From Scott Wolfe
Stewart,OH — (June 21, 2013) — Kenny Johnson, Mineral Wells, West Virginia remained a perfect 5-for-5 in the Octane AMRA Modifieds, and in the companion Kryptonite AMRA Late Models Josh McGuire has gone 2-for-2 as both veterans picked up feature wins at Billy Jarrell’s Skyline Speedway Friday night. Second generation driver Chris Myers, Caldwell, Ohio got the jump on the field and led every lap to win his first-ever Skyline Speedway A-main in the Ohio Valley Sprint Car Association 410 sprint division, while Austin Washburn won the Mike’s Auto Body Mini-wedge main.
The wins were worth $1,500 to both McGuire and Myers. Johnson brought home $500 for his effort.
Nine exciting heat races–three of which came down to last lap passes– set the stage for the trio of A-mains. Preliminary events had the crowd cheering and on its feet a good deal of the time, especially in hard-fought wins from Jason Montgomery in the Late Models and Kenny Johnson in the Modifieds.
Aaron Higgins and Wayne McPeek set the stage for the 410 sprint car main, but when Higgins’ mount wheelie-hopped three times at the drop of the green, young Chris Myers shot into the lead and led every lap to claim his first Skyline A-main. Myers had his work cut out for him , however, as McPeek dogged the masterful youth much of the first ten laps.
McPeek actually went ahead on several different occasions in the turns, but Myers rode the momentum down the back chute to lead each lap at the start-finish line. McPeek became entangled in a duel with Kory Crabtree, who just laps later would chase down Myers and make a bid at the lead.
On lap five Brian Benson tangled with another car and did a slow roll over to bring out the red. Benson was ok, but done for the evening.That came after Jimmy Stinson did a 360 in front of the pack, but managed to avoid contact and kept his mount rolling.
Crabtree’s bid for the lead fizzled somewhat when Ryan Broughton came on strong at the finish and pre-occupied the charging Crabtree. McPeek faded to fourth, while Dave Dickson was consistently strong and brought home fifth. Broughton claimed third in a good, solid run.
The Hard Charger in the Sprints was Wes McGlumphy moving up ten positions from 16th to 6th. McGlumphy picked off car after car, but was slowed when he came upon the defending OVSCA champ Dickson. Behind Dickson in the top ten were McGlumphy, Aaron Higgins, Nathan Skaggs, Greg Mitchell, and Jimmy Stinson.
Myers brought home the popular win in the Triple X “XXX” Chassis/Gaerte Engine Powered #25. The win was his second of the year in the OVSCA.
Kenny Johnson just keeps getting the job done, but each time it gets a little tougher. The defending AMRA champion had won four straight at Skyline, but Friday’s bout saw Jeremy Berwanger dog Johnson every inch of the way. Berwanger clung to Johnson as if tied to his bumper with a rope.
Despite Berwanger’s persistence, Johnson again proved to be the class of the field. In the first few circuits, Mike McPherson challenged Johnson until Berwanger rooted his way to the runner-up slot. McPherson maintained a great run, but had to hold off the efforts of Jeremy Blake, Kyle Bond, and Derrick Smith. Blake was on the upswing, but McPherson repelled the challenges, while Bond and Smith fought hard for position.
Behind 4th place Blake were Bond, Derrick Smith, Aaron Pendleton, Mark Dickson, Travis Dickson, and Jason Brooks. The Hard Charger in the Modifieds was Jason Brookover moving up six positions from 17th to 11th.
McGuire, Conley, Montgomery, Garnes. With names like that, everyone expected an old-fashioned John Wayne-styled shootout. The competition shot only blanks as the feature never lived up to expectations. Garnes left early with engine problems and no one else had anything for the winner.
Josh McGuire, Grayson, Kentucky, again was the class of the field, fending off challenges from Fast Freddie Carpenter then waltzing off into the sunset and through lapped traffic for a resounding win. Carpenter anchored second, but after three laps couldn’t keep pace with the eventual winner.
Carpenter and Jason Montgomery engaged in a torrid skirmish, but as Delmas Conley closed the gap on Montgomery, Carpenter separated himself from the pair. With McGuire securely out front, the battle for second again tightened into a three way dual among Carpenter, Montgomery, and Conley.
Finishing 5th through tenth were Ralph Withem, Nick Dohm, KC Burdette, Steve Bigley, Jeremy Blake, and Derek Doll. Withem had a great run toward the front and had nearly caught the earlier mentioned trio. Dohm drove a consistent race as did K-C Burdette.
The Hard Chargers in the Late Models were Ralph Withem and Andy Bond both moving up five positions; Withem from 10th to 5th and Bond from 17th to 12th.
