Local Man Races Into The New Year

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January 5, 2009

Staff report The Greensburg Daily News Mon Jan 05, 2009, 09:46 PM EST

Most sports fans chimed in the New Year by settling in for a long day of football but one Decatur County native had other ideas.

Roger Williams from St. Paul started his new year out by competing in the inaugural Polar Bear 150 Stock Car Race held at the famed Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway, better known as the Rock.

Williams has been competing with his No. 79 Camaro Stock Car in the newly formed Frank Kimmel Street Stock National Series that nine-time ARCA Champion Frank Kimmel started promoting in 2007.

This growing series allows the chance to compete at some of the worlds most famous speedways and in front of large crowds. The addiitonal venues mean much needed publicity for the teams racing in this series.

Fan reaction to races in this series indicated it reminded them of NASCAR cup racing as it was held in the 1970's and 1980's. Several models of cars compete including a 1970 Dodge Charger that is reminiscent of a Richard Petty car. Monte Carlo models from the mid-1980’s are very popular car. There are also several Camaros similar to the one Williams races.

The Polar Bear 150 was special to the series because of the history associated with the speedway. Additionally the Rock brought out a heightened level of talent for the competition. There were several talented drivers that included crew members that work for NASCAR cup teams and several ARCA series drivers.

In attendance for the race was several high profile individuals such as Dale Earnhardt Jr, who sponsored drivers in the race, J.D. Frey crew chief for Scott Speeds Sprint Cup team and David Bryant, the Car Chief for Earnhardt Jr’s Sprint Cup team.

Randy Lajoie, a two-time Busch Series champion (now Nationwide Series) with three victories in the prestigious Busch 300 at Daytona International Speedway, now wants to teach people how to be safe in a race car. At the Polar Bear 150, he spent time in the garage area lending advice to teams and drivers on how to get around the track safely.

“Our race at Rockingham on New Years day was one of the most exciting races that I have ever been a part of,” Williams said.

The race was not without incident. The field of 67 cars started the race three wide and hit speeds of upward of 130 miles per hour on the one mile high-banked speedway.

Starting in the 25th position, Williams had worked his way to 15th place by the half-way point despite battling an ill-handling, loose race car.

With about 40 laps to go, another competitor spun into him, cutting William’ left rear tire. After making two unscheduled pit stops during the caution period to repair the damages, Wiliams restarted in 30th position.

With only a hand full of laps left, he made a hard charge to the front passing several cars to finish in a respectful 11th place position.

“I have to thank my crew for working so hard and allowing me the opportunity,” Williams said.

Crew members were Crew Chief Phil Skinner, spotter and crew member Tony McVey, crew members, Daniel Skinner, Amanda Williams and Rebecca Williams.

“We also need to thank our current sponsors, Williams Precision Engines, Creative Finishing, Pro Transmission, and 350 Designs Race Graphics,” acknowledged Williams..

The race wasn’t Williams first run on one of the nation’s major speedways. Last May, Williams and daughter Amanda attended the North Decatur High School graduation ceremonies where Amanda received her diploma and served as valedictorian. They immediately left for the 1.5 mile Kentucky Speedway located in northern Kentucky to race in the Harley Davidson of Cincinnati Enduro Nationals 100 lap race where he finished third.

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