Saturday, July 5, 2002
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Saturday, July 5, 2002 |
In celebration of the 4th of July weekend, tonight's main events for both the Modified and the Late Models were scheduled to be 40 laps events. Once again, storms surrounded the area, but they somehow steered their way clear of the track ……… well, almost! It was VERY hot and VERY humid. The air was heavy, and seemed charged with electricity - literally!!! Just before the beginning of the heat races, a lone lightning bolt seared its way across the sky, and struck a tree just right next to the grandstand area. Talk about starting the night out with a BANG! It was the loudest "crash" I've ever heard, and you could feel the static in the air! Needless to say, it sent people scattering, and it took a pretty healthy chunk out of the tree, too! While it did give the crowd something to "buzz" about for a while, it led to some pretty serious problems later in the evening. The lightning strike did a considerable amount of damage to the electrical box, and several times throughout the evening, the system would overload, causing some of the lights on the track to go out. They did a GREAT job getting them back on as quickly as possible, but unfortunately, the repairs were only temporary, and in a couple of hours …… lights out again! Morey battled with the lights on and off throughout the rest of the night, but he kept them up and running long enough for us to get all the races in, so everyone could enjoy some AWESOME dirt track racing!
The #85E of Oscar Everett started off tonight's races on the pole in E-Mod Heat #1, and Everett led the race from green flag to checkered flag. The #5 of Jake Helfers, who started the race back ion the 4th spot, moved up in a hurry, and by lap #2, was all over Everett's back bumper. Helfers got a GREAT run down the backstretch on the last lap, trying to make a rune for the lead, but Oscar Everett was able to hold off the challenge and scored the Heat race win for the #85E team. The #5 of Jake Helfers finished in 2nd, followed by the #21J of Joe Wagner in 3rd. The #28 of Phil Schnarr started on the pole in E-Mod Heat #2, and he was also able to keep his car our front from start to finish. The #7W of Mark Branch, the #M3 of Chuck McDonald, the #4 of John Winters, and the #27W of Greg Ward were all battling side by side for the 2nd spot, allowing Schnarr to pull away and open up a BIG lead by lap #3. Phil Schnarr scored another VERY convincing win with his #28 E-Mod, followed by the #M3 of Chuck McDonald in 2nd. Winters and Ward were side-by-side at the start-finish line, in a race that was too close for me to call! I had to check the scoreboard for the official ruling, and it was the #4 of John Winters finishing in 3rd, literally inches ahead of the #27W of Greg Ward, who finished in 4th.The pole was the place to be so far tonight, and the Thunder Truck Heat was no exception. The #8 of Dave Collins started on the pole, and he was also able to stay out front all the way to the finish. There was some good racing going in further back in the field. The #30 of Gerald Carter, who started back in the 6th spot, made his way through traffic in a hurry, and by lap #2, was up battling for the 3rd spot with the #88 of Dave Collins. The #88 of Collins got sideways coming out of turn #4 and had to get out of the gas, allowing Carter to take over the 3rd spot at the white flag. The #8 of Dave Collins stayed WAY out front from flag to flag, and scored another VERY strong heat race win. The #31 of Harry Fourdyce finished in the 2nd spot, followed by the #30 of Gerald Carter in 3rd.
