Story by: Langley Austin — [email protected]

Asheboro, NC(April 14, 2009) ~ OK, I guess it’s time for me to give you all the info I have on Alex Yontz’ disqualification at Caraway Speedway on April 4th … let me start by saying that I’m not going to drop any bomb shells and everyone already knows the basics, but I will try to explain things a little further.

As advertised I was able to talk with a member of the Alex Yontz Racing team and I won’t give you his name, but I will tell you that if my source doesn’t know every detail then there aren’t any to be given. I also spoke with a few people close to the Dunlap team and shop and every detail that I’ve been given basically leads me to one conclusion ….

Dave Dunlap is just plain creative. OK, I know you are going to say “but, he was caught cheating” and you would be right, but show me one car at any track on any given week that doesn’t have something that could be deemed illegal on it … don’t bother, you can’t.

Dunlap apparently engineered a mechanical device that would shift weight from one side of the car to other obviously helping the car to go through the turns better. The device however wasn’t exactly what everyone thought as according to my source with the team, the device wasn’t electrical, but however mechanical. The device would require the door to be taken off and a wrench or other tool be used to help shift the weight.

The device was illegal, there is no questioning that and while many believed that Alex himself would have control over the ‘weight shifting device’, I have been told that there is no way he could have controled it from the drivers seat. The device according to another source close to Dunlap told me at one time was electrically controled, but had since either broke or been disconnected before the race that Yontz was disqualified from.

Many rumors have circled around that the tubing used in the car was light weight and that a large amount of lead was found in the car, far more than an average amount when compared to other cars. Those rumors according to my sources are atleast partially true as the tubing was light weight, but no numbers on the amount of weight has been issued by NASCAR nor will it likely be issued by the sanctioning body. Also, no official word has been given by NASCAR as to penalties for Yontz or Dunlap, but we expect that to become public sometime in the next couple of weeks.

For Yontz it’s life as usual as on Friday evening he was playing the role of car owner for teenage sensation, Logan Ruffin, who was trying to make his UARA-STARS Late Model Stock Car debut at Tri-County Motor Speedway. Yontz hasn’t come forward to make a statement on the disqualification and in all honesty after speaking with a member of his team, I don’t expect him to do that. Yontz will also be racing this coming weekend at Rockingham Speedway in the ARCA series for Venturini Motorsports and he will likely compete in the UARA race.

The ARCA race will be a huge step in the progression of Yontz’ career as he’s accomplished nearly everything that there is to accomplish in Late Model Stock Car racing, being the only driver to ever win a Late Model Stock Car race at Bristol and Martinsville as well as being the only repeat winner at Bristol Motor Speedway. My source with Yontz’ team expects Yontz to move into Super Late Model racing and probably the PASS South Series and to begin to move away from Late Model Stock Car racing.

The move for Yontz to Super Late Models, will be a great loss to Late Model Stock Car racing, but for Yontz he’s got experience as he raced in Super Late Models at New Smyrna Speedway a few years back. Yontz will survive this, he’s won plenty of races with legal cars, but unfortunately this one race is all people can talk about and all people think of when Yontz’ name is mentioned.

My hope is that people remember all the great accomplishments Alex Yontz has had in his career to date and all the accomplishments he will have in the future and not the one race where he was disqualified driving someone else’s car. You have to look at a drivers track record and Yontz has a long history of winning races in legal cars and only won one race in the car that was taken by NASCAR over a week ago.