Skyline Speedway
September 28, 2013
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Boggs Boss at 30th Annual Harvest 50 at Skyline Speedway

by Scott Wolfe
STEWART, OHIO (September 28) - With 124 cars signed into the pit area and a large crowd on hand, Grayson, Kentucky driver Jackie Boggs played it up to the crowd and brought home the $5,000 pay day in the 30th Annual Harvest 50 for AMRA Kryptonite Late Models at Billy Jarrell's Skyline Speedway. Boggs overcame early leader, the Showstopper Tim Dohm, and Showtime Steve Shaver on the 24th lap; withstood the challenges of that duo and raced on to the win. The race went 50 laps without caution--green to checkered in a festive night that was also DARF night and host to the Dayton Auto Racing Fan club.

In the 410 sprint car main, veteran outlaw Danny Smith, Chillicothe, Ohio, blasted by Jimmy Nier on the third lap, then repelled the late race challenges of Nathan Skaggs to claim the campanion Ohio Valley Sprint Car Association 30 lap affair paying $2,500 to win.  The AMRA Octane Modifieds may have been the best feature event of the evening.  Although Dan Ebert officially led the last five laps, the Lake Shore, Minnesota driver and 2012 Skyline track Champion Jeremy Berwanger traded the lead seven times; however, Berwanger--the Murray City Bandit--just couldn't make it stick as Ebert blitzed the high-side cushion to the win in the $1,500 to win, 20-lap A-main.

Unofficially, Fast Freddie Carpenter  and Kenny Johnson maintained enough points to earn Skyline Speedway track championships in the AMRA Kryptonite Late Models and AMRA Octane Modifieds respectively.  Official numbers will be released later in the week.

In the 410 OVSCA Skyline points, the points race went down to the final night between Kory Crabtree and Nathan Skaggs and at press time was too close to call.  Skaggs finished second and Crabtree 12th after a mid race accident.

Roy Roush, Reedsville, Ohio was crowned the 2013 AMRA Octane Modified National Champion and will collect a $5,000 pay check at the annual AMRA Awards banquet, edging out Five time champion and defending 3-time Champion Kenny Johnson.  For the fourth year in a row, Chris Garnes was crowned the 2013 AMRA Kryptonite Late Model champion.  Nathan Skaggs remained the OVSCA points leader in the sprints with two weekends of racing remaining at Atomic Speedway.

Steve Shaver set fast time of the 43 late models on hand with a 12:55, half a second off the track record of 12:04 held by Josh McGuire.  Shaver looked for the clean sweep after the heat one win and pole start for the feature alongside Jackie Boggs.  

Shaver led the first three circuits with Tim Dohm in tow and Boggs dropping back to third.  Instantly, the race became a three-car battle for the duration.  Dohm blitzed by Shaver on lap four and a lap later Boggs roared into second.

Said Dohm, "I got some really good starts and was fast out of the gate. I went softer on tire compound than anyone else and the car really took off in the beginning."

Meanwhile, Shaver with a harder tire selection began a tail spin to about a straight-away behind, but well ahead of fourth place Zach Dohm and Josh McGuire.

For ten circuits the eldest Dohm and elder statesman of the racing Dohm family,  went head-to-head with Boggs who tried multiple grooves all over the racing surface.  Noted Boggs, "The track looked wet but it really wasn't..It was really slick and hard to figure out. I was trying to keep some momentum up high, but found that the car worked best on the bottom."

After swapping positions several times, Boggs took over for good on lap 24, but his fight wasn't over.  Shaver's tires started to fire, allowing the Vienna, WV native to climb back into the hut.  Dohm and Boggs fought for several more laps until Shaver's resurgence occupied Dohm and all eyes focused on the battle for second.

Lots of great racing battles took place all over the track with Travis Brookover, up from the B-main charging from the rear of the pack to a top ten before being stonewalled at mid-race.  Corey Conley, Chris Garnes, KC Burdette and Josh McGuire were lumped together in battle for a good portion of the race before things started to shake down.

