|
Jay Vaquer
PHENIX CITY, Ala. (April 26) - A victory at East Alabama Motor Speedway is not a gratuitous thing, you must earn it. Late Model driver Anthony Meadows has always been an extremely competitive driver and successful at any track he runs. His victory this Saturday night was his first at EAMS in nearly 3 years. Not only did Meadows win the Late Model feature, he also set fast time qualifying with a scorching 15.66 to sit on the pole when the green flag dropped. Meadows took command with Richie "Rocketman" Stevens on him like white on rice. At the same time Dana Eiland from third was looking for a way to pass them both and the excitement was on. Chad Cardin suddenly lost the handle and went off the back strait for a yellow flag. On the restart Meadows took the lead and with a clear track ahead began to run away from the charging pack. Dana Eiland got the fans to their feet as he put his K-9 inside the Rocketman and it was wisdom against youthful talent Eiland made the inside groove of turn 4 his launch pad and blasted past Rocketman to take the second position. Eiland put the whip to his K-9 and ran down Meadows. On lap five "The Master of Faster" Dana Eiland took the lead to the seemingly endless delight of his many fans. The emotional rollercoaster that went so high had to come back down and suddenly a gremlin attacked the K-9 and Eiland's right front hub came loose and he was carried by momentum off the top of turn two for a yellow flag. He was towed to the pits and while it was on the hook his expert crew quickly fixed it and sent him back to the race, at the rear, for the restart. Meadows fired with Rocketman in his shadow looking for the lead. In seventh spot Bobby Eiland and "The Phenix City Assassin" Terrance Nowell were having a high speed battle for position. Our current Late Model track champion Larry Harrod was looking for a way to pass Jeff Mills running in fourth when Bobby Eiland developed a tire rub, no doubt a fatal shot from the Assassin. Bobby Eiland entered the pits for an early and unfortunate DNF. The Assassin's next victim was Montana Dudley. The Assassin had too much speed as he shot by Dudley and went high in turn two which allowed Dudley to pass right back and another exciting battle was on. Meanwhile, Dana Eiland was charging to the front as he passed Matt Woodson, Kelly Leonard, and Chad Cardin in one fell swoop. The middle of the pack was bunched up running four wide when former Late Model Champion Mickey Benton took a ride on the wild side. As his Grease Monkey #2 Monte Carlo went over the top close to turn three, he flipped over landing upside down. The emergency crew had to fight off concerned family members to extricate Benton, who walked back to his trailer and then collapsed. An ambulance then took him to the emergency room for examinations. After this red flag the green was back and Meadows could taste the victory as he flawlessly maintained the lead from the persistent charges of The Rocketman. Dana Eiland was on a run passing Dudley to move into seventh place. Larry Eldridge and Larry Harrod sped past Rocketman for second and third. Rocketman had broken his suspension and was still racing with only three wheels touching the ground and sometimes only the back two tires on the ground. Nowell was in fifth but nearly a straightaway behind Meadows who took the checkers in championship form. Larry Eldridge finished second, Larry Harrod third, Richie Stephens fourth, Terrance Nowell fifth, Jeff Mills sixth, Dana Eiland seventh, Montana Dudley eighth, Gordy Scarborough ninth, and rounding out the top ten in tenth was the #88 of Matt Woodson.
In the Bomber division Robbie Luke started the feature from the pole. On lap 7 Billy Duell JR took the lead and shortly thereafter the #90 of Luke went up in smoke as the engine expired. On lap 12 Shelby Amos moved up to third and Richard Stephens SR moved into fourth. Billy Duell took the checkers with Christy Noles finishing second, Shelby Amos third, Richard Stephens SR fourth, and Jeff Elliot finished fifth.
The Pony Stock division started its feature with Bobby Duell on the pole. Before reaching turn one Adam Rodriguez and Bryan Price passed him. On lap 2 Chance Renfroe passed Duell. Rodriguez and Price battled hard for position swapping paint on the back stretch. Rodriguez seemed to have the advantage on the outside line until Price took the lead on lap 10. Bryan Price finished first, Adam Rodriguez second, Bobby Duell third, Kenneth Catrett fourth, and Chance Refroe came in fifth.
In Limited Sportsman Steven Gaines JR started from the pole. Rodgerick Dykes and Danny Stroud were quickly challenging for the lead. It was a close and exciting race in the front. Dykes finally got around Gaines for the lead in turn four. When they got to the flag stand Gaines got into the rear of Dykes which sent him spinning 360, then end over end, and then finishing up with several barrel rolls reminiscent of a Formula one crash at 200 mph with parts flying everywhere. When he came to a stop his flattened race car burst into flames. Dykes escaped serious injury and each driver accused the other of being at fault. The melee carried into the pits where one of Dyke's crew members was arrested after an attack on Steve Gaines SR. After the fight a race broke out and Danny Stroud was in the lead and not taking any prisoners as he sped to the checkers. Dustin Elliot finished second, Josh Marchman third, Paul Walters fourth, and Mikey Mount came in fifth.
The Hobby division began with Allen McConnell leading until a right front flat took him off turn 2 for a caution. Jeremy Nevels took the lead and never looked back as he took the checkers. John Michael finished second, Scott Sherrer third, Jeremy Nelson fourth, and Ricky Hedley finished fifth.
JC Duboise started the Modified feature from the pole. John Green passed him and briefly held the lead until Ricky White took the lead on lap two and held on for the checkers. John Green finished second, Stacy Mashburn third, Andy Smith fourth, and Scott Prins came in fifth.
Late Model
31 - Anthony Meadows
18 - Larry Eldridge
27 - Larry Harrod
00 - Richie Stephens
7 - Terrance Nowell
15 - Jeff Mills
K9 - Dana Eiland
55 - Montana Dudley
27 - Gordy Scarbrough
88 - Matt Woodson
14 - Pat Wall
52 - Marc Gooden
13k - Kelly Leonard
22 - Chad Carden
16 - Josh Noles
2 - Mickey Benton
08 - Bobby Eiland
Limited Sportsman
22 - Danny Stroud
115 - Dustin Elliott
21 - Josh Marchman
19 - Paul Walters
31 - Mikey Mount
RC3 - Russ Ogletree
5 - Rodgerick Dykes
50jr - Steven Gaines, Jr
72 - Chad Scrimpshire
62 - JW Noles
Hobby
44 - Jeremy Nevels
294 - John Michael
41 - Scott Sherrer
8 - Jeremy Nelson
18 - Ricky Headley
88 - John Jacobs
29 - Randy Allen
22 - Scotty Prins
24 - Allen McConnell
Bomber
721 Billy Duell, Jr
16 - Christy Noles
52 - Shelby Amos
00 - Richard Stephens
7 - Jeff Elliott
38 - Chris Storey
3 - Steven Bryant
7 - Trevor Elliott
90 - Robbie Luke
Pony Stock
17 - Bryan Price
20 - Adam Rodriguez
7 - Bobby Duell
91 - Kenneth Catrett, Jr
99 - Chance Renfroe
Modified
0 - Rickey White
2 - Johnny Greene
M33 - Stacy Mashburn
5 - Andy Smith
44 - Scott Prins
25 - Herbie Donath
29 - Randy Register
11 - JC DuBoise
|
