2010 Newspaper Articles

INEX Legends had a increasing number of cars for their 2 5 lap event and Joe Hendricks took the pole position and led the entire 25 laps to take the win. Kevin Bush got past Robert French Jr. late in the race to pick up 2nd and relegate French to 3rd.

In other racing action Sparky Staton picked up his third consecutive win in Street Stock action with Chriss Grogg coming from the back of the field to finish 2nd and R.J. Judd finishing 3rd. Late Model action had Sergio Pena winning his 3rd straight race with Kevin Bush, Brian Purdham, Mark Cook and Wes Branner rounding out the top five. In 4C action Steve Renn picked up the win followed by Mike Renn and Wes Gibert.

Oval track racing at Shenandoah Speedway will be off until the big Memorial Day Race featuring a 200 lap Late Model race, 50 lap Street Stock, 30 lap UCAR and a 50 lap INEX Legends race, however Motocross Racing action will resume on Saturday 22nd. Registration is 7-9:30am Practice @ 10am with racing action at 1:00pm. Admission $10 for all spectators $20 per racer per class.

Female drivers on the track increase

Page News and Courier

By Bill Meade

Staff Writer

SHENANDOAH, Oct. 9 — As the curtain fell on oval track racing at Shenandoah Speedway for another season, it was evident that some of the leading roles had changed.

In particular, the number of female drivers continued to increase and the girls were not only competing, but placing among the winners at the local track.

Lauren Edgerton was an easy points winner in the UCAR class and teenager Elizabeth Williams was a prominent weekly contender.

“There was some good clean racing this season,” Edgerton said.

The mechanical engineering major at Virginia Commonwealth hopes that her racing success this season at Shenandoah will prove to be a springboard to advancing in the racing ranks next year.

“I plan on racing in the Modified Series next season,” Edgerton said.

Track owner Jeff Vaughn indicated that the speedway would continue encouraging female drivers to participate.

“We want to give women the same opportunities as the men,” Vaughan said.

Samantha Weaver, a driver in the She-Car races, raced this season at Shenandoah for the first time after having been a regular participant in demolition derbies.

“I came from crashing cars to trying to avoid crashing them,” Weaver said.

The 23-year old Shenandoah driver plans to move up to the UCARs next year.

“I'll get my car together and run with the boys next year,” Weaver said.

Good friends Wayne and O'Dell Dovel, who also race regularly at the track helped Weaver to begin her racing career.

Weaver finished second overall in points in five She-Car races.

“I loved it,” Weaver said. “I only spun out once in practice.”

Jennifer Chitwood was a regular competitor in the Mini Cup classification.

Although the number of female drivers at the speedway was up this season and the car counts, particularly in the UCAR and Mini Cups was up, attendance at the track was down about 30 percent, according to Vaughan.

“People just don't have the money to spend,” Vaughan said. “It's also tough to have the income to keep the cars up.”

Midway through the season, Vaughan dropped ticket prices from $15 to $10, but the reduction didn't have any positive response at the gate.

The speedway plans on having the same classes next season, but will cut back the number of events.

Vaughn said that the speedway is negotiating to bring a USA Pro-Cup race to Shenandoah in July.

The motocross events at the track have enjoyed increased popularity and Vaughan plans to hold two high-sanctioned, bigger motocross events next season.

In addition, the speedway is also considering bringing in demolition derbies and truck and tractor pulls to the venue.

“We intend to diversify our facility and broaden our fan base,” Vaughan said.

The speedway is hosting two more motocross events before closing, one this Saturday and the finale on Nov. 6.

Bush wins photo finish

Edgerton, Staton and Miller also find winner's circle

By Jeff Rose
Shenandoah Speedway

SHENANDOAH – Kevin Busch picked up the first of his two pole positions in the INEX Legends event with a time of 17.780, followed closely by Michael Edwards with a time of 17.871.

Bush and Edwards raced side-by-side for the start but back in the pack, Billy Wright spun entering turn 2, which brought out the first caution period and a complete restart.

