Time Trials Speed Along

Turn 5

Season 1

Lap 7

"Driver Free to Race"
by Lug Turner
Locust Grove Sunday democrat

PRYOR- Race car driver Mike Collins stood trial today following his arrest for an incident one week ago at Salina Highbanks Speedway. Judge David Justice found Collins not guilty of speeding, reckless driving, evading an officer, and resisting arrest. Justice upheld littering charges against the economy modified racer.

"We're just very relieved right now," said Collins' attorney C. William Crook. "We now hope that we won't have to deal with these type of shenanigans from Trooper Roger Starling again."

Starling, also an E-Mod driver at Salina Highbanks, charged Collins and three other race car drivers with a laundry list of crimes following last Friday night's race. Drivers Jeremy Ross, Mike Northrup, and Travis Montgomery all accepted plea bargains in order to continue their respective racing careers.

"I'm glad that I was able to prove in court that the 'ol Outlaw Mike Collins is not actually an outlaw. He's a really nice guy. He owes me a lot of money, but he's a nice guy," Crook said.

Despite Justice's ruling, Starling remains optimistic about his plan to "clean up the dirt" at the Salina race track.

"I stand by the decisions I made last week. At least the judge upheld the littering charge," Starling said.

Justice sentenced Collins to 50 hours of community service for littering, as the driver threw a handful of citation papers out the window of his car in what Starling called "the gesture of a true outlaw." Collins says he will serve his sentence at the very place of his arrest.

"I'm going to help people out at the track," Collins said.

Collins plans to meet with fans before and after the races to hand out pamphlets explaining the benefits of regular visits to a licensed dentist.

"The fans have given a lot to me over the years, so I'm ready to give back," Collins said.

(File photo of Collins' arrest courtesy of Bigmaceo, Locust Grove Sunday Democrat.)