Dutch Davies Buries LM Field at Little Valley

 

By Dave Sully

 

(Little Valley, NY)  Dutch Davies from Warrren, PA, hasn’t had much success at Little Valley in recent years.  He has run well, but something always went wrong to keep him out of Victory Lane.  On Saturday, May 25^th, it all came together in a big way as he dispatched a quality field of super late models before a huge Memorial weekend crowd at Little Valley Speedway.  Davies blew past leader Dick Barton on the outside on a lap two restart and drove out to a sizable lead that increased to over a straightaway at times as he kept his foot in it the whole way.

 

Barton led at the outset from the pole but a spin involving the No. 3 of the “Slowride,” David Scott, and the No. 59 of John Lobb banished them to the rear.  On the restart, Davies made his move for the lead and the race for the win was essentially over, though in a thirty lap race, anything could happen.

 

There was no shortage of action as several drivers made inspired moves toward the front, one of those being defending champion, Bob Close, from Eldred, PA, who made a dash that carried him from twelfth to second by the ninth lap.  Another driver on the move was Ron Davies, Dutch’s brother, who also had an impressive run, coming from ninth to claim second on lap twenty-one before Close took it back just before the end of the race. . Barton stuck it out for a fourth place finish.  Finally, David Scott soldiered up from last after his spin to claim a top five finish.

 

Davies commented on his performance, saying, “This was the same car we ran last night.  We were terrible.  We took it back to the shop, peeled it completely apart, went through everything, and my crew did a heck of a job.  I can’t say enough for them the way they prepared this thing tonight.  It was one of those dream nights where the car goes wherever you want it to go.  It doesn’t happen very often.  We haven’t been good here, and most of the time it’s been our fault.  You create your own luck, and we just haven’t prepared like we need to be to come here.  We got our heads together and re-evaluated what we were doing.  To come here and beat Ronnie, David, Todd Andrews and Bob Close really speaks volumes for this team.”  

 

In the 20 lap BRP Cam Am 360 Late Model Feature, Steve Dixon continued the torrid pace he has been on, winning his fifth race in a row, and third series event, after winning at McKean on Saturday and the previous Saturday at Merrittville.  Dixon, from Smethport, PA, grabbed the lead from pole sitter Jon Lichy and immediately drove out to a commanding lead, which he never relinquished.  He was essentially unchallenged until a lap sixteen caution, which put Bruce Miller on his bumper for the restart.  Miller had made a charge from eighth and appeared ready to challenge, diving low on the restart as Dixon stuck to his high line.  Miller couldn’t make his car stick on the bottom, ultimately trying the high line with Dixon, but wasn’t able to get a run for the lead.

 

Miller took second, followed by John Waters, who started ninth, Jeff Chesebro, and Batavia regular Jim Johnson, who completed the top five.  Of his dominance this year, Dixon noted, “We dialed it in all last year and upgraded the engine program this year.  It made the difference, and we can run up front every night.”  Of the race, he added, “I like to run outside and the bottom was too rough to run down there.  It upsets the car and you lose momentum.  The top was perfect tonight, a little cushion out by the wall, just how I like it.  I knew Bruce (Miller) was coming, but he likes the outside too, and I knew if I was out there, he wasn’t going to get by me on the bottom.”

 

The twenty lap E-Mod NY/PA Challenge feature went to Rich Michael from Ishua, his sixth straight win at Little Valley, having swept all five features last season.  It wasn’t easy, as he engaged in a spirited battle with John Lacki before emerging with the win.  Lacki took command early before Michael took the lead on a lap six restart after a multi car scrum triggered when Greg Oakes slapped the all in turn one.  Lacki returned the favor on a lap seven restart and held sway until Michael re-assumed the point on lap fourteen after stalking him for several laps.

 

From there Lacki tried desperately to regain the lead, making several attempts down low as Michael occupied the preferred line on top.  He got close, but couldn’t make the run he needed and ended up second.  Randy Hall, who was involved in the lap six mishap, made a great recovery to finish third, with Steve Dixon, doing double duty finishing fourth.  John Woodward, who started thirteenth, rounded out the top five.

 

Michael talked about his race with Lacki, noting, “We were side by side there, and I knew I had to go to the top.  I couldn’t pass him on the bottom.  I just moved up a little bit, got a good run, kept my momentum and cleared him.  As for moving down to block him at the end, he added.  “My car wasn’t working on the bottom.  I had to stay in the middle or on top.”

