Hook's Racing Publications & Media

23/11/2021

Anyone around Durant, OK still into dirt track racing or some type of car or truck motorsports?

01/10/2020

Share Memories and Support the Family.

29/09/2020

Sad news out of east Texas this morning. Billy Melton Jr., "Billy Marvin" passed away. It's clear by the reaction on facebook this morning that he was loved by many and will be missed greatly. Please say a prayer for his family and friends including his parents Billy Sr. and Pat., his brother Brandon and his daughter Charleston.

08/07/2020

*Feel free to add crowd pics from this past weekend to your comment*

This might be a fair assessment of where we are with this virus. I saw a lot of pretty full grandstands in pics and videos everywhere this past 4th of July weekend. So far I've only seen one local dirt track racer or former racer that has Covid 19. Do you all know folks who have it? Everybody who went this past weekend, y'all OK?

08/01/2020

I don't keep up with racing like I used to before retirement but this is just too cool not to share. World of Outlaw Late Model Feature Event:

05/09/2019

If you don't like this... you're on the wrong page! (No injuries)

02/09/2019

Apparently, it was a good weekend for east Texas third-generation racers. Morgan Bagley won a COMP Cams SDS Late Model race in Arkansas on Friday night, Jason Ingalls won a $6000 Street Stock race in Cleveland, TX on Saturday and last night, Chris Henigan won $4800 at the Ronnie Sigman Memorial Modified race in Crandall, TX.

28/08/2019

Vote for your favorite class that's running at the Southern Dirt Track Nationals at Texas Motor Speedway. For details, click this...

https://www.facebook.com/359856137908330/posts/498814024012540/

14/08/2019

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1384167238402370&id=326352437517194

17/10/2018

16/10/2018

Coming up this week...

Now let's dig a little deeper...

What do the following drivers have in common?

In alphabetical order... hopefully... :-)

Ricky Burk, Marcus Caudle, Brad Franks, Darrell Hampton, Chris Henigan, Scott Hushelpeck, Jason Ingalls, Lew Lyles, Mike Marusak, Bryan Mewborn, Craig Oakes, Edward Oakes, Ronald Pilkington, Brandon Puryear, Kyle Rice, Adam Roy, David Roy, Mark Simon, Wesley Smith, Doug Vick, Jr., Chad Warrick, Justin Whitehead

ANSWER:

All have podium (top 3) finishes at the Cajun Classic. That's 22 different drivers over the first 13 classics and that means 21 aren't Justin Whitehead. (And if you list them alphabetically, they all come before Whitehead :-) )

But seriously folks... Justin's 7 wins means he leads the way with 7 podiums too but if you can finish top 3, you can win this race!

Case in point? 2014. Billy Melton led a bunch of that one in a bid to become the first winner from west of Marshall, Texas. Heath Wilson was running second and trying to become just the second Louisiana winner. (David Roy and Kyle Rice both have 2nds for the Bayou State in addition to Doug Vick Jr,'s win and Lew Lyles scored a third in 2012) Otherwise, it's been all Texans in victory lane except for Mark Simon's (Missouri) win in 2010. Wilson inadvertantly got into Melton and both ended up out of contention. Adam Roy ended up winning that one. Brandon Puryear finished second which is the best an Arkansas racer has ever done in the Classic while Mike Marusak finished 3rd which is the best finish by a central Texas/DFW area racer. The next year, two more drivers from that part of Texas, Ricky Sessions and Tom Earl III, finished 4th and 5th and more and more are coming over every year.

Behind Whitehead's 7 podiums (by the way, his best finishes when he hasn't won is 4th twice), there are 4 driver's tied with 3 each. Two have won and two haven't. Chris Henigan and Doug Vick Jr. are the two winners while Craig Oakes and Whitehead's uncle, Bryan Mewborn are the two with 3 podium appearances but no wins. In fact, Mewborn finished second to his nephew twice. Oakes has a family connection in this podium thing too though as his father Edward finished 2nd in the very first one back in 2005. Adam Roy and David Roy are not kin however. :-) In addition to their wins, Adam Roy, Ronald 'Ralo' Pilkington and Mark Simon all have one other podium finish.

12/10/2018

The Cajun Classic! A Louisiana Dirt Track success story now FOURTEEN YEARS STRONG!!!

