JIMMY HORTON CLAIMS CAMP BARNES MODIFIED WIN - July 10, 2003

By Charlie Brown, Delmar, DE (7/10/03) – Mother Nature turned the 31st Annual Camp -Barnes Benefit into a two-night show as Wednesday night’s program was rained-out after qualifying heats. The cars and fans returned Thursday night for the completion of the program and were treated to some fantastic racing. Jimmy Horton of Neshanic Station, N.J. spun and won in the 25-Lap Big Block Modified feature. David Pettyjohn of Millsboro, Del. proved that he has recovered from his early season injured and he became the seventh different winner in seven events in the 20-lap Late Model main. Billy Pauch of Stockton, N.J. captured the $1000 to win Sixth Annual Camp Barnes 12-Lap Shootout which matched the top five finishers in the Modified feature against the top five from the Late Model main. Other winners included Mike Stratton of Laurel, Del. in the Modified Lites, Mark Pettyjohn of Milton, Del. in the Street Modifieds, Hank Thompson of Ellendale, Del. in the Little Lincoln Cars, Morris Tucker of Bridgeville, Del. in the Vintage Modifieds and Jim Reed of Seaford in the Vintage Sportsman.

“Stormin’” Norman Short, coming off a convincing heat race win, started on the pole in the 25-lap Modified feature. Short took command from the drop of the green but the yellow was out before one lap was complete when Jimmy Horton spun after starting in fourth in the second turn. Ricky Elliott and Ricky Johnson also came to a stop in the tangle and all three restarting at the rear of the field.

Short held off Craig Mullins for the first four laps before Kenny Brightbill moved into challenge in second. The yellow was out for debris on the speedway on lap nine. On the restart, Billy Pauch made his move for second on the outside as Horton blasted his way back into the top five. Pauch had just nosed out front but before lap 13 was complete, the caution was on for Sparky White. This put Short back out front at the halfway sign followed by Pauch, Brightbill, Horton, and Donny Radd in the top five. Short collected a $250 halfway bonus from Wood’s General Contracting in Georgetown.

Pauch pushed high and both Brightbill and Horton moved by for second and third. Horton continued his charge to the front taking second on lap 16 and immediately began challenging Short for the lead as Jamie Mills battled by Radd for fifth. Horton drove by Short for the lead but again Short was saved by the yellow as Beau Wilkins came to a stop. Horton once again made the pass for the lead with five to go but amazingly, the yellow for the third time saved Short, this time for Bobby Watkins who came to a stop.

Short controlled the single-file restart but Horton was not to be denied as he took the lead for good with three laps to go. Horton went on to his second win of the season. “I spun all by myself,” said Horton “so I had to make up for my mistake.”

Horton finished 2.02 seconds ahead of Pauch who took second from Short with one to go. Brightbill also got by Short for third on the final lap with Short and Mills rounding out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Elliott, Radd, Kyle Strickler, Tim Millman, and H.J. Bunting. Short, Brightbill, Mullins, and Horton won the heats with Mills taking the consolation.

The 20-lap Late Model feature was also a thriller as David Pettyjohn set the pace from the pole. The caution was out on lap three when Hal Browning spun to a stop in the second turn. On the restart, Kenny Pettyjohn battled by David Hill for second but Hill got by both one lap later for the lead. That would be the only lap in the event that David Pettyjohn would not lead as he flat footed back into the lead on lap six.

David would collect the Wood’s General Contracting halfway bonus of $250 followed by Kenny Pettyjohn, Hill, Dave Hertz, and Mike Christopher. The second half was a torrid battle as the top four jockeyed through the ruts in the turns. Kenny Pettyjohn hit a rut and spun while running in second to bring out the yellow on lap 13. Hill and Hertz were now the challengers. Hill nosed in front for a second time but the final yellow came as Browning came to a stop again on lap 17. The put David Pettyjohn back on top and he would pull away to a six-tenths of a second advantage for his first win of the season and his first Camp Barnes victory worth $2308 with the lap and bonus money.

Hill and Hertz finished second and third with Rob Shirmer closing strong to finish in fourth and Christopher rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Bobby Dryden, Eddie Pettyjohn, Ray Davis, Jr., Scott Cross, and Lou Johnson. David Pettyjohn and Hill won the heats.

The top five finishers from the two features were combined for the $1000 to win 12-lap Shootout. Pauch took the lead from Mills on the first lap and led to the halfway point. At this point the caution was displayed with the top five redrawing for starting positions and sixth through tenth going to the pits. Horton had just moved into the fifth spot on the sixth lap to make the final segment an all-modified race.

Horton restarted on the pole with Pauch second. Pauch went to the outside to take the lead with four laps to go and went on to the win. Horton finished in second followed by Mills, Brightbill, and Short in the top five. Sixth through tenth were Hill, Christopher, Hertz, Schirmer, and David Pettyjohn.

Rick Eskridge put on a strong run through the first half of the Street Modified feature. David Nailor ran in second until the halfway point when Kelly Putz took second with Mark Pettyjohn following into third. Eskridge collected the $100 halfway bonus posted by Wood’s General Contracting. Putz grabbed the top spot on lap 10. Eskridge ended his good run when he spun in the third turn and collected Mark Williams.

On the restart, Mark Pettyjohn mounted the challenge and took the lead with two laps to go. Putz remained on the back bumper but Pettyjohn made no mistakes and took his second consecutive win. Putz finished in the second spot with Kerry King making a late race charge to finish in third. Steve Bunting and Nailor rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Vic Thomas, Richard White, Jr., Jamie Sockriter, Mike Williams, and Big Al Cheney.

