Post by cassy14 on Jun 21, 2008 13:53:35 GMT -6
I-37 Raceway, 6/20/08
By J M Hallas
Pleasanton, Tx.,(June 20th, 2008) Friday night’s regular race night was capped off with Powder Puff races for the ladies at the end of the night. Hot, dry, windy weather made for tricky track conditions, with the surface smooth, but dry slick early during the heat races.
During a post-race drivers meeting, track official showed their appreciation for the support with prizes and gift certificates given away to the drivers. An added show was also announced for the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Southern Sportmods and Pure Stocks, with each class paying $1000 to win on Saturday July 5th. More details will be announced in the coming days.
Three Wide Pass for the Lead Gives Dinsmore Another Win
Despite a short field of cars, this weeks IMCA Modified main put on a show that had the crowd on their feet as three past winners fought it out for the win. Coming down to five laps to go Bill Pittaway and Brian Rye went wheel to wheel for the lead, but it was Greg Dinsmore making a bold three wide charge on the outside grabbing the point and inching away for the victory.
As green waved for the 20-lap main event Randy Yount and Pittaway stayed side by side through turns 1-2 with Yount leading the first circuit by a bumper. The duo stayed side by side until Pittaway secured the spot on lap 2, with Rye moving into second. Yount got loose on lap 2 with Dinsmore and Chip Godfredson getting by for third and fourth. Yount got back past Godfredson on lap 4, while Chuck Perry looked inside.
Rye caught Pittaway for the lead on lap 5, while Perry and Godfredson ran wheel to wheel for fourth. Dinsmore ran down the lead duet and tried the high side on Rye, but slid too high and lost third to Yount. Rye began a serious challenge on Pittaway starting on lap 8, as Dinsmore retook third from Yount. Coming to halfway it was Pittaway, Rye, Dinsmore, with Yount and Perry side by side for fourth. Perry picked up the spot on lap 10.
At the head of the class, Pittaway, Rye and Dinsmore were now running nose to tail for the top spot. Rye tried the high side on lap 13 and got along side Pittaway, while Dinsmore waited for an opening. As Pittaway and Rye ran continued to run side by side, Dinsmore decided it was time to make his own opening. Coming out of turn 4, Dinsmore moved up another lane and as they came to the flagstand it was three abreast, as the crowd jumped to their feet.
Dinsmore beat Rye and Pittaway into turn 1 to grab the point, while Rye finally wrestled second from Pittaway. In the final laps, last weeks winner Rye, tried to hang on to Dinsmore, but Dinsmore was able to inch away lap by lap. At the checkers it was Dinsmore in the Team Brain Freeze, Azul Margarita’s, Sundowner RV Repair, Southern Spirits, Big Worm Motorsports, Tailor Made Counter Tops, racetechinfo.com, Jeff’s Performance powered, Harris Chassis taking the win.
“When I saw those two battling, I decided to go in on the top,” commented Dinsmore. “They were battling with each other and I figured they’d be too busy to pay attention to me on the outside. So I thought if the car was going to hold, let’s just go. I was watching the wall, the car in the middle and hoping they’d be focusing on each other.”
“Once I got by I didn’t know I had some breathing room. I thought once they got sorted out they would go with me. (Brain) Rye has been coming on real strong with his 4-bar car lately and (Bill)Pittaway is always good competition. Those two have been getting after it. I really didn’t think I’d get away from them.”
“We just threw something at it we probably shouldn’t have,” added Dinsmore who had handling trouble in the heat race. “There’s something still wrong with it after going over the wall last week. We still don’t know what it is. Something must be bent. We had to Z-link the rear end instead of running on the 4-link which I don’t like to do. The car still wasn’t quite right. It doesn’t have a lot of bite. It tried real hard though. The car was fast at times, but other times it wasn’t. When I was behind them on the bottom, the car wouldn’t get up on the bar. It’s just not wanting to work right.”
