By Michael Despain
Bardstown, KY-September 4- Labor Day weekend 2004 brought 89 race cars to Bluegrass Speedway and when the final checkered flags fell on the evening, Timmy Yeager of Harrodsburg, KY won the 25 lap Late Model and Avral Thompson of Loretto, KY had captured the 12 lap Street Stock feature. Ricky Fields of Raywick, KY ended a three year dry spell at Bluegrass by scoring the 20 lap Modified feature and Mike Basham of Henryville, IN took the 15 lap Sportsman feature win.
The Late Model feature had Yeager and Cody Mahoney on the front row as the field took the green flag, with Yeager jumping to the lead and Daniel taking second, while Tim Tungate, James Huff, and Mahoney battled three wide for third. The first caution waved on lap 2 as Huff and Mahoney would tangle entering turn three as the mixed it up with Tungate in the battle for third. The lap 2 restart would not complete a lap as Cliff Clark, Matthew Cottongim, and Huff would tangle in turn four to bring out the caution, with Clark's night finished with front end damage and Huff going pitside as well with right front suspension damage. The restart would see Yeager pull away from Daniel a bit, with Tungate in third, while Lee Devasier and Jeff Watson would go fourth and fifth. Mahoney would begin to charge back toward the front and had battled his way back to seventh before mechanical problems sent him pitside. As the lead pair of Yeager and Daniel entered slower traffic around lap 15, Daniel would begin to slowly reel in race leader Yeager. By lap 20, Daniel was only a car length off the back bumper of Yeager and would look beneath Yeager in turns three and four on laps 21 and 22, but could not muster enough muscle to make the pass and Yeager would take his first win at Bluegrass in 2004 in the Steve Estes owned Estes Automotive, PBM Performance Parts, Mulligan Plumbing, Suspension Springs Specialists, Curtis Signs, Dyers Rods, CP Pistons, Dart Machine #22 C.J. Rayburn Race Cars, Estes Race Engines powered entry. Daniel would go second, with Tungate, Devasier, and Watson completing the top five. Rounding out the top ten were Tommy Carlton, Sidney Sprague, Louis Brady, Jordan Bland, and Cottongim. Yeager would make it sweep for the evening as he was the SpeeDecals Vinyl Graphics fast qualifier among 18 entries and also won the AMS Race Engines dash. Tungate would win the heat. Daniel also locked the 2004 track championship for the Late Model division.
The Street Stock feature would see a first time winner as Avral Thompson led flag-to-flag in capturing his first ever feature win in the Street Stock main event aboard his Cozy Corner, Bluegrass Remodeling, Groucho Barx Internet, Teamsters Local 89, Nalley's Exhaust, Maywood Chevron sponsored #44 mount. Class points leader Johnny Cecil would take runner-up honors, with Willie Edelen, Lee Gray, and Shane Litton rounding out the top five. Completing the top ten were Jaime Downs, Terry Bartley, Brian McCubbin, Tim Leake, and Jeff Grigsby. Cecil would be fast qualifier among 23 entries and Thompson would also win the dash, with heat wins going to Michael Crammer and Scott Hunn.
The Modified feature would see several cautions in the first five laps before settling in to a fast pace that would Dion Benningfield lead until lap 16 when Ricky Fields worked past him and the 1995 Modified track champion would drive away to his first win since 2001 at Bluegrass in his Scamahorne Stables, J and S Race Engines, Ayers Auto Service, Missy's Out of the Way Café, Luckett's Car City #6 Bandit Race Cars, J and S Race Engines powered entry. Josh Lucas would nip Benningfield in a photo-finish for second, with Joey Jones and Jason Wheatley completing the top five. Joe Mattingly would head up the second five, trailed by Broc Burton, Joe Gray, who came the rear of the pack after a flat tire, Terry Linville, and Robbie Bennett. Twenty-seven entries would see heat race wins go to Wheatley, Gray, and Benningfield.
The Sportsman feature would be all Mike Basham as the second-generation driver led all 15 laps in taking his second win of the year at Bluegrass behind the wheel of the Lori Becht owned B.L. Lettering, OakTree Contracting, RapidFire Motorsports, S and S Auto Sales #65 mount. Kevin Wilson would take second, with Billy Benningfield finishing third. Bo Wilson and Pat Hagan completed the top five. Rounding out the top ten were Randy Riley, Mike Bailey, Daroyl Samples, Timmy Glazer, and Sam Huffer. Twenty-one entries saw heat wins scored by Benningfield and Basham.