The #25 of Butch Weisser didn't start on the pole in Modified Heat #1, he lined up in the 4th position to start the race, but he had his sights set on the lead, and he got there in a hurry! To say that Weisser was "hooked up" for the heat would have been an understatement! In just a couple of laps, he passed everyone in front of him, and took the #25 to the lead to score lap #2. Once out front in clean air, Butch Weisser made it look like a "walk in the park", and he scored another VERY strong heat race win for the #25 team. The #M21 of Justin Munson finished in 2nd, followed by the #48 of Casey Lappin in 3rd. The #96 of Kirk Anderson started on the pole in Modified Heat #2, and Anderson led the first few laps, but the #28 of "Jammin'" Jimmy Hibser, who lined up in the 3rd spot, was quickly in Anderson's back bumper and challenging for the lead. Jim Hibser was able to get around Anderson to take over the lead, and once out front, he stayed out front, and Jim Hibser took home another win for the #28 team. The #96 of Kirk Anderson finished in the 2nd spot, followed by the #26 of JD Beal in 3rd. The #42 of Matt Smith started in the 3rd spot in Modified Heat #3, but the #42 was definitely set up for this race, because he was around traffic and in the lead by the time he came out of turn #2 on the first lap! Another car on the move was the #28 of Phil Schnarr. Schnarr, who started back in the 5th spot, was right on Smith's back bumper, and up into the 2nd spot on the first lap. Schnarr didn't have enough for Smith though, and Matt Smith scored another win in his #42 Modified. The #28 of Phil Schnarr finished in 2nd, followed by the #420 of John Eppers in 3rd. There were a lot of cars "shakin it up" in Modified Heat #4. The #M1 of Dale Munson started the race in 2nd, the #C40 of Mike Chasteen started the race in 3rd, and the #192 of Brian Allen lined up way back in the 6th spot, but by lap #4, Chasteen, Munson, and Allen were all up front and running 1 - 2 - 3. It appeared that Mike Chasteen hit the set up a little better than the rest, because once out front, he was able to put a little room between himself and the rest of the field, and scored the win for the #C40 team. The #M1 of Dale Munson finished in 2nd, followed by the #192 of Brian Allen in 3rd.The #12T of Tom Turnbull started on the pole in the Pro Street Heat, but he soon had the #18 of Terry Pratt ALL OVER his back bumper. Pratt came into turns #3 a little too hot, forcing him to get out of the gas to hang on to the car, which allowed both the #81K of Mark Ross and the #27 of Greg Arnett to get around him and move up a position. Ross quickly closed in on Turnbull, and by the time they reached the backstretch, Ross was able to get around Turnbull and took over the lead. Pratt, who had fallen back a couple of spot, was coming on strong, and quickly caught back up with Arnett and Turnbull, and made in a three-way fight for the 2nd position. If Ross had a rearview mirror, he would have loved what he saw. Three wide racing behind him for 2nd allowed Mark Ross to open up a nice lead, and he scored another very strong win in his #81K Pro Street. The #18 of Terry Pratt battled his way back up front for a strong 2nd place finish, followed by the #27 of Greg Arnett in 3rd.
Caution came out early in Late Model Heat #1, when the #57 of Craig McAdams spun on the very first lap, and had to restart from the back. Although McAdams had to restart the race from the back of the pack, he didn't stay there for very long. McAdams got a GREAT jump on the restart, and by the time he reached turns #1 & #2, he was around several cars and back up into the 3rd spot. The #25K of Bill Kettering and the #B12 of Roger Nelson started the race in the 1st and 2nd spots, and that's were they ran from the drop of the green flag until the waving of the checkered flag. Bill Kettering took his #25K Late Model to victory lane, followed by the #B12 of Roger Nelson in 2nd, and the #57 of Craig McAdams in 3rd. The #11 of Brad Denney started on the pole in Late Model Heat #2, which is exactly where you don't want to see "Bad Brad" start if you're racing against him! As expected, Brad opened up nice lead for himself early in the race, but it was cut short by a lap #5 caution. The #30 of Rob Bauman, who had been running behind Denney in 2nd, obviously had something go away on his car, and brought out the yellow flag, bunching the field up all over again, and handing the 2nd spot over to the #M40 of Scott "Scooter" May. May was ALL OVER the back bumper of Denney on the restart, and he kept the pressure on all the way around the track, giving Denney a run for his money all the way to the checkered flag. It was a VERY CLOSE finish, but Brad Denney was able to hold off the challenge, and once again took the #11 Late Model to victory lane. The #M40 of Scott May finished in 2nd, literally only inched behind Denney, and the #29J of Lindell Jewel finished in 3rd.The #42 of Tim Bishop lined up for Hobo Heat #1 in the 2nd spot, but by lap #2, Bishop was able to get around the #91, that was being driven tonight by John Christian, and took over the lead. Once out front, it was pretty much "smooth sailing" for Tim Bishop, and he scored a very convincing win with his #42 Hobo car. The #06 of John Nash, Jr., who started the race in 3rd, moved up a spot for a good 2nd place finish, followed by the #91 of John Christian in 3rd. The #68 of Lance Alcorn lined up for Hobo Heat #2 in the 3rd spot, but he was up front and in the lead on the very first lap, and opened up a BIG lead for himself by lap #3. The #11 of Scott Denney and the #35 of Josh Smith were racing each other hard for the 2nd spot, which allowed Alcorn to put even more distance between himself and the rest of the field. Alcorn, who had opened up a HUGE lead, fell way off pace and pulled off the high side of turns #1 and #2, something obviously going away on his car, and had to coast to the pits with only one lap to go. The #11 of Scott Denney took over the lead, and hung on to score the Hobo Heat race win. The #35 of Josh Smith finished the race in the 2nd position, followed by the #48 of Jackie Williams in 3rd.
