“Chris Arnold Wins Modified Mafia Feature”
“Kyle Hardy Wins Extra Distance Limited Late Model Feature”
By Brent Hottle
Winchester(VA)-The sun was shining and the temperature was hot for this Saturday night at the speedway! We would see the Modified Mafia Tour invade the speedway, along with an extra distance limited late model feature. The hobby stock and SCDRA divisions would also be on hand to do battle at “The Action Track”.
We would see time trials for both the modified and limited late model divisions. Both divisions would be split into two groups. After time trials, we would see the top three fastest cars from each group be automatically qualified for the feature and entered into a dash to the pole event. With the rest of the field being sorted into heat races. The hobby stock and SCDRA divisions would use a traditional pill draw to set their heat race lineups.
Once all of the qualifying races were completed and the feature lineups set, we would pause for our weekly Invocation and playing of our National Anthem. I want to give a big shout out to Rebecca Lockhart for joining me on the front straight away and giving an American Sign Language interpretation of the National Anthem. She did a wonderful job with this!
It was now time for the Modified Mafia Tour to pull onto the speedway for their forty lap main event. Chris Arnold and Ty Norder would charge side by side into turn one. Arnold would lead the field as they raced out of turn two and lead lap one over Norder and Michael Altobelli. Arnold would quickly begin to pull away from the field until a lap seven caution, when we would see three cars go for a spin in turn two. After the restart we would see Arnold once again start to pull away from Norder and the rest of the field. Third place Altobelli would now find himself defending challenges from Ray Kable for the position over the next few laps. Cody Williams would spin in turn four and bring out the second caution of the event. Arnold would once again start to pull away from Norder after the restart. Altobelli and Kable would also once again battle for the third position. Kable would move ahead of Altobelli and take over the third position on lap sixteen. The caution flag would once again fly on lap twenty-one for a spinning Stephen Pedulla in turn four. Arnold would lead the field once again after the restart, only this time he would have Kable glued to his rear bumper as he had moved ahead of Norder for the second position. The field would slow once again for a pair of cautions on lap twenty-five. The field would go back to green with no change in the top three for one lap before slowing once again for a four car spin in turn two. During the next restart we would see a three wide battle for the lead as Arnold, Kable, and Norder charged hard into turn one to complete lap twenty-seven. Arnold would hold onto the lead as Norder moved ahead of Kable by the end of the twenty-eighth lap. Kable would move around Norder for the second position by the end of the thirty-first lap. Kable would then begin to reel in Arnold as he closed the gap between them. Cody Williams would spin in turn four on the thirty-ninth lap. This would cause a one lap shootout to end the race. Chris Arnold
would go on to lead every lap and win the feature event. Ray Kable and Ty Norder would round out the top three.
Next up would be the limited late model division. This would be an extra distance race as they would compete for 35 laps. Kyle Hardy would quickly take the lead from his outside pole position and lead lap one over Russell Erwin and DJ Myers. Scott Corbin would spin in turn three and quickly slow the field with a caution. Hardy would lead the field after the restart as Erwin would fall back and allow Myers to take over the second position. James Lichliter would also quickly move around Erwin and take over the third position. Just as Hardy would pull out to a full straight away lead, the field would once again slow for a pair of cautions on lap nine. On lap ten we would see Lichliter challenge Myers for the second position. Myers would pull ahead and hold onto the position by the end of lap eleven. Hardy would quickly pull out to a full straight away lead by the end of lap eighteen. On lap nineteen Hardy would find himself pulling up to the back of the field and starting to maneuver around lap traffic. As the race progressed Hardy would find himself navigating heavy lap traffic. Kyle Hardy would lead flag to flag and take the feature win. DJ Myers and James Lcihliter would round out the top three.
We would see the hobby stock division pull onto the speedway next. Jason Wilkins would jump out to the early lead over Billy Sonner Jr and Justin Hottle. Wilkins would begin to pull away from the field as Sonner and Hottle raced nose to tail around the speedway. On lap twelve Hottle would begin to challenge Sonner for the second position. We would see the pair make contact as they raced hard for the position and complete the thirteenth lap side by side. Hottle would use the momentum on the top side to move ahead of Sonner and take over the second position. Jason Wilkins would go on to take the feature win as Justin Hottle and Billy Sonner Jr would round out the top three.
The final feature event of the night would be for the SCDRA division. Pole sitter Allen Griffith would lead lap one over Stephen Suite and Shawn Payne. Heartbreak would ensue on lap seven for Griffith, as we would see him begin to slow and lose the lead. He would pull into the infield and end his night. Zach Hurley would slow to a stop on the front straight away and bring out the caution on lap eight. Shawn Payne would lead Cody Bottorf and Stephen Suite after the restart. Heartbreak would next happen to Bottorf on lap ten as his car would slow while running second. Shawn Payne would go on to take the feature win. Stephen Suite and Lonnie Hobday would round out the top three.
We want to thank all of the fans and teams who attended this week's events. As a reminder there has been a schedule change for this coming week. The Saturday July 12 program has been cancelled due to the makeup running of the Jimmy Spence Memorial on Sunday July 13. We look forward to seeing everyone back this Sunday as the super late models return to honor a great racer, sponsor, and supporter of dirt track racing.
Modified Mafia Tour Results
Chris Arnold, Ray Kable, Ty Norder, Michael Altobelli, Glenn Elliott, Justin Cullum, Spike Moore, Dustin DeMattia, Joey Polevoy, Mike Corbin, Austin Self, Davin Kaiser, Owen Lacey, Samuel
Lamborgini, (DNF Cody Williams, Cody Oliver, TJ DeHaven, Ryan Ayers, Rick Hulson, Stephen Pedulla, Alyssa Cullum, Todd Nieheiser, Ty Rhoades, Dave Defibaugh)
Limited Late Model Results
Kyle Hardy, DJ Myers, James Lichliter, Russell Erwin, Brad Omps, Tyler Hershey, Scott Palmer, Gregory Carrico, Wesley Bonebrake, Lane Snook, Sam Archer, Mike Franklin, Michael Carter, Justin Dillman, Calvin Michael, Steven Powell, Jonathan Raley, (DNF Chuckie Johnson, Scott Corbin, Bubby Tharp Jr, Branson Woodward)(DNS Gerald Davis, Jordan Malknowski)
Hobby Stock Results
Jason Wilkins, Justin Hottle, Billy Sonner Jr, Sam Hoffman, Richie Gibson III, Larry Smith Jr
SCDRA Results
Shawn Payne, Stephen Suite, Lonnie Hobday, Brian Skelly, Brody Tolstyka, Jed Nessinger, Trevor Thorne, Zach Hurley (DNF Cody Bottorf, Allen Griffith, Larry Lamb, Tyler Kline)(DNS Jason Jarvis) |
