June 23, 2012 - Perhaps one of the hottest days of the year thus far, June 23rd rolled around and produced yet another great edition of weekly racing at the "Bad Fast Taz". With 5 classes on tap for the evening's action, things got underway with qualifying. Qualifying turned out to be an absolute treat for the fans. Harrogate, Tennessee's Travis Fultz turned the 1/3 mile speedway in 11.587 seconds in Tazewell Late Model qualifying, claiming a new track and becoming the 1st driver to turn a lap in the 11.5 second bracket. Modified Street qualifying saw Gary Blanken miss the track record by a mere tenth of a second, turning a lap of 13.239 seconds. Robbie Sands also missed his own set track record, with a lap of 14.004 seconds in Classic car qualifying, as did Steve Smith in Pure Street qualifying by turning a lap of 14.420 seconds. Brad Hall and crew worked hard all day to produce a great surface for the fans and drivers. "It's been a long day, but the work sure has paid off", stated Hall. After preliminary action, feature events rolled to the speedway.

4 Cylinders took to the track in their usual #1 spot of the night. James Collett Jr. shared the front row with Bubby Braden. In Collett's 2nd ever start, he pulled out to the lead over Braden, and drove away from the field to claim his 1st ever win. After a long 10 lap hard-fought battle, Braden would prevail in taking 2nd over multi-time winner Chuck McMahan in the 99.

Four Cylinder Results:
1. 38 - James Collett Jr.
2. B7 - Bubby Braden
3. 99 - Chuck McMahan
4. H2 - Wayne Hopson
5. 72 - Rufus Collett

Modified Street drivers brought their engines to life for their 20 lap feature. Gary Blanken pulled to the lead over Brad Davis, who faded to 3rd as Jordan Horton rallied from the 4th starting spot to 2nd. The event's 1st of 2 caution drew on the 11th lap for a broken wheel on 5th place running machine of Tony Horton, ending his night. The final caution drew on the 12th circuit as David Clark, who made his Modified Street debut, spun exiting turn 4. Horton made several attempts to pass Blanken over the course of the last 8 laps, but was unsuccessful as Blanken drove his #5 machine to the flag-to-flag victory over Horton, Davis, Sizemore, and Overholt.

Modified Street Results:
1. 5 - Gary Blanken
2. 56H - Jordan Horton
3. 88 - Brad Davis
4. 44C - Jason Sizemore
5. 4 - Clyde Overholt
6. 1 - David Clark
7. 21K - Larry Burke
8. 56 - Tony Horton
9. P21 - Robbie Buchanan

Late models roared to life next for their 30 lap feature. Fultz and Trammell shared the front row, and Trammell got the advantage taking the lead from Fultz on the low side of the speedway. Things got bunched up going through turn 1 for the first time, resulting in 4th starting Phillip Nichols hitting the wall hard in turn 1 and 2, almost turning over. The red flag was displayed, and the rescue squad was brought to the speedway to tend to Nichols, who suffered a cut hand from the accident. On the restart, Trammell yet again got the better jump on Fultz from the low side, taking the lead. The event ran caution free for the 30 lap distance, with Trammell taking the win, and lapping all but Fultz, who finished 2nd, and Greg Estes, who rallied to finish 3rd. After the finish, J. Allan, who ran 5th, attempted to protest the new track record holder Travis Fultz, but was denied the privilege by track officials; due to track rules stating a protesting car must finish on the lead lap. The protest was cancelled, and Fultz was credited with 2nd.

Tazewell Late Model Results:
1. 90J - Jason Trammell
2. T0 - Travis Fultz
3. 31 - Greg Estes
4. 56 - Jody Horton
5. 111 - J. Allan
6. G7 - Daryl Gordon
7. 24 - Andy Wilder
8. 20 - Richard Ely
9. 22 - Matthew Holt
10. 2 - Donnie Cameron
11. 11J - Brian Howerton
12. 33 - Phillip Nichols

Classic racing came to the speedway as the 4th feature of the night. Sands pulled out to the lead over Charlie Tharp, and the Keck duo, Eli and Joe. The event's lone caution flew on lap 6 as 2nd place runner Charlie Tharp lost his engine going down the backstretch. Sands would lead the remaining 14 laps to claim the win, but was protested by Joe Keck after the event's conclusion. During post-race inspection, track tech man found Sands' #17 machine with an illegal intake modification, disqualifying him. As a result, Eli "Push Rod" Keck was granted with his 1st ever Tazewell Speedway victory over his father, Joe "Hot Rod" Keck.

Classic Car Results:
1. 18 - Eli Keck
2. 8 - Joe Keck
3. 34 - Phillip Shockley
4. 1 - Shane Lockhart
5. 21 - Tim Sands Jr.
6. 20 - Charlie Tharp
7. 3 - Jason Beeler
DQ
17 - Robbie Sands

Pure Street rounded out the night with a 20 lap feature. Smith pulled into turn 1 as the leader over Green. The field began to spread out as a lap 10 caution was displayed for Josh Chesney, who dropped fluid onto the track. After the restart, Smith pulled away, but the battle was for 2nd. Green and Aaron Guinn fought tooth and nail for the 2nd spot, with some minor contact between the two racers. With 3 laps to go, Guinn would prevail over Green, as would Buster Cupp to drop Green to 4th. On the last lap, Guinn's 97 would lose it's right rear wheel to end his night, as Smith went on to capture his 1st win of 2012. Cupp would come home 2nd, with Green 3rd. After the event, track tech man Bill Curl would check the top 3 in a post-race inspection. Everyone was declared legal.

Pure Street Results:
1. 2 - Steve Smith
2. 28 - Buster Cupp
3. 12 - J.J. Green
4. 5 - Jason Saylor
5. 94 - Dustin Eldridge
6. 97 - Aaron Guinn
7. 1 - Josh Chesney
8. 41 - Jonathan Miracle
DNS
18 - Junior Cody

Gary Hall and company would like to thank each and every driver, crew, and fan for their continued support of Tazewell Speedway. Also, Mr. Hall and the rest of the Tazewell Speedway staff would like to send out the get well wishes to David Maples, the long time grandstand gate track greeter. David always greets every fan and driver with a smile, but due to back surgery, that smile has been absent for most of the 2012 season. So get well soon David, and hurry back to the Taz. Also, Tazewell Speedway would like for everyone to join us for action on June 30th, featuring the American Modified Series coming to town out of Kentucky for a $3,000 to win open wheel modified event. Although not confirmed, it has been made known that NASCAR competitor Ken Schrader will be attempting to participate in the event. Mr. Schrader said he was hoping to return to the high banks for this event, depending on his schedule. However, if he isn't able to attend this event, he wishes to attend the event on August 24th, on NASCAR's Bristol weekend. Also, Tazewell Speedway will be in action on Tuesday night, July 3rd, featuring a $3,000 to win Limited Late Model event, as well as a $700 to win Modified Street event. Other events will include $300 to win features for the Classic and Pure Street divisions, along with a fireworks display! Don't miss out on the great action rolling your way for this great upcoming 4th of July week!!!