The Jammers distinquished themselves in their inaugural season with a total count of 21 cars, up to 18 cars in a main event, and some really popular and unusual racing. They have become so popular that, in 2010, they will be split into two divisions: Pro and Junior.

The Jammer class was designed to be a transitional class for the growing crop of young drivers advancing out of Kart racing into a full sized track and for new or inexperienced drivers. These are racers who will be the future of classes like the Bombers, Mini-Stocks, Street Stocks, Modifieds, and Late Models. The cars are inexpensive to build, simple to operate, and maximize safety. The races are run more for fun than for competition with rally-style standing starts, no yellow (only reds), and different events like racing in the opposite direction or on a road course.

The cars are so easy to race that Lakeport Speedway created a raffle for the grandstand fans run at every event for a chance to drive the Jammer #67 in the next Jammer race. This has become an incredibly popular raffle. Many of the winners have gone on to create their own Jammers. They receive so much training and advice from other Jammer drivers that, on June 20, first-time racer Daniel Barrett actually won the main event.

The class has become so fun and popular that experienced and veteran racers have been joining in with the kids. Names like Noel McCormack Jr., Scott Sabol, Rick Tommila, and Andy Norton. Some of the racers have learned so much so quickly that they are not only out-pacing most of the field, but are running even with these veterans.

This is why, in 2010, the Jammer class will be split into two divisions: Pro and Junior. Those drivers who are experienced racers from other classes, or who demonstrate a level of expertise beyond the Junior class, will be advanced to the Pro class (along with any accululated points). Any driver 18 years or younger, or who is new or inexperienced, is welcome in the Junior class. This allows the more experienced and competitive racers to flex their skill and have some fun, while preserving the original concept of a transitional class for the younger and less experienced drivers to learn and enjoy.

As always, the class will be constantly watched over and tinkered with to keep things fair and fun by the class promoter David Furia.

Legends Cars Series

This was the last regular season event for Legends championship points. Cody Martin from Ukiah set the Legends fast time of 14.891s, and won both the trophy dash and heat race. Brian Martella and Joe Aiken had the poll row as the field took the main event green flag. Chelsea Champagne dropped out during the warm-up laps with problems and did not start.

Martella took the inside lead followed by Mike Firebaugh and Martin as Aiken pushed the outside line of Bob Kuebler and Chris Champagne back. Martin took the inside from Firebaugh for second and then swung outside the leader Martella. Kuebler moved up inside Aiken into fourth.

Martin finished the pass into the lead as Kuebler swung outside Firebaugh to pass for third. However, Kuebler came back down a little too soon and clipped the nose of Firebaugh, spinning him in turn one for a caution.

Martin and Martella got them started again and Martin took the inside lead. Aiken tried to follow but Martella slammed the door shut. Champagne fell back on the outside as Aiken tried the outside of Martella, but Kuebler moved up inside, got under Martella, and charged into second. Aiken followed as Martella was freight-trained to the back.

In lap 26, Martin wove outside Martella and inside Champagne, lapping them. On the backstretch he came up upon Firebaugh and made a fateful mistake. He assumed Firebaugh would dive low into turn three so he moved ahead high at the same time Firebaugh went high to let him by low.

Martin avoided contact but was slowed. In turn four he quickly dove low to pass, right into Champagne who had just caught up again. Martin spun down the frontstretch infield for a caution. This put Martin to the back, Champagne was a lap down since Martin was ahead of him when they hit, and Firebaugh never actually got lapped.

After the order was finally untangled, Kuebler and Aiken got them restarted ahead of Firebaugh and Martella, or they would have but for two bad starts when Kuebler lost power and then Firebaugh fish-tailed down the frontstretch.

With four lap to go, Kuebler took the lead ahead of Aiken and Firebaugh. Martin charged up the inside of Martella, swung outside, and whipped the ponies for all they were worth. On the white flap lap, he had passed Firebaugh and was advancing on Aiken in turn two when he broke loose and spun into the infield for a yellow.

