Mike Murphy Jr. left no doubt he was the man to beat at 34 Raceway on Saturday night. Murphy, who started eighth in the 24-car field, took just eight laps to make his way past leader Jay Johnson, then drove away from the field to win the Slocum 50 Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Model main event.
Pole-sitter Johnson took the early lead on fellow front row starter Tyler Bruening. Johnson had a few car-lengths on his nearest competitor when the race's only caution flag waved four laps into the event. By the time the yellow waved, Murphy worked his way into the top three.
When racing resumed, Murphy quickly worked past Bruening and tried both the high and low grooves to reel in Johnson on the tacky, smooth surface. Exiting turn four on lap six, Murphy shot to the inside of Johnson and took the lead by the time the leaders crossed the start/finish line.
Murphy then drove away from the pack, slicing through lapped traffic with ease to score the impressive victory by half of a track ahead of Bruening. Joel Callahan, who started in the sixth row, drove a great race to come home third, a short distance behind Bruening. Ray Guss Jr. who qualified through a B feature and started 16th, ran in the fourth position ahead of Andy Eckrich. Jeff Aikey, also a B main qualifier, raced from the 20th starting spot to finish sixth, the final car on the lead lap.
LATE MODELS
1. 14 Mike Murphy Jr.
2. 16 Tyler Bruening
3. 40 Joel Callahan
4. 58 Ray Guss Jr.
5. 56 Andy Eckrich
6. 77 Jeff Aikey
7. 15 Mark Burgtorf
8. 3D Tom Bowling Jr.
9. 42 Tom Darbyshire
10. 52 Matt Bailey
11. 99D Darrel DeFrance
12. 38 Colby Springsteen
13. 84 Sam Halstead
14. 93 Jay Johnson
15. 46 Nate Beuseling
16. 41 Matt Strassheim
17. 44 Luke Goedert
18. 31 Joey Gower
19. 15K Justin Kay
20. 22 Charlie McKenna
21. 76 Jason Hahne
22. G1 Mike Garland
23. 60 Dean Wagner
24. W56 Gary Webb
In other action, Jayson Ditsworth topped a 17-car field to win the 20-lapper in the 305 Sprint division. Starting outside of the front row, Ditsworth assumed command on the first lap to lead the event in its entirety. Donnie Steward and Josh Schnedierman had a good battle for second with Steward taking advantage of a mid-race restart to finish second. Alan Ambers and Daniel Bergquist completed the top five.
Mike Morrill made the long haul from Altoona pay off as he scored the win in the Mod Lite feature. From his pole position start, Morrill survived four cautions in the first four laps to take the checkers ahead of Josh May in the 15-lapper. Randy Bryan, Greg Rossell and Evan Epperson ran third through fifth.
Adam Gates led all 10 laps of the 4-Cylinder feature and survived a late caution to take top honors in that division. John Whalen, Bradley Stevenson, Daytona Fenton and Casey Mehaffey rounded out the top five.
An evening that started with questionable weather turned into a fantastic night of racing in Burlington. Pesky light rain showers at race time brought with it doubt that the show would go off. Despite the chilly wind and the nuisance of intermittent sprinkles, the drivers not only got the show in, but provided a terrific night of entertainment for everyone in attendance. The track prep crew (including Mother Nature), led by track owner Jeff Laue, provided a perfect surface for the season opener. There was multi-groove racing from the drop of the first green flag to the final checkers on a surface that remained smooth and tacky all night. When I talked to Jeff after the races, he commented, "When I picture the perfect track I want to make for the drivers, tonight was it." Without a doubt, Laue and his crew got the job done this weekend.
On Sunday, I'll get back on the Frostbuster swing in time for the finale of its 5-day run. I'll be at Benton County Speedway in Vinton as all five divisions that will compete weekly this season will be running. Have Easter dinner early as gates will open a bit early, as well! Happy Easter!
No comments:
Post a Comment