(copied from Ark-La-Tex Speedway page)

Coming up on October 19th and 20th, you can count on much of what has already been seen at the Classic over the years... Great car counts, great 3-wide and more-wide-than-that action in addition to a well-run, fast-paced show! The track record speaks for itself and is unmatched over the past decade and a half anywhere in the region. Hooks, Texas racer Justin Whitehead will be going for an unprecedented 8th Cajun Classic title and his fourth-in-a-row while six other drivers have also won this event. Every streak like every record is meant to be broken and you are going to want to be there when it is!

New for this year though is the addition of a great sponsor! O'Reilly Auto Parts involvement in motor sports goes back well before there ever was an Ark-La-Tex Speedway and like our racetrack and the racing entertainment it provides, you can count on the best from O'Reilly's. The best service and the best auto parts!!! We are extremely proud and humbled to have a company like O'Reilly Auto Parts sponsor our track and the 14th annual now titled.... "O'Reilly Auto Parts Cajun Classic". When you need parts, visit your nearest O'Reilly store or check them out on-line at OReillyAuto.com

Ark-La-Tex Speedway has run multiple big shows for every class of dirt track cars over the years and every event earned it's way into being a "can't miss event" anytime they are on the schedule. The Pelican for Late Models is a prime example of the best Late Model action you can ever see. This past May's event was yet another 3-wide Late Model racing SHOW and featured a photo finish that very few in the country can match much less in the region. Racing like that in any class just doesn't happen because they show up. You have to have a well designed and properly prepped track to do it. Again... Ark-La-Tex Speedway's record speaks for itself. Ask ANYONE who's been there! watch the videos, read the reviews, etc.

The Cajun Classic is for the Factory Stocks! A class that was started right here at Ark-La-Tex Speedway and meant for the working class heroes. The so-called "little guys" who race like giants! The class has spread all over Louisiana and Texas and boasts the best car counts every week at a dozen or more tracks now. They are the bread and butter of these tracks who would be struggling even worse without Factory Stocks there to race and they deserve their time in the spotlight unimpeded. Big shows for this class have sprung up every where now but the original... the very first one... the granddaddy of all the rest... was and is... The Cajun Classic... right here at Ark-La-Tex Speedway... "Where Factory Stock Began". Welcome O'Reilly Auto Parts! We're going to have a blast together!!!

Factory Stock A-main payout, October 20th
1. $5000
2. 1500
3. 1200
4. 1100
5. 1000
6. 900
7. 800
8. 700
9-21. $600 to start!!!

Grandstand Friday $15, Grandstand Saturday $15 (age 15 and under FREE in grandstand!)
Pit pass Friday $30, Pit pass Saturday $35, Pit pass Thursday practice (grandstand closed) $20.

**NO entry, license, registration nor car fees of any kind!** Just buy a pit pass and draw in!

08/10/2018

The traditional final event of the season is coming up for Ark-La-Tex Speedway!

01/10/2018

OPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS to headline BIG TEXAS AUTO PARTS Ark-La-Tex Championship THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, October 6th at 7:00PM!!!

Searching for Auto Parts? Check out BIG TEXAS AUTO PARTS in Longview! See their website at www.BigTexasParts.com

Modifieds will pay $800 to win and $125 to start with NO entry fee of course. Pit pass just $30. (Full payout below.)

Factory Stocks will get $500 to win and $80 to start at the Ark-La-Tex Championship in what will be their final tune-up event in Vivian before the granddaddy of all the Factory Stock shows, the 14th annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Cajun Classic on it's long-time traditional weekend of October 19th and 20th. The next and onlyTest-N-Tune practice night left in 2018 at Ark-La-Tex Speedway will be the Thursday before the Classic on October 18th.

ProMods & Limited Modifieds also racing for $500-to-win and $80-to-start THIS SATURDAY NIGHT while FWD 4-Cylinders race for $300 and to win and **$50** just to start! Again, just a $30 pit pass and NO entry fees, car registration fees nor licenses to buy! (Full payouts posted below.)

Grandstand admission will be $15 Saturday night, October 6th with ages 15 and under FREE in the grandstand. Slightly earlier start time of 7:00PM and grandstand gates open at 5PM.

Open Wheel Modified payout:
1. 800
2. 500
3. 350
4. 300
5. 250
6. 200
7. 180
8. 160
9. 140
10-20. 125

Factory Stock/ProMod/Limited Mod payout:
1. 500
2. 250
3. 180
4. 150
5. 120
6. 110
7. 100
8. 90
9-20. 80

FWD 4-Cylinder payout:
1. 300
2. 150
3. 100
4, 90
5. 80
6. 70
7. 60
8-20. 50

02/07/2018

Summer break at Ark-La-Tex Speedway will now start on July 4th -- the day after tomorrow night's show.

