FIRST WINS FOR BURNS AND GRIFFIN IN SHARON SPRINTS AND DIRT MODS
by Mike Leone
Hartford(OH)...Highlighting wins on the tenth event of racing in the 70th anniversary of racing Sunday evening at Sharon Speedway were Tommy Burns, Jr. (Sunburst Environmental Services Sprint Cars) and Guy Griffin (Hoosier Tire Ohio Valley DIRT Modifieds). Other winners were Rick Prosser, Jr. (Hoosier Tire Ohio Valley E-Mods) and Dwayne Clay (Hoosier Tire Ohio Valley Stock Cars).
Tommy Burns, Jr. of Kinsman, Ohio recorded his first Sunburst Environmental Services 20-lap Sprint Car Feature of the year. It was Burns' second win as an owner as Dale Blaney won for him on June 20. Burns relayed, "The track slicked off a little bit more than we thought it was going to. We made a little tire adjustment dropping three pounds on the left rear. It seemed to help out a lot."
Jon Carpenter tangled with Barry Ruble on the start with Ruble getting upside down before a lap was completed. Ruble was okay, but done for night. Jarod Larson jumped into the lead by Parkersburg, West Virginia's Wayne McPeek. McPeek dropped to third as last week's winner, Tom Quarterson, drove by on the opening lap.
The order remained the same until lap six when Doug Kekich and Rob Chaney were battling for position and the two tangled with Chaney getting upside down. He was okay, but done for the event. During the red, Quarterson pitted moving McPeek to second and Burns to third. Two laps later, Troy Preston, who was running fourth, slowed with rear-end problems. When green replaced yellow, Gary McCann was the driver on the move. McCann took fourth from Joe McEwen on lap 12. Jarod Larson's chances at winning his first race of the season ended when he clipped the spun car of Carpenter on lap 13 giving the lead and eventual win to Burns.
After racing resumed, Terry Young and McCann continued their march to the front driving by McPeek for second and third. Then on lap 14, McCann blew by Young for runner-up. Quarterson worked his way back to the front taking fourth from McPeek, who had a tire go down bringing out the caution with 17 laps completed. When racing resumed, Quarterson took third from Young on lap 19. But up front, Burns in his McClung Auto Body/Double II Technology #7c was able to outdistance a season-best finish by McCann, who started 14th. "I don't think I had enough for Larson, but hey, I had that luck last week too (crashing while battling for the lead). I'd like to thank McClung Auto Body for all their support over the years, especially this year. Richard (McClung) who busts his butt every day, every week in my garage; my wife and my kids, who allow me to do this and (Ed) Skillman for the nice race track. You can't get any better than this," said the winning driver from victory lane.
Quarterson was third over 17th-starter Young , while Mike Kekich came from the back to get fifth. Sixth through tenth were McEwen, Marty Ling, Kevin Andrusky, Jamie McKinney, and Doug Kekich. Winning the heats were Larson, Doug Kekich, and McPeek over the 24-car field.
Guy Griffin of Transfer, Pa. was a happy driver after winning his first 20-lap Hoosier Tire Ohio Valley DIRT Modified Feature of the year. It was Griffin's second-career Sharon win after winning last year on July 12. Shaking in victory lane, Griffin commented on how much it means to win at Sharon, "There's so much history here with guys like Lou Blaney that run here. He's my idol. Here I am racing here against him. Thank God not tonight. I probably would have been further back."
Griffin pulled ahead of Pete Simpson on the start. Meanwhile, Jim Rasey and sixth-starter, Rex King, got by Simpson for second and third on the opening lap. Griffin, Rasey, and King pulled away from the remainder of the field until the only caution of the race slowed action for George Hobaugh, who spun with five laps completed. When racing resumed, the three again pulled away. On lap seven, King's mount began to smoke, but still kept right behind Griffin and Rasey. Tim Doran passed Bill Dorman for fourth on lap 11, while the front three stayed together running through lap traffic. On the final lap, King slowed as Rasey pulled nearly even with Griffin. But at the checkers, Griffin in his Mitcheltree Logging and Lumber/Quaker Steak & Lube #11 had enough to beat Rasey by just better than a car-length. "I'm always worried at Sharon. I knew Jim (Rasey) was there. I saw him a couple times, but I thank God we were just fast enough and hooked up good enough to do her," said an elated Griffin with family and friends gathered.
Doran was third as Dorman edged Rodney Beltz at the line for fourth. Sixth through tenth were Lonny Riggs, Rob McClimans, Carl Murdick, Mike Sutton, and George Hobaugh. Heat winners were Randy Snider and Griffin.
Rick Prosser, Jr. won his first-ever E-Mod Feature win in the 15-lap Hoosier Tire Ohio Valley feature. Prosser started seventh and was already up to third by lap two passing Arlan Coy. Four laps later the Geneva, Ohio driver took runner-up from Jeff Sharp. With eight laps completed, Scott Jones spun bringing out the caution. During the caution, leader Alan Dellinger pitted with a flat tire giving the lead to Prosser. Prosser then led the last seven caution-free laps for the win in his Geneva Storage/Big "M" Motors #A1. Prosser also won the $100 to-win dash. Jeff Rudrick and Sharp both passed Jeff Johnson on laps 10 and 11, then battled to the finish with Rudrick edging teammate Sharp for second. Bob McCann came from 20th to finish fourth over Johnson. Heat victors were Sharp and Dellinger.
