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Glover makes concrete plans Speedway champ to race on asphalt By DON HUNT Two-time Southern Oregon Speedway modified points champion Tom Glover is taking his racing act to asphalt. The 42-year-old Medford resident will climb into a $30,000 late model stock car today in Roseburg when a new regional racing circuit makes its debut. The circuit, called the Tri-State Challenge, will host races at three California venues -- Eureka, Ukiah and Anderson -- along with Carson City, Nev., and Roseburg. The circuit opens with a test-and-tune day today. Medford's Dane Smith also plans to run the circuit. "I've only run two pavement races in my life," says Glover, who won the modified points championship at the Southern Oregon Speedway in White City in 1996 and again last season. "This is my first venture with big wheels and big tires. We're rookies at this game." Glover's car, a bright-red Biffel chassis that resembles a NASCAR Winston Cup car, boasts 408 horsepower and is expected to reach speeds in excess of 120 mph on the quarter- and half-mile ovals. The car is owned by Medford engineer Doug Johannson. Glover has dominated the action at the White City dirt track for much of the past three years but will be on unfamiliar ground today. "The car is going to be set up much differently than what we've done (at White City)," Glover says. "I'll be asking a lot of questions and taking a lot of notes. "But I can't wait to get out there. It's time to raise the bar on my racing career." The Tri-Cities Challenge will run every two weeks, allowing Glover to race on dirt between his excursions onto pavement. Glover is already off to a good start on dirt, having finished third at the prestigious Silver Cup in Chico, Calif., two weeks ago. He'll make his Southern Oregon Speedway debut Sunday when he drives a modified car owned by Dan Wells. Glover drove Ron Martin's car at Chico, but that car is now up for sale. Johannson, meanwhile, has owned three modified cars but, like Glover, wanted to try something different. "The speeds are a little faster and the driving is less rough on pavement," Johannson says. "Hopefully, our new car won't get beat up too much." Glover's inexperience on asphalt is of little concern to Johannson. "Tom has the smoothness and the patience it takes to be a great asphalt driver," Johannson says. "I think he has tremendous potential for this type of racing." Johannson grew up racing go-karts in Medford and was also a star running back for Medford High in the late 1960s. He went on to play college football at the University of Colorado. "I was the guy who followed in Bill (Earthquake) Enyart's footsteps," Johannson says. "Those were some big footsteps." In news from the Southern Oregon Speedway: Several drivers who declined to put optional wings on their modified cars at last week's season-opener will have one bolted on Sunday when action gets under way at 1 p.m. Gates open at 11 a.m. The wings are a new feature advocated by speedway promoter John Skinner. They're designed to better hold the cars to the track's surface, particularly on the corners, where spinouts often occur. "If you don't have one, it's like going to a gunfight with a knife," said Glover, who watched last Sunday's action from the stands. "If you're going to play the game, then you've got to buy the equipment. "You could definitely see last week that the cars with wings were cornering faster." Along with Glover, veteran Bruce Rayburn is expected to make his debut Sunday, complete with a wing. Two-time defending pro stocks champion Jim Walker Jr. has a new car, but it isn't expected to be ready in time for Sunday's race. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.