Since it was the last lap, the pack raced for the finish. Kuebler, from Reno NV, came across first followed by Aiken and Firebaugh. Martin placed fourth and Martella, who was a lap down, fifth.

Brian Martella wins the Legends championship with 947 points followed by Joe Aiken (777), Cody Martin (692), Chelsea Champagne (668), and Chris Champagne (603).

Modifieds

The Modified fast time of 13.168s was set by Darrin Knight from Kelseyville. He also won the trophy dash. Tommy Lyndall took the main event lead as Dustin Knight pushed Bob Strauss back on the outside.

Everyone else found the inside and Norman Boucher advanced into second. Darrin Knight got inside Dustin DeRosier for third and advanced to the outside Boucher. Boucher finally found daylight inside Lyndall and he and Darrin Knight passed him for first and second. However, the battle had slowed all three and Corey James, who had just passed DeRosier, caught up.

As Lyndall was able to drop back inside into fifth between DeRosier and Strauss, Darrin Knight started a four-lap battle outside Boucher for the lead. When he completed the pass, James did the same for five laps, and then DeRosier for six.

Darrin Knight finished first followed by James, DeRosier, Boucher, and Lyndall.

Street Stocks

Scott Sabol from Lakeport set the Street Stock fast time of 14.357s but blew a transmission and was unable to race the rest of the night. The main event was led to the start by Mikey Snider (driving his sister Jodi’s #9 since his #6 died during practice) and Jimmy Shankles (normally a Bomber but trying his hand as a Street Stock).

Shankles got a good start off of the line forging into the lead in turn one. Behind him, Luke Nelson dove inside in front of Snider into second and then advanced inside Shankles to the lead. Wade Coleman, Joe Smith, and Tony Ramazzotti followed on the inside as Shankles now fell back on the outside pushing Simi Tour, Jared Martin, and Ron Duke Sr. with him.

Duke, Martin, and Tour reeled off from behind Shankles to the inside behind Ramazzotti. Coleman was trying to find the outside of second place Snider as Ramazzotti swung outside Smith to battle for fourth ahead of Duke. Nelson was stretching his lead but started slipping on the exit of turns two and four.

Coleman finally found grip on the outside and passed Snider for second. Trying to rally back, Snider wobbled in turn two and pushed Smith, Tour, and Ray Rosales back on the inside. Ramazzotti and Duke moved up on the outside into third and fourth.

As Martin was passing Snider, he spun out in turn four and down the frontstretch for a lap six caution. There was one more quick caution a lap later when Smith and Tour made contact and spun in turn two, collecting Shankles hard. Shankles, Tour, Martin, and Travis Brown all had to visit the pits.

Nelson took the lead from Coleman on the restart. Ramazzotti, Duke, and Snider fell in behind. After three laps, Ramazzotti got by inside Coleman for second. In turn four, Nelson drifted high again and Ramazzotti and Duke surged ahead inside. Nelson recovered and immediately dove back down but found Coleman already there.

The contact wobbled and slowed them both as the pack scrambled around but they recovered and no yellow was thrown. However, Nelson apparently thought one had been thrown and slowed back down in front of the mid-pack in turn four, which slowed the rest down so much a lap 11 yellow then had to be thrown. The last caution happened in lap 15 when Snider and Nelson spun in turn one after making contact.

Duke and Ramazzotti battled side-by-side after both restarts but now Ramazzotti started to fall back on the outside into third behind Martin. The rest of the race was all Duke and Martin. First Martin tried every line, then he started working Duke’s rear bumper, but Duke could not be moved.

In lap 25 as Martin was lapping Smith, Smith’s car started blowing smoke and Martin slipped into him, wobbling and slowing Martin two car lengths from Duke. Smith was given the technical black flag, but the oil he blew out caused the field to start slipping in the final three laps.

