IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

March 31, 2008 Scotty Williams Holds Off Reutimann in East Bay Modifieds By Scott McAllister After taking the previous week off due to poor weather, the pits at Eastbay Raceway Park were once again filled with over 100 racecars for the 2nd week of competition at “The Clay by the Bay, and the large crowd on hand would be treated to a spectacular night of breathtaking action. The Motorstats.com Street Stocks were first to hit the track for their 15-lap feature event. With a heat race win already to his credit, Buck Skinner proved to be too much to handle and picked up his 1st A-Main victory of the year. The intense action was the battle for 2nd back. In typical Eastbay fashion, it would take a last-lap, three-wide dash off turn 4 between Danny Hill, Danny Paris, Jr., and Buck Woodhouse who would finish 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Steve O’Lone rounded out the top-5. Donnie Reed was the winner of Heat Race #1, and finished 8th in the A-Main. The Gagel’s Auto Parts Open Wheel Modifieds had the Eastbay crowd on their feet throughout their A-Main Feature event. Scotty Williams would hang on for the win, but not before “The Legend” Buzzie Reutimann made his presence known with a run through the field that had he and Williams side-by-side at the stripe. After a magnificent 2nd place finish, Reutimann would leave still atop the Gagel’s Auto Parts Championship point’s battle. John Bradley and Austin Sanders finished 3rd and 4th, and Bobby Dixon battled his way through the pack for a well-deserved 5th place finish. In the Limited Late Model Division, Tim Powers proved too strong for the field and won not only Heat Race #1, but the A-Main Feature as well. Forrest Gough gave Powers pressure throughout the race, but would settle for 2nd. Former Track Champion Roger Crouse finished 3rd and won Heat Race #2. Tim Gay finished 4th and J.R. Prather, Jr. 5th. The 25-Lap Late Model A-Main feature turned out to be a wheel-to-wheel duel between team-owner-driver Steve Mathis and the driver of his 2nd car, Phillip Cobb. Heat-Race #1 winner, David Schmauss lead early, but was unable to hold off the two team cars of Mathis and Cobb and finish 3rd while Jackie Nosbisch, Jr. and Wallace Peacock would bring home 4th and 5th. “Team orders” were definitely out the window as Cobb and Mathis traded not only the lead, but paint, rubber and some body parts as well. The crowd held their breath for the final, furious 15 laps and as the two came off turn 4, Cobb was able to hold the bottom and bring home his 1st A-Main win of the 2008 racing season. John Norris, winner of Heat Race #2, was involved in an accident early and finished 23rd in the 26 car field. The Convire 4 Cylinder bombers would not disappoint the large crowd that remained until the final lap of the A-Main 15 lap Feature Event. Although the top 3 finished in the same order as the previous event, the outcome was never certain until the final turn. Frank Miller, Collin Kruse and George Christensen all raced extremely hard but clean and finished 1, 2 and 3. Kyle Eash and Roberto Morfin rounded out the top 5. Miller and C. Kruse won the heat races. ASA sanctioned racing resumes at Eastbay Raceway Park Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 at 6:30pm. Late Models, Limited Late Models, Limited Sprints, The Motorstats.com Street Stocks and Outlaw 4’s will all be in action and the Easter Bunny will also make a stop for the kids and our Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. For more information call the track office at 813-677-7223. Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!