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Hines Returns to Winning Form at Eldora
ROSSBURG, OH (May 10) – Tracy Hines quickly made up for lost time Saturday night at Eldora Speedway, when the non-winged Sprint Cars of the United States Auto Club (USAC) made their initial 2008 appearance in the Larson/Branson Classic; while Jerry Bowersock redeemed himself in the Moser UMP (United Midwestern Promoters) DirtCar Modified finale and Jeff Babock powered to victory in the Advance Auto Parts Stock Car main event on a night sponsored by Curb Records.
Hines’ 2007 season came to an abrupt halt early last year with a non-racing accident. However, car owner Tony Stewart remained steadfast with his decision to hire the New Castle, IN veteran and promised that when healthy, Hines would have a ride. Hines is back to full speed and certainly didn’t let anyone down Saturday night, as he led all by four laps of the 30-lap finale and those were at the expense of team mate Levi Jones.
As the green flag flew over the talented field of entrants, Hines shot into the lead, but by the end of the second circuit, Jones had shot past Hines and was looking flawless. The action came to a quick halt on lap five when Brad Sweet, flipped coming off of turn four. At the same time, Rob Chaney did a rollover in turn three. Neither were injured, but their cars were eliminated for the balance of the chase.
During the red flag clean up period, USAC officials announced that Jones had jumped the initial start and was being assessed a two position penalty on the restart. That gave the lead back to Hines, with Jerry Coons, Jr. moving into runner-up position and Jones back to third.
That only served to spark Jones, who shot by Coons, Jr. in lap two on the restart. Coons slipped above the cushion and fell deep into the back, while Jones set aim for team mate Hines. The run was again slowed on lap 7 as Brad Kuhn and Bret Mellenberndt spun in turn two. During this caution flag period, Coons slipped into the pit area to allow adjustments to his Hoffman Brothers entry.
Back under green, the event again went but two laps before the yet another caution appeared. This was for Jones, who was having a disappointing night. The hood and broken loose and with the impaired vision, he came to a stop on the front stretch. Repairs were made in time for a return to the field, but it pretty much ended his night.
Hines remained in command at this point, although Brady Bacon had joined the chase with Neal Shepherd and Darren Hagen entering the fray with their own spirited chase. That chase was the cause for the final caution of the event, again two laps into the restart. Hagen apparently misjudged his proximity to Shepherd going into turn three and the resultant nudge put Shepherd into a spin and into the outer wall. The resulting contact pushed the nerf bar into his rear tire and Hagen made a hasty stop in the pits for quick repairs and a restart at the tail of the field. Shepherd was done for the night.
Bacon made a few bold moves to try in reel in Hine’s Chevrolet sponsored machine, but Hines was not to be outdone and cruised to the win, despite a last jump over the turn four cushion. Bacon crossed the line second, while Shane Cottle salvaged a third place finish with Brady Short and Jesse Hockett completing the top five. Short had topped the 32-car field during the time trial runs with a clocking of 15.388 seconds on the one-half mile clay oval.
In recent weeks, Jon Henry has deemed himself as the driver to beat amongst the Moser Modified ranks, but Saturday, veteran Bowersock simply outsmarted him. True to form, Henry shot into the early lead and in his unique style rim rode the high side of the track, flirting with the outside retaining wall.
Early race action found Henry in an intense battle for the lead with defending champion Scott Orr, while Bowersock was moving forward from mid-field. Bowersock got by third place runner Todd Sanders on lap seven to set his sights on Orr and Henry. A restart tangle with another car found Orr slipping back in the pack, while Bowersock waited a few laps before slipping by Henry.
Following a caution flag restart, Henry pulled up alongside Bowersock and nearly overtook the lead going down the back chute, when yet another yellow bunting slowed the pace. This time, Bowersock, aware of the Henry’s style, chose to ride the high side himself and Henry made contact with the wall, inflicting enough damage to see him retire to the pit area.
That left smoother sailing for Bowersock, as he bested Matt Westfall in his first Modified run, Todd Sherman, Sanders and Tim Richardson.
Babcock had destroyed his machine on opening night, and following a near complete rebuild of the machine, was back in the thick of things Saturday night. That meant bad news for the balance of the field, who was struggling to keep up with Babcock’s torrid pace.