The E-Mod Feature was next on the agenda, and it got very interesting right from the very beginning! Caution came out before we even scored a lap, for several cars getting together in turns #1 & #2. There were several fast lines around the track again tonight, and the guys were using all of them. The #4 of John Winters led the first 5 laps racing in the bottom groove, the #5 of Jake Helfers preferred the middle of the track, and the #28 of Phil Schnarr, who LOVES the high side, was catching them both in a hurry! A couple of other cars moving up in a hurry were the #27W of Greg Ward and the #M17 of Brent Munson. Ward, who started the race in 7th, and Munson, who lined up way back in 11th, were both passing several cars each lap, and quickly found themselves up front in the top 5 spots by a lap #5 restart. Schnarr, who had been running in 2nd, had to take his car to the pits with what appeared to be some sort of engine problem, handing the 2nd spot back over to Helfers. Caution came out again on lap #6 due to contact between Ward and the #7W of Mark Branch, forcing Ward to go to the pits to repair damage to his car. Another car had crept into the picture by the lap #6 restart. The #29 of Chad Terwillger, who started the race in the very back in the 14th spot, had successfully made his way through the field and into the top 5. Terwillger and Munson both got a GREAT run out of turns #1 & #2 on the restart, and they both moved around Helfers and the #21J of Joe Wagner, and settled into the 2nd and 3rd spots behind Winters. Munson got around Winters to take over the lead on lap #7, but Winters stayed ALL OVER Munson's back bumper, trying to take the top spot back for himself. Munson, Winters, and Terwillger were racing THREE WIDE for the lead, when caution came out again with one lap to go, leaving it a one-lap shoot-out to see who the winner would be. Brent Munson got a GREAT jump on the restart, and he kept his #M17 out front to score a strong E-Mod Feature win in his MRE racecar. Munson scored the win, and he crossed the start/finish line in one piece, but he was about the only car! Chaos erupted on the front-stretch when Terwillger got into Winters, sending Winters hard into the front-stretch wall, and piling up the entire field behind him. Terwillger was disqualified for causing the mayhem, and he did not get to keep his 3rd place finish. The #4 of John Winters scored the 2nd place finish, followed by the #96 of Kirk Anderson in 3rd, the #21J of Joe Wagner in 4th, and the #5 OF Jake Helfers in 5th.The Thunder Truck Feature was next on the agenda, and it was jam packed full of side-by-side racing from start to finish also. The #30 of Gerald Carter lined up for the race back in the 5th spot, but Carter didn't stay back there for long. By the time he reached the start-finish line to score lap #1, Carter was up to 3rd, and by the time they finished the next circuit, he was nose to nose with the race leader, the #14 of George Collins, battling for the lead. Carter was able to get around Collins going into turn #1, and took over the lead, and from there, Carter "checked out" on the rest of the field. Carter may have put some distance between himself and Collins, but George Collins soon had plenty more company from the #88 of Dave Collins, the #8 of Dave Collins, the #31 of Harry Fourdyce, and the #29 of David Boyer. Collins, Boyer, Fourdyce, and Collins all raced each other hard for several laps, battling it out to see who would take over the 2nd spot. With everyone racing three & four wide behind him, Carter opened up an even bigger lead, but it was cut short when caution came out again on lap #8. Bunching the field up didn't seem to bother Carter at all. Once he got the #30 Thunder Truck out front, he had NO problem keeping it out front, and Gerald Carter scored a VERY strong Feature win for the #30 team, followed by the #8 of Dave Collins, who won the battle for the 2nd place finish. There was some GREAT side-by-side racing all the way to the checkered flag for the 3rd place finish, with Collins, Boyer, and Fourdyce racing THREE WIDE all the way through turns #3 & #4, but in the end, the #14 of George Collins took home 3rd, followed by the #29 of David Boyer in 4th, and the #31 of Harry Fourdyce in 5th.
