(Bill W) July 12, 2010 – Skip Jackson’s experience with Twin Features night on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway was a varied one.  The Twin features did not resemble each other in any way.  In the first, he struggled to a 17th place finish, before rebounding to lead much of the second and finish in the runner-up spot.  The team will return this Saturday night, as the Sydney, New South Wales, Australia native continues to hold down the fourth position in the season 410 points’ race.

After qualifying 13th, Skip was set up outside of row one for the first heat.  When the green fell, the J&S Auto Sports #2 jumped out of gear, and the veteran found himself running eighth.  He would advance to sixth, one spot out of a transfer to the main event.  “The night didn’t start too well,” he says.  “We didn’t qualify that well, and then the car jumped out of gear right away in the heat race.  That doesn’t happen very often, and unfortunately, we didn’t make the transfer.”

Skip dominated the B main, and would post outside row eight for the first of two 20-lap features.  He struggled to a 17th place finish.  “The car was good in the B,” he says.  “It was not good in the first feature though.  We were trying to move up, but we were kind of stuck back there behind guys in the dirty air.  We just couldn’t go anywhere.”

The racing couldn’t have been better all night long on a well-prepared racing surface.  Skip started third in the second feature, and quickly found himself in a battle for the lead with Rager Phillips.  “We hit the setup well on the second one and we raced with Rager (Phillips) for the lead for several laps,” he says.  “I was able to get the best of him after awhile, but the yellow came out with the white flag.”

Skip would take the lead on lap four, but Phillips came back to lead the next four.  Finally, the Slideways Karting Center #2 was out front on lap nine.  “He did a good job on the top, and I was on the bottom,” he says of Phillips.  “It took us awhile to clear him, but once I did, we were pretty good.”

Victory was close at hand, but while taking the white flag, a caution came out, setting up a green, white, checker finish.  Fellow New South Wales driver Ian Madsen restarted second, and was able to get by Skip on the final lap for his first career Knoxville win.  “The motor may have stumbled a bit, but it was really not a big deal,” says Skip.  “I had been running high before the caution, and that’s where I headed.  Little Madsen just got a better run coming out of four, and good on him.”

The win is always the goal, but second was a solid finish for the team.  “It is disappointing, but more so for Robbie, Paul and everyone else on the team who helps,” says Skip.  “I appreciate all their help, and in the end, the finish was a good one.  We’ll be ready for next week.”

To learn more about Skip Jackson and the J&S Auto Sports #2 team, visit www.SkipJackson.net!

(Bill W) June 28, 2010 – Skip Jackson stands fourth in the point standings at the Knoxville Raceway after another top five finish last Saturday night at the Knoxville Raceway.  If not for some late race jockeying, the finish may have been better than fifth on Earl Wagner Mural Night, but it could have been worse as contact was made with the turn three fence at one point.  The J&S Auto Sports #2 team will be back at it this Saturday night.

Skip qualified the Slideways Karting Center J&J in the ninth spot.  That was an improvement over recent weeks.  “I haven’t qualified in the single digits all year,” says the Sydney, New South Wales native.  “It was good to qualify where we did.  It was decent.”

After a solid fourth place run in the heat, Skip earned the pole position for the 20-lap feature where he trailed Davey Heskin early.  “We were able to get into second there right away, but unfortunately, (Brian) Brown was able to get by us and we were third,” says Skip.  “After that, we were able to get back up to second.”

Brown had built a substantial lead, but a late restart put Skip on his nerf bar and poised for a move.  “On the restart, I got a bit of a run on Brian coming into turn two,” he says.  “Wayne Johnson got a bit of a run on me going into turn three.  That squeezed me up close to the fence and we got into it.  I was worried about the guy in front of me, and he was worried about the same thing.  That bent the Jacob’s Ladder and some other things.  It wasn’t Wayne’s fault.  It was just a racing deal.”

The veteran driver did well to get it off the wall and regain his momentum.  “We were able to hold onto fourth, until the last lap, when Bronson Maeschen got by us,” he says.  “We’ll take the top five considering all of that.  At that point, I was just grateful I could still roll around.”

Skip and the team are closer to their first win of 2010.  “We weren’t good enough to win on Saturday, but that’s kind of the way it goes sometimes,” he says.  “We’re closer than we’ve been in awhile.”

As always, Skip is thankful for everyone who makes the J&S Auto Sports team a reality.  “I’m grateful for this team, and everyone who helps us to keep this going.  I’m really looking forward to racing again on Saturday.”

