ARMED FORCES NIGHT
AT 35 RACEWAY PARK

Katie Boyer Frankfort, OH 05/16/2010

Saturday night was jam-packed full of racing action. With two features to make up from last weekend’s opening night, 10 feature events were ran at the fastest 1/5^{th mile in the Midwest, and no one left disappointed.}

The 4-cylinder stock feature from last week was the first race to hit the track. The 12 of Slade Mack led the field at the green, but the 3 of Zach Ackley and the 9X of Rodney Rittenhouse were side by side, battling for the runner up spot. Only a few laps into the race, Ackley took the inside line to get around both Rittenhouse and Mack to take the point in turn four. However, Rittenhouse wasn’t giving up without a fight, battling nose to tail with Ackley in the red rocket. The caution flag was in the air for Rittenhouse, as the 9X was spitting fuel due to an overfill. When the green flag was in the air again, Ackley, Rittenhouse and Mack got a jump on the field, racing bumper to bumper for the lead. The caution flew again for Todd Miley when the 21X machine came to a stop on the backstretch. When green flag racing was underway again, the battle for the lead was heating up and Rittenhouse was bumping Ackley down the front stretch. In turn three, the 9X got a nose under the 3 and after a lap of battling side-by-side, it was Rittenhouse at the point. But the 9X started popping and cracking coming out of turn four and rolled to a stop in turn one. Rittenhouse left the race due to a mechanical break, giving Ackley the lead back with only eight laps to go. The race was no more than underway before the caution was out again for Mack hitting the cone in turn four. The green flag came out and it was a five-lap dash to the checkers. Ackley jumped out with a big lead, pulling away by four car lengths over the 1H of Rick Hodge in second. The “Red Rocket” was able to run away from the field, earning his first win of the season, with Hodge in second and the 777 of Josh Atwood in third.

The sportsman dwarf feature from last week was next up on the grid. The 2 of JT Jones led the field to the green, but the yellow was in the air right away after the 31 of Jeff Surber spun on the front stretch, stacking up the field for a complete restart. Jones jumped out again with the lead, with the 26 of Gary Griffith in second and the 56 of Jim Monst behind in third. The caution flew again after the 42 of Kevin Rittenhouse got turned around in turn four. As soon as green flag racing was underway again, the caution was right back out for Surber who was stopped in turns one and two, and ended up leaving the race. With only two to go, the green flag was in the air again, and Jones was running away from the field. When the checkers waived it was Jones who took the win with Griffith in second and Monst in third.

In heat race action, the Q10 of Quinton Calder and the 5 of Brody Rowe won in the beginner kart class. The senior clone heats were won by the 155 of Ron Cubbage, the 112 of David Seitz, the 30L of Laci Speakman and the 17 of Jack Morris. The open kart heats were won by the 5 of Kyle Fletcher and the 58 of Robbie Roe. The 600 mini sprint heats were won by the 9 of Kevin Wills and the 24P of Jamie Paul. Winner of the pro dwarf heat was the 5 of Mike Weaver. The mini late model heats were won by the 18 of Ralph Brown and the 32 of Brandon Furniss. In the 4-cylinder stock heats, the 3 of Zach Ackley and the 9X of Rodney Rittenhouse were the two heat winners. The 26 of Gary Griffith and the 7 of Josh Clifton won the sportsman dwarf heats. The B-main for the senior clones was won by the 10T of Tyler Lochbaum.

The 600 mini sprints were the first to hit the track for the night’s scheduled feature events. The 51 of Bob Owens and the 95 of Roger Mossbarger were side-by-side at the line for the lead, but it was Owens at the point on the exit of turn two. The 24P of Jamie Paul and the 9 of Kevin Wills were wing to wing behind the top two, battling for the third position. The caution came out on the first lap for a car spinning in turn three, bunching the field back up for a complete restart. At the flag stand, Owens and Mossbarger were side by side for the lead, and this time it was Mossbarger at the point on the exit of turn two. The battle was on for the second position, as Paul dropped to the inside of the 51 of Chris Ray on the backstretch and was able to take the second spot away in turn three. Wills was also working his way through the field, challenging for the fourth position. The battle was on up front for the lead between Mossbarger and Paul, and after a bobble on the exit of turn four, Paul was able to shoot to the point. Wills was able to take the third position on the backstretch after working the inside line under Ray in that 51. The caution flag was waving after Mossbarger lost it in turn in two, bunching the field back up for the restart. As the field took the green, Wills made a move under Ray to take the second position away in turn two. However, the red flag was in the air very quickly after Mossbarger and the 6T of Michael Thompson got together and barrel rolled through turns one and two. Both drivers were able to walk away, but their cars had to be towed. At the restart, Paul had the lead and again, Wills was under Ray in turn one to take the second position on the backstretch. With five to go, Paul and Wills had broken away from the field. Wills was trying to reel in the 24P, but Paul’s car was on rails and he wasn’t making any mistakes. When the checkers were in the air it was Paul who took the win with Wills coming home second and Ray in third.

