Saturday, June 21, 2003
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Saturday, June 21, 2003 |
As you might have noticed, there was no Spoon Review last week. My apologies to all of you who enjoy reading the newsletter each week. We were watching some very exciting racing last weekend, unfortunately, we weren't doing it Spoon River Speedway. We ventured off to Michigan International Speedway to enjoy the ARCA and NASCAR Winston Cup races. We had a lot of fun watching the "Big Boys" strut their stuff at 190+ mph, but it was great to be back home at Spoon River Speedway. One of my favorite sayings still holds true:
The #31 of Harry Fourdyce started on the pole in the Thunder Truck Heat race, but he had lots of pressure from behind all the way through the race. The #8 of Dave Collins was all over Fourdyce's back bumper, trying to make his way up front and into the lead. Collins tried high and low lap after lap, but couldn't compete the pass. On the last lap, Collins went off the high side of turns #1 & #2, and the #26 of Ryan Wilson was able to move past Collins and into 2nd. The #31 of Harry Fourdyce scored the heat race win, followed by the #26 of Ryan Wilson in 2nd, and the #8 of Dave Collins in 3rd.
The #22B of Richie Biswell started 4th in Modified Heat #1, but he was moving toward the front in a hurry. Biswell took the lead coming out of turn #4 on lap #3, and he did it on three wheels! To say that the #22B was "hooked up" would have been an understatement ……….. he was carrying the left front a good foot and a half all the way down the straight-aways! Once out front, Richie Biswell quickly put some room between himself and the rest of the field, and scored a very convincing heat race win. The #420 of John Eppers raced his way to 2nd place finish, followed by the #48 of Casey Lappin in 3rd, and the #M1 of Dale Munson in 4th. The #25 of Butch Weisser made Modified Heat #2 look like a "walk in the park". Weisser, who started on the pole, didn't waste any time putting a lot of distance between himself and the rest of the field. Butch Weisser scored another strong win for the #25 team, with an entire backstretch lead over the competition. The #31 of Mark Anderson finished in 2nd, followed by the #26 of JD Beal in 3rd, and the #17 of Rick Scott in 4th. Most of the top finishers in Modified Heat #3 had to make their way up front from deep in the field. The #49 of Todd Bates started in 3rd, the #28 of Jim Hibser started in 5th, the #88 of Steve David started in 7th, and the #C40 of Mike Chasteen started back in 8th, but by lap #3, all four cars were up front and in the top four spots. Once out front, the #28 stayed out front, and "Jammin" Jimmy Hibser scored another heat race win. The #49 of Todd Bates finished in 2nd, followed by the #C40 of Mike Chasteen in 3rd, and the #88 of Steve David in 4th. Modified Heat #4 was plagued by caution after caution all the way through the race. The #33D of Derek Neville, who started in 3rd, made his way through the chaos and took home the checkered flag. The #7 of Floyd Jordan, Jr. finished in 2nd, followed by the #7M of Kevin Moffett in 3rd, and the #20 of Ed Barth in 4th.The #4S of Justin Smith started on the pole in the Pro Street Heat race, and by lap #5, Smith had opened up a NICE lead over the rest of the field. Caution came out on lap #5 for the #18 of Terry Pratt spinning in turns #3 and #4, bunching the field up again for the restart. Justin Smith got another nice start on the restart, and he led the race from green flag to checkered flag to score a win for the #4S team. The #12T of Tom Turnbull finished in 2nd, followed by the #27 of Greg Arnett in 3rd.
The #30 of Rob Bauman started back in the 4th position in Late Model Heat #1, but he didn't stay there for long. Bauman got a GREAT run out of turn #4 to score lap #3, and took over the lead position. By lap #5, the field was spread out all over the track, with no real racing for position. Rob Bauman scored a very convincing win, and took his #30 Late Model to victory lane. The #B12 of Roger Nelson had a lot of smoke coming from his car throughout most of the race, but it held together until the end for a 2nd place finish. The #25K of Bill Kettering finished in 3rd. The #11 of Brad Denney lined up for Late Model heat #2 in the 3rd spot, but before the end of lap #1, Denney was up front and battling the #4C of Rob Colson for the lead. Denney and Colson raced each other hard for several laps, but in the end, the #11 came out on top, and Brad Denney scored another heat race victory. The #4C of Rob Colson finished in 2nd, and the #59 that was being driven tonight by Steve Nolan finished in 3rd.The #91 of Nick Christian started on the pole in Hobo Heat #1, and Christian didn't waste any time putting A LOT of breathing room between himself and the rest of the competition. Nick Christian kept his #91 Hobo out front from flag to flag, and he scored a VERY convincing heat race win, with half a straightaway lead over the 2nd place car. The #42 of Tim Bishop finished the race in 2nd, followed by the #47 of Andy Yerbic in 3rd. The #68 of Lance Alcorn started in the last row in Hobo Heat race #2, but he was up front and battling the #19 of Durland Pople for the lead on the very first lap! Alcorn took over the top spot on lap #2, and he stayed out front all the way to the end. Lance Alcorn scored another win for the #68 team, followed by the #11 of Scott Denney in 2nd, and the #35 of Josh Smith in 3rd.
