Ground Pounders Make A Statement On Opening Night

4/22/2018 (Princeton, WV)

Opening night was set for April 21st and it made for a good night of racing. The Ground Pounders after a year off came out of the gate with eight very strong, very fast race cars. The fans packed into the speedway to see opening night which had been moved forward slightly due to projected cold temperatures. Even though temperatures were cool the action was hot throughout the whole night.

The AMRA Open Wheel Modifieds had eight cars sign in for racing action. Aaron Barley would qualify early in the session at a 16.333 and looked to be on track for his first pole of that season until the last session when Chris Meadows would go out and turn a 16.325 taking the pole from Barley by less then 100th of a second. Heat race one for the AMRA Modifieds may have already stolen heat race of the year as Meadows and Bill Pritchard Jr. battled side by side for 8 laps for the win. The differences on those laps were as low as .003 and .001. Meadows would lead the final lap of the heat to take the win in heat race one. Aaron Barley would take heat race two over Michael Moore. With the racing in the heat races, there was no doubt the feature would also be an impressive race. Chris Meadows would lead to the field to the green beside Aaron Barley who had just stolen fast time from earlier. In the feature it would be Barley’s turn though. Barley would get by Meadows early, but Meadows would spend most of the race on Barley’s low side battling for the lead of the race. Early in the race Jamey Mahon had an issue and brought out a caution which kept the cars bunched up. When the green flag flew again it would be Barley and Meadows battling for the lead. The next caution would see David Godfrey’s beautiful #11G machine billowing smoke and coming to a halt on the front stretch. As the green flew again Meadows continue his pursuit of Barley and just couldn’t pull off a pass. Barley would go on to take his first win of the season in his bright yellow Bojangles ride followed by Meadows in the Steve Stover owned Golden Corral machine. Third would go to Bill Pritchard Jr. who at the start of the feature tagged the tail because he was having an issue. Jason Cochran would race home to a 4th place finish followed by Mike Duncan in 5th.

The FASTRAK Pro Late Model division saw six cars sign in for opening night action, any of which could win, on any night. Tyler Arrington showed that his race program means business in 2018 as he would go out and set fast time at a 16.247 and would also drive to the lone heat race win. Arrington would also jump out to the early lead in the feature event. He would lead the first seven laps of the race before H3 Henry Hornsby III would make a move on the inside to take the lead. The loan caution of the event came on lap 11 when Ted Johnson slowed in turn two. He would re-fire and rejoin the field. This was the break Eddie Hambrick who was the hard charger of the night had been waiting for. After starting 5th he had already passed Michael Bland and on the restart he would make his push for 3rd passing T.J. Salango. Everyone would settle into the position they were running and Hornsby would take the win over Arrington in 2nd. Hard Charger Eddie Hambrick would come home 3rd followed by T. J. Salango in 4th. Michael Bland would round out the top five.

The new division of SECA 602 Modifieds only had two cars show up for opening night in a division we are trying to give time to build. They would run a feature only for the night and George Pierce would lead from green to checker taking his first win of the season with Miki Murphy in the car he worked 24 hours on to get ready would take second.

The Ground Pounder division who made their return with a new name after a year off showed that they want to race in 2018. Eight very strong cars were on hand to go for the first win of the season. Freddy Mooney would take heat one in a very exciting race and Jason Kinser would take the checker flag in heat two. Freddy Mooney looked to pick up the first win of the season jumping to the early lead in the feature. Mooney looked determined to hold the bottom line and protect it during the feature, so Matt Justice in his bright yellow #24 decided to jump to the hide side of Mooney which would be the move of the race and to this point the move of the season as he would take the lead. Mooney tried with all he could to get back around Justice, but to no avail. Matt Justice would pick up in the newly named Ground Pounders and Freddy Mooney would come home to a second place finish on opening night. A great battle for third on the night would see Daniel Lowe race his STP car across the stripes in that position with #USA1 of David Ferreira taking the fourth place finish. Jeff Crowford in his beautiful #87 car came home in the fifth place position.

The Pro Mini division had four cars sign in and unfortunately the #13 of Mark Cole and #3 of Tyler Meadows had night ending troubles in hot laps. Jeremy Finley and Michael Christian would not disappoint in their heat race though as the two drivers ran side by side and Finley would take the win. The feature would be cut short when Finley would be the only car left on the track and Michael Christian would be credited with a second place finish.

The Chick-fil-A Mini Wedges had four cars sign in which made for an exciting race among the stars of tomorrow. The young Kaiden Helmer would lead from start to finish picking up the win. Last place starter Cameron Morgan would race his way to a second place finish with Trent Salango taking third. Logan Brant with problems on lap one would be credited with the fourth place finish.

Princeton Speedway would like to thank all the loyal fans, drivers, and teams who supported opening night. Princeton Speedway also wants to thank all it’s sponsors including: Midway International SlotCar Racing, T and T Country Store, The DRIVE, Princeton Rays Professional Baseball, Chick-fil-A Princeton, and Mooney’s Speed Shop.

Remember to join us this Saturday April 28th for Kid’s Bike Race night! And always remember Princeton Speedway your track for Fast, Family, Fun!