Clarksville, TN
Make-up racing starts out the night of speed, where Ronnie Richardson takes home the title of the "Gary Lee Memorial" Champion, and a $500 prize. A grueling 20 lap Mini Mod feature race, making up for last weeks rain delay also had Dale McCord placing second in the big, main event and he was followed by Floyd Clinard Jr. getting a piece of the $2000 total purse.
UMP Open Wheel Modifieds roared round the track next as poll-sitter Gerald Hodge (10) suffers an early mechanical failure that put him out of the race.
On the restart David Flowers in the #99 grabbed the lead but Clayton Miller in X15, took it from him in a burst on the back stretch. As the field moved into lapped traffic, Gil Smith (7X) kept his eye on Michael Lee (55) with every intent on putting Lee in fourth. Flowers took the checkered in second behind Miller but Smith didn't quite get past Lee from the final turn.
Michael Lee got to show.
Pro Street drivers made up their feature from last week next. Matt Potter
(64) gradually increased his lead from the poll where Larry Hamm (11L) hung on for the first couple laps. The further away Potter got from Hamm, the closer Jeff Joiner (24) closed on Hamm. By the fourth lap of the twelve-lap race, smoking and sputtering slower cars were being passed. Distances between the leaders increased and by the time the checkered fell no other drivers moved up to challenge the top three. With Potter taking first, Hamm would narrow the distance to the next point position with the second place win.
The UMP Late Model make-up feature endured a few restarts on the dry, slick track when they finally got the race going from a single file. Three laps into the feature, a tangle coming out of turn #3 had track officials pitted against a tough call as one of the cars involved spun into the infield. In the best interest of racing, the lap was restarted with all cars lined up to the last completed lap. There would be yet another caution before the half-way mark. Engines, tires, track surface and patience were heating up when Phil Walker (2) after leading the field for so long suffered mechanical failure. Tony Albright took over the lead with Gary Frost (F14) in hot pursuit. Running the clock down to the last few laps, Frost would pull alongside Albright on a couple occasions when a caution capped the excitement again. No one else would get a chance to challenge the leader again. After starting in the rear, Richard Frost's #15 held up a little better than Gary's car and snuck past him with only a lap to go and finished there but still losing the championship lead to Albright. Only two points separate these top contenders.
The heat took its toll on the Street Stock feature as well; they had to rerun their start too. But the 'Three Kings' of this stock car class pulled through the first few laps in good shape before the next caution ground the action to a halt. Dale Phillips (87) took the time to make a minor repair and had to start at the back of the pack. Dorris McCord (45) kept his lead from the poll position and Ronnie Hedgepath (H55) didn't let him get too far ahead. With no further delay, the race ran, checkered flag flew and McCord pulled into Victory Lane to a screaming crowd of fans and well-wishers.
Hedgepath stayed the course for runner-up and Phillips drove his way back up from the rear to finish in fifth.
Getting on to the regular show, Open wheel qualifying was next up. Only two drivers would get there machines to break the fifteen second mark, Clayton Miller (X15) and not so surprisingly, Lucas Lee (12). A similar situation during Late Model qualifying showed Richard L. Frost (15) topping the class with a 13.773 and once Phil Walker (2) cooled his machine down from the earlier feature, drove a 13.968 for the only other time less than fourteen seconds. Given the option of either qualifying or running heat races to line up the feature, the Pro Street drivers chose the clock. The Pro Street drivers were pretty evenly matched with Don Young (41) pushing the fastest with a 15.237 lap, Matt Potter (64) a 15.439 lap.
Not too stale from the make-up feature, the Street Stocks were back out on the track lickety-split for Heat races. And they were run with the same lightening-speed. In the first, Dorris McCord (45) starting in the second row took the checkered with Don Everett (9) in tow. The second heat saw Ronnie Hedgepath (H55) try to get a jump on the start, but Phillips (87) and Tim Doss (33) piled on for the first lap until sheer endurance opened up the line and Hedgepath had a clean win. In the final Street Stock heat, Sam Morgan (D4) finishing first, started in the second row but didn't let Danny Huff (73) keep the lead for too long as Huff later pulled off the track.
Three up, three down. Good heats without any yellow flags.
The Open Wheel Dash files out onto the track next. Miller (X15) and Lee
(12) in the first row, Miller held onto the lead for the duration. With the likes of Randle Sweeney (182) in the second row, Lee started losing ground.
The first couple laps go by with barely a car length between any of the drivers. Miller and Sweeney gain on the crowd and leave the rest fending for third. Gil Smith (7X) finally holds David Flowers (99) off for the show. The Open Wheel heat proceeded with barely more than a quarter lap separating the seven cars up to the half way mark. Mike Neighbors (711N) starting edging up to take the checkered and by the time it fell, put a quarter of a lap between himself and the runner-up, Gregg Brown in the #5.
Without skipping a beat the Late Model Dash got their eight laps in, but not without a cost. On the third lap in, a collision with the turn four wall slowed things down a bit. That let Albright (1) move up to the second spot to put pressure on Frost in #15. Just after the crossed flags, Albright moved past Frost to finish in his customary first place. Late Model heat #1 would never get a lap in. The rest of the night would fall victim to rain.
The night's ticket stubs are good for rain checks on Saturday, July 17th.
