March and Bates Outrun the Field

It was another nice weekend for racing on Saturday in Lake County.  We are seven weeks into the racing season and this Saturday was the first that no track records were broken.  In all, fourteen track records have been set this season, by nine different drivers, in six divisions.  Eight of those have come from the Way’s Custom Welding Street Stock and Rob Moore Attorney at Law Figure Eight divisions.  

Spee-D-Metals Limited Late Model Division

Duane Bates started the night for the Spee-D-Metals Limited Late Models by setting fast time.  Charles Durst held off Bates for the win in the dash race.  Keith Platz was back in his limited late model and took the win in the heat race.  Platz then held off Bates to visit victory lane again in the pursuit race.  Bates was not held winless for long.  He used a great start to the feature to pull a half track lead over Josh Way, racing in the CMP Raceshop Pontiac, until a caution brought the field back together.  It did not make much of a difference; Bates picked up where he left off on the ensuing restart and drove to his second feature win of the season.  Way was second, Durst third, Bill Welch fourth, and Platz rounded out the top five.  Billy Roberts was not a part of the action on Saturday and gave Bates the opportunity to build upon his points lead.  He entered the evening with a 25 point lead and ended it with a 116 point lead over Charles Durst, who took second from Roberts.

Way’s Custom Welding Street Stock Divison

It was the second week in a row that Josh Way set the fast time in Way’s Custom Welding Street Stock division.  Mike Henderson won the dash to start the racing off.  Terry West held off Rodney Reynolds for the first heat win and Way held off Henderson to win the second heat.  It was West again, in the pursuit, taking his second preliminary win of the night and the season.  West started on the pole alongside Johnny Canter for the feature.  The caution flew early for Way, and he would leave the track with mechanical issues.  West continued to lead on the restart and was pressured hard by the number 99 Camaro, driven by Scott Skufca.  Skufca had made his way from the rear of the field in less than two laps to take the second place position.  His run for the lead ran short as he left the race on lap 11 for mechanical issues.  His exit gave way to Jake Shipman.  Shipman battled West for the lead, but was unable to complete the pass for the win.  West celebrated his first feature win of the season, but following post-race inspection, was disqualified for a rule infraction.  The win would be credited to Shipman, giving him his second feature win in as many weeks.  Bill Johnson would take second, Henderson third, Canter fourth, and Skufca fifth.  The win helped Shipman extend his points lead to 111 points over Way.

Rob Moore Attorney at Law Figure Eight Division

Joe March was the fastest qualifier in the Rob Moore Attorney at Law Figure Eight division.  He became only the third driver to set fast time in the division this season, but the first to do so without setting the track record.  Chuck Sadar took the first win of the night in the dash race.  Mike Davis continued his winning streak with the first heat win, while Joe Malek took the second heat race.  It was Davis again in the pursuit race, holding off Jason Simak for the win.  Joe Malek and Randy Lette paced the field to start the feature.  Lette shot to a quick lead and opened up some track to start the feature.  He was not out front for long, as March was making his way from the middle of the pack in a hurry.  March went from his sixth place starting position to second in just under two laps.  After catching Lette, he made quick work of the pole sitter and left the field behind.  March lead the final fifteen laps to take his second feature win of the season, joining Mike Reed as the only repeat feature winner in the division.  Chad Davis took second, Reed came in third, Joe Malek fourth, and Chuck Sadar was fifth.  It was Reed’s seventh top five finish and helped him extended his points lead over Simak to 198 points.

Sam & Tommy’s Sports Tavern Factory Four Division

It was the fifth straight fast time for Kelly Horst this season in the Sam & Tommy’s Factory Four division.  Ben Call was the dash race winner, holding off Matt Weigand.  David Guynn held off Austin Wretchko for the first Factory Four heat win.  Mike Liddy was the winner in the second heat race.  Ray Castelluccio was back for his first race of 2012 and beat TJ Schinke for the third heat race.  Gary Drake Jr. was the winner in the fourth heat race, taking the win over Lee Caranci.  Aaron Van Dalen came out on top of the pursuit race, beating Weigand and Horst for the win.  It was the largest field of cars in the Sam & Tommy’s factory four division this season, with enough cars to constitute running three features.  Jack Hribar made his first visit to victory lane, after holding off Joe Combs in the C main feature.  Tim Cloutman took his first win of 2012 in the B Main.  Cloutman lead all 15 laps of the race, holding off Josh Bee, Bill McLendon, Greg McCord, and Liddy to take the win.  In the A feature, it was Weigand on top, after finding his way from the back of the pack early.  He battled with Drake Jr. for a few laps before taking the lead on lap eight for his third feature win of the season.  Weigand added some buffer space to his points lead.  He left the track with a 34 point cushion.

Renegade Eight Division

Ryan Brenner had a fantastic race weekend last Saturday.  He began the evening where he left off by winning the dash and heat races.  Allen Filkins Jr. took runner-up in both.  Melvin Martin was back and took the pursuit win, his second pursuit win of the season.  Mike Reed used a great starting spot to get an early lead in the feature.  Reed never looked back as he lead all fifteen laps to take his fifth feature win of the season.  Allen Filkins was second, Brenner took third, Jack Hribar was fourth, and Martin was fifth.  The win put Reed 105 points over Filkins Jr. in the points’ standings. 

The staff and management at Lake County Speedway would like to thank the fans and drivers that came out this past weekend.  We would like to welcome everyone back this coming weekend for Youth Baseball Night and Parking Lot Drags.  All youth that wear their baseball or softball uniform will get free admission to the races on Saturday, with a paid adult.  It is also our second Parking Lot Drag night of the year.  This is your opportunity to bring your street car out of the parking lot and on the track to race!  Only $10 to enter and winner takes all!  Join us Wednesday night for public go-kart rentals from 4:00-9:00pm at the track.  Click here for more details.

For our complete schedule, results, and up to date points, check out www.lakecountyspeedway.com. Be sure to like us on Facebook for more LCS information.

• Categories: Race Reports