A week ago, several drivers watched others in Victory Lane, vowing to work a little harder in the week ahead. For a handful, the work resulted in the desired outcome as drivers avenged the losses of the week before.
Steve Miller congratulated Travis Varnadore last week in the Outlaw 4 feature after Miller finished second. The roles were reversed in the 15-lapper Saturday night when Miller took the lead from heat winner Harmon Byrd. Miller grabbed the spot on the sixth lap, but a debris caution gave the lead back to Byrd. Miller wasted no time in asserting himself to the lead, bringing Chad Rose along into second.
Varnadore was chasing the field and made his pass on Rose with two laps remaining to hunt down Miller. Varnadore, who took the point lead with last weeks win, could not chase down his friend and watched as Miller took the checkered. In Victory Lane, Miller said he learned something by watching Varnadore the week before and was not going to be denied. Rose finished third, ahead of Byrd and Jim Coursen. Cecil Martin won a heat in the class.
Another driver who congratulated a competitor in Victory Lane last week was Wallace Peacock, whose runner-up finish was wiped out by a post-race incident. The memory was forgotten Saturday when Peacock pulled his mount to victory in a wire-to-wire effort in the Late Model 25-lap highlight. Peacock shot past polesitter and heat winner Frank Erskine to assume early command. Early race battles saw some of the top racers sparring for position.
Bobby Alexander looped his ride in turn four on the fifth lap and the ensuing pileup changed the complexion of things for a number of competitors. Point leader Roger Crouse watched his badly-damaged mount towed away while Jack Nosbisch and K.D. Kelley suffered slight damage to their cars. Kelley and Nosbisch were able to rejoin and renew their pursuit of Peacock. Erskine kept his runnerup spot until losing the handle slightly on lap 8, allowing several drivers to bypass. Leading the way was Jeff Conyers, who had his hands full with 2005 Late Model champion David Schmauss breathing down his back.
While the battles from second back were intense, Wallace Peacock had a relatively easy time en route to his first Late Model win. Conyers, like Peacock a graduate of the Outlaw 4 class, notched a career best second. Schmauss settled for third, ahead of Nosbisch and K.D. Kelley. Chris Livernois started the night with a heat win.
Side-by-side action was the rule not the exception for the Open Wheel Modifieds with a frantic pace developing. The field took a few shots at a start before settling in for a nailbiter. Scotty Williams outduelled Devin Dixon to take the lead, but Dixon kept in Williams shadow through the early stages. Jamie Burrows and Raymond Rogers found themselves relegated to the rear after a lap one tangle and Rogers moved to the high side to start his charge.
The idea worked better for Burrows, who had moved back into the top five by the fifth lap. While Williams was keeping the pace, Buzzie Reutimann sought to show some muscle to Dixon and slipped past for second. Reutimann went after Williams, but the leader was able to pull away. Dixon wasnt done as he rallied back past Reutimann to take second with three laps left. Reutimann let that happen for just a lap, slipping by Dixon again. Williams, a former Mini Stock season champion, went on to claim the feature win with Reutimann and Dixon in the top three. Burrow took fourth with Rogers fifth. Heats were won by Dixon and point leader Jeff Mathews.
There was a shuffle atop the point standings in the Limited Sprints at the end of the night, but the feature went to a driver a little deeper in the season standings. Danny Jones proved to be the class of the field as he motored a fast race car around for the win in the 20-lap chase. Jones took the lead from Suzanne George as the field headed to the flagstand to complete the first lap.
He then kept a cushion between himself and his nearest contender, Michael Smith. Jones had the fastest car on the track for most of the race, but Paulie Milums race came to life midway through. After dispatching Rick Byerly for third, Milum started closing the gap on Smith and Jones until slipping off the cushion in turn two late in the race. Jones scored a solid win, ahead of birthday racer Smith with Milum third ahead of Byerly and Rich Alexander. With his third place finish, Milum moved into the point lead ahead of Tim George by a single marker. Milum and Byerly laid claim to the heats.
Ken Smith, point leader George Christensen, and Buck Skinner stopped for victory photos in the heat races, but none would prevail in the 15-lap main, which saw 25 cars take the green. Some early race mishaps brought a slow start with one causing a flat tire for Christensen. He would return, down six laps, but the mishap had a definite detrimental effect on his points hope. Skinner took the lead from B.W. Hogwaller on lap five with Jimmy Alvis moving to second on the next restart. Michael Tuggle slipped by to take second. As the field approached the second turn, Skinner found his car being plowed sideways by Tuggle and Alvis with Tuggle fingered as the culprit.
The incident put Skinner out, giving Alvis the top position. Mario Shelton started picking off spot to move into second by lap 11, only to lose the spot and regain it by lap 15. He set his sights on Alvis, but Alvis couldnt be caught. With his win, Alvis moves to the point lead. Shelton did manage to hold second, ahead of Frank Miller, Kyle Eash, and Patrick Tabb.
East Bay will move into the month of October with a five-division program on tap for October 7. Late Models, Limited Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, Street Stocks and Outlaw 4s will make up the bill. Complete information can be found at www.eastbayracewaypark.com.
