Winchester Speedway
August 4, 2012
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Armel’s Back, Becomes Twelfth-Different LM Winner at Winchester
Kerr Over Spence in LLM Slugfest

by Doug Watson
Winchester, VA (August 4) - “I wasn’t going to let this one get away.” Were the words from Winchester Va.’s Tommy Armel after his victory in last Saturday nights 30-lap late model feature at Winchester speedway. The 2009 Winchester champion, who lead 28-laps of the feature the week prior but came up short at the finish, wasn’t going to let history repeat itself as he lead all 30-circuits to score the popular win.

Point leader Kenny Pettyjohn and Tommy Armel brought the field down to the initial green flag to start the event. Armel wasted little time as he zipped into the top-spot as the pack raced into turn-one. As Armel lead, Pettyjohn chased Armel over the next 25-laps before sixth-starting DJ Myers drove into second on lap-26. With the white flag in the air, Myers pulled along side Armel going into turn one, however, the duo made contact with Myers spinning from contention. On the ensuing re-start Armel was up to the challenge as he sped to the victory over eventual runner-up Keith Jackson.

“We lost a close one there last week to Kenny (Pettyjohn) but we’ve been working hard on this car (Barry Wright/Pro-Power/Hoosier) all season and things are finally starting to come around for us. This win was truly a team effort.” Superb track conditions played a part in Armel’s winning drive. “I know Mr. Gunter personally and I know how hard he and his staff work on this place.” Armel stated. “They work hard to get this place right and it was just about perfect tonight.” Kenny Pettyjohn settled for third, David Pettyjohn was fourth and Trever Feathers rounded-out the top-five. Heats for the 16 cars entered went to Kenny Pettyjohn and Armel.

Tanner Kerr drove a flawless race to score his second feature win of the season in the 20-lap limited late model headliner. Kerr, who started second, jumped into the race lead on lap one and would eventually lead all 20-laps, but not without opposition. Andy Anderson chased Kerr for the first 12-laps before mechanical issues sent him to the pits. JT Spence then took up the chase and dogged Kerr over the final 8-laps, but Kerr was not to be denied and held on for the win. “I can’t believe we’re here again.” Said Kerr. “To beat guy’s like JT Spence and Andy Anderson is a real accomplishment.” Brad Ritter took third, Tyler Hershey was fourth and Bubby Tharp Jr. completed the top-five. Heats for the 20-cars on hand went to Ritter and Spence.

Late Models
A-Main: 1. Tommy Armel 2. Keith Jackson 3. Kenny Pettyjohn 4. David Pettyjohn 5. Trever Feathers 6. Austin Hubbard 7. CS Fitzgerald 8. Andrew Mullins 9. Tony Crim 10. Brian Tavenner 11. Brad Omps 12. Bruce Kane 13. Chris Cromer 14. DJ Myers 15. Kyle Hardy 16. Mark Pettyjohn

Limited Late Models
A-Main: 1. Tanner Kerr 2. JT Spence 3. Brad Ritter 4. Tyler Hershey 5. Bubby Tharp Jr. 6. Tyler Emory 7. Justin Fulton 8. Rodney Walls 9. Keith Walls 10. James Lichliter 11. Kevin Deremer 12. Mitch Miller 13. Jimmy Richards 14. Butch Chapman Jr. 15. Jacob Burdette 16. Andy Anderson 17. Neil Alexander 18. Tom Chaffins 19. Don Woodruff 20. Jonathon DeHaven (DNS)