Allen & Leonard Lead Open Wheel Winners at East Bay
By Larry Jewett
More than 100 cars entered the pit area for a Saturday night of racing that featured two open wheeled classes at East Bay. It sets the stage for the return of the winged warriors on October 28.
In the 360 class, Gene Lasker drove away to a strong lead in the 25-lap main, catching the back of the field by the third lap. Greg Leonard’s mount suffered a problem that dropped the car from contention, leading to the first caution. Lasker powered out ahead of Brian Maddux on the restart and set up a good lead. On the next restart, Tim Holston got sideways, causing the field to take evasive action and sending Mike Senecal tumbling. Senecal climbed from the car unhurt, but the red flag waved for cleanup efforts. Lasker pulled out to the lead, but lost the handle a lap later in turn two, coming to rest in the low groove. The field missed Lasker, but the caution waved and the former leader retired from the event. Sport Allen shot past Brian Maddux for the lead on the backstretch with Daryl Smith doing the same to Danny Curry to move to third. It was Allen’s turn to dominate as the best battle took place for the runnerup spot. Maddux gamely held the spot until the two laps left signal came out when Smith slipped past for second. Allen, racing on his mother’s birthday, caught the checkered flag for his third triumph of the year. Curry crossed in fourth, ahead of Paulie Milum. Curry, Allen, and Smith started their nights with heat race wins.
In Limited Sprint action, Gene Lasker took a slight tumble on the initial start, bringing an immediate red flag. All drivers were able to continue and polesitter Greg Leonard vaporized the field from the start. Leonard was never headed, leaving the rest of the field to decide the rest of the spots. Frank Beck III took second from Danny Jones at the halfway mark of the 20-lap main with Travis Bleimeister and Tim George on the move. Bleimeister’s effort ended three laps early, falling from the top five. Jones held off the challenge from George in the late stages. Leonard snagged the win, chased by Beck, Jones, George and Paulie Milum. Heats were won by Leonard and Michael Smith.
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The Street Stocks had started the evening’s program by logging the first 13 laps of their 15-lapper without a caution. The yellow did come out for a pair of incidents, but the green flag period had its share of excitement. Early race leader Daniel Lewis was being challenged by defending champion Steven Johnson as the field approached lapped traffic. Johnson swung past Lewis by the slightest margin to inherit the lead and the pass stuck as caution waved on the following lap. Despite a second caution, no lead change was forthcoming as Johnson held on for the win. Lewis was second, ahead of a hard charging Buck Woodhouse. Paul Gibbs helped his point lead with a fourth-place finish ahead of Donnie Reed. Heat wins went to Tim Spencer and Jeff Stewart.
Three heats of 4 Cylinder Bombers saw K.C. Laramee, Kever Raulerson, and Jerry Moore picking up victories. The 19-car main encountered an early red when Raulerson spun and heavy contact sent emergency crews scrambling. No reported injuries allowed the yellow to return for a complete restart as Collin Kruse took the early lead. Laramee shot to the point on lap three as Tim Albright slipped past for second. Point leader George Christensen moved to third and closed on the race leaders. Christensen moved up to second on lap six, but Laramee had a good car. Laramee held off the late race challenges to grab his third win. Christensen claimed second ahead of a steady run by Kyle Eash, who notched a third place run. Albright finished fourth ahead of Frank Miller.
The action in the Outlaw 4 finale saw a four-wide battle mid-pack on the first lap that resulted in everyone moving through without harm. Harmon Byrd, celebrating a birthday on this night, posted the early lead. Contact with Matthew Haynes ended up with Haynes being shown to the rear of the field while Byrd was put back in the lead. Chad Rose moved up to challenge Byrd and Rose moved inside to take the top spot. Steve Miller followed two laps later to close in on Rose and the two had a spirited battle through a series of stops and starts due to caution flags. Alex Boerner was asserting himself on the outside, moving to second before a turn two spin cost him valuable positions. Miller grabbed the lead on lap 11, but his lead was short lived. Rose regained control of the field and led the pack to the checkered. Unfortunately, tech officials disqualified the unofficial winner for a rules violation, handing the victory to Miller. Travis Varnadore finished second with Haynes rallying back to take third.
The next racing action at East Bay will feature Late Models, Limited Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, Street Stocks, and 4 Cylinder Bombers. Complete details can be found at www.eastbayracewaypark.com.
