Keen, Hicks, Lines, Yoder, and Henning All Victorious Mothers Day Weekend
8 min read
Mothers Day was first celebrated in 1907 by Anna Jarvis who wanted a designated day to honor mothers and the vital role they play in life. Anna’s countless hours of lobbying finally paid off in 1934 where it was made an official national holiday by president Franklin D. Roosevelt. To honor all of the mothers at Waynesfield Raceway Park, a craft show was setup behind the grandstands with free giveaways from many area vendors. In additional to the show, all mothers in attendance were entered into a raffle for different prizes from area businesses. All Kids’ Club members also received prizes courtesy of Tim’s Landscaping. It was a great crowd both in the grandstands and the pit area as over 100 competitors signed in to take on the 1/3 high banked dirt oval on Sun Down Tan Night at the Races.
The first division to see the green flag was the Buckeye Machine Non Wing Sprints with 32 drivers signing in to compete. The 18 of Todd Keen and the 23S of last weeks feature winner Kyle Simon brought the field to the green flag. Wheel to wheel racing did not last long as the first caution came out with just one lap in the books as a group of cars got together with two of them going upside. The 24L of Lee Underwood, 5 of Mark Silva, 2 of Dustin Ingle, and the 1H of Kevin Hawk were all involved in the incident. On the restart, Todd Keen led the field to the green flag with Kyle Simon directly behind him planning his move to the top spot. The 12 of Kody Sawanson had a plan of his own as he jumped into the mix along with the 2B of Mike Dunlap to challenge the lead pair. Swanson had a car that was hooked up as he slid his way to challenge for the lead. The move was cut short after a red flag for the 71 of Stratton Briggs who took a tumble in turn two. The 14 of Cooper Clouse needed some minor work done to his machine as he went to the hot pit. The restart was a great one for Todd Keen and Kody Swanson but not for Landon Simon as he was deducted two positions for jumping the restart. When the dust finally settled, the 18 Todd Keen came away with the win. Kody Swanson picked up the second place finish after a last ditch slidejob off of turn 4 was unsuccessful, and Mike Dunlap finishing in third. Kody Swanson received the hard charger award advancing ten spots from his outside row six starting spot.
The Block Insurance Tough Tucks took the track for their fifteen lap feature. The 3M of Curtis Rayle and the 710 of Ben Werling, who had quite the fan club, led the field to the green flag. It was evident from the very start it was going to be a great show as the leaders took the field three wide into turn two and continued it down the back strength. Curtis Rayle was another car that was hooked up as he jumped out to the early lead. It was only a matter of time until someone began to reel in Rayle. Hicks squared, Mike & Chris, Bill Keeler, and the 60 of Jerry Sawmiller went door to door fighting for positions two through five. The 71 of Chris Hicks came out on the winning end of the ordeal as he moved himself into a position to pick up the win. With just nine laps remaining, caution came out for the 1S of Mike Sawmiller allowing the field to restack for the restart. The restart was not the best for Curtis Rayle as he fell back allowing Chris and Mike Hicks to take over the top two positions. Chris threw everything he could at his brother Mike but couldn’t outdo him. Mike Hicks ended up crossing the line with the win, his brother Chris finishing in second, and the 60 of Jerry Sawmiller in third. When Mike Hicks was asked about racing with his brother in Best Performance Motorsports victory lane he said, “Chris does not get anything less than what I would put-on for anyone else.” Mike gained seven spots to pick up the win giving him the hard charger award.
