San Antonio Speedway September 11 Race Recap

[GoGirl]

This past Saturday night