The beginner kart feature was next up on the grid. The 51 of Anthony Helms led the field at the green, with the 5 of Brody Roe close behind in second. The top two were able to break away from the field, but the caution was in the air for a kart stopped in turn two. At the green, Helms and Roe took off from the field, but there was a three-way battle for the third position between the 88 of Cassie Ervin, the 28 of Hudson Park and the 4 of Trevor Daniels. It was Park who had the position after working the inside to take the position away from Ervin, bringing Daniels along to the fourth spot. When the checker flag weas waving it was Helms who took the win with Roe in second and Park in third.

The sportsman dwarf class was up for their second feature event of the night. The 42 of Kevin Rittenhouse led the field to the green, but the 2 of JT Jones wasn’t going to let him go without a fight. Jones was able to get the nose under Rittenhouse on the backstretch, but couldn’t quite make it stick to take the position away. Jones was able to work his way under the 42 in turn four to take the lead away on the front stretch. But Rittenhouse said not so fast and was back to the lead on the backstretch. It was a back and forth battle, with Jones taking the spot back again at the start/finish line. The battle was stopped after a caution for the 31 of Jeff Surber after spinning in turn two. At the green, Jones jumped out to a big lead over the field, and the battle was on three-wide for the runner up spot. Rittenhouse prevailed in the fight, holding onto the second position while the 56 of Jim Monst and the 7 of Josh Clifton battled for third. Jones had taken his lead to five car lengths, while the field battled behind him for position. On the white flag lap, the 2 had a straightaway lead and ran away with his second win of the night, with Rittenhouse coming home second and Monst in third.

In the senior clone feature, the 1 of Todd Wills led the field to the green, but the caution flew as the field entered turn two, after a big pile up that took four karts out of racing contention. At the green, the 112 of David Seitz dropped to the inside of Wills to take the lead away in turn three. The 17 of Jack Morris had worked his way up through the field to battle with Wills for that runner up spot. Before long, Seitz and Morris were nose to tail for the lead, with Morris having the advantage and taking the spot on the front stretch. However, Seitz wasn’t ready to give it up just yet and took the lead back in turn four. Morris was able to take the position back again in turn one, and Seitz was bumped by a lap car and sent up the track, falling back to fourth. When the checkers were in the air it was Jack Morris who took the win with the 14 of Lucas Morris in second and Wills in third.

The open kart feature was next to hit the track. The 5 of Kyle Fletcher led the field to the green with the 9 of Kevin Wills and the 15 of Jake Bickers in toe. The top three cars run away from the field, and Wills was able to take the top spot on the backstretch. Fletcher and Bickers were nose to tail, battling for that runner up spot. Bickers took to the inside of the track to take the spot away in turn two. Lap traffic began playing a part, but Wills was able to weave around them and continue to build onto his lead. When the checkers waved it was it was Wills who took the top spot with Bickers in second and Fletcher in third.

The 4-cylinder stock class was up for their second feature event of the night. The 777 of Josh Atwood and the 3K of Kyle Payne were side by side, leading the field to the green flag. It was Atwood who had the top spot on the exit of turn two. The 9X of Rodney Rittenhouse had worked his way around Payne and was working the inside lane on the backstretch to take the lead away from Atwood. The 3 of Zach Ackley in the red rocket had worked his way up to the fifth position, and took the outside line to take fourth in turn three. Rittenhouse was stretching out his lead while Ackley worked around Payne for the third position. The positions from second to sixth were stacked up. The 3 had reeled in the 777 and dropped to the bottom to take the second position away in turn two. Rittenhouse and Ackley were able to break away from the field and Ackley was reeling him in turn by turn. With only three to go, Ackley had caught up to Rittenhouse and was right on his rear bumper. With two to go, Ackley had worked his nose under the 9X to battle side by side out of turn two. It was the red rocket at the point at the flag stand. When the checkers were in the air it was Ackley, taking his second win of the night, with Rittenhouse coming home second and the 55 of Matthew Smith in third.

