|
Lou Long and Jeff Geesey
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (August 1) - Tim Dohm, Cross Lanes, WV, survived a last lap scare to win the Pepsi 75 at the Coleman Families Portsmouth Raceway Park, Portsmouth, OH. It was Dohm's first career win with the Mid-Atlantic Championship Series and was worth $10,000.
The luck of the draw put local favorite R.J. Conley and traveler Matt Lux on the front row of the talent laden field. Conley fired first and led the pack into turn one with Lux nipping at his heels. Audie Swartz, Bart Hartman, Doug Drown and Eddie Carrier, Jr., were close behind the lead duo. A quick caution came on lap two when top qualifier Ben Adkins stopped on the outside of turn one.
When action resumed, Conley was still the leader, but young Jared Hawkins snuck past Lux to claim second with Hartman holding the fourth spot, and Steve Shaver moved into the top five. A pair of cautions halted action on lap three. The first was for second-quick qualifier Rich Combs, and the other was for local favorite Jackie Boggs.
On the restart, Conley once again got the jump on the field. Hawkins remained in second, followed by Lux, Hartman, and Dohm.
Boggs brought out his second caution when he was involved in a skirmish in turn two on lap seven. Conley maintained control on the restart. However, Hartman was beginning to flex his muscle with his eyes on the lead. Hartman charged into third on lap eight and took up the chase. Dohm followed him into fourth, with Lux, Shaver and Carrier close behind.
Five laps later, Hartman claimed the second position from Hawkins. He then closed in on the leader, Conley.
A caution on lap 17 gave Hartman the opportunity to pressure Conley on the restart. Hartman was able to make the pass for the lead coming off the bottom of turn two on the next lap. Bart continued to lead Conley, as the drivers completed ten uninterrupted laps. During this run, Dohm moved into third, followed by Shaver, Hawkins, Carrier and Doug Horton, up from nineteenth on the grid. Dohm claimed second just before the next caution.
Hartman remained in control after the lap 28 restart. Dohm raced in second, followed by early leader Conley, Shaver, Hawkins, Carrier and Horton. Hartman led the next 16 circuits, with Dohm making the occasional faint on the inside of turns two and four. On each occasion, however, Hartman was able to pull him off the corner. The rest of the lead pack continued to run in formation in this segment of the race.
On lap 55, Hartman's bid for the win ended due to a suspected engine component failure. He came to a gliding stop on the outside of the fourth turn, handing the lead to Dohm.
With one Mountaineer at the head of the field, two others began to make their moves. Horton climbed into fifth on lap 56 and Carrier took second from Conley on lap 58.
Carrier began to reel in Dohm as the laps clicked away. He made a bold move in turn four on lap 62, but he brushed a lapped car and lost valuable ground to Dohm. Meanwhile, Horton slipped into fourth.
Over the next several laps, Horton and Shaver would continue to swap fourth and fifth spots.
Dohm appeared to have the race well in hand when he swept under the white flag ahead of Carrier, Conley, Shaver and Horton. However, as the leaders were approaching, Rod Conley and Joe Whitt tangled between three and four, with Conley spinning into the infield. Dohm checked up and dodged to the outside to avoid the duo. Meanwhile, Carrier was up on the cushion and he was coming with a full head of steam. Dohm and Carrier bumped, but Dohm was able to keep his car straight and moving toward the checkers. Unfortunately, Carrier's night ended against the turn four wall.
Dohm claimed the win, followed by Conley, Shaver, Horton and Racin' John Mason. Carrier was credited with sixth, Rod Conley with seventh, and Chris Wilson with eighth. Whitt and Lux completed the top ten.
Ben Adkins received a cool $1,077 courtesy of Bozo Bragdon family and their supporters for setting fast time of the thirty-five cars on hand.
Heat winners were Boggs, Shaver and Hartman. The twin B Mains went to Adkins and Chris Wilson.
The hard charger award went to Horton for passing fifteen cars.
The next round of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Series will be held Friday, August 7, at Potomac Speedway, in Budd's Creek, MD for the Budweiser presented Bobby Allen Memorial 55 paying $5,000 to win from the $28,000 purse.. The tour will then head south on Saturday to Bill Sawyer's Virginia Motor Speedway for the famous Ernie Shelton's Topless USA 100 paying a whopping $12,000 to win and $1,000 to start from the $60,000 purse.
Portsmouth Raceway Park
Pepsi 75
Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic presents Hoosier Tire Heat 1
1. Jackie Boggs 2. Jared Hawkins 3. Jason Montgomery 4. R.J. Conley 5. Rod Conley
Lisa Tire Racing Division presents American Racer Heat 2
1. Steve Shaver 2. Eddie Carrier Jr. 3. Matt Lux 4. Rick Combs 5. John Mason
Hoosier Tire Ohio Valley presents The Rocket Chassis Heat 3
1. Bart Hartman 2. Tim Dohm 3. Doug Drown 4. Kenny Christy 5. Audie Swartz
Bazell Oil presents Sunoco Race Fuels first B-main
1. Ben Adkins 2. Paul Davis 3. David Smith 4. Brandon Queen 5. Billy Gullion
Big Shot Performance presents Keizer Aluminum Racing Wheels second B-main
1. Chris Wilson 2. Doug Horton 3. Nick Bocook 4. Delmas Conley 5. Joe Whitt
JNJ Motorsports presents AlturnaMats Shock the Clock Time Trials
Fast Qualifier Ben Adkins 14.455* Bozo Bragdon "Just give me one lap" Fast Qualifying Award $1, 077
Pepsi 75
1. Tim Dohm 2. R.J. Conley 3. Steve Shaver 4. Doug Horton 5. John Mason 6. Eddie Carrier Jr. 7. Rod Conley 8. Chris Wilson 9. Joe Whitt 10. Matt Lux 11. Bart Hartman 12. Audie Swartz 13. Jared Hawkins 14. Nick Bocook 15. Delmas Conley 16. Kenny Christy 17. Josh Bocook 18. Doug Drown 19. John Mason 20. Jackie Boggs 21. Ben Adkins 22. David Smith 23. Rich Combs 24. Paul Davis
DNQ: Wayne Chinn, John Melvin, Marty Huntley, Matt Pistol, Brian Eaton, Brandon Queen, Mike Ratliff, Billy Gullion, Carri Mason, Jerrry Mustain, Mark Queen.
Car Count: 35
Cautions: lap 2, 3(2), 7, 17, 28, 44, 55
Lap Leaders: R.J. Conley 1-18, Bart Hartman 19-55 Tim Dohm 56-75
Hard Charger: Doug Horton 15
Chase Decals Hard Luck: Bart Hartman
Hard Charger Points:
Doug Horton-15 Joe Whitt-14 Tim Dohm-10 John Mason-10
Chris Wilson-9 Delmas Conley-9 Rod Conley-7 Nick Bocook-7
Steve Shaver-6 Josh Bocook-5 Eddie Carrier Jr.-4
JNJ Motor Sports presents the AlutrnaMATS Shock the Clock Time Trial Points:
Ben Adkins-25
Rick Combs-20
Audie Swartz-18
R.J. Conley-16
Wayne Chinn-14
Doug Drown-12
Jared Hawkins-10
Matt Lux-8
Bart Hartman-6
Steve Shaver-4
|
