There's something about the historic racetrack at the fairgrounds in Nashville that suits Brian Hoppe. The Madison, Wisconsin, racer won a big event at the track last year, so he had to be salivating at the opportunity to run there again. He got his wish when the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series schedule was unveiled. The newly named Music City Motorplex would be the scene for the season opener.
The track has been the scene of epic battles for stock car racing throughout the ages. Now sanctioned by NASCAR and under the watchful eyes of Joe Mattioli and Jack Deery, the track was a suitable place for a new beginning.
North Carolina racer Greg Pope snared the pole after an inversion of eight and held the lead for 56 laps in the 150-lap chase. Hoppe made some moves early, but settled in to let racing take on its tenure for the day. "I was working on the No. 7 car really hard and wanted to get by him, then I just decided to save my tires and let everybody's stuff wear out," Hoppe said in his post-race interview. "For the last 100 laps, we were able to set our own pace and put the Gildan Activewear car in Victory Lane. That's what we wanted to do."
Pope's day would end with a blown engine on Lap 100. The intense smoke would cause consternation for some of the top series competitors who ended up driving through a fog in close quarters.
"It's cool to win in another series," relates Hoppe. "That's something I wanted to do for a while. To have an opportunity to come down here for this race with a car this good, I'll take it."
AutoZone Spring Classic 1501. Brian Hoppe 2. Jason Hogan 3. Jeff Fultz 4. Eddie Hoffman 5. Erik Darnell 6. George Vincent 7. A.J. Frank 8. Cecil Chunn 9. Allen Karnes10. Robert Richardson II11. Johnny Brazier12. Keith Gardner13. J.R. Norris14. Wayne Bowen15. Justin Wakefield16. John Wilkinson III17. Greg Pope18. Chris Davidson19. Randy Pedley20. Dusty Williams21. Roger Parker22. Stanley Smith23. Nathan Haseleu24. Ray Skillman25. Michael Britt26. Kevin Prince27. Jarod Robie28. Terry Mason Jr.29. Steven Howard30. Michael Faulk