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RENEGADE PREVIEW
April 26, 2008
Heath can't get away from it all
Maybe racing is like that namesake resting place in the Eagles’
rock classic, “Hotel California”: You can check out any time you
like, but you can never leave.
Jamie Heath thought he was getting out of the driver-car owner
business for a while after the inaugural Renegade season in the
Oxford Acceleration Series. It’s safe to say he earned the right
to take a break, too, if such best-laid plans ever worked out in
motor sports. Heath dominated the limited competition in the stock
six-cylinder class, winning a not-unlucky 13 of the 15 weekly
feature events.
Having finally accomplished the goal of winning a division
championship at his home track, Heath sold the #91 to David Walker
and figured he’d play it cool in 2008.
Then Walker wisely decided that there would be no better choice to
drive his car than its previous owner. And somewhere along the way,
Heath hatched plans to field a car for one of his friends and fellow
“Waterford Boys.”
Well, make that two friends. The net result is that Heath has become
the Kevin Harvick (sounds a little more prestigious than Michael
Waltrip, doesn’t it?) of the Acceleration Series. When the
Renegades roll onto the track in a few weeks, Heath will be driving
one car while having a controlling interest in the cars of rookies
Derek Cairns and Craig Bartlett.
We’d better clarify that “rookie” thing. Cairns, of course,
was the 2006 Macdonald Motors Runnin’ Rebel champion. Bartlett
makes the jump to Wednesday nights after getting used to the
bump-and-grind of the Enduro series last summer.
Another addition to the growing Renegade roster is Mark Turner, a
multi-time Championship Series feature winner in Mini Stock
(Compact, at the time) and Strictly Stock.
Heath’s toughest competition last season. John Childs, has
returned to his original playground of Runnin’ Rebel after picking
up a pair of feature wins.
That makes Figure Eight and Outlaw veteran Bob Morey the veteran of
the new division along with Heath. At last check, Ken Marston was
focused on wife Debbie's championship challenge in the Ladies
division, along with some possible Outlaw and Enduro
activities.
Joining Bartlett in the rookie chase are Rebel mainstay Jason
Hannigan and newcomer Will (son of Bill) Dunphy.
The second year is traditionally the season that a new Acceleration
division catches fire. It will be intriguing to watch the Renegade
driver roster and list of potential winners grow in 2008.
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