30/06/2018

Jason Johnson tells the story of his remarkable career as both a driver and a sprintcar owner

29/06/2018

Last time I saw the Sprint Bandits at Lonestar, they put on a really good show! You may want to check this out tomorrow night...

14/06/2018

09/06/2018

CAUTION - Car Count post ahead! :-)

Tonight, June the 9th, 7 of the 11 tracks that are still active in the area will be in action. One ran last night and 3 -- Timberline, Rose Bowl & Warren are off tonight.

Which means that for the 2nd time this year, Ark-La-Tex, Boothill and Lonestar are all racing on the same night.

Last time that happened was May 12th. As an added twist this time, Sabine who was off on 5/12 is also racing tonight.

The scenario tonight for the three close tracks is pretty much the same as it was on 5/12 too.

Lonestar has a $5000 to win Modified show tonight while last time it was 2300 or so to win. But unlike last time when the other three classes -- Factory Stock, Limited Modified and FWD 4-cyl -- all got a high purse as well, this time those classes are closer to a regular purse.

LSS got 26 Mods for the 5/12 show and like tonight, neither BH nor ALT was running Modifieds. TOMS is off and USMTS is in the middle of a big weekend in Kansas. It'll be interesting to see what they get for 5000 to win. One concerning factor to me is, last Saturday, there was a 1500 to win, 100 to start Mod race at ALT that only drew 18 cars with a couple of them being Limiteds running on KK704s. :-/

Last week it was proven again that Factory Stocks are the car count kings around here with 130 entering the Factory Stock 50. You could say they saved the show on 5/12 too. As the three tracks got the same show out of them -- 28 (LSS), 28 (ALT), 27 (BH) for a total of 83. Purse was quite a bit bigger at LSS though.

LSS did get 24 Lim Mods and 19 FWDs for the increased dollars on 5/12 while ALT & BH averaged identical show counts of about 11 in each of those classes.

BH & ALT split 26-28 or so ProMods on 5/12 with ALT getting 15, LSS doesn't run the class but this week Sabine races and does run them as a regular class so ???

Like last time, ALT has the POWRi Wing 600s as a featured class. Sabine has the ArkLaTex Winged Modifieds. BH has a regular points night like they did on 5/12.

Sabine's other competition is Sammy G. Nolen (Glenmora) to their south. Chatham is racing out east and Diamond Park races up north.

We shall see very shortly!!!

Oh... and Late Model Guys like Deridder's Robbie Stuart are headed to Jackson, MS for a MSCCS race!

04/06/2018

Them guys were having fun!

02/06/2018

If you like Dirt Track Racing, I don't see how you can pass on this $15 grandstand ticket in Vivian, Louisiana for anything else going down in the region...

01/06/2018

Starts getting serious in Vivian TONIGHT!

28/05/2018

I'd say it's going to be pretty big!

12/05/2018

So... things really get interesting around the Ark-La-Tex region this weekend for sure!

Seven of those green ovals are in action tomorrow night with 3 of them off. That leaves one -- 67 Speedway -- in action tonight (Friday). They may be the smartest ones. Think they have a $600 to win, $70 to start Southern Sport Mod race as the headliner. Will Friday racing work in this region? I hope so. Been wanting it to for a while. The debate is, can race teams afford to race two nights a week and can you race on a work day down here?

We'll get to the red ovals next week.

Now, about tomorrow night...

America is a wonderful free country! We are free to compete in the market place. Sometimes we do it in a smart way and sometimes not so smart. Opinions vary as to which way falls into what category but time always tells the truth eventually.

There is now a new world order in the region for 2018 which is really the old world order revived. That theory is that all tracks can be open on the same night successfully and racing will grow if more tracks are open. The other theory is the only logical way to do this in this century given the economy and the interest level is with smarter scheduling. IMO, the tracks need each other but they don't need to fight each other or we just add more red ovals eventually. Mississippi is a prime example of how working together has benefitted Columbus, Magnolia, Whynot, Hattiesburg, Jackson and Greenville. How long has it been since one of them has closed? The Gulf Coast down that way has had trouble though. South Mississippi closed quite a while ago, then Pike County and the latest is LA36 on the Louisiana side. Not sure why.