IMCA Modifieds
1. 8g Greg Dinsmore
2. 20 Brian Rye
3. 137 Bill Pittaway4. 13 Chuck Perry
5. 66 Randy Yount
6. 11k Chip Godfredson
7. 125 Jason Borlace
IMCA Modified heat winner, 20 Brian Rye
J. Torres Adds to Sportmod Win Total
IMCA SSM points chaser, Johnny Torres added to his total taking another win. J. Torres patiently worked his way up getting by brother Allen, then taking the lead away from last weeks winner, Steve Grantz at halfway. The final half saw J. Torres increase his margin on the field and grab another I-37 Raceway trophy.
Pat Lyon and Grantz paced the 15-car, 20-lap IMCA SSM main to green with Grantz beating Lyon out of turn 1 for the lead, and A. Torres taking second. J. Torres then got third from Lyon on lap 1, followed by Chris McLendon to fourth on lap 2. Chris Rye then put Lyon in his wake taking fifth, then fourth from McLendon. Chip Godfredson, debuting a new car, moved up to fifth getting by James Lee and McLendon on lap 4.
On lap 5 the top three were now nose to tail as J. Torres looked inside brother Allen for second. J. Torres got the spot on lap 6 and was quickly on Grantz for the lead. J. Torres got inside Grantz in turn 1, and they ran side by side down the back stretch into turns 3-4. J. Torres came out with the top on lap 9 and at the crossed flags it was J. Torres, Grantz, A. Torres, Rye and Godfredson in the top five.
A. Torres then put the heat on Grantz for second, while Rye closed in. As A. Torres and Grantz continued to battle, Rye snuck past A. Torres for third on lap 12. Rye then got past Grantz for second on lap 13, while J. Torres had built a half straightaway lead. As the leader began to catch traffic, A. Torres was now wheel to wheel with Grantz for third.
While Grantz and A. Torres slugged it out, Godfredson was able to reel them in. Up front, J. Torres had cleared traffic, maintaining his advantage over Rye, who was now into traffic. A. Torres kept the pressure on Grantz the final few laps, with Godfredson in tow. As the checkers waved it was J. Torres in the 24/7 Towing, Pro Image Graphics, Cen-tex Motorsports powered, Moser Chassis taking the victory.
“We’ve been changing the car up and it’s working pretty good,” replied J. Torres. “It was fast in the beginning, but we started having carburetor problems with five to go. That kind of scared me, but we pulled it out. I want to thank Greg and Candace(Dinsmore) for helping me out at the track. Dan Finn from Performance Specialists helps us out a bunch too.”
“Lots of lapped traffic out there tonight, I think that helped me a little bit. I was just trying to go as fast as I could without tearing up the car. Saving the car is number 1, going fast is number 2.”
“We’re going to be headed to Corpus(South Texas Speedway) for points instead of Edna(Texana Raceway Park) for the bonus money. Owen(Pittman) runs a pretty good show. I love racing their. So we’re going to stick with Corpus all year.”
IMCA Southern Sportmods
1. 66 Johnny Torres
2. 4$ Chris Rye
3. 21g Steve Grantz
4. 94 Allen Torres
5. 11b Chip Godfredson
6. 11 Chris McLendon
7. 1c Keith Cockrell
8. 60 Pat Lyon
9. 56 James Lee
10. 11F Mike Finkel
11. 22 Rene Mares
12. 89 Doug Livingston
13. 39 Miguel Mendoza
14. 88 Mark McGahey
137 Bill Pittaway---DNS(broke in heat)
IMCA SSM heat winners, 4$ Chris Rye, 94 Allen Torres, 21g Steve Grantz
Super Stock
In the Super Stock feature, Richard Bartosh got the lead on lap 1 with Moe VanKirk and Jed Rollins moving to second and third. On lap 1, VanKirk got inside Bartosh, with Rollins on his bumper. The two made slight contact getting VanKirk loose and giving Rollins the lead on lap 2. VanKirk recovered and got back by Bartosh for second as Howie Marcx took over third.
VanKirk began reeling in Rollins but spun on lap 5 to bring out a caution. On the restart, VanKirk quickly got by Chico Cox and Gary Hunter to get back to fourth. Bartosh got sideways on lap 6 giving VanKirk and Hunter the opening to get third and fourth. VanKirk then ran down Marcx for second and in the final two laps swapped the position several times. Out front it was Rollins with a comfortable lead grabbing his first I-37 Raceway win in only his second attempt.
