“Dohm-ination” takes place at speedway
Zach Dohm of Cross Lanes, W.Va. was the winner of the 41-lap 22nd annual Earl Hill Memorial at Tyler County Speedway on Sunday night, earning the $3,000 top prize and a guaranteed starting position in the 41st annual Hillbilly Hundred Labor Day Classic.
Zack held off his father Tim Dohm for the victory, denying his father a chance at winning this event for the second straight year.
Four qualifying heat races were run for the 30 entries.Alex Ferree was the winner of Heat 1, after starting fourth.Fourth starting Steve Wilmoth took the win in the thrilling Heat 2.
This race featured a breathtaking three-wide battle for the lead, with Wilmoth nipping Butch McGill and Doug Horton.
Zack Dohm won Heat 3 from the pole, as Greg Baumberger took Heat 4 from second starting spot. Two B-Mains filled the starting field, won by Mike Benedum and Jeff Burdette.?The top three finishers from each heat race drew for the top 12 starting positions for the Earl Hill Championship.
Jason Witherite and defending UFo Series Champion Alex Ferree drew the front row starting positions.
At the drop of the green flag, Ferree powered into the race lead.Steve Wilmoth moved to second, leaving Witherite to battle for third.
Lapped traffic quickly came into play by lap 7, as Jared Hawkins moved to third and closed on the leaders.The first caution of the event came with 8 laps complete, giving the leaders a clear track for the double file restart.
Ferree led sixth starting Zack Dohm, Hawkins, Wilmoth, and Doug Horton the next time by, as the caution waved again for a tangle in turn four.
When green flag racing resumed, Ferree continued to show the way racing high, with Zach Dohm moving to his inside.
Their side-by-side battle lasted three laps, with Zach finally clearing Ferree as they hit lapped traffic on lap 13.
Zach moved away once in front, and quickly sliced into the number of cars on the lead lap.
Hawkins passed Ferree for second on lap 15, with Horton taking third from Ferree on lap 21.
Caution appeared again with 23 laps complete.Horton lost power on the restart and rolled to a stop, bringing out the yellow on lap 24 as defending race winner Tim Dohm took third.
When racing resumed it was still Zack Dohm leading Hawkins, and Tim Dohm. Second was hotly contested, with Tim taking second on lap 27 and setting his sights on his son.
Zack was running the low groove, with his father gaining ground running high. When the yellow waved on lap 34, a seven-lap chase to the finish was set with son leading father.
The first try at the restart saw the yellow wave again, with sixth running Butch McGill experiencing problems and falling out of the event.
Zack pulled away on the restart, leaving Dad in his wake.Though Dad closed in as the laps wound down, Zack Dohm took the win by two car lengths over Tim Dohm, who settled for second after starting 15th.
Hawkins was third over Wilmoth and Ferree. Keith Barbara was sixth, with Mike Benedum, Jason Witherite, Jared Miley, and John Mollick rounding out the top ten.Mollick leads the Series points by 12 over Ferree, with Barbara four points behind Ferree.
In a night that the race name memorialized his late grandfather, Greenwood, W.Va.’s Daniel Hill scored a popular win in the ‘Litman Excavating’ FASTRAK sanctioned Late Models feature.
Shane Hitt muscled past Hill on the start of the 20 lap main, but never shook the youngster, as the third generation racer clung stubbornly to Hitt’s decklid.
Superb three-wide racing was going on behind the lead duo, as positions 3 10 were being swapped every circuit.?Gary Knollinger Jr moved Joel Prosser out of the way to vault to third and challenge Hill, when Hill found an opening to secure the point on lap 10.
In a reversal of roles, Hill was now the hare to Hitt’s hounding.
Meanwhile, Dusty Hamrick was clawing his way towards the leaders after falling nearly outside the top 10 at the race’s start.
Hamrick bypassed Hitt on the 19th circuit but ran out of time and laps to mount a challenge on Hill’s ‘Roberto’s Restaurant/ Larry’s Western Shop sponsored No. 8’, as the Greenwood speedster scored a popular second win in a row on a night special to his family.
Hamrick impressed all with a well earned runner-up finish, with Knollinger, Shawn Jett and Kyle Thomas rounding out the very competitive top five.
Hitt and Hill were the heat race winners.
Clarington, Ohio’s Darren Glover took a long overdue trip to victory lane after scoring his first win of the season in the ‘Sistersville Center Genesis Health Care’ TSMA sanctioned modified feature.
Glover was challenged early by Donnie Nething, then turned back defending track champion Brian Probst, whose late race battle with Mark Dickson provided a bit of relief.
Glover’s ‘Wade’s Garage/ Mighty Oak Woodwork No. 8’ became the eighth different feature winner of the season and led Probst, Dickson, David Griffin and Thomas Sigler to the pay window.
Nething and Glover were heat race winners.
Sistersville’s Greg Conger scored his third feature win of the season in the Sigler Fabrication Hot Mod main event.?Conger beat fellow front row starter Luke Fairburn to the lead, then turned back class points leader Travis Dickson in the final 10 laps.
Conger put his ‘Vandruff Trucking Stoneking Graphics No. 14’ under the checkered flag ahead of Dickson, Glen Underwood, Rod Nething and Bob Long.
Fairburn was the heat race winner.
Warren, Ohio’s Kenny Meadows traded the lead with defending track champion Jacob Lash before wrestling away the lead for good on lap 12 to score his first ‘Bullring’ main of the season in the Wayside Furniture Mod Lite division.
Meadows ‘Job Rite Pool & Spa No. 10T’ led Lash, Sonny Conley, Mitch Herrick and James Watson. Meadows and Conley were the heat race winners.
Alma’s Danny Thomas cruised to an easy win in the ‘WXCR 92.3 Classic Rock’ Pure Stock feature race. Thomas was in control from the outset, and led start to finish in recording his fourth win of the season.
Randy Bohan and Jeff Fornash charged from the back row to finish second and third behind Thomas’s ‘Wable Ford-Mercury sponsored No. 7’. Brian Shaffer and Cody Henthorn rounded out the top five. Shaffer and Thomas were the heat winners.
The twin ‘Bridgeport Equipment and Tool’ MWRA Mini-Wedge mains were taken by Jordan Doty & Hunter Partridge.?Doty led Katlynn Frazier and Steven West to the finish line, while Partridge bested Tony Cochran and Anastasia Jones.
Midcap Land & Timber Late Models:
- Finish, Start, Car, Driver, Hometown?
1, 6, 25Z, Zack Dohm, Cross Lanes, $3,000?
2, 15, 17T, Tim Dohm, Cross Lanes, $1,400?
3, 7, 37, Jared Hawkins, Fairmont, $1,000?
4, 4, 13, Steve Wilmoth, Clarksburg, $750?
5, 2, 4, Alex Ferree, Saxonburg, PA, $600
- 6, 11, 17, Keith Barbara, South Park, PA, $550?
7, 17, 25, Mike Benedum, Salem, $500?
8, 1, 24M, Jason Witherite, Luthersburg, PA, $450?
9, 20, H1, Jared Miley, South Park, PA, $425?
10, 9, 4J, John Mollick, Toronto, OH, $400?
11, 8, 1MC, Butch McGill, West Union, $390?
12, 13, 55, Jason Edge, Cross Lanes, $375?
13, 5, C18, Chris Carpenter, Parkersburg, $360?
14, 3, 54, Bill Brown, Clarksburg, $350?
15, 10, 46, Doug Horton, Bruceton Mills, $340?
16, 21, 71M, Mike Basich, Adena, Ohio, $325
17, 16, 01, Josh Coffman, Grafton, $300?
18, 12, 32, Greg Baumberger, Jacobsburg, Ohio, $300?
19, 18, 44, Jeff Burdette, Parkersburg, $300?
20, 22, 7, Bobby Hill, Greenwood, $300?
21, 14, 18D, Danny Mitchell, Clarksburg, $300?
22, 19, 45, Nick Corbitt, Waverly, $300?
23, 23, K2, Kris Southern, Good Hope, $300
Heat 1 – (top 4 to Feature from each) 1-Alex Ferree. 2-John Mollick. 3-Chris Carpenter. 4-Jason Edge. 5-Kris Southern. 6-Mike Benedum. 7-Steve Weigle. 8-Tyler Carpenter.??Heat 2 – 1-Steve Wilmoth. 2-Butch McGill. 3-Doug Horton. 4-Danny Mitchell. 5-Nick Corbitt. 6-Mike Basich. 7-Mike Griffin.??Heat 3 – 1-Zack Dohm. 2-Jason Witherite. 3-Jared Hawkins. 4-Tim Dohm. 5-Jared Miley. 6-Jeff Burdette. 7-Bobby Hill. 8-Rick Conley, Jr.??Heat 4 – 1-Greg Baumberger. 2-Keith Barbara. 3-Bill Brown. 4-Josh Coffman. 5-K.C. Burdette. 6-Dannie Ruza. 7-Ron Clevenger.??B-Main 1 – (top 3 to Feature from each) 1-Mike Benedum. 2-Nick Corbitt. 3-Mike Basich. 4-Kris Southern. 5-Mike Griffin. Did not start, Steve Weigle, Tyler Carpenter.??B-Main 2 – 1-Jeff Burdette. 2-Jared Miley. 3-Bobby Hill. 4-K.C. Burdette. 5-Ron Clevenger. 6-Rick Conley, Jr. 7-Dannie Ruza.??Did not qualify – 2P, Ron Clevenger, Clarksburg. 9, Dannie Ruza, Moundsville. 11, Mike Griffin, Middlebourne. 18, Rick Conley, Jr., Wellsburg. 28, Tyler Carpenter, Parkersburg. KC44, K.C. Burdette, Parkersburg. 75, Steve Weigle, Middlebourne.
Litman Excavating FASTRAK Late Models: ?Bobby Hill, Dusty Hamrick, Gary Knollinger Jr, Shawn Jett, Kyle Thomas, Joel Prosser, Derek Doll, Donnie Dotson, Derek Rogers, Chad Green, Brian Rush, Shane Hitt, Bill Shaffer, Jim Simons, Bobby Lilly.
Sistersville Center Genesis Healthcare TSMA Modifieds: ?Darren Glover, Brian Probst, Mark Dickson, David Griffin, Thomas Sigler, Steve Higgins, Jim Tatgenhorst, Brian Blake, Donnie Nething, Tommy Hawk, Jacob Hawkins, Jason Brookover, Jimmy Fordyce, (dq) Shawn Davis.
Sigler Fabrication Hot Mods: ?Greg Conger, Travis Dickson, Glen Underwood, Rod Nething, Bob Long, Luke Fairburn, Kenny Isner, (dns) Travis Thomas.
Wayside Furniture Mod Lites: ?Kenny Meadows, Jacob Lash, Sonny Conley, Mitch Herrick, James Watson, Lynn Bartlett, Tony Tatgenhorst, Bobby Kimball, Steve Weekly, Zack Watson, Brandon Fluharty, Kyle Gist, Brett Irvin.
WXCR Classic Rock Pure Stocks: ?Danny Thomas, Randy Bohan, Jeff Fornash, Brian Shaffer, Cody Henthorn, Justin Hart, Mike Mason, David Kile, Al Wagner, L6, Dan Shuman, Levi Flesher, Brad Thomas, Kenny Lilly.
Custom Engraving Junkyard Warriors: Gary Frazier, Brandon Doll, Billy Bunnell, Eddie Starkey, Ivan Wamsley, Donnie Wamsley, Shayne Brown, Josh Golden, Jay Siglinger, Alex Mosser, Larry Cumberledge, Josh Fulks, Rodgers, Jonathan Sheets, Stout, David Bunnell, Mitch Eddy
Bridgeport Equipment & Tool Mini-Wedges: ?Feature 1: Jordan Doty, Katlynn Frazier, Steven West, Chris Thomas, Buckwheat Wright, Michael Shuman, Tiffany Jackson, Georgie Tennant, Shane Wright, Gunnar Travis, Shayla Griffey, Mackenzie Perrine.
Feature 2: Hunter Partidge, Tony Cochran, Anastasia Jones, Brandon Weigle, Breanna Wade, Scott Perrine, Alec Frazier, Stevi Maygar, Tim Sheppard, Logan Hitt, Kylee Cross.