SUMMARY-Bluegrass Speedway-Bardstown, KY-September 4, 2004
LATE MODELS (18 entries)
SpeeDecals Vinyl Graphic Top Qualifier- Timmy Yeager
AMS Race Engines Dash- Yeager, Cody Mahoney, Joey Daniel, James Huff, Lee Devasier, Dustin Neat (DNS)
Heat- Tim Tungate, Jeff Watson, Sidney Sprague, Louis Brady
Feature- Yeager, Daniel, Tungate, Devasier, Watson, Tommy Carlton, Sprague, Brady, Jordan Bland, Matthew Cottongim, Mahoney, Cliff Clark, James Huff (DNS- Neat, David Copley, Richard McDonald, Scotty Earl, Terry Wilson)
STREET STOCKS (23 entries)
Top Qualifer- Johnny Cecil
Dash- Avral Thompson, Cecil, Lee Gray, Willie Edelen, Shane Litton, Jaime Downs
1st Heat- Michael Crammer, Tim Leake, Terry Bartley, Jeff Grigsby
2nd Heat- Scott Hunn, Joe Blair, Robbie Settles, Doug Estep
Feature- Thompson, Cecil, Edelen, Gray, Litton, Downs, Bartley, Brian McCubbin, Leake, Grigsby, Settles, Estep, Jesse Key, Blair, Hunn, Crammer, Pat Goodman, Brian Chesser (DNS- Russ Neely, Chad Chaney, Roy Skaggs, Ray Roberts, Brian Workman)
MODIFIEDS (27 entries)
1st Heat- Jason Wheatley, Terry Linville, John Bryan, Wes Howard
2nd Heat- Joe Gray, Ricky Fields, Josh Lucas, Joe Mattingly
3rd Heat- Dion Benningfield, Joey Jones, Adam Gootee, Todd Mingey
Feature- Fields, Lucas, Benningfield, Jones, Wheatley, Joe Mattingly, Broc Burton, Gray, Linville, Robbie Bennett, Howard, Bryan, Brad Mattingly, Gary Isaacs, Randall Basham, Robbie Turner, Mark Hofferkamp, Gootee, Justin Ratliff, Mark Bell, Bill Stanton, Jr., Mingey, Butch Shay, Billy Jewell (DNS- Keith Denny, Kelly Riggs, Dan Beasley)
SPORTSMAN (21 entries)
1st Heat- Mike Basham, Randy Riley, Bo Wilson, Doug Wells
2nd Heat- Billy Benningfield, Kevin Wilson, Bobby Mattingly, Derek Bottoms
Feature- Basham, Kevin Wilson, Benningfield, Bo Wilson, Pat Hagan, Riley, Mike Bailey, Daroyl Samples, Timmy Glazer, Sam Huffer, Troy Crutcher, Jason Zehnder, Wells, Bottoms, Bobby Smith, Jenna Chesser, Mattingly, Jim Bower, Bryan Wilson, James Jones (DNS- Russell Martin)
Bardstown, KY-September 4- Labor Day weekend 2004 brought 89 race cars to Bluegrass Speedway and when the final checkered flags fell on the evening, Timmy Yeager of Harrodsburg, KY won the 25 lap Late Model and Avral Thompson of Loretto, KY had captured the 12 lap Street Stock feature. Ricky Fields of Raywick, KY ended a three year dry spell at Bluegrass by scoring the 20 lap Modified feature and Mike Basham of Henryville, IN took the 15 lap Sportsman feature win.
The Late Model feature had Yeager and Cody Mahoney on the front row as the field took the green flag, with Yeager jumping to the lead and Daniel taking second, while Tim Tungate, James Huff, and Mahoney battled three wide for third. The first caution waved on lap 2 as Huff and Mahoney would tangle entering turn three as the mixed it up with Tungate in the battle for third. The lap 2 restart would not complete a lap as Cliff Clark, Matthew Cottongim, and Huff would tangle in turn four to bring out the caution, with Clark's night finished with front end damage and Huff going pitside as well with right front suspension damage. The restart would see Yeager pull away from Daniel a bit, with Tungate in third, while Lee Devasier and Jeff Watson would go fourth and fifth. Mahoney would begin to charge back toward the front and had battled his way back to seventh before mechanical problems sent him pitside. As the lead pair of Yeager and Daniel entered slower traffic around lap 15, Daniel would begin to slowly reel in race leader Yeager. By lap 20, Daniel was only a car length off the back bumper of Yeager and would look beneath Yeager in turns three and four on laps 21 and 22, but could not muster enough muscle to make the pass and Yeager would take his first win at Bluegrass in 2004 in the Steve Estes owned Estes Automotive, PBM Performance Parts, Mulligan Plumbing, Suspension Springs Specialists, Curtis Signs, Dyers Rods, CP Pistons, Dart Machine #22 C.J. Rayburn Race Cars, Estes Race Engines powered entry. Daniel would go second, with Tungate, Devasier, and Watson completing the top five. Rounding out the top ten were Tommy Carlton, Sidney Sprague, Louis Brady, Jordan Bland, and Cottongim. Yeager would make it sweep for the evening as he was the SpeeDecals Vinyl Graphics fast qualifier among 18 entries and also won the AMS Race Engines dash. Tungate would win the heat. Daniel also locked the 2004 track championship for the Late Model division.