Meanwhile, Shaver and Dohm traded positions with Dohm taking over second for good on lap 42. Shaver may have had the faster car, but his momentum was stymied on several occasions in lapped traffic. All the while that duo had rund down Boggs and on laps 42-48 all three cars rode under a tight blanket before Boggs put a lapped car between him and the pair to preserve the win.

"It was just a matter of being really smart," noted the winning Boggs. "I tried about every groove out there. I think we made the right tire choice and just held on.  I like this place. I hadn't been here for a while and it was good to come up here and win."

Boggs continued, "I would like to think my crew. They really had this Swartz Chassis hooked up tonight." Boggs' Swartz car had a homebuilt engine built by crew men Marty Walker and Kenny Hemman.

"My tires made it 30 laps, but we needed them for 50," smiled Tim Dohm.  "We were good out of the gate, but just held on at the end.  I was fortunate to be able to hold on to second.  When it came down to it, I don't think I had enough tires to give Jackie any more than what we did."

"I went with a little harder tire," noted third place Shaver. "I was good the latter part of the race and thought I had a good race car all night.  I just couldn't get the traffic going in my favor.  Everytime I made a run, a car would be in my groove, but that's racin'...those guys are racing for position too.  We came here to learn some things with this car (Longhorn Chassis) and we learned some things tonight, so I felt we had a successful night."
 
Rounding out the top ten were Jackie Boggs, Tim Dohm, Steve Shaver, Zach Dohm, Corey Conley, Chris Garnes, KC Burdette, Travis Brookover, and Freddie Carpenter.

The Hard Charger in the Late Models was Travis Brookover who moved up nine positions  from 17th to 8th.  Although Brookover did what he had to do in charging from deep in the pack in the B-main after not qualifying in his heat, to make the feature, he finished just one spot ahead of Fast Freddie Carpenter.  Carpenter, thus unofficially had enough points to secure the 2013 Skyline Track Championship.  

The sprint car feature provided all the action and drama any race fan could expect.  Unfortunately, the night ended early for OVSCA points' contender Wes McGlumphy, who made contact with Ryan Broughton before climbing a wheel and flipping on the backchute before being hit by defending OVSCA champion Dave Dickson.  All drivers were ok, but only Broughton continued.

Just a couple laps into the event Keith Baxter in the Charlie Brown sprinter and Wayne McPeek collided forcing the field to take evasive action.  After that melee, things settled down with Jimmy Nier taking the early lead.  Smith blasted by on lap four and led the rest of the race, but had to withstand the challenges of Nier and eventual second place runner Nathan Skaggs. For a time Josh Davis was on the move in his family 22D, but after a late race caution his drive forward stalled at fourth, yet still a great run.

Rounding out the top ten were Danny Smith, Nathan Skaggs, Jim Nier, Josh Davis, Jim Stinson, Aaron Higgins, Sam Ashworth, Ryan Broughton, Mark Imler, and Chuck Waddell.

"The key tonight was just finding the right path and getting some momentum," noted Danny Smith. "From there I just tried to cruise. The track was a little bit different tonight.  We brought out a reverse torsion tube car too and I hadn't driven one of them since the 1990's.  But it all turned out well and I'm glad to be here in victory lane."

The Hard Charger in the sprints was Chuck Waddell moving up eight positions moving from 18th to 10th.

For the fans who stayed for the finale, the wait was well worth it.  One Facebook fan summed it up best, "For those of you who stayed, the modified race was AWESOME."

Indeed it was! Jeremy Berwanger and Kenny Johnson, one-two in the Skyline points' race went neck and neck for the first nine laps.  Berwanger appeared to have the best set up, but while that duo dualed Dan Ebert, Roy Roush, Booger Garnes, and Jason Brooks did battle for a top five.

Ebert bagged Johnson on lap ten, the four laps later the high flyer  blitzed by Berwanger on the high side.  The entire race was close, but the last five laps produced some of the best racing of the year.  Berwanger was faster in one and two and coming off of four, but Ebert was good off turn two and down the backchute.  The duo exchanged positions with regularity as the fans ramaining in the stands came to their feet.  Ebert and Berwanger may have rubbed some paint coming off of four to the checkered, but the good natured battle went to Ebert at the finish.