In the last lap, Coleman broke loose and went over the turn two berm for a yellow flag as the rest raced for the finish. Duke, from Redwood Valley, claimed the win followed by Martin, Ramazzotti, Tour, and David Jones.

Bombers

The Bomber fast time of 14.825s was set by Terry Pittman from Redwood Valley. The Bomber main event was led to the start by Shane Brandon and Mike Bray. Brandon pushed back the inside line of Richard Schwarm, Gino Buchignani, Brandon Verde, Matt Gerjets, George Abella, and Pittman.

The outside line surged ahead and settled behind Bray. Jimmy Sorrels inside John Dalerio, Dylan Rose inside Roman Rose, followed by Brenton Smith. Behind them, Brandon was outside Buchignani in turn four when he over-steered down into him and turned him up hard into the frontstretch wall for a lap four caution. The impact tore off Buchignani’s right-rear wheel and sent it flying over the track into the infield.

Bray and Dalerio led the restart and Bray fell back on the inside pushing Sorrels, D. Rose, Verde, and Schwarm back with him. R. Rose was on the tail of Dalerio as Gerjets fought inside Smith for third, Pittman inside Gary Collins for fifth, and D. Rose followed.

In lap seven on the backstretch, Collins was using the bumper horn on the rear of Smith when he wobbled into Pittman on the inside. This turned Pittman up into Collins and they both sailed over the turn three berm for another caution.

Pittman and R. Rose ran side-by-side for the lead on the restart. The top five quickly separated from the pack with Smith inside Gerjets followed by D. Rose. Gerjets had faded back behind D. Rose when Rick Jelton (driving for the team of Gard/Sorrels) was lapped. R. Rose got pinned behind him and was pushed all the way back outside Gerjets.

Smith now took to the outside of Dalerio to battle for the lead. As they came up to lap Brandon who was on the inside in turn three, Dalerio dove to the outside and clipped Smith, wobbling Smith in front of D. Rose and R. Rose. They recovered and Smith rallied back outside Dalerio but was again taken high on the backstretch. Dalerio was shown the pink flag (lane hog flag) and Smith passed him for the lead in lap 13.

George Abella, Pittman, and Collins got by Gerjets into fifth through seventh. Pittman swung around inside R. Rose and started outside D. Rose when they came up to lap Jelton. Pittman quickly dove back inside D. Rose and let Jelton push D. Rose back behind him.

Pittman was clocking the fastest laps, made quick work of Dalerio, and started hunting down Smith. D. Rose followed around Dalerio and, in lap 24, R. Rose and Dalerio tangled and spun for the last caution.

Smith led the restart inside Pittman and Pittman simply took off. Pittman claimed the checkers followed by Smith, D. Rose, Collins, and Abella.

Bandoleros

Darin Silva from Ukiah set the Bandolero fast time of 15.667s. Trystan Mucci and Tim Buzzard Jr. led them to the start of the main event. Buzzard took the lead followed by James Stillman and Chris Crow as the slower Mucci pushed Frankie Pickrell and Silva back.

Crow tried to continue inside Stillman but could not advance in time before Stillman closed the window. Silva swung outside and advanced by Pickrell but got tangled with Mucci who spun in turn two, recovered, and continued.

In lap four, Buzzard left a little too much room on the inside and Stillman pounced, advancing to the lead followed by Crow. As Buzzard settled back inside, Silva took to the outside and battled for three laps before taking third. In lap ten, Mucci suddenly lost power in turn four causing the only caution and had to retire.

Stillman and Crow took off side-by-side. Silva saw some daylight inside and tried a three-way pass but was forced to back off in turn one. Stillman advanced into the lead leaving Crow and Silva to battle for second. For nine laps Silva tried every line and trick but to no avail. Stillman, from Upper Lake, finished first followed by Crow, Silva, Pickrell, and Buzzard. Stillman also won the heat race.

