K-C Raceway
May 21, 2011
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Conley wheels into AMRA Late Model victory lane at K-C Raceway



CHILLICOTHE, OHIO-Defending Champions Delmas Conley of Wheelersburg, OH (Late Models) and Jamie Adams of Laurelville, OH (Hobby Stocks) joined Advanced Services AMRA Modified invader Chris Stotts in K-C Raceway’s victory lane during Hall of Fame Night at the historic Ohio oval Saturday night. Great racing and some unfortunate high-speed accidents highlighted the evening.

Prior to the racing festivities K-C Raceway Hall of Fame inductees were honored. The 2011 class includes the versatile Bobby Morgan, sprint ace George Harbour, the multitalented father-son team of Bob Crace, Sr. and Bob Crace, Jr.; Stock Car ace George Branscom, notable car owner Bob Lemaster, and extraordinary photographer Stan Jeffrey.

Sometimes you just have to be good or have a little luck. Veteran National LM Hall of Famer Delmas Conley was both Saturday night as he wheeled into victory lane for the 541st time.

"Most of the night I thought I had a third place car then Ben (Adkins) and Jason (Montgomery) dropped out, and there I was in the lead," said Conley. "I might have made a good race out of it anyway, who knows (grinned Conley). The car was pretty darn good." The Dayton Auto Racing Fan Club, DARF, and Hoot Gibson--representing the club--presented a free DARF membership and T-Shirt to all winners.

Cloudy skies and a tacky track made for some fantastic high-speed racing. Just how fast was K-C Raceway Saturday? Fast timer Ben Adkins, West Portsmouth, OH eclipsed Jackie Boggs’ nine-year old track record of 13:614 with a blistering 13:377 run. Adkins was working on a clean sweep after claiming the first heat win over charging Mike Wilson.

Adkins and first heat winner Jason Montgomery began to walk away from the rest of the pack with Audie Swartz a solid third. Adkins and Montgomery then got caught up in a 7-car melee that eliminated four cars including the two top runners.

Swartz inherited the lead, but a lap later Conley leaned on Swartz in turn won to craftily take the lead. Mike Wilson followed in suit to take second. Shannon Roese was well on his way to hard-charger honors when he went pit side with cooling problems. At the same time, racing Chiropractor Brian Eaton tumbled hard into the third turn wall and was out for the night.

As Wilson closed the gap on Conley, Rod Conley, Mark Frazier, Rod Evans, Tony Roush, KY’s Paul Davis and hard charger Randy Wynett (18th to 9th) battled hard for a top five.

When all was said and done, Conley in the Conley Trucking #71 held off Mike Wilson for the win. Rounding out the top ten were Swartz, Conley, Frazier, Evans, Roush, Davis, Wynett, and Russ Frohnapfel.

In the modified main veteran Tim Rayburn and Chris Stotts paced the field to Daryl Owens’ green flag. It took three restarts to get underway, including a violent end-over-end, wall-grinding flip by Eric Arledge. Arledge was shaken, but his car was destroyed in the bone-shaking tumble.

Rayburn led the single-file parade until Stotts dove low for the pass. Rayburn sustained the lead through lap six when an unfortunate spin collected son Jeremy, sending both to the tail. Stotts never looked back despite a late charge by second place Jeremy Berwanger. Much of the race following Rayburn’s demise, Rob Stambaugh and Jeremy Berwanger fought it out with Bob Crace, Jr. and Todd Robinson for position.

Stotts’ Swartz Extreme Chassis/Carthage Auto Parts/Stoneridge Apts. car in its debut run pulled off the popular win ahead of Berwanger, Stambaugh, Robinson, Shawn Holiday, Jeremy Rayburn up from the tail to sixth in a great run, Lonnie Kidd, hard-charger Kevin Delaney (19th to 8th), Tim Rayburn (also up from the tail to a top ten), and T.J. Harper.

Said Stotts, “For the first time out, this car started 'gettin good’. I have to give a big thanks to the crew and Dave Norton for all of their hard work and to Audie (Swartz) for all the extra time he puts in on this car. We hope to just pick and choose our races again this year, but it is good to get the win tonight."

The Dan Reno hobby stock main was a barn-burner between defending champion and master-car builder Jamie Adams and former champion Bruce Gray, Jr. Jim Hildebrand was within striking distance much of the race, lying in wait for a mistake from either Adams or Gray.