Nick Sapp led the first two laps of the Modified Lite feature before Joe Warren shot by Landis Musser, Mike Stratton, and Sapp to lead lap three. Warren held the top spot for two laps before Stratton moved on top. Stratton led at the halfway sign collecting a $100 bonus from Wood’s General Contracting and a $100 bonus from Vending Technologies of Lincoln, Del.

Jon Callaway was headed to the front taking second from Warren on lap 10. With two laps to go, Warren got hooked into Callaway with Callaway flipping in the fourth turn. Callaway was not injured in the crash. Stratton held off Bobby Walls for the final two laps to take his first win of 2003. Walls, Sapp, Danny Martin, and Musser rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Tom Curtis, Mike Vammino, Herb Tunis, Matt Hubbard, and Andy Hammond.

Hank Thompson held off Donald Robinson, Jr. to lead wire-to-wire in the non-stop 10-lap Little Lincoln Feature. Thompson also picked up the halfway bonuses of $50 each from Wood’s General Contracting and Mitchell’s Auto & Truck Salvage. Robinson, Pat Mc’Neal, Bill Brittingham, and Jim Miller rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Randy Clark, Duke Walsen, Phillip Tracey, Aaron Tipton, and Tim Chambers.

C.J. Schirmer led the first two laps of the Vintage Feature before Morris Tucker moved on top. Tucker was racing for his first time in ten years at the speedway and drove his Gremlin bodies modified to the win. He also collected a $50 halfway bonus from Wood’s General Contracting. Schirmer, Lou Johnson, Dave Schamp, and Harold Warrington rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Randy Delano, John Calhoun, Jim Reed (first Sportsman), Dave Gladman, and Wayne Willing.

Leaders in all divisions received $31 a lap in lap money to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the benefit event.

RESULTS: 25-LAP MODIFIED FEATURE: 1. JIMMY HORTON; 2. Billy Pauch; 3. Kenny Brightbill; 4. Norman Short; 5. Jamie Mills; 6. Ricky Elliott; 7. Donny Radd; 8. Kyle Strickler; 9. Tim Millman; 10. H.J. Bunting; 11. Cliff Foskey; 12. Rick Bishop; 13. Adam Jarrell; 14. Jimmy Chester; 15. Glenn Reed; 16. Beau Wilkins; 17. Dana Walker; 18. Craig Mullins; 19. Bobby Watkins; 20. Robert Dutton; 21. Mike Iles; 22. Sparky White; 23. Ricky Johnson; 24. Gary Simpson. DNS: Kevin Hirthler; DNQ: Steve Downs; Judd Mills; Duane Rust; Ellsey Conover; Scott Smith; Bud Hayes; Craig VonDohren; Doug Beach; Jim Stong; Deron Rust; John Dixon.

20-LAP LATE MODEL FEATURE: 1. DAVID PETTYJOHN; 2. David Hill; 3. Dave Hertz; 4. Rob Schirmer; 5. Mike Christopher; 6. Bobby Dryden; 7. Eddie Pettyjohn; 8. Ray Davis, Jr.; 9. Scott Cross; 10. Lou Johnson; 11. Brian Miller; 12. Bob Geiger; 13. Shawn Ennis; 14. Mike Wilkins; 15. Donald Lingo, III; 16. Hal Browning; 17. Kenny Pettyjohn; 18. Dale Bounds; 19. Mike Wharton.

12-LAP SHOOTOUT: 1. BILLY PAUCH; 2. Jimmy Horton; 3. Jamie Mills; 4. Kenny Brightbill; 5. Norman Short; 6. David Hill; 7. Mike Christopher; 8. Dave Hertz; 9. Rob Schirmer; 10. David Pettyjohn.

15-LAP STREET MODIFEID FEATURE: 1. MARK PETTYJOHN; 2. Kelly Putz; 3. Kerry King; 4. Steve Bunting; 5. David Nailor; 6. Vic Thomas; 7. Richard White, Jr.; 8. Jamie Sockriter; 9. Mike Williams; 10. Big Al Cheney; 11. Rick Eskridge; 12. Layton Pritchett; 13. Mark Williams; 14. Kenny Pearson; 15. Mike Wilson; 16. Josh Hudson; DNS: Jason Nibblett.

15-LAP MODIFIED LITE FEATURE: 1. MIKE STRATTON; 2. Bobby Walls, III; 3. Nick Sapp; 4. Danny Martin; 5. Landis Musser; 6. Tom Curtis; 7. Mike Vammino; 8. Herb Tunis; 9. Matt Hubbard; 10. Andy Hammond; 11. Jon Callaway; 12. Joe Warren; 13. George Richardson; 14. Glenn Richards; 15. Ryan Walls; 16. John Curtis; 17. Jimmy Ellis; DNS: Nick Hendricks; John Curtis.

10-LAP LITTLE LINCOLN FEATURE: 1. HANK THOMPSON; 2. Donald Robinson, Jr.; 3. Pat Mc’Neal; 4. Bill Brittingham; 5. Jim Miller; 6. Randy Clark; 7. Duke Walsen; 8. Phillip Tracey; 9. Aaron Tipton; 10. Tim Chambers; 11. Porkchop Davis; 12. Emory West; 13. Albert Mitchell; 14. Ron Wilson; 15. Bobby Williamson; DNS: John Scott.

10-LAP VINTAGE FEATURE: 1. MORRIS TUCKER; 2. C.J. Schirmer; 3. Lou Johnson; 4. Dave Schamp; 5. Harold Warrington; 6. Randy Delano; 7. John Calhoun; 8. Jim Reed; 9. Dave Gladman; 10. Wayne Willing; 11. Brian Brittingham; 12. Herb Stahl.