Bayless wins controversial late model race
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Something must have been in the air on the Sunday night of August 24. In Bristol, Tennessee in the NASCAR Winston Cup race, there were several controversies involving several drivers. Hundreds of miles away in Eureka, California, there was no exception. While the prize money was less, the track was shorter and the incident was between two drivers, the controversy couldn’t have gotten any more incensed than it did in the late model main event between Oregonians Larry Bayless and David Miller. Using the “bump and run,” Bayless took the victory away from Miller on the last lap of the race.
In mini stock action, Jason Chand took the trophy home in the dash over rival Phil Wood. When the heat race action ended, Chand again beat Wood to the line to take the victory. These races were only a small dose of what was seen in the great main event race. Brian Murrell took the early lead in the race but unfortunately for him, it wasn’t long as Chand took the lead away within a few laps. Wood followed suite two laps later.
While racing for position, Chad Grammer and Joe Papa made contact but there was no resulting caution. This was great news for Chand who pulled out to a good lead over Wood. The lead would last for very few laps though as Wood reeled in Chand. Wood made an outside passing attempt on Chand but got loose and lost track position.
Behind the two, Murrell spun off of turn four on lap 12 but again, no caution was thrown. On lap 14, Wood got to the outside of Chand and challenged him for the lead. As the duo came to lap Ralph Miller, Miller moved up high to let the leaders go by on the inside. It wasn’t high enough however, as Miller and Wood made contact resulting in Miller spinning and a caution flag thrown on lap 19.
The great race between Chand and Wood would not continue after the restart because as the field took the green, Chand’s car lost power and pulled into the infield. Wood took the lead and never looked back taking the victory over Dan Brown, Jason Rhodes, Matt Wolfe and Grammer.
Long time Acres veteran, Angelo Marcelli took home trophy dash honors over David Henderson, Roger Sanderson and title rival, Pat Walsh. Marcelli’s luck would sour on him though as in the heat race, rookie Joe McDonald spun coming off of turn four. Marcelli, with no where to go, ran into McDonald. Both cars were essentially done for the evening as both only made a few laps in the main event for points. Sanderson took the heat win over Jim Norris, Walsh and Henderson.
Sanderson took advantage of the cars being grouped up for the main event as he took the early lead in the race; a lead he would not relinquish. Henderson moved in behind him and tried to apply pressure to Sanderson’s rear bumper. He could never get a good run on Sanderson and when the race concluded Sanderson took the win over Henderson, Walsh and Norris.
The real stock division once again showed their strength with 27 cars clocking in for qualifications. In the fast trophy dash, points leader Rick Fox took the victory over Mike Peters, Donnie Hyman and Travis Maytanes. In the slow dash, frequent victory lane visitor, Gary Adams won over Tony Rodriguez, James Henry and Craig Huffman. Adams won again in the first of the three heat races over Huffman, Bill Middleton and Troy Wood. In the second heat, Donald Brown held off a furious charge by Lissa Uselton, followed by Ryan Thomson and Steve Kimberling. Fox took the dash-heat sweep with the heat win over Hyman, Aaron Byers and Peters.
Adams made it three for three by taking the victory in the ‘B’ main event over Chad Trump. Both drivers transferred into the ‘A’ main event. Chad Gurney and Kimberling brought the field to the green flag. Gurney used the pole position to his advantage and stretched out to the early lead. Within a few laps, the caution was thrown when Jimmy Thornbury and Maytanes hooked bumpers and spun into the infield. On the restart, Mike Peeples took advantage of cool tires and a tightened field. On lap 8 he passed Brown and on lap 9 he passed Gurney for the lead. That lap, Thomson spun while on the same lap Brown spun resulting in another caution flag.
On the restart, Byers tried to do what Peeples had done the restart before making a move on Gurney on the outside. On lap 12, Marty Walsh spun off of turn four undamaged. Unfortunately, he would not go without damage as Brown, with nowhere to go, collided into the driver’s side of Walsh resulting in a red flag. Both drivers were all right but the same couldn’t be said for their cars. When the green flag came out Peters began to show his hand. On lap 14 he was up to second and within two laps he was challenging Peeples for the lead. On lap 16, Doug Way spun off of turn four but no caution flag was thrown. That very lap Peters took the lead away from Peeples. A few laps later, the two quick cars of Fox and Hyman moved into second and third. Peters’ lead was insurmountable as he took the main event win over Fox, Hyman, Byers and Gurney.