Drama reigned supreme on laps 10 and 11. Perennial top runners Kevin Gossard and Earnie Woodard suffered flat tires and dove to the pits as the field completed lap ten, with neither making it to the front stretch to be scored in that lap. Then, on lap 11, Jeremy Creech’s had something break on the right front of his Stock Car and he did a wild end over end flip into the outer retaining wall. He was not injured in the frightening accident, but the lengthy clean up period allowed Gossard and Woodard enough time to make repairs and join the field, one lap down to the field.
On the restart, numerous caution flags were not enough to stop Babcock from running away with the win. Doug Tiemann turned in his best performance of the year to come home in second, with Barney Craig, Mike Dirksen and Chad Barr completing the top five.
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Eldora Speedway
USAC SPRINTS 5/10/2008 32 cars Fast Time: Brady Short 15.388
a-main 1)Tracy Hines 2)Brady Bacon 3)Shane Cottle 4)Brady Short 5)Jesse Hockett 6)Dave Darland 7)Chad Boat 8)Damion Gardner 9)Darren Hagen 10)Brad Kuhn 11)Jerry Coons, Jr. 12)Cole Whitt 13)Bill Rose 14)Kevin Huntley 15)Levi Jones 16)Chris Windom 17)Dustin Morgan 18)Mat Neely 19)Bret Mellenberndt 20)Neil Shepherd 21)Dean Jacobs 22)Brad Sweet 23)Rob Chaney
b-Main 1)Sheherd 2)Sweet 3)Jacobs 4)Chaney 5)Neely 6)Mellenberndt 7)Kenny Biro 8)Sammy Imel 9)Josh Spencer 10)Matt Goodnight 11)Matt Westfall 12)Brandon Ferguson 13)Hockett 14)Robert Ballou 15)Aaron Mosley
Heat 1: Morgan, Jones, Whitt, Short, Westfall, Neely, Chaney, Imel
Heat 2: Coons, Hines, Hagen, Huntley, Mellenberndt, Jacobs, Biro, Ballou
Heat 3: Gardner, Kuhn, Windom, Bacon, Goodnight, Hockett, Sweet, Mosley
Heat 4: Rose, Darland, Cottle, Boat, Spencer, Ferguson, Blake Fitzpatrick, Shepherd
Advance Auto Parts Stock Cars 5/10/2008 – 25 cars
a-main:1. Jeff Babcock (Wayne, OH), 2. Doug Tiemann (Richmond, IN), 3. Barney Craig (Cridersville, OH), 4. Mike Dirksen (Union City, OH), 5. Chad Barr (Piqua, OH), 6. Gabe Wombolt (Greenville, OH), 7. Mike Kruger (Lima, OH), 8. Adam Schaeff (Eaton, OH), 9. Jason Kinney (Mendon, OH), 10. Earnie Woodard (Georgetown, KY), 11. Jamison Heiser (Ft. Recovery, OH), 12. Michael Barr (Dayton, OH), 13. Anthony Goode (Greenville, OH), 14. Glenn Knick (Bradford, OH), 15. Jan Launder (Findlay, OH), 16. Bob Burch (Eaton, OH), 17. Shawn Phillippi (Greenville, OH), 18. Jon Mark Runyon (Portland, IN), 19. Jeremy Creech (Hagerstown, IN), 20. Chad Thornhill (Rossburg, OH), 21. Terry Klopfenstein (Jackson Center, OH), 22. Andy King (Convoy, OH), 23. Kevin Gossard (Findlay, OH), 24. Rodney Lacey (Vamdalia, OH), 25. John Brooks (Wayne, ),
heat 1:1. John Brooks (Wayne, ), 2. Mike Dirksen (Union City, OH), 3. Doug Tiemann (Richmond, IN), 4. Shawn Phillippi (Greenville, OH), 5. Jeremy Creech (Hagerstown, IN), 6. Adam Schaeff (Eaton, OH), 7. Gabe Wombolt (Greenville, OH), 8. Mike Kruger (Lima, OH), 9. Jason Kinney (Mendon, OH),
