Saturday, Aug. 16, 2002
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Saturday, Aug. 16, 2002 |
There was only one word to describe tonight's races - HOT!!! We've been really lucky all season long, but tonight the temperatures were WAY above 90 degrees, and the humidity was even higher!!! Even though it was "ugly" hot and we haven't had much rain, the track was in GREAT condition. I expected the track to be dusty and go "black slick" early in the night, but it didn't. Morey Denney and crew did an amazing job prepping the track for tonight's races - I think it was the best I've seen it all year!! It was HEAVY, it was FAST, and there was FOUR and FIVE WIDE racing ALL NIGHT LONG!!
Some of tonight's heat races had very few cars in them, and if you're wondering why, it's because track promoter, Morey Denney, likes to give all the drivers a chance to win a trophy dash. Once a driver has won a trophy dash in his division, he is no longer eligible to run in the first heat. By the end of the season, it often means that there are fewer cars in the first heat of each class, but it does give all the drivers a good chance at taking home a trophy before the season is over. The #52 of Don Entrekin scored the win in the E-Mod Trophy Dash, followed by the #18K of James Kennedy in 2nd place, and the #59T of Tom Goodin in 3rd place. The #M3 of Chuck McDonald won E-Mod Heat #2, followed by the #96 of Kirk Anderson in 2nd place, and the #28 of Phil Schnarr in 3rd place. The #M17 of Brent Munson ran out front all the way to score the win in E-Mod Heat #3, followed by the #21J of Joe Wagner in 2nd place, and the #5 of Jake Helfers in 3rd place.The #28 of Ryan Wilson started out front in Thunder Truck heat #1, and he stayed out front to score the trophy dash win. The #1 of Doug Pratt finished the race in 2nd place. The #8 of Dave Collins started on the pole in Thunder Truck Heat #2, and by lap #2 had a HUGE lead over the rest of the field, with the #14 of George Collins, the #31 of Harry Fourdyce, and the #29 of David Boyer battling THREE WIDE down the front stretch for 2nd place. Dave Collins stayed out front from start to finish scoring the heat race win for the #8 team, followed by the #14 of George Collins in 2nd place, and the #31 of Harry Fourdyce in 3rd.
The #4T of Tony Hibser lined up in the 3rd position to start Modified Heat #1, but before they reached turn 31, Hibser was up front and in the lead - and he was in the lead to stay. Tony Hibser led every lap in his #4T Modified to score the trophy dash win. The #7 of Floyd Jordan finished the heat in 2nd place, followed by the #49 of Todd Bates in 3rd place. The #17 of Rick Scott, Jr. started on the pole in Modified Heat #2, but lined up behind him was a THREE WIDE battle for 2nd place between the #M1 of Dale Munson, the #31 of Mark Anderson, and the #26 of JD Beal. By lap #2, Munson was around Scott and in the lead, and Dale Munson stayed out front all the way to the checkered flag to score the heat win for the #M1 racing team. The #1P of Richie Biswell came from deep in the field to finish the heat in 2nd place; followed by the #48 of Casey Lappin in 3rd. Modified Heat #3 was the Weisser & Hibser show! The #25 of Butch Weisser started on the pole, with the #28 of "Jammin'" Jimmy Hibser right behind him. By lap #2, the two had broken away from the rest of the field and were running up front all alone, leaving the #7M of Kevin Moffett, the #M80 of Kelly Murphy, and the #C40 of Mike Chasteen to battle it out for 3rd spot. Butch Weisser led the race from green flag to checkered flag, and scored a strong win for the #25 racing team. The #28 of Jim Hibser finished on Weisser's back bumper in 2nd place, followed by the #7M of Kevin Moffett in 3rd place.The #27 of Greg Arnett lined up 2nd to start the Pro Street Heat, but by lap #2, Arnett had made his way around the pole sitter, the #M18 of Clayton Murphy, and was up front and in the lead. The #27 of Jim Carter, who started in 3rd, was also moving towards the front, taking over the 2nd position by lap #3. Coming from deep in the field was the #18 of Terry Pratt. Pratt, who started the race back in the 5th position, was picking off a spot every couple of laps, unfortunately he ran out of laps before he could catch the race leader. The #27 of Greg Arnett scored the heat race win, followed by the #18 of Terry Pratt in 2nd place, and the #27 of Jim Carter in 3rd place.