So what changed recently in the Ark-La-Tex area to bring this about? First, Rosebowl reopened. Rosebowl a reason? Yep. Lonestar and Rosebowl so far have worked well together. They are the two green dots right next to each other on the west side. It would make no sense for two tracks just 15 minutes apart to race at the same time. That's exactly what they used to do though. Please note that both tracks had many closed seasons since those days too. Why that affects the Caddo Parish tracks though is now they have less incentive to work with Lonestar because more of their cars run Rosebowl now when LSS is off so they don't feel like they have anything to gain by doing that.

You still need to watch the shows, classes and purses over there though and that's as much for your own benefit as it is Lonestar's. As far as I know, neither Caddo track is running Open Wheel Mods tomorrow. Lonestar is paying $2350 to win on no entry fee so why would you run Mods against that? There actually was a sponsor that wanted to run Mods in Vivian tomorrow night but when the conflict was realized they agreed on another date. Smart scheduling. Actually looked at putting that show on tonight (Friday) to make the two Mod shows work together but graduations in the area and a better fall Saturday date was found.

An example of how not to do it was last week. Another track in the region decided to run Late Models against the Pelican. Not sure of the reason, maybe spite? If it was out of financial considerations, it was a bad move in spite of whatever glowing FB post you see that tries to say different. Did a 13-car Late Model show accomplish anything except taking 5 cars away from the Pelican? No. In fact, it had the opposite affect on the traveling fans in the region. Were it not for the 20-car field at the Pelican putting on a spectacular feature race, there would be nothing but bad tastes in everyone's mouth. Fortunately, a crowd was there in Vivian last week to see it too. But hey, like I said, it's a free country. You either press on in the face of other's bad decisions or quit.

But now back to tomorrow night and LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

Ark-La-Tex and Boothill are 40 min apart -- these two tracks are NOT in "scorched earth" mode. There were 4 scheduled conflicts. April 7th when both tracks rained out and April 14th when Boothill rained out. Tomorrow, May 12th and the last currently scheduled conflict is June 9th. Boothill scheduled off for events like the Pelican, the Factory Stock 50, the Cajun Classic and others and ALT scheduled off for the Battle, The King of the Hill, the LSDTC and others.

Boothill and Lonestar are 55 min apart

Ark-La-Tex and Lonestar are 1 hour & 15 min apart

One huge advantage for both Boothill & Lonestar (and Rosebowl too) is that they are all right off I-20. 67 Speedway is right off I-30 and Timberline (closed this week but reopens with a new surface next week on May 19th) is close enough to I-30. Sabine (on vacation till May 26th) is right off US 171 although Many itself is in a less populated area. Ark-La-Tex is a little off the beaten path but doesn't have it as bad as Diamond Park, Warren, Chatham & Glenmora (Sammy G. Nolen Motorsports Park I believe). All four of those latter tracks race tomorrow night too but they are located at the northern, northeastern, eastern and southern edges of the region. The Colby Rice Memorial is at Warren with 1000 to win Factory Stocks but none of the other 3 have any major big purse specials tomorrow night that I know of. Which is interesting because the La Late Models are off this week and May 19th and were off on April 28th too. Just saying.

Given all that, here's what the three close tracks have to offer tomorrow:

Lonestar - "For The Love of Alex" Race. At least a 4th annual event although I think the date has moved around a little. If it's all about purse, they have it at this one.

Mods 2350 win/140 start
LimMods 1200 win/100 start
Fact Stocks 1000 win/80 start
FWD 4-cyl 300 win/40 start
Double points all classes

$35 pit pass
No entry fee
$30 new car registration fee (good for year)
Non-qualifier pay too

Grandstand
Adult $15
Kid 6-11 $5
5 & under free

Sam & Lisa Hafertepe put a lot into this track and this show is very special to the Taylors too with an important Don't Text & Drive message. This track is fast with concrete walls all the way around inside and out. Can be tough to pass but not impossible as I've watched the likes of Jason Ingalls and Dennie Gieber make hundreds of passes here. I call it the "Darlington of Dirt". Not for the faint of heart.

Boothill - Weekly Points Racing

LimMods 500 win/50 start
Fact Stocks 400 win/50 start
ProMod ?/?
FWD 4-cyl ?/?

