IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

June 19, 2005 FSCR Cherry Captures Emotional First Win in East Bay Action By Larry Jewett The emotions experienced in Victory Lane can be very telling. That spot serves as the place to vindicate hours of work and sacrifice to get a race car competitive. It was never more evident than when Michael Cherry parked in the spot after his win in the 15-lap Street Stock feature Saturday night at East Bay Raceway Park. Cherry had been close, so very close, in the past. He brought out a new car a few months ago and was working hard to get the car right. Slowly but surely, the finishes were coming. On this night, that first win of the season finally came and Victory Lane was packed. There were plenty of hugs and tears. Fellow competitors, even those in other divisions, came to congratulate the winner. Earlier in the evening, Michael Cherry’s giving spirit was on display. As he has in the past, he wanted to give something back to the young race fans. On this night, Michael gave away two brand new bicycles, one to a boy and one to a girl. He wanted the young fans to have something a little special. The best was yet to come, though no one knew it at the time. Street Stocks were third on the feature card. When their time rolled around, Michael took his spot in the 19-car field. As the race unfolded, he ran third behind Bobby Miller and Charlie Wiberg. Wiberg spun in turn two on lap 3, forcing Cherry and the rest of the field to take evasive action. Now second, Cherry set his sights on race leader Miller. The two worked through the laps as positions were swapped around behind them. With 10 laps complete, the lead pack moved in on a pair of cars racing for position at the rear of the field. As the car worked down the backstretch, Miller tangled with a lapped car and spun as Cherry avoided the mess. Now in the lead for the restart, Cherry had to deal with a hard charging Wayne Hayes. A good restart helped the cause and Hayes had his work cut out for him. The two cars matched strides in racing to the checkered with Cherry picking up his win. Hayes ran second with Steven Johnson coming home third. Cam Canova logged a fourth place finish with Mac Kersey claiming fifth. Heats were won by Wiberg and Hayes. The Outlaw 4 class started the night’s features with an 11-car lineup. Josh Peacock snared the lead from Jim Murphy on the second lap and the caution flew on lap 3 for a spin that sent Greg Pae and Michael Galvin to the rear. Chad Rose inherited third and moved past Murphy on the restart. As the field saw the halfway signal, Peacock slowed with mechanical problems, handing the lead to Rose. Steve Miller picked up the challenge on the point leader, but Rose had a half lap lead on the field. That lead was cleaned off by a caution flag with four to go. Rose held his line through the remaining laps and chalked up his first feature win of the year. Miller kept second with Murphy third. Alex Boerner took fourth in his second race in the division. Galvin rounded out the top five. Heat winners were Miller with a last lap pass and Peacock. Limited Late Models brought 20 cars to the line of their 15-lapper. Heat race winner Bruce Harvey jumped into the early race lead. Forest Gough bypassed William Hampton and Harvey to take the lead. A hard charging David Simpson, who had won the division’s other heat, moved up to challenge Gough. The leader chased the tail of the field, only to find eight cars locked into position battles. Gough selected a line through the field and Simpson picked up enough momentum to challenge. In heavy traffic, Simpson inched ahead momentarily, even bringing third-running Tommy Evonosky into the fight. Mercifully, a caution flew, giving the leaders some relief as Gough held the point. Gough was not to be denied, moving out to his second feature win of 2005 and giving him the opportunity to show off his new driver’s shoes in Victory Lane. Simpson snared second to bolster his point lead. Third went to Evonosky with Harvey and Jeff Mathews rounding out the top 5. Jack Nosbisch Jr. wasted no time in getting to the head of the field for the 25-lap Late Model feature. Nosbisch snatched the lead from polesitter Philip Cobb with Roger Crouse making his presence known. Crouse took over second with an outside move. Just before the halfway mark, a spin in the backstretech by Scott Thompson brought a scary moment. Thompson was hit by Frank Erskine Jr. and the left rear of Thompson’s car erupted in flames. The red flag flew as crews and driver Bobby Alexander Jr. raced to the drivers’ aid. No one was hurt, but both cars were eliminated. On the restart, Jack Nosbisch picked up where he left off, but the charge was being put on by Keith Nosbsich. Keith Nosbisch could only get to second as Jack Nosbisch Jr. picked up the win, his second of the season. Keith Nosbisch kept second with Crouse third. Fourth went to Donnie Tanner with Bobby Alexander Sr. capturing fifth. Heat winners were Alexander Sr. and in an exciting finish, K.D. Kelley prevailed in his preliminary. A 22-car Open Wheel Modified field went through a number of cautions before the curfew brought an end to their main event. Jeff Mathews went wire-to-wire to pick up the victory. Numerous incidents throughout the field forced drivers to work from the back at times throughout the chase. Mathews prevailed over Buzzie Reutimann, John Bradley, Trevor Merrill, and Rusty Dixon. Dixon and Mathews were winners of the heats. The largest field in the 4 Cylinder bomber class came calling on Saturday night. Buck Skinner won the heat race, but D.B. Hogwaler could not be denied in the feature. Hogwaler, winner of the last three events, charged to the front of the field. Skinner and Hogwaler locked into battle for supremacy until contact sent Skinner toward the turn four wall. Hogwaler raced unmolested to the victory, but offered his apologies first in person, then in Victory Lane for the contact. Landy Font crossed second with Kristi Ivey claiming third. Arnold Perkins Jr. held on for fourth in front of J.R. Prather. East Bay’s racing action closes the month of June with a six-division card next Saturday. Late Models, Limited Late Models, Limited Sprints, Street Stocks, Outlaw 4s, and Gunslinger Trucks make up the racing menu. Complete details can be found at www.eastbayracewaypark.com Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! news@karnac.org or send a letter to the editor!