Dwayne Clay of Warren, Ohio continued his career-best season by winning a thrilling 15-lap Hoosier Tire Ohio Valley Stock Car Feature for his third straight win. Nathan Miller led the opening lap until Jason Longwell got by and led laps two through four. Miller dropped three positions on lap four when Clay, Prosser, and Paul Davis took second, third, and fourth respectively. On the fifth circuit, Clay and Prosser disposed of Longwell for the first two positions. By lap eight, Clay, Prosser, and Davis pulled away to make it a three-car battle. On the final lap, Prosser made a bid for the win. Prosser edged ahead on the inside of the backstretch to lead going into turn three. But Clay didn't falter as he stuck his car on the outside and beat Prosser to the checkers by less than a one-half car-length for his fourth win of the season in his Porter's Auto Wrecking #007. Davis was third. Gary Robinson came from 25th to place fourth over Longwell. Davis, Clay, and Prosser scored heat wins.
Sunburst Environmental Services Sprint Car Feature Finish: 1. TOMMY BURNS, JR. 2. Gary McCann 3. Tom Quarterson 4. Terry Young 5. Mike Kekich 6. Joe McEwen 7. Marty Ling 8. Kevin Andrusky 9. Jamie McKinney 10. Doug Kekich 11. Bob Lime 12. Gary McCollum 13. Jack Sodeman, Jr. 14. Paul White, Jr. 15. Dan Taylor 16. Wayne McPeek 17. Jarod Larson 18. C.W. Harshman 19. Jon Carpenter 20. Bob Whitacre 21. Troy Preston 22. Rob Chaney 23. Gary Edwards 24. Barry Ruble.
Hoosier Tire Ohio Valley DIRT Modified Feature Finish: 1. GUY GRIFFIN 2. Jim Rasey 3. Tim Doran 4. Bill Dorman 5. Rodney Beltz 6. Lonny Riggs 7. Rob McClimans 8. Carl Murdick 9. Mike Sutton 10. George Hobaugh 11. Randy Snider 12. Pete Simpson 13. Rex King 14. Dave Price 15. Rick Kress 16. Rob Curtis 17. Lee Miller 18. Dave Murdick-DNS.
Hoosier Tire Ohio Valley E-Mod Feature Finish: 1. RICK PROSSER, JR. 2. Jeff Rudrick 3. Jeff Sharp 4. Bob McCann 5. Jeff Johnson 6. Jim White, Jr. 7. Arlan Coy 8. Dale Fuller 9. Rick Robinson 10. Bootie Petsko 11. Steve Haefke 12. Chuck Schell 13. Fuzzy Stiffler 14. Jerry Hassay 15. Scott Jones 16. Alan Dellinger 17. Joel Watson 18. J.B. Dandy 19. Jeff Haefke 20. Bill Taylor 21. Ron Jaeger-DNS.
Hoosier Tire Ohio Valley Stock Car Feature Finish: 1. DWAYNE CLAY 2. Rick Prosser, Jr. 3. Paul Davis 4. Gary Robinson 5. Jason Longwell 6. Tom Miller 7. Joe Porter 8. Jeff Buccella 9. Russ Kapalin 10. Carl Pasternack 11. Jim Davis 12. Patty McCann 13. Nathan Miller 14. Clint Gibson 15. Chuck Sullivan, Jr. 16. John Jackson 17. Ralph Blackson 18. Terry Schoonover 19. Leroy Johnson, Jr. 20. Eric Gibson 21. Mark Felicetty 22. Steve Babos 23. Jim Flaherty, Jr. 24. Bill McMurray 25. Tom Martin 26. Richard Goulish-DNS 27. Ken Moy, Jr. 28. Larry Keener-DNS 29. Glenn Pupino-DNS.
Upcoming shows:
July 25 Regular show of Sprint Cars, DIRT Modifieds, E-Mods, and Stock Cars. Autograph night for the DIRT Modifieds.
Aug. 1 STARS National DirtCar League Late Models plus Sprint Cars.
Aug. 8 Regular show. Autograph night for the Stock Cars.
Aug. 15 Regular show plus kids bike races.
Gates open at 3:30 p.m. with racing at 6 p.m.
Media Contact: Mike Leone, 53 East Glenora Drive, Grove City, PA 16127. Phone/Fax: 724-748-3358. Office phone: 724-964-9300. E-mail: mleone@infonline.net
Sharon Speedway is north of Interstate 80 on Route 7 to Route 305, then east on Custer-Orangeville Road in Hartford, Ohio. For more information call (724) 287-4938 or the speedway at (330) 772-5481. The fax number is (330) 772-7704. The mailing address is P.O. Box 159, Hartford, OH 44424.