Modifieds

The Modified fast time of 12.560s was set by Mark Marek from Lakeport. Mike Sullivan was supposed to be outside Steve Taylor for the start of the main event, but he had to retire to the pits after the warm-up laps. Next in the outside line, Chuck Pruett chose to start at the back. This put David Furia on the outside poll when the green flag fell.

Taylor and Furia put on a great show for 19 laps fighting side-by-side for the lead. They jockeyed back and forth several times while the pack behind them shuffled around trying to figure out which one they could follow.

When it looked like Furia was advancing on the outside, Sean Sweeney and Rick Tommila swung outside to follow, but Taylor rallied while Tommy Lyndall and Corey James advanced inside and shuttled Tommila to the back.

This freed Thomas Wright to pass outside James and slowly move up until he was outside Sweeney behind the fight for the lead. Lyndall settled in outside James. Finally, Furia finished the pass into the lead and Wright followed while Sweeney took on Taylor for third.

The battle between Furia and Wright had one scary moment. In turn three, they collided nose-to-tail and Furia fish-tailed through turn four while Wright backed off. Furia was able to recover on the frontstretch and the battle was on again.

In lap 23, Wright got a nose out front and finished the pass for the lead one lap later. Sweeney dropped into third and the top three took off. Noel McCormack Jr. and Mark Marek took to the outside and climbed up the pack, passing James and then Taylor for fourth and fifth.

In lap 27, Lyndall broke loose in turn four and lost eighth to Dustin DeRosier and Bob Strauss. Wright, from Kelseyville, finished first followed by Furia and Sweeney. In the last lap, Marek swung outside McCormack and won the drag race to the finish for fourth by half-a-car. Wright also won the trophy dash.

Mini-Stocks

Robert Schmidt from Lucerne set the Mini-Stock fast time of 13.882s. Jay Strugnell and Mark Zimmerschied got them started and Strugnell took the lead while Zimmerschied pushed the outside line of Randy Portlock and R. Schmidt back while Mark Hatfield, Kyle Tellstrom, and Don Presler moved up on the inside.

Before the first lap was complete, Hatfield over-corrected coming out of turn two, fish-tailed wildly down the backstretch, and spun out in turn three winding up backwards nose-to-nose with Tellstrom.

The restart went the same with Strugnell, Tellstrom, and Presler advancing on the inside while Zimmerschied pushed R. Schmidt and Portlock back. Tellstrom and Presler continued outside Strugnell while R. Schmidt found himself boxed in by Hatfield and Zimmerschied.

Presler swung outside Tellstrom in lap four and took the lead one lap later. Tellstrom tried to keep up but was stymied behind Zimmerschied lapping Fred Schmidt. This allowed R. Schmidt to catch up and pin Tellstrom behind F. Schmidt when he was lapped again.

Presler, from Nice, came in first followed by R. Schmidt, Tellstrom, Strugnell, and Zimmerschied. Presler also won the trophy dash and heat race.

Street Stocks

The Street Stock fast time of 13.696s was set by Ron Duke Sr. from Redwood Valley. He also won the trophy dash. Jodi Snider and Clint Stanley led them to the main event green flag, but Mikey Snider got tangled with Stanley as Stanley was fading back on the outside for a caution.

Duke took the lead from outside on the restart and M. Snider followed. For 15 laps M. Snider chased but couldn’t quite catch Duke until J. Snider blew her radiator for a yellow.

On the restart, M. Snider got the better jump and took the lead down the backstretch. However, Duke still had a nose in inside and fought back through the frontstretch to retake the lead. Once he completed the pass, it was all over but for the lap count. Duke won followed by M. Snider, David Jones, Jodi Snider, and Clint Stanley.

Bombers

Brenton Smith from Ukiah set the Bomber fast time of 14.107s. Ron Conner (driving for Rick Tommila) took off with the inside lead at the start of the main event followed by Ryan Sweeney, Kevin Brackett, Andy Norton, Robert Byers (driving for Richie Schwarm), Roman Rose, and Dylan Rose. Theresa Sorrels pushed the outside line of Jimmy Shankles, Mike Bray, Jimmy Sorrels, Forrest Kuecker, and Smith on back.