The all ways quick late model cars provided a great racing action. Larry Bayless took the trophy dash win over Rick Spencer. In the heat, David Miller won over local favorites Larry Pries and Jimmy Walker. The main event was bumper to bumper between most of the field. Miller led over Bayless, Pries and Preston O’Dell. About halfway through the race, O’Dell’s rear end locked up going into the third turn. His car turned backwards and spun in front of several cars including Pries, Walker and Spencer. Pries and Spencer spun and lost a lap while Walker barely made it through the mêlée.
Miller got a jump on the restart and pulled out to a good lead over Bayless and Walker. Both drivers caught up to Miller within five laps however. Bayless had the stronger car as he made several moves on Miller trying to get him to make a mistake. On the last lap going into turn three, Bayless gave Miller a bump moving him to the outside lane. Bayless went past Miller along with Walker and took home the victory. Miller was furious at Bayless and repaid the favor on the cool down lap on the backstretch. The win stood with the officials however with Bayless winning over Walker, Miller and Spencer.
Historic videos, race reports and race results from various Northern California race tracks
Gary Jacob Archives
Showing posts with label Dan Brown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dan Brown. Show all posts
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
A ‘hooked up’ Potts takes the IMCA victory
A ‘hooked up’ Potts takes the IMCA victory
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Making one of two appearances at Redwood Acres Raceway this season, the IMCA Modifieds visited the 3/8 of a mile-paved oval for some hard-charging racing action. Setting a new track record at a 16.465, Petaluma’s Richie Potts started from the back to work his way to the front and to take the victory in the main event. Capitalizing on real stock points leader, Shawn Craig’s misfortunes, Rick Fox took the victory and closed in on the championship leader. After making a bold pass on the outside with a few laps to go, veteran Al Acuna took the sportsman main event victory. In the mini stock class, Jason Chand resolved the motor problems he had been having the past few races and took victory honors in that class.
The limited street stock class made their second appearance at the Acres this season. In the trophy dash, Craig Johnson took the victory over Orion Moshier. The two repeated the process in the main event as Johnson again took the win over Moshier. Due to the low car count, however, the class didn’t run a main event.
Defending mini stock track champion, Phil Wood won the trophy dash over Dan Brown. The heat race action was intense as Chad Grammer, Jaison Rhodes, Wood and Brown battled for the victory. Coming off of turn four on the last lap, Rhodes made an attempt to pass Grammer on the inside. The two touched sending Grammer into the infield and Rhodes to the checkered flag first. Officials ruled that since Rhodes caused the incident he would be placed at the tail end of the finishing order. This gave Wood the victory over Brown, Glenn Bernald and Brian Murrell.
Leading the field to the green in the main event were Murrell and Matt Wolfe. Going into turn one on the start of the race, the two made contact and spun. Both had to start at the rear of the field for initiating the incident. On the restart, Brown took the lead over Rhodes. On lap 7, Wood, who had car problems and was using Grammer’s car, got loose and lost a lot of track position to the leaders. Meanwhile, Brown, Rhodes and Jason Chand were tightly contesting for the lead position.
Wood got loose again in turn 3 and this time lost a few positions. With five laps to go, Rhodes got loose and lost second position to Chand. Chand made a bold attempt to pass Brown on the high side with two laps to go and made it stick as he took the lead and the victory. Second was Brown, third was Rhodes while fourth went to Glen Bernald.
In sportsman competition, long time Acres racer, Angelo took the trophy dash victory over another veteran Al Acuna. In the heat race, Acuna gave the crowd a hint of things to come in the main event as he made a strong pass on the outside of rookie Jim Norris on the last lap of the race to take the victory. Norris and another rookie, Joe McDonald, brought the main event to green. Going into turn 3 on the first lap, David Henderson made contact with Norris. Henderson spun and caused a chain reaction that collected Pat Walsh, Scotty Turner and Acuna. Walsh and Turner weren’t able to return to the race while Acuna suffered only minor damage.
