A good field of Stock Class Touring Cars turned out for our road course race on the 18th. Thanks to all the guys who hauled in from Richmond and Roanoke to run with us. We hope you had a good time; and will return for our next road course race on Sunday, March 26th. We'll be running the oval on Saturday the 25th; but the road course will be ready on Sunday.
Jesse Bean and Eddel dominated their respective heats; with Scott Gregory, Leighton Fuller, Steve Simmons and Mack looking good at times, but unable to match the pace of Eddel and Jesse. Charlie Johnson, normally a strong runner, was having an off night; and was't able to complete a full run without something going awry. Jesse Bean's times were well under Eddels; and he looked to have an easy time in the A Main.
The B Main featured a fight from the start, all the way to the finish. Ben Storrs dropped early; but Mack, Charlie Johnson and Clint Withrow swapped the lead repeatedly. Charlie seemed to have the race in hand at one point, but spun and let both Mack and Clint get past. At the finish, all three were on the same lap; within four seconds from first to third. Mack won by just over two seconds from Clint Withrow; with Charlie Johnson just over a second further back, in third. Any one of the three could easily have won this one.
Jesse Bean lined up on the pole for the A Main; knowing he could run laps at least a half second faster that Eddel, his nearest competitor. In the first three or four laps, Jesse threatened to simply disappear in the distance; pulling a quick half lap lead. And, just as quickly, he was parked on the side. Jesse's receiver had partially broken loose, and a looped wire somehow snagged on the "on-off" switch; leaving in in the "OFF" position. By the time he figured out the problem, Jesse was fifteen laps off the pace.
Eddel assumed the lead when Jesse parked his ride; and never looked threatened. In fact, the only excitement occured when Jesse rejoined and starting unlapping himself at an astonishing pace. Jesse pulled off several laps in the 8.8 range; while Eddel's fastest was in the 9.2 area. Still, Jesse was too far back to threaten for the lead; and when his receiver problem re-occured, he parked his T2.
Scott Gregory, Leighton Fuller and Steve Simmons were swapping second place repeatedly, but none of them looked to threaten Eddel's lead. Bruce Lancaster was out early after a crash; and Jesse departed as previously noted. Eddel simply kept cruising; trying to stay out of trouble and easing his way to the finish line. The five minutes expired just after Eddel had crossed the line; and all he had to do was coast around for the final lap. He drove carefully around the track; and headed into the last corner. And, right in the middle of the very last corner, his motor blew. Eddel coasted to a stop in the middle of the front straight, less than 15 feet from the finish line; and he could only watch helplessly as Scott Gregory blew past to take the win. Eddel still finished second, as Leighton Fuller and Steve Simmons were over a lap down in third and fourth respectively. Less than a second separated Leighton and Steve; and the two of them had repeatedly passed and re-passed throughout the race.
A hard way for Jesse Bean to lose a race that had seemed in the bag; and an even tougher way for Eddel to lose what had seemed to be an insurmountable lead. Scott Gregory offered his sympathy to Eddel after the race; but we all noticed he kept the money for first place.
A good crowd; nice people; some fast racing; a surprise winner; and a lot of fun. We hope you join us next week, on Sunday the 26th; for our next road course event. Thanks; Ernie P.