When Byers was clear of T. Sorrels, he swung outside of Norton and was followed by R. Rose and D. Rose. In turn four, Sweeney broke loose, wobbled down the frontstretch, and slowed, pushing Brackett back inside Byers. This slowed the whole pack down and allowed Connor to run away with the lead.

Norton lost ground on the inside and pushed J. Sorrels back allowing D. Rose to swing inside R. Rose, and Smith to swing inside Kuecker behind them. All of this shuffling allowed Conner to surge further ahead, until lap 11 when he blew a seal for a caution and exited to the pits.

Sweeney and Byers got them restarted and stayed side-by-side. Behind them, Brackett got a slow start inside R. Rose and pushed D. Rose and Smith back on the inside. D. Rose found a gap and swung out behind Kuecker, and Smith followed. In lap 16, Shankles spun out in turn two. The reaction to the yellow spun leader Sweeney out on the backstretch collecting Smith and J. Sorrels. Smith was ok, Sweeney had to retire, J. Sorrels exited to the pits, and Conner rejoined the field.

This put Byers and R. Rose up front for the restart. The outside line of R. Rose, D. Rose, and Smith slowly advanced past the inside line of Byers, Kuecker, and Brackett. Kuecker started to lose power and pushed Brackett back even further. In lap 20, Sweeney and Shankles tangled in turn four for another caution. J. Sorrels rejoined the race and, when they started to double up for the restart, Kuecker dropped out to the infield.

R. Rose and D. Rose restarted ahead of Smith and Byers, and the Roses and Smith took off. For three lap the Rose brothers stayed side-by-side for the lead with Smith working the rear of R. Rose hard on the inside.

In lap 23, Smith tried to go three-wide coming out of turn four but locked the right side of his front bumper with the left side of R. Rose’s rear bumper. They managed to keep from spinning but slowed to a crawl on the frontstretch as the rest of the field came up. A yellow flag was thrown as Byers dodged high and Brackett low at the finish line.

At that moment, Smith unhooked from Rose which slid him to the inside just as Conner, J. Sorrels, and Norton were coming through. All four slide sideways into each other, coming to a stop on the turn one infield. Because of time, the race was called at that point and the checkers were thrown for D. Rose from Lakeport.

Because the contact between R. Rose and Smith caused the last yellow, they were put to the back of the lead lap. This placed Byers in second, Brackett third, Norton fourth, and T. Sorrels fifth. R. Rose and Smith finished sixth and seventh.

Jammers

This was the last championship points night for the Jammers before the special road coarse rally in two weeks. They ended it in style with a double-header: a main race at the start of the night and one more at the end.

Of special note: the Jammer raffle winner driving the #67 raffle Jammer was Ty Hutchinson, who took to a Jammer so well that he won the trophy dash.

The starts were handled differently this time in anticipation of the changes for the Jammers next year. Since so many veteran drivers are having so much fun in Jammers, the class will be split into two divisions: Junior and Pro. Experienced drivers or anyone showing advanced racing skills will be bumped up to the Pro division, leaving the Junior division as it was originally designed to be: a transition division for kids and new drivers to gain experience and have fun. For both races this night, those considered Pro were started in a separate pack in turn three while all others started on the frontstretch.

Caity Miller and Kaleigh Sullivan had the poll row for the rally-style standing start to the first main event. Sullivan took the lead as the pack scrambled around Miller. In turn one, Kassandra Norton, Anthony Esberg, Kayley Bishop, and Hutchinson went four-wide behind Miller. Hutchinson and Norton made it by Miller, but Esberg and Bishop clipped each other sending Esberg wobbling high in turn two and slapping his right-rear fender hard on the turn two exit gate wall. There are no yellows in Jammer racing and everyone got going again safely.