On the restart, McDonald lead over Redding visitor, Kyle Cattanach. The battle for the lead was intense as Cattanach put the pressure on McDonald. Going into turn one halfway through the race, Cattanach made a mistake and got loose. This allowed Acuna, Henderson, and Marcelli to get by. With just a handful of laps to go, Acuna moved to the top groove and made his car stick as he drove past McDonald and began to pull away. Henderson passed McDonald as well did Marcelli but it was too late in the race as Acuna won over Henderson, McDonald and Marcelli. It was determined after the racing action that a few of the sportsman competitors were illegal. Acuna’s victory withheld with second really belonging Marcelli, third Cattanach and fourth Ed Peters.
The real stock division had another great car count. Rick Fox broke the track record setting a new time of 19.566. In the trophy dash, Travis Maytanes took the victory over Shawn Craig by just a bumper. Gary Adams won the first of the three heat races over Ryan Walters and Dana Porter. The second heat was won by Chad Gurney with second going to Hymie Yellon and third place being Steve Kimberling. In the fast heat, Marty Walsh won over Donnie Hyman and Doug Way.
Because of the high car count the division ran a B main event with the top two finishers transferring to the main. Filling those two spots were James Henry and Porter. The real stocks put on yet another awesome main event race. Craig Huffman and Kimberling brought the field to the green flag. On lap 2, Hyman made contact with the turn two wall forcing his night to a close. On the restart, Aaron Byers began to apply pressure on Huffman. Returning driver, Dan Maxwell made a daring attempt going into turn one making it three wide on lap 8. Everybody came out okay with Maxwell leading. On lap 9, Huffman spun coming off of turn two. At the same time, Lissa Uselton spun coming off of the corner. Both lost a lot of track position but didn’t lose a lap.
Fox, who had started at the back of the pack, began to make his presence known. On lap 10 he passed Byers for second. On lap 12, Fox took the lead away from Maxwell. Fox caught a break in the points on lap 13 when his title rival, Craig had an axle brake on the right rear of his car ending his night. On the restart, Maxwell and Walsh spun. Coming to the caution, Maxwell made contact with Kimberling spinning him out. All of the drivers continued on without any major damage. On the restart, Fox led Byers and Way. Fox stretched out his lead and ended up taking the winner’s trophy over Byers, Mike Peters, Way and Walsh.
Long time IMCA veteran Richie Potts showed off his fast car as he set a new track record at Redwood Acres Raceway. In the trophy dash, David Sullivan took the victory over Bill Vance. The first of the two heat races led to misfortune for one driver, Lester Agee who made severe contact with the wall ending all of his racing action for the night. Gary Crawford took the win over Lakeport racer, Bob Strauss and Charlie Krown. In the second heat, Kelly Peacock won over Sullivan, Potts and Vance.
The main event was clean and green from start to finish. Crawford and Lance Walker brought the field to the green flag. Peacock took the lead early. By lap 8 it was Peacock, Krown, Sullivan and Potts who had all ready passed six cars from his last starting position. Potts passed Sullivan and on lap 15 he passed Krown on the inside for second position. On lap 19, Potts took the high line and passed Peacock and stretched out to an insurmountable lead over the rest of the competition. The rest of the race was for second as Peacock tried to hold off Vance and Sullivan. Vance eventually got by Peacock but it was too late in the race as Potts took the victory over Vance, Peacock and Crawford.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Making one of two appearances at Redwood Acres Raceway this season, the IMCA Modifieds visited the 3/8 of a mile-paved oval for some hard-charging racing action. Setting a new track record at a 16.465, Petaluma’s Richie Potts started from the back to work his way to the front and to take the victory in the main event. Capitalizing on real stock points leader, Shawn Craig’s misfortunes, Rick Fox took the victory and closed in on the championship leader. After making a bold pass on the outside with a few laps to go, veteran Al Acuna took the sportsman main event victory. In the mini stock class, Jason Chand resolved the motor problems he had been having the past few races and took victory honors in that class.
