, “Darn John, It takes all the strength you got just to go straight”.
John Miller/ ECC Engineered Components Co. said;
I want to do this again, and again, and again !!!!!!
and I don’t need any power steering!!
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