As cars lined the front stretch of the half mile fans got to step foot on the packed clay to start the nights action. Visiting their favorite drivers, signing cars, receiving candy, toys, stuffed animals, and hero cards was only to start the excitement. Once the track became hot the first drivers to turn counted laps was the Kcar class. It was determined very early on that turn four was a slick and tricky spot for drivers. Phillip Hostetler from Rural Retreat taped the turn four outside safety barrier coming to the flag stand to complete lap one but continued without a caution. On lap three Derek Hash also from Rural Retreat spun to bring out the first yellow of the night. Braxton Surber, Sugar Grove led the first three laps of the ten lap feature until the restart. Surber did not get the start he was looking for falling all the way back through the field, trying to finish the race Surber made it to turn four until he also hit the wall to end his night. The rest of the race was Amber Huffman, Chilhowie with a good lead on the second place car Donnie Jones from Marion. Finishing order as follows Huffman, Jones, Rusty Tate, Rural Retreat and Hash.
Second to take to the track was the men of Pro Mini. Chuck Kinzer from Woodlawn easily took the lead position from the start and had started making a small gap on the field until lap two when the first lights flashed yellow for Travis Harden, Marion who stalled in turn two with mechanical issues. The next caution flag came for Terry Sharp who took a spin also in turn two ending his night. On the restart Shawn King, Wytheville who was working his way through the field from sixth started second but did not get the start he expected but never less by the halfway point King had taken over the lead from Kinzer. Behind Kinzer, Shane King, Wytheville and Kevin Atwell, Rural Retreat disputed for third place till the end. For the sixth time out of eight races King captured the checkered flag easily earing the title of the dominator. Following King across the line in order was Kinzer, Atwell, and Shane King for the top four.
It didn’t take the drivers of the Wythe Eye Modifieds long to put on a show by lap three fans saw a four-car pile in the middle of turn four involving Billy Cline, Rural Retreat Cody Umberger, Rural Retreat, J.R. Davis, Crockett and Shawn Robinson. Robinson and Davis were unable to continue. On the restart Patrick Wheeler from Rural Retreat taped the outside wall in the troublesome turn to bring out the second yellow of the class. A fan favorite, ‘The Wheelman” Brandon Umberger, a Rural Retreat driver put a huge lead on the field after short battels with Tam Top, Wytheville on the restarts. On lap eight turn four claimed another spin with Cline and R.K. Dix Rural Retreat but both were able to continue. Jason Powers, Marion Heath Martin, Wytheville and Wheeler all traded positions from third to fifth arguing over the third place finish. At the flag stand Umberger took with win with over a three and a half second lead over Topham. Wheeler came in third followed by Powers and Martin for the top five.
After the excitement brewing over from last week’s Super Street race the fans could not sit still when the top class took to the track. Sean Corr, New York and Randy “fuzz” Taylor from Chilhowie on the front row followed by the powerhouse Jerry Dillow, Bluewell WV and Kevin Cox, Ceres the green was nothing less than exciting. After the flag stand Taylor was unable to get his car rolling dropping to the bottom letting Dillow to the side of Corr Keith Griffitts, Sugar Grove followed Dillow in line to take third both trying to make a move on Corr who held to first. The yellow slowed the field on lap six for Cox and again on lap nine for Tyler Dowell, Marion spinning in turn two. On lap six Corr lost the lead to Griffitts and fell back three more spots leaving Duke Bare, Meadowview and Dale Hancock, Marion to move up to Dillow’s bumper. On lap eleven Terry Sharp, Woodlawn spun in turns in three and four for the final caution. Hancock, Bare, and Dillow all pushed for Griffitts bumper while putting the press on one another for second. At the scoring line Griffitts claimed another win followed by Bare, Hancock, Dillow, Sharp, Cox, and Corr to round out the top eight.
The last but definitely not the least class to tackle twenty laps was the UCars. Kayla Surber, Sugar Grove Britt Johnson, Chilhowie James Graybeal, Rural Retreat Daniel Wright, Wytheville and Travis Quesenberry, Atkins are just a few of the top drivers who battled and argued for every inch. Johnson took position one from the green until the first yellow on lap three. Mark Kestner, Saltville got lose going into turn one saving it from the wall and spun from the sixth-place position with almost everyone clearing Kestner, Caroline King, Wytheville had no where to go slamming into the side of Kestner ending both of their nights early. On the start Graybeal took over the lead from Johnson followed by Wright. After a couple more caution lights displayed for spins and wall taps the big one came on lap twelve. Quesenberry who had already had some handling issues spun at the top of turn four leaving Surber who had some damage from a previous incident not able to make the turn down in time to miss Quesenberry and both took a hard hit for a long red flag. Also collected was Ricky Ward, Marion ending all three of their nights. Two laps after the final green Wright made a slide in front of Graybeal to take home his first win of the season six laps later. Graybeal came home second followed by Johnson. Dakota Wilson a Rural Retreat driver who continues to empress finishing fourth from the nineteenth starting position. James Suggs, Beckley Wv finished fifth followed by Will Hostetler, Rural Retreat Bommer Wilson, rural Retreat Richard Shupe, Bluewell Wv, Pie Short, Abingdon and Ryan Dunn, Princeton Wv for the top ten out of the starting twenty-three cars.
Please join our Wythe Raceway family next Saturday night for Twin Modified Mania 2o’s on the fast half mile clay superspeedway.
