Defending ATPR champion says he's finished after weekend DQ

Cline Myers Jr. is out of racing.

For now.

The defending pure stock points champion at Auto Tire and Parts Racepark said he sold his 1978 Camaro stock car this week and is content with being a spectator the rest of the season after his track-record winning streak ended Saturday at eight races.

The frustration, Myers said, isn't because his streak ended, but because of the disqualification that erased his season points lead.

Track officials said the valves in Myers' engine were illegal after his second-place finish, although Myers contends that the fault is with his Knoxville, Tenn., engine builder. But, because of track rules, Myers' disqualification from Saturday's event also wiped out the points he earned for his past eight wins.

The whole ordeal, Myers said, left him disgusted enough to sell his car and get out of the sport.

"I love racing. Nothing compares to it," said Myers, 40, of Scott City, Mo. "I just need to get away from it for a while, I think. After last season I sold my car and bought a boat, then I got right back in it this year anyway. I'll probably find a way to race again somewhere, somehow, but it's hard to think about right now."

Myers had 443 points to lead the division standings before Saturday. Second-place Jeff Beeson had 280. A championship this season would have been the fifth in five years for Myers, who won last year at ATPR and the previous three at Fredericktown (Mo.) Raceway.

Myers said he's already gotten an offer to race for Mike Burnett -- who bought Myers' car this week -- so the opportunity is there for Myers to be back on the track as soon as this weekend. Even if he does come back, he said, he now has to battle a label.

"The car was illegal. I wish I could argue it wasn't, but it was. But I'm as shocked as anybody," he said. "I've never run a race when I knew I was illegal. If you cheat to win, you're just cheating yourself. I've always believed that.

"I could go back and race again, but once you're labeled a cheater, how do you get that taken away?"

A new contender at ATPR

Familiar and not-so-familiar names are popping up in the sprint class at ATPR, including 1994 track champion Jimmy Brewer of Sikeston, Mo., racing a Billy Clayton-owned car, and newcomer Shane Wade, a relative of Illinois sprint veteran Chuck Amati. Wade is racing a car owned by Quentin Campbell of Perryville, Mo.

But neither has fared as well the past two weeks as Jay Landolt, a second-year sprint racer from Wood River, Ill. Landolt, 20, has driven Joe Reddick's Jackson-based No. 12 car to finishes of third and fifth the past two weeks. He's likely to race Reddick's car all season when Indy Racing League contender Jimmy Kite isn't available. Otherwise, Landolt will continue to race his own No. 25 car, mostly at more familiar tracks closer to his St. Louis-area home.

"Joe's got great racing equipment, certainly better than we have, so we've had a great time running with him," said Landolt, the rookie of the year at tracks in Jacksonville, Ill., and Farmington, Mo., last season.

As for tips offered by Reddick, a former racer, and Robbie Standridge, Landolt's new teammate: "A problem I have is adjusting the car to what the track's going to do. I'm still trying to learn whether the track will dry out, bring back moisture or what. That's something Joe and Robbie really help me with."

Fredericktown closed

Officials at Fredericktown Raceway announced Wednesday that the track will be closed for four weeks because of "imposed reconstruction," according to a press release. The problem is believed to stem from a land dispute with a neighboring property owner, who contends that part of the track sits on his property. The track is scheduled to reopen Aug. 2.

The new track watch

A track owned by Brad Yoder is expected to open this year off Highway 8 near Desloge, Mo. It's a quarter-mile dirt oval already under construction and is scheduled to run street stock classes. There's been no official word yet about other classes or schedules.

Local ties

Gateway International: Jeff Dona of Gordonville, Mo., finished second Sunday to Bill Rowe Jr. in the sportsman division of the NHRA Nationals in Madison, Ill. Dona, in a 1969 Camaro, covered the quarter-mile in 10.443 seconds (125.111 mph). Rowe won in 10.12 (127.78 mph).

Kentucky Lake: Joey Mack of Benton, Mo., was third and Allan Rettig of Sikeston was fifth Saturday at KLMS near Calvert City. The track will host a $3,000-to-win MARS late model event Saturday.

Malden: The track's first sprint event of the season attracted a solid 17-car field Friday. Jerrod Hull of Sikeston won the event. Sprints are scheduled to appear on the last Friday of each month. Also Friday, Nathan Rettig of Sikeston won for the fourth time in pure stocks.

Memphis Motorsports: Mack won his first late model feature of the season and fourth of his career Friday at the Millington, Tenn., track. Billy James of Sikeston was third.

Pulaski Co. Fairgrounds: A demolition derby at 7 p.m. Saturday will benefit the county's volunteer fire department. To enter: (618)342-6877.

SEMO: There will be no racing Saturday. The track has scheduled special events for Wednesday and Saturday next week.

St. Francois County: The track near Farmington, Mo., has scheduled a special 50-lap hobby stock feature and fireworks display for Saturday.

Winston West: Sammy Potashnick of Sikeston did not qualify for the NASCAR series event at Evergreen Speedway near Monroe, Wash., Sunday. It was to be his second Winston West start of the season. He finished second in February at Phoenix.