By: Spartan correspondent, Michelle Sprague
Poor Paul’s 275 very quickly became Poor Paul’s 310, Sunday, September 6th, as 100-plus cars filled the pit area, making it necessary to run A- and B-Mains for the Sportsman division and a Consi for the Modified division. This Sunday show has been a highly competitive tradition at the speedway, marking the end of the racing season.
Twenty-two Boss Snow Equipment Pony Stocks lined up for their feature and at the drop of the green, Rich Roberts led the charge, but three quick cautions allowed Brian Beckner to take advantage of the restarts and soon found himself in the lead. Patrick Denison and Wayne Beckner Jr. gave chase. B. Beckner had to pick his way through heavy traffic, allowing Denison and Beckner Jr. to reel him in, while Mike Dailey and Jake Thompson closed in on the second- and third-place cars. When the smoke cleared after and altercation on lap 23, it was clear that B. Beckner’s night was over, thus handing the lead over to Denison. On the restart, Todd Metz Jr. drove around Thompson and Dailey into third, while Beckner Jr. saved a little something for Denison, diving under Denison, beating him to the checker with a last lap pass for the win. Metz Jr., Edson Rowley III and Dailey rounded out the top five. Rowley was awarded the Sunday Slugfest Boss Snow Equipment Pony Stock Championship.
Twenty-seven Spartan Pure Stocks were unleashed for their 25-lap feature and the competition was fast and furious, with Spartan’s very own Josh Sevenski taking the lead at the green, with Adam Rowe, Kyle Drake and Spencer Drake in hot pursuit. Lonnie Saumier made short work of the twelve cars between himself and Sevenski, taking over the lead, while Nick Lechota challenged Sevenski for second. Nick Johnston and Chad Lamson worked their way to the front, as Lechota took over the second spot and Lamson went to work on Sevenski for third. Lamson got around both Sevenski and Lechota but didn’t have enough to reel in Saumier. Saumier took the win over Lamson, Lechota, Johnston and Sevenski and was crowned 2009 Sunday Slugfest Spartan Pure Stock Champ.
Twenty-one Andrew’s Chevrolet Super Late Models timed in for their 100-lap feature, with Muskegon’s Dave Stehouwer looking to be the one to beat. Stehouwer jumped out to the early lead with Chad Finley and Chris Hettinger trying to keep him in the crosshairs. Finley reeled him in, while Kurt Spalding and Evan Barrett made their move to the front. It was a battle royale between Spalding and Barrett, with Barrett eventually taking the spot away, but Spalding never gave up, allowing Phil and Andy Bozell and Phil Massuch to set their sights on Stehouwer. Finley tried the low side of Stehouwer with twenty laps to go, got all kinds of loose, opening the door for A. Bozell and Massuch to tack onto Stehouwer’s rear bumper. After a trip to the pit and having to tack onto the rear of the field on lap 40, Jack Landis was looking at Bozell’s back bumper in the fourth position. Landis jumped to the high side and simply drove around the competition on the outside and took the lead from Stehouwer with three laps remaining and went on to win with Massuch, Finley and A. Bozell rounding out the top five.
Twenty-four Valvoline Instant Oil Change Modifieds tested their mettle on the tight ¼-mile bullring, with Joseph Morisette, Nyle Weiler, Megan Carpenter and Nate Moon all having to race their way into the 50-lap feature. Chris Stearns jumped behind the wheel of a Mod, leading the first eight laps until 2009 champion, Leroy Ellis, drove under him and into the lead. John Mamula and Wayne Haughton were duking it out for third, with Haughton taking the spot away. Haughton was able to get around Stearns for second while fast-qualifier, Tom Hernly Jr. continued his march to the front. Larry Wallace sat just outside of the top five at the halfway point when caution waved. On the restart, Wallace went to work on Mamula for fifth, took the spot away, and also made the pass on Stearns for fourth. Haughton and Hernly were battling for position with Haughton able to hold off Hernly. Wallace over-powered Hernly to sit in third but ran out of laps to run down Haughton for second. At the checkers, it was Ellis, Haughton, Wallace, Hernly and Stearns.
Thirty Performance Automotive NW Sportsmans were in competition as the competition director and general manager opened up the rules allowing the division to grow for the Sunday special. After struggling all season with low car counts, it was a pleasant surprise that there was the need to run both an A- and B-Main, as Sportsman after Sportsman timed in earlier in the day. Rick McMullen took the early lead when the green flag waved on the A-Main, with Jim Russell and Don Riley running second and third. Jimmy Scavarda jumped to the high side, opening up the bottom for Mike Ammerman to begin his trek to the front. Ammerman made short work of the competition, taking away the top spot, as Todd Foote and Phil Bozell worked their way to the front behind Ammerman. As laps wound down, Bozell made his way around Foote and Robbie Johnston picked off Andy Bozell to sit in the top five. At the line, it was Ammerman, P. Bozell, Foote, Scavarda, and Johnston. Johnston took home 2009 Sunday Slugfest Champion honors for the division. The B-Main was wild and wooly, as Jimmy Novak led the charge over Randy Foley and Jim Miller. Miller took over the lead with Ben Hidy poised to strike by the halfway point. Hidy took the lead with lots of pressure from Miller, but Hidy prevailed. Tony Basalone, Novak and Steve Oberst rounded out the top five behind Hidy and Miller.
Todd Metz Jr. took the Pony Stock Figure 8 win over Trent Jenson, Rich Roberts, Patrick Denison, and Todd Metz Sr., but Edson Rowley III earned the title of Sunday Slugfest Pony Stock Figure 8 champion. In the Pure Stock Figure 8 competition, Chad Lamson once again out-ran the competition to take the Sunday Slugfest Pure Stock Figure 8 championship. Lamson took the win over Andrew Burton, Joe O’Leary, Jerry Persails Jr., and Jordan Lechota.
One last fling remains before the 2009 season ends at the Spartan Speedway when the ever-popular School Bus Figure 8’s return on “Fun Night”, Friday, Sept.11th. All the rules fly out the window for the Mods, Sportsmans, Pure Stocks and Pony Stocks. Also slated to run are Figure 8 Trailer races, with the possible addition of other wacky events if enough cars show up to participate. Special pricing will apply for this show. Please join us as we close out another season of racing at the “Track the Stars Call Home,” the Spartan Speedway. As always, we’ll see you at the races!
