By:  Larry Jewett

10/2/2010

            The Racecar Engineering Late Model feature defied the  “same old” as a new winner took a place in Victory Lane and it was an exciting journey to get there at East Bay Raceway Park.

            16-year-old Mavrick Varnadore finally added his name to the winner’s role with a steady drive that brought the desired results. Mavrick took the lead from Phillip Cobb with five laps remaining after Cobb had picked up the top spot when Travis Varnadore slipped and over the cushion a lap previous. Mavrick’s charge from the ninth starting spot saw steady progress and seized opportunity. The win propelled him into the heart of the point battle with brother Travis and Bryan Bernhardt. The feature top five saw Doug Watson back up his earlier heat win with a second place ion the main. Dennis Williams, Bernhardt and Cobb rounded out the top five. Paul Gibbs also claimed a preliminary.

            The Gagel’s Auto Parts Open Wheel Modified main appeared to be a cakewalk for roger Crouse as the show went 10 laps without a caution. Crouse kept the lead through restarts and parked in Victory Lane, only to discover a missing muffler at the tech shed. That led to a DQ and the victory was awarded to John Bradley. Dale Kelley, Bruce Harvey, Bobby Dixon and Austin Sanders were top five finishers. Sanders and Bradley started with heat wins.

            Q Auto & Injury Attorney Limited Late Model point leader Forrest Gough stretched his margin with a convincing win the 15-lap main. He finished ahead of Alex Boerner, J.R. Prather Jr., Scotty Williams and john Bradley. Gough and William Hampton held the spotlight in preliminaries.

            Matthew Haynes was again in the right place to claim victory in the Outlaw 4 class. Race leader Shirlene Hammond spun approaching the white flag, giving Haynes a shot at the victory. He and Billy Howard were locked in a struggle for position, but Haynes prevailed for his seventh feature win. Howard was good for second, ahead of Chris Zimmerman, Travis Staats and Jesse Brown. Zimmerman and Haynes were heat winners.

             Thomas Pratt took the lead in the second lap of the Precision Kia of Wesley Chapel Street Stocks and rolled to his seventh feature of the year. Eric Moon made a late pass on Donnie reed to grab second. Reed held on for third with Buck Woodhouse fourth and Billy Carlbert Jr. fifth. Mike Wilson and Pratt recorded wins in their heats.

            The night started with the news of the upcoming 2011 Winternationals. A schedule of activities beginning on February 2 and running through the entire month will see top notch racing in Modifieds, Sprints, Late Models, Street Stocks and more. Details are expected to be made official by mid-week and complete details will become available at www.eastbayracewaypark.com.

            ASA sanctioned racing returns to East Bay Raceway Park on Saturday, October 9, 2010.  The Top Gun Sprint Series returns with Florida Mini-Sprint Association making it a twinbill of winged fury. The Q Auto & Injury Attorney Limited Late Models, motorstats.com 4 cylinder Bombers, Dirt Daubers and Old Time Modifieds will fill the bill. For more information, go to www.eastbayracewaypark.com or call the track office.