| xc | Moler Beats Mother Nature (sorta) on Fan Appreciation Night #1
Kim Moler Apr.22.2012 With the first of two fan appreciation nights on tap the teams at Moler Raceway Park came prepared with giveaways and freebies for the fans and especially the kids on hand at the race track. To prepare the Chevette division drivers for race track conditions for their Hillbilly Nationals Event in two weeks they were the first division of cars to race on the night and they put on an exciting race in their feature event. At the drop of the green flag it was Rusty Yarger out front with Derick Davis and Miles Tarvin right on his back bumper. With the entire field battling in one pack for 6-15th spot there were numerous cautions for minor spins but on each restart it was those top three out front and setting sail. Following a caution on lap 6 the #78 machine of Miles Tarvin did not go on the start and after coasting around on the high side of the race track the caution was once again brought out allowing Jeff Watson to join the battle for the top spot up front. With 3 laps to go Davis was able to get beside Yarger for the lead but the two leaders made contact off of turn four and Davis ended up sliding through the infield and to a stop. On the restart it was Yarger holding off the charge of Watson to claim his first win of the 2012 season in his Wilson’s Bodyshop, Northwest Transmission, Roark Construction sponsored machine. Following Watson across the line was Michael Bowling, John Clark, and Devin Puckett rounding out the top five positions. Yarger and Davis were heat race winners earlier in the night. In the Mt Orab Ford Late Model Division it was a very fast hammer down track with a field of cars that really like that kind of surface to race on. In heat race action it was Chad Stapleton of Edinburgh, Indiana taking the first heat win over Lawrenceburg, Indiana’s Scott James while Barry Doss of Sardinia, Ohio claiming the win in heat #2 over a hard charging Jason Jameson of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. In the feature event it was Doss and Stapleton bringing the field to the green flag but third place starting Jason Jameson had other ideas as he snuck under Doss in turn #1 to take the lead on the first lap. While Jameson would set sail and runaway with his second feature win of the season at MRP in his Bert Transmission sponsored machine it was the battles back in the pack that made for a great race that went green to checker with no caution flags. While Doss ran second the whole race it was Wayne Chinn and Stapleton running side-by-side for third spot almost the entire race while Duane Chamberlain and James did the same thing for the fifth spot. Chinn would finally take the third position away from Stapleton on the final lap. Current track points leader Chamberlain would also manage to pull away from James to claim the fifth spot. In the Holman Motors Modified Division Devin Gilpin was looking for win number four on the season but as with every other night this season there was a strong field of cars on hand to try and prevent that. In preliminary action it was Joe Godsey of Edinburgh, Indiana claiming the first heat win over Gilpin while Goshen, Ohio’s Dustin Webber would claim his second heat win of the season over Bethel Ohio's Larry Pickelheimer Jr. In heat number three it was Maysville, Ky’s Jeremie Bretz claiming his second straight heat win with a final lap pass of Shawn Tolson of Walton, KY. In the feature event it was a repeat of last week as Jeremie Bretz in the Seip’s Carquest Auto Parts #03 machine out front with Webber and Gilpin in pursuit. Following a big pileup in turn #1 on lap three it was Bretz out front but on the restart Gilpin would charge to the top spot two laps later and set sail to claim his fourth win in a row. Bretz would maintain second spot throughout the race while Webber and Godsey would claim 3rd and 4th positions. Fifth place of the night was claimed by Jimmy Lennex Jr who had a great race long battle with Doug Adkins and Larry Pickelheimer Jr. Near the conclusion of the modified feature event Mother Nature started creating havoc with some strong winds and light rain and with a strong storm in the area it was decided to forego the Crazy Compact feature event until next week to allow fans and drivers to exit the facility. Earlier in the night it was Kevin Penick claiming his the heat race win while Chris Sawyer finished second. Many thanks go out to the numerous teams for providing kid’s shirts and items that were given away throughout the night and a special thanks to the Dirt Racing Connection crew for the box of giveaways they were able to throw into the crowd throughout the evening. With next week being a regular show MRP will get the autograph session on the front stretch and the makeup compact feature in then. |
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