John Anderson Wins Bronson Modifieds, Doug Anderson Gets FIRST Sportsman Win
By Rick Warren
Once again, Bronson Motor Speedway was able to dodge the bad weather, and put on a full racing program. Despite having dark clouds surrounding the track, racing went on as planned, with a good field of racers in the pit area, and a good sized crowd in the stands.
The evening began with an exciting round of heat races in all divisions, as the drivers all worked for a good starting position in the feature races. During intermission, entertainment was provided by drivers and crewmembers in the first annual Bronson Motor Speedway Wheel Barrow Race. The winners were from the #25 V8 Bomber of Ken Sheffield. Announcer Tom Cooper kept the crowds attention with lots of free stuff, prizes for answering trivia questions.
The Open Wheel Modifieds were first up on the night’s program. John Anderson was sitting on the front row, and looked to be one of the favorites, as he had been fast all night. When the green flag waved, Anderson jumped to the lead, and was followed closely by Kevin Durden, who was driving Larry Martin’s back up car. Anderson had his hands full, as Durden was trying high and low to find a way around Anderson. The race stayed green until lap 11, and Anderson and Durden were leaving the field behind until Rick McManaway and Glen Ervin made contact and spun in turn #1. The race restarted, and Anderson and Durden picked up where they left off, with Durden applying even more pressure to Anderson. On Lap 15, the two leaders got together in turn 2, with Anderson spinning. After the caution to clean the track, Anderson was put back in the lead, and Durden restarted from the rear. The race stayed green after the restart, with Anderson maintaining his lead, despite a damaged air inlet on the front of his racer, that was causing some problems with the cars cooling system. Gene Owen made a steady charge thru the field from his starting position in the back of the pack, and was trying to reel Anderson in. Meanwhile, Durden had the fans on there feet, as he made a Banzai charge up the outside, down the inside, high and low, making his way back toward the front of the pack. With 2 laps to go , Owen and G. Nordstrom made slight contact coming out of turn 4, and both cars slid toward the top of the track. This allowed Durden an opening on the bottom of the track to drive by and retake second place. Anderson’s lead was too large to overcome, and he finished out front and claimed the victory. Durden held on to second, followed by Gene Owen.
Next out of the Gate was the Sportsman Division. Rookie driver Doug Anderson, who has shown lots of potential and great improvement this season, started from the front row, and never looked back. Anderson took the lead at the green flag, with Rob Cooper, Doc Batson and Dwight Pinner tight on his bumper. Many felt it was only a matter of time until one of the veteran racers took the lead from the rookie, but Anderson had other ideas. Anderson drove a flawless race, holding a fast, tight line, and handling all the pressure that Cooper and Batson put on him. Cooper managed to drive alongside Anderson a few times, but was unable to make the pass. The race ended as it started, with Anderson in first, and Cooper hot on his bumper. Congratulations to Doug Anderson for his first feature win in this highly competitive division. No doubt this will not be the last time we see him in victory lane!
In the Mini Stock Feature, Clint Foley notched another win as he opened a big lead over last weeks feature winner Billy Smith, and managed to maintain a comfortable lead to the checkered flag. Smith was followed by Ronnie Hicks and Dave Westrich.
The Pure Stock division saw another first time winner for this season. The race started with Joey Hunt taking the early lead, with Tommy Ausburn doing his best to take the lead. Arthur Conquest made his way thru the pack to challenge Ausburn for second, and finally made the pass for second, and went to work on Hunt. Nearing the end of the race, Conquest and Hunt made contact going into turn 3, resulting in a caution, that saw Conquest restarting from the rear. After the restart, Hunt held on for the lead, followed to the line by Bobby Johnson and Tommy Ausburn.
The V8 Bombers saw Kevin Hodge make it to winners circle again, as he managed to pass Charlie Kennedy in the closing laps, to claim another win. Ken Sheffield finished third, followed by Emmitt Bottoms.
The 4 Cyl Bombers had a great race also, with several cars taking turns leading the race.
When it was all said and done, Harold Barup passed John DeGeorge on the white flag lap to claim the win. They were followed to the flag by Jeff Pittsley and John Hagans.