The limited street stock class made their second appearance at the Acres this season. In the trophy dash, Craig Johnson took the victory over Orion Moshier. The two repeated the process in the main event as Johnson again took the win over Moshier. Due to the low car count, however, the class didn’t run a main event.
Defending mini stock track champion, Phil Wood won the trophy dash over Dan Brown. The heat race action was intense as Chad Grammer, Jaison Rhodes, Wood and Brown battled for the victory. Coming off of turn four on the last lap, Rhodes made an attempt to pass Grammer on the inside. The two touched sending Grammer into the infield and Rhodes to the checkered flag first. Officials ruled that since Rhodes caused the incident he would be placed at the tail end of the finishing order. This gave Wood the victory over Brown, Glenn Bernald and Brian Murrell.
Leading the field to the green in the main event were Murrell and Matt Wolfe. Going into turn one on the start of the race, the two made contact and spun. Both had to start at the rear of the field for initiating the incident. On the restart, Brown took the lead over Rhodes. On lap 7, Wood, who had car problems and was using Grammer’s car, got loose and lost a lot of track position to the leaders. Meanwhile, Brown, Rhodes and Jason Chand were tightly contesting for the lead position.
Wood got loose again in turn 3 and this time lost a few positions. With five laps to go, Rhodes got loose and lost second position to Chand. Chand made a bold attempt to pass Brown on the high side with two laps to go and made it stick as he took the lead and the victory. Second was Brown, third was Rhodes while fourth went to Glen Bernald.
In sportsman competition, long time Acres racer, Angelo took the trophy dash victory over another veteran Al Acuna. In the heat race, Acuna gave the crowd a hint of things to come in the main event as he made a strong pass on the outside of rookie Jim Norris on the last lap of the race to take the victory. Norris and another rookie, Joe McDonald, brought the main event to green. Going into turn 3 on the first lap, David Henderson made contact with Norris. Henderson spun and caused a chain reaction that collected Pat Walsh, Scotty Turner and Acuna. Walsh and Turner weren’t able to return to the race while Acuna suffered only minor damage.
On the restart, McDonald lead over Redding visitor, Kyle Cattanach. The battle for the lead was intense as Cattanach put the pressure on McDonald. Going into turn one halfway through the race, Cattanach made a mistake and got loose. This allowed Acuna, Henderson, and Marcelli to get by. With just a handful of laps to go, Acuna moved to the top groove and made his car stick as he drove past McDonald and began to pull away. Henderson passed McDonald as well did Marcelli but it was too late in the race as Acuna won over Henderson, McDonald and Marcelli. It was determined after the racing action that a few of the sportsman competitors were illegal. Acuna’s victory withheld with second really belonging Marcelli, third Cattanach and fourth Ed Peters.
The real stock division had another great car count. Rick Fox broke the track record setting a new time of 19.566. In the trophy dash, Travis Maytanes took the victory over Shawn Craig by just a bumper. Gary Adams won the first of the three heat races over Ryan Walters and Dana Porter. The second heat was won by Chad Gurney with second going to Hymie Yellon and third place being Steve Kimberling. In the fast heat, Marty Walsh won over Donnie Hyman and Doug Way.
Because of the high car count the division ran a B main event with the top two finishers transferring to the main. Filling those two spots were James Henry and Porter. The real stocks put on yet another awesome main event race. Craig Huffman and Kimberling brought the field to the green flag. On lap 2, Hyman made contact with the turn two wall forcing his night to a close. On the restart, Aaron Byers began to apply pressure on Huffman. Returning driver, Dan Maxwell made a daring attempt going into turn one making it three wide on lap 8. Everybody came out okay with Maxwell leading. On lap 9, Huffman spun coming off of turn two. At the same time, Lissa Uselton spun coming off of the corner. Both lost a lot of track position but didn’t lose a lap.
Fox, who had started at the back of the pack, began to make his presence known. On lap 10 he passed Byers for second. On lap 12, Fox took the lead away from Maxwell. Fox caught a break in the points on lap 13 when his title rival, Craig had an axle brake on the right rear of his car ending his night. On the restart, Maxwell and Walsh spun. Coming to the caution, Maxwell made contact with Kimberling spinning him out. All of the drivers continued on without any major damage. On the restart, Fox led Byers and Way. Fox stretched out his lead and ended up taking the winner’s trophy over Byers, Mike Peters, Way and Walsh.
