Bobby Owens Wins FASTRUCK Feature at Bronson in Wild Finish
Mother Nature once again smiled on Bronson Motor Speedway Saturday night, and held back her storms until the racing was done.
With the Fastruck Pro Series in town for a 50 lap event, plus all the Bronson regular classes in action, a full slate of racing was on tap for all the racers and fans that were in attendance.
The Fastrucks were first on the track for their Qualifying attempts. After all had taken their shot at the fast time, Jimmy Gill ended up as the fast Qualifier,followed closely by James Wright III, Tommy King, Paul Grynewicz, and Jeff Guilbault. When the Pill was drawn by Gill to determine how many rows would be inverted for the start of the 50 lap feature, he wound up starting on the outside of row 8, in 16th spot.
After the Bronson Series Racers finished their heat races, it was time for the Fastrucks to take to the track, and go for broke for 50 hard laps.
When the Green Flag dropped for the field of 20 trucks, Bobby Owens jumped to the lead, followed closely by the entire pack of trucks.
Not a lap went by without side by side, fender rubbing, not giving an inch racing. It was near the halfway point when Paul Grynewicz III made his move and slipped under Owens to take the lead.
While the trucks in the front were trying to pull away from the field, and jockeying for position, Jimmy Gill was making a steady charge from his 16th starting position, racing to the front. As Gill got closer to the front, the racing got tougher, and Gill moved to the outside to continue his charge.
Gill finally caught Grynewicz III and the two racers went at it side by side. Gill slipped by Grynewicz for the lead, and the next lap Grynewicz III slipped back by Gill to retake the lead. The race was slowed by several cautions, and the final caution came with 4 laps to go.
At the restart it was Grynewicz III, Gill, Owens ,King, and Guibault, all set to battle for the win. It was exciting, tough racing, and on the last lap, last corner, coming for the checkered flag, Gill tried once more to get by Grynewicz III, and the two trucks made hard contact, spinning, sliding down the track, and collecting several other trucks in the melee.
When the smoke cleared, Bobby Owens, running a tight 3rd, managed to avoid the wreck, and claim the victory. Owens had run a very consistant race, and was in the right place to take the win. At the finish line, with some trucks crossing the finish line sideways, backwards, and in the infield, the finishing order was not immediately known.
The order of finish was finally determined to be as follows
1. #1 Bobby Owens
2. #16 Tommy King
3. #29 Tim Shaffner
4. #9 Marty Wolf
5. #93 Jeff Firestine
6. #50 Andy Breedlove
7. #18 Wendell Bristol
8. #44 Paul Grynewicz III
9. #40 Paul Grynewicz
10. #28 Jeff Guibault
11. #5 Jimmy Gill
Not to be out done, the Bronson Racers put on a great show of their own. In the Open Wheel Modified class, it looked like Monty Morgan might be taking another feature win home with him, but the other drivers werent going to let it happen without a fight.
Gene Owen raced Morgan hard for several laps, and looked like he may be the one to pass Morgan. Owen and Morgan were racing hard for the lead, when they made contact between the #3and #4 turns, causing both cars to spin. Morgan went to the rear, and Owen was unable to continue, and went to the pits.
The feature resumed, and Ronnie Simpson had the lead, and drove the wheels off his OWM to get his first feature win since returning to racing after many years of retirement. Just proves the old adage, once a racer, always a racer. Morgan was able to return through the pack and finish 2nd, with rookie Buddy Hughes finishing a strong 3rd.
In the Sportsman Class, Rob Cooper kept up his winning ways, and scored his second win of the 2003 season, followed by Dusty Bouchard, and Ray Wheeler.
The Mini Stocks once again came to race, and race they did. The feature race saw lots of side by side action, and tight racing throughout the pack. Don Faunce managed to get out front and hold on for the win, followed closely by Jeff Stalnaker Jr., and Josh Hars.
Next out of the box were the Pure Stocks. 17 cars took the green flag, and these drivers showed the fans that they came to race and were loaded for bear. This was one of those races where there was so much action at both ends of the track, that it was hard to see all of it.
These guys and girls are a bunch of tough racers, and have so much fun at it, that we all remember how much fun this sport can be. Arthur Conquest came home as the winner, followed by Bobby Johnson and Tommy Smith.
The V-8 Bombers put on their usual Rock-em Sock-em racing display, and had a really exciting race. Paul Fletcher fought hard for the win, chased by Billy Padgett and Will Baker( in his brand new SpongeBob SquarePants racer)
The 4Cyl Bombers made their second show at the speedway, and J. Durbin picked up his first feature win, followed by John Naber and R.Futch.
Look for this class to really take off as the year progresses. A lot of new cars are expected soon.
================ADVERTISEMENT============================== GET READY !! THE SUNBELT SUPER LATE MODEL SERIES COMES TO TOWN THIS WEEKEND, MARCH 15 !!! Come see the Best of the Best in Florida and Georgia Super Late Model Action !! Open practice Friday evening.!! 125 laps of SLM racing Saturday night at Bronson Motor Speedway . ============================================================
