Apr 17, 2009 10:30 PM EDT
Donnie Lawson Dominates Sportsman Special
Donnie Lawson had won a number of modified races in the past at the Black Rock Speedway, and he had won in the No. 11 Sportsman on plenty of occasions, just never at Black Rock before Friday Night.
The Woodhull Resident scored his first career Black Rock Sportsman win, capturing the 30-lap, $1,000-to-win Feature.
Lawson won the heat race and was in command for all 30 laps, staying smooth in the middle of the track and holding off the last two speedway champions.
With just seven laps remaining, Todd Henderson peaked his No. 18H to the inside of Lawson off of turn two. Lawson stayed strong on the top though and from that point would cruise to the win.
“I think my car got loose at that point, it probably had to do with my tire going down,” noted Lawson in Victory Lane, referring to a hissing right rear tire emanating from his Teo. “The car was really good though, this is a new car for us and it worked well.”
Henderson, the defending track champion, held off 2007 Champion Brady Fultz in a fierce battle for the first half of the event and would eventually finish in second. Fultz was also in a new ride, as he had sold his car to eventual winner Donnie Lawson. A flat tire on a caution would bite Fultz with just nine laps remaining, putting him many laps down after he returned.
Fran Hilton would put his No. 3 in position three. Rick Willsey and Ross Vleck would place fourth and fifth, respectively. This was the first top five finish for each of them.
Jeremy Wonderling continued his dominant ways in the Late Model Feature, holding off a number of competitors to pick up the 20-lapper.
The Wonderling Clan made it a sweep of the night, with Jeremy and Mikey scoring the heat wins and Jeremy dominating the main event. Even though Rich Karlnoski would challenge in the late stages, he would have to cross in second.
Bob Buono ran a strong third with Nate Daggett and Jeff Chesebro completing the top-five.
The Street Stock Feature did not disappoint in excitement, as a number of regular frontrunners duked it out for an ever-changing lead. When the 20th lap was done, it was Frank Guererri picking up the first win of the year.
Defending Track Champion Chris Fisher controlled the pace early, but it was clear by the fifth lap that Guererri would be a force. By lap six they were side-by-side, and stayed that way for five laps.
“Chris Fisher is a strong competitor, I know he’ll race me clean, what a dog fight that was for a couple of laps,” said an elated Guererri. “I wanted to run the top, but he was up there, so I had to be patient and get him on the bottom.”
Just after losing the lead to Guererri, Fisher developed a flat left rear and had to drop to the back after a stop in the pits to change tires.
Guererri’s next challenger was George Parker, who ran his new No. 4p as hard as possible in the closing laps, finishing in second, just a few car lengths behind Fisher’s No. 37.
Jared Hill would beat Jim McAfee to the line for third. Fisher would rebound from his flat tire to round out the top-five.
Terry Povoski is no stranger to Victory Lane, but it was his first win at Black Rock since October 13 in a Pro Truck Event. With a new paint scheme for the year, Povoski scored a thrilling heat win and then battled hard to score the Signs Plus of Kanona 4-cylinder 20-lap feature victory.
“I used the brakes pretty good to run the bottom,” commented the Bradford Resident in Victory Lane. “Richie (Sharpsteen) gave us a good run. He ran the top of the track for a while and we were able to get by him then.”
Phil Yaw made his return to 4-cylinders a successful one, crossing in second with Sharpsteen, Ray Speicher and Brent Ayers completing a strong top-five.
Dylan Cecce kicked off the Black Rock Bandit season just as he did last year by going to Victory Lane. Cecce, of Bath, made a pass on Jamie Eldredge Jr. following the races only restart on lap six. He would cruise away to score the win in the “Flyin’ X” over Eldredge, Josh Wallenbeck, Zack Teed and Brian Wilson.
Paula Wallenbeck scored the win in the Ladies 4-cylinder event over Jamie Schuyler and Kailey Wassner.
Scott Tillinghast and Ron Woodenberg were teamed together for Faster Pastor Team Boat Race, where one 4-cylinder enduro towed a boat and the other pushed. They were in third with two laps to go, but when the top two teams lost the boat, two former Faster Pastor racers went back to Victory Lane.
Next week is $20 car load night, with a Super 6 Card plus a Firefighter Enduro. For more information, visit www.BlackRockSpeedway.com.
Black Rock Speedway Results: 4/17/2009-
Hoselton Auto Mall Sportsman Feature (30 Laps)- DONNIE LAWSON, Todd Henderson, Fran Hilton, Rick Willsey, Ross Vleck, Brady Fultz, Rob Lerch, Brandon Butler, Chuck Winslow, Larry Stell, Steve Gray (DNS).
Lap Leader- Lawson 1-30.
Heat Winner- Lawson.
Freedom Village USA Late Model Feature (20 Laps)- JEREMY WONDERLING, Rich Karlnoski, Bob Buono, Nate Daggett, Jeff Chesebro, Dale Welty, Chris Peacock, Dave DuBois, Brandon Smith, Wally Wade, Brady Wonderling, Mikey Wonderling.
Lap Leaders- J. Wonderling 1-20.
Heat Winners- M. Wonderling, J. Wonderling.
Labatt Blue Street Stock Feature (20 Laps)- FRANK GUERERRI JR., George Parker, Jared Hill, Jim McAfee, Chris Fisher, Jayme Gilbert, Mike Schroder, Scott Sebring, Gene Parker, Kevin Morrison, Ajay Petzrebowski, Larry Fenton Jr., Jeremy Perkins, George Parker, Carl Cleveland, Christian Thompson, Rich Bixby Jr., Bruce Kinner, Rob Parker (DNS), Jason White (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Fisher 1-8, Guererri 9, Fisher 10, Guerreri 11-20.
Heat Winners- Guererri, Fisher.
Signs Plus of Kanona 4-Cylinder Feature (20 Laps)- TERRY POVOSKI, Phil Yaw, Rich Sharpsteen II, Ray Speicher, Brent Ayers, Del Cummings, David Ahouse, C.J. Winslow, Dave Matwiejow, Harry Ayers, Cody Moorehouse, Brian Thompson, Chad Ayers, Scott Bradley, Russ Wassner, Joe Cron Jr., Chad Winslow, Archie Haner, Brad Rathbun, Joe Povoski, Brett Crawford.
Lap Leaders- Sharpsteen 1-3, Povoski 4-20.
Heat Winners- T. Povoski, Sharpsteen.
Ladies 4-Cylinder Feature (8 Laps)- PAULA WALLENBECK, Jamie Schuyler, Kailey Wassner.
Home Necessities Bandits (10 Laps)- DYLAN CECCE, Jamie Eldredge Jr., Josh Wallenbeck, Zach Teed, Brian Wilson, Josh DuBois, Lisa Cornish, Noah Herrington (DNS).
Lap Leaders- Eldredge 1-5, Cecce 6-10.
Fast Pastor Team Boat Race (5 Laps)- Scott Tillinghast and Ron Woodenberg.
