Kramer and Pitts Thrill Packed House With Eldora Wins

ROSSBURG, OH (August 10, 2013) — Prior to a dazzling fireworks display that capped off Family Fun Night, feature race winners Joey Kramer (UMP DIRTcar Modifieds) and Dean Pitts (Stock Cars) helped to wow a large and appreciative crowd with a sensational show of their own. Drivers from eight states and one province helped to swell the pit area for a wild doubleheader night of action.

Kramer, the defending track champion, became the sixth different Modified driver to win in six races at Eldora this season. That broke a record set back in 1996 when five different drivers won the first five races. It wasn’t without drama; however, in the 18-lap feature.

Dwight Niehoff, of Lockwood, Mo., clicked off the first five laps in first place. Kramer slid into second on the second lap and the chase was on. Kramer, of Hanover, Ind., stalked Niehoff the next few laps and made his move on lap five with a slide job coming out of Turn 4. Kramer made it stick, then set sail as Kody Wiesner, Matt Westfall and Jerry Bowersock furiously battled for second, third and fourth.

A caution with 13 laps complete erased Kramer’s 2.44-second lead over the field. Kramer, choosing the outside row on the double-file restart, rocketed away from the field. But he tagged the wall coming out of Turn 2 with two laps remaining, straightened the nose and regained his composure. Still, it allowed Wiesner to go door-to-door with Kramer in Turns 3-4 resulting in a drag race down the frontstretch.

“I hooked a rut and it turned into the wall,” Kramer said of smacking the concrete in Turn 2. “All I knew was to turn left off the wall and (floor) it because they were right on me. That boy in second place drove a heck of a race. He ran me clean down in the corner. That was a heck of a race. You know that concrete doesn’t move.”

Kramer held off the challenge behind him for his seventh career win at Eldora.

“There’s no words to explain standing on this stage at Eldora Speedway,” Kramer said from the Victory Lane stage. “All these kids in the audience, I don’t know how many of you are here for your first race, but I hope we made it a good one for you.”

Wiesner, Westfall, Jonathan Taylor and Aaron Orr rounded out the top five.

“That was probably one of the most fun races I’ve ran in a long time,” Wiesner said. “The track was awesome.”

In the Stocks, Emily Gade of Iowa thrilled the crowd by running out front the first eight laps. Adam Schaeff, Pitts, Nick Bowers, Earnie Woodard, Barney Craig and Paul Pardo were among the drivers in a spirited pursuit. After a great restart following a caution with six laps complete, Gade found trouble just two laps later.

Making only her second appearance at Eldora, Gade smacked the wall in Turn 3-4 to end her run.

Schaeff inherited the lead and sat just seven laps from his first victory at Eldora. He held off Pitts in a side-by-side battle for several laps as the top four drivers were all within .515 seconds of each other. With two laps remaining Pitts, of Botkins, Ohio, worked his way past Schaeff coming out of Turn 2 and raced away to the win.

“Once I got underneath him a couple times he raced me clean. I’ve got all the hats off in the world to him. He did a nice job,” Pitts said of racing Schaeff. “I hated for the No. 6 car (Gade) ‘cause I don’t know if we would have caught her. When I saw she had trouble I thought, ‘Oh man, this might be mine.’”

Schaeff took the loss in stride and was thrilled with his best career finish at Eldora.

“I’ll tell you what, that’s what it’s all about right there,” Schaeff said. “That was a blast. That was the most fun I had racing.”

Eldora Speedway returns to action with the 6th annual WIX Filters Baltes Classic on Sunday, Sept. 1. The Sunoco American Late Model Series, UMP DIRTcar Modifieds and Eldora Stock cars will compete. Complete event information may be obtained by visiting the track’s websitewww.EldoraSpeedway.com, or by calling the speedway office at (937) 338-3815. Additionally, race fans and race teams can get behind-the-scenes access by following @EldoraSpeedway on Twitter, hitting ‘Like’ at Facebook.com/EldoraSpeedway and view video highlights at YouTube.com/EldoraSpeedwayInc. The new Eldora Speedway app for the iPhone, iPad and Android is now available for download via iTunes and Google Play.