Bob Crace Sr Memorial To Conley
8 min read
CHILLICOTHE, OHIO-It was a Conley, Conley, Conley battle cry! When the train left the station, it was Delmas Conley engineering the Conley Express freight train that captured the
top three positions in the Late Model portion of the Bob Crace, Sr. Memorial before a healthy crowd at Atomic Speedway Saturday night. Patriarch Delmas Conley, Wheelersburg, Ohio was the victor ahead of sons R.J. and Hot Rod in the Lates, while Greggie Oliver, Jackson, Ohio won a hard-fought win in the Precision Grading Modifieds and Jason Cottrill, Chillicothe, won his third in a row in the C & M Racing Sport Mods.
The race honored and memorialized the late Bob Crace, Sr., who won the 1971 Late Model championship with Buick powered machine. Crace had several hundred wins at various tracks and is an Atomic Speedway Hall of Famer.
R.J. Conley set fast time in the Late Models with a 13:684, but in the fast car dash R.J. and Rod Conley became embattled for position forcing R.J. up and over the cushion and into the turn four wall. Delmas went on for the $223 Reno and Sons Lawn Care dash win, while R.J. went pit side for repairs. After winning the last heat, Dustin Linville suffered engine woes after crossing the scales and had to scratch.
The elder statesman of the Conley clan started on the pole, yet had to repel charges early from Richmond, Indiana driver Duane Chamberlain. On the start, another Hoosier driver, Steve Casebolt became a casualty after cars were bottled up in turn two. Casebolt ran under the hind quarters of Jason Montgomery, lifting the latter high into the air and over Casebolt’s hood. Casebolt went pit side and the field restaged for a restart.
Conley again charged to the front with Chamberlain and Montgomery in tow. R.J. Conley bagged Montgomery, then a lap later went after Chamberlain. After a brief, but torrid dual R.J. took over second. After the initial restart, the race was slowed just twice by a pair of spins from hard-charging Kenneth Howell.
Much of the race Rod Conley, Chamberlain, Montgomery and Matt Westfall battled hard for position with Greggie Oliver and Jeremy Berwanger charging hard towards the front. Oliver went pit side with a broken header, ending his run, but Berwanger the B-main winner, battled on.
Rod Conley disposed of Chamberlain late in the race, while Montgomery finally edged Westfall for position in a similar battle. A lap 21 caution of the 30-lap affair set the stage for a Conley Tri-way to the finish. R.J. made several bids on his father, while Rod made a couple bids for third on his brother. The trio’s laurels certainly made it exciting for the fans. R.J. drove it into turn three hard on the last lap, but 73-year-old Hall of Famer won by a car length at the finish–his third Atomic feature win of the year.
“I won tonight because I had a great race car and great race cars make drivers look good,” said Delmas Conley in victory lane. “The wins are won at the shop not at the track. I had a great car. Thanks to my crew.”
“I knew R.J. was back there–he’s a little sneaky sometimes you know– so I had to play it just right. My car was loose in turn three so I had to slow it down there. I knew I had good momentum down the straights, so if he got me he had to do it in turn three.”
Conley was appreciative of the fans and the “Trophy of Legends” he won in honor of Bob Crace, Sr. and the late Junior Spencer. Conley became only the second repeat winner of the trophy (the other Eddie Carrier, Jr.) since its inception back in 1988 by fabled promoter Mike Jewell. Becky Seymour, daughter of Bob Crace, Sr. aided Jewell in presenting the trophy.
Rounding out the top ten were Delmas Conley, R.J. Conley, Hot Rod Conley, Duane Chamberlain, Jason Montgomery, Matt Westfall, Jeremy Berwanger, Kevin Wagner, Steve Prince, and Mark Frazier. Berwanger was the hard charger in a 16th to 7th place run.
Just when fans thought it couldn’t get any better, the AMRA modifieds stacked the deck on what was a barnburner of a finish. Nathan Loney led well past the halfway point with Adam Colley running second in the early going. Jason Montgomery stretched the “X” car past Colley for second with Greggie Oliver, Jeff Votaw, Doug Adkins, and Brian Whiteman joining the frey. Both Adkins and Whiteman later left with mechanical woes, opening the door for a Greggie Oliver blitz, and a late-race gallop to the gold by 2014 champ, Dave ‘Fireball’ Pinkerton.
Loney’s mount showed signs of tire wear as the Loney, Montgomery, Oliver victory express sailed down the tracks. For eight laps all three foes were within inches of one another.
Montgomery took over on lap 16. A lap later Oliver bagged Loney for second while once again the trio mixed it up for position. Oliver kept trying to overcome the veteran Montgomery’s momentum and made a turn two slide-job stick with just three laps remaining.
Montgomery was not easy to yield as he made several bids to reclaim the lead with return slide-jobs. During the last five laps fans were on their feet for the exciting finish. Pinkerton made a late race jaunt into the top five, while Colley gained some momentum to climb back up the ladder to fourth. Jess Hartman blasted from 12th to fifth at the finish.
Rounding out the top ten were Oliver, Montgomery, Dave Pinkerton, Adam Colley, Jess Hartman, Jeff Votaw, Dave McWilliams, Donnie Miller, Bud Frazier, and Brandon Oliver. 80-years-young Bud Frazier craftily drove into the top ten as Votaw, McWilliams, and Miller posted great runs. Heat wins went to Loney, whose mount broke on the last lap of the A-main; Whiteman, and Colley.
“I told myself at halfway mark,” said Oliver. “This is really fun! I hope this race goes from green to checkered. It was just a matter of who could make the slide-job last without taking out the other one. Wow, Jason, Loney (Nathan) and I were all right there. I hope it was a fun for the fans as it was on the track.”