"We got lucky tonight!" said winner Dan Ebert.  "We probably had a 4th to 7th place car the way it was set during the heat race.  We made a bunch of changes after the heat and everything we did turned out just right."

"Jeremy (Berwanger) and I had a great race going there.  I appreciate him running me clean.  He's a clean racer and a very good racer. He had some chances for opportunity but he gave me room to race.  Going at it like we did was a lot of fun and winning is just a bonus."

Berwanger reflected Ebert's comments, "You always want to win, but finishing second was still a lot of fun tonight.  We had a heck of a race going on out there. Dan raced me clean and earned that win."

"The caution really hurt me," added Berwanger.  "We didn't traction up enough and it was rough on the bottom where we were making some headway.  Still it was fun, just fun, and you don't always get to say that in racing today."

The Hard charger in the modifieds was youngster Tyler Evans moving up tweleve positions in a charge from 15th to 3rd. Evans said of his podiium stand, "I just want to thank God my Lord and Savior for giving me the ability to drive a race car and for all He does in my life.  The car was great tonight. I'd like to thank Dad and my crew and Nick Hoffman for building this fast Elite Chassis."

Zach Carr won his 30th feature of the year in the Mike's Auto Body Mini Wedges.  Rounding out the top ten were Zack Carr, Aiden Powell, Lucas Crooks, Kasey Rankin, Kalista Barnes, Lucas Shaw, Gavin Martin, Evan McPherson, Hunter Krivesti, and Austin Washburn.

Skyline will close up shop for the season.  Plans for the banquet will be announced in the few weeks and plans for an exciting 2014 season and prayers for good weather are on the horizon.

For more information please contact << www.skylinespeedway.net  >> or call 304-539-4410 or the track phone at 740-662-4111.

The summary:  30th Annual Harvest 50 2013  
Saturday, September 28
   
410 Sprint Cars (21)
Fast Time: Josh Davis 11:49
Heat One: Jim Nier, Josh Davis, Sam Ashworth, Dave Dickson, Wes McGlumphy, Wayne McPeek, Jeff Conrad (DNS)
Heat Two: Kory Crabtree, Danny Smith, Ryan Broughton, Keith Baxter, Mark Imler, Chuck Waddle, John Shewbrooks
Heat Three: Nathan Skaggs, Jimmy Stinson, Aaron Higgins, Brian Benson, Jesse McCleary, Bob Tucker, Eric Martin
B-Main: Wayne McPeek, Bob Tucker, Chuck Wadel, John Shewbrooks, Jeff Conrad, Eric Martin (DNS)
Feature: Danny Smith, Nathan Skaggs, Jim Nier, Josh Davis, Jim Stinson, Aaron Higgins, Sam Ashworth, Ryan Broughton, Mark Imler, Chuck Waddell, Bob Tucker, Kory Crabtree, Jesse McCleary, Wayne McPeek, Keith Baxter, Brian Benson, Dave Dickson, Wes McGlumphy

