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Dave Sully
LITTLE VALLEY, N.Y. (July 18) - In one of the closest super late model finishes in recent memory, Ron Davies, from Warren, PA, edged his brother Dutch by a short nose to win the thirty lap feature before a good crowd of appreciative fans at Little Valley Speedway on Saturday night, July 18th. The race also featured an appearance by WOO star Shane Clanton, from Copley, Georgia.
Ron Davies took the lead at the outset from the outside of the front row, outdigging polesitter Bob Close. Following a lap one spin by Bump Hedman, Davies surrendered the lead to Mike Knight on lap two, but regained it on a lap four restart. While this was going on, Dutch Davies was working his way forward from seventh, claiming second on lap fourteen and then steaming by Ron on the low side to take command on lap fifteen.
From there a classic high low battle ensued with Dutch clinging to the bottom, and Ron, as is his wont, rim-riding around the outside. As this scenario developed, Knight began to pressure Ron for second. While Ron pulled away from Knight, he came upon the slower car of Al Brewer, who was occupying the space he needed.
This set up the pivotal event of the race. With Dutch driving away and Ron stymied behind Brewer, Knight brought out the caution when he slammed the turn two wall, noting to the corner flagger, "I came in way too hot." This set up a six lap shootout, with Dutch and Ron the top two, followed by Chad Ruhlman, who was strong all night, and Bob Close.
When the race resumed, Dutch dove to the bottom, while Ron climbed to the top and the race was on. With Dutch determined to bottom feed, Ron careened around the outside, tempting fate on every lap as the marbles and the wall loomed ever so close. He could pull alongside, but Dutch was able to keep his momentum down low. On lap twenty-nine Ron pulled alongside once again in turn three, but this time when they emerged the distance between them was considerable shorter. On the final lap Ron once again made a move coming out of turn four and the two drag-raced to the line with Ron just getting his nose in front as they crossed the stripe. Ruhlman took third, followed by Close, and Hedman, who came from the rear after the early spin.
Ron, who has been needing a win to turn his season around exulted, "This track has always been kind of good to us. We've got a setup that works here. We were a little off on tires. The caution helped us at the end or Dutch would have won the race. We just gave it all we had right at the end and we beat him by a foot. It's just great. My car owner has stuck with me. We've just had an off year. Maybe this will get things going better." Asked when re realized he had won, he replied, "When I came across the scales they had their fingers up No. 1. I didn't even know who won. It was a great race for everyone. I hope the fans enjoyed it, because I sure did in the seat."
For his part, a classy Dutch Davies commented, "My car was so good on the bottom, there wasn't any way I was going to switch. It was just a good race. If I'm going to lose to somebody, it would be him over anybody. It was a good clean race. The fans really enjoyed themselves, and that's what it's all about." As for the end, he added, "I wasn't really sure who won. I knew it was real close. I needed that finish line to be back about a hundred yards. It was just one of those deals where neither of us made a mistake and he came out a little bit ahead. That's how it's supposed to be. Two guys racing clean and hard and the best car won." As for the track, Dutch noted, "That's as good as it gets. The track guys did a fantastic job. It was smooth from top to bottom. It was a little bit slick on the bottom and there was some traction on the top, which made for some excellent racing in all the classes. You could use the whole thing. I just found my n iche down on the bottom next to the tires where my car was the best. I just hammered that all night long. We didn't need the caution. That probably cost us because he was a little softer on tires than we were, so he got to cool his tires a little bit, which helped him and hurt us, but either way, that's the way it falls. You don't know where the cautions are going to come. You take your best guess at the setup, and you go with what you've got."
Clanton, who headquarters at Ron Davies' shop, and who built Ron's car, drove all day Friday from North Dakota to make the show. He was having engine problems on the WOO tour and needed to try to work the bugs out. Starting eleventh after slapping the wall in his heat, he worked hard to get up to seventh before he retired as the motor woes apparently continue. He finished sixteenth.
RESULTS:
Super Late Models: (30 laps) ; Ron Davies, Dutch Davies, Chad Ruhlman, Bob Close, Bump Hedman, Jeff Hoffman, Greg Oakes, Ed Carley, Mickey Wright, John Lacki, Brent Rhebergen, Al Brewer, Tim Schram, Jason Dupont, Mike Knight, Shane Clanton, John Haggerty, Ron Baker, Brad Mesler, Todd Sweet, Jon Law, and Dan Stives. Heat winners were Ron Davies, Knight, and Law.
360 Late Models: (15 laps. Shortened from 20 due to rain) Steve Dixon, Jeff Chesebro, Scooter Pangrazio, Larry Knowles, Brian Kotarski, Brian Knowles, Bryce Davis, Jr. Peters, Dave Dubois, Jason Knowles, Neil Patterson, Mike Wonderling, Quinn Sutherland, Don Krug, John Lichy, Jim Johnson, Mikey Wonderling, Jason Boyle, Jon Waters, Jon Rivers, Jeremy Wonderling, Greg Galligan, Dave Miller, Derek Boyle, Bob Close, and Bruce Miller. DNQ- Matt Bove, Jr. Green, Tom Schnars, and Cecil LaBaron. Heat winners were Kotarski, Mikey Wonderling, and Pangrazio. B Main winner was Sutherland.
E-Mods: (20 laps) Randy Hall, Brent Rhebergen, Brad Wall, Vic Vena, Dan Davies, Tim Peterson, Tim Rockwell, Craig Bedell, Jeff Johnson, Kyle Bedell, Justin Tatlow, Mark Gilbert, Mike Eschrich, Nathan Hill, and Brian Fardink. DNS- Darren Tarabori, Tim Walden, and Jeremy Bucktooth. Heat winners were Rockwell and Vena.
Street Stocks: (15 laps) Andy Michael, Adam Sixt, Adam Ashcroft, Chris Austin, Butch Talbot, Rob Stromecki, Josh Wilcox, Cliff Johnson Jr., Shane Wolfer, Jason Schoonmaker, Jeff Woodard, Barry Tingue, Andrew Eastman, Nathan Arnold, Steve Sklar, Kyle Bradigan, Rich Wojtowicz, Tim Bruce, and Mark Loveland. DNS- Dan Giboo. DQ- Baxter and Dobson. Heat winners were Baxter, Talbot, and Dobson.
Mini Stocks: (10 laps) Steve Mowrey, Brad Ullmann, Jim Gallaway, Levi Watson, Nick Snayczuk, Brian Kunselmann, Dave Lowe Jr., Michael Miller, Kurt Goodell, and Paul Bidwell. Heat winner was Mowrey.
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