Skyline Speedway
July 20, 2012
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McGuire McBest In Shutts Memorial at Skyline Speedway

STEWART, OHIO (July 20) - It was one of those rare summer nights when everything just seems to fall into place. Such was the case Friday night July 20th when area storms pounded villages within only a few miles of Skyline Speedway, yet the racetrack was spared for a great night of racing. The heavy, damp air and early drizzle left the 3/8 mile speedplant, tacky and fast throughout the night, setting the stage for a blistering new track record and Jack Shutts Memorial feature win by Grayson, KY driver Josh McGuire.

A moment of silence was held in memory of Sarah Bond, wife of longtime Ohio Valley racing legend Ronnie Bond and mother of Larry and Andy Bond, multi-time late model and modified champions. Sarah herself was a pretty good racer back in the powder puff days, winning many races before finally hanging up the helmet. Many racers, led by the racing Roush family collected $800 for the Bond family. Skyline Speedway on behalf of the Bond family would like to thank all the fans who contributed to this cause.

Josh McGuire has won at Skyline all but four times he has made the trip from his 'Ole Kentucky Home'. Two times he broke, and two other times he suffered close defeats. Friday night (July 20) McGuire was on top of his game.

McGuire's US Steel #41 blistered the Skyline Speedway track record with a resounding 12:04 clocking, eclipsing the eight-year old record of 12:18 set by John Brown back in 2004. McGuire narrowly missed a clean sweep with a second place finish to Zach Dohm in the fast car dash (dedicated to the late Sarah Bond). 21 of the 31 cars signed in for the evening set times in the 12 second bracket, compliments of a super-fast race track.

At the start of the 35-lap 4th annual Shutts Memorial A-main for AMRA Late Models, Dohm of St. Albans, WV powered the Seymour Logging entry into the lead over McGuire and the Salt Rock Express-- Eddie Carrier, Jr.

Carrier shuffled McGuire back to third as that trio survived a gaggle of early cautions. Each time Dohm emerged the leader, but as green flag laps began to mount, Dohm started to pull away. McGuire bagged Carrier on lap eleven, then sought to run down Dohm, who by that time had a quarter-lap lead.

Dohm's mount appeared to slow as the laps ticked off and on lap 14 McGuire blew by to take the point. McGuire then took the boys to the wood shed, lapping all but the top five cars. As one facebook fan posted, "Josh McGuire drove like a madman possessed. He handed out an old fashioned sheddin' in the Super Late Model class and the track made for some crazy, exciting racing."

In a masterful performance, McGuire more than half-tracked his nearest competitor Carrier, who had long-since passed Dohm for second. The only other victims not becoming McGuire's prey were fourth place Rod Conley and Ralph Withem. Conley blasted by Withem on the last lap to take fourth.

The centerpiece of Friday's racing was the heavy, fast track that saw cars broad sliding the high-banks in the mid-12-second range during the feature. The high speeds contributed to a higher level of attrition, but the quality of the racing was second to none. Nelson Freshour was the hard charger in the Tru-Tech AMRA Late Models moving up seven positions from 17th to 10th.

Rounding out the top ten were McGuire, Eddie Carrier, Jr.; Zach Dohm, Rod Conley, Ralph Withem, Chris Garnes, Freddie Carpenter, Harold Redman, Kevin Wagner, and Nelson Freshour.

Said McGuire in victory lane, "The key tonight was us making a little harder tire selection. I thought once the tire kicked in and we got some laps under our belts that we would have a good chance. We were a little loose at first, but once we went green flag racing and ran consecutive fast laps the car just took off."

"Take off? Josh was just downright fast tonight," noted second place Carrier, Jr. "I had a pretty good car. The track roughed up a little in the middle, so I just wanted to run a straight line and not tear anything up."

"The track got a little rough, but we were very fortunate to get to race tonight considering most every place else got rained out. You have to give Billy (Jarrell) and the track crew credit. I just tried to take care of my equipment, 'cause I got to race tomorrow night," laughed Carrier before accepting his second place hardware.

Taking a deep breath and showing serious signs of fatigue, third place Zach Dohm noted, "I admit I'm beat. I chose a little too soft of tire and it hooked up too good and made me tight. The car would hardly turn left, so I had to go higher (on the track) to get the car to turn. We were so tight that we were up on two wheels most of the time and right now I am really beat. Congrats to Josh and Eddie on good runs."

"I'd have liked to started first and finished first, but this is a good run against a great field."

Tru-Tech AMRA Late Models (31)

Fast Time: Josh McGuire 12:04 *New Track Record*

Sarah Bond Tribute Dash: Zach Dohm, Josh McGuire, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Ralph Withem, Harold Redman, Kevin Wagner

Heat One: Chris Garnes, Rod Conley, Tyler Carpenter, KC Burdette, Brock Morris, Robbie Bostic, Kenny Roberts, Bob Adams, Jr., Pete Crum DNS

Heat Two: Freddie Carpenter, Andy Bond, Jeff Burdette, Nelson Freshour, Eric Foster, Ronnie Mayle, T.J. Roush

Heat Three: Dan Morrison, Tony Roush, Mike McPherson, Brian Eaton, Justin Powell, Pete White, Nick Corbitt

B-Main: KC Burdette, Nelson Freshour, Ronnie Mayle, Brian Eaton, Justin Powell, Eric Foster, Kenny Roberts, Robbie Bostic, Brock Morris, Pete White, T.J. Roush

Feature: Josh McGuire, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Zach Dohm, Rod Conley, Ralph Withem, Chris Garnes, Freddie Carpenter, Harold Redman, Kevin Wagner, Nelson Freshour, Andy Bond, Tyler Carpenter, Jeff Burdette, Tony Roush, Ronnie Mayle, Dan Morrison, KC Burdette, Mike McPherson