Middlebourne’s Thomas gets second feature win
“The Salt Rock Express” Eddie Carrier Jr. again made his presence known at the Bullring as he became the second repeat winner on the O’Reilly All Star Late Model Series tour.
Carrier used a fast but steady line to get by early race leader Mike Benedum on lap 14 on the ultra smooth Tyler County surface.
Tyler County Speedway locals Doug Eaton and Mike Benedum led the talented crop of 24 drivers to the green with Benedum grabbing the early lead from his outside starting spot.
The pace was slowed for an early red flag as St. Clairsville, Ohio’s Mark Banal took a terrible ride down the front straightaway. Banal barrel rolled at least four times before his mount came to a halt just feet from the entrance to turn one.
Banal was later disqualified for his antics after the accident and will be suspended from O’Reilly All Star Late Model Series competition indefinitely. Also collected in the violent accident was Greg Baumberger and Butch McGill.
When the green flag reappeared Benedum continued to lead as fourth-starting Carrier Jr. began to put on the pressure. Carrier snagged the lead from Benedum on the fourteenth go-round as the young ASLMS contingent began to make their charge to the front. South Park, Pa.’s Jared Miley, who started sixth was barreling down on Benedum for second as the 11th-starting Coleby Frye from Dover, Pa. made a charge to the front using the low line of ‘The Bullring’. Fairmont’s Jared Hawkins also made his way to the top five from his ninth-starting spot.
On the 28th circuit, Miley and Hawkins battled side by side for the second spot for numerous laps as Benedum started to fade. Carrier began to run into a plethora of lapped cars to let what has now become a three car battle, including Miley, Hawkins, and Frye, for second close in. The three youngsters swapped positions every lap and as Frye made his way under Hawkins for second and looked under the Engines Inc., Grover Motorsports, Grover Racing Engines sponsored Rocket Chassis of race leader Carrier. Just as Carrier fought off the charge from Frye, the second caution of the event appeared as Tyler County Speedway regular Joe Loudin spun on lap 42.
The remaining eight laps were all Carrier as he went on to win his second ASLMS event of the season claiming the Eaton Childers Memorial ‘King of the Ring’ and the $5,000 payday. Holding on to second was Frye followed by Miley in third. Bruceton Mills, W.Va.’s Doug Horton slipped into fourth with Hawkins coming home fifth. Robbie Blair was sixth as ASLMS points leader Boom Briggs came home seventh. Tim Dohm, Mike Benedum, and Paul Wilmoth rounded out the top ten finishers.
Eaton Childers Memorial ‘King of the Ring’ (50 Laps):
1.28 Eddie Carrier Jr. 2. F1 Coleby Frye 3. H1 Jared Miley 4. 46 Doug Horton 5. 37 Jared Hawkins 6. W11 Robbie Blair 7. 99B Boom Briggs 8. 17T Tim Dohm 9. 25B Mike Benedum 10. B1 Paul Wilmoth 11. 00H Chuck Harper 12. 5L Joe Loudin 13. 32B Greg Baumberger 14. 71R Rod Conley 15. E10 Brian Eaton 16. 77 Scott Peltz 17. 14C Corey Conley 18. 1E Doug Eaton 19. 6T Zack Dohm 20. 44 Dave Hess Jr. 21. 75W Steve Weigle 22. 12W Rick Williams 23. 1MC Butch McGill 24. T8 Mark Banal DQ
With Saturday’s addition of three season first winners, Tyler County Speedway boasts a whopping 45 different feature winners, making ‘the Bullring’ one of the most competitive tracks in the nation.
Salem’s Shawn Davis has had little but frustration to show for his efforts prior to Saturday night’s ‘Sistersville Center Genesis Health Care’ TSMA modified feature.
Davis took the initial lead of the 20 lap main, closely tailed by last weeks winner Brian Probst. Fifth-starting Mike Wilson shot past Probst on the second circuit, and quickly began to pressure Davis. By lap 6, he was joined by fellow third row starter Mark Dickson. Wilson looked constantly for an opening that never materialized, and simultaneously turned back Dickson’s efforts. This action allowed the smooth Davis a little breathing room, as his ‘Jack’s Auto Crushing/U.B. of Carpenters’ No. 29 became the eighth different TSMA modified feature winner of the season, crossing the finish line with a seven-car length advantage. Wilson, Dickson, Probst and Del Cunningham completed the top five finishers. Davis and Probst took heat race wins.
Buckannon’s Shane Hitt’s 2009 season had thus far mirrored Davis’, but the former National quad champion also found victory lane for the first time Saturday night with his win in the ‘Litman Excavating’ FASTRAK Late Model main.
Hitt was immediately challenged by fourth-starting Kyle Thomas, but his ‘Pettey’s Oil Field Service/Hitt Enterprises’ No. 2 was up to the challenge and led all 20 circuits to cross the ‘Camp Copperhead’ finish line ahead of the hard charging Thomas. Fifth-starting Joel Prosser, seventh-starting Gary Knollinger Jr. and Dusty Hamrick completed the top five finishers, with Hitt and Hamrick scoring prelim wins.