Sullivan, Corey Crawford, and Hutchinson were out front, and the scrambling slowed enough of the rest of them that the faster Pros, Gary Judd and Scott Sabol, could charge up the outside to catch up. Sabol passed Judd on the inside and swung to the outside behind Corey Crawford who had also swung outside the leader Sullivan. Hutchinson took the inside behind Sullivan and Judd followed. Corey Crawford could not hold the outside groove and fell back to the outside of Judd pushing Sabol with him.

However, in turn two, Sabol found enough room inside to pass both of them three-wide and then swing up around Hutchinson where he found Sullivan had just drifted up high in front of him. As Hutchinson tried to capitalize on the inside, Sullivan came back down and slammed the door shut, but they made contact, wobbled, and slid back pushing Judd with them.

The only red flag happened in lap five for a Casey Crawford and Eddie Klein tangle that collected Brittney Tommila. Casey said his leg was sore from the impact, so he was shuttled to the pits to be checked out. Corey Crawford was put in the infield Jammer penalty box for getting out of his truck when he saw them working on his brother.

Sabol and Judd took off with the restart lead. Hutchinson held strong in his first race and was only passed by Kelsie Kennedy. Sabol came in first followed by Judd, Kennedy, Hutchinson, and James Adkins.

The second race started like the first, with Juniors on the frontstretch and Pros in turn three, and this time raffle winner Hutchinson qualified as a Pro. Esberg and Norton led the Juniors as the green flag fell. Norton took off with the lead and Nolan Forsythe gave chase followed by Bishop and Daryl Levier. The Pros had caught up but were trapped behind Sullivan and Miller.

Bishop took the lead outside Norton and Levier followed. Kennedy, Judd, Sabol, and Carl “The Goose” Gronroos pinned Forsythe inside behind Norton and shuttled them on back. Bishop had trouble lapping Esberg. She slowed suddenly and Levier dodged inside just as their pursuers caught up on the outside in lap 11.

Levier and Judd found themselves stuck behind the slower Esberg when Levier clipped the turn one infield dirt sending him back into Judd. The impact turn Levier up the track into an oncoming Gronroos. They collided causing Gronroos to pancake the turn two wall and sending Levier back down into Judd. Jammers are tough and safe, the drivers well trained, and they all recovered and continued.

One lap later, Bishop had finally made it past Esberg when Esberg broke loose in turn one and slid upwards, barely missing Kennedy and Sabol. He spun around backwards as Judd and Levier dodged to either side. Esberg then tried to back down the track as Adkins dodged high, only to get hit hard by Forsythe to bring out a red flag.

Two more red flags would play havoc with some of the leaders who did not stop properly and were put into the infield Jammer penalty box including Kennedy, Sabol, and Hutchinson. By the end of the race, Sabol had recovered the lead and, on the white flag lap, he and Judd barely avoided a spin by Miller. Sable finished first, followed by Judd, Bishop, Levier, and Forsythe.

Judd’s strong second place finishes in both races kept him a mere 28 points ahead of Carl “The Goose” Gronroos to win the very first Jammer championship title. Adkins placed third, Casey Crawford fourth, and Brittney Tommila fifth.

The Vintage Classic Show scheduled for September during the post-season has been cancelled due to the economic climate. There just aren’t enough cars ready this year to make the trip with the effect the economy has had on everyone’s pocketbooks.

We hope that conditions improve enough in the following years to make more shows like this possible.

Mini-Stocks

Jessica Aceves and Jay Strugnell led the start of the Mini-Stock main event. Points leader Kyle Tellstrom suffered problems and was forced to visit the pits and start from the back. Strugnell held the lead while Robert Schmidt, Kevin Barba, and Don Presler wove their way up behind him. Just as Schmidt took the lead outside Strugnell, Tellstrom lost power in turn one and coasted into the pits during a caution.