In the Post Agri Service UMP Modified feature Randy Lines, who was ready to go two for two on the season, led the field to the green flag beside the 44 of Zach Schroeder. Lines knew it was going to be a challenge at the drop of the green flag with the 54 of Matt Westfall riding the cushion. The 23J of Jeff Koz was also a force to be reckoned with in the early stage of the race. The field stayed green flag for several laps until the yellow flag came out for a three car collision including the 93 of Josh Greber, the 21T of Tom Treon, and the 35 of Tim Cornett. Cornett sustained heavy damaged and was escorted off the racing surface by the tow truck. The yellow flag made a return again with seven laps left on the board for the 20K of Bill Keeler. Keeler went pit side briefly and rejoined the field. On the restart, the determination Lines had to take over the top spot was made apparent when he made his move and was scored the leader on lap number fourteen. Nothing stood in the way of victory lane besides a late race caution collecting the 20K of Bill Keeler, the 10H of Brad Hess, and the 112 of Chris Ullery who spun causing the other two competitors to check up to avoid contact. Randy Lines was able to go two for two with the feature win. The 54 of Matt Westfall picked up the second place finish with Zach Schroder finishing third. Randy Lines acknowledged he knew Westfall was closing in and did everything he could to finish the race strong. According to scoring data, Westfall clocked his fastest lap coming to the checkered flag. Jim Post in the 58P picked up the hard charger status moving nine sports to pick up a eighth place finish from his seventieth starting spot.
It was a rough start for the Indian Lake Outfitter Compacts as they took the track for their 15 lap feature event. The 34 of James Sorrel of Piqua and the 22 of Alan Kemp led the field to Adam Brimmer’s green flag. Not even a lap in the books and the first yellow flag came out for several cars getting together in turn four. In the process of the collision, contact was made with one of the tractor tires on the inside of the racetrack. The tire was moved out of the infield and onto the bottom section of the racing surface. On the second attempt to get the race underway, the 518 of Jordan Iiams, who picked up the win last Saturday, brought out the caution. Third time was not a charm as Iiams brought out the caution again and was sent to his trailer for violating the two yellow flag rule. Finally, after a fourth attempt to start the race, the green flag came out and remained out for the duration of the race. The field rotated heavily in the lead pack with Robbie Tuttle having the lead and the 22 of Alan Kemp looking in. It only took a few laps for a pair of challengers to set their sites on Tuttle. The Yoder squad closed in out of nowhere taking the top two spots with no warning. David Yoder had nothing on Harvey allowing him to pick up the victory. In the Best Performance Motorsports Victory Lane, Harvey stated that he and his wife are expecting their first child in the next few days. David Yoder finished in second with Alan Kemp in third. Lucas Fuller picked up the hard charger award advancing eight spots.
The night came to a close with the Performance Powder Coating AMSA Mini Sprint A-main. Craig Stower and Gary Campbell led the field to the green flag. The drag race into turn one made the front row appear to be standing still as the 328 of Becca Stiefel took off like a rocket ship and had the lead going down the back stretch. Stiefel held onto the lead for many of the early laps and appeared to be pulling away from the field. With a few laps in the books, Stiefel’s jets seem to run out of steam allowing the 28H of Rod Henning to close the gab. The jets seem to come on for Henning as his car seemed to turn into a rocket ship allowing him to grab the lead from Stiefel. Following the pass Stiefel seemed to fade back into the field allowing other competitors to move up to challenge for the lead. One of which was the 8JR of JR Wood. He only had a shot for a brief moment until he spun and brought out the caution flag on lap eleven. The caution flag streak continued into lap twelve when pole-sitter Craig Stower went upside down on the apron of turn two. The car was rolled back over where Stower elected to drive away from the scene and head pit side for service. Two caution laps later, Stower, applauded by the fans, returned to the track. Later on in the race, the E99 of Gage Etgen had a similar experience to Stower as he went upside down on the top side of turn two. A final caution came with just three laps to go but had zero impact on Rod Henning. He came across the line first and picked up the feature win. Chase Dunham finished in second and Gary Campbell with a third place finish. The 28J of Chris Bounds picked up the Foz Speed Partz hard charger award for advancing eight positions from his thirtieth starting spot. Bounds finished inside the top five.
Thunder returns to Waynesfield Raceway Park next Saturday, May 17 with a full program of racing action including the Buckeye Machine Non Wing Sprints, Performance Powder Coating AMSA Mini Sprints, Block Insurance Agency Tuff Trucks and the Indian Lake Outfitter Compacts. Pitside gates open at 4PM with the grandstands at 5PM. First green flag of the night flies at 7PM. Adult grandstand admission is just $12, kids 11-15 are $6, and kids 10 and under are FREE. To see the full schedule and to get the latest information, go online to www.waynesfieldracewaypark.net, like Waynesfield Raceway Park on Facebook, and follow @OfficialWRP on Twitter.
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