|
Hagerstown Speedway
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (August 28) - Saturday night was second win night as Hagerstown's Alan Sagi notched his second season triumph, this time by posting victory in the 30th Annual Shorty Bowers Bull Durham Championship late model event. Sagi started third in the 30-lap event and won by 4.686 seconds ahead of Jamie Lathroum.
Season second wins also went to Ashley Barrett of Shippensburg, Pa, whose previous win in the Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic late model sportsman division was April 3rd, the division's first race of the season while Darrin Younker of Berkley Springs, WV posted his second triumph in the last three races for the Ernie D's Pure Stocks.
Sagi moved into second on the while Gerry Bard led as Lathroum showed up and went to the front. Sagi kept pace until Lathroum made a slight bobble in turn four of the 19th lap as Sagi came off the fourth turn bottom to lead the 20th. He continued to stretch his lead until the checkered when he was nearly a straightaway and two lapped cars back to Lathroum.
"They were giving me a signal,' Sagi said."Jamie and I had a good race there. I was trying to run the tires off him. I kind of thought he was a tick better than I was. Jerry Bard was a little better there at the beginning but I just rode there and made some just laps and things worked out for us."
Bard put the field in motion from the pole as Sagi got ahead of Brian Booze on the start while Lathroum was coming from ninth to get past Booze on the seventh lap. Following back to back cautions on laps nine and ten, the race went the rest of the way under green.
Bard was made the meat in the sandwich on the backstretch of lap 11 when Lathroum charged around the outside and Sagi hugged the inside going into turn three. Lathroum exited turn four with the lead while Sagi wasn't giving him any slack and continued to make him run for the money. While they duked it out up front, Bard was trailing by nearly three seconds with Mike Lupfer following and Gary Stuhler coming after he got past Tyler Hershey.
Lathroum slipped momentarily as Sagi was close enough to capitalize on the miscue and let it all hang out after taking over on lap 20. He began to stretch his lead a little every lap as he entered rear traffic by lap 22 and never looked back until taking the checkered.
"This deal's really been coming together the past few weeks," Sagi said. "We're getting the car better and better all the time. The biggest thanks goes to John Chamberlain, the owner."
Lathroum ended second as Stuhler edged past Bard on the final stretch for third. Fifth went to Hershey while Lupfer was sixth. Point leader Frankie Plessinger was seventh over J.T. Spence, from 15th, with Marvin Winters and Booze to complete the top ten. Heat winners were Hershey, Bard and Lathroum while Kyle Lear was the consy winner.
A pivotal point of the event in the battle for the championship ending in next week's McBee/Hays Championship event came on lap nine when Roy Deese Jr. pitted under the caution with a broken suspension component. Plessinger came into the event 39 to the good and left with a 125 point spread. Deese beat Plessinger last year by only one point for his seventh title.
Rookie Justin Weaver and veteran Richard Walls came to the green in the late model sportsman feature as Weaver sped to the front and had a 2.40 second lead by lap four when Walls' air cleaner came off and stuck the throttle, sending him into the turn one fence.
Barrett had started seventh and took over the runner up spot on the restart to lead Weaver by inches on lap five...
Weaver maintained his distance while Steve Axtell Jr. and Andy Fries came from the fifth and sixth rows to aggravate him but following a ninth lap restart, Weaver ran his race while Axtell and Fries battled for the third spot with Fries taking the position until Axtell reclaimed it with four to go. A final caution closed the field on lap 18 for a two lap dash to the finish as Barrett pulled ahead to a 1.261 second win while Weaver didn't falter and easily picked up the runner up spot over Axtell with Fries and Scott Palmer completing the top five. Weaver, Richard and Rodney Walls won the heats.
"I'm really happy to be here tonight," Barrett said. "It seems the last few weeks, I can't make anything happen on the top. We found three bad shocks on the car and I know that was holding us back. We've been working on our set ups and scratching our heads a whole lot and I never even went to the top tonight. I got to the front and said 'I'm going to stay here (on the bottom)' and it worked out for us tonight."
Danny Beavers led the first lap of the pure stock feature as fifth starting Younker charged to the front and had the lead by the second circuit. While he had Beavers trailing, Dave Stouffer was on the way from 11th and worked past Beavers on the 13th lap to begin closing the gap on Younker. They came to the line by less than a length and only .227 seconds apart. Brian Miller ended third with Mike Warrenfeltz and Billy Ecton Jr. completing the top five. Younker and Miller won the heats.
"These are never easy, Younker said. "It's a little easier when you start towards the front, but I'll tell you what, we worked hard for this."
As race dates begin to dwindle, Saturday's program is one of the best on the schedule with the late models headlining the 44-lap 25th Annual McBee/Hays Championship. The Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic Late Model Sportsman and Ernie D's Pure Stocks are also on the program. With the final point standings shows, the 2010 champions will be determined following each event. There will also be one final Enduro Dash prior to the finale during the Small Car National event the following weekend. Check the speedway website for any changes in the weather at: www.hagerstownspeedway.com or contact the speedway office at 301-582-0640.
Hagerstown Speedway Results
30th Annual Shorty Bowers Bull Durham Championship: Late Models, 30 Laps, 26 entries (Lap Leaders-Jerry Bard 1-11, Jamie Lathroum 12-19, Alan 20 -30): 1.Alan Sagi; 2.Jamie Lathroum; 3.Gary Stuhler; 4.Jerry Bard; 5.Tyler Hershey; 6.Mike Lupfer; 7.Frankie Plessinger; 8.J. T. Spence; 9.Marvin Winters; 10.Brain Booze; 11.Kyle Lear; 12.Al Shawver Jr. 13.Rusty Sites; 14.Tyler Armstrong; 15.James Myers; 16.Doug Timmons; 17.Jimmy McBee Jr.;18.Larry Baker II; 19.Steve Gibney; 20.Ronnie DeHaven Jr.;21.Daryl Hills; 22.Bryan Bernheisel; 23.Roy Deese Jr.; 24.Kirk Baker, DNQ - Doug Legum, "Charlie Hageage
Hoosier Tire-Mid Atlantic Late Model Sportsman, 20 Laps, 24 entries, (Lap Leaders - Justin Weaver 1-4, Ashley Barrett5-20) 1.Ashley Barrett; 2.Justin Weaver; 3.Steve Axtell Jr.; 4.Andy Fries; 5.Scott Palmer; 6.Pete Weaver ( St. Thomas Towing/Checkered Flag Lube Center Hard Charger) 7.Glenn Elliott; 8.Paul Cursey; 9.Chad Myers; 10.Robby Beall; 11.Wayne Walls Jr; 12.Fred Harden; 13.Donnie Farlling; 14.Courtney Shreiner; 15.Terry Flaherty; 16.Chaz Walls; 17.Rodney Walls; 18.Ryan Walls; 19.Jason Smith; 20.Ronnie Dennis; 21.J.J. McLanigan; 22.Chris McLanigan; 23.Richard Walls; DNS - Nick Pappas
Ernie D's Pure Stocks, 15 laps, 16 entries (Lap Leaders - Danny Beavers 1, Darrin Younker 2-15): 1.Darrin Younker; 2.Dave Stouffer Jr (Turner Bowling Centers Hard Charger); 3.Danny Beavers; 4.Brian Miller; 5.Mike Warrenfeltz; 6.Billy Ecton Jr. 7.Kevin Koontz; 8.Kenny Dillon' 9.Kevin Koontz/ 10.Mike Sanders; 11.Steve Lowery; 12.Kenny Day; 13.Charlie Pensinger; 14.Mike Kratovil; DNS - Drew Fitzsimmons, Frank Dibella
|
