With only four weeks of racing remaining on the 2006 schedule, division championships are up in the air and some of those races tightened up with Saturday night action. Five divisions took the green with 90 cars in attendance.
A field of 16 cars answered the call for the Street Stock feature. Bob Smith moved out to an early lead with Buckshot Meixner hot on his heels. Meixner, who won his heat race, was able to slide by on the inside by lap five, bringing a hard charging Charlie Paris Jr. along to second. A caution bunched the pack and Paris wasted no time easing past Meixner for the lead. On the next lap, Paris slipped a bit allowing Meixner to close, but the bobble did not force a lead change. Point leader Paul Gibbs pulled past Meixner on a lap 9 restart and closed on the leader. Again, Paris managed to keep the car in front and steadily draw away. Heat winner Buck Woodhouse had gained a top five spot, but that good fortune went away when the car slid high in the third turn and Woodhouse fell back in the field. As the field crossed the finish line, Paris appeared to log his sixth feature win, but the tech shed had other ideas. Gibbs claimed the win and padded his lead in the point standings. Meixner kept advanced to second, ahead of Tim Spencer, Steven Johnson, and Tim Spencer Jr.
A 25-lap Late Model main was staged after three heats for the divisions. Preliminaries were won by Bobby Alexander, 2005 Late Model champ David Schmauss, and Michael Cherry, giving Cherry his first Late Model win. At the drop of the green for the 23-car feature field, Carl Polk took the early race lead. Alexander eased past on lap three and faced pressure from Josh Peacock. The lead duo broke away from the rest of the field, which was seeing position battles galore. Schmauss dove past Cherry for third, but lost that spot a lap later to Steve Mathis. Two laps later, it was Marshall Austin in third and Austin closed on the front runners. He bypassed Peacock in turn four and leader Alexander was mired in lapped traffic. Austin ducked to the low side to take the lead in the first turn, but that pass was victimized by a caution, putting Alexander back in command. Three laps later, Peacock had a strong restart to reclaim second. On the next restart, Austin returned the favor, only to see that pass nullified by a caution. Austin slipped up the track after retaking second, falling to fourth and allowing Peacock to pick up the chase. A number of cautions slowed the pace and the time limit was reached as a green-white-checkered finish was called on lap 19. When the checkered waved on lap 21, Bobby Alexander took it first, ahead of Peacock, Austin, point leader K.D. Kelley, and Philip Cobb.
The racing for the Outlaw 4 class found Austin Gillman pulling out with Alex Boerner directly behind him. When Boerner slowed with mechanical woes, Gillman inherited a big lead, but a lap 4 caution took care of that advantage. On the restart, Gillman asserted command while a trio of drivers took turns in second. Point leader Travis Varnadore lost the spot to Matthew Haynes, who in turn found himself giving it up to Steve Miller. Haynes and Miller swapped the position again with Miller holding second on lap 12. Gillman’s car broke free, spinning in turn 2 on the 12th lap, handing the lead to Miller. Despite the efforts of Haynes to take the spot, Miller kept him at bay and Miller snagged a fourth feature victory. Haynes posted a respectable second with Cecil Martin, Varnadore, and Michael Gulvin. Heats were won by Boerner and Gulvin.
Limited Late Models brought 18 cars to the starting line, but the field had difficulty getting beyond the fifth lap. Several incidents kept the field bunched up behind early race leader Kyle Bronson with Shane Koperda running second. On one of several restarts, Forest Gough headed from his third spot to the lead, but the start didn’t take. When the restart counted, Gough repeated his feat, but the field could only get one lap at a time. Koperda drove past Bronson to take second as attrition really started to take a toll. By the halfway mark, only seven cars continued. Gough headed off to victory with Koperda second ahead of Bronson. Fourth went to Jason Pope with Cheryl Cochran claiming fifth. Austin Sanders and J.R. Prather Jr. won their heat races.
The final event of the night brought the Open Wheel Modifieds to the track. Jamie Burrows took the early race lead, but gave it up to Steve Miller during a caution. Several cautions kept the field from gaining much momentum as Jeff Mathews snatched the lead. A lap seven spin by Stephen Ramsey collected Wayne Hammond, whose car flipped in the third turn. Hammond was unhurt as the red came out. On the restart, Raymond Rogers shot past Mathews for the lead. Mathews tried to keep him in sight, but Rogers was strong. As the field received the two-to-go signal, smoke rolled from Rogers’ car and he retired, giving the lead back to Mathews. A last lap caution bunched the field, but Mathews picked up his first win with a newer car. Matt Miller grabbed second with a hard-charging Buzzie Reutimann good for third. Roger Crouse captured fourth and Scotty Williams was placed fifth. Heat winners were Mathews and Burrows.
The next racing action at East Bay will feature five divisions and the popular Fan Participation race. Late Models, Limited Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, Street Stocks, and $ Cylinder Bombers will return to competition. Complete details can be found at www.eastbayracewaypark.com.