With two laps to go, the caution waved and Adams started to get a flat, but the tire held enough to get the job done for the win (as the tire deflated in victory lane).

"Wow, I knew I had the flat with three laps to go, but said, I'm going for it. Bruce showed me his line early and I knew where he was at and where I need to be. He gave me a good run and is a heck of a driver. He will be here in victory lane soon. I'd like to thank all of my sponsors, my family, and friends. They make this all possible."

The hard-charging top ten were Adams, Gray, Hildebrand, Jeremy Bretz, Tim Cutler, Mike Brust, Tommy Mossbarger—the race hard-charger up from 18th to 7th in a whirlwind run; Patrick Parks, Steve Karr, and Roger Mossbarger.

K-C Raceway hosts the Miller Highlife Veteran’s Appreciation Night Saturday, May 28 with a full card of Goodyear 410 Sprint Cars, AMRA Late Models, AMRA Advanced Services Modifieds and the Dan Reno Memorial Hobby Stock Invitational. For more information visit www.kc-raceway.com or call the track at 740-663-4141 or call for other info and tickets at 740-978-6575.

The Summary: K-C Raceway May 21, 2011

AMRA Late Models (21)
Fast Time: Ben Adkins 13:377
Heat One: Ben Adkins, Mike Wilson, Rod Evans, Russ Frohnapfel, Rod Conley, Paul Davis, Shannon Roese, Kenny Spencer, Chris Maynard, Clint Keenan
Heat Two: Jason Montgomery, Delmas Conley, Audie Swartz, Mark Frazier, Brian Eaton, Tony Roush, Ken Howell, Billy Gullion, Randy Wynett, Jacob Curnutte
Feature: Delmas Conley, Wilson, Swartz, Rod Conley, Frazier, Evans, Roush, Davis, Wynett, Russ Frohnapfel, Roese, Eaton, Maynard, Adkins, Montgomery, Gullion, Keenan, Spencer, Howell

AMRA Advanced Services Modifieds (33)
Heat One: Tim Rayburn, Todd Robinson, Donnie Stewart, Eric Arledge, Kevin Delaney, Brian Moore, Aaron Fry, Kyle Payne, Billy Gullion
Heat Two: Chris Stotts, Jeremy Rayburn, Bob Crace, Jr., Lonnie Kidd, Luke Jordon, Roger Wireman, Jamie Lawson, John Arthurs, Scott Linville
Heat Three: Rob Stambaugh, T.J. Harper, Adam Jordan, Shawn Holiday, David Pinkerton, Bud Frazier, Adam Colley, Phillip Bapst, Eric Hatfield
Heat Four: Brian Whiteman, Jeremy Berwanger, Tim Tribby, Mark Bailey, Jimmy Adams, Bob Hurst, Brad Butler
B-Main: Luke Jordan, David Fireball Pinkerton, Kevin Delany, Billy Gullion, Jimmy Adams, Shawn Settles, Kyle Payne, Phillip Bapst, Bob Hurst, Jr., Bud Frazier, Brad Butler, Jamie Lawson, Brian Moore, Adam Colley, Roger Wireman, Aaron Fry, John Arthurs, Scott Linville, Eric Hatfield
Feature: Stotts, Berwanger, Stambaugh, Robinson, Shawn Holiday, Jeremy Rayburn, Lonnie Kidd, Kevin Delaney, Tim Rayburn, Harper, Crace, Jr., Stewart, Luke Jordan, Gullion, Whiteman, Tribby, Arledge, Jordan, Pinkerton, Bailey

Dan Reno Hobby Stocks (18)
Heat One: Jamie Adams, Tim Cutler, Mike Brust, Butch Eblin, Steve Karr, Danny Salzgbor, Jeremy Bretz, Brandon Thompson, Aaron Forcum, Keith Hornickle
Heat Two: Bruce Gray, Jr., Jim Hildebrand, Roger Mossbarger, Jeff Sheets, Shane Pendleton, Richard Trego, Patrick Parks, Phil Rice, Tommy Mossbarger, Travis Pertuset
Feature: Adams, Gray, Hildebrand, Jeremy Bretz, Tim Cutler, Mike Brust, Tommy Mossbarger, Patrick Parks, Steve Karr, Roger Mossbarger, Phil Rice, Trego, Eblin, Sheets, Salzabor, Pendelton, Pertuset, Thompson, Forcum, Hornickle