From Scott Wolfe
Stewart, OH — (April 21, 2012) — Another beautiful evening of 80 degree weather provided the back drop for a hot evening of racing that featured another stout field of AMRA Late Models and MALTA Doors and Windows AMRA Modifieds at Billy Jarrell’s Skyline Speedway. In the Ohio Valley Sprint Car Association (OVSCA) main Jimmy Stinson, Vandalia, Ohio made it a clean sweep by capturing fast time, his heat and the twenty-five-lap A main. Evans, WV driver and defending two-time champion Chris Garnes claimed the top prize in the AMRA Late Models and former AMRA champ Jeremy Berwanger captured the 20-lap MALTA Modified main.
In the OVSCA sprint car main fast timer Jimmy Stinson got the jump on outside pole sitter and heat winner Dave Dickson. Jimmy Nier quickly blitzed under Dickson for second and began a hot pursuit of Stinson. Stinson’s B&J construction entry was a rocketship as he came within three tenths of a second of the track record at 10:57, an average speed of 130 miles per hour.
In a fight for third Dave Dickson and Greg Mitchell fought tooth-and-claw for pieces of the fast Skyline turf. On lap seven, Dickson looped it for the third caution of the night, prompting a charge back to the front by the veteran driver by race’s end.
Stinson took no prisoners and continued his flat-footing charge. Nier held a solid second as rookie standout Ryan Broughton made a move on Mitchell with Nathan Skaggs close behind at the midway point.
Broughton’s challenge awakened Mitchell who moved to the highside and began a bonsai blitz to retain position. Dickson came on strong, racing back to the top ten. Rounding out the top ten were Stinson, Nier, Mitchell, Broughton, Skaggs, Dickson, Eddie Slone, Brian Benson, Jesse McCreary, and Eric Martin.
Slone was hard charger in a 10th to seventh run, however, Dickson’s tail to 6th was equally impressive.
“The key to the win tonight was having Billy Jarrell as a owner and Gary Hall as a crew chief. He really knows how to make a car go,” said Stinson. “Also, this was our type of track—fast and heavy.”
The twenty-five lap AMRA Late Model main had plenty of action; however, an early daredevil move by second row starter Chris Garnes gave the eventual winner a huge advantage over front row starters and heat winners Andy Bond and Ralph Withem.
With Garnes securely out in front the epicenter of action was for second between Chris Carpenter, Withem, and Bond. Frankie Hall and the rejuvenated Bob Adams, Jr. –the 62-year old former 8-time track champion–hammered it out for fifth.
A lap eight caution wiped out Garnes’ huge lead. Chris Carpenter sat poised directly on the rear quarters of Garnes for the next five circuits, sometimes bringing fans to their feet in a split between the two large fan bases.
Carpenter grabbed the lead on the restart, but Garnes quickly erased the brief encounter. Fast Freddie Carpenter stomped the fast pedal and moved up to third, while KC Burdette also made a great run toward the top five.
Mike McPherson, the modified ace, made a great run in his first-ever late model start. Young Chris Carpenter bounced of the wall in a gallant last ditch effort to run down the winning Garnes. Garnes claimed his second straight win and his fourth victory of the year in his dependable 2011 Swartz Extreme Chassis powered by Pro-Power.
“I just tried to hit my marks and protect my line on the bottom,” said Garnes. “I knew I had to be good in traffic, and the way it went down, the spacing between the lapped cars allowed me to hit the cushion at just the right times. The car worked anywhere on the track.”
Rounding out the top ten were Chris Garnes, Chris Carpenter, Freddie Carpenter, Ralph Withem, KC Burdette, Andy Bond, Mike McPherson, Derek Doll, Kenny Newhouse, and Dan Morrison. Fast Freddie was the hard charger in a 14th to third place run. Morrison was impressive in a last to tenth place run. K-C Burdette came from 12th to 5th and Doll from 16th to 8th.
The always-exciting AMRA Modifieds went three to four wide for the early portions of the feature. Roy Roush took the early lead with a sizzling pursuit from Jeremy Berwanger. Vince Conrad and Rick Venham, Jr. were right in the mix, while a gaggle of cars led by Andy Bond, Brandon Barnhart, Dusty Boley, and Doug Henry fought for bragging rights in the top ten.