 

Finally, Adam Ashcroft from Arcade dominated a stout street stock field, wining the fifteen lap feature going away.  The race had an ominous start as the cars of Bill McKinney and former track champion Jason Schoonmaker got together on the backstretch of the first lap resulting in a wild trip airborne for Schoonmaker, resulting in his car coming to rest upside down on the back fence with McKinney’s car wedged underneath him.  Fortunately both drivers were unhurt in the scary looking incident.

 

Ashcroft took command on the restart and drove away from the field as the race went caution free the rest of the way.  Jeb Walworth came from twelfth to finish second, followed by Ben Asel, who traveled up from ninth, Damon Lewis, and Adam Sixt, who made a great charge from twenty-fourth to finish fifth.

 

Ashcroft noted, “Before the race we changed some weights around, but we saw how the track was and put some weights on the right rear again so we could run the high side.  My dad’s done a lot of work on the car lately and it’s really paid off.  Down low was real rough.  That’s another reason why running high was a good idea.”

 

NOTES:  There were a hundred thirteen cars in the pits, topped by forty-two BRP Can Am Late Models (Super Stocks)………..The enthusiastic crowd was the largest in recent memory, made all the more impressive in that the show ran against the NASCAR Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte, proving that if you put out a quality product, people will come.  Beautiful weather didn’t hurt either………The next show is on Saturday, June 7^th at 6:30 when the same classes will go at it once more.  Vic Coffey, taking some time off from the grueling WOO Tour, and who won his only super late model start at Little Valley last season, is expected to be back to try for two in a row.

 

Results:

 

Late Models:  (30 laps)  Dutch Davies, Bob Close, Ron Davies, Dick Barton, David Scott, Doug Ricotta, Jason Dupont, Todd Andrews, Randy Lobb, Brent Rhebergen, Jeff Hoffman, Kirk Bradley, Mickey Wright, John Lobb, Jipp Ortiz, Al Brewer, and John Haggerty.  Heat winners were Dutch Davies and Andrews.

 

BRP Can Am 360 Lates: (20 laps)  Steve Dixon, Bruce Miller, John Waters, Jeff Chesebro, Jim Johnson, Glenn Whritenour, Matt Cobb, Todd Hansen, Dave Miller, Beamer Guzzardi, Jon Lichy, Bob Babbitt, Bryce Davis, Dan Cobb, Mike Williams, JJ Mazur, Dave Dubois, Junior Peters, Jeff Dayman, Tim Schram, Bob Buono, Jon Rivers, Wayne Robertson, Paul Grigsby, Brian Kotarski, and Mikey Wonderling. DNS- Larry Knowles, and Jason Boyle.  DNQ-  Neil Patterson, Kyle Inman, Jim Mazur, Mike Smith Rich Hale, John Kemp, Quinn Sutherland, Jeremy Wonderling, Jeff Brown, Pete Waldron, Darwin Davis, Kevin Olinger, Don Krug, and Bob Bartlett.  Heat winners were Bruce Miller, Knowles, Dixon, and Rivers.  B-Main winners were Peters and Dan Cobb.

 

E-Mods: (20 laps)  Rich Michael Jr., John Lacki, Randy Hall, Steve Dixon, John Woodward, Quincy Turner, Craig Bedell, Brad Wall, Troy Carr, Kevin Kohl, TJ Downes, Carl Ballinger, Rod Feeley, Al Brewer, Mike Eschrich, Wayne Mohawk, Darren Tarabori, Justin Tatlow, Nathan Hill, Brian Fardink, Greg Oakes, Justin Carlson, and Tim Peterson.  DNS- Chad Silliman and David Scott.  Heat winners were Dixon, Hall, and Peterson.

 

Street Stocks: (15 laps)  Adam Ashcroft, Jeb Walworth, Ben Asel, Damon Lewis, Adam Sixt, Doug Jones, Chris Austin, Matt Palmer, Tim Bruce, Rich Wojtowicz Jr.,  Allen Neamon, Dan Morgan, Chad Green, Colton Chappius, Justin Baxter, Brett Smith, Brian Peterson, Jack Doxey, Dan Giboo, Cliff Johnson, Mark Loveland, Tingue, Bill McKinney, and Jason Schoonmaker. DNS- Joe Skinner, Ron Hebner, and Charles Silleman.  Heat winners were Giboo, Ashcroft, and Loveland.