8/17/08 - Tenino's South Sound Speedway again proved to be very good to Rich on Saturday
night. The evening started with Rich setting 3rd quick time. He then followed that
with a dash victory and a heat victory. Rich came up just short in the feature
finishing second to Doug McLees. The results solidified Rich's hold on 2nd place in
the season points with only one race remaining at Port Angeles on September 6th.
8/2/08 - The first edition of the the Limited Sprint Nationals at Port Angeles Speedway were
held Saturday night. Rich picked up seconds in the dash and heat along with a 5th
in the scramble to determine the the first 3 rows of the feature. A broken
rear brake caliper regulated the Leighty Racing 11 to a 9th place finish in the
feature, but allowed Rich to remain in 2nd place in the season points. Next action is
August 16th when WESCO makes its final appearance of the season at South Sound
Speedway.
7/27/08 - WESCO removed the wings and joined forces with the USCA 360 group at Cottage
Grove, OR 1/4 mile clay last night. Rich proved that his flat top, cast iron head
WESCO car was competitive with its bigger brothers. Starting 17th, Rich
moved into the top 10 before losing the handle and struggling to a 14th
place finish. Still this was 2nd in class, as only Brian McLess finished higher
(12th) amongst the WESCO cars. Next on the calander are the Limited Sprint
Nationals at Port Angeles Speedway on Saturday, August 2nd.
7/13/08 - Attending a memorial service for his sister-in-law (Gloria's sister) and then arriving
at the track just in time to qualify didn't slow Rich as he set 7th quick time,
finished 5th in his heat, and then ran a very stout 3rd in the main last night
at Tenino. The Leighty's are now going to take a family vacation and spectate at
the ASCS Northwest Speedweek. The Leighty Racing 11 will next be on the track
July 26th at Cottage Grove, OR, as WESCO goes wingless with the USCA sprints of
Oregon.
7/6/08 - A driveline problem put an early end to Rich's Anniversary Race (It all started on
July 4, 1960) Saturday night. The problem has been fixed and the Leighty's look
forward to returning to South Sound Speedway this coming Saturday.
6/22/08 - South Sound Speedway proved to be an enjoyable experience for the Leighty
Racing Team on June 21st. Rich started his night out with sixth quick time,
followed by a second place finish in the heat. Lining up in the 3rd row for the
feature, Rich bolted to the lead on lap one and then had a spirited duel with
eventual winner Craig Deaver for the first third of the race before finally settling
for 3rd place.
6/19/08 - Keeping their fingers crossed for good weather, Leighty Racing is prepared for
Saturday's race at South Sound Speedway. With a couple of weeks off since their
last effort, the car has been prepared, the driver has been recuperating, and
everything looks to be a go for a good night of racing. While the Leighty's will be
competing at Tenino, they wish everyone competing at Dirt Cup a safe and
successful weekend.
6/08/08 - Feeling under the weather, Rich non the less decided to make the trip to Port
Angeles and compete in last nights WESCO sanctioned event. It was a long night for
Rich, made even longer by the fact that his back went out on him after hot laps.
Rich struggled on, eventually finishing 7th in the main event. Hopefully, two weeks
off will help make for a more pleasant outing at Tenino.
5/24/08 - Please join with Leighty Racing as they remember those who have served
our country and those who continue to serve our country.
Leighty Racing will be spectating this weekend at the ASCS Northwest
event at Grays Harbor Raceway.
5/18/08 - South Sound Speedway was the site of the third race of 2008. The evening
started off with Rich setting 5th quick time, but it quickly took a turn for the
worse with a tangle in the heat bending up the front end and rear shock.
With the help from other crews the car was repaired good enough for a 6th
place finish in the feature. Special thanks to Ralph and Craig Deaver for their
help and loan of parts to get Rich back in action. Leighty Racing will return to
action on June 7th at Port Angeles.
5/11/08 - Race #2 goes in the books as a rainout. Saturday afternoon sunshine turned
to Saturday evening rain and the program was called after the dashes. Rich
did manage to pull off a dash victory before the rains came. We'll try again
next Saturday at Tenino's South Sound Speedway.
5/4/08 - Rich's 49th season started with a 9th place finish in the Cast Iron Nationals at
Ephrata Raceway Park. Not the results he had hoped for, Rich was pleased
just the same to be back on the track after having his 2007 season cut short
by medical issues. Next up will be Port Angeles on May 10th. Check the Photo
Gallery for new pictures of the 2008 season.
4/5/08 - Two new albums have been added to the Photo Gallery. One shows some of
the visitors to the Northwest that Leighty Racing has been on the track with,
and the second is of Northwest Drivers. Be sure to check out the Bench Racing
page as new stories have been added there as well. May 3rd and the first
race are fast approaching. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather starts
improving.
3/29/08 - A new page has been added to the site called Bench Racing. On this page
Rich will share stories from his years involved in racing. New stories will be
added whenever Rich takes the time share with us. Also in the works, a new
album in the photo gallery containing pictures of some of the racers Leighty
Racing has competed against. Hopefully, this album will be up in the next
couple of days.
3/16/08 - Thank you to pushinthecushin.com for having Rich Leighty as the Driver
Profile on the front page of their website. Click on the yellow link and check it
out. Also, thanks for the many comments and compliments we continue to
receive about the website. They are greatly appreciated.
3/9/08 - A new Photo Gallery page has been added. More photos, galleries, and
comments will be added as time permits. Unfortunately, we do not have many
action shots. if you have action shots containing Rich or Rick that you would
like to add to the site, please click here Leighty Racing.
3/3/08 - The anticipation is growing as the countdown begins until Leighty Racing
officially hits the track for their 49th season. Only 2 months remain until
Ephrata Raceway Park will be hosting their 3rd Annual Cast Iron Nationals.
2008 will be Rich's first Cast Iron Nationals. Although entered the first 2 years,
extenuating circumstances prevented the Leighty Team from making the
trip. Extra effort is being expended this year in order to insure the team is
present and accounted for. Parts are being checked, massaged, and replaced
where needed. The spares are being replenished and plans are being made
to get in some pre-season practice to knock some of the rust off.
3/1/08 - Thank you to everyone that has shown an interest in this site. In the 2 weeks
this site has been up it has received over 1000 hits from over 750 different
individuals. Rich and Rick never dreamed there would be this kind of interest
in their team. Keep checking back as the site continues to be updated.
Good friend Axel Walker took his Walker Motorsports mount to Las Vegas
February 28 & 29 to race with the USAC/CRA 410s. The first night out saw a
21st place finish, and night 2 saw an improvement to 15th. Believe it was the
first time for Axel at the Las Vegas dirt track.
2/14/08 - Leighty Racing is proud to announce the launch of their new website. After
nearly 50 years in the racing game and numerous requests from fans, the
Leighty's decided to share some of their past. The site will also keep fans up
to date on the present activities of Leighty Racing. Join the mailing list and
receive instant notification when new information has been added to the
site.