Andy Bond came on late in the race after Berwanger passed Roush for first on lap five. Bond held third ahead of Venham, Conrad, Boley and Jeremy Blake who all put on a great show.
Berwanger, the Murray City Bandit, was this week’s cream of the crop, easily claiming the win and overshadowing an impressive run by second place Roush. Rounding out the top ten were Berwanger, Roy Roush, Andy Bond, Rick Venham, Vince Conrad, Dusty Boley, Jeremy Blake, Brandon Barnhart, Robbie Evans, Mike McPherson. Robbie Evans was the hard charger in a 17th to 9th place run.
Skyline hosts another full racing program next week, April 27. For more information please visit << www.skylinespeedway.net >> or call 304-539-4410 or the track phone at 740-662-4111.
The summary:
410 Sprint Cars (12)
Fast Time: Jimmy Stinson 10:57
Heat One: Jimmy Stinson, Jimmy Nier, Nathan Skaggs, Brian Benson, Nick Forcum, Jesse McCreary
Heat Two: Dave Dickson, Greg Mitchell, Ryan Broughton, Eric Martin, Eddie Sloane, Bob Tucker
Feature: Jimmy Stinson, Jimmy Nier, Greg Mitchell, Ryan Broughton, Nathan Skaggs, Dave Dickson, Eddie Slone, Brian Benson, Jesse McCreary, Eric Martin, Bob Tucker, Nick Forcum
AMRA Late Models (35)
Fast Time: Chris Carpenter 13:45
Heat One: Andy Bond, Chris Carpenter, Mike Martin, Randy Armes, Ed Shuman, George Klintworth, Darin Roush, Justin Powell, Josh Lawrence, Nick Dohm (DNS)
Heat Two: Chris Garnes, Bob Adams, Ronnie Mayle, Brandon Conteel, Roy Dodson, Colten Burdette, Jeff Burdette, Kevin Layne (DNS)
Heat Three: Ralph Withem, Kenny Newhouse, Tony Roush, Dereek Doll, Dan Morrison, Ed Shuman, Terry Hinkle, James Joy, Larry Bond (DNS)
Heat Four: Mike McPherson, Frankie Hall, KC Burdette, Freddie Carpenter, Bub Crum, JL Weekly, Travis Brookover, Pete Crum
B-Main One: Randy Armes, Jeff Burdette, Ed Shuman, Brandon Conteel, George Klintworth, Darin Roush, Roy Dodson, Justin Powell, Josh Lawrence, Colten Burdette (DNS)
B-Main Two: Freddie Carpenter, Derek Doll, Dan Morrison, Travis Brookover, Bub Crum, Terry Hinkle, Doug Wriston, James Joy, Pete Crum
Feature: Chris Garnes, Chris Carpenter, Freddie Carpenter, Ralph Withem, KC Burdette, Andy Bond, Mike McPherson, Derek Doll, Kenny Newhouse, Dan Morrison, Frankie Hall, Ronnie Mayle, Mike Martin, Bob Adams, Randy Armes, Ed Shuman, Tony Roush, Jeff Burdette
MALTA AMRA MODIFIEDS (30)
Heat One: Jeremy Berwanger, Brandon Barnhart, Doug Henry, Mike McPherson, Jeremy Blake, Nick Carr, Matt Holcomb, Kyle Bond, Jeremy Roush, Toby Roush
Heat Two: Roy Roush, Vince Conrad, Ernie Lockhart, Josh Tomkin, David Wilson, David Pryor, Robbie Evans, Gary Gould, Robbie Scott, Shawn Donahue
Heat Three: Rick Venham, Dusty Boley, Andy Bond, Shane Roush, Frank Roush, Mike Foggin, Curt Reck, Curt Stacy, Ben Ayers
B-Main: Nick Carr, Robbie Evans, Matt Holcomb, Jeremy Roush, Shawn Donahue, Gary Gould, David Pryor, Mike Foggin, Curt Stacy, Toby Roush, Curt Reck, Ben Ayres, Kyle Bond, Robbie Scott (DNS)
Feature: Jeremy Berwanger, Roy Roush, Andy Bond, Rick Venham, Vince Conrad, Dusty Boley, Jeremy Blake, Brandon Barnhart, Robbie Evans, Mike McPherson, Doug Henry, Frank Roush, Nick Carr, Shane Roush, Ernie Lockhart, Matt Holcomb, Josh Tomkin, David Wilson