Saturday, July 6, 2002
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Saturday, July 6, 2002 |
The E-Mod Feature was the first feature race on the agenda. The #M17 of Brent Munson started on the pole, and he stayed out front the entire race. The #96 of Kirk Anderson quickly jumped into the 2nd position, and he challenged Munson for the lead throughout the race. The #64 of Jim Picardi, the #42 of Tim Bishop, and the #29 of Chad Teriwillger were right behind the race leaders battling for the 3rd spot, and right behind them were the numbers #30 of Rob Bauman, Sr., Rob Bauman, Jr., and the #1 of Floyd Jordan, Jr., all fighting for 6th. Picardi made his way around Anderson for 2nd, but Anderson came right back, but all the fighting for position allowed Munson to open up a nice lead. Caution came out on lap #12 when Picardi got very loose coming out of turn #2 and caught Bauman, Sr., square in the side, forcing Bauman to leave the track. Bauman, Sr. was bale to get his car back on the track before the restart, and although he had to start in the back of the pack, he didn't plan on staying there for long! Munson got a nice start on the restart, and Bauman, Jr. was able to get around Anderson to move up into the 2nd position. Anderson and Jordan were racing side by side on the last lap, each wanting to finish in the 3rd spot. Brent Munson brought home the checkered flag and the feature win. Rob Bauman, Jr. finished 2nd, followed by Kirk Anderson, and Floyd Jordan, Jr. Rob Bauman, Sr., who started in the back on a lap #12 restart, made his way back up thru traffic and finished 5th. The Modified Feature main event, which was scheduled for 40 laps, was door-to-door and side-by-side racing all the way through! The #42 of Matt Smith got around the pole sitter, the #43 of Milo Veloz, on the first lap to take the lead, but the #97P of Phil Johns was moving up fast right behind him. Johns, Smith, and Veloz were 3 wide fighting for the lead on lap #3, with the #28 of Jimmy Hibser lurking right behind then just waiting to make his move. Johns was able to take the lead on lap #7, but he had A LOT of company on his back bumper. The #25 of Butch Weisser and the #31 of Mark Anderson were two other cars that were moving up quickly early in the race, finding themselves up in the top 5 by lap #7. Anderson was able to get around Hibser for 3rd on lap #9, and was battling with Veloz for 2nd by the next lap. Another car that didn't waste any time moving up through traffic was the #192 of Brian Allen, Allen started in the 8th spot, but by a lap #10 restart, Allen was able to make his way around Smith and move into the 5th spot behind Hibser. Anderson was able to use the high side to his advantage, and he took the 2nd spot on lap #13, bringing Hibser into 3rd right along with him. Caution came out again on lap #14, and Allen was able to capitalize on a great restart to take positions from both Veloz and Anderson and move into 3rd. Several more caution flags came out before this one was over, but the competition that was going on throughout this entire main event was some of the best racing I have ever seen. Hibser moved up and took the lead from Johns by lap #21, with Allen also getting around Johns for the 2nd spot by lap #24. Hibser was able to put a little breathing room in between himself and the rest of the field, but it was taken away when caution came out again on lap #30. Allen got a GREAT start on the restart, and was able to get under Hibser for the lead on lap #31, and open up a little breathing room, but once again, caution came out. This time 38 laps were scored, which meant a 2 lap "Shoot Out" would determine who would take home the checkered flag. Allen got a good start on the restart, but Hibser was ALL OVER his back bumper. Brian Allen held onto the lead and brought home his 2nd consecutive feature win, with Jim Hibser finishing right behind him in 2nd. The #12 of Eddie Bolander, who started way back in 13th, made his way all the way to the front for a strong 3rd place finish. Mark Anderson finished 4th, followed by Phil Johns in 5th.
The #8 of Dave Collins may have started 3rd in the Thunder Truck Feature, but by lap #1, he made his way around both the #88 of Dave Collins and the #31 of Harry Fourdyce and moved into the lead, brining the #28 of Ron Wilson right along with him and into 2nd. The #30 of Gerald Carter, who started all the way back in 6th, was also moving up fast, moving into the 3rd position by lap #4, after Fourdyce spins coming out of turn #2. On the restart, the #77 of Jeff Reedy and the #7 of Greg Wells were battling side by side, but Fourdyce quickly caught back up and joined them in the battle for the 4th spot. With all the racing for position going on behind them, the leaders were able to pull away from the rest of the pack. The #8 of Dave Collins was able to hold off Wilson and scored the feature win. Ron Wilson finished 2nd, followed by Gerald Carter, Jeff Reedy, and Harry Fourdyce. The Late Model feature was also scheduled for 40 laps tonight, but the #M40 of Scott May, who started in 3rd, didn't waste any time showing his nose to the pole sitter, challenging the #11 of Brad Denney for the lead on the first lap. Denney and May battled for the lead for several laps, but Denney was able to hold May off and open up a little bit of a lead by lap #18, with the #7 of Will Daniels all alone in the 3rd spot. Behind the leaders, the #F13 of Dawn Mennel, the #29J of Lindell Jewel, and the #M1 of Dale Munson were all racing battling each other hard for the 4th, 5th and 6th spots. Mennel got loosed coming out of turn #4 on lap #13, and Jewel was able to get under her and take the 4th spot. The race leader, Brad Denney, got caught up in lap traffic on lap #19, allowing Scott May to close in on his back bumper, and by lap #21, May was able to get under Denney and move into the lead. Mennel seemed to be having problems coming out of turn #4 on every lap and lost several more spots to the #M1 of Dale Munson, the #19 of Tom Morris, and the #77 of Jim Hagedorn. On lap #32, a lap car spun right in front of the race leaders, and Scott May was forced to pull off the track with a rear flat tire, handing the lead back over to Brad Denney. Denney pulled away on the restart, with Daniels running all alone in 2nd. Whatever seemed to go away on Mennel's car must have "cured itself", because she was moving back up through traffic in a hurry n the restart, moving back into a fight for the 3rd spot by lap #35. Brad Denney easily held onto the lead and brought home the feature win. Will Daniels finished 2nd, followed by Lindell Jewel, Dawn Mennel, and Dale Munson.
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The driver of the #5 Modified, Mike Donaho, was one of the drivers we were able to talk with tonight. Mike races with us from Chillicothe, Illinois. Mike has been having a pretty good season so far, currently tied for 12th in points in a very tough & very competitive Modified division. Mike's pit crewmembers include his wife, his Dad, Seth Studnicka, Darren Antoine, George Hall, and Jeff Carlson. Hoerr Racing Products, Federal Mogul, Dream Illustration, Inc., A-Plus Autobody, Harms Services, Pekin Automotive Machine, and Signature Signs sponsor Mike's car. Mike says his biggest fans are his in laws, his wife, and his Mom. When we asked Mike how his car was running, his answer was "Gettin' better!". Mike's goal for the season is a top 10 Feature finish - from the way Mike's been running, I don't think it will be very long before he reaches that goal! The driver Mike looks up to the most is Alan Kulwicki, because he uses logic to make the cars faster. What does Mike like the most about Spoon River Speedway? The shape of the track and the high banks. The least? The time they go home - it's always so late. Mike wanted to send out a big "Thank You" to all his sponsors, he couldn't do this without all their support. Our thanks to Mike for taking the time to talk to us this evening, and we look forward to seeing Mike and the #5 up front a lot more this season!!