When the green dropped Bush powered past Edwards to pull out to a three-car lead, with Edwards in second and Kevin Eichelberger and Scotty Edwards battling for third.

On lap 14 Sean Commo – who had been driving an ill handling car all night – spun, bringing out the second of three caution periods. All went well for the next several laps but on lap 23 Scotty Edwards apparently had difficulties with his oil line for the second time of the evening (he had the same difficulties earlier while qualifying). The field lined up for the double file restart with Bush trying to get to the outside of Edwards but to no avail.

The two raced door-to door for the final lap. As they came up to the finish line, Bush’s bumper crossed the line but Edwards (who had the momentum) had his scoring transponder cross before Bush’s did. Bush was awarded the victory in the closest margin of victory ever recorded at the track.

Eichelberger captured third followed by Tanner Rumberg and Sean Commo rounding out the top five.

Street Stock action had Sparky Staton in his “new” ride dominate qualifying and the race event to record the victory.

Chris Grogg qualified second and finished second in the race, with Mike Gund in third followed by Greg Breeded and R.J. Judd, who lost an engine with three laps to go.

UCAR action had Lauren Edgerton on the pole and leading flag-to-flag to keep her undefeated streak in the UCAR division this year intact.

Chad Kuykendall in his “new” ride finished a strong second, with “rookie” driver Collin Arbogast nudging out fellow “rookie” driver Elizabeth Williams for third place and Wayne Dovel in fifth.

Late Models had Kevin Bush on the front row with Jason Miller alongside to start the race.

The two veteran drivers ran side-by-side for several laps until Miller powered past Bush on the outside to take the lead. Brian Purdham and Mark Cook followed the two leaders for several laps, and on lap 37 Purdham dove to the inside of Bush to take over the second spot.

Sparky Staton had mechanical issues on the same lap and Jeremy Grogg would follow him to the pits 12 laps later.

Miller maintained his lead and crossed the line to pick up his second consecutive win followed by Purdham, Bush and Cook.

Racing action continues June 26 with the return of the SVSRL Mini Cups (50 laps), Late Models (75 laps), Street Stocks (30 laps), INEX Legends (25 laps) and UCARS (25 laps).

2010

December 15, 2010
Chesterfield Observer
By Fred Jeter CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“I had no idea, especially when you consider all the different divisions, and the fact that I wasn’t local,” she said of her awards.

This was Edgerton’s fourth-year of stock racing, but her first at Shenandoah. In the past she raced at her home track, Southside Speedway, on Friday nights.

She chose Shenandoah because it runs Saturday nights and didn’t conflict with an internship she was completing at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren.

Edgerton plans to return to Southside in 2011 in the faster-paced Modified Division. She has already purchased a Modified racer from a local driving team.

Moving to Modifieds from U-Cars is a giant leap forward. Modifieds are larger cars with more powerful engines and considered a featured attraction. The smaller U-Cars, limited to four cylinders, make up the undercard, along with Grand Stocks and Street Stocks.

Edgerton is hoping a diploma in mechanical engineering will boost her racing career.

“That’s one of the reasons why I picked a major kind of on the high end of the salary scale,” she said. “Racing is my life, and I’m hoping to finance my racing through the money I make with my degree.”

Edgerton was home-schooled until age 16, when she began taking credit courses at John Tyler Community College and Richard Bland Junior College.

She dabbled in ballet, karate and soccer as a young girl but was drawn to racing through her dad, who competed in go-karts at an unsanctioned track in western Chesterfield.

“At first I started tagging along with dad,” she said. “Then he decided I was better at it than [he was], so I started driving…I became addicted to it.”

A quick learner, she had 16 top-three finishes in her karting career.

Edgerton debuted at Southside in 2007 and won her first race on Aug. 31, 2007, leading flag-to-flag in her U-Car (four-cylinder division). She had two Southside victories and 10 top-five finishes in 2008; she added 26 top-five runs in 2009 – all with U-Cars.

