by Gerry Keysor
WAYNESFIELD, Ohio
September 4, 2010
When the gates opened at Waynesfield Raceway Park, a feeling of excitement was in the air. Between the 2nd Annual “Racing For Children With Cancer” Toy Drive, DARF representatives being in attendance, and an amazing field of cars in the pit area, the crowd knew right away it was going to be a great night of racing. Fans donated toys by the boxload for the youngsters fighting cancer at Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, setting the stage for a very special night of racing at the 1/3 mile speedplant.
Kicking off feature action were the Lee’s Hydraulics Non Wing Sprint Cars. The 33 Non Wing Warriors in the pit area were whittled down to 20 starter via preliminary action, and the field took the green flag with young #60 Kory Crabtree leading the first 6 laps from his starting spot outside row 1, before #54 “The Flyin’ Buckeye” Matt Westfall began to make his move on Crabtree. While this was going on, #68 Jonathan Hendrick, #57 Thomas Meseraull, and #5J Joss Moffat were mixing it up in a tremendous battle for 3rd. Just when those three were closing on the leaders, Westfall and Crabtree came together, with Crabtree spinning in turn 2. Crabtree was able to keep his foot in the throttle and spin the car back around the right direction, but that move left Westfall with no room to avoid the front end of the #60, and Westfall ended up on his lid in a gentle rollover, bringing out the red flag, while Crabtree was able to keep rolling and drive away from the incident. Westfall’s E&E Machine and Tool #54 was taken to the pit area, and with the quick work of his crew, was able to rejoin the field for the restart. When the race resumed, it didn’t take long before things got wild again, with the #5J of Joss Moffat making heavy contact with the outside guardrail and bouncing back down the track right in front of the field. As the racers took evasive action, the Lee’s Hydraulics sponsored #37k of Kyle Conaway got turned into the path of the #63 of Jim Dues, causing Dues to get upside down on the frontstretch, ending both drivers’ race. During the red flag, Westfall’s crew came onto the track and retrieved the #54, ending the night for the Lee’s Hydraulics Non Wing Sprint points leader. When racing resumed, Kory Crabtree was able to pull away by a few car lengths from Thomas Meseraull who was feeling the pressure from Jonathan Hendrick. Hendrick, the winner of the 2nd Annual Jack Hewitt Classic back on August 7th, made his way past T-Mez on lap 13 to grab the 2nd spot. Meanwhile, the Team Fenner #34 driven by “The Ohio Hammer” Luke Hall, was locked in a tremendous battle with the #9N of Jon Nelson for the fourth spot. The two would battle side by side for several laps until lap 15, when Hall would get by for good. The battle up front went up in flames on lap 19 as T-Mez and Jonathan Hendrick began dueling once again. As the pair headed toward turns one and two, Meseraull threw the car into the corner with a masterful slide job that allowed the San Jose, CA native to bang off the cushion to grab the 2nd spot and set his sights on the race leader, Crabtree. On lap 20, T-Mez made his move powering by the #60 down the front straightaway. Hendrick also cleared Crabtree on lap 21, and mounted one final charge against Meseraull, but came up 5 car lengths short at the line. Meseraull, who wrapped up the 2010 Gas City(IN) I-69 Speedway track championship on Friday night, climbed from his car to a very appreciative crowd after picking up his first win at WRP in 2010, although he has been close to winning on several occasions. Before the celebration began, T-Mez immediately thanked track promoter Dean Miracle, saying “That track was AWESOME”. Hendrick would finish in the runner up spot, with Crabtree in 3rd, Luke Hall 4th, and Jon Nelson 5th. Heat races were won by #68 Jonathan Hendrick, #57 Thomas Meseraull, #60 Kory Crabtree, and #54 Matt Westfall. B Main was won by #2W Zac Osborn
WAYNESFIELD RACEWAY PARK RESULTS
SEPTEMBER 4, 2010
Lees Hydraulics Non Wing Sprints – 31 Cars
Heat 1 – 8 Laps Top 4 Transfer to A Main
1. #68 Jonathan Hendrick; 2. #34 Luke Hall; 3. #37d Mike Dunlap; 4. #63 Jim Dues; 5. #2w Zac Osborn; 6. #15 Brandon Ferguson; 7. #31 Chuck Wilson, 8. #42 Rick Horne
Heat 2
1. #57 Thomas Meseraull; 2. #78L Kirk Jeffries; 3. #9n Jon Nelson; 4. #2H Dallas Hewitt; 5. #10J Jarrod Delong; 6. #42D Connor Donelson; 7. #5w Jeff Williams; 8. #0 Steve Irwin
Heat 3
1. #60c Kory Crabtree; 2. #20 Tom Rhoades; 3. #32M Derek Hastings; 4. #5A Toby Alfrey; 5. #24 – Landon Simon; 6. #35 Stuart Brubaker; 7. #8c Lewie Christian; 8. #40 Mark Hery
Heat 4
1. #54 Matt Westfall; 2. #5J Joss Moffat; 3. #14 Chad Wilson; 4. #37k Kyle Conaway; 5. #39 Matt Goodnight; 6. #18k Todd Keen; 7. #18B Tim Dick
B Main – 10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer to A Main
1. #2w Zac Osborn; 2. #24 Landon Simon; 3. #39 Matt Goodnight; 4. #42D Conner Donelson; 5. #10J Jarrod Delong; 6. #35 Stuart Brubaker; 7. #15 Brandon Ferguson; 8. #31 Chuck Wilson; 9. #40 Mark Hery; 10. #8c Lewie Christian; 11. #5w Jeff Williams; 12. #42 Rick Horne; 13. #0 Steve Irwin; 14. #18B Tim Dick; 15. #18k Todd Keen
A Main – 25 Laps
1. #57 Thomas Meseraull; 2. #68 Jonathan Hendrick; 3. #60c Kory Crabtree; 4. #34 Luke Hall; 5. #9n Jon Nelson; 6. #20 Tom Rhoades; 7. #37d Mike Dunlap; 8. #14 Chad Wilson; 9. #2H Dallas Hewitt; 10. #2w Zac Osborn; 11. #24 Landon Simon; 12. #78L Kirk Jeffries; 13. #32M Derek Hastings; 14. #42d Connor Donelson; 15. #39 Matt Goodnight; 16. #5A Toby Alfrey; 17. #5J Joss Moffat; 18. #37k Kyle Conaway; 19. #63 Jim Dues; 20. #54 Matt Westfall