A three-wide pass for the lead proved to be the difference in the 4 Cylinder Bomber finale, giving point leader George Christiansen the win. It was even more special when the winning move resulted in Christiansen’s second feature win of the evening.
With the faithful orange clad followers cheering on the driver nicknamed the Odessa Flash in every race, few in the stands realized what was at stake in the evening’s final race. The first feature of the night had featured the division’s makeup race from the curfewed event the week before. When that make-up race was all said and done, Christiansen had crossed a respectable second to Mario Shelton. After Shelton’s Victory Lane interview, the tech man stepped in and found something amiss, awarding the win to Christiansen.
In the final race, Christiansen was running in the top five early, but put himself in position to challenge. While running third, he was undaunted by the fact that the side-by-side battle in front of him had the best two lanes blocked. Going into turn three, Christiansen made the commitment to the extreme outer line and kept his foot in it to claim the lead at the flagstand. Once in the lead, Christiansen would only face one serious challenge and that came from a determined Shelton. Shelton’s sour luck continued as he retired with a flat tire before making a pass on Christiansen.
Jimmy Alvis had a respectable evening with a showing of second and third. Top five finishes in the make-up race saw Frank Miller second between Christiansen and Alvis with K.C. Laramee fourth and Kever Raulerson fifth. Raulerson improved to fourth in the nightcap with Patrick Tabb scoring third and B.W. Hogwaller fifth. The regular feature was red-flagged when Calvin Moore’s car took a nasty tumble in the backstretch. The car was destroyed, but the driver was okay.
Officials had a hand in determining the outcome of a few more races on the night. In Limited Sprint racing, Greg Leonard swept by Travis Bleimeister in the second turn on the last lap to prevail. Unfortunately, Leonard’s win was taken away by a tire infraction, giving Bleimeister his first win of the 2006 season. Roger Crouse, racing in three of the five divisions, took second, ahead of Tim George, Rick Martin and Michael Smith in the 9 car. The division had two drivers named Michael Smith and the drivers finished fifth and sixth in the main. Mike Steinruck and Leonard had won their preliminaries.
The Late Model main saw a new winner in Josh Peacock, but some post-race fireworks changed the finishing order drastically. Josh Peacock faded early, but rallied back to snatch the top spot from his uncle, Wallace Peacock. With Steve Gillman working the top of the track in the early stages, it looked like a challenge could be coming. Roger Crouse slipped past Gillman to put himself into contention. Crouse edged past Wallace Peacock until a late race restart when both drivers found themselves in close proximity to each other. With just two laps left, Crouse’s hopes of challenging Josh peacock were put on the back burner while Crouse defended against the advance of Wallace Peacock. Contact on the last lap led to several incidents of contact in the cooldown lap and that was enough for track officials to deem both drivers afoul of good sportsmanship. The disqualification of Wallace Peacock and Crouse gave K.D. Kelley his second consecutive runner-up finish. Devin Dixon laid claim to third while defending class champion David Schmauss finished third. Last week’s Showdown 100 winner Jeff Mathews brought home fifth. Heats were won by Schmauss and Jack Nosbisch Jr.
For racers in the Outlaw 4 class, it’s not surprising that a young racer would park in triumph. In the early stages of a race that took several starting attempts and finally took the green in single file formation, it looked this night would not be one of good fortune for Travis Varnadore. The driver who currently holds second in the point standings was involved in some early incidents, meaning a trip to the tail. The important thing to remember though is that it is not where you start, but where you finish. Varnadore battled with heat winner Steve Miller for the top spot, finally coming home with the lead on lap 11. Miller held second, ahead of Austin Gillman, who stayed in the top five for the entire race. Matthew Haynes claimed fourth ahead of Robert Augustin. Alex Boerner took charge in his preliminary for the heat win.
The Limited Late Model feature ended up short on laps and long on time. Slow starts with numerous cautions forced track officials to call the race a few laps early, but Tommy Evonosky had already established himself by that point. Evonosky, who joined Ryan Mitchell and Forest Gough as heat winners, praised the efforts of his son and supporters for the race prep on the winning car. Roger Crouse rolled in behind Evonosky for second. Timmy Bronson put together a string showing for third. William Pugh scored fourth with John Kemper’s new car attracting fifth.
Racing action continues on Saturday, September 30 with Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, Limited Sprints, Outlaw 4s, and 4 Cylinder Bombers on the menu. Complete details can be found at www.eastbayracewaypark.com