As a result of the highest finish, Hartman was declared the hard charger of the race.
The first lap of the C & M Racing sport mod main saw six cars get claimed in a lap one pile up. Young Harley Martin, the 2014 champ, broke an axle and slid into the path of most of the approaching field. Cars piled in and Emily Jordan, Martin, Jeff Gillman, Derek Davidson, Brian Moore, and another youngster Harrison Hall were sidelined in the accident.
Also making contact with other cars were runner-up Jason Cottrill and Crace,Jr. Mike Brust took a hard-hit but continued. Cotrill moved to the outside pole as a result of Martin’s departure and led from the onset. The win was not easy, however. Mitchell Fields tried 365 ways to attempt to unseat Cottrill. Bob Crace, Jr. was also right there in the mix and three cars came out of four with a chance to win it.
Cottrill said, “I was starting to get a little loose. I would have liked to have seen my father-in-law Bob (Crace) win this for his Dad’s race, but this is the next best thing. We are keeping it in the family.”
The win was Cottrill’s third in a row.
Rounding out the top ten were Jason Cottrill, Mitchell Fields, Bob Crace, Jr., Steve Noble, Alan Gulley, Mike Brust, Harold Meadows, Dustin Gilbert, John Cuckler, and Glen Keaton.
For more Atomic Speedway information, please call 740-703-9749 or visit << www.atomicspeedway.net >>
Atomic is located 12 miles South of Chillicothe, Ohio off SR 23, two miles out Blain Highway between Chillicothe, Ohio and Waverly, Ohio at Alma.
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Coming Events…
Saturday May 16th – Fan Appreciation Night #1 – $5 General Admission – AMRA Late Models, AMRA Modifieds, Sport Mods and Race Saver 305 Sprints
Saturday May 23rd – Hall of Fame Night – OVSCA Sprints, AMRA Late Models, AMRA Modifieds and Sport Mods
Saturday May 30th – Triple Crown Kids Night – OVSCA Sprints, AMRA Late Models, AMRA Modifieds, Ohio Valley Roofers Legends and Enduro
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Bob Crace, Sr. Memorial
Atomic Speedway Results The Summary: May 9, 2015
803Fire.com AMRA Late Models (26)
Fast Time: R.J. Conley 13:684
Dash: Delmas Conley, Duane Chamberlain, Jason Montgomery, Steve Casebolt, Rod Conley, R.J. Conley
Heat One: Kevin Wagner, Greggie Oliver, Chad Smith, Joe Whitt, Joe Buskirk, Jeremy Berwanger, Tommy Mossbarger
Heat Two: Matt Westfall, Mark Frazier, Kenneth Howell, Kirk Phillips, Jay Helton, Avery Taylor
Heat Three: Dustin Linville, Steve Prince, Chris Shannon, Brian Whitt, Billy Staker
B-Main: Jeremy Berwanger, Kirk Phillips, Jay Helton, Joe Buskirk, Ronnie Whitt, Avery Taylor, John Mayes, Brian Eaton, Billy Staker, Joe Whitt, Tommy Mossbarger
Feature: Delmas Conley, R.J. Conley, Hot Rod Conley, Duane Chamberlain, Jason Montgomery, Matt Westfall, Jeremy Berwanger, Kevin Wagner, Steve Prince, Mark Frazier, Joe Buskirk, Kirk Phillips, Jay Helton, Greggie Oliver, Kenneth Howell, Chad Smith, Chris Shannon,Ronnie Whitt, Avery Taylor, Steve Casebolt
Hard Charger: Berwanger 16th to 7th.
Precision Grading AMRA Modifieds (24)
Fast Time: Jason Montgomery 15:513
Heat One: Adam Colley, Jason Montgomery, Jeff Votaw, Donnie Miller, Bud Frazier, Travis Dickson, Brandon Oliver, Pete Brunton, Kurtis Dunaway
Heat Two: Nathan Loney, Dave pinkerton, Gary Park, Mike Conkle, Dave McWilliams, Brad Ruckles, Erick Berry, Mark Bailey
Heat Three: Brian Whiteman, Greggie Oliver, Doug Adkins, Jess Hartman, Seth Daniels, Zack Ackley, Rick Shutts, Trevor Chaney
B-Main: Travis Dickson, Brandon Oliver, Brad Ruckles, Pete Brunton, Zack Ackley, Rick Shutts, Kirtis Dunaway, Trevor Chaney, Mark Bailey, Eric Berry
Feature: Greggie Oliver, Jason Montgomery, Dave Pinkerton, Adam Colley, Jess Hartman, Jeff Votaw, Dave McWilliams, Donnie Miller, Bud Frazier, Brandon Oliver, Mike Conkle, Seth Daniels, Gary Park, Nathan Loney, Pete Brunton, Travis Dickson, Brad Ruckles, Doug Adkins, Brian Whiteman, Zack Ackley
Hard Charger- Jess Hartman, Dave McWilliams, Brandon Oliver all advanced 7 positions
C & M Racing Equipment Sport Mods (16)
Heat One: Harley Martin, Mitchell Fields, Mike Brust, John Cuckler, Derek Davidson, Dustin Gilbert, Glenn Keaton, Harold Reynolds.
Heat Two: Harrison Hall, Jason Cottrill, Brian Moore, Emily Jordan, Bob Crace, Jr., Jeff Gillman, Steve Nobil, Allen Gulley
Heat Three:
Feature: Jason Cottrill, Mitchell Fields, Bob Crace, Jr., Steve Noble, Alan Gulley, Mike Brust, Harold Meadows, Dustin Gilbert, John Cuckler, Glen Keaton, Harley Martin, Harrison Hall, Brian Moore, Emily Jordan, Derek Davidson, Jeff Gillman
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