Long time IMCA veteran Richie Potts showed off his fast car as he set a new track record at Redwood Acres Raceway. In the trophy dash, David Sullivan took the victory over Bill Vance. The first of the two heat races led to misfortune for one driver, Lester Agee who made severe contact with the wall ending all of his racing action for the night. Gary Crawford took the win over Lakeport racer, Bob Strauss and Charlie Krown. In the second heat, Kelly Peacock won over Sullivan, Potts and Vance.
The main event was clean and green from start to finish. Crawford and Lance Walker brought the field to the green flag. Peacock took the lead early. By lap 8 it was Peacock, Krown, Sullivan and Potts who had all ready passed six cars from his last starting position. Potts passed Sullivan and on lap 15 he passed Krown on the inside for second position. On lap 19, Potts took the high line and passed Peacock and stretched out to an insurmountable lead over the rest of the competition. The rest of the race was for second as Peacock tried to hold off Vance and Sullivan. Vance eventually got by Peacock but it was too late in the race as Potts took the victory over Vance, Peacock and Crawford.
Tuesday, June 4, 2002
Acres Action Sharp And Prompt
Acres Action Sharp And Prompt
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Racing at Redwood Acres was exciting on Saturday, June 1, as the late model tour cars made their first visit to the fast 3/8-paved oval in Eureka, California. Originally, the cars had been scheduled to make a visit earlier in the year; however, the race was rained out. Mike Sackett of Myrtle Point, Oregon took the hard fought victory over Rick Spencer. All of the defending champions of the Acres regular racing action won; Shawn Craig in the real stock division, Shawn Andrews in the sportsman division and Phil Wood in the mini stock class.
The racing action was fast in all of the classes, in fact the entire race time lasted from 7:00 to about 9:45. In the mini stock trophy dash, Wood took the victory over Jason Rhodes and Dan Brown. Jason Chand who was also in the race had motor problems; something that would plague him for the rest of his evening.
Racing action was intense in the heat race. Wood quickly made his way to the front as Rhodes and Troy Boyce attempted to chase him down. Bad luck struck both drivers; on lap 2 Rhodes spun between turns three and four, a lap later in the same part of the track, the same thing happened to Boyce. Boyce was fortunate enough not to loose any positions to cars but he lost a lot of track position to Wood who went unchallenged. Boyce finished second with Mac Collado third.
The 20 lap mini stock main event was fast and furious as Brian Murrell led the field to the green. Soon after, Boyce took the lead and made an attempt to move out to a sizeable lead. That wouldn’t be the case though as Wood made a charge to the front from the back and passed Boyce on lap seven. A few laps later Boyce went into the pits and didn’t return. Wood took the sizeable advantage and won the race over Brown, Rhodes and Collado.
The real stock field was strong again at the Acres. Rick Fox won the trophy dash over Shawn Craig, Donny Hyman and young driver Travis Maytanes. In the first of the three heat races another youngster, Gary Adams fought off a hard charging Marty Walsh. The second heat consisted of a lot of bumping and grinding. On lap 3, Aaron Byers and Mike Peeples made contact resulting in a caution flag. On the restart a tight battle ensued between leader, Chad Gurney, Steve Kimberling and Byers. Gurney held off the challenge for the victory. The third heat was calmer with Doug Way taking the victory over Craig and Fox.
Because of the high car count, a B-main event was held allowing only the top two in the race to transfer to the main event. Adams and Walsh continued their hard fought battle in the first heat with Walsh coming out the victor with Adams taking the second transfer position. The 25 lap main was very exciting as Peeples led the field to the green flag. On lap 6, Bill Middleton spun to bring out the caution. After the restart, Craig who had made his way quickly through the field took the lead. By lap 14, Rick Fox had made the pass for second and set his sights on Craig.
On lap 20 when going into turn three, Peeples blew his motor. Keith Conn and Doug Way hit the oil and hit the wall ending both of their nights. On the restart, Fox applied as much pressure as he could on Craig, trying to force him into making a mistake. Maytanes spun on lap 22 but there was no caution. Shawn Craig took the checkered flag with Fox, Hyman, Walsh and Lissa Uselton behind him.