Super Stock
1. 57 Jed Rollins
2. 13 Howie Marcx
3. 58 Moe VanKirk
4. 14 Gary Hunter
5. 7 Richard Bartosh
6. 21 Chico Cox
Super Stock heat winner, 58 Moe VanKirk
Street Stock
A J Wernette got the early lead in the 15-lap Street Stock feature with Tommy Casey moving to second as Wade Jones and Craig Crawley ran side by side for fourth. Crawley got inside Casey and Shawn Moore to grab second on lap 2. Crawley continued his charge to the front getting past Wernette on lap 3 followed by Casey to second. Wernette would then spin to bring out a yellow.
Once back to green the top three began pulling away while Donald Lewis and Jones got by Alton Fambro for fourth and fifth. Casey would then spin himself from second handing the spot back to Moore who was being run down by Lewis. Jones brought out yellow on lap 9 with a solo spin, erasing Crawley’s big lead. On the restart Casey and Wernette made contact blowing out the tire of Wernette on the back stretch.
After a quick yellow for debris, Lewis was trying the high side of Moore for second, when Jones and Fambro got together. Back to racing, Crawley was again putting distance on the field, while Moore, Lewis and Jones played bumper tag for second. Jones finally moved to the high groove getting by both Lewis and Moore for second, but Crawley had a full straightaway lead. As Crawley was cruising to the victory, Lewis and Moore continued to fight for third, with Moore edging out Lewis by a bumper.
Street Stock
1. 6 Craig Crawley
2. 41 Wade Jones
3. 18 Shawn Moore
4. 51 Donald Lewis
5. 08 Alton Fambro
6. 37 A J Wernette
7. 42 Tommy Casey
Street Stock heat winner, 08 Alton Fambro
Pure Stock
The 20-lap Pure Stock saw William Cavender, Sonny Jones and Joe Horne try to go three wide for lead on lap 1. Cavender and Jones made contact sending Cavender into the infield and Jones to the pits with damage. Horne led the field back to green, but Janel Hilla jumped the start, overtook Horne, then spun in front of the pack scattering the field. Officials threw the yellow for a bad start putting Horne back out front.
On the restart, Justin Henley wasted little time getting past Horne for the lead on lap 2. Jo Jo Horne brought a yellow on lap 4 when he spun in turn 2. Once back to green, Henley quickly pulled ahead, while Sean Terry and Hilla got by Horne for second and third. Danny Kasperwicz and Adam Stehle took fourth and fifth from Horne on lap 5. While Hilla battled with S. Terry for second, Kasperwicz closed in with Hilla and Kasperwicz getting around S. Terry.
Hilla and Kasperwicz then ran side by side with Kasperwicz getting the spot on lap 9. By lap 10 Henley had built a full straightaway lead over the Kasperwicz/Hilla battle. In the final laps Kasperwicz and Hilla split a lapped car three wide as they continued to scrap for second. At the checkers it was Henley putting another notch in his belt and trophy in his case as he took the win by 3/4 of a lap.
Pure Stock
1. 96 Justin Henley
2. 74k Danny Kasperwicz
3. 7x Janel Hilla
4. 23 Sean Terry
5. 93A Adam Stehle
6. 25 Jo Jo Horne7. 23T Brian Terry sr.
8. 8 Dennis Jansky
9. 15 William Cavender
10. 67 Joe Horne
11. 57x Jason Kelly
12. 55 Sonny Jones
36z Cecil Zimmerman---DNS(broke in heat)
98 Charley Henley---DNS(broke in heat)
Pure Stock heat winners, 96 Justin Henley, 93A Adam Stehle, 55 Sonny Jones
Powder Puff
Candace Dinsmore showed her racing prowess as she completed the night’s feature sweep taking the win in the combined Modified/Sportmod Powder Puff. As husband Greg nervously looked on, Dinsmore got out front on lap 1 and lead every lap. Jessica Lambert and Heather Finkel put on a good side by side run until yellow was thrown(called for by her husband) to try to get Finkel to shift out of low gear.