$30 pit pass
No entry fee

Grandstand
Adult $10
Kids 6-11 $5
5 & under free

Boothill has had some great racing since Tim Higgens and Ricky Burk teamed up there -- especially in the Limited Mods and Factory Stocks. Like Lonestar, they have a point fund so if you're top 5 in points at either track, its hard to miss a race. No wall in turns one and two and no inside wall at all but they can't do much about coming off turn two or going into turn three. Those two spots have eaten their fair share of cars.

Ark-La-Tex - Kenny's Ultimate Fan Appreciation

POWRi Louisiana 600s 600 win/70 start
LimMod 400 win/60 start
Fact Stocks 400 win/60 start
ProMod 400 win/60 start
FWD 4-cyl 200 win/40 start
Kids Wedge Karts also racing

Pit pass $20
No entry fee
No new car registration fees

Grandstand
Free to all.

Last week was Ark-La-Tex Speedway at it's finest. Every lane possible was used in every class. Being off the beaten path, Ark-La-Tex can't do the weekly racing thing that well. Years of trying proved it to themselves. But it is a great special event track and you have to do something special to get folks up there so a limited schedule seems to work better for them. Turn 4 is the tricky spot at ALT. You can get tore up anytime you race. Someone crosses up in the wrong spot and you end up upside down like Cortland Smith did last week. But with the width of the track and the placement of the walls, one of the best selling points of ALT Speedway is that your odds of driving the car onto the trailer with minimal damage are better here than most places.

That's it, we'll see what's left when the smoke clears tomorrow night! Folks, it's a good time to get to a track tomorrow!!!

10/05/2018

ArkLaTex region.... unofficial capital, Shreveport, Louisiana.

Might not be North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Iowa, California, etc. but car racing, specifically dirt track racing, has always been a part of the region and especially in the more rural areas as time marched on. An often stated fact is that the first NASCAR sanctioned race ever held west of the Mississippi took place at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds in Shreveport in the early 50s.

I'm not quite sure when the peak of our dirt track sport was based on car count and fan attendance -- 70s, 80s, 90s, ?? -- but no question we've been on the downhill side of a peak for a long time. It's not just a regional problem either. Seen the stands at a NASCAR race lately? And while certain types of Dirt Track shows are still quite successful around the country, the number of dirt tracks left that can pull off weekly racing is becoming less and less.

But this week's local racing schedule started the annual barrage of "What's wrong with racing and how do we fix it?" posts that we do every year and sometimes all year long it seems. These issues are really frustrating to folks that have a lot invested in their race cars, shops, toters, parts, tools, etc. They all would love to afford bigger, faster, newer, better, etc. but reasonable people don't mortgage the house to do this. It's also really frustrating to track owners and promoters too who have the property, the taxes, the insurance premiums, the tractors and graters, etc. Or, if you've invested time and effort from the media side of things -- it's the least financially but we still want to help "fix it".

In my case, it's been 20 plus years of an honest search for remedies but, if you agree to work for someone, you either work FOR THEM or you quit if you can't. That can rub others the wrong way because you don't seem to be supporting "their deal", their class, their way of wanting things to be. Whether it can or can't happen is irrelevant to some in their eyes. I am feeling a new sense of freedom though since this is my last year to commit to any of the racing stuff. I'm not saying you won't see me at the closest track to home once in a while or a big Eldora race, but no announcing outside of an occasional emergency fill in when I feel like answering the phone. Hate leaving folks I know hanging if needed and they do pay you for it which is quite flattering. Definitely done with the internet and social media by the time 2019 gets here though. Did I really just type 2019? Chees!

But in 2018, I can let both barrels fly, lol. And plan to... tactfully of course. 'Nuff for now though. Another thing that comes with age and retirement is needing more frequent breaks and rest! ;-)

05/05/2018

It's a *GO*

THE can't-miss-it Dirt Track Race of the year no matter where home is...

Give me an 'R'... give me a 'A'... It's RACEDAY! And at least one BIRD will be given TONIGHT too! Starts 7PM and you know we know how to move a show along too so come early! Pit gates open 4, grandstand 5.

One of my favorite photos from the first Pelican... Two or three of them are going to cross the finish line like that one of these years. Only a caution on lap 48 kept Culp & Alberson from doing it last year. Track is in great shape. That photo finish could happen TONIGHT!!!

03/05/2018

Saturday night come join us!

29/04/2018

Yep, that's hauling the mail!