It was an exciting evening as the Late Models returned to Bronson Motor Speedway for the Coca Cola Six Pack Series Late Model Shoot Out. A good crowd was on hand for this Mothers Day Special, and the mothers in attendance were all given a Rose to mark the occasion. At intermission, several mothers were honored in the Best Mother contest, based on entry forms filled out by their children.
In the Late Model Qualifying, Herb Hoeffler set fast time. When the pill was drawn for starting position, it was determined that the first three rows would be inverted. That put Bob Hughes on the pole position, with Scotty Crockett on the outside. When the Green Flag was waved Crockett and Hughes raced side by side toward the first turn, trying to gain an advantage. Crockett managed to get by Hughes and take over the lead. A fierce battle ensued behind Crockett as Hughes, Herb Hoeffler, Jerome Brown, Don Parkinson, and Gary Southard all were trying to gain positions and try to overtake Crockett. Caution came out on lap 5 as the #87 of Michael Haigh and the #5 of Ronnie Campbell made contact and spun. On the restart, Campbell was placed on the rear, and racing resumed for 1 lap, and caution again was on the speedway,as the #22 of Hoeffler and the #39 of Southard got together with Southard sliding thru the infield . When the race restarted, the racers really got after it, with some hard nosed, no favors asked or given, bump and run racing. Caution again was on the speedway on lap 22 as the car of Ronnie Campbell made hard contact with the front straight wall. On lap 25 the caution flew once more for the #87 of Michael Haigh. On the restart, as the field came off turn 4 for the start, the lead car of Crockett jumped out of gear and slowed, causing a huge pile-up behind him, involving at least seven cars. The # 29 of Don Parkinson and the #52 of Jason Bowser were both taken to the pit with major damage. All others in the incident were able to continue. One last caution came out when the 19 car of Larry Goolsby broke the engine on lap 28. This set up a green/white/checkered situation for the final restart. Hoeffler had been trying to pass Crockett the entire race, and would get one last shot. When the green flag waved, Hoefler took a big run at Crockett, but Scotty had enough car to hold on for the win. Hoeffler finished a strong second, followed by Jerome Brown, Bob Hughes, and Gary Southard.
Next up were the Sportsman cars, and Rob Cooper and Gary Southard put on a clinic for the enjoyment of the fans. Cooper took the lead early, and Southard, driving the Doug Anderson racer, stayed on Cooper the entire race. Southard tried every place on the track to find a way around Cooper, but Coopers machine was on a rail, and strong enough to hold the lead. Southard ran hard, but dropped a cylinder on the white flag lap, and had to be content with second.
The Mini-Stock Feature was a wild ride from start to finish. After a couple attempts to start the race, the green flag finally waved, but not for long. On the second lap, the cars of Rick Sirmans, Joe Irwin, and Larry Goolsby all made contact with one another, sending Sirmans into the wall very hard, and then sliding down the track into the cars of Goolsby and Irwin. Tempers flared, but track officials were on the scene quickly to prevent it from escalating. Goolsby and Irwin were able to continue, but Sirmans’ car was damaged too badly to go on. The race restarted with Goolsby and Irwin starting from the rear this time. Billy Smith and Don Faunce were up front, and were racing each other very hard. There were several occasions when the bumpers were employed to male a pass, and the favor was returned in the next corner. Goolsby made his way thru traffic, with a car that resembled on open wheel racer more than a mini, and managed to catch and pass Faunce and Smith for the lead. Goolsby held on for the win, with Faunce in second, followed by Smith.
The Pure Stocks once again had the fans on their feet as these racers put on a great show. Cliff Erhardt took the early lead, followed by Tommy Ausburn, Jeff Tillman, Bobby Johnson, and Arthur Conquest. Johnson and Conquest looked to be hooked together as they made there way thrutraffic, heading toward the front. Coming off turn 4, Conquest broke an axle and lost the left rear wheel, going for a wild ride down the front straight. Fortunately, all were able to avoid the spinning car and continue after the track was cleared. Erhardt continued to lead, and it looked like he has finally got the bugs out of his racer as it was very fast, and looked like he might take it all the way for his first feature win. Johnson had other plans, however, as he finally was able to catch Erhardt, and worked the outside for several laps before he finally made his way around Erhardt for the win. Ausburn held on to third, followed by Jeff Tillman.
Kevin Hodge picked up his third win of the season in the V8 Bombers, and Jeff Pittsley came home with the win in the 4Cyl Bombers.
Join us next week for all the excitement of our Bronson Series Regulars, and don’t forget, it is Military Appreciation Night. All Military Personnel will receive free admission to the Grandstands with their current Military I.D.
Hope You’ll join us as we Salute Our Military. !!!