The #59 of Dave Slayton led Late Model Heat from start to finish, and scored the trophy dash win for the Denney racing team. The #2J of Jason Otto finished the race in 2nd place. The #10M of Chad Pratt started on the pole in Late Model Heat #2, but he spun in turns #1 & #2, and had to restart lap #1 from the back of the field. The #11 of "Bad" Brad Denney lined up 3rd to start the race, but by lap #2, Denney was up front and in the lead. A couple of other cars had to come from deep in the field to reach the front. The #B12 of Roger Nelson started the race in 5th, and Pratt restarted lap #1 from the back, but both cars were moving up in a hurry, and both were up front by the time they reached the checkered flag. Brad Denney scored another heat race win for the #11 team, followed by the #B12 of Roger Nelson in 2nd, and the #10M of Chad Pratt in 3rd place. The #M40 of Scott "Scooter" May lined up 2nd to start Late Model Heat #3, but May went high on the start, and before they reached the 1st corner, he was around the #41 of Tom Wirebaugh and in the lead. The #4C of Rob Colson was also on the move early in the race. Colson, who started in 4th, was around Wirebaugh and into the 2nd position before they reached the start/finish line to score lap #1. Colson and May opened up an entire straightaway lead over the rest of the field, and although Colson could catch May, he couldn't get around him. Scott May scored another Heat race win for the #M40 team, followed by the #4C of Rob Colson in 2nd place, and the #45 of Dwayne Walters in 3rd place.The #J18 of Dan Gebhardt started on the pole in Hobo Heat #1, but the #02 of Greg Sullivan was nose to nose with Murphy in a battle for the lead on the very first lap. Sullivan was able to get around Gebhardt a few laps later, and the #02 of Greg Sullivan scored the win in tonight's Hobo trophy dash, followed by the #J18 of Dan Gebhardt in 2nd place. The #68 of Lance Alcorn, the #711 of Richard Diegel, and the #35 of Josh Smith were all up front in a hurry in Hobo Heat 32. Alcorn, Smith, and Diegel were really mixin' it up lap after lap, all of them trying high & low, all searching for the fastest groove, and all racing side by side in a battle for the lead. Lance Alcorn got a GREAT run out of turn #4 on the very last lap, and took the checkered flag in his #68 Hobo, only a couple of feet ahead of the competition. The #711 of Rick Diegel finished the race in 2nd place, followed by the #35 of Josh Smith in 3rd place. The #19 of Durland Pople lined up 3rd to start Hobo Heat #3, but he got a GREAT jump on the start, and was up front and in the lead before they scored lap #1. The #42 of Tim Bishop fought back though, getting around Pople coming out of turn #4 on lap #2, and moved into the lead. Once out front, Tim Bishop stayed out front, and he raced his #42 Hobo into victory lane to score the Heat race win. The #8 of Eric Wisher got a good run out of the last corner, and got under Pople to finish in 2nd place. The #19 of Durland Pople crossed the start/finish line in 3rd place, only a couple of feet behind Wisher.
We had a couple of early cautions in tonight's E-Mod Feature race, but even the yellow flag couldn't slow down the #M17 of Brent Munson. Munson, who started the race back in the 7th position, was all the way up to 3rd by the time they scored lap #3, and he wasn't done moving up yet! Munson got around the #21J of Joe Wagner coming out of turn #4 on lap #4, and moved up another position and into 2nd place behind the race leader, the #28 of Phil Schnarr. Wagner and the #M3 of Chuck McDonald were racing side-by-side in a battle for 3rd, when the #96 of Kirk Anderson tried to drive in between them coming out of turn #4, and there just wasn't enough room. Contact between the three cars sent Wagner spinning down the front stretch, and caution was out again with 6 laps on the scoreboard. Anderson got around Munson to move into 2nd on lap #7, but Munson answered back, taking the spot back for himself, and setting his sights on the race leader. By lap #9, Munson was ALL OVER Schnarr's back bumper, and by lap #10, Munson was around Schnarr and was up front and in the lead. Further back in the field, there were several other cars that were also moving up in a hurry. The #27W of Greg Ward started the race back in the 12th spot, the #66 of Steve David started back in the 13th spot, and the #4 of John Winters started in the very back in 14th spot, but all three cars had made their way towards the front, and were racing in the top five by lap #10. Out front, Brent Munson kept doing what Brent Munson does best ………. he was clicking off lap, after consistent lap, keeping the #M17 out in front of the rest of the competition. Brent Munson drove a picture perfect race, and scored another E-Mod Feature win for the #M17 racing team. The #28 of Phil Schnarr finished the Feature in 2nd place, followed by the #4 of John Winters in 3rd place, the #27W of Greg Ward in 4th place, and the #21J of Joe Wagner in 5th place.Attrition was high in tonight's Thunder Truck Feature. Eight trucks lined up for the start, but we had a couple of cautions before a single lap was scored, and only six were left for the 3rd restart! The #31 of Harry Fourdyce lined up for the restart in 3rd, but Fourdyce got a GREAT jump at the line, and he was in the lead before he even reached the flag stand. The #30 of Gerald Carter was also on the move. Carter, who lined up in 4th, had made his up to 2nd by the time they crossed the start/finish line to score lap #1. Carter quickly set his sights on the race leader, and closed in on Fourdyce's back bumper in a hurry. On lap #7, Carter took to the high side in turn #1, and dove his truck down through the turn and under Fourdyce to take the lead coming out if turn #2. Fourdyce spun in the middle of turns #1 and #2, and Harry took a wild ride from there. The #31 truck flipped up on to the driver's side door, and balanced itself there for a few seconds, until it fell back down onto its tires in the middle of the turn. Amazingly enough, Fourdyce was to drive away, and he took his truck to the pits with a flat tire. Caution came out again on lap #7, and the entire field ran the remainder of the race single file. The #30 of Gerald Carter scored the Thunder Truck Feature win, followed by the #28 of Ryan Wilson in 2nd place, the #8 of Dave Collins in 3rd place, the #29 of David Boyer in 4th place, and the #1 of Doug Pratt in 5th place.