The pro dwarf feature was the next on the grid. The 22 of Roger Seitz led the field to the green, but the field was stacked up behind him with the 8RR of Ricky Roberts and the 46 of James Halfhill battling side by side for second. On the next lap, the cars were three-wide for second as the 112 of David Seitz snuck into the battle, dropping low on the fifth mile track to slide by both Roberts and Halfhill to take the runner up spot. The caution was in the air only a few laps in after the 11 of Tyler Boetcher spun in turn two. As the green flew again over the field, the 22, 112 and the 53 of Toby Boetcher were able to break away from the field. The two Seitz boys were nose to tail for the lead and Boetcher and Halfhill were running side by side for the third position. The 112 had worked his way under the 22 to challenge for the lead on the backstretch. David Seitz had taken the point on the exit of turn four, and a three-way battle was underway for the second spot. Halfhill took the second position on the backstretch, and the 22 and 53 were side-by-side battling for third. The caution flew again after Roberts spun in turns one and two. At the restart, Seitz jumped out again for the lead, and the 22 and 53 were still battling heavily for the third position. This time, Boetcher took the position on the exit of turn two with five laps to go. The caution was in the air again only a lap later after the 11 spun again in turn four, giving him his second caution and removing himself from the race. It was a shootout to the finish, and Seitz jumped out with the lead. Halfhill and Boetcher were battling closely for second, trying to reel in the 112. Seitz’ black machine was on rails and when the checkered flag flew it was David Seitz who took his first win of the season with Halfhill in second and Boetcher in third.

The last feature event of the night was the mini late model A-main. The 211 of John Smith and the 37 of James Ball were side by side at the green. It was Ball at the point on the exit of turn two. The 16 of Josh May and the 24M of Tom McVey were battling side by side for the second position as Smith fell back in the field. May was able to secure the position on the front stretch, but not for long as McVey took the spot back on the backstretch, bringing with him the 32 of Brandon Furniss into the third position. The first caution came out after the 765 of Todd Ervin spun in turns three and four. Ball and McVey were battling for the top spot at the restart, and the 24M got into the rear of the 37 sending him sideways, but Ball made a nice save, keeping his car in line and managing to hold on to the lead. The caution was out again after the 93 of Danny Dean got caught in the mud in the infield around turn four. At the restart, McVey dropped to the inside of Ball, getting a nose underneath him and allowing the 24M to take the lead. McVey, Ball and Furniss were able to break away from the pack, and Furniss was battling for that second position. The caution flew three more times in the event; all due to cars spinning in turns two and four. With the time limit at the track, officials were forced to do a green, white, checker finish. At the checkered flag it was McVey who took the win with Furniss coming home second and Ball in third.

Next Saturday night the track will have a full racing program and it will also feature the Clone Kart Nationals sponsored by Mountain Dew, paying $300 to win. The track will also hold it’s rescheduled His and Hers 4-Cylinder Challenge that was moved from last weekend due to timing issues. It’s sure to be a great night of racing at the fastest 1/5th mile in the Midwest; we’ll look forward to seeing you there.

RESULTS

May 8th Sportsman Dwarf

Heat Winners:  Gary Griffith
Feature:  JT Jones, Gary Griffith, Jim Monst, Josh Clifton, Dennis Griffith, Kevin Rittenhouse, Jeff Surber, Dylan Rittehouse

4 Cyl Stock

Heat Winners:  Rodney Rittenhouse, Slade Mack
Feature:  Zach Ackley, Rick Hodge, Josh Atwood, Josh Queen, Matthew Smith, Slade Mack, Rodney Rittenhouse, Calvin Fyffe, Kyle Payne, Todd Miley, Michael Johnson, David Huffer, Aaron Nawman

Heat Winners: Gary Griffith, Josh Clifton
Feature: JT Jones, Kevin Rittenhouse, Jim Monst, Gary Griffith, Josh Clifton, Dennis Griffith, Jeff Surber, Jack Kriel, Dylan Rittenhouse,

Mod-Lite Dwarf

600 Outlaw Mini Sprints

Open Go-Karts

Jr Clone Go-Karts

Sr. Clone Go-Karts

Heat Winners: Ron Cubbage, David Seitz, Laci Speakman, Jack Morris
B Main Winner: Tyler Lochbaum
Feature: Jack Morris, Lucas Morris, Todd Wills, David Seitz, Chandler Roe, John Hart, Ron Cubbage, Laci Speakman, Jerry Pavey, Breanna Rittenhouse, Jason Rittenhouse, Bill Malone, Kelsey Daniels, Tyler Lochbaum, Tim Malone, Rick Wood, Tom Helms, Russel Roe, Rob Cubbage, Spencer Wilson, Jarrod Bloomfield, Brandon Hook, Chad Calder, Bobby Malone, Rick Bowen, DNS Dustin Gatwood