WALLS COLLECTS START TO FINISH WIN AT PATH VALLEY
By Judy McGee Timmons
Michael Walls took the win in the Zachary Crouse DVM Late Model
division feature, with a start to finish win, after several laps of heated
competition from second place finisher, Jaxton Garman.
Sammy Rial & Walls led the field to the green, with Walls taking the
lead, followed by Rial & Jaxton Garman, who went into immediate
wheel to wheel action, resulting in Garman taking control of second
place. Jake Moser pulled to third after passing Rial, while Randy
Burkholder took claim to the top five spot. Shyann Smith, who started
ninth, pulled by Burkholder to take fifth, where they held strong for
six laps. Smith continued her advancement, pulling to fourth place
on lap 12. Austin Warrenfeltz brought out the first caution when his
racer did a 180 turn on the frontstretch, returning to the rear of the line-up.
Walls, Garman, Moser, Smith & Rial, relined for green as Harold Ranck removed his ride from the circuit for the evening. Burkholder used the caution to his advantage, passing Rial on green to run in fifth place for two laps, before D.J. Myers raced by Burkholder to take the fifth position, where the top five remained for eight laps, till Myers pulled by Smith to claim fourth.
Walls & Garman were running inches apart, in their battle for the win, with Walls taking the checkered. Jake Moser, D.J. Myers, & Shyann Smith finished in the top five. Walls had the best lap, racing at 69.167 MPH in 13.012 seconds.
The Macri Concrete 600 Micro Sprints, took the green, with Cole Armstrong & Izzy Landis at the helm, with Armstrong taking the lead. Jason Sechrist was second, as Landis, Heath Walton, & Jim Young ran the top five. Sechrist took the lead from Armstrong, as Walton passed Landis, giving him third place. Two laps down, Shawn Rumbaugh went over on his side in turn four, putting his ride in the pit area. Dominic Ciucci, who was also involved, went to the rear & then to the pit area. Brielle Stern stopped on the frontstretch, but returned to the rear of the reline.
Sechrist led the racers on green, with Cole Armstrong, Walton, Landis, & Jim Young following. Two laps were not complete, when Walton moved to second, and Young passed Landis & Armstrong, navigating his racer to third place, as Kunkle also making tracks, pulling into fourth, ahead of Armstrong. The top five held their positions for six laps till Landis & Dylan Anderson passed Armstrong.
Five laps were remaining, when second place runner, Walton, showed problems with his racer, when it came to a stop on turn four, retiring him for the evening. The reline had Sechrist, Young, Kunkle, Landis & Anderson at the top, where they finished as Sechrist claimed the checkered flag lap. Jason Sechrist had the best lap, with a speed of 76.310 MPH in 11.794 seconds.
The Cisney’s Auto Parts 4 Cylinder Thunder Cars feature event was a great disappointment to many drivers, beginning with Charlie Stallman, & Robert McQuade, when their racers got together on the backstretch, on the first lap, resulting in McQuade being towed, & Stallman ending his racing for the evening. Justin Rasp’s machine went sideways between turns three & four, putting him to the rear, with no laps complete.
The starting line-up was Jackson Eutzy, Devin Thomas, Dave Yoder, Justin Bucher & Roger Traxler. Eutzy took the lead for four laps, but lost the lead when he spun into the backstretch infield, putting the top competitor to the back of the restart.
Yoder, Bucher, Traxler, Devin Thomas, & Jeremy Eutzy were now in the top five positions on green, with Yoder holding a strong lead. Traxler & Jeremy Eutzy went door to door in their bid for third, being joined by Ronnie Buck, which ended with Eutzy & Buck passing Traxler to run in third & fourth positions.
At midrace, Tara Sales had issues with her car, pulling to the infield, before entering the pits. Yoder, Bucher, Eutzy, Buck, & Traxler took the green, where they ran for three laps, till Buck passed Eutzy & Bucher , moving him behind the leader.
A caution flag was waved with eighteen laps complete, putting Katie Martin & Jeremy Shoup out of the race. Two laps were remaining, when Justin Rasp came from the rear, after spinning prerace, to take the top five position. Dave Yoder collected his win ahead of Buck, Bucher, Jeremy Eutzy & Rasp. Yoder also had the best lap, running at 61.029 MPH in 14.747 seconds.
The T.A. Ward Construction 270 Micro Sprints had Brad Cowan & Parker Lucas in the pole positions, with third place starter, Sean McAndrew, taking the lead at the wave of green. Cameron McClure & Brycen Doyle got together in turn two on the first lap, putting the racers to the rear.
McAndrew held the lead, with Parker Lucas running second, followed by Cory Myers, Brad Cowan, & Stephanie Welk. On lap four, Myers & Lucas were wheel to wheel for second, with Myers gaining the position, while 11th place starter, Brett Kauffman, came through the circuit to pull into the fourth spot by lap five. Bradyn Kuhn pulled into fifth place, where the top runners raced for six laps, till a caution flag was shown for Arden Sword, who left the raceway. Mason McAndrew, who came from 12th starting position, pulled behind Jason Houtz, taking over the sixth-place spot. Myers had a comfortable lead, but Kauffman, Houtz, and McAndrew were in a battle till the end, with Mason McAndrew moving to fourth, Kauffman finishing in fifth & Houtz taking the sixth-place finish. Cory Myers had the best lap, piloting his racer at 74.751 MPH in 12.040 seconds.
The Randy Burkholder Racing Supplies Strictly Stocks division had Shane Seville & Rusty Garlock at the front of the 24 car field, but Garlock’s car refused to compete, & had to tbe taken off the roster. The racers moved forward with Jesse Matney taking the lead, as Seville, Brandon Fisher, Justin Williamson & Jimmy Moyer were positioned in the top five.
Williamson pulled into third by lap five before a caution was waved for Zana Norton, who was towed to the pit area. Matney prepared for the restart, but his racer came to a stop on the track, putting the leader in the pits. Williamson, Seville, Fisher, Moyer, & Brett Hanley were now the top runners for the restart. Moyer moved by Fisher on lap nine as David Moore, Steven Jacobs, & Jimmy Delozier, exited the track for the evening.
The top five continued in their positions, changes only between Fisher & Moyer, as they exchanged third & fourth positions, with Moyer taking the third place spot, while Hanley also passed Fisher to claim fourth. Alan Robinson brought his ride into the top five, with six laps remaining, while Moyer passed Seville to move into second, with three laps remaining. Williamson claimed the win, followed by Moyer, Seville, Hanley & Robinson. Williamson had the best lap traveling at 60.099 MPH in 14.759 seconds.