Defending sportsman track champion, Shawn Andrews took the trophy dash victory over Acres veteran Pat Walsh, sportsman rookie Scotty Turner and second year sportsman driver David Henderson. Angelo Marcelli, Walsh and Andrews were closely contesting the lead in the heat race. Marcelli held off all challenges and took the heat race victory. Rookie Jim Norris led the field to the green flag, disaster struck in turn four on the first lap when rookie Joe McDonald spun. Al Acuna tried to avoid McDonald’s spun vehicle but ended up hitting the wall ending his night of racing. Ed Peters also spun his car but avoided damage to his car.
After a restart, Peters took the early lead. On lap 7, Turner lost his car coming off of turn two. Peters slowed up for the incident but was spun by Walsh also trying to avoid Turner’s car. After a quick restart, Andrews took advantage and passed Norris. He quickly caught up to Walsh and began to make an attempt for the lead. On lap 16, Andrews was successful and passed Walsh. That same lap, Norris lost power and took his car to the pits. Lap 18, Henderson spun but he continued on. Andrews held off Walsh on the restart and took the victory with returning driver Roger Sanderson third and Marcelli fourth.
In late model action, Mike Sackett won the six-lap trophy dash over fan favorite, Jimmy Walker, Mic Moulton and Larry Pries. The heat race was fast as David Miller took the victory over Rick Spencer, Bill Ward and Sackett. The main event action was exciting to say the least as Spencer led the field to the green flag. Paul Peeples who started on the outside got a good start and took the lead going into turn one and led the field for the first twelve laps however on lap thirteen he had car problems and pulled his car into the pits allowing Spencer to take the lead.
On lap 21, Walker pulled his ill handling racecar into the pits and did not return. Sackett made his way to second and began to apply pressure to leader Spencer. Several times Sackett tried to make the pass on Spencer but he couldn’t get the run. The two fought tooth and nail for many, many laps bumper to bumper. Finally on lap 27, Sackett saw his opportunity and took it passing Spencer for the race lead. Though it seemed that he was faster, Sackett didn’t draw a very large lead over Spencer.
As the two hit the “slower” cars Sackett pulled out to a larger margin. Sackett had trouble passing Miller however allowing Spencer to close back up to him. Sackett made the pass with Spencer passing Miller a few laps later. With only a few more circuits left in the race, Pries, Luke Hall and Preston O’Dell were collected in a wreck with Pries suffering the brunt of the damage. Mike Sackett held off the rest of Spencer’s challenges for the lead as he took the victory with Moulton third, Bill Ward fourth and David Miller fifth.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Racing at Redwood Acres was exciting on Saturday, June 1, as the late model tour cars made their first visit to the fast 3/8-paved oval in Eureka, California. Originally, the cars had been scheduled to make a visit earlier in the year; however, the race was rained out. Mike Sackett of Myrtle Point, Oregon took the hard fought victory over Rick Spencer. All of the defending champions of the Acres regular racing action won; Shawn Craig in the real stock division, Shawn Andrews in the sportsman division and Phil Wood in the mini stock class.
The racing action was fast in all of the classes, in fact the entire race time lasted from 7:00 to about 9:45. In the mini stock trophy dash, Wood took the victory over Jason Rhodes and Dan Brown. Jason Chand who was also in the race had motor problems; something that would plague him for the rest of his evening.
Racing action was intense in the heat race. Wood quickly made his way to the front as Rhodes and Troy Boyce attempted to chase him down. Bad luck struck both drivers; on lap 2 Rhodes spun between turns three and four, a lap later in the same part of the track, the same thing happened to Boyce. Boyce was fortunate enough not to loose any positions to cars but he lost a lot of track position to Wood who went unchallenged. Boyce finished second with Mac Collado third.
The 20 lap mini stock main event was fast and furious as Brian Murrell led the field to the green. Soon after, Boyce took the lead and made an attempt to move out to a sizeable lead. That wouldn’t be the case though as Wood made a charge to the front from the back and passed Boyce on lap seven. A few laps later Boyce went into the pits and didn’t return. Wood took the sizeable advantage and won the race over Brown, Rhodes and Collado.