Both in her engineering major and at the raceway, she’s always a female minority. She admits her idea of a social life is “calling up other drivers to see if they need any help working on their cars.” There hasn’t been much time for a stereotypical carefree college life.

“The guys at school are shocked when they hear I race,” she said. “And most of the other drivers are older – a lot older – and barely tolerate me. Anyway, I don’t think it would be too good an idea to date the guys you’re racing.”

Edgerton is a tomboy by nature – “I don’t like to shop, and I don’t wear makeup,” she says – but she makes one concession regarding jewelry. She never leaves home without a lug-nut necklace baring the name of her favorite driver, Jeff Gordon.

A comparison she avoids is with Indy-style driver Danica Patrick, a media darling and endorsement queen.

“People always ask how I feel about Danica,” said Edgerton. “I want to be judged by my driving ability, rather than looks and just being a girl.”

Lauren Edgerton, 20, is on the fast track to success, in more ways than one.

The Chesterfield resident is nearing May graduation from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in mechanical engineering.

She’s already earned a sheepskin, of sorts, in stock-car racing, having graduated from UCars to Modifieds. The daughter of Rusty and Deborah Edgerton of Matoaca won nine of 16 features this past season to grab the U-Car title at Shenandoah Speedway near Elkton. She competed in a black and blue Chevy Cavalier.

At the speedway’s annual banquet in Harrisonburg, she added the Driver of the Year and Sportsmanship trophies, determined by the votes of drivers and officials.

VCU student aces stock-car racing

VCU college student makes top racing grade

Page News and Courier

By Bill Meade

Staff Writer

SHENANDOAH, June 19 – Why’s a Richmond-area co-ed coming to Shenandoah Speedway to compete in a male-dominated sport, anyway?

Lauren Edgerton, a 20-year-old student at Virginia Commonwealth University, isn’t just competing, she’s running circles around the competition in the UCAR class at the track, winning each race this season in five tries.

After coming to Shenandoah a few times in the previous two seasons, Edgerton has now found a new home track to call her own – quite literally.

In five points races, Edgerton has yet to be beaten.

After racing at Langley Speedway in Hampton and East Carolina Speedway in North Carolina, Edgerton was looking for another racing venue where the competition concentrated on racing, not revenge.

“At some tracks, if someone can’t beat you, they don’t care if they just take you out of the race,” Edgerton said. “I liked running here.”

This year, Edgerton and her father Rusty decided to make Shenandoah their racing home, even though it’s more than two hours away from their Chesterfield home.

“I’m going for a championship,” Edgerton said.

So far this season, at least in the UCAR division, Edgerton is doing her best Danica Patrick impression.

The reason for so much success?

Edgerton says it’s all under the hood.

“Dad works on the car every night,” Edgerton said.

Rusty Edgerton is the mechanic for his daughter’s 1995 Chevy Cavalier.

The younger Edgerton is busy working on a team for another driver.

“She knows the car,” Rusty Edgerton said. “Having worked on cars herself, she can tell me what adjustments feel right to her. She likes to run wide-open.”

On Father’s Day weekend, the Edgerton racing duo came through again with another win Saturday.

“She does this (racing) a lot better than I could,” Rusty said. “I get more enjoyment watching her. It gives us good time together.”

Her victory gave her a total of 925 points on the UCAR season.

Like many who go on to bigger vehicles, Lauren began her racing career on Go-Karts.

“I got addicted to racing on Go-Karts,” she said.

Now she typically races about 36 times a year.

Lauren plans to move up to the Modified classification next year.

She can’t wait.

“We have the car and now we have the motor,” Lauren said. “Now, it’s just putting them together.”

This summer, the younger Edgerton is juggling her racing schedule with a Navy internship at Dahlgren.

In the fall, she will continue her education at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Her major?

Mechanical engineering. Go figure.

After college, Lauren will enter the working world.

Her goal?

“I want to make enough money to support my racing,” Lauren said.

At her present rate, maybe her racing will support itself.