"I'm
noticing a turn of the tide on racing Web sites like Florida's
Karnac.com, the gathering place for the most dedicated race
fans in the state." -Orlando Sentinel
Saturday, October 25, 2008 - Close to 100 racers were on hand at Eastbay Raceway Park this past Saturday for another round of racing at “the Clay by the Bay.” The Motorstats.com Street Stocks were the 1st on the track for their heat races and the fans were treated to tremendous 3 wide action all around the track. Randy Tyler started on the pole and led the majority of the race, but fell off the pace as the laps wound down.
Picking up the pace was the 00B machine of Buck Skinner who has been unbeatable the past several weeks with a total of 6 wins throughout the season. Danny Hill, who had 5 wins himself had started back in the 12th spot worked his way through the field and took the lead on the final lap as the field worked off turn 2. Hill picked up his 6th win of the year while Skinner finished 2nd. Randy Tyler, points leader Donnie Reed and David Roberts finished 3rd, 4th and 5th. Randy Tyler and Randy Linke were winners of their heat races.
The Outlaw 4’s featured non-stop action from the drop of the green flag. Matt Haynes started in the 11th position, but systematically worked his way through the field and past Shane Burrows for his 1st win of the 2008 season. Burrows held on to his championship points lead with his 2nd place finish and Steven Hohlbaugh finished 3rd, his 4th top 5 of the year. Haynes also picked up the win in his heat race while Burrows the win in heat race #2.
Limited Late Model action was limited in name only as two and three wide racing was prevalent all around the track. The battle finally wound down to the two top drivers in the championship points race, Tim Gay and Forrest Gough. Gay had accumulated 6 wins in the 2008 racing season, but still followed Gough in the points race by merely 4 points, while Gough had yet to win a feature event yet at the “Clay by the Bay.” Gay was able to hold on for another hard fought victory with Gough just behind. John Bradley crossed the finish line 3rd. Gough and Gay were both winners in each of their heat races as well.
Late Model action, always intense at Eastbay, was even more extreme as the racing season began to wind down for the year. Josh Peacock and his team knew they could get the job done after picking up their 1st win earlier in the year. Peacock dominated the feature event, holding off veterans like David Schmauss, Roger Crouse, Bobby Alexander Sr, and more for his 2nd win of the year. Phillip Cobb finished 2nd after winning his heat race earlier in the evening while Steve Miller rounded out the top 3. David Schmauss won heat race #1 and Steve Miller was the winner of heat race #2.
The 4 Cylinder Bombers put on another awesome show while the 07 of Wayne Kissam took advantage of his front row starting spot. Kissam held off all challenges to take the win. Frank Miller in the 13 moved through the field to a second place finish with Kyle Kruse rushing from 14th to a hard fought 3rd place finish. Coming home in 4th was 69x of Jim Baker, and 5th was the 7m of Roberto Morfin from way back in the 15th starting spot. Kyle Kruse was Heat #1 winner, Kyle Eash in the 17x took Heat #2, while 7m Roberto Morfin took the win in heat 3.
East Bay Raceway Park will fire up again next Saturday November 1, with ASA sanctioned racing action, which includes the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) 360 Sprints, Limited Sprints, Street Stocks and Out Law 4’s. The ASCS Sprints will be on hand for the full race program with a special interview at intermission. Racing starts @ 6:30 pm. For more information go to www.eastbayracewaypark.com.