Team Vaden Has A Good Showing At The Possum Town Grand Prix

CARTERSVILLE, GA – The Mike Vaughn Racing Team had a good showing this past weekend at the Annual Possum Town Grand Prix at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS. Drivers Ken Schrader of Fenton, MO and Don Jenkins of Kingston, GA drove their Vaden Chevrolet Modified Sportsman cars to top ten finishes in the main event.

Schrader finished second to race winner Shay Knight of Steens, MS, and Jenkins, who had to start at the tail of the field after replacing Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS, rallied to move up to as high as fifth, but he dropped to finish ninth after a late race restart.

“Congratulations to my friend Shay Knight on the win of the annual Possum Town Grand Prix and to Ken Schrader for wheeling our #9 Vaden Chevrolet house car to a runner up position,” Team Vaden Owner Mike Vaughn said. “I’m also proud of our Crew Chief Don Jenkins, who also stepped up as a team driver and gave the #1 Vaden Chevrolet machine a great drive after starting scratch on the field.”

Race winner Knight was impressed with the comradery the former NASCAR star Schrader and his wife Ann showed him and his family before, during, and after the Modified Sportsman feature race. Vaughn said it was just Schrader being Schrader.

“Carrying on a conversation about our race cars early in the day was a cool deal but him coming to find me after the races to congratulate us speaks volumes on how down to earth he really is,” Knight said of Ken Schrader. “I Enjoyed racing with Kenny Schrader this weekend!”

“He’s just ole Schrader every time you see him,” Vaughn said. “He has become one of my best friends over the last few years along with his wife Ann. Schrader helped me write the rules for the Modified Sportsman Division when I owned Crate Racin’ USA, and he really enjoys driving these race cars.”

When Stokes had to take care of the business of promoting the Possum Town Grand Prix and overseeing the track prep, Dr. Dirt, as Stokes is known as, stepped out of the #1 Vaden Chevrolet Modified Sportsman after Friday night’s heat races. Crew Chief Jenkins donned his fire suit and helmet to take over the ride for Saturday night’s main event.

“I was granted a hot lap session at the end of the racing program Friday night, and I discovered a brake problem that I was able to fix for the next day’s races,” Jenkins said. “I knew that I was going to have to start at the tail of the field because of the driver change, but I had a good race car under me and drove it up to fifth-place. We had a late-race caution, and I made a bad decision choosing the outside for the restart and gave up four spots by the end of the race.”

For Team Vaden, it not all about winning, where you finished, or what problems you might have had on the race track. As the Schraders showed at the Possum Town Grad Prix, it’s about making new friends and having a good time. The race winner Knight told of the hospitality the Schraders showed his family.

“It was pretty cool to start the race on the front row with Ken Schrader alongside me,” Knight said. “When he came over to talk with me before the race, he took the time to also spend time with my two sons and take a picture with them. After the race when he and his wife came over to congratulate me, he saw me with a beer and said ‘Dang I’d like to have one with you but I got a long drive home!”

The Team Vaden Modified Sportsman race cars are powered by the 350 horsepower all-steel Chevrolet Performance 602 Engines that are built and sealed at the factory to prevent any expensive modifications. The engines in both cars came right out of the crate from Vaden Chevrolet in Savannah, GA ready for competition. For more information or to place an order with free next day delivery anywhere in the Southeast, call Vaden Chevrolet at 833-823-3678.

Schrader’s #9 and Jenkins’ #1 Vaden Chevrolet Open-Wheel Modifieds that they drove in the Possum Town Grand Prix are also sponsored by Chevrolet Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, KRC Power Steering, David Smith Carburetors, Lightning Chassis, Federated Auto Parts, Gresham Race Parts and Mike Vaughn’s Auto Exchange.