| Jeff Mathews Wins Gagel’s Open Wheeled Modified Feature | By Jason Loughren
 It was another fantastic night for racing at East Bay Raceway Park as around 100 cars hit the track. Fans enjoyed the four classes of weekly racing series along with a newcomer to the program.
In the Gagel’s Open Wheeled Modifieds Jeff Mathews had the car to beat as he started from the 4th position. Mathews quickly made his way to the front battling with Dale Kelley, Wayne Hammond and Kyle Bronson for the lead in the early going. Mathews assumed the lead after multiple mid race cautions mixed up the field.
Mathews then built a large lead and took the checkered flag. The win was his second feature win of the season. Shane Burrows started 8th and finished 2nd. Scotty Williams finished 3rd. Austin Sanders started 12th and had a strong run to finish 4th. Brian Hollifield rounded out the top-5. Mathews and Hammond won the heat races.
The Outlaw 4’s proved that what you see is not always what you get. Sean Bass started on the pole and dominated the 15-lap feature event. He appeared to have his first ever win on dirt until his car went to post race technical inspection. Bass and unofficial 4th place finisher Dan Chambers were both disqualified. Stephen Hohlbaugh was credited with the victory. Mickey Wright finished 2nd. Amanda Rogers was 3rd. Chris Woody and Brian Danforth rounded out the top-5. Danforth and Mavrick Varnadore won the heat races.
In the Limited Late Models John Bradley had the car to beat. He was able to hold of the charge of Alex Boerner and Jason Pope for the victory. Boerner finished in the second position after a strong run. Tim Gay charged his way to a 3rd place finish after starting 8th. William Pugh was 4th. William Hampton rounded out the top-5. Pope was disqualified in post race inspection. Boerner and Bobby Johns won the heat races.
The Streek Stock 15 lap feature event was the race of the night. Danny Hill started in the 17th position and battled his way to the front of the field. During most of the race the lead pack was two and three cars wide on the track from 1st place to about 10th place. Matthew Grissom had the lead and appeared to have things in control when late cautions started to fly. Grissom had a left front tire that was losing air. The final caution came out with 2 laps to go with Grissom leading. On the restart Danny Hill and Donnie Reed challenged for the lead passing Grissom and his malfunctioning tire. Hill was able to grab the lead and hold off the charging Buck Skinner and Reed for the win. Skinner finished 2nd after starting 16th. Reed finished 3rd. Corbin Gibbs had a solid run and finished 4th. Grissom was able to hold on and capture a 5th place finish. Reed and Grissom won the heats.
A new class hit the track at East Bay for the first time. The Dirt Daubers rounded out the night with a 15-lap feature event. Todd Hutto and passenger Jeff Mathews went to a soggy victory lane. Randy Tyler and passenger Kayla Jones survived to finish 2nd. Credit DB Hogwaller and his passenger Steve Dentman with the 3rd place finish and the most “doughnuts” for the event. They may have been dizzy. To find out more about Dirt Daubers visit the track’s website www.eastbayracewaypark.com.
ASA sanctioned racing resumes at East Bay Raceway Park Saturday, March 28th, 2009 at 6:30pm. “Salute Sports Grill Night” will feature the South Shore Auto Sales Late Models, Gagel’s Open Wheel Modifieds, Outlaw 4’s and a special 25 lap feature event for the Motorstats.com 4 cylinder bombers and Dirt Daubers. For more information call the track office at 813-677-7223 or visit us on the web at www.eastbayracewaypark.com.
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