JACKSONVILLE, NC – New River All American Speedway is joining forces with the United Way of Onslow County to collect much needed supplies to send to areas of Western North Carolina hit hard by Hurricane Helene.
Helene’s catastrophic flooding caused widespread devastation from Florida, where the storm made landfall as a category four hurricane, all the way into Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. Entire towns was wiped away in the flooding. As of Thursday morning, search and rescue efforts were still ongoing, though with little hope of finding any more survivors as hundreds, possibly thousands, remain unaccounted for.
The United Way of Onslow County will have a truck at New River All American Speedway and is looking for donations of non-perishable food, personal and feminine hygiene products, baby food and formula, diapers, bottled water, and pet food.
Fans and competitors who attend Saturday night’s Gary Rochelle Memorial and bring donations for United Way will receive a voucher for a free hot dog or burger at the concession stands.
For more information about the United Way of Onslow County, visit their website at uwonslow.org.
Four more champions to be crowned in Gary Rochelle Memorial
Kyle Lynch and Curtis Lanier enter Saturday night’s Gary Rochelle Memorial separated by just one point in the Street Stock division standings, setting up a head-to-head showdown at New River All American Speedway.
Lanier is hoping to pick up a division championship for the third consecutive season at New River. In 2022 and 2023, he won the championship in the U-CAR (now called Rumbler) division and has more wins at the Onslow County track than any other driver in the New River era.
Both Lynch and Lanier picked up wins on June 1. Lanier was the fastest qualifier that night, netting him an extra bonus point, while later in the season, Lynch finished two positions better than Lanier. That third place finish on July 4 is all the difference so far as he leads by just one point.
In the Rumbler division, Cornell Williams holds a 23-point advantage over Brian Gooden. If Williams starts on Saturday night, he should take home the division championship. The same math holds true for Aiden McConnaughey in the Legends division who holds a 24-point advantage over Brody Rhodes. Dustin Phillips also appears destined for championship glory holding a 22-point advantage over Miles Rochelle in the Champ Kart division. Kristin Drum, meanwhile, has a five-point lead over Taryn Swistek and Hollee Hanshaw in the Powder Puff standings.
To date, five of New River’s division champions have been crowned: Paul Williamson (Late Model), Gator Williams (Charger), Travis Miller (Mini Stock), Brady Price (Bomber) and Jay Hemenway (Bandolero).
While the Bomber division has been settled, positions two through five remain up for grabs, with Robert Drum in second over T.J. Medeiros, Dominic Baez and Jonathan Thompson.
The Gary Rochelle Memorial, which was originally scheduled to be held in August, is run in the memory of the 2022 Street Stock division champion who passed away in August 2023.
New River All-American Speedway is Jacksonville’s Action Attraction featuring racing and other events. For more information about New River All-American Speedway, check out the speedway’s website, like/follow “New River Speedway” on Facebook and/or follow @newriverswy on X (formerly known as Twitter).