Modified/SportModified
!. Candace Dinsmore
2. Jessica Lambert
3. Heather Finkel
Street Stock/Pure Stock
1. 93A Jill Stehle
2. 08 Shanna Sowder
3. 13 Kathy Huschke
By J M Hallas
Pleasanton, Tx.,(June 20th, 2008) Friday night’s regular race night was capped off with Powder Puff races for the ladies at the end of the night. Hot, dry, windy weather made for tricky track conditions, with the surface smooth, but dry slick early during the heat races.
During a post-race drivers meeting, track official showed their appreciation for the support with prizes and gift certificates given away to the drivers. An added show was also announced for the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Southern Sportmods and Pure Stocks, with each class paying $1000 to win on Saturday July 5th. More details will be announced in the coming days.
Three Wide Pass for the Lead Gives Dinsmore Another Win
Despite a short field of cars, this weeks IMCA Modified main put on a show that had the crowd on their feet as three past winners fought it out for the win. Coming down to five laps to go Bill Pittaway and Brian Rye went wheel to wheel for the lead, but it was Greg Dinsmore making a bold three wide charge on the outside grabbing the point and inching away for the victory.
As green waved for the 20-lap main event Randy Yount and Pittaway stayed side by side through turns 1-2 with Yount leading the first circuit by a bumper. The duo stayed side by side until Pittaway secured the spot on lap 2, with Rye moving into second. Yount got loose on lap 2 with Dinsmore and Chip Godfredson getting by for third and fourth. Yount got back past Godfredson on lap 4, while Chuck Perry looked inside.
Rye caught Pittaway for the lead on lap 5, while Perry and Godfredson ran wheel to wheel for fourth. Dinsmore ran down the lead duet and tried the high side on Rye, but slid too high and lost third to Yount. Rye began a serious challenge on Pittaway starting on lap 8, as Dinsmore retook third from Yount. Coming to halfway it was Pittaway, Rye, Dinsmore, with Yount and Perry side by side for fourth. Perry picked up the spot on lap 10.
At the head of the class, Pittaway, Rye and Dinsmore were now running nose to tail for the top spot. Rye tried the high side on lap 13 and got along side Pittaway, while Dinsmore waited for an opening. As Pittaway and Rye ran continued to run side by side, Dinsmore decided it was time to make his own opening. Coming out of turn 4, Dinsmore moved up another lane and as they came to the flagstand it was three abreast, as the crowd jumped to their feet.
Dinsmore beat Rye and Pittaway into turn 1 to grab the point, while Rye finally wrestled second from Pittaway. In the final laps, last weeks winner Rye, tried to hang on to Dinsmore, but Dinsmore was able to inch away lap by lap. At the checkers it was Dinsmore in the Team Brain Freeze, Azul Margarita’s, Sundowner RV Repair, Southern Spirits, Big Worm Motorsports, Tailor Made Counter Tops, racetechinfo.com, Jeff’s Performance powered, Harris Chassis taking the win.
“When I saw those two battling, I decided to go in on the top,” commented Dinsmore. “They were battling with each other and I figured they’d be too busy to pay attention to me on the outside. So I thought if the car was going to hold, let’s just go. I was watching the wall, the car in the middle and hoping they’d be focusing on each other.”
“Once I got by I didn’t know I had some breathing room. I thought once they got sorted out they would go with me. (Brain) Rye has been coming on real strong with his 4-bar car lately and (Bill)Pittaway is always good competition. Those two have been getting after it. I really didn’t think I’d get away from them.”
“We just threw something at it we probably shouldn’t have,” added Dinsmore who had handling trouble in the heat race. “There’s something still wrong with it after going over the wall last week. We still don’t know what it is. Something must be bent. We had to Z-link the rear end instead of running on the 4-link which I don’t like to do. The car still wasn’t quite right. It doesn’t have a lot of bite. It tried real hard though. The car was fast at times, but other times it wasn’t. When I was behind them on the bottom, the car wouldn’t get up on the bar. It’s just not wanting to work right.”
IMCA Modifieds
1. 8g Greg Dinsmore
2. 20 Brian Rye
3. 137 Bill Pittaway4. 13 Chuck Perry
5. 66 Randy Yount
6. 11k Chip Godfredson
7. 125 Jason Borlace
IMCA Modified heat winner, 20 Brian Rye
J. Torres Adds to Sportmod Win Total
IMCA SSM points chaser, Johnny Torres added to his total taking another win. J. Torres patiently worked his way up getting by brother Allen, then taking the lead away from last weeks winner, Steve Grantz at halfway. The final half saw J. Torres increase his margin on the field and grab another I-37 Raceway trophy.
