There is no moment more special in racing than a first win. It’s agonizing to come close, yet still be denied. For teenaged racer Alex Boerner, that first win came Saturday night in the Outlaw 4 main event and few had to be surprised at the outcome. He had been so close, so many times.
The young Boerner climbed from his car and jumped up and down on the roof of his ride in Victory Lane. Once he came back down to the ground, he matter-of-factly thanked his supporters for their efforts and awaited the crush of well-wishers.
The race was not a runaway, but Boerner’s car was strong from the start. He drove to the outside on the third lap to wrest the lead from Michael Gulvin, moving out to a two-length advantage in short order. Heat winner Harmon Byrd put on his charge to close on Gulvin, but a multi-car incident caught Byrd, which sent him to the rear. Steve Miller, last week’s feature winner, appeared to be on a charge as he moved to second after a lap seven restart. Boerner had command at the halfway mark, but there was company coming.
The field slowed again for a caution a lap later, moving Miller and Gulvin to the leader’s tail. Tony D’Alessio, in his first start in the class, charged up to take third with three laps remaining, but Boerner and Miller were moving out to settle it. Miller looked on the low side with a lap remaining, but Boerner coolly focused on his marks and kept his challenger at bay. Miller had to settle for second with D’Alessio, point leader Travis Varnadore, and Gulvin in the top five. Defending division champion Chad Rose joined Byrd as a heat race victor.
J.R. Prather Jr. utilized his pole starting spot to give the 26-car Limited Late Model field fits on this Saturday night. Prather had won his heat, along with David Simpson and point leader Tommy Evonosky, setting the stage for the feature. Early race contact between Bruce Harvey and Shane Koperda resulted in heavy damage to the body of the Koperda car and dimmed Koperda’s hopes of moving into the top points spot. David Simpson slipped past Gough on the restart to take second behind Prather as a number of cautions made green flag laps a premium. Gough and Simpson kept swapping the runner-up position. As time was running out, the field was headed to an apparent green-white-checkered finish.
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Just before the last restart, Gough ducked down to put a move on Prather, making contact with the leader. Gough backed off to let Prather regain control. On the last restart, the word went out that the race would conclude a lap early due to time. Prather could not be caught, finishing in front of Gough, Simpson, Timmy Bronson, and Roger Crouse. In Victory Lane, Prather praised Gough’s sportsmanship and expressed the pleasure of racing with competitors who allow you to race.
Marshall Austin had the lead, had it taken from him, and then recaptured it to win the 25-lap Late Model main. Ted Erskine went for the lead early, but Austin swung from third to first in the early stages. Austin faced a challenge from Jeff Mathews, who crept by for the lead by the sixth lap. Mathews’ lead was short-lived and Austin hunched over the wheel to chase down the leader. With slight contact in the backstretch, Austin took over the lead and would not be denied. Mathews had his hands full with Roger Crouse, who stayed right in Mathews’ shadow.
Jeff Conyers had a strong top five run until motor problems shortened his race. Austin cruised through lapped traffic to the checkered flag. Mathews settled for second, ahead of Crouse, who stopped in Victory Lane to congratulate Austin. K.D. Kelley had a steady fourth place run, finishing ahead of Ted Erskine. The heats were won by Austin, Crouse, and Bobby Alexander.
Early race attrition in the Open Wheel Modifieds put a few contenders on the sidelines. Last week’s winner Scotty Williams and Trevor Merrill ended up out before a lap was completed after Bobby Dixon spun at the front of the field, jamming the pack. On the restart, Jamie Burrows spun while leading, getting out of harm’s way, allowing the field to stay under green.
Bobby Dixon had the lead, but swept up the track, allowing Jeff Mathews to swing through for the lead. Close quarters racing between Devin Dixon, Raymond Rogers and Bobby Dixon resulted in the three cars tangling, but a debris caution wiped away any position loss. Under caution, leader Mathews retired, giving the point to Raymond Rogers.
On the restart, Devin Dixon tried to pester Rogers and gave it a shot as Rogers washed up in the fourth turn with two laps to go. Rogers gathered it in ahead of Devin Dixon and never faced a challenge as the checkered waved. Devin Dixon, who had won a heat earlier, claimed second with Bobby Dixon third. Burrows came back for a fourth place run with Dale Kelley fifth. Williams had won his heat earlier.
A little cat and mouse game took place in the Street Stock finale, which brought 24 cars to the line for 15 laps. Polesitter Steven Johnson assumed early command, ahead of Donnie Reed and Charlie Paris Jr., the three drivers who had won heats. Paris ducked by Reed and kept second. On a lap 9 restart, Paris pulled side by side with Johnson. Paris couldn’t make the pass stick and Paul Gibbs got involved by pulling into third.
Paris was forced to the bottom and managed to get the nose beneath Johnson, sliding through for the lead with three laps to go. Gibbs made the pass of Johnson in the backstretch and hunted down Paris. Gibbs had one good shot, but Paris moved on for the victory. The win was the fifth of the season for the third generation driver, who checkered the night to celebrate his parents’ wedding anniversary. Gibbs padded his point lead with a second place run, ahead of Johnson, Reed, and Joseph Luce.
The 360 Sprints return top East Bay next Saturday. Joining them will be the Limited Sprints, Street Stocks, Outlaw 4s, and 4 Cylinder Bombers. Complete details can be found at www.eastbayracewaypark.com.
