I-37 Speedway 8-22-03

[rebelracewriter]

I-37 Speedway 8-22-03

By J M Hallas

Egbert overcomes problems for win

San Antonio, Texas. 17 of the 18 cars started the 20 lap A-main with Tracy Fink and Dale Flannegan on the front row. It didn’t take long for action to heat up, either. Going into turn one it was three wide for the lead between Fink, Flannegan and Bill Pittaway. But before the trio exited turn three Pittaway spun to the edge of the infield while Fink half spun. On the second attempt, Fink again spun as the track that was super fast and tacky during the heats, caught drivers off guard developing slick spots in the middle groove.

 

Third time was a charm as new polesitter Danny Brown grabbed the lead on lap one, with a three wide pack behind. Lap two saw the caution fly again when Bobby Grobe spun, with Wayne Crouse and Joe Barnec getting hooked together. PJ Egbert looked inside Brown on the restart, but fell back in line. Jason Borlace brought out the yellow hankie again when he looped his mount. On the restart Rick Green got sideways and was tagged by both Helms', Mickey and Max to slow the pace again.

 

Egbert again tried inside Brown with the two side by side on lap 3, with Egbert having the nose ahead. Lap 4 saw Nicky Hardcastle spin and collect Pittaway and Grobe, as the Corpus guys gathered in turn four. National Championship contender Henry Witt, sporting his new TrackMaster Chassis got inside Egbert on lap 5 running wheel to wheel until Witt secured the spot on lap 6.

 

Just as the crossed flags were shown for the top five of Witt, Egbert, Hardcastle, Pittaway and Brown, Witt broke the rear end in a shower of sparks and pulled off. Egbert inherited the point and caught a break just he was about to enter heavy traffic, when Barnec rolled to a stop on track for another caution. On the restart Green’s motor expired in a plumb of smoke to bring another slow down. The next restart saw Ma. Helms spin with Barnec getting a piece of him. Just as the green flew again, Borlace rolled to a stop when he broke the distributor.

 

Finally back under green, Egbert jumped out to good lead while Hardcastle and Pittaway slugged it out door to door for second. The top four had pulled way ahead of the three wide battle for fifth between Glen L. Allen, Barnec and Mi. Helms, with two to go, only to have the final yellow fly on lap for a spin by John Talley. Egbert, who broke a couple push rods in the heat race and made repairs, got away on the restart and never looked back. The Rookie of the Year contender scored another win in his Phil Paint & Body/Big Tex Autoplex/E & E Racing/Zip Car Wash/Cooper & Bright Plumbing/Signs by Nate/Graphics by Summer/Excaliber Chassis.

 

1 PJ Egbert

2 Nicky Hardcastle

3 Bill Pittaway

4 Bobby Grobe

5 Glen L Allen

6 Joe Barnec

7 Wayne Crouse

8 John Talley

9 Mickey Helms

10 Max Helms

11 Dale Flannegan

12 Jason Borlace

13 Rick Green

14 Henry Witt

15 Danny Brown

16 Glen Allen

17 Tracy Fink

Jamie Campbell--DNS

In heat race action, Witt got the jump in heat 1 and pulled out to big lead. Hardcastle slowly reeled in Witt but broke with two to go, giving Witt the win over Mi. Helms, Barnec and Campbell. Fink lead early in heat two, with a good three car battle between Egbert, Green and Flannegan. Egbert closed on Fink and got the point on lap four. Green quickly caught Egbert on the final lap. But Egbert, on seven cylinders held off Green, Fink and Flannegan for the win. The third heat saw Pittaway run off the big lead over Borlace. Borlace mistook the white flag for the checkers and pulled off on the last lap. Pittaway grabbed top honors over Talley, Brown and G. Allen.

 

 

 

Post Race Tech Spoils Win

The Hot Stock main was paced to green by Justin Henley and Robert Gavlik. The 16 year old, Henley quickly ran out to a big advantage until he broke on lap 5. Randy Miller took over the point on lap 6, with Carl Dyer on his heels. The two ran side by side by side with Dyer grabbing the top spot on lap 7. Dyer got away to good advantage after a late restart, while Gary Hunter and Abe Mares jr swapped third. Dyer went on to get the victory until post race tech, when he and third place finisher Hunter both failed. Mares jr declined the teardown, citing cost to replace gaskets vs payout. ***Note; track parts supplier Gary Swenson offered to pay for replacements if cars passed tech.

 

Hot Stock

1 Randy Miller

2 Robert Gavlik

3 Justin Henley

4 Ray Boubel

5 David Rydl

6 Howie Marcx

Carl Dyer---DQ'ed, failed tech, originally first

Gary Hunter---DQ'ed, failed tech, originally third

Abe Mares jr---DQ'ed, refused to tear down, originally fourth

 

Rookie Scores First Ever Win

Dubba Hawkins and David Ortiz led the 15 car Pure Stock main to the green, with Ortiz getting the early lead. Steven Whitaker got around Ortiz on lap 3 and ran away from the field. Whitaker had built a full straightaway lead by halfway only to have the motor go up in smoke. Darin Leonard inherited the lead on the restart, but got loose and went through the infield. This gave the lead to Claud Jordan, in his first race of the year, on lap 15.

Ingram native Jordan, who ran five races in 2002 and had just finished rebuilding the car, held off Leonard the final five laps to put his Bennett Jordan Ditching & Septic/Jerry Stephens Cedar Yard/Paynes Paving & Excavating/The Shop/Chevelle in victory lane for his very first win.

 

Pure Stock

1 Claud Jordan---1st win ever

2 Darin Leonard

3 Dennis Hilla

4 Lawrence Hilla

5 Joe Horne

6 Steven Whitaker--blew up while leading

7 Jason Schaub

8 David Ortiz

9 Jeremy Marquez

10 Todd Robinson

11 Gary Rollf

12 Johnny Torres

13 Billy Kinneman

14 Anthony Malhurin

15 Sean Terry

16 Dubba Hawkins

Randy Borlace---DNS

***Top four all passed tech***