Zimmerman, Eicher, Applebee, Blackshear & Cole Collect Raceway 7 Wins!
6 min readConneaut, OH (August 29, 2014): Not only winners went to Victory Lane after the features at Raceway 7 but season champions were also honored with winner”s ceremonies.
In Bonnell Collision Center E-Mods Gary Eicher sealed his championship with a fourth place finish then went on to win the feature, his fourth of the season. Eicher, who had announced earlier that this would be his farewell season, won three features on his way to the championship honors.
Dale Fraschetti and Bud Sergeff fought side by side trading positions during the Specialty Products Mini Stocks feature with Fraschetti winding up third and winning the championship by seventeen points over Sergeff, the 2012 title holder.
The Evergreen Lake Park Campground Crate Late Models championship went to the final event with the two leaders, Kyle Zimmerman (starting on the pole) and Matt Latta (starting seventh) tied after Zimmerman made up a ten point deficit during heat races, heading into the feature tied with Matt Latta for the front spot, then led the distance for the win. Latta, only able to muster a third, lost the title by ten markers.
Both points leaders were victims of wrecks in the Zimmer Service Center Economods feature but Josh ferry was able to post a second place finish and win his first championship at the tender age of fifteen.
Chris Withers came into the final points night with a fifty-point margin but gave up ten points during heat racing. In the feature he finished one position behind his nearest competitor, former champion Ed Bolyard, to win his third Raceway 7 points championship.
2009 champion Percy McDonald brought the Bonnell Collision Center E-Mods to the green flag with young Josh McDonald to his right. Percy McDonald took the lead at the start with Josh. McDonald second and 2013 champion Joel Watson third. Watson came to second on lap three. Before lap four could be competed caution was shown when Joe DeFazio spun in turn two. On the green the leaders, Percy McDonald, Joel Watson, Josh McDonald, and Denny Crawford all piled up in turn two, again putting the race under yellow with Dan McDonald leading for the restart with Chuck Steinle Jr second, and newly crowned champion Eicher third. Only one more lap was in before yellow again flew. At halfway Dan McDonald was still leading with Eicher taking over one lap past the halfway point. The Raceway 7 champion then went on to his fourth win of the season after three more cautions with McDonald second, Steinle third, Watson fourth, and Mike Potosky fifth.
Defending Specialty Products Mini Stocks champion Brad Cole started the final feature of the year with Scott Gill on the outside. Championship leader Dale Fraschetti started from fourth with second-running Bud Sergeff starting eighth while trying to make up a fourteen point deficit. Cole led from green with Easler second at the end of one with Sergeff getting by Fraschetti but the point leader came back by him a lap later. Cole had a substantial lead at halfway with Easler still second over Mitch Stokes, Fraschetti, and Sergeff. Stokes was hung up by a lapped car on lap ten, allowing both Fraschetti and Sergeff to get by him. Cole went on to the win over Easler, Fraschetti, Sergeff, and Mitch Stokes. Fraschetti collected the champion’s laurels by seventeen markers.
With co-points leader Kyle Zimmerman starting the Evergreen Lake Park Campground Crate Late Models feature from the pole it was seventh starting Matt Latta’s job to track him down and get by as whoever would finish highest would be the champion. Zimmerman took off to the early lead with Latta sixth when caution flew at lap two when Pifer looped his mount in turn two with Dennis Lunger spinning in the melee. At green it was Dave Airgood now second and Latta up to fifth after one lap of green then fourth after another lap. At five laps complete Zimmerman led Airgood by four lengths with Bryan Salisbury third, Latta fourth, and 2013 champion Chad Wright fifth. At halfway Zimmerman had doubled his lead over Airgood with the balance of the top five staying the same. One lap past halfway Khole Wanzer spun in turn four, slowing the field and eliminating Zimmerman’s lead. Under caution Wright retired to the pits, bringing Darrell Bossard to fifth for the restart. On green Pifer spun in turn one before a lap was compete. On the first lap back under green Dennis Lunger came to fifth while Zimmerman was re-establishing his lead and Latta was trying the inside to get by Salisbury for third, which he did on lap fifteen. At the white flag Zimmerman had a half straight lead over Airgood with Latta third. The top five at the finish was Zimmerman, Airgood, Salisbury, and Bossard back to fifth after Lunger experience mechanical ails on he final lap, pulling to the pits.
