Late
Models took center stage once again at the Knoxville Raceway Friday night and,
for once for this division at the fabled half-mile oval, the weather on race
day was perfect. Of course the three days leading up to it were a bit
over-saturated, but once the call was made to go racing forty-seven WDRL Late
Model drivers knew that they could make their way to Knoxville without the risk
of cancellation.
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| Jimmy Mars (28) racing with Tim McCreadie at Knoxville in 2010 - Barry Johnson |
As
usual the forty-lap feature was full of ups and downs for the twenty-six
drivers who qualified. Chad Simpson started from the pole and shut the door on
pre-race favorite Jimmy Mars going into turn one. Mars made every effort to
take the lead over the next three laps before caution for a spinning Kelly Boen
slowed the pace. On the restart two-time defending series champion Denny
Eckrich shuffled Mars back to third and Nick Marolf made a big charge into
fourth only to coast to a halt three laps later. Even with the early cautions
disturbing the flow, Darren Miller and Brian Harris were making their way
through the pack quickly. Harris was the fastest qualifier on the night, but
was only able to accumulate enough passing points in his heat to start
eighteenth on the feature grid, while Miller started directly behind him after
winning the second B-Main due to dropping out of his heat race. Both drivers
were already in the top ten after six green flag laps.
Their
march to the front continued and when the caution waved again on lap twelve for
a blown motor on Denny Eckrich’s “flyin’ 50”, Miller and Harris would now
restart third and fourth. With the green flag back out Miller made his bid for
the lead moving past Chad Simpson on the inside coming off of turn two. But as
they raced down the back straightaway there was contact between Miller’s right
rear and Simpson’s left front turning Miller’s car into the outside guardrail.
Miller was able to make the save and only dropped to third, but with
considerable damage to his right rear spoiler he was no longer able to maintain
the pace of the leaders and retired to the pits.
The
damage to the left front of Simpson’s ride must have had an effect as well as
Justin Fegers was able to charge past on lap twenty-three to take the lead with
Brian Harris right on his tail. Two laps later Harris moved to the front, but
Fegers came right back on lap twenty-eight to regain the advantage as smoke
began to show on the Harris car. Dave Eckrich now took up the chase on Fegers,
but could not close the gap enough to make a challenge as the “Jet” snared the
checkered-flag for the victory. Kelly Boen made an impressive comeback to
finish third followed by Kyle Berck and Chad Simpson as Harris faded to sixth.
The
305 Sprints served as the support class for the evening and if not for a flat
right rear tire we all would have witnessed history this night.
Seventeen-year-old Zach Clark out of Olathe, Kansas, started from the pole of
the twelve-lap main event and paced the first circuit before Clint Garner, who
is a regular in the track’s 410 division, took over the top spot. Garner’s stay
at the top was short-lived though as Trish Dover charged by on lap five and
began to pull away from the field. Three laps later the caution waved for Mark
Widmar who had slowed on the track in turn two and I noticed a piece of debris
bouncing around in turn four as well. Apparently Dover had run over the debris
and her right rear tire went flat under the caution. The speedy young lady from
Springfield, Nebraska, was able to get the tire changed and return to the track
to restart in sixteenth with just four laps remaining.
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| Trish Dover from 2010 |
Garner
assumed the lead once again and looked like a sure winner until a front wing
mount broke loose with two circuits remaining. This gave Steve Breazeale the
opportunity to pull even with Garner as they took the white flag and Breazeale
pulled away on the final lap to take the win. Garner held on for runner-up
honors with Matt Stephenson taking third. Clark was looking at a fourth-place
finish only to have his engine let go coming to the checkers and Tom Lenz
nipped him at the line. Trish Dover showed the strength that would have made
her the first female driver to ever win a feature at Knoxville by charging to
ninth at the checkers. We later learned that Garner failed to make weight after
the race moving everybody up one position in the final finish.
Knoxville
Notes…..Fegers started ninth on the grid and, while his run to the front wasn’t
as flashy as those made by Miller, Harris and Boen, his ended in victory…..
Fegers loaded his F15 Late Model on his open trailer amongst the behemoth
haulers of his competitors and took the big money back to Minnesota with
him….Wisconsin veteran John Kaanta had his third straight top ten finish with
the WDRL taking seventh. Look for him to be very tough when the series visits
his home turf and he just might be a contender for the points title in
2007….Colorado drivers Scott Rhodes and Jason Schobinger made the trip over but
failed to qualify…..Bill Moyer’s two-car team of Todd Shute and Jacob Murray
arrived at the track just before hot laps and both drivers struggled with
mechanical issues. In fact Murray’s Late Model debut at Knoxville never got
past hot laps…..Seventy-one-year-old Johnny Johnson was clipped in the right
rear by Kerry Hansen at full speed down the front stretch during the third heat
race and for a moment it looked as if the Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame driver
would take a frightening ride. Fortunately the car stayed on all fours, but
both drivers were done for the night…...Minnesota sprint driver Steve Yarns has
an interesting message on his top wing stating that his hobby is “Cheaper than
a wife”…..Late Models return to Knoxville on Friday night June 15th
under the sanctioning of the World of Outlaws. It should be another great night
of racing so don’t you miss it!
I’m
looking forward to a few announcing gigs during the month of May including this
Friday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson and this Sunday night
when the IRA Sprint Cars invade 34 Raceway near Burlington. Next Wednesday
should be a classic as the World of Outlaw Late Models stir up the quarter-mile
in Davenport. The following weekend will find us back in Donnellson on Friday
night for an appearance by the IMCA Late Models, then on Saturday we’ll see who
will take home $25,000 at the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri. A stop
at Quincy on the way home will likely close out a big weekend of action. I hope
that you have a full calendar of racing as well!
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