To learn more about Skip Jackson and the J&S Auto Sports #2 team, visit www.SkipJackson.net!

(Bill W) June 22, 2010 – Another strong performance moved Skip Jackson into the fourth spot in the point standings at the Knoxville Raceway.  A drive from 11th to 4th highlighted the weekend.  This Saturday, it will be “Earl Wagner Mural Night” at Knoxville and the Sydney, New South Wales native hopes to get his first win of 2010.

After several inches of rain fell in the weeks prior to Saturday, many expected a heavy track.  The opposite was true.  “I wasn’t too surprised really,” says Skip of the dry conditions.  “I think the sun coming out played a factor.  It came out right before the push trucks went out.  At that point the track was crusted over.  It’s really nature this time of year.”

With the dry conditions in qualifying, Skip managed to record the 12th quick time of the night.  “You kind of normally do what you would for a heat race,” he says of the game plan heading in.  “You tighten the car up a little bit, and kind of go from there.  The 360’s qualifying before us has changed it a bit too, but that’s just the way it is.”

After backing up in the heat from third to fifth, Skip would start inside row six for the 20-lap main event.  “We didn’t qualify very well, and the heat wasn’t great, but we were good in the main event,” he says.  “We got around there really well.”

Several laps in, it was evident that Knoxville’s surface had had enough, and it yielded rubber on the low side of the track.  Skip gained a few spots with the low line.  “I guess I found it before some, but after others,” he says.  “The car was good.  There wasn’t anything to complain about.”

By lap 13, things were single-file and Skip was fourth.  He briefly found his way around Davey Heskin, but settled back into fourth at the checkers.  “The restart wasn’t really an issue,” he says.  “I did get up to third, but I made a bit of a mistake.  That was a bit of a bugger, but coming from 11th to 4th…you can’t complain about that.”

Against the World of Outlaws two weeks ago, Skip was in prime position to make the dash while leading his heat at the white flag.  The range of emotions with one puff of smoke was huge, but Saturday was a nice way to bounce back.  “We blew a piston leading the heat with the Outlaws, so making it through the night was a good thing,” he says.  “To be able to race all night was a bit of a blessing.”

As always, Skip is thankful for those that help him do what he loves.  “I’m just grateful for all our great partners and the team,” he says.  “I’m really looking forward to Saturday.”

To learn more about Skip Jackson and the J&S Auto Sports #2 team, visit www.SkipJackson.net!

(Bill W) May 31, 2010 – Two solid weeks of results at the Knoxville Raceway have Skip “Action” Jackson just one point out of the top five in points. The runs come before a big three-night race week with the World of Outlaws Thursday through Saturday.

On May 22, Skip started outside row six for the main event. “We were a little tight early on, and unfortunately, we didn’t qualify too good (14th),” he says. “The first half of the race, we were o.k., but a little tight.”

After running in place for much of the feature, Skip caught fire towards the end and started picking cars off. He would register fourth at the checkers, and earn hard-charger honors for the night. “The track wore out as the race went on, and we kept getting better and better,” says the two-time Knoxville Raceway track champion. “It was nice to pick off a couple of cars at the end.”

There has been some added experience in the pits the past two weeks in the form of wrench Troy Renfro. “Troy has been helping us out the last couple of weeks, but I think Larry (Woodward and driver Johnny Herrera) is ready to go back racing now,” says Skip. “It was good to have Troy around.”

Last Saturday night, in front of the biggest weekly crowd in recent memory, Skip qualified 13th in the 21-car field. After winning his heat handily, he again moved forward in the feature. “We went from tenth to seventh, so we weren’t terrible,” he says. “We just weren’t good enough to get that last little bit that we needed. We’re going to keep working at it. The guys up front were going really good.”

The big crowd on Pella Corporation night was not lost on Skip and he hopes it can continue. “That was the best crowd I’ve seen in years and years,” says the veteran. “Hopefully, there will be some of those people that want to come back.”

The World of Outlaws, and several other invaders will be in this Thursday through Saturday for the Mediacom Shootout Hall of Fame Classic. Skip looks forward to the challenge. “They bring out the best in you,” he says of the WoO. “Sometimes you get hammered pretty hard when they come in, but they give you a good reality check. I like racing with them because it makes you get better.”

To learn more about Skip Jackson and the J&S Auto Sports #2 team, visit www.SkipJackson.net!