Next weekend June 28-29th, the 5th Annual Greg Schilling Memorial race, the 5th Annual Dan Reno Memorial Race, and the Ohio Valley Speedway Topless Modified Special make up what could be the biggest open wheel Modified weekend in the nation. Skyline will host the first leg of a power-packed Octane AMRA weekend June 28 with a $17,000 purse and $1,699-to-win Greg Schilling Memorial, while two biggies are slated for AMRA turf on Saturday. Sprints and Late Models are also on the racing card at Skyline.
Saturday, June 29 Jackson County Speedway in Jackson, Ohio hosts the Dan Reno Memorial and the same night Ohio Valley hosts its $1,200 to win Topless OCTANE Special. Originally a Street Stock event, The Reno Memorial at Jackson County Speedway will now be run as an Octane Modified Invitational race paying $2,222 to win and $222 to start with a $9,000 purse.
Autograph night is July 19th and the Jack Shutts Memorial Late Model Race is July 26th at Skyline.
For more information please visit << www.skylinespeedway.net >> Skyline Speedway on Facebook, or call 304-539-4410; 304-542-8322, or the track phone at 740-662-4111.
The summary:
OVSCA 410 Sprint Cars (18)
Fast Time: Kory Crabtree 11:49
Heat One: Aaron Higgins, Kory Crabtree, Jimmy Stinson, Dave Dickson, Greg Mitchell, Wes McGlumphy
Heat Two: Wayne McPeek, Andre Layfield, Brian Benson, Bob Tucker, Eric Martin, Mark Imler
Heat Three: Chris Myers, Josh Davis, Ryan Broughton, John Shewbrooks, Nathan Skaggs, Jesse McCreary (DNS)
Feature: Chris Myers, Kory Crabtree, Ryan Broughton, Wayne McPeek, Dave Dickson, Wes McGlumphy, Aaron Higgins, Nathan Skaggs, Greg Mitchell, Jimmy Stinson, Josh Davis, Mark Imler, Bob Tucker, John Shewbrooks, Eric Martin, Andre Layfield, Jesse McCreary, Brian Benson
KRYPTONITE AMRA Late Models (27)
Fast Time: Josh McGuire 13:01
Heat One: Josh McGuire, KC Burdette, Nick Dohm, Ralph Withem, Travis Brookover, Jason Gillian, Tom Hendrix, Ryan Casto, Tanner Hendrix
Heat Two: Freddie Carpenter, Jeremy Blake, Steve Bigley, Frankie Hall, Tony Roush, Tyler French, John Church, Andy Bond, Chris Garnes (DNS)
Heat Three: Jason Montgomery, Delmas Conley, Derek Doll, Randy Armes, Brian Daniels, Bub Crum, Larry Bond, Austin Eddy
B-Main: Bub Crum, Andy Bond, Tyler French, Larry Bond, John Church, Tanner Hendrix, Ryan Casto, Jason Gillian, Austin Eddy
Feature: Josh McGuire, Freddie Carpenter, Jason Montgomery, Delmas Conley, Ralph Withem, Nick Dohm, KC Burdette, Steve Bigley, Jeremy Blake, Derek Doll, Frankie Hall, Andy Bond, Travis Brookover, Tony Roush, Brian Daniels, Bub Crum, Tyler French, Randy Armes,
OCTANE AMRA MODIFIEDS (25)
Heat One: Kenny Johnson, Jason Brooks, Jeremy Blake, Aaron Pendleton, Nathan Loney, Andy Bond, Shawn Donahue, Brad Willis
Heat Two: Mike McPherson, Jeremy Berwanger, Jerrod Willis, Mark Dickson, Travis Dickson, Jason Brookover, J.P. Roberts, Jesse Rupe
Heat Three: Kyle Bond, John Burdette, Derrick Smith, Robert Garnes, Nick Corbitt, Gary Gould, Tyler Hendrix, Michael Conley (DNS)
B-Main: J.P. Roberts, Jason Brookover, Gary Gould, Andy Bond, Shawn Donahue, Tyler Hendrix, Jesse Rupe, Brad Willis
Feature: Kenny Johnson, Jeremy Berwanger, Mike McPherson, Jeremy Blake, Kyle Bond, Derrick Smith, Aaron Pendleton, Mark Dickson, Travis Dickson, Jason Brooks, Jason Brookover, Nathan Loney, J.P. Roberts, Robert Garnes, Gary Gould, Nick Corbitt, John Burdette, Jerrod Willis
Mike’s Auto Body Mini-Wedges (10)
Heat One: Adam Douglas, Tanner Martin, Kasey Rankin, Evan McPherson, Kalista Barnes
Heat Two: Austin Washburn, #85, Seth LaGraff, Ryan Bigley, Hunter Krivesti
Feature: Austin Washburn, Adam Douglas, #85, Kasey Rankin, Evan McPherson, Kalista Barnes, Tanner Martin, Ryan Bigley, Hunter Krivesti, Seth LaGraff (DNS)