A jam-packed card featuring six divisions of racing closed off the month of October at East Bay Raceway Park. It marked the final night of points racing for one division while the rest will have as many as five weeks left before crowning a champion.
The Outlaw 4s opened the program with heat winner Austin Gillman jumping into the initial lead with heat winner Cecil Martin in tow. Harmon Byrd slipped by Michael Gulvin to move into fourth behind Chad Rose. Gillman started easing out away from the field as Jim Coursen closed in on Gulvin for a top five spot.
A lap later, Coursen dispatched Byrd, then passed Rose to take third. Coursen lost the handle, allowing Rose to slip back by. While the position battles were taking shape, Gillman was running a steady race and adding to his lead with each passing lap. A caution flag on lap 13 forced the lead to shrink to a single file restart. At the drop of the green, Gillman picked up right where he left off, keeping Martin at bay and moving out to a three-length advantage.
The lead was comfortable when the white flag came out and Gillman finished the race up front to record his first victory of his career. Martin finished second and joined the Victory Lane celebration to congratulate the latest winner, who was also accompanied by his father, Late Model racer Steve Gillman. Rose held on for third, ahead of Coursen and Jerry Bruce.
The Limited Sprint main got off to a rough start as polesitter Suzanne George went around in the second turn, resulting in Gene Lasker flipping his mount. Once the race got underway. Greg Leonard shot to the immediate lead, but couldn’t run away from Michael Smith in the early stages. Smith had his own battle to fight as Leonard eventually started to power away.
Frank Beck III stuck his car in Smith’s draft and chased the heat winner through the middle stages. Leonard checked out on the field as Paulie Milum charged through the field after an unscheduled pit stop. The front runners picked through lapped traffic without incident. When the checkered flew, only five cars were on the lead lap and Leonard took the win by more than a half-lap margin. Smith crossed second, but the scales said the car was light, moving Beck to second ahead of Tim George, Milum and Danny Jones.
After an exciting Late Model race last week, the field returned in force for a 25-lapper after heat wins by Bobby Alexander and Jack Nosbisch Jr. Chris Livernois took the early lead with Steve Gillman giving chase. The pair made contact in turn four, sending Livernois out and Gillman back.
It gave the lead to Nosbsich Jr. who made the bets of the situation. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t hide from Roger Crouse who caught and passed the leader in lapped traffic. The pass was nullified by a caution and it proved to be the last chance Crouse would have. On the restart near the halfway mark, Nosbisch Jr. ran steady while Crouse had his hands full with David Schmauss. Phillip Cobb was on a tear, slipping past Crouse and then Schmauss, but Nosbisch was too far gone. Jack Nosbisch Jr. brought his Rocket home first, ahead of Cobb, Schmauss, Crouse and Keith Nosbisch.
The 360 Sprints were on hand for their final points event of the 2006 season. The division will be part of the USCS Fall Brawl next weekend, but that event does not carry track points. Coming into the night’s program, Daryl Smith held a slight lead over Paulie Milum and the evening’s feature would tell the tale.
Bob Auld and Gene Lasker kept the top point racers from winning heat races and found themselves at the head of the field for the 25-lap main. Auld moved out front with Lasker giving chase in the early stages. Smith moved into fifth by the second lap with Milum about four spots behind.
The drama of the championship ended on a sour note for Milum, who was caught up in a turn four incident that saw teammate Sport Allen upside down after tangling with Frank Beck III. Milum climbed from his car and sought out the Smith team to offer congratulations on the championship.
Auld picked up at the front of the field, but Lasker hunted him down two laps later and made the pass for the lead. That pass was negated by a Tim Holston flip, giving Auld a new lease on life. He took advantage of the situation, stretching his advantage while Lasker contended with Danny Curry and a fast closing Smith. Auld raced past the checkered flag for his first apparent victory in two years, but the tech staff had other ideas.
The post-race inspection found an equipment violation, handing the win to Lasker. Curry, Smith, Stephen Darvalics, and Greg Leonard completed the top five. Smith became the unofficial champion with his top-five finish.
Limited Late Models brought a field of 21 for the night’s program with three heats captured by Forrest Gough, Timmy Bronson, and Bruce Harvey. Gough and Harvey sparred at the front of the feature with Gough holding the lead for a lap four restart.
Roger Crouse pulled past Harvey to move into second, but Harvey came right back at him. Gough was never headed in his quest for the victory. The winner acknowledged it had been a while and the win was overdue. Harvey kept second ahead of Crouse with Tommy Evonosky and Ryan Mitchell laying claim to a top five run.
The final action saw heat winners K.C. Laramee and Frank Miller square off in the 4 Cylinder Bomber main. The 14-car field got off to a rough start with Patrick Tabb finding the turn four concrete.
The driver was okay, but the car was done. Laramee took the early lead from Ken Smith with a strong move, but Miller wasn’t far behind. He made his move to dash past the leader and pick up a win. Laramee finished ahead of last week’s winner, George Christensen, who battled Kyle Eash most of the race. Eash finished fourth with Smith hanging in for fifth.
The next racing action at East Bay will offer two nights of racing as the USCS Fall Brawl arrives in Florida. The 360 Sprints will be joined by Limited Sprints, Outlaw 4s, Mini Sprints and Old Time Sprints for the Friday program. The 360s return Saturday for the Fall Brawl championship and will be accompanied by Street Stocks, 4 Cylinder Bombers, and Mini Sprints. Complete details can be found at www.eastbayracewaypark.com.