The #25 of Butch Weisser started on the pole in tonight's Modified Feature, and for quite a while, it looked like Weisser was going to stay out front all the way to the checkered flag. The #M1 of Dale Munson started the race in 2nd, and the #28 of "Jammin'" Jimmy Hibser lined up in 6th, but by lap #2, Munson and Hibser were racing side-by-side behind Weisser, battling for the 2nd position. Moving trough traffic in a hurry was the #C40 of Mike Chasteen. Chasteen, who started the race way back in the 12th spot, had made his was up to 7th by lap #2, and two laps later, he was in the top five. Hibser got under Munson to take the 2nd spot on lap #8, and he quickly set his sights on Weisser, the race leader. Chasteen was still making his way towards the front, battling with the #P1 of Richie Biswell for the 4th spot, just behind the #M1 of Munson. By lap #13, Chasteen was able to clear Biswell and Munson, and took over the 3rd spot, setting his sights on the battle for the lead that was going on in front of him. Things were heating at the front of the field. Hibser could close in on Weisser, but he couldn't get around him. Both cars were running very low on the track, and Weisser wasn't leaving enough room between himself and the mine tires for Hibser to go through. The two cars were racing each other literally INCHES APART lap after lap, allowing Chasteen to close in on the battle for the lead in a hurry. Caution came out on lap #13 for debris on the racetrack, bunching the entire field up again for the restart. Hibser and Chasteen were both ALL OVER Weisser's back bumper on the restart, just waiting for him to make even the slightest mistake, but Weisser didn't make any mistakes!! Chasteen was finally able to get around the high side of Weisser, and he moved into the lead, just inches ahead of Weisser at the start/finish line to score lap #16. Something seemed to "click" in Hibser's brain when he saw Chasteen go around him, and decided to take his car to his favorite part of the track - the HIGH SIDE! Hibser can run the top of the track better that anybody I've ever seen, and he certainly proved it tonight! He was patient, and he was smart, waiting to go to the top until there were only three laps left in the race. No one had run up high all race, and there was plenty of moist dirt up there, just waiting for the right driver to put it to good use. Hibser, Weisser, and Chasteen crossed the start/finish line THREE WIDE to score lap #17, but Hibser went high into turn #1, and came out of turn #2 with so much momentum, that he left the other two cars behind! "Jammin" Jimmy Hibser lived up to his nickname tonight, because he was definitely "jammin'" on the high side all the way to the checkered flag! Jim Hibser even opened up a bit of a lead, and he took his #28 Modified to victory lane to score his 5th Feature win of the season. The #25 of Butch Weisser finished the race with 2nd place honors, followed by the #C40 of Mike Chasteen in 3rd place, the #P1 of Richie Biswell in 4th place, and the #M1 of Dale Munson in 5th place.Caution came out early in the Pro Street Feature when the race leader, the #M18 of Clayton Murphy got turned around sideways in turns #1 , and the #27 of Jim Carter, left with nowhere to go, drove straight into the side of Murphy's car. Both cars were able to continue, but Carter's car was definitely "aerodynamically challenged" after the contact with Murphy. Cater didn't seem to notice the damage, as he got a GREAT jump on the restart, and by the time they scored lap #2, Carter was under the #12T of Tom Turnbull and into the lead! The #81K of Mark Ross spun on the front stretch, bringing out the caution before they could score a lap, giving Turnbull back the lead on the restart. This time, Ross got a GREAT jump on the restart, and he was able to get around both Carter and Turnbull, and he moved into the lead, the race still on lap #1 due to all the yellow flags. The #18 of Terry Pratt was moving up in a hurry, coming from a 6th place start, all the way up to 3rd by lap #2. Also on the move was the #27 of Greg Arnett. Arnett lined up to start the way back in 7th, but by the time the finally scored lap #2, Arnett was all the way up to the 2nd spot. There was also plenty of great racing going on further back in the field. Carter and the #4 of Justin Smith were racing each other hard for the 5th spot, with Turnbull and the #J18 of Clayton Murphy battling for position right behind them. Caution came out after the white flag was out, bunching the field up again, and leaving it a one-lap shoot-out to the end. Pratt went low, Ross chose the middle, and Arnett went high, making it a THREE WIDE battle for the lead on the restart. Contact between the three cars sent Ross back a few spots, allowing Arnett and Pratt to move out front and into the lead. The #27 of Greg Arnett won the race to the checkered flag, and he scored the Pro Street Feature win for the #27 racing team. The #18 of Terry Pratt finished in 2nd place, followed by the #4 of Justin Smith in 3rd, the #81K of Mark Ross in 4th, and the #27 of Jim Carter in 5th.
