Aikey & Bechtel Shine At Bedford
3 min read
Beau Aikey and Nick Bechtel were the big winners on two dollar Thursday at the Bedford Speedway. Aikey’s win came after holding off EMod point leader Mike Altobelli. while Bechtel emerged from a Semi Late dog fight for his victory.
In the best race of the night, Charlie Clise turned a desperate last lap charge into a Pure Stock win before Colin Welsh closed the evening with a 4 Cylinder win.
Beau Aikey started on the pole in the EMod event but had Mitch Thomas and Mike Altobelli Jr right behind. He took the lead at the start but Thomas and Altobelli both took runs at him for the lead. They were soon joined by previous winner George Dixon, making it a 4 car battle up front.
Aikey repelled all of Altobelli’s advances and also moved away rom the field after each of the two caution periods to score the popular 20 lap win. Altobelli,Thomas and Dixon, who actually had spun on lap 13, trailed. David Green was fifth/ Altobelli and Green won the heats.
After several weeks of bad luck, Bill Replogle started on the Semi Late pole and took the early lead. Replogle drew a crowd at the front as Nick Bechtel was joined by Andrew Stough, Brian Weyandt Jr and eventually Khi Swanger as many ran under a blanket. Bechtel moved on Replogle and after running side by side for several laps, took the lead on lap 8.
With Bechtel squirting away, Replogle remained under assault from the others as they ran in a pack. Stough made several moves on Replogle but eventually lost his spot to Weyandt on lap 10. At the finish, Bechtel ran for the win. Replogle survived for second, ahead of Weyandt, Stough and Swanger. Travis Calhoun and Stough won the heats.
The best race of the night was the Pure Stock 15 lapper. Pole sitter Kyle Deneen took the early lead as the entire field ran in a pack. Action stopped on lap 2 as Barry Clark bounced off the wall comong off turn 4 and flipped down the front stretch. The popular driver emerged from the car to the delight of the fans but the car was badly damaged.
Deneen resumed the lead on the restart, but was hounded by a 5 car gang. Cody Jarvie took several runs at Deneen but could not complete the pass, before Charlie Clise too his turn in second. Clise tried both inside and outside Deneen lap after lap, drawing even but not completing the pass. On the last lap Clise made a desperation move going into turn 1 and it took. The pair ran together up the backstretch but Clise emerged off turn 4 with the lead to take the win. Deneen was second, followed by Jarvie, Derek Hinish and Devin Weyant. Weyant and Clark won the heats.
It was a special family moment in Victory Lane as Clise qualified for the last lap pass bonus money offered weekly by Clise Motorsports. Father Chuck gladly passed the $100 bill to the winner, keeping the cash in the family.
Brian Livengood led the 4 Cylinder event until a wheel flew off on lap 2. That placed Colin Welsh in the lead but it lasted only a lap before Josh Borland took over. Welsh stayed in the game after falling back and retook the lead on lap 11, running to the win. Jay Talley, Todd Price and Borland trailed. Talley and Price won the heats.
EMOD 20 LAPS 1 Beau Aikey, Mike Altobelli. Mitch Thomas, George Dixon, David Green, Bill Vanmeter, Mike Meck, Dan Patterson, Alyssa Rowe, John Whitfield, Dennis Perigo, TJ Dehaven, Matt Wallace.
SEMI LATE 15 LAP 1 Nick Bechtel, Bill Replogle, Brian Weyandt Jr, Andrew Stough, Khi Swanger, Travis Calhoun, Tony Catlett, Jesse Snyder, Kyle Weyandt, Greg Hainsey, Erik Weyandt, John Miller, Cale Martin, Bob Tprquato, Jeremy Fama, Bill Pluta, Bradlee Means, Laura Reilly, Rick Potter, Laura Chamberlain.
PURE STOCK 15 LAP 1 Charlie Clise, Kyle Deneen, Cody Jarvie, Derek Hinish, Dalton Ritchey, Anthony Fama, Cole Stickel, Bill Shehan, Darien Ritchey, Denver Dishong, Barry Clark, DNS Kyle Beckett, Cody Riggleman.
4 CYLINDER 1 Colin Welsh, Jay Talley, Todd Price, Josh Borland, JT Matney, Shawn Smith Ernie Hewitt, Dustin Stine, Dacoma Patillo Keshawn Dempsey, Jacob Miller, Jason Norris, Paul Shore, Matt Jones, Dwayne Votrins, Jimmy Delozier, Darren Chesney, Richard Athey, Ryan Unger, Donald Willard, Brian Livengood DNS Josh Corbin.
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