Got dirt?

DARRELL L. BREESE/ Frontiersman reporter

WILLOW - The growl of the engine and the snap of the checkered flag beckoned, and a crumpled front end couldn't keep Ron Williams from the track Saturday.

Just one week removed from driving his modified 1978 Chevy pickup racer into the concrete wall at Capitol Speedway, he was back in top shape.

"I called in a lot of favors, and worked on the truck more than I did at work to get it back together in time for tonight," Williams said. "Basically I had to rebuild the whole front end. I was working on it until 4 a.m. this morning. It might not be set up right for racing, but its here, and I am ready to race."

Things couldn't have been better for Williams. He was the fastest qualifier in the truck division. He dominated the trophy dash, and his truck was handling perfectly.

"It's sticking right in the grove," Williams said. "It's handling better then before. I could even drive the outside line I like, without worrying about hitting the wall like I did last week."

Williams remained as the man to beat in the truck division, recording victories in both heat races, and holding off Mark Lightfoot's Ford to win the main event of the night.

Then in his best impersonation of NASCR driver Michael Waltrip he thanked his sponsors, "The G-Force Tires, Need for Speed Race Shop and Signworks Chevy was running great tonight. I am so relieved."

Collin Mingo experienced the bad luck that bit Williams last week.

"First I found out my tires were illegal, so I had to change them before qualifying," Mingo said. "Then I hit the wall."

Mingo was running third in the hobby class heat race when he got on the throttle a little too hard, and spun wildly before crashing at the base of the flagman's stand on the front stretch.

"It's just one of those days," Mingo said as he scrambled to repair his car in time for the next heat race. "It's not too bad; I think we can fix it."

Mingo did get his car going again, and competed in the hobby class main.

The weekly Saturday night races at the Willow speedway featured a 150-lap main event in the stock car division. The race was broken into three, 50-lap heats, allowing cars time to refuel, and make repairs before returning to the track.