Chaos and mayhem didn't waste any time joining in on tonight's Late Model Feature. Caution came out on the start for several cars getting together in turns #1 and #2. The #4C of Rob Colson, who lined in the 5th spot to start the race, was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was definitely no fault of his own, but Colson was caught with nowhere to go. He was hit going into the turn, spun around, and hit again coming out of the turn, causing SEVERE damage to his car. From what I could tell, he lost a rear wheel, broke an axle, bent nearly every piece of sheet metal on the car, and most likely junked the entire rear end. While the car appeared to be a total loss, fortunately Rob was not injured, and he was able to climb from the car unassisted. The #30 of Rob Bauman got a good jump on the restart and took over the lead to score lap #1, but he was soon joined at the front of the field by the #M40 of Scott "Scooter" May. May, who started the race WAY BACK in the 8th spot, had made his way up through traffic and into a nose-to-nose battle for the lead before they scored lap #2. No surprise here, but the #11 of "Bad" Brad Denney, who started back in the 10th spot, was also moving up in a hurry. By lap #4, the #10M of Chad Pratt, who started the race in 4th, was battling with Bauman and Denney, trying to sort out who would take over the 2nd spot behind May. Pratt spun on the backstretch, bringing out the caution again on lap #4, lining Bauman and Denney up side-by-side behind May for the restart. Denney got a better start, and jumped into the 2nd spot, and was ALL OVER May's back bumper in a hurry. By lap #10, May and Denney had opened up a BIG lead over the rest of the field, and by lap #11, lap traffic came into play for the race leaders. Bauman ran much of the race all alone in the 3rd spot, but behind him, there were a couple of cars racing for position that had come from deep in the field to make in into the top 5. The #B12 of Roger Nelson started the race in the 7th spot, and the #29J of Lindell Jewel started the race WAY back in the 13th position, but by lap #10, Nelson and Jewel were racing each other hard for the 5th position. Out front, Denney gave May everything he had, but tonight, it just wasn't enough. The #M40 of Scott "Scooter" May finished up front, and scored tonight's Late Model Feature win. The #11 of Brad Denney finished the race in 2nd place, followed by the #30 of Rob Bauman in 3rd place, the #29J of Lindell Jewel in 4th place, and the #B12 of Roger Nelson in 5th place.The #35 of Josh Smith started 2nd in tonight's Hobo Feature event, and by the time they score lap #1, Smith was around the pole sitter, the #19 of Durland Pople, and in the lead. Smith wasn't the only car moving up early in the #8 of Eric Wisher started the race in 5th, the #711 of ??? started in 6th, and the #68 of Lance Alcorn started way back in 9th, but by lap #2, ???, Alcorn, and Wisher were around the race leaders and running one - two - three. By lap #3, the #06 of John Nash had also joined in the fun, racing his way around Nash and into the 3rd spot. ???, Alcorn, and Nash were THREE WIDE down the backstretch, but Nash chose the faster groove in turns #3 & #4, and came out ahead at the start/finish line to score lap #4. Tim Bishop didn't like watching everyone else have all the fun, and by lap #4, he had caught up with the race leaders, and was challenging Wisher for the 4th spot. Up front, Alcorn was trying everything in his power to get around Nash, and on lap #7, he finally got a good run out of turn #2, and took the lead coming down the backstretch on lap #6. Caution came out again on lap #9, bunching the field up again for the restart, which is exactly what some of the guys where hoping to see. On the restart, Wisher went under Nash, and the #11 of Scott Denney went above Nash, and both cars were able to get around the #06 and move up a spot on lap #9. By lap #9, Bishop had A LOT of smoke coming from his car, but it didn't slow him down. Bishop was ALL OVER Alcorn's back bumper, trying to make a challenge for the lead. Bishop was able to pull alongside Alcorn at the white flag, but he wasn't able to clear him in the end. The #68 of Lance Alcorn scored another Hobo Feature win, followed by the #42 of Tim Bishop in 2nd place, the #11 of Scott Denney in 3rd place, the #06 of John Nash in 4th place, and the #02 of Greg Sullivan in 5th place.
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