Season Ends Friday at Raceway 7, Champions will be Crowned!

By Jay Pees

Conneaut, OH, (August 28, 2013): Friday will finish the 2013 season at Raceway 7 with regular racing for all five divisions. The season champions will all be decided. During Victory Lane Ceremonies after each feature the champion of the class will also be honored.

With his fifth win over twelve weeks of racing, Chad Wright sealed his first-ever Evergreen Lake Park Campground FASTRAK Late Model track championship at Raceway 7. The young champion accumulated a 178-point lead over runner-up Kyle Zimmerman, a second-generation driver. Dave Airgood, a newly-wed early in the season, is third headed into the final night, nineteen points behind Zimmerman. Jamie Brown, a third-generation racer, is currently fourth, 42 points back of Airgood. Former Champion Dennis Lunger fills out the top five, fourteen points behind Brown. Except for Wright, the rest of the top five could change, depending on the racing Friday night.

Joel Watson goes into the final night of racing with an insurmountable lead of 96 points over Mike Potosky. It will be Watson’s third consecutive championship at Raceway 7 for the Bonnell Collision Center E-Mods. Watson has six wins going into the final night. Potosky still is looking for that elusive first win of the season but has consistently been near the front of the pack when the checkers fall. 2009 champion Percy McDonald, also winless this season, currently is third, 74 points behind Potosky. Gary Eicher currently sits fourth, only 23 points out of third. Track owner Dan McDonald is fifth heading into the season closer. Watson is the only driver in the top five with feature wins this season. Other than Watson, part-time competitor Rich Michael is the big winner, with five wins. Brent Rhebergen and John Boardman also won features this summer.

Former champion Chris Withers captured his second Western Reserve Animal Clinic Street Stock Championship last Friday with his seventh feature win of 2013. Former champion Ed Bolyard, Bolyard went to Victory Lane once in 2013 and trails the champion by 177 points. Eric Reinwald, who picked up his first-ever feature win in 2013, is currently third another 128 points back. Shawn Fawcett is currently fourth 120 points out of third, but has only a four-point margin over rookie Jonny Boyd. Fourth is up for grabs heading to the season finish line. Neither Fawcett nor Boyd have made it to the Winner’s Circle this season.

With an 81-point lead over the veteran Chuck Steinle Sr, Brian Hathaway is the McDonalds Meat Economods champion. Hathaway won his first-ever Raceway 7 feature on opening night and added four more wins during the season. Steinle has not visited the Winner’s Circle during the season but consistent finishes have given him a 21-point edge over the tied battle for third, between Kyle Fellows And early season point’s leader Russ Kapalin. 2012 Western PA Cavalcade Racing Rookie of the Year Casey Bowers is fifth after his first win of the season last Friday night.

The Specialty Products Mini Stocks are being led by Brad Cole, with a 45-point advantage over second running Bud Sergeff, the 2012 champion. 18 points separate Sergeff from rookie Dale Fraschetti, who experienced engine problems last week. Jason Easler, a winner early in the season, is fourth, 109 points back. Filling out the top five is Mitch Stokes, winless in 2013.

Weather permitting, gates open every Friday at 5:30 PM with pill draw cut off at 7 PM and racing at 7:30 PM. VIP suites are available for rental for $250 a night which includes eight general admissions passes. Admission is set at only $10 for adults for this regular event, kids 7-14 are $5. Children 6 and under are free. Pit passes are $25. For more information please visit www.raceway7.com or call the track on race day after 12 noon at 440-594-2222. The remaining 2013 schedule is below.