Yellow and black were the theme colors for tonight's Modified Feature. The yellow was from the MANY, MANY caution flags that came out during the course of the race, and the black was for the darkness that fell over the track every time we lost the lights. They lined the field up and started the race, but contact on the front stretch between several cars brought the caution out before we could even score a lap. As soon as they got them lined up again for the restart, we lost part of the lighting system for the first time. As I mentioned earlier, lightning struck a tree right next to the grandstand area at the beginning of tonight's races, and it caused some pretty serious damage to the three-phase lighting system. We would only loose about 1/3 of the lighting out on the track, but it made visibility on the track nearly zero for the field of 25 cars. They stopped all the cars on the front stretch, let the drivers climb out of their cars, shut the entire lighting system down, made repairs, and then booted the lights back up again. The entire process only took about 20 minutes, and the guys climbed back into their cars and got ready to go racing once again. Once we got back to green again, it didn't take long for the action out on the track to start heating up. The #28 of "Jammin'" Jimmy Hibser, who started the race in the 4th spot, got around the #C40 of Mike Chasteen on lap #3, and took over the lead. Hibser wasn't alone up front though. Hibser, Chasteen, and the #25 of Butch Weisser were THREE WIDE in turn #4, all racing for the start/finish line to score the lead for lap #4. Hibser led the next few laps "up top", but Weisser, who prefers the low groove, took over the lead on lap #7. Up front wasn't the only racing going on either. Just behind the race leaders, the #42 of Matt Smith, the #M1 of Dale Munson, and the #192 of Brian Allen were also racing THREE WIDE, trying to sort out the battle for the 4th spot. Tonight's Modified Feature was scheduled to be a 40 lap event, and we did get 15 laps in, when the lights went our for the 2nd time, and they had to repeat the same process as before to get them back on. As the drivers climbed from their cars, you could tell who chose to run asphalt tires and who chose to run dirt tires. The guys with the dirt tires were smiling, because the long yellow and the cooling temperatures would definitely give them the advantage. The drivers with the asphalt tires on were not pleased, knowing that their tires would glaze over during the long stop, and it would make it nearly impossible for them to get any "bite" once they went back to green flag racing. We got the race going again, and on lap #18, Chasteen was able to get back around Weisser, and Chasteen took the lead spot back for himself. Behind Chasteen, Hibser and Allen were side-by-side, lap after lap in a battle for 3rd, but caution came out again on lap #21, when the #31 of Mark Anderson tried to squeeze between the two cars, and there just wasn't enough room. Hibser, who was tied for the points lead coming in tonight, suffered considerable damage to the left front of his car, ending his chances for a good finish tonight. By lap #30, a few more cars had joined in the battle at the front of the pack. The #7 of Floyd Jordan and the #17 of Rick Scott had made their way through traffic and into a battle for 5th with Weisser. Caution came out again on lap #34 when contact with Weisser sent the #7 Jordan spinning down the backstretch. As they were lining the field up for the restart, Weisser was stopped on the front stretch, when Jordan pulled behind him and intentionally ran into the back of Weisser's car, apparently retaliating for the last lap spin. Jordan was thrown off the track for unsportsman-like conduct, and Weisser, who was getting sent to the back of the pack for causing the spin, took his car to the pits in a cloud of dust, obviously unhappy with the official's call. Once everything calmed down, they got them lined back up again with only 6 laps to go, and it definitely put a new spin on things, with several of the previous front-runners now being gone from the race. Scott, who had been to the pits earlier in the race due to overheating problems, was now up to the top 5 behind Munson and Allen, and the #48 of Casey Lappin and the #26 of JD Beal were right on his back bumper. On lap #36, Dale Munson got tangled up behind Mark Anderson on the backstretch and lost several spots, allowing Scott, Lappin, Beal, and several others to move up a few more positions. Chasteen liked all the chaos that was going on behind him, because it meant he had clean air in front of him, and Mike Chasteen took his #C40 Modified to the winner's circle to score tonight's Feature win. The #17 of Rick Scott, Jr. finished the race in 2nd, followed by the #192 of Brian Allen in 3rd, the #48 of Casey Lappin in 4th, and the #31 of Mark Anderson in 5th.The #18 of Terry Pratt lined up in 4th for the Pro Street Feature event, but Pratt was on the move in a hurry. By the time they scored lap #1, Pratt had made his way around the #27 of Greg Arnett and the #6 of Scott Wallace, and had taken over the 2nd spot. Early in the race, it looked like Arnett was having some handling problems with his car. It didn't seem to "stick" good in the turns, but whatever was wrong seemed to "cure" itself, and by lap #4, Arnett was battling side-by-side for 2nd with Pratt and the #81K of Mark Ross. Out front, the #12T of Tom Turnbull, who started on the pole, was opening up some space between himself and the rest of the field. Turnbull ran WAY out front for several laps, but once Pratt was able to clear Ross and Arnett, he quickly closed the distance between himself and Turnbull. By lap #9, Pratt had closed in on Turnbull's back bumper, and on lap #11, Pratt was able to get around Turnbull and took over the lead. Once they stopped racing side-by-side, Arnett and Ross were also able to shorten the distance between themselves and the race leaders. Arnett got a great run on the outside of Turnbull coming out of turn #4 on the white flag lap, and Arnett took over the 2nd spot with one lap to go. Once he was in clean air, Terry Pratt seemed untouchable, and the #18 Pro Street took home the checkered flag again tonight, celebrating their 5th consecutive Feature win! The #27 of Greg Arnett finished in 2nd, followed by the #12T of Tom Turnbull in 3rd, the #81K of Mark Ross in 4th, and the #06 of Scott Wallace in 5th.