heat 2:1. Bob Burch (Eaton, OH), 2. Jeff Babcock (Wayne, OH), 3. Chad Thornhill (Rossburg, OH), 4. Jon Mark Runyon (Portland, IN), 5. Terry Klopfenstein (Jackson Center, OH), 6. Jamison Heiser (Ft. Recovery, OH), 7. Anthony Goode (Greenville, OH), 8. Rodney Lacey (Vamdalia, OH),
heat 3:1. Kevin Gossard (Findlay, OH), 2. Earnie Woodard (Georgetown, KY), 3. Barney Craig (Cridersville, OH), 4. Chad Barr (Piqua, OH), 5. Jan Launder (Findlay, OH), 6. Michael Barr (Dayton, OH), 7. Glenn Knick (Bradford, OH), 8. Andy King (Convoy, OH),
Moser UMP Modifieds 5/10/2008 -32 cars
a-main:1. Jerry Bowersock (Wapakoneta, OH), 2. Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill , ), 3. Todd Sherman (Churubusco, IN), 4. Todd Sanders (Rossburg, OH), 5. Tim Richardson (Comber, ON), 6. David Smith (Richmond, IN), 7. Gary Richard (Wapakoneta, OH), 8. Mike Dirksen (Union City, OH), 9. Mike Roediger (Rockford, OH), 10. Chad Oberson (Fairfield, OH), 11. Josh Morton (Piqua, OH), 12. Zach Schroeder (Leipsic, OH), 13. John Brooks (Wayne, OH), 14. Shane Unger (Versailles, OH), 15. David Treon, Jr. (Piqua, OH), 16. Chad Rosenbeck (Versailles, OH), 17. Jon Henry (Ada, OH), 18. Scott Orr (Columbia City, IN), 19. Eddie Shaner (Wapakoneta, OH), 20. Lenny Guyton (Ada, OH), 21. Jeff Babcock (Wayne, OH), 22. Schuyler Nahre (Indianapolis, IN),
b-main 1:1. Eddie Shaner (Wapakoneta, OH), 2. Shane Unger (Versailles, OH), 3. Schuyler Nahre (Indianapolis, IN), 4. Steve Billenstein (New Weston, OH), 5. Ryan Sutter (Coldwater, OH), 6. Justin Matson (Ft. Wayne, IN), 7. Tom Treon (Piqua, OH), 8. Mike Chrisman (Celina, OH),
b-main 2:1. Zach Schroeder (Leipsic, OH), 2. Josh Morton (Piqua, OH), 3. Mike Dirksen (Union City, OH), 4. David Treon, Jr. (Piqua, OH), 5. Nick Katterhenry (St. Marys, OH), 6. Josh Greber (Celina, OH), 7. Steve Brown (Newark, OH), 8. Doug Hewitt Jr. (Houston , OH),
heat 1:1. Jerry Bowersock (Wapakoneta, OH), 2. John Brooks (Wayne, OH), 3. Scott Orr (Columbia City, IN), 4. Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill , ), 5. Shane Unger (Versailles, OH), 6. Tom Treon (Piqua, OH), 7. Steve Billenstein (New Weston, OH), 8. Mike Chrisman (Celina, OH),
heat 2:1. Jeff Babcock (Wayne, OH), 2. Gary Richard (Wapakoneta, OH), 3. Jeff Harris (Cincinnati, OH), 4. Tim Richardson (Comber, ON), 5. Nick Katterhenry (St. Marys, OH), 6. Zach Schroeder (Leipsic, OH), 7. Mike Dirksen (Union City, OH), 8. Doug Hewitt Jr. (Houston , OH),
heat 3:1. Lenny Guyton (Ada, OH), 2. Jon Henry (Ada, OH), 3. Todd Sherman (Churubusco, IN), 4. Mike Roediger (Rockford, OH), 5. Eddie Shaner (Wapakoneta, OH), 6. Justin Matson (Ft. Wayne, IN), 7. Ryan Sutter (Coldwater, OH), 8. Schuyler Nahre (Indianapolis, IN),
heat 4:1. David Smith (Richmond, IN), 2. Todd Sanders (Rossburg, OH), 3. Chad Rosenbeck (Versailles, OH), 4. Chad Oberson (Fairfield, OH), 5. David Treon, Jr. (Piqua, OH), 6. Josh Morton (Piqua, OH), 7. Josh Greber (Celina, OH), 8. Steve Brown (Newark, OH),
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