KRYPTONITE AMRA Late Models (43)
Fast Time: Steve Shaver 12:55
Heat One: Steve Shaver, Chris Combs, Corey Conley, Nick Dohm, Colten Burdette, Chris Carpenter, Jason Gillian, Kenny Newhouse, Justin Powell (DNS)
Heat Two: Jackie Boggs, Josh McGuire, Tyler Carpenter, Brian Eaton, Travis Brookover, Frankie Hall, Roger Warren, Mike McDaniel, Eric Foster
Heat Three: Tim Dohm, Ronnie Mayle, Freddie Carpenter, Corey DeLancey, Dan Morrison, Bub Crum, Frankie Johnston, Ricky Strattis, TJ Roush
Heat Four: Harold Redman Jr., KC Burdette, Steve Bigley, Randy Armes, Daniel Hill, Brandon Francis, Buddy Brogan, Andy Bond
Heat Five: Zach Dohm, Chris Garnes, Tom Hendrix, John Whitney, Jr., Ralph Withem, Jeremy Blake, Darrin Roush, Ryan Leckrone (DNS)
C-Main: Jason Gillian, Darrin Roush, Kenny Newhouse, Frankie Johnston, Mike McDaniel, Buddy Brogan, TJ Roush, Roger Warren, Ricky Strattis
B-Main: Nick Dohm, Travis Brookover, Colten Burdette, Ralph Withem, Randy Armes, Dan Morrison, Jeremy Blake, Kenny Newhouse, Bub Crum, Brian Eaton, Jason Gillian, John Whitney, Jr., Brandon Francis, Chris Carpenter, Corey DeLancey, Daniel Hill, Darrin Roush, Frankie Hall
Feature: Jackie Boggs, Tim Dohm, Steve Shaver, Zach Dohm, Corey Conley, Chris Garnes, KC Burdette, Travis Brookover, Freddie Carpenter, Tyler Carpenter, Nick Dohm, Tom Hendrix, Steve Bigley, Josh McGuire, Ronnie Mayle, Chris Combs, Harold Redman, Colten Burdette

OCTANE AMRA MODIFIEDS (51)
Fast Time: Jeremy Berwanger 14:13
Heat One: Jeremy Berwanger, Derrick Smith, Tony Roush, Ricky Venham, Chris Stotts, Bob Sims, Marc Martin, Casey Fritz, Kurt Stacy, Ryan McGrath
Heat Two: Kenny Johnson, Dan Ebert, JC Casto, John Burdette, Matt Holcomb, Dusty Boley, Frankie Hall, Jeremy Blake, Kevin Rooks, Brad Willis
Heat Three:  Robert Garnes, Nick Corbitt, Vince Conrad, Cliff Crank, Nick Carr, Mike McPherson, Joe Hibbert, Charlie Martin, Mitch Brunton, Tommy Powell (DNS)
Heat Four: Roy Roush, Andy Bond, Kyle Bond, Jason Brookover, Robbie Evans, Ronnie Mayle, J.P. Roberts, Jeff Wood, Tyler Hendrix, Del Cunningham
Heat Five: Jason Brooks, James Dennis, Tyler Evans, Gary Gould, Bill Fordyce, JR Payne, Eric Arledge, Aaron Pendleton, Jesse Rupe, Kurt Reck
C-Main: Jeremy Blake, J.P. Roberts, Joe Hibbert, Kevin Rooks, Jesse Rupe, Tyler Hendrix, Kurt Stacy, Del Cunningham, Eric Arledge, Charlie Martin, Brad Willis, Jeff Wood, Casey Fritz, Marc Martin (DNS), Frankie Hall (DNS), Aaron Pendelton (DNS), Ryan McGrath (DNS)
B-Main:  Rick Venham, John Burdette, Robbie Evans, Bill Fordyce, Cliff Crank, Ronnie Mayle, Bob Sims, Jeremy Blake, Joe Hibbard, Dusty Boley, Gary Gould, Chris Stotts, Mike McPherson, Nick Carr, Jason Brookover, JR Payne, Matt Holcomb
Feature: Dan Ebert, Jeremy Berwanger, Tyler Evans, Kenny Johnson, Robbie Evans, Roy Roush, Robert Garnes, Jason Brooks, Vince Conrad, John Burdette, JC Casto, Tony Roush, James Dennis, Derrick Smith, Rick Venham, Nick Corbitt, Kyle Bond, Andy Bond

Mike's Auto Body Mini-Wedges (10)
Heat One: Kasey Rankin, Evan McPherson, Lucas Shaw, Kalista Barnes, Gavin Martin
Heat Two: Zack Carr, Lucas Crooks, Aiden Powell, Austin Washburn, Hunter Krivesti
Feature: Zack Carr, Aiden Powell, Lucas Crooks, Kasey Rankin, Kalista Barnes, Lucas Shaw, Gavin Martin, Evan McPherson, Hunter Krivesti, Austin Washburn (DNS)