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Clarksville Speedway
Dirt Track Racing
August 29th, 2009
Tyler O’Donnell
Racing was at it best Saturday night with all classes getting back into action. Temperatures were in the mid to low 60’s, which made it a great night for fans to come out and watch some racing. The battle for the season long point’s championship was heating up. Drivers had to be up on the wheel and avoid any mistakes if they wanted to win it.
The pro street feature was the first feature race of the evening. Five cars competed in the event. Mike Hodges got the pole in qualifying and was followed by Michael Zimmerman at the start. Hodges had no trouble pulling away at the start, but an early caution tightened the field back up. Bobby Proctor lost a drive shaft; the reason for the caution. The race restarted single file. Zimmerman did not let the leader get away from him this time, as the front two cars were pulling away. Brian Rapp was sitting back in third. At the midway point, Hodges began to take control and pull away by about 10 car links. Zimmerman could not find a way to gain any ground on the leader. He needed a caution and he got one as Rapp spun out coming out of turn 4 on his own. That put Jennifer Barber in the third position. It was a two lap shootout with Zimmerman getting the chance of pulling off the upset. He stayed on the bumper of Hodges in the last two laps, but that is all he could do. Hodges got the victory. Zimmerman had to settle for second and Barber finished third.
The street feature race was next. Jeff Joiner had the pole. He won the heat race earlier in the night. Ronnie Hedgepath started to his outside. 15 cars raced in the event. As the green flag waved, Joiner and Hedgepath were side by side for the first few laps. Josh Taylor who started fourth, made it three wide for the lead on the inside. Taylor got by Joiner but Hedgepath slipped up the middle to head the pack. Taylor eventually got back to Hedgepath as they raced door to door. Hedgepath had to top line as Taylor hugged the bottom. A caution flew shortly after, with a few cars having some fender damage in a minor incident. The race restarted single file, with Taylor leading them down to the green flag with two to go. It would be another shootout. Taylor had no problems during the restart. He did not let Hedgepath get close enough to make a move on him. He would take the white and the checkered flag for the win. Hedgepath would hold off Joiner for second.
The crate late models did battle next. 11 cars raced in the event. Tait Davenport and Matt Liner started on the front row. When the green flag dropped, there was a crash before the first lap was completed. It involved three cars in the back of the field. The field was restarted double file. Caleb Ashby had a look inside of Liner for second but thought better of it. There were still 14 laps left. It took only a few more laps before Ashby to make another move. He got by Liner on the inside and was trying shoot by Davenport as well. Ashby touched the back bumper of Davenport which got him loose. Ashby was then able to sneak by down low. Cars were now all over the track, with Ashby having to battle some lapped cars. Davenport was losing a lot of ground and it was too late for him to catch up. Ashby took the checkers, with Davenport nearly half a lap behind. Liner was third.
The open wheel class raced next for their feature race. The 15 lap event had ten cars racing for the win. Clayton Miller led the pack at the start. Randall Sweeney and Gregg Brown were in pursuit. Miller, obviously had the car to beat, as he got to lap traffic early and picked them off one by one. Drivers behind him were having a hard time keeping up. Luckily they would get a late caution to have a shot at the win. They restarted single file and Sweeney did not let Miller get away this time. Sweeney was trailing him by about four car links with two to go. He needed Miller to make a mistake, but Miller held his ground. He led every lap for the win. Sweeney had to settle for second and Brown was third.
The mini sprint feature was up next. Eight cars competed. Chris Hunter had the pole. When the race started, Eric Wright had to do his best to keep up with Hunter, who had a fast machine. The racing separated out quickly. Wright never let Hunter get more than a six car link advantage on him the whole race. He was the only one who had a chance at running him down. Unfortunately, Wright could not find a way to get by him. Hunter led every lap to take home the win. Justin Rapp was third.
The late mode feature was next. Chuck Proctor led the field at the green. Chris Shelton was trying to hold off Randall Sweeney for second. Proctor was pulling away from everyone. That was wiped away by a quick caution. Shelton was on Proctor’s bumper at the restart. Sweeney and Tony Albright restarted third and fourth. There were 10 laps left. Proctor had everything going for him as nobody was there to contest him. Drivers were just battling for second. Shelton was pressured once again by Sweeney. Albright was also trying to get in the mix. Then all of a sudden, Shelton kicked it in to gear and he got right by to Procter’s car. He tried the pass on the inside and he made it work. Proctor continued to fall back as he was in the clutches of Steven Ashby. Shelton was able to close it out in the end for the victory. It was Shelton’s first victory of the season. Ashby managed to get by Proctor on the last lap as he finished in second.
The pure mini stock feature raced next. Keith Kaylor started as the leader. Bradley McGhee was all over his back bumper. Justin Booth was also up in the mix. McGhee got the lead as Booth and Kaylor got together. McGhee was starting to pull way. Booth fell back to fourth. Kaylor was closing in on the leader in the final laps. He could not get by the leader as they came to the checkers. McGhee took the win. Derrick Tillman finished third.
The mini mod feature was the last race of the night. Clyde Petty had the early lead, but was pressured by Gary Johnson. Bruce Fulmer was third. Johnson eventually got to the inside of Petty for the lead. Soon after, Petty retired from the race, having some sort of mechanical issue. Fulmer and Gavin Schmidt seemed to be the only cars that had a shot at the leader. Johnson was using the high line around the track. It worked for him as nobody was able to catch him. The battle would be for second as Schmidt passed Fulmer by a nose on the last lap to finish in second.
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