(Bill W) May 3, 2010 – It was a good start to the season for sprint car driver Skip Jackson. He drove from a row five starting spot to finish second in the season opener at the Knoxville Raceway. He’ll be back at it this week aboard the J&S Auto Sports #2 as the Interstate Racing Association brings their best to challenge the Knoxville regulars.

Drawing the last pill, Skip qualified ninth in the field. “We qualified o.k., and that’s what you want,” says the Sydney, New South Wales native. “There was nothing about the night where we could complain too much.

That was evident in his heat race when Skip shot from his starting spot outside of row two, and led all eight laps. “Things went well in time trials and hot laps, and we had the car working good,” he relates. “That gave us the confidence to move around a little bit and go some different places in the heat.”

Skip’s qualifying effort netted him a starting spot inside row five for the feature. By the halfway point, he had worked his way forward into the top five. “The car and motor were really good,” he says of his Shaver powered J&J. “That made the job at lot easier for me.

A mechanical issue arose late in the race, but an open red resulted from a crash on the frontstretch involving Ian Madsen. The crew was quick to remedy the issue, as Skip restarted third behind Don Droud Jr. and Davey Heskin with two laps to go. “I had a spark plug issue there, so we used that open red to deal with it,” says Skip. “When we got that fixed, it made a big difference.”

With Droud out in clean air, Skip dealt with Heskin for the runner-up position. He was able to grab it on the low side in the final corner. “(Heskin) was running the low side in one and two, and the high side in three and four,” he says. “On the restart, he went to the high side of one and two, and he kind of tricked me. Luckily, we were able to get around the bottom of three and four really good and got by him.”

The second place finish resulted from the car getting better during the 20-lap feature. “At the start of the main event, I wasn’t that good,” says Skip. “But it got better the further we went, and towards the end, we could go top or bottom. When you can do that, you know things are on.”

The team looks forward to competing at Knoxville again on Saturday. “I’m grateful for Graffiti Graphics giving us a good look to the car, Slideways, NRPS and Turfwerks for making it all happen,” says Skip. “Rob (Sirfus), Steve (Fitzpatrick) , and Paul (Jackson), are all a great help, and we’ll be ready for Saturday.”

To learn more about Skip Jackson and the J&S Auto Sports #2 team, visit www.SkipJackson.net!

(Bill W) April 27, 2010 – For a eighteenth year, Skip “Action” Jackson returns to weekly racing at Knoxville Raceway in the familiar J&S Auto Sports #2.  Skip is a two-time track champion at Knoxville, and has never failed to finish outside of the top ten in the final point standings.  He has finished in the top five in fourteen out of seventeen seasons at the famous ½ mile.

Last winter, Skip had an opportunity to run where it all started…the Parramatta City Raceway near his hometown of Sydney, New South Wales in Australia.  Twenty years ago seems like yesterday.  “My first time in a sprint car was Christmas night of 1989,” reminisces Skip.  “I’m just very grateful to have the people around me helping, and to be able to do this as long as I have.  I’m just as excited as when I started driving, and when I first came here in 1991.  It was just a huge deal just to race here (America) in the first place.”

As far as the car goes, outside of Goodyear tires, not much has changed for 2010.  “We’re back with J&J chassis and Shaver Engines, of course,” says Skip.  “Slideways Karting Center and Turfwerks are among the partners who are helping us out again.  We’ll be racing at Knoxville every Saturday night.”

Paul Jackson and Rob Sirfus are back to help form the J&S Auto Sports team.  “With good people like my brother, Paul, and Robbie helping me…it makes a huge difference,” says Skip.  “Hopefully, we’ll do a good job for them, and I’m happy to have my family in the stands watching us race.”

For an unprecedented fifth straight time, Skip was voted the most popular driver among the young fans at Knoxville.  He accepted the Junior Fan Club 410 Driver of the Year award at the banquet in November.  “I’m very grateful for that,” he says.  “The kids are great, and I appreciate them coming down.  I remember when I was a kid, and it was pretty special for me.  I can understand what it’s like.”

Although the Slideways/Turfwerks #2 will still have a primarily black look, there will be some changes in design.  “Graffiti Graphics just did a heck of a job with the car again this year, and I think the fans are going to like it,” says Skip.  “I’m not much of a graphics guy, but they did a great job with the car.”

Action gets underway this Saturday night, May 1, at the Knoxville Raceway.

To learn more about Skip Jackson and the J&S Auto Sports #2 team, visit www.SkipJackson.net!

(Bill W) February 3, 2010 – Skip Jackson spent seven nights this winter racing at the Tyrepower Parramatta City Raceway near his hometown of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.  The driver, living in Knoxville, Iowa now, will remember the trip not for his results, which didn’t reflect how well the car ran, but for his ability to race at his home track and for the reunion of family and friends.

