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Michael Despain
JUNCTION CITY, Ky. (April 25) - On an evening that saw exciting finishes and even a tie, Brad Neat of Dunnville, KY would pick up the $1,500 to win special for the Good Neighbor Pharmacy Super Late Models on Friday evening at Ponderosa Speedway. Other feature winners included P.J. Feistritzer of Danville, KY in Kentucky National Guard Pro Late Models, Benji Lee of St. Joe, KY in Hardee's Modifieds, and Bartley Grant of Berea, KY and Logan Whitis of Hustonville, KY finished in a dead heat to tie for the SkyTower Power Race Engines Sportsman feature win.
The Good Neighbor Pharmacy Super Late Model feature event would see a three-wide battle for the lead before Victor Lee would claim the top spot, followed by Bobby Wolter, Jr., Brad Neat, Michael Chilton, and Dustin Neat. Caution would wave on lap 2 when Matthew Rigdon spun his mount exiting turn two. The restart would also see the second and final caution of the race wave when the leaders stacked up on the restart, with fifth place Dustin Neat receiving the bad end of the incident when his machine spun and received damage, ending his night. The restart would have Lee out front, with Wolter, Jr. and Brad Neat battling for second, while Chilton would get some heat from Aaron Hatton for fourth. Wolter, Jr. would roll up on Lee and pass him for the lead off of turn four on lap 5, only to lose the spot back to Lee one circuit later. Neat would scoot past Wolter, Jr. for second on lap 7, while Chilton and Hatton continued to battle door-to-door for fourth, with Hatton taking the four spot on lap 10. By the halfway mark on lap 15, Lee and Neat and put some distance back to now third place Hatton, with Chilton taking fourth from Wolter, Jr. on lap 19. The lead duo of Lee and Neat saw their battle heat up further when the pair started to encounter heavy traffic on lap 23. The leaders would battle wheel-to-wheel in the heavy traffic as they received the two lap to go signal on lap 28. Turn two would be the turning point for the lead on lap 29, as Neat got by Lee on the outside in the traffic as the field roared to the white flag. Neat would keep Lee and bay and take the hotly contested victory in the Kentucky Proud/Begley Properties/NWN Distributing/Tarter Gate/Tarter and Roberts Insurance/Tri-County Wood/ Mosley NAPA Auto Parts/AFCO Racing Products sponsored #41 MasterSbilt Race Cars, Cornett Race Engines powered entry. Lee would finish second, followed by Hatton, Chilton, and Dustin Linville. Jason Keltner would head up the second five at the finish, followed by Valvoline Six-Pack Hard Charger award winner Jordan Bland, Mike Jewell, Chris Combs, and Wolter, Jr. Hatton was top qualifier among 19 entries in Wayne Bowen Racing Supply time trials with a lap of 13.458 seconds. Brad Neat won the dash, while heat race wins fell to Jake Henry and Dustin Linville.
The Kentucky National Guard Pro Late Model feature event saw 15 year old Dylan Preston attempting to win his first-ever Pro Late Model main event and he would stave off the challenges of P.J. Feistritzer over the first 19 laps of the event, until Feistritzer would slidejob Preston off of turn two on the final lap, only to have Preston pull back alongside Feistritzer in turn three. The duo would be door-to-door coming to the checkered flag off of turn four, with the pair making contact just short and the checkered flag, with Feistritzer coming home first, while Preston spun into the outside retaining wall just past the flagstand. Feistritzer's win was his third straight on the season and came aboard the Big Daddy's Auto Sales/Self-Service Storage sponsored #88 C.J. Rayburn Race Car. Preston would finish second and also claim the Valvoline Six-Pack Hard Charger award. Zane Morgan, Gary Yeager, and Todd Coffman would complete the top five. Todd Coffman would be the Wayne Bowen Racing Supply top qualifier in time trials with a 14.624 second lap among eight entries and would also score the heat race victory.
The Hardee's Modified main event would see an entertaining battle throughout the final 12 laps of the open-wheel feature as Josh Lucas and Benji Lee would battle side-by-side all the way around the track, and at times, just inches apart. Lucas would lead the entire distance, only to see Lee able to work beneath last week's feature winner exiting turn four with just three circuits remaining. Lucas would continue to nip at Lee's heels, but would settle for second on this evening as Lee would put the Thompson Heat and Air/ B&B Motorsports/St. Joe Garage sponsored #03 Bandit Race Cars, Dale Meers Race Engines powered machine in victory lane. Lucas would take runner-up honors, with Victor Lee claiming third, J.T. Ayers scoring fourth, and Kelly Warren collecting fifth. The remainder of the top ten would be Russ Gabbert, Elliott Despain, Kevin Nesselhauf, Valvoline Six-Pack Hard Charger Jeff Johnson, and Rocky Wilson. In Wayne Bowen Racing Supply time trials, Benji Lee would be the top qualifier among 15 entries at 15.066 seconds. Lucas would score the dash win, while Gabbert grabbed the heat win.
