IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

April 24, 2005 FSCR Johnson Rebounds for East Bay NLMS Win By Larry Jewett The weekend looked like an easy one for Dewayne Johnson. He set the fast time and won his heat race in the first night of the Corteco National Late Model Series event at East Bay Raceway Park. When night two was finally free of rain, Johnson’s car appeared to be spot-on for the set-up and his pole starting position was just what the doctor ordered. Johnson brought the 23-car field to the green for the 75-lap main event and cruised to a big lead. Chesley Dixon used his front row starting spot to keep Johnson in his sights as Ivodent Lloyd moved into third ahead of Lonnie Roberts. The field struggled to get momentum as a number of yellow flags appeared in the early laps. The caution came out on lap 20 as the leaders were approaching lapped traffic. Dixon slammed into the back of Russell Brown’s racer, but continued with no apparent damage. Five laps later, Johnson was caught up in an incident with J.R Prather Jr. as the leader headed to lapped traffic. The right front of Johnson’s car was damaged and Dixon made the move for the lead on the subsequent restart. Johnson slipped back to fourth with Lloyd providing an immediate challenge to Dixon. Just before the halfway mark, Dixon and Johnson, who had moved past Roberts to third, were caught up avoiding a wreck, but returned to the lineup in their respective positions. The incident incited Lloyd who pestered Dixon. Dixon spun in turn two on lap 42, handing the lead to current point leader Lloyd. With Johnson’s renewed drive, Lloyd had his hands full. Johnson swept by on lap 54 and cruised to the win without challenge. Roberts closed in for a look with less than five laps remaining, but couldn’t stop Johnson from making it back-to-back victories on the series. Roberts picked up his best finish of the 2005 season with a second place run. Lloyd held on for third with Steve Lade posting a strong fourth. Dixon returned to finish fifth. Local racers Bruce Harvey and Bill Howard represented the East Bay contingent with impressive runs. Howard stayed in the top five throughout the race until mechanical problems less than 15 laps from the end. Harvey started 22nd and ran as high as sixth before slipping back. Matthew Grissom notched his first career feature win by leading wire-to-wire in the Street Stock main. Grissom led a 23-car field to the start of a 20-lap main. His first challenge came from Bobby Miller, then Donnie Reed took over second. Reed lost the spot to Tim Spencer, who gave it back on lap 15. Michael Cherry quietly worked through traffic to gain a top five run, but no one could catch Grissom. Reed had his best finish of the year with the runner-up position with Spencer third. Cherry was fourth ahead of Danny Paris. Open Wheel Modifieds were added to the night’s show and they didn’t disappoint. Devin Dixon rocketed out front and appeared to have his way with the 20-lap main. The man on the move was Buzzie Reutimann, who ran steady lines through the corners to take spots away. He closed to second by the eighth lap with Jeff Mathews and Bobby Alexander Jr. battling for third. A multi-car pileup on lap 14 ended the hopes of some, but the leaders were able to avoid the carnage. On the restart, Dixon took off, but Reutimann kept him in his sights. Three laps later, Reutimann made a clean pass for the lead and made it stick, picking up the feature win. “I knew what I could do if he made a mistake and I think he only made one,” said Reutimann celebrating a popular victory. Dixon claimed second with Alexander showing in third. Billy Boyd ran a steady fourth and Bruce Watkins rebounded from the lap 14 crash for a fifth. The Gunslinger Trucks made their debut, but the class was tossed in with the 4 Cylinder bombers to speed up the program. Jim Cowhey Jr. Bested the truck class while Brenton Gardner added another win to his record for 2005. The debut of the Short Track Outlaw Racing Mowers (STORM) gave Sid Whiteside the win on the go-kart oval. The program was plagued by rain showers, which brought about a late start and features only. There were 74 racing vehicles in the pit area. East Bay Raceway Park action features a Friday night on the Go-Kart track with more than 100 racers expected. The 1/3-mile oval will feature Saturday racing for Late Models, Limited Late Models, Outlaw 4s, Street Stocks and 4 Cylinder Bombers. Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! news@karnac.org or send a letter to the editor!