The real stock field was strong again at the Acres. Rick Fox won the trophy dash over Shawn Craig, Donny Hyman and young driver Travis Maytanes. In the first of the three heat races another youngster, Gary Adams fought off a hard charging Marty Walsh. The second heat consisted of a lot of bumping and grinding. On lap 3, Aaron Byers and Mike Peeples made contact resulting in a caution flag. On the restart a tight battle ensued between leader, Chad Gurney, Steve Kimberling and Byers. Gurney held off the challenge for the victory. The third heat was calmer with Doug Way taking the victory over Craig and Fox.
Because of the high car count, a B-main event was held allowing only the top two in the race to transfer to the main event. Adams and Walsh continued their hard fought battle in the first heat with Walsh coming out the victor with Adams taking the second transfer position. The 25 lap main was very exciting as Peeples led the field to the green flag. On lap 6, Bill Middleton spun to bring out the caution. After the restart, Craig who had made his way quickly through the field took the lead. By lap 14, Rick Fox had made the pass for second and set his sights on Craig.
On lap 20 when going into turn three, Peeples blew his motor. Keith Conn and Doug Way hit the oil and hit the wall ending both of their nights. On the restart, Fox applied as much pressure as he could on Craig, trying to force him into making a mistake. Maytanes spun on lap 22 but there was no caution. Shawn Craig took the checkered flag with Fox, Hyman, Walsh and Lissa Uselton behind him.
Defending sportsman track champion, Shawn Andrews took the trophy dash victory over Acres veteran Pat Walsh, sportsman rookie Scotty Turner and second year sportsman driver David Henderson. Angelo Marcelli, Walsh and Andrews were closely contesting the lead in the heat race. Marcelli held off all challenges and took the heat race victory. Rookie Jim Norris led the field to the green flag, disaster struck in turn four on the first lap when rookie Joe McDonald spun. Al Acuna tried to avoid McDonald’s spun vehicle but ended up hitting the wall ending his night of racing. Ed Peters also spun his car but avoided damage to his car.
After a restart, Peters took the early lead. On lap 7, Turner lost his car coming off of turn two. Peters slowed up for the incident but was spun by Walsh also trying to avoid Turner’s car. After a quick restart, Andrews took advantage and passed Norris. He quickly caught up to Walsh and began to make an attempt for the lead. On lap 16, Andrews was successful and passed Walsh. That same lap, Norris lost power and took his car to the pits. Lap 18, Henderson spun but he continued on. Andrews held off Walsh on the restart and took the victory with returning driver Roger Sanderson third and Marcelli fourth.
In late model action, Mike Sackett won the six-lap trophy dash over fan favorite, Jimmy Walker, Mic Moulton and Larry Pries. The heat race was fast as David Miller took the victory over Rick Spencer, Bill Ward and Sackett. The main event action was exciting to say the least as Spencer led the field to the green flag. Paul Peeples who started on the outside got a good start and took the lead going into turn one and led the field for the first twelve laps however on lap thirteen he had car problems and pulled his car into the pits allowing Spencer to take the lead.
On lap 21, Walker pulled his ill handling racecar into the pits and did not return. Sackett made his way to second and began to apply pressure to leader Spencer. Several times Sackett tried to make the pass on Spencer but he couldn’t get the run. The two fought tooth and nail for many, many laps bumper to bumper. Finally on lap 27, Sackett saw his opportunity and took it passing Spencer for the race lead. Though it seemed that he was faster, Sackett didn’t draw a very large lead over Spencer.
As the two hit the “slower” cars Sackett pulled out to a larger margin. Sackett had trouble passing Miller however allowing Spencer to close back up to him. Sackett made the pass with Spencer passing Miller a few laps later. With only a few more circuits left in the race, Pries, Luke Hall and Preston O’Dell were collected in a wreck with Pries suffering the brunt of the damage. Mike Sackett held off the rest of Spencer’s challenges for the lead as he took the victory with Moulton third, Bill Ward fourth and David Miller fifth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)