Twenty points separated leader Josh Ferry from pursuer Steve Burns as the feature for the Zimmer Service Center Economods got the green flag with Kyle Fellows and 2013 champion Brian Hathaway on the front row. Burns started the event third with Ferry starting sixth. Brandon Blackshear, the 2012 champion, was the leader after one lap of green flag racing with three cautions slowing the action in lap two, the most serious being a seven-car pile-up triggered when points leader Ferry spun near the front of the pack with the rest of the competitors scattering in all directions, sending Hathaway to the pit for repairs but with the others being able to continue. Hathaway rejoined the event two laps later. Blackshear brought the field back to green with Burns now second, Fellows third, and Ferry fourth. Two-time winner Rick Prosser was up to fifth. Caution flew twice again at lap four. Ferry came to third after restarting at lap four. At a green on lap six pandemonium broke loose on the front straight with title contender Burns scraping the wall, retiring to the pit, and points leader Ferry sustaining damage but staying on the track. Blackshear went on to his seventeenth career Raceway 7 feature win with Ferry driving to his first championship at the age of fifteen, finishing second. Rick Prosser wound up third with Eric Reinwald fourth and Lee Patrick fifth.
All Chris Withers had to do was start the Campbell’s Mini-Storage Street Stocks to capture his second consecutive Raceway 7 title, third overall. Ed Bolyard, Withers’ closest challenger, led from the pole position over outside pole sitter Jimmy Kennerknecht with sixth starting Withers advancing quickly. Shane Applebee came to the lead at lap ten and opened a half straight lead by the finish for his second win of the season. Withers wound up third with Kennerknecht fourth and Kenny Lamp fifth. Withers won the title by 35-points.
Results:
Evergreen Lake Park Campground Late Models:
Heat 1: Dave Airgood, Kyle Zimmerman, Darrell Bossard, Bob Pifer, Kevin Hill, Kevin Santee, Khole Wanzer
Heat 2: Dennis Lunger, Bryan Salisbury, Chad Wright, Matt Latta, Wendell Pinckney, Garrett Mott, Lou Mariano
Feature: Kyle Zimmerman, Dave Airgood, Bryan Salisbury, Darrell Bossard, Breyton Santee, Wendell Pinckney, Khole Wanzer, Garrett Mott, Dennis Lunger, Lou Mariano, Chad Wright, Bob Pifer
Bonnell Collision Center E-Mods:
Heat 1: Joel Watson, Dan McDonald, Percy McDonald, Gary Eicher, Denny Crawford, Mike Samuelson, Ed Wilson, Gary Murphy, Mike McGee
Heat 2: Mike Potosky, John Boardman, Josh McDonald, Chuck Steinle Jr, Bill Taylor, Brian Douglas, Joe DeFazio, Gary McGregor, Steve Samuelson (DNS)
Feature: Gary Eicher, Dan McDonald, Chuck Steinle Jr, Joel Watson, Mike Potosky, Percy McDonald, Steve Samuelson, Ed Wilson, Gary Murphy, John Boardman, Joe DeFazio, Bill Taylor, Mike Samuelson, Gary McGregor, Brian Douglas, Josh McDonald, Denny Crawford, Mike McGee
Campbell’s Mini-Storage Street Stocks:
Heat 1: Ed Bolyard. Jimmy Kennerknecht, Chris Withers, Shane Applebee, Kenny Lamp, Mike Harmon, Matt Lozowski, Kyle Reinwald
Feature: Shane Applebee, Ed Bolyard, Chris Withers, Jimmy Kennerknecht, Kenny Lamp, Matt Lozowski, Mike Harmon, Kyle Reinwald (DNS)
Zimmer Service Center Economods:
Heat 1: Brandon Blackshear, Rick Prosser, Brian Hathaway, Steve Burns, Lee Patrick, Eric Reinwald
Heat 2: Devin Henry, Russ Kapalin, Josh Ferry, Kyle Fellows, Jodi Woodworth, Kevin Sergeff
Feature: Brandon Blackshear, Josh Ferry, Rick Prosser, Eric Reinwald, Lee Patrick, Kevin Sergeff, Kyle Fellows, Brian Hathaway, Walt Johnson, Steve Burns, Russ Kapalin, Jodi Woodworth, Devin Henry
Specialty Products Mini Stocks:
Heat 1: Dylan Goodman, Dale Fraschetti, Hoyt Mihalak, Brad Cole, Charlie Roberts, Robert Johnston, Alex Siekkenin
Heat 2: Bud Sergeff, Jason Easler, Mitch Stokes, Scott Gill, Cody Minor, Logan Keney, Cale Sousa
Heat 3: Carlos Aponte, Tyler Fulton, Mary Hammond, Jeannie Fowler. Aris Charnas, Kyle Adkins
Feature: Brad Cole, Jason Easler, Dale Fraschetti, Bud Sergeff, Mitch Stokes, Dylan Goodman, Tyler Fulton, Mary Hammond, Carlos Aponte, Scott Gill, Jeannie Fowler, Aris Charnas, Logan Keney, Denny Crawford, Charlie Roberts, Cody Miner, Cale Sousa, Robert Johnston (DNS), Alex Siekkenin (DNS), Kyle Adkins (DNS)
About The Author