The SkyTower Power Race Engines Sportsman feature event would see a late race caution with 6 laps remaining tighten up the front of the field and Logan Whitis would attempt to keep Bartley Grant at bay, with the pair taking the white flag side-by-side for the lead. The final lap would a true race fan's delight as the pair would go at all the way down the backchute and enter turn three side-by-side and exit turn four still in that position, with pair rubbing some paint and taking the checkered flag in a dead heat, with track promoter Larry Yantz declaring both drivers the winner of the race. Grant's #1 entry is sponsored by Cookie Monster Power Plants/Double J Cylinder Heads/D&H Heating and Air/Smokehouse Grill/Cox Wrecker Service/Copper Creek Welding, while Whitis's #12w machine is sponsored by Back and Body Chiropractic Center/B&K Tire Center/Beldon's Concrete/Whited's Auto Sales/Polly's II Shoe Outlet/Chiffton Steel Company/Atwood Brothers Detail and Tint Shop/Charlie's Barber Shop. Gerald Haynes, Jr., Troy Scott, and Valvoline Six-Pack Hard Charger Grady Moore would complete the top five. Gerald Haynes would top Wayne Bowen Racing Supply time trials at 16.464 seconds among 11 entries and also win the dash, with Moore, Jr. winning the heat.
SUMMARY-Ponderosa Speedway-Junction City, KY-April 25, 2008
Good Neighbor Pharmacy Super Late Models (19 entries)
Wayne Bowen Racing Supply Top Qualifier- Aaron Hatton 13.458
Dash- Brad Neat, Victor Lee, Bobby Wolter, Jr., Aaron Hatton, Michael Chilton, Dustin Neat
1st Heat- Jake Henry, Jason Keltner, Eric Wells, David Webb
2nd Heat- Dustin Linville, Mike Jewell, Chris Combs, Jordan Bland
Feature- Brad Neat, Victor Lee, Aaron Hatton, Michael Chilton, Dustin Linville, Jason Keltner, Jordan Bland, Mike Jewell, Chris Combs, Bobby Wolter, Jr., David Webb, Eric Wells, Shon Flanery, Jamie Ferguson, Jake Henry, Matthew Rigdon, Bobby Carrier, Jr., Shawn Negangard, Dustin Neat
Kentucky National Guard Pro Late Models (8entries)
Wayne Bowen Racing Supply Top Qualifier- Todd Coffman 14.624
Heat- Coffman, P.J. Feistritzer, Gary Yeager, Zane Morgan
Feature- P.J. Feistritzer, Dylan Preston, Zane Morgan, Gary Yeager, Todd Coffman, Tommy Carlton, Scott Brewer, Jim Wilson
Hardee's Modifieds (15 entries)
Wayne Bowen Racing Supply Top Qualifier- Benji Lee 15.066
Dash- Josh Lucas, Benji Lee, Timmy York, J.T. Ayers, Kelly Warren, Victor Lee
Heat- Russ Gabbert, Elliott Despain, Kevin Nesselhauf, Shane McKenney
Feature- Benji Lee, Josh Lucas, Victor Lee, J.T. Ayers, Kelly Warren, Russ Gabbert, Elliott Despain, Kevin Nesselhauf, Jeff Johnson, Rocky Wilson, Bobby Neal, Shane McKenney, Rick Lane, Timmy York (DNS-Randy Turpin)
SkyTower Power Race Engines Sportsman (11 entries)
Wayne Bowen Racing Supply Top Qualifier- Gerald Haynes, Jr. 16.464
Dash- Gerald Haynes, Jr., Bartley Grant, Logan Whitis, Troy Scott, Josh Sexton, Brian Cox
Heat- Grady Moore, Jr., Joe Walker, C.W. Murphy, Dennis Cross
Feature- Bartley Grant and Logan Whitis (Tie), Gerald Haynes, Jr., Troy Scott, Grady Moore, Jr., Joe Walker, C.W. Murphy, Brian Cox, Bryan Montgomery (DNS- Josh Sexton, Dennis Cross)
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