The #11 of "Bad" Brad Denney lined up in the 2nd spot for the start of the Late Model Feature, but before a single lap was scored, Denney was around the #B12 of Roger Nelson and in the lead. Denney wasn't alone, though. The #M40 of Scott "Scooter" May, who started in 4th, jumped up a couple of spots in a hurry, and May was ALL OVER Denney's back bumper to score lap #1. Another car that was moving up in a hurry was the #29J of Lindell Jewel. Jewel, who started the race back in the 6th spot, had raced his way through traffic and into the 3rd position to score lap #5. By lap #9, Denney had opened up some "breathing room" between himself and May, but soon had his hands trying to maneuver his way through lap traffic. Caution came out a few laps later when the #59 of Morey Denney spun in turn #4, right in front of the race leader. Brad got an A+ in evasive maneuvers tonight, barely missing the #59 car, but the restart would put May right back on Denney's rear bumper. Before they could get the field lined back up, the three-phase lighting gave way again, shutting off about 1/3 of the track lighting, as well as the scoreboard. They decided NOT to turn the lights off again, as the damage to the system was so bad by now, they weren't sure if the lights would come back up at all. The track looked like asphalt by now, so there was very little dust to contend with, which meant visibility for the drivers was pretty good, and they could continue on with the race, even without the rest of the lights. Brad Denney got a GREAT jump on the restart and was able to open up a BIG lead for himself, leaving May and Jewel behind to deal with the lap traffic. Several laps later (without the scoreboard, I wasn't sure what lap we were on!), caution came out again, and this time Scott May had to restart from the back of the field, having taken his car to the pits under the yellow. Jewel was able to clear the lap cars in a hurry on the restart, and quickly closed in on Denney's back bumper, trying to make a challenge for the lead. The #4C of Rob Colson was also moving through the field, and mid-way through the race, was up to the 4th spot behind the #30 of Rob Bauman, but the #M40 was coming, and he was coming FAST! Just a few laps after the restart, Colson had his hands full with May ALL OVER his back bumper, trying to move back into the top 5. With Colson, Bauman, and May battling side by side for the 3rd spot, Denney was able to open up another BIG lead for himself, and continued to put room, as well as lap cars, between himself and the rest of the field. By lap #30, Denney was in a time zone all by himself, nearly a half lap ahead of 2nd place Lindell Jewel. Once out front, it seems impossible for anyone to catch the #11 car, and tonight was no different. Brad Denney scored another VERY strong win for Denney Farms and the #11 racing team. The #29J of Lindell Jewel finished in 2nd place, followed by the #M40 of Scott May in 3rd, the #30 of Rob Bauman in 4th, and the #4C of Rob Colson in 5th.
The #11 of Scott Denney started on the pole in tonight's Hobo Feature event, and much like Brad Denney in the Late Model show; Scott Denney seemed untouchable in the lead position. Starting deep in the field was the #68 of Lance Alcorn, but he didn't stay in the back for very long. Alcorn, who started the race in the 10th position, was able to get around the #4 of Shaun Glazer, the #19 of Durland Pople, the #58 of Jason Boggs, and the #48 of Jackie Williams on the very first lap, and by the time he reached turns #3 & #4, he was up to the 6th spot, and he wasn't done yet. Alcorn made his way around the #91 of John Christian to move into the top 5, and then set his sights on the #35 of Josh Smith, the #42 of Tim Bishop, and the #06 of John Nash, Jr. There was some great racing between Bishop, Smith, and Nash who had all been trading the 2nd spot back and forth throughout the entire race, but their side-by-side racing lap after lap allowed two things to happen:
1. Denney opened up a BIG Scott lead for himself, and
2. Lance Alcorn closes in on the battle for 2nd in a hurry.
Alcorn closed in on their back bumpers, and on lap #13, Alcorn got a GREAT run coming out of turn #4, and was able to get around Smith & company to take over the 2nd spot. Out front, it was pretty much "smooth sailing" all the way for the #11 of Scott Denney, and he scored another VERY strong Feature win for the Denney racing team. The #68 of Lance Alcorn held of the competition and took home the 2nd place finish. The #06 of John Nash, Jr. got a good run out of the last turn to clinch the 3rd spot, followed by the #35 of Josh Smith in 4th, and the #42 of Tim Bishop in 5th.
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