IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

April 19, 2004 FSCR Heveron takes TBARA win at Bronson,Durden wins in Modified Action By Rick Warren The Winged Sprint Cars of the TBARA rolled into Bronson Motor Speedway Saturday evening, bringing their own brand of speed and excitement. The grandstands were filled with fans anxiously waiting for the racing to begin. The evening's racing began with heat races in all divisions, and it became evident that all the drivers were more than ready to do battle for victory on the Bronson High Banks. The Sprints gave the fans a taste of what was to come with some very fast, extremely tight racing in their heat races. The Bronson Regular Series racers were also bringing the fans to their feet with some very close action as well. When Feature time arrived, everyone was buzzing about the lap times for the Sprints, and the big question was not only who would win, but how quickly would they do it? It took two attempts to get the race underway, but once racing started it was fast and furious. With only two brief caution periods for minor incidents, the 25 lap feature went very quickly for the 15 starters. Several drivers took turns leading the race, but none could open a comfortable lead. As soon as the lead changed, another racer would be hounding the leader trying to find a way around. When all was said and done, and the checkered flags waved in the hands of Wild Child, the TBARA flagman, it was Doug Heveron that brought home top honors. Heveron made a charge from his mid-pack starting position to steadily move through the field, with Wayne Reutimann Jr dogging his every move. When Heveron and Reutimann got to the front, both racers were turning unofficial lap times in the 11.40 11.50 second range. For any who arent sure, take my word for it. That is WAY fast !!! Following the front two were Dude Teate, Keith Butler, and Wayne Reutimann Sr. Next up were the Open Wheel Modifieds. Michael Burton and Buddy Hughes occupied the front row for the start, and stayed that way for several laps. Kevin Durden was holding down the third spot, and worrying the two front runners, as he looked for a way to get to the front. As the field began to stretch out slightly, Durden went to the out side line, and worked his way to the front. Hughes was running a strong second followed by Larry Goolsby and Gene Owen. As the race wound down, the action in the pack following Durden got pretty intense, with some rubbing, some bumping, and some tempers heating up. Several cars made contact in turn 3 coming for the checkered flag, making for a wild finish. Hughes held on for a good run and finished second, in his new racer, a replacement for the one he wrecked in the Gulf Coast race several weeks earlier. Third went to Gene Owen, followed by Chip Owen and Michael Burton. Sportsman Action was next, and it was intense as well. Scott Wilkerson jumped to the early lead, followed by Doug Anderson and Rob Cooper. Cooper also decided to run the high side, and put on quite a show as he attempted to go to the front. In his charge up the outside, Cooper managed to ride the wall on the back straight, not once, but twice, and still kept the car under control and stayed on the outside. Cooper finally got a good run going into turn 3, and took the lead on the front straight. Dwight Pinner ran a good race to wind up second, followed by Doug Anderson and Scott Wilkerson. The Mini Stocks were up next, and the action continued to be wild and wooly. After two attempts, the race finally went green, and it took only a few laps for Clint Foley to take the lead. It appeared that Foley was on his way to another win, but his engine had other plans. Lap ten saw caution on the track as Foleys racer came to a halt with a dead engine. When the race resumed, Tom Jones assumed the lead, with Don Faunce on his Bumper. Jones was able to hold off Faunce for the win, with third going to Billy Smith, followed by Josh Robertson and Scott Faunce. Next up were the Pure Stocks. Arnold Hughes Jr launched from the front row to the early lead, and stayed out front. Behind the leader, who was making it look easy, it was a knock down, drag out, fight for position. When the dust finally settled, several cars had been towed to the pit area, several looked a lot worse for the wear, some had been sent to the rear, and one had been Black Flagged. Hughes stayed out front, but in the late stages of the race, Bobby Johnson was working hard to get by. In the end, Hughes had enough steam to outrun Johnson to the flag. Joey Hunt was third, followed by Jeff Tillman and Daniel Pinner. V8 Bomber action was wild as well, as Berlon Weeks took the lead , with Charlie Kennedy, Kevin Hodge and Ken Sheffield all trying to get by. Kennedy got loose off turn 2, bounced off the wall into Sheffield, and both cars suffered flat tires. Hodge finally passed Weeks and went on to win. Weeks held on for second, followed by Michael Holbrook and Tim Nelson. Hodge had his engine protested after the feature, and after pulling apart the engine for inspection, was found to be legal. TBARA Sprint Cars 1. #22 Doug Heveron 2. #00 Wayne Reutimann Jr. 3. #68 Dude Teate 4. #19 Keith Butler 5. #99 Wayne Reutimann Sr. 6. # 7 John Gilbert Jr. 7. #16 Ben Fritz 8. #33c John Sambor 9. #118 Stan Butler 10. #29 Gary Gimmler 11. #79 David Slawrak 12. #6f Joe Ligvor 13. #47 Richard Waddell 14. # 6 Troy Delaire 15. #51 Mark Gimmler Modified 1. #56 Kevin Durden 2. #14 Buddy Hughes 3. #11 Gene Owen 4. # 2 Chip Owen 5. #28 Michael Burton Sportsman 1. #98 Rob Cooper 2. #40 Dwight Pinner 3. #30 Doug Anderson 4. #12 Scott Wilkerson 5. #13 Eddie Sapp Mini Stock 1. #60 Tom Jones Jr. 2. # 2 Don Faunce 3. #00 Billy Smith 4. #93x Josh Robertson 5. #12 Scott Faunce Pure Stock 1. #55 Arnold Hughes Jr. 2. #16 Bobby Johnson 3. # 5 Joey Hunt 4. #95 Jeff Tillman 5. # 9 Daniel Pinner V8 Bombers 1. #37 Kevin Hodge 2. # 7 Berlon Weeks 3. #00 Michael Holbrook 4. #15 Tim Nelson 5. # 9 Reed Gard Have an opinion on this story? 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