The Street Stock feature would see a first time winner as Avral Thompson led flag-to-flag in capturing his first ever feature win in the Street Stock main event aboard his Cozy Corner, Bluegrass Remodeling, Groucho Barx Internet, Teamsters Local 89, Nalley's Exhaust, Maywood Chevron sponsored #44 mount. Class points leader Johnny Cecil would take runner-up honors, with Willie Edelen, Lee Gray, and Shane Litton rounding out the top five. Completing the top ten were Jaime Downs, Terry Bartley, Brian McCubbin, Tim Leake, and Jeff Grigsby. Cecil would be fast qualifier among 23 entries and Thompson would also win the dash, with heat wins going to Michael Crammer and Scott Hunn.
The Modified feature would see several cautions in the first five laps before settling in to a fast pace that would Dion Benningfield lead until lap 16 when Ricky Fields worked past him and the 1995 Modified track champion would drive away to his first win since 2001 at Bluegrass in his Scamahorne Stables, J and S Race Engines, Ayers Auto Service, Missy's Out of the Way Café, Luckett's Car City #6 Bandit Race Cars, J and S Race Engines powered entry. Josh Lucas would nip Benningfield in a photo-finish for second, with Joey Jones and Jason Wheatley completing the top five. Joe Mattingly would head up the second five, trailed by Broc Burton, Joe Gray, who came the rear of the pack after a flat tire, Terry Linville, and Robbie Bennett. Twenty-seven entries would see heat race wins go to Wheatley, Gray, and Benningfield.
The Sportsman feature would be all Mike Basham as the second-generation driver led all 15 laps in taking his second win of the year at Bluegrass behind the wheel of the Lori Becht owned B.L. Lettering, OakTree Contracting, RapidFire Motorsports, S and S Auto Sales #65 mount. Kevin Wilson would take second, with Billy Benningfield finishing third. Bo Wilson and Pat Hagan completed the top five. Rounding out the top ten were Randy Riley, Mike Bailey, Daroyl Samples, Timmy Glazer, and Sam Huffer. Twenty-one entries saw heat wins scored by Benningfield and Basham.
SUMMARY-Bluegrass Speedway-Bardstown, KY-September 4, 2004
LATE MODELS (18 entries)
SpeeDecals Vinyl Graphic Top Qualifier- Timmy Yeager
AMS Race Engines Dash- Yeager, Cody Mahoney, Joey Daniel, James Huff, Lee Devasier, Dustin Neat (DNS)
Heat- Tim Tungate, Jeff Watson, Sidney Sprague, Louis Brady
Feature- Yeager, Daniel, Tungate, Devasier, Watson, Tommy Carlton, Sprague, Brady, Jordan Bland, Matthew Cottongim, Mahoney, Cliff Clark, James Huff (DNS- Neat, David Copley, Richard McDonald, Scotty Earl, Terry Wilson)
STREET STOCKS (23 entries)
Top Qualifer- Johnny Cecil
Dash- Avral Thompson, Cecil, Lee Gray, Willie Edelen, Shane Litton, Jaime Downs
1st Heat- Michael Crammer, Tim Leake, Terry Bartley, Jeff Grigsby
2nd Heat- Scott Hunn, Joe Blair, Robbie Settles, Doug Estep
Feature- Thompson, Cecil, Edelen, Gray, Litton, Downs, Bartley, Brian McCubbin, Leake, Grigsby, Settles, Estep, Jesse Key, Blair, Hunn, Crammer, Pat Goodman, Brian Chesser (DNS- Russ Neely, Chad Chaney, Roy Skaggs, Ray Roberts, Brian Workman)
MODIFIEDS (27 entries)
1st Heat- Jason Wheatley, Terry Linville, John Bryan, Wes Howard
2nd Heat- Joe Gray, Ricky Fields, Josh Lucas, Joe Mattingly
3rd Heat- Dion Benningfield, Joey Jones, Adam Gootee, Todd Mingey
Feature- Fields, Lucas, Benningfield, Jones, Wheatley, Joe Mattingly, Broc Burton, Gray, Linville, Robbie Bennett, Howard, Bryan, Brad Mattingly, Gary Isaacs, Randall Basham, Robbie Turner, Mark Hofferkamp, Gootee, Justin Ratliff, Mark Bell, Bill Stanton, Jr., Mingey, Butch Shay, Billy Jewell (DNS- Keith Denny, Kelly Riggs, Dan Beasley)
SPORTSMAN (21 entries)
1st Heat- Mike Basham, Randy Riley, Bo Wilson, Doug Wells
2nd Heat- Billy Benningfield, Kevin Wilson, Bobby Mattingly, Derek Bottoms
Feature- Basham, Kevin Wilson, Benningfield, Bo Wilson, Pat Hagan, Riley, Mike Bailey, Daroyl Samples, Timmy Glazer, Sam Huffer, Troy Crutcher, Jason Zehnder, Wells, Bottoms, Bobby Smith, Jenna Chesser, Mattingly, Jim Bower, Bryan Wilson, James Jones (DNS- Russell Martin)
