Momentum Builds at Wayne County
August 2, 2008

Orrville OH - Race fans came hungry and left satisfied this past Saturday night at the Federated Auto Parts /Wayne County Speedway, not only for the delicious grilled hamburgers served on site but also for the top notch entertainment the fearsome competitors provided during the entire night. We began with time trials and Doug Drown set Late Model fast time at 19.079 seconds around the banked 3/8 mile, in the Sprints Aaron Middaugh timed in at a very impressive16.871 seconds. The first heat lined up with late Model ace Allan Baker testing his skills behind the wheel of a Pure Stock and contended for the win before a flat tire relegated him to a fourth place finish. Taking that win was Brad Channel. In the second heat Jim Nicely and Jeremy Dickerson powered into turn four, last lap for the lead but Paul Holmes swept past both on the outside to spoil their run. Sprints were up next with Jason Dolic and Kirk Jeffries each claiming heats while Tim Hunter won the fast dash. Mini Stocks came out in full force tonight and we saw Glenn Elliot, Josh Robinson, and Jeremy Hudson win preliminaries. Late Models came last in this weeks order with Clint Coffman and Mark Gardiner claiming heats while Doug Drown won the dash. Consolation races were needed to further thin the players and Allan Baker won the Late Model portion, Charlie Ray in the Mini Stocks.

A short intermission followed during which many of the best drivers walked through the grandstand area to sign autographs and meet with race fans while track maintenance crews groomed the racing surface. Up first, the Thrifty Muffler Pure Stock feature proved to be a barnburner as Chad Craver (last weeks feature winner) brought the field to green with Don Baney trailing. Brandon Gardner, Troy Anderson, and Travis Mensching drove hard into the corner three wide just as Baney falls off pace and drops out of the top five. Further back Paul Holmes begins a charge from eighth and by the fifth circuit joins the front runners. The first caution waved for Brad Channel on lap ten as Craver held a slight lead over Gardner but the restart became his downfall as Gardners mighty Buick pulled alongside then into the lead. Several cars were eliminated from competition on lap thirteen with Justin Patterson receiving considerable damage and with only two laps remaining Gardner easily held on for the win ahead of Craver, Anderson, Holmes, and Baney nipping Mensching for fifth under the flag.

Even with this weeks increased competition Tim Hunter was never seriously challenged to claim a second straight Spurgeon Chevrolet Sprint A Main. The real difference gave chase as race fans enjoyed plenty of action when Nick Mulheim challenged Danny Mumaw for third place only to be called back when the caution waved for Jason Dolic, then Mumaw picks up the pace and passes Middaugh for second only to see Middaugh reclaim his spot. By lap ten Bryan Grove was running up high and flat out to take third from Mumaw while further back Cory Crabtree charges from tail, around Troy Kingan, Cody Jacobs, and then Nick Mulheim to break into the top five. Crabtree passes Mumaw for fourth and takes aim for Groves as the two raced wide open down the backstretch. Lapped traffic comes into play for Hunter just as Kingan loses a wheel and brings out the caution on lap 19. With six laps to go Grove and Crabtree close the gap on Middaugh but there was no catching Tim Hunter, Middaugh second, Crabtree by inches over Grove at the flag for third, and Mumaw rounding out the top five.

