From Aaron Fry
(July 5, 2023) — The 2023 season for the MPD Racing Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series has crossed over the mid-season point. It coincides with the hottest days in recorded history of our planet. Combining those factors with a full moon Monday over Waynesfield Raceway Park, the fourteenth annual Jack Hewitt Classic had a few interesting moments. After 36 hours to allow for review of the night’s events, the BOSS tour has carefully examined videos of several incidents.
Prior to Monday’s event, there had been zero complaints or concerns raised about any driver’s tactics on the race track. During the main event, the race winning car made several risky and somewhat controversial moves in racing from tenth to the lead. At no point was he not in control of his race car. However, several drivers and teams have expressed concerns over the tactics and racing etiquette. Upon review, the series director has issued a warning to the 41 driver, Ricky Lewis, that he is on probation for the next 3 events. This is the first time this has happened in 13 years of BOSS racing. What this means is that the 41 will have extra eyes on it the next 3 events to watch for any egregious moves.
Under a yellow flag during the main event, an incident occurred where a driver retaliated for what he felt was an inappropriate pass. The driver admittedly made a mistake in taking his frustration out with his race car against another competitor. The offender is a longtime supporter of the BOSS tour and was having his best season to date. While we appreciate all our full-time teams to the maximum, the tour will not condone behavior detrimental to the sport and the series. For his actions under the yellow flag, driver Paul Dues has been suspended for the remainder of the 2023 BOSS/FAST season.
We sincerely hope to have Dues return with us in 2024 to show the gentleman racer he is. We understand that this is an intense business and decisions made in the heat of the moment are sometimes major mistakes. Our tour regulars and our staff fully support both of these young men in their careers, but we will NOT tolerate unnecessarily rough driving or drivers deliberately crashing other cars under any conditions, especially under yellow flag conditions.
The BOSS tour returns to action this Saturday, July 8 at Atomic Speedway just south of Chillicothe, Ohio. The event is the first of three this season where the FAST On Dirt winged 410’s will join us for a twin-billing.