Pat Lyon and Grantz paced the 15-car, 20-lap IMCA SSM main to green with Grantz beating Lyon out of turn 1 for the lead, and A. Torres taking second. J. Torres then got third from Lyon on lap 1, followed by Chris McLendon to fourth on lap 2. Chris Rye then put Lyon in his wake taking fifth, then fourth from McLendon. Chip Godfredson, debuting a new car, moved up to fifth getting by James Lee and McLendon on lap 4.
On lap 5 the top three were now nose to tail as J. Torres looked inside brother Allen for second. J. Torres got the spot on lap 6 and was quickly on Grantz for the lead. J. Torres got inside Grantz in turn 1, and they ran side by side down the back stretch into turns 3-4. J. Torres came out with the top on lap 9 and at the crossed flags it was J. Torres, Grantz, A. Torres, Rye and Godfredson in the top five.
A. Torres then put the heat on Grantz for second, while Rye closed in. As A. Torres and Grantz continued to battle, Rye snuck past A. Torres for third on lap 12. Rye then got past Grantz for second on lap 13, while J. Torres had built a half straightaway lead. As the leader began to catch traffic, A. Torres was now wheel to wheel with Grantz for third.
While Grantz and A. Torres slugged it out, Godfredson was able to reel them in. Up front, J. Torres had cleared traffic, maintaining his advantage over Rye, who was now into traffic. A. Torres kept the pressure on Grantz the final few laps, with Godfredson in tow. As the checkers waved it was J. Torres in the 24/7 Towing, Pro Image Graphics, Cen-tex Motorsports powered, Moser Chassis taking the victory.
“We’ve been changing the car up and it’s working pretty good,” replied J. Torres. “It was fast in the beginning, but we started having carburetor problems with five to go. That kind of scared me, but we pulled it out. I want to thank Greg and Candace(Dinsmore) for helping me out at the track. Dan Finn from Performance Specialists helps us out a bunch too.”
“Lots of lapped traffic out there tonight, I think that helped me a little bit. I was just trying to go as fast as I could without tearing up the car. Saving the car is number 1, going fast is number 2.”
“We’re going to be headed to Corpus(South Texas Speedway) for points instead of Edna(Texana Raceway Park) for the bonus money. Owen(Pittman) runs a pretty good show. I love racing their. So we’re going to stick with Corpus all year.”
IMCA Southern Sportmods
1. 66 Johnny Torres
2. 4$ Chris Rye
3. 21g Steve Grantz
4. 94 Allen Torres
5. 11b Chip Godfredson
6. 11 Chris McLendon
7. 1c Keith Cockrell
8. 60 Pat Lyon
9. 56 James Lee
10. 11F Mike Finkel
11. 22 Rene Mares
12. 89 Doug Livingston
13. 39 Miguel Mendoza
14. 88 Mark McGahey
137 Bill Pittaway---DNS(broke in heat)
IMCA SSM heat winners, 4$ Chris Rye, 94 Allen Torres, 21g Steve Grantz
Super Stock
In the Super Stock feature, Richard Bartosh got the lead on lap 1 with Moe VanKirk and Jed Rollins moving to second and third. On lap 1, VanKirk got inside Bartosh, with Rollins on his bumper. The two made slight contact getting VanKirk loose and giving Rollins the lead on lap 2. VanKirk recovered and got back by Bartosh for second as Howie Marcx took over third.
VanKirk began reeling in Rollins but spun on lap 5 to bring out a caution. On the restart, VanKirk quickly got by Chico Cox and Gary Hunter to get back to fourth. Bartosh got sideways on lap 6 giving VanKirk and Hunter the opening to get third and fourth. VanKirk then ran down Marcx for second and in the final two laps swapped the position several times. Out front it was Rollins with a comfortable lead grabbing his first I-37 Raceway win in only his second attempt.
