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FOR THE PAPER
In addition to the two Valdese youth diamond teams who both won
2026 Foothills Athletic Association postseason tournament titles
and were featured in the July 11 edition of The Paper, a third
Valdese squad also ended the season with a championship. Members of
the Valdese 8U Blue softball team (pictured) show off their rings
after claiming the FAA tourney title on June 3 at Baird Park in
Hudson. The full list of Valdese 8U Blue coaches and players was
not available.
Valdese 8U Blue softball wins tourney title
Page B2 | e-Edition | The Paper
FOR THE PAPER
In addition to the two Valdese youth diamond teams who both won
2026 Foothills Athletic Association postseason tournament titles
and were featured in the July 11 edition of The Paper, a third
Valdese squad also ended the season with a championship. Members of
the Valdese 8U Blue softball team (pictured) show off their rings
after claiming the FAA tourney title on June 3 at Baird Park in
Hudson. The full list of Valdese 8U Blue coaches and players was
not available.
Valdese 8U Blue softball wins tourney title
Sports
Local racing
Weather wipes out last weekend's action at both tracks
By JASON FREEMAN
Sports Correspondent
Josh Berry poses with the checkered flag in victory lane at
Hickory Motor Speedway after winning the Jack Ingram Memorial 111
in 2022. This year’s annual Jack Ingram Memorial race is set for
tonight.
FOR THE PAPER
Mother Nature silenced the thunder of engines across the Catawba Valley last Saturday night, July 25.
HorsePower Park was unable to get the half-mile dirt track dried out in time to race. The track will be back in action on Aug. 8, featuring all six weekly divisions. The highlight of the event will be the Crown Vics racing for $1,000.
Tri-County Speedway was forced to cancel its Freedom 250 event for a second time. The track has yet to announce a new makeup date, but all nine weekly divisions will be racing today (Aug. 1).
Hickory Motor Speedway was idle as scheduled on July 25 in preparation for the fifth annual Jack Ingram Memorial 111 and the inaugural Hall of Fame inductions in Asheville this evening. Past winners of the event include Josh Berry, Tyler Matthews, Kade Brown, and Caden Kvapil. The CARS Tour returns to HMS on Aug. 8 with the annual throwback weekend.
Carswell, Patton compete at Harris
With the weather postponing local events, the local drivers hit the highways.
At Harris Speedway on July 25, the Street Stock division had a double feature. The first 15-lap race saw Cody Ussery start on the pole. Local driver Brian “Meathead” Carswell started fourth and moved up before he and Blake Pryor got together and sent both drivers to the rear of the field.
Andrew Durham worked his way around Ussery and held him off for the victory. Jeff Parsons was third, Matt Whitener was fourth. Morganton driver Damion Patton rounded out the top five. Carswell battled back to finish eighth.
“We were a little off all race,” the defending track champion Carswell said. “Made a couple adjustments for the second race that made it better, but starting eighth, we ran out of laps.”
In the second 15-lap feature, which was a makeup event for the July 18 rainout, Patton started on the pole but faded towards the finish. Pryor took the checkered flag ahead of Carswell. Ussery was third ahead of Patton, and Whitener was fifth.
“We unloaded fast thanks to my owner and teammate,” Patton said. “This is just my second weekend with Mike Gault Motorsports and being teammates with Brian. Both have been a great help as we continue to build momentum as a group.”
Both drivers will be traveling to Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, Miss., for the Southern Street Stock Nationals from Aug. 12-15.
HorsePower Park first-year promoter Chandler Barker drove his
No. 16 machine in the Pure Stock V8 division at East Lincoln Motor
Speedway in Stanley on July 25.
FOR THE PAPER
Carswell, Barker at East Lincoln
Several other local drivers traveled to East Lincoln Motor Speedway in Stanley on July 25.
Second-generation driver Connor Carswell finished best out of the group with an 11th-place finish in the Pure Stock V8 division.
HorsePower Park first-year promoter Chandler Barker finished second in his heat and started fifth in the main but finished 19th in the feature.
“We were running on 6-cylinders, decided to save the engine, so I parked the car early,” Barker said afterward.
Roger Cook and his Killer Vic machine started 13th but had early issues and finished 20th.
And the second leg of the Virginia Triple Crown was held at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va. Caden Kvapil won the 200-lap Hampton Heat, driving for JR Motorsports owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Defending HMS track champion Michael Bumgarner finished 13th in his No. 51 machine owned by Rick Ware.
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