Skip’s car was strong and he was competitive against a very strong field through the first half of January that included several Americans including Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart.  “The car was strong, and I have (owner) Harry Delamont, Gibson Freight, and Fabcrete to thank,” he says.  “We just didn’t have that finish up front to prove how strong we were.  We went pretty good.”

It wasn’t for a lack of trying.  A seventh place finish in the $10,000 Sprintcar International set up the January 4 and 5, $50,000 to win events at Parramatta.  Night one went well.  After registering the 16th quick time of the night out of the 56 drivers on hand, Skip won his heat and started outside row one for the feature.  He proceeded to lead most of the way until disaster struck with five laps to go.  “On the first night of the $50,000 I was leading until about five laps to go,” he shares.  “A lapped car did a 360 in front of me.  I did miss him, but in the process, I ran off the edge of the racetrack.  So instead of winning the race, we came home ninth.”

The run for all the marbles on the final night, ended with a DNF after running the entirety in the top five.  “The magneto gave out on us there (in the finale),” says Skip.  “It happened with about five laps to go.  We were running fifth, and we were chasing down Danny Smith for fourth at the time.  We had some great racing there with Brooke Tatnell and Tony Stewart.  It was definitely an eventful race.  It just didn’t end the way we wanted.”

The level of drivers competing at Sydney the past several years has not fazed Skip, who is a two-time PCR champion, and three-time World Series Sprintcars champion.  “The competition is always tough at that time of year at Parramatta,” he says.  “It’s always nice to go back there and run.  I live in Knoxville now, but Parramatta is home.”

Despite the lack of results and disappointments while running up front, the trip meant a lot to Skip.  “There were good things about the trip,” he says.  “The first is, it was really cold here while I was down there!  I also got to go home, see the family and friends, and take (son) A.J. with me.  You can’t put a price on that.  My brother Paul is always there to keep me in line.  It was also good to have Rob (Sirfus) down there.”

Skip and the J&S Auto Sports #2 team will now focus on the season ahead at the Knoxville Raceway, where the driver is a two-time track champion.

To learn more about Skip Jackson and the J&S Auto Sports #2 team, visit www.SkipJackson.net!

(Bill W) December 21, 2009 – Sprint car driver Skip Jackson and his son A.J., are headed “Down Under” to Australia for Christmas.  Skip and A.J. will depart Knoxville on Wednesday and arrive in Sydney on Christmas morning in time for church.  In addition to visiting family, Skip will also be in action at Tyrepower Parramatta City Raceway for a handful of races on board the “Mad” Harry Delamont entry.

The 1993 and 1996 PCR track champion will compete on Boxing Day (December 26 - $10,000 to win) as well as shows on December 29 ($10,000 to win), January 2 and 3 ($50,000 to win), January 9, and the weekend of January 15 (World Series Sprintcars).  “I’m very fortunate to have some great people helping me,” says Skip.  “That includes Harry, my brother Paul, Fabrete Concrete and Bill Gibson of Gibson Freight, who makes sure I can get over there.  Racing back home is always special.”

The three-time WSS champion now resides in Knoxville, Iowa, but relishes the opportunity to head back to his homeland.  “Going home is a big thing,” he says.  “Paul was able to come over here last summer, and that was big.  He’s such an important part of my career and he’s been around since it started.  I’m hoping he may be able to come back over again next summer.”

This trip will be made more special as it will mark the first time A.J. has been to Australia in three years.  “A.J. has been excited since he found out he was going a couple of weeks ago,” says Skip of his 12-year old son.  “That’s an understatement.  He is counting down the days until we leave.”

Skip was recently recognized as the 410 “Junior Fan Club Driver of the Year” for a record fifth consecutive time at the Knoxville Raceway Awards banquet.  “It means a lot to me,” he says.  “I remember being young and looking up to the drivers.  It’s important to keep young people interested in our sport.”

Skip has much to be thankful for during this Holiday season.  “I’d like to thank Slideways Karting Center, NRPS, Turfwerks and all our partners for their help with our efforts at Knoxville as well, and we’re looking forward to more of the same in 2010,” he says.  “I appreciate everyone’s help, not only in this trip to Australia, but everyone who helps us here.  I wish everyone out there a very Merry Christmas.”

To learn more about Skip Jackson and the J&S Auto Sports #2 team, visit www.SkipJackson.net!