Super Stock
1. 57 Jed Rollins
2. 13 Howie Marcx
3. 58 Moe VanKirk
4. 14 Gary Hunter
5. 7 Richard Bartosh
6. 21 Chico Cox
Super Stock heat winner, 58 Moe VanKirk
Street Stock
A J Wernette got the early lead in the 15-lap Street Stock feature with Tommy Casey moving to second as Wade Jones and Craig Crawley ran side by side for fourth. Crawley got inside Casey and Shawn Moore to grab second on lap 2. Crawley continued his charge to the front getting past Wernette on lap 3 followed by Casey to second. Wernette would then spin to bring out a yellow.
Once back to green the top three began pulling away while Donald Lewis and Jones got by Alton Fambro for fourth and fifth. Casey would then spin himself from second handing the spot back to Moore who was being run down by Lewis. Jones brought out yellow on lap 9 with a solo spin, erasing Crawley’s big lead. On the restart Casey and Wernette made contact blowing out the tire of Wernette on the back stretch.
After a quick yellow for debris, Lewis was trying the high side of Moore for second, when Jones and Fambro got together. Back to racing, Crawley was again putting distance on the field, while Moore, Lewis and Jones played bumper tag for second. Jones finally moved to the high groove getting by both Lewis and Moore for second, but Crawley had a full straightaway lead. As Crawley was cruising to the victory, Lewis and Moore continued to fight for third, with Moore edging out Lewis by a bumper.
Street Stock
1. 6 Craig Crawley
2. 41 Wade Jones
3. 18 Shawn Moore
4. 51 Donald Lewis
5. 08 Alton Fambro
6. 37 A J Wernette
7. 42 Tommy Casey
Street Stock heat winner, 08 Alton Fambro
Pure Stock
The 20-lap Pure Stock saw William Cavender, Sonny Jones and Joe Horne try to go three wide for lead on lap 1. Cavender and Jones made contact sending Cavender into the infield and Jones to the pits with damage. Horne led the field back to green, but Janel Hilla jumped the start, overtook Horne, then spun in front of the pack scattering the field. Officials threw the yellow for a bad start putting Horne back out front.
On the restart, Justin Henley wasted little time getting past Horne for the lead on lap 2. Jo Jo Horne brought a yellow on lap 4 when he spun in turn 2. Once back to green, Henley quickly pulled ahead, while Sean Terry and Hilla got by Horne for second and third. Danny Kasperwicz and Adam Stehle took fourth and fifth from Horne on lap 5. While Hilla battled with S. Terry for second, Kasperwicz closed in with Hilla and Kasperwicz getting around S. Terry.
Hilla and Kasperwicz then ran side by side with Kasperwicz getting the spot on lap 9. By lap 10 Henley had built a full straightaway lead over the Kasperwicz/Hilla battle. In the final laps Kasperwicz and Hilla split a lapped car three wide as they continued to scrap for second. At the checkers it was Henley putting another notch in his belt and trophy in his case as he took the win by 3/4 of a lap.
Pure Stock
1. 96 Justin Henley
2. 74k Danny Kasperwicz
3. 7x Janel Hilla
4. 23 Sean Terry
5. 93A Adam Stehle
6. 25 Jo Jo Horne7. 23T Brian Terry sr.
8. 8 Dennis Jansky
9. 15 William Cavender
10. 67 Joe Horne
11. 57x Jason Kelly
12. 55 Sonny Jones
36z Cecil Zimmerman---DNS(broke in heat)
98 Charley Henley---DNS(broke in heat)
Pure Stock heat winners, 96 Justin Henley, 93A Adam Stehle, 55 Sonny Jones
Powder Puff
Candace Dinsmore showed her racing prowess as she completed the night’s feature sweep taking the win in the combined Modified/Sportmod Powder Puff. As husband Greg nervously looked on, Dinsmore got out front on lap 1 and lead every lap. Jessica Lambert and Heather Finkel put on a good side by side run until yellow was thrown(called for by her husband) to try to get Finkel to shift out of low gear.
Modified/SportModified
!. Candace Dinsmore
2. Jessica Lambert
3. Heather Finkel
Street Stock/Pure Stock
1. 93A Jill Stehle
2. 08 Shanna Sowder
3. 13 Kathy Huschke