The ‘Sigler Fabrication’ Hot Mod feature was a dandy, as front row starters Greg Conger and Luke Fairburn grappled for the lead from the start.
Fairburn took the initial lead, found Conger taking a turn at the front on the third circuit, only to see Fairburn go back to the point a pair of circuits later. The pair of open wheel pilots continued to run side by side sometimes swapping the on track lead multiple times a lap.
Current division point leader Travis Dickson ran in the leaders tire tracks, looking for an opening in a hotly contested three car battle. Conger finally wrestled the lead from Fairburn, building a modest lead, as Dickson bagged Fairburn for second with three circuits remaining.
Try as he might, Dickson could come no closer than a car length, as Sistersville’s Conger took a hard earned second feature win of the season in his ‘Vandruff Trucking/Stoneking Graphics’ No.14 Dickson. Fairburn, ninth starting Kenny Isner and Rod Nething followed Conger to the stripe. Conger and Fairburn were the heat race winners.
Middlebourne’s Danny Thomas also tallied his second feature win of the season, leading all 15 trips around the quarter mile high banks in the ‘WXCR Classic Rock’ Pure Stock feature. Thomas’s win was no “walk in the park”, as Brian Shaffer challenged for the position at every turn, with the pair side by side multiple times.
Thomas was not to be denied in this one, despite the equally determined driving exhibited by Shaffer. A scant car length seperated the two, as Thomas’s ‘Wable Ford-Mercury/ M&H Trucking’ No. 7 led Shaffer, 13th starting Kevin Dotson, Jeff Fornash and Brad Thomas to the pay window. Shaffer and Mike Mason were the heat winners.
Butler, Pa’s Levi ‘Spiderman’ Spinneweber had to fight his way past early leader Mitch Herrick to take his second feature win of the season in the ‘Wayside Furniture’ Mod-Lite division.
By the races’s mid-point, defending track champion Jacob Lash had blasted from the final starting position to trail Spinneweber, but his charge stalled at that point as ‘Spiderman’ threw a web around the checkered flag.
The Keystone state driver’s ‘E & E Development/Cabinet Connections’ No. 10 was trailed by Lash, Herrick, Bartlett and last week’s winner Fluharty. Herrick and Spinneweber were the heat race winners.
Clarksburg’s Donnie Wamsley took his second ‘Custom Engraving Award’ Junkyard Warrior feature of the year, trailed by Anthony Lopez, Daryll Highley, Josh Golden and Ivan Wamsley.
Steven West bested a huge field of carts in the ‘Bridgeport Equipment and Tool’ MWRA Mini-Wedge main event.
The next action scheduled at the fastest quarter mile in the Mountain State will be the huge July 3 and 4 doubleheader, as car crushing monster truck action, freestyle moto-x, and racing action will highlight the Friday evening program.
Saturday evening will be headlined with the running of the ‘Bullring Short Track Nationals’, which saw the 2008 event version set a track competitor attendance record. The weekend will also be capped off by a gigantic fireworks display as BDS Promotions and the Tyler County Speedway usher in Independence Day with a ‘red, white & boom!’ extravaganza.
Results:
Sistersville Center Genesis Health Care TSMA modifieds: Shawn Davis, Mike Wilson, Mark Dickson, Brian Probst, Del Cunningham, Randy Clark, Kacey Campbell, Dusty Boley, Lou Ennis, Brian Blake, Thomas Sigler, Donnie Nething.
Litman Excavating FASTRAK Late Models: Shane Hitt, Kyle Thomas, Joel Prosser, Gary Knollinger Jr, Dusty Hamrick, Shawn Jett, Chad Green, Daniel Hill, Derek Doll, Dave Gorrell, Jim Quaigg, John Watson, Brian Rush, Stanley Spooner.
Sigler Fabrication Hot Mods: Greg Conger, Travis Dickson, Luke Fairburn, Kenny Isner, Rod Nething, Bob Long, Lyndsey Smarr, Travis Thomas, Glen Underwood.
WXCR Classic Rock Pre Stocks: Danny Thomas, Brian Shaffer, Kevin Dotson, Jeff Fornash, Brad Thomas, Cody Henthorn, Dan Shuman, Al Wagner, Zack Travis, Mike Mason, Scott Meeker, T. Frazier, (dns) Donnie Dotson III.
Wayside Furniture Mod-Lites: Levi Spinnewebber, Jacob Lash, Mitch Herrick, Lynn Bartlett, Brandon Fluharty, Bobby Kimball, Jim Ruckman, Steve Weekly, Chris Kincaid, Tony Tatgenhorst, James Watson, Kyle Gist, Brett Irvin.
Bridgeport Equipment Mini Wedges: Steven West, Anastasia Jones, Chris Thomas, Scott Perrine, Jordan Doty, Daniel Eddy, Michael Shuman, Gunnar Travis, Tony Cochran, Kaitlyn Frazier, Stevie Maygar, Tim Shepherd, Branna Wade, Shane Wright, Georgie Tennant, Kylee Cross, Buckwheat Wright, McKenzie Cochran, Brandon Weigle, c4, Jake Loudin, No. 4, No. 30, No. 2, McKenzie Perrine, No. 22F