Miner Teams Up Again With Team Vaden For Home State Modified Run

CARTERSVILLE, GA – A man who had two successful racing careers in two different states in two different types of race cars will continue his “Comeback Tour” with a Modified run in his home state. Mark Miner of Fenton, MO will once again pilot the Mike Vaughn Racing Vaden Chevrolet Special in the Turkey Bowl XVI on February 24 and 25 at Springfield, MO Raceway.

Miner’s racing career has come full circle as of late. The driver that became known as “Mad Dog” began his career in the 1970s competing against his boyhood Fenton, MO friends Ken Schrader, and the Wallace Brothers, Rusty, Mike and Kenny. They all went different directions early in their racing careers.

Schrader went to United States Auto Club open-wheel racing in Midgets, Sprint Cars and Silver Crown cars that led him to a couple of USAC National Championships. The Wallace Brothers went asphalt late model racing. Miner left Missouri in 1982 and landed in Stockbridge, GA. Mad Dog began a legend in Georgia dirt and asphalt late model racing.

Schrader and the Wallace Brothers ended up as NASCAR stars, and Miner won the 1996 Southern All-Star Dirt Late Model Championship. Miner moved back to Fenton, MO in 1999 and fed his racing fix by running dirt Modifieds where the wins and championships kept coming until he retired in 2016.

After building a successful towing business serving the St. Louis area, Miner still found a way to wheel a race car by working with Schrader in his Federated Auto Parts Ride-A-Long Program, giving company employees a fast ride around a dirt track, and also testing Modifieds for Schrader when Ken was out of town.

In February of this year, Miner came out of a six-year retirement to return to competitive racing in the state that put him on the map. Mike Vaughn asked Miner to drive his Vaden Chevrolet Dirt Modified in the Winter Freeze XIII at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, GA in a pair of $2,000-to-win races.

It was like old times because Schrader would also compete in the race with Miner. It didn’t take Miner long to knock off the ring rust in the first 25-lap Savannah Car Rentals Race Presented by Vaden Chevrolet on February 3.

Miner came from the fifth starting spot to take the lead on lap two and went on to win the race with Schrader finishing second. In Victory Lane, the smiles on the faces of the two drivers and best friends, now in their 60s, made them look like they were back in Missouri five decades earlier.

Miner set Fast Time for the 25-lap Savannah Car Rentals Modified Race on February 4. This night, Schrader showed out, winning the race in his Federated Auto Parts Special and Miner finished fourth in his Vaden Chevrolet Modified that was also co-sponsored by his longtime sponsor from his Georgia dirt late model days, Wren’s Body Shop.

The Turkey Bowl XVI in Springfield, MO will be like old times for Miner. Schrader will also be there competing along with Miner’s son Conrad, plus Conrad’s father-in-law “The Flying Frenchman” Jeff LeBaube of Dittmer, MO, and ole Herman himself Kenny Wallace is expected to join the extravaganza.

“This is pretty exciting getting to run the Vaden Chevrolet Modified for Mike Vaughn again and to do it in Missouri,” Miner said. “We had great success and a great time with Mike, his Crew Chief Don Jenkins, and Crewmember Wesley Brown earlier this month in Georgia. They’re great people to drive for and to be around. I never imagined it would carry on and I’m looking forward to this opportunity.”

The Mike Vaughn Racing Vaden Chevrolet Modified Miner will drive at the Turkey Bowl XVI on February 24 and 25 at Springfield Raceway in Springfield, MO will be powered by an economical 350 horsepower all-steel Chevrolet Performance 602 Circle Track Engine, straight out of the crate from Vaden Chevrolet in Savannah, GA ready for competition.

The Chevrolet Performance 602 Engine is built and sealed at the factory to prevent any expensive modifications. The powerplant is also known as a “Crate” Engine because of the container used to ship the engine to the customer. For more information or to place an order with free next day delivery anywhere in the Southeast, call Rick Freeman at Vaden Chevrolet at 833-823-3678.

The Vaden Chevrolet Open-Wheel Modifieds are also sponsored by Chevrolet Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, KRC Power Steering, David Smith Carburetors, Lightning Chassis, Federated Auto Parts, Gresham Race Parts, Schoenfeld Headers, Bert Transmissions, and Mike Vaughn’s Auto Exchange.