The Federated Auto Parts Mini Stocks were up next and Glenn Elliott Jr. brought the field to green but by only the fourth corner Josh Robinson had full command of the lead leaving Elliott, Tom Ogle, and Jeremy Hudson racing three wide in a battle for second. Robinson begins to deal with lapped cars on lap six and by lap eight the first caution would bring the field back together with Robinson leading, Hudson, Ogle, Chase Alexander, and Don Lehman the top five. The restart saw Ogle and Hudson bang doors at speed down the backstretch but both held position to the end. The Santmyer Oil sponsored Late Model main event began with a beautiful 4 wide parade lap but soon turned ugly with a huge pile up that brought out the red flag and eliminated Chester Elliott, George Lee, Mark Gardiner, Mark Bellamy, and Jim Morey from competition on only the fourth circuit. The crash occurred near the end of the front straight at very high speeds, very fortunate no injuries were reported although most cars involved received major damage. After the cleanup it was a great race with Doug Drown clearly the dominate car finishing a full stretch ahead of the competition. Drown was behind the wheel of the Malcuits Tavern / Moyer Race Cars #79 this weekend. “Ernie and his crew at Wayne County gave us a great surface to race on, unfortunately a lot of good race cars got tore up, that’s terrible and I feel bad for the guys who have to fix all the damage. I am very glad to have the opportunity to drive such a great car and I have to thank Barney and all the guys who got this thing to work so well, coming from tail to win the fast dash felt good. In the feature this car was so good I could drive it top, middle, bottom, wherever. It’s great to win here and especially with this car.”

Jason Flory mixed it up with Dave Hornikel before securing second spot and Wayne Maffett and Clint Coffman both enjoyed consistent runs to fill the top five. The management at Wayne County Speedway would like to thank all the fans and competitors for making this a memorable night of racing and we will be back in action next week featuring the best dirt track racing northeast Ohio has to offer.

RESULTS

Santmyer Oil Late Models
Fast Time: Doug Drown - 19.079
Heat 1: Clint Coffman, George Lee, Rick Bond
Heat 2: Mark Gardiner, Ryan Eddleblute, Jeff Esbenshade
Dash: Doug Drown, Dave Hornikel, Jason Flory,
Wayne Maffett Jr., Dave Lile, Chet Alexander
Consy: Allan Baker, Chester Elliott, Mark Bellamy
Feature: Drown, Flory, Hornikel, Maffett, Coffman, Myers, Alexander, Liles, Bond, Eddleblute, Esbenshade, Gardiner, Trevor Phillips, Lee, Elliott, Bellamy, Jim Morey, Baker

Spurgeon Chevrolet Sprints
Fast Time: Aaron Middaugh - 16.871
Heat 1: Jason Dolic, Cory Crabtree, Zack Ames
Heat 2: Kirk Jeffries, Scott Curran, Cody Jacobs
Dash: Tim Hunter, Danny Mumaw, Middaugh,
Nick Mulheim, Bryan Grove, Broc Martin
Feature: Hunter, Middaugh, Crabtree, Grove, Mumaw, Martin, Mulheim, Jeffries, Jacobs, Curran, Chuck Waddell, Bill Ault, Bill Underwood, Butch Beasley, Troy Kingan, Will Ault, Dolick, Ames, Nick Patterson, Jim Nicely

Thrifty Muffler Pure Stocks
Heat 1: Brad Channel, Justin Patterson, Todd Werntz
Heat 2: Paul Holmes, Jim Nicely, Jeremy Dickerson
Dash: Chad Craver, Don Baney, Brandon Gardner,
Troy Anderson, Travis Mensching, Fred Snyder
Feature: Gardner, Craver, Anderson, Holmes, Baney, Mensching, Dickerson, Nicely, Donna Canode, Werntz, Channel, Jason Kodek, Justin Patterson, Ben Mott, Murray Anderson, Snyder, Paul Whitten, Allan Baker, Chris Albright

Federated Auto Parts Mini Stocks
Heat 1: Glenn Elliott Jr., Josh Hershberger, Bryan Baker
Heat 2: Josh Robinson, Tom Ogle, Dustin Cyrus
Heat 3: Jeremy Hudson, Chase Alexander, Tyler Neel
Feature: Robinson, Jeremy Hudson, Ogle, Alexander, Don Lehman, Cyrus, Neel, Matt Wohlford, Hershberger, Elliott, Sean Rush, Jim Hudson, Mark Myers, Baker, Casey Butler,

 

 

 

By Ken Cunningham

For Wayne County Speedway