Gresham An Off-Week Hot Spot
Kurt Busch tested at Gresham Motorsports Park on his week off. (Photo courtesy of Gresham Motorsports Park)
By Jeff Hood | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Jefferson, Ga. – A pair of former NASCAR Sprint Cup champions spent some time this week at Gresham Motorsports Park, a refurbished facility located about an hour northeast of Atlanta.
On Tuesday, 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch tested his No. 2 Dodge on the freshly-paved half-mile paved oval, which was previously known as Peach State Speedway.
“This is a great place to test,” Busch said in a press release. “The track is really repeatable. The track is new and it’s and it’s nice and smooth. It has a lot of grip.
“If you can run the bottom, it’s pretty fast. It’s going to be really fast in a year or two when it wears out a little.”
Busch, who was coming off a victory in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, used Tuesday’s test to prepare for NASCAR’s visit to Martinsville later this month. His Dodge carried a spoiler on the rear deck lid. Busch’s Penske Racing teammate, Justin Allgaier, also participated in the test. Allgaier competes fulltime in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series.
Bill Elliott, the 1988 Cup champion, watched from the spotter’s stand Saturday night as his his 14-year-old son, Chase Elliott, finished second in the CRA Super Late Model 125 on the lightning-fast layout.
Augie Grill of Birmingham, Ala. dominated Saturday’s event by leading 110 of 125 laps. His winning pass came on lap 16 when he dove underneath leader Ryan Lawler in Turn 1. Grill would never be seriously challenged for the lead during the remainder of the race.
“I had a lot of fun,” said Grill, who won the pole but started third based on the inversion procedure. “My goal, normally, in a race is to get to the front as quick as I can. That was my goal tonight. We were able to get to the front in 15 laps. I feel safe when I’m out front.
“We had a great car. It was a good night.”
Elliott held off fellow Georgia residents Bubba Pollard, Jason Hogan and Mike Garvey to claim the runner-up spot.
Grill’s victory assured him a starting berth in the track’s signature event, the World Crown 300, which is held each November.
“That’s pretty neat,” Grill said. “Now we can come experiment for the World Crown and see if we can qualify faster.”
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CRA Super Late Model 125
Gresham Motorsports Park
Order of Finish
1. Augie Grill
2. Chase Elliott
3. Bubba Pollard
4. Jason Hogan
5. Mike Garvey
6. Scott Hantz
7. Russell FLeeman
8. Jeff Fultz
9. Greg Simpson
10. Cale Gale
11. T.J. Reaid
12. Mason Mingus
13. Joey Senter
14. Ryan Crane
15. Donnie Wilson
16. Johanna Long
17. Allen Karnes
18. Lane Morrow
19. Johnny Henderson
20. Randy Gentry
21. Ryan Lawler
22. Casey Roderick
23. Jimmy Garmon
24. Don Young
25. Scott Smith
26. Johnny Van Doorn
– Jeff Hood can be reached at jhood@racintoday.com
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