Paul Reeder

Paul and Cheater Nation ventured away from their home track for the first time this season on Saturday, May 22nd. After an hour of driving they arrived to their destination, the prime quarter-mile known as Thunder City Speedway just outside Doniphan, Missouri. This is only the second year for the track and yet the grandstands were filled to capacity. Either they were there to see the Sprint Car division debut, or they knew we were coming. No, we’re not that conceded, but they were in for a great show.

The wind was calm, which wasn’t really a good thing, as it was close to 100 degrees. The day pressed on as Paul climbed into the car and readied himself for hot laps. Now this track is small, so small that the outside of the turns couldn’t touch both of Malden’s straightaway walls at the same time. Almost every time Paul entered the turn his motor died, which in turn sent him straight up the track and into the guardrail. Cosmetic damage was the result.

The track smoothed up some before qualifying races. Paul used this to his advantage. At the drop of the green flag he took off and never looked back. Eight laps and two cautions later, he got his first heat win of the year. He saw no challengers in the main event. The track slicked off and he had already learned how to drive the corners, the two main ingredients for the perfect formula. By the end of the race, Paul had lapped the entire field and peddled his way to his thirtieth career feature win.

After rain struck Malden earlier in the week, they decided to reschedule for Sunday afternoon, May 23rd. A day race equals no moisture whatsoever. It turned into a dust bowl entirely too fast and driving conditions were completely unbearable. Just a few more laps on our right-rear tire and we wouldn’t have finished the feature.

Weeks and weeks of bad pill draws finally paid off as Paul drew the number one pill to start pole position for the one and only heat race. He wheeled it hard into turn one, but a rival car managed to sneak past him and take the lead. Paul lost another position on lap two, but was soon in contention to take it back. He dug deep on the last turn of the last lap and quickly ran out of room, spinning out and finishing eight.

Although Cheater started last in the feature, he quickly started to pick off other contenders. As the dust cloud got larger, he got closer and closer to the front. By lap ten Paul was sitting comfortably in fourth potion and chasing down the car in front of him. With the track surface getting hotter and the tires slowly starting to tear apart, he made his final move and rocketed past the third place car coming out of turn two. There was no trying to catch the leaders. Paul finished a straightaway behind winner Austin Matthews and Robert Powers.

Now let’s take a trip back to October 3rd of 2008. It was the perfect weather for the first night of the 5th annual Nathan Rettig Memorial Cotton Boll Cup at the Malden Speedway. Paul managed to pick up a top five starting spot for the feature earlier in the day. He put on a show that night, as he passed everyone in front of him and even pulled away from the pack by several car lengths to win the race and clench his second feature of the year. Exactly 600 winless days later, Paul returned to victory lane at Malden on Friday, May 28th.

When you go so long without winning, you begin to lose hope in not only the sport, but also in yourself. Friday night’s win may have been ordinary for any other race team, but for Paul and the rest of the crew it was one of their biggest payoffs for the timeless hours of work and dedication that they have put into this sport. They don’t get to say this very often, but Cheater Nation is once again a winning team!

Other tracks in the area played host to big races this weekend, but that had no effect on the Modified car count. All of the weekly regulars were in attendance as well as a handful of new cars. Paul jumped to a fast lead in his heat after starting third. The eight lap race went without any cautions as Paul charged his way to a straightaway lead before taking the win.

There wasn’t anyone who could challenge Paul for the lead in the feature. He picked up half a straightaway lead on the pack before the caution flew. After a restart, caution, and a final restart, Paul was gone. While the rest of the field battled relentlessly, he checked out and gained over a full straightaway advantage. The white flag flew. There was no stopping him now. Paul crossed the line one final time to clench his second win of the week and his 31st career win.

For the latest regarding Cheater Nation, visit www.ReederRacing.com (New site coming soon!).