It had been three weeks since the racing action took place at East Bay Raceway Park, which features reduced racing dates during July and August. The drivers took advantage of the break to tune the cars and rebuild the damaged warriors of previous action and the results showed.
The night started with the Street Stocks opening the program with three features, won by Buck Woodhouse, point leader Paul Gibbs, and Steven Johnson. In the 15-lap feature, polesitter Tim Yeager took his car to the front and left the rest of the field to settle their respective spots. Gibbs was on the move until mechanical problems forced him out. A rash of caution flags in the early stages slowed the pace and kept Yeager from building a big lead. Woodhouse provided the first challenge until he tangled with Joseph Luce on the frontstretch. The cars snowplowed down the straight, causing drivers to make attempts to avoid the mishap. Jesse Brown’s car sailed into a large mud puddle, bathing the car in mud, but Brown was able to continue.
Cam Canova settled in behind Yeager to challenge. As time ticked away and less than 10 laps completed, the field braced for a green-white-checkered finish. Yeager held the lead through the white flag. As the field approached, Canova made contact with Yeager who turned sideways and crossed the line behind a trio of cars. Canova was awarded the win, but only until the tech man had his turn. The disqualification of Canova gave the win to Tim Spencer, who was celebrating a birthday, and picked up his second victory of 2006. Woodhouse rebounded for second, ahead of Yeager. Luce came home for fourth with Doug Johnson in fifth.
Limited Sprints brought preliminary wins for Tim George and Rich Alexander. The green flag on the 20-lap headliner saw Roger Crouse shoot out to the lead. Point leader Greg Leonard suffered mechanical woes early and dropped from competition. Frank Beck III picked up the pace to hunt down Crouse. As the leader entered the second turn with five laps left, Crouse lost the handle as the drivers avoided the stalled car. Beck had the lead, but the car was showing smoke. On the restart, Beck was strong for two laps until the car gave up the ghost. George inherited the lead and kept Paulie Milum at bay to claim the victory, rebounding from a crash last month that nearly destroyed a race car. Alexander posted third, ahead of Danny Jones. Crouse claimed fifth when Mike Steinruck lost the spot in tech.
The wild portion of the night came with the Open Wheel Modifieds. The night opened serenely as Trevor Merill, Roger Crouse, and Jeff Mathews took preliminaries. In the feature, Merrill wasted no time in taking the lead, but early cautions kept him from building up a substantial lead. One of the cautions on lap 4 occurred when Raymond Rogers spun, collecting David Schmauss. As the safety crews responded, the track lights went out, bringing a 15-minute delay in the program. As the lights came on, the action heated back up. Bruce Watkins used the outside line to challenge Dale Kelley for position. Watkins was able to slide past Kelley and pursue Merrill. Watkins made his pass with two laps remaining, but a Devin Dixon spin handed the lead back to Merrill. Drivers realized their last opportunity was near and the battles were intense.
Rogers had moved up to second and slipped by for the lead. Rogers picked up the victory and headed for victory lane, but a frontstretch melee developed as one driver took exception to a perceived injustice. Security official were called in to quell the disturbance that saw a number of supporters on the race track. Calm was restored after a slight delay. Rogers dedicated the win to his late grandmother, who passed away in June. He was trailed by Kelley, Watkins, Roger Crouse, and Rusty Dixon.
Matthew Haynes took the early lead in the Outlaw 4 main. On the third lap, heat winner Jim Coursen grabbed the lead and Alex Boerner shot past to move into second. Austin Gillman, driving a new car built by his crew after the previous mount was destroyed, gained two spots until slipping high in the corner. Point leader Chad Rose and Cecil Martin squared off for third until Martin moved away. Boerner’s car lost power and retired to the infield and no one could catch Coursen. Rose made an inside move to claim second with Martin third ahead of Brad Boerner and Zach Amundsen. Alex Boerner and Coursen gained heat wins.
The night concluded with 4 Cylinder Bomber cars easing out for their 15-lap main. The red flag flew when first timer Mike Blount tumbled in turn two. Blount was not hurt, but retired from the event. Harmon Byrd took the early race lead. Jerry Moore kept second until retiring, handing the spot to Jason Rendell. His time in the sun was short lived as the hard charging Mario Shelton grabbed second, setting his sights on Byrd. Shelton shot past on lap 9 and powered on to his first victory of the season. K.C. Laramee came home second with Byrd, Kever Raulerson, and George Christensen completing the top five. Christensen and Frank Miller were heat winners.
The next racing action is set for July 29 with Open Wheel Modifieds, Outlaw 4s, 4 Cylinder Bombers, and Limited Sprints. A Ladies Fan Participation race will be held as well as special events for “Back to School” night. Complete details can be found at www.eastbayracewaypark.com.