We had 31 Modifieds on hand tonight, so next on the agenda was the Modified Semi-Feature. Thirteen cars lined up for the start, knowing they only the top 4 would advance to the main event, so they were racing hard for every position all the way from start to finish. The #1 of Floyd Jordan, Sr., and the #1P of Jack Ferguson lined up in the 3rd and 4th spots to start the race, but quickly moved up a position and into a battle for 2nd by lap #2. A couple of other cars that started deep in the field were also moving up into the top 5 in a hurry. The #32D of Nick Neville, who started back in 8th, was up in the 4th position by lap #2, and was into 3rd by lap #6. The #28 of Phil Schnarr, who started even deeper in the field in the 12th spot, had moved up to 7th by lap #2, up to 4th by lap #6, and was challenging Jordan for the 2nd spot by lap #7. Caution came out on lap #7 when Jordan got into Schnarr, sending both Jordan and Ferguson to the pits with damage to their cars. The caution flags, the restarts, or the pressure from behind didn't seem to bother Munson at all. Justin Munson kept his #M21 Modified out from start to finish, and scored the Semi-Feature win, securing himself a starting position in tonight's main event. Also qualifying for the Feature event was the #32D of Nick Neville, who finished in 2nd, the #28 of Phil Schnarr, who finished in 3rd, and the #15C of Don Cox, who finished in 4th.The #96 of Kirk Anderson lined up in the 2nd spot for the E-Mod Semi-Feature, but by the time they scored lap #1, Anderson was up front and in the lead. The #28 of Phil Schnarr, who started back in the 4th spot, also had his sights set on the lead. By a lap #2 restart, Schnarr was up to 2nd, and putting the pressure on Anderson. Anderson opened the door for Schnarr when he got too high in turns #3 & #4, and Schnarr jumped on the chance and took over the lead on lap #5, but Schnarr got too high in turns #1 and #2, and Anderson was able to get back under him and back into the lead on the very next turn. Schnarr took the spot back again on the next turn, and with all the racing going on behind him, was finally able to put some breathing room between himself and the rest of the field. There was plenty of racing go on behind him though. The #27W of Greg Ward, the #21J of Joe Wagner, and the #3M of Chris McMahill were THREE WIDE through the turns, racing each other hard for the 6th position. Up front, there was also plenty of action. The #4 of John Winters, who had started way back in the 15th spot, had raced his way up front and into a battle with Anderson for 2nd. Contact between the two set off a chain reaction, and Anderson, who had been in the top 3 the entire race, had to take his car to the pits. The #M3 of Chuck McDonald, who had also started deep in the field in the 13th spot, also raced his way through the field in a hurry. McDonald lined up in 4th on a lap #9 restart, and by lap #11, was up into the 2nd position. All the cautions kept bunching the field up again for the restarts, putting the competition right back on Schnarr's back bumper. Schnarr got too high again in turns #3 & #4 on lap #14, and Winters was able to get under him to briefly take over the lead, but Schnarr was back on track and back around Winters again in turns #1 & #1. Phil Schnarr kept it out front the last lap and scored the Feature win for the #28 team. The #4 of John Winters finished in 2nd, followed by the #M3 of Chuck McDonald in 3rd. The #29 of Chad Terwillger, who had to pull to the pits and change a flat tire on lap #2, raced his way all the back to the front of the field for a strong 4th place finish, followed by the #7W of Mark Branch in 5th.
The #8 of Dave Collins lined up 2nd for the Thunder Truck Feature, but before he reached turn #1, he was up front and in the lead. Behind the race leader, the #88 of Dave Collins, the #26 of Ryan Wilson, and the 331 of Harry Fourdyce were THREE WIDE coming through turns #3 & #4, all battling for the 2nd position. With the side by side racing going on behind him, the #8 of Collins was able to up a nice lead for himself by lap #3. The #31 of Harry Fourdyce spun on turn #5 and got it going again without bringing out the caution, but it really spread the field out all over the racetrack. By lap #6, there was almost a half lap difference between 1st and 4th place. The #8 of Dave Collins scored a VERY convincing Thunder Truck Feature win, followed by the #26 of Ryan Wilson in 2nd, and the #88 of Dave Collins in 3rd.The #28 of "Jammin" Jimmy Hibser lined up for the Modified Feature in the 3rd spot, and the #25 of Butch Weisser started in the 4th position, but both of them were headed in one direction, and one direction only …….. and that was to the front! By lap #3, Weisser was in the lead, with Hibser in his back bumper in 2nd. Weisser and Hibser weren't the only cars on the move. The #31 of Mark Anderson started in 6th, the #48 of Casey Lappin started in 8th, and the #C40 of Mike Chasteen lined up in 11th, but by lap #8, all three of them had maneuvered their way through the field and up into the top 5 positions. There were several VERY distinct lines around the racetrack. There was the high line, which is were you could find Hibser and Anderson, there was the middle groove, where you could find Lappin and Chasteen, and then there was the low line, which proved to be the fastest way around the track and that is where you could find Butch Weisser. Three fast lines for racing also mean lots of side-by-side racing, and that's exactly what Hibser, Chasteen and Anderson were doing by lap #10, all wanting to grab the 2nd spot and a chance at the race leader. If Butch Weisser had a rearview mirror, he would have smiled at what he saw - with everyone racing three wide behind him for position, he was able to open up a nice lead for himself, and he drove his #25 Modified into victory lane for his 2nd Feature win of the season. The #31 of Mark Anderson won the race for the 2nd place finish, followed by the #C40 of Mike Chasteen in 3rd, the #28 of Jim Hibser in 4th, and the #17 of Rick Scott in 5th.
The Pro Street Division ran their Feature Event tonight without the company of the Late Model Division. While it was much less confusing for those watching to keep track of who was in which division, it made for a pretty uneventful race from start to finish. The #27 of Greg Arnett, the #12T of Tom Turnbull, and the #4S of Justin Smith were battling each other pretty hard early in the race for the 3rd spot, but by lap #3, the race was like watching "follow-the-leader". The entire field was running single file, with the #18 of Terry Pratt WAY OUT in front. Pratt "checked out" on lap #2, leaving the #81K of Mark Ross to run the entire race in the 2nd spot all alone. All the drivers ran good, clean, consistent laps, but unfortunately, that meant there was very little challenging for position going on once they got spread out. The #18 of Terry Pratt scored the VERY STRONG Feature win, followed by the #81K of Mark Ross in 2nd, the #27 of Greg Arnett in 3rd, and the #4S of Justin Smith in 5th.The Late Models sure didn't waste any time "mixing things up" in their Feature. By the time they reached the first turn, the #4C of Rob Colson, the #11 of Brad Denney, and the #B12 of Roger Nelson, and the #30 of Rob Bauman were ALL side by side and battling for the lead. Nelson inched out front to score lap #1, but the others weren't cutting him any slack. Denney, Bauman, and Colson all kept the pressure on Nelson, trying every line they could to get around him and into the top spot. Also on the move was the #29J of Lindell Jewell. Jewell, who started way back in the 8th spot, was obviously "up on the gas", and he was into the top 5 before they scored lap #3. By lap #9, there were small amounts of smoke coming from the #B12 car, and unfortunately for Nelson, the situation just kept getting worse as the race went on. Denney got a GREAT run coming out of turns #3 & #4 and was finally able to get around Nelson and move into the lead on lap #12. Once out front, "Bad" Brad Denney does was he usually does out when he's out front - he "checked out"!!! Denney didn't waste any time putting a good deal of distance between himself and the rest of the competition, but his lead was cut short by a lap #17 caution. Caution was out for the #4C of Colson coming into turn #1 WAY too hot, and slamming into the side of Bauman, sending Colson to the pits a lap later with damage to his car. Jewell, who had been picking off a position about every couple of laps, got a GREAT jump on the restart, and took the 2nd spot away from Nelson. Even though the caution bunched the field up again, Brad Denney seemed to have no problem pulling away from the rest of the field, and he scored another strong Feature win for the #11 team. The #29J of Lindell Jewell finished in the 2nd spot, followed by the #30 of Rob Bauman in 3rd, and the #B12 of Roger Nelson in 4th. The #10M of Chad Pratt, who started back in the 9th spot, came from deep in the field to finish in 5th.
The #68 of Lance Alcorn has been VERY strong so far this year in the Hobo Division, and tonight was no exception. Alcorn lined up in the pole position for tonight's main event, and with most of the racing going on behind him, he was able to lead the race from start to finish. There was plenty of action going on behind Alcorn, though. The #91 of Nick Christian ran the first 7 laps in the 2nd spot, but the #42 of Tim Bishop was putting pressure on him all the way. Right behind Christian and Bishop was another very close battle for the 5th spot between the #06 of John Nash, Jr. and the #35 of Josh Smith, leaving the #11 of Scott Denney wedged right in between. Bishop moved into the 2nd spot on lap #9, but Christian got a GREAT jump on a lap #11 restart, and took the 2nd spot back for himself. There were three very distinct grooves working for the Hobo cars tonight, too. Alcorn seemed to favor the middle of the track, Christian definitely preferred the high groove, and Bishop turned some pretty good laps down low. With everyone racing so hard for position behind him, Lance Alcorn was able to put a good amount of breathing room between himself and the rest of the field, and he took home another Feature flag for the #69 team. Christian, who had ran nearly the entire race in the 2nd spot, spun coming out of turn #2 on the last lap, handing the 2nd place finish over to the #11 of Scott Denney. The #42 of Tim Bishop finished in 3rd, followed by the #35 of Josh Smith in 4th, and the #48 of Jackie Williams in 5th.
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