After another quick caution for an Aceves and Jason Pratt tangle at the back, Schmidt and Strugnell got them started again. Strugnell fell back on the outside as Schmidt took off followed by Barba, Marcus Hatfield, and Presler.

As Presler advanced past Hatfield, Barba tried to chase down Schmidt. He got close from time-to-time, but could never overtake him. Strugnell started a battle for fourth outside Hatfield as Presler caught up to Barba. In lap 25, as they were lapping Aceves, Barba and Presler made contact and spun for the last yellow flag.

Schmidt took off with the restart lead as Pratt, Hatfield, and Aceves fell back. Barba dodged around them into third behind Strugnell followed by Presler. In turn three, second place Strugnell drifted high and Barba went low to pass. Strugnell came back down low before Barba could claim the groove and Presler rocketed by on the outside, passing them both for second.

Schmidt finished first followed by Presler, Barba who followed outside and ahead of Strugnell, and Hatfield.

Street Stocks

The Street Stock main event field was led to the start by Mikey Snider and Simi Tour. Snider took the lead as Ron Duke Sr. wove under Charlie Tour and over Randy Portlock into third, until Snider and S. Tour touched tail-to-nose spinning Snider for a lap one yellow. The same two collided three laps later in the back for a second caution.

Duke and Portlock led the restart and Portlock tried everything to keep up on the outside, dirt-tracking the corners, but finally fell back into second. S. Tour and Snider passed C. Tour and the race became a battle of the pairs: Duke and Portlock for the lead, S. Tour and Snider for third, and C. Tour and David Lyndall for fifth.

In lap 18, S. Tour and Snider got together taking out Snider’s radiator for the last caution.

Duke took the lead on the restart as S. Tour battled outside Portlock for second. Duke, from Redwood Valley, finished first followed by S. Tour, Portlock, C. Tour, and Lyndall. It was a clean sweep for Duke that night, also winning the trophy dash and heat race.

Bombers

Gary Collins took the lead at the start of the Bomber main event as Richard Schwarm dropped back on the outside pushing George Abella, Jimmy Sorrels, Mike Neilson, and Mike Bray with him. Bob Mook, Brenton Smith, and Casey Saunders followed Collins, and Sorrels managed to find a spot to drop in behind.

The scramble gave Collins a considerable lead. Mook used the whole track to try to match the pace and Smith kept trying to steal the inside groove from him. Sorrels slipped just enough in the turns to allow Schwarm to advance and drop in ahead of him. This freed Abella, Neilson, and Roman Rose to advance on the outside to behind the fourth place Saunders.

Mook finally slipped upwards once too often and Smith slipped on by into second. Saunders didn’t waste a moment getting outside Mook and, in two laps, completed the pass into third. In lap 14, a yellow was thrown when Jimmy Sturgess spun into the turn two infield kicking up a blinding cloud of dust that caused Mook to also spin.

For the restart, this put Collins, Smith, Saunder, and Neilson on the inside line, and the lapped cars of Bray and Andy Norton ahead of Abella, R. Rose, and Darren Groves on the outside line. The inside surged ahead as the slower lapped cars pushed the outside back.

Now began a classic duel for the lead between Collins and Smith. Smith has been faster in the past, but the track was slipperier that night and the wily veteran Collins used every square inch of it to stay ahead of the hungry Smith. Seven laps later, a yellow was thrown for a Groves spin that closed them all back up.

For the rest of the race it was Collins and Smith, Collins working the car and track to its fullest, and Smith always getting a nose in to threaten the lead. Neilson advanced outside Saunders into third while Abella found himself in a thicket of thorny Roses: Dylan Rose outside and R. Rose just behind.

D. Rose, always worse on the outside, could not advance but he knew all he needed was patience. When they came up on lapped traffic, Abella was pushed back as R. Rose swung around. However, brotherly love is for off the track. Before D. Rose could settle in, R. Rose swung under him and took the position away.

At the checkers, it was Collins from Lucerne, Smith, Neilson, Saunder, and R. Rose.