Make-up racing starts out the night of speed, where Ronnie Richardson takes home the title of the "Gary Lee Memorial" Champion, and a $500 prize. A grueling 20 lap Mini Mod feature race, making up for last weeks rain delay also had Dale McCord placing second in the big, main event and he was followed by Floyd Clinard Jr. getting a piece of the $2000 total purse.
UMP Open Wheel Modifieds roared round the track next as poll-sitter Gerald Hodge (10) suffers an early mechanical failure that put him out of the race.
On the restart David Flowers in the #99 grabbed the lead but Clayton Miller in X15, took it from him in a burst on the back stretch. As the field moved into lapped traffic, Gil Smith (7X) kept his eye on Michael Lee (55) with every intent on putting Lee in fourth. Flowers took the checkered in second behind Miller but Smith didn't quite get past Lee from the final turn.
Michael Lee got to show.
Pro Street drivers made up their feature from last week next. Matt Potter
(64) gradually increased his lead from the poll where Larry Hamm (11L) hung on for the first couple laps. The further away Potter got from Hamm, the closer Jeff Joiner (24) closed on Hamm. By the fourth lap of the twelve-lap race, smoking and sputtering slower cars were being passed. Distances between the leaders increased and by the time the checkered fell no other drivers moved up to challenge the top three. With Potter taking first, Hamm would narrow the distance to the next point position with the second place win.
The UMP Late Model make-up feature endured a few restarts on the dry, slick track when they finally got the race going from a single file. Three laps into the feature, a tangle coming out of turn #3 had track officials pitted against a tough call as one of the cars involved spun into the infield. In the best interest of racing, the lap was restarted with all cars lined up to the last completed lap. There would be yet another caution before the half-way mark. Engines, tires, track surface and patience were heating up when Phil Walker (2) after leading the field for so long suffered mechanical failure. Tony Albright took over the lead with Gary Frost (F14) in hot pursuit. Running the clock down to the last few laps, Frost would pull alongside Albright on a couple occasions when a caution capped the excitement again. No one else would get a chance to challenge the leader again. After starting in the rear, Richard Frost's #15 held up a little better than Gary's car and snuck past him with only a lap to go and finished there but still losing the championship lead to Albright. Only two points separate these top contenders.
The heat took its toll on the Street Stock feature as well; they had to rerun their start too. But the 'Three Kings' of this stock car class pulled through the first few laps in good shape before the next caution ground the action to a halt. Dale Phillips (87) took the time to make a minor repair and had to start at the back of the pack. Dorris McCord (45) kept his lead from the poll position and Ronnie Hedgepath (H55) didn't let him get too far ahead. With no further delay, the race ran, checkered flag flew and McCord pulled into Victory Lane to a screaming crowd of fans and well-wishers.
Hedgepath stayed the course for runner-up and Phillips drove his way back up from the rear to finish in fifth.
Getting on to the regular show, Open wheel qualifying was next up. Only two drivers would get there machines to break the fifteen second mark, Clayton Miller (X15) and not so surprisingly, Lucas Lee (12). A similar situation during Late Model qualifying showed Richard L. Frost (15) topping the class with a 13.773 and once Phil Walker (2) cooled his machine down from the earlier feature, drove a 13.968 for the only other time less than fourteen seconds. Given the option of either qualifying or running heat races to line up the feature, the Pro Street drivers chose the clock. The Pro Street drivers were pretty evenly matched with Don Young (41) pushing the fastest with a 15.237 lap, Matt Potter (64) a 15.439 lap.
Not too stale from the make-up feature, the Street Stocks were back out on the track lickety-split for Heat races. And they were run with the same lightening-speed. In the first, Dorris McCord (45) starting in the second row took the checkered with Don Everett (9) in tow. The second heat saw Ronnie Hedgepath (H55) try to get a jump on the start, but Phillips (87) and Tim Doss (33) piled on for the first lap until sheer endurance opened up the line and Hedgepath had a clean win. In the final Street Stock heat, Sam Morgan (D4) finishing first, started in the second row but didn't let Danny Huff (73) keep the lead for too long as Huff later pulled off the track.
Three up, three down. Good heats without any yellow flags.
The Open Wheel Dash files out onto the track next. Miller (X15) and Lee
(12) in the first row, Miller held onto the lead for the duration. With the likes of Randle Sweeney (182) in the second row, Lee started losing ground.
The first couple laps go by with barely a car length between any of the drivers. Miller and Sweeney gain on the crowd and leave the rest fending for third. Gil Smith (7X) finally holds David Flowers (99) off for the show. The Open Wheel heat proceeded with barely more than a quarter lap separating the seven cars up to the half way mark. Mike Neighbors (711N) starting edging up to take the checkered and by the time it fell, put a quarter of a lap between himself and the runner-up, Gregg Brown in the #5.
Without skipping a beat the Late Model Dash got their eight laps in, but not without a cost. On the third lap in, a collision with the turn four wall slowed things down a bit. That let Albright (1) move up to the second spot to put pressure on Frost in #15. Just after the crossed flags, Albright moved past Frost to finish in his customary first place. Late Model heat #1 would never get a lap in. The rest of the night would fall victim to rain.
The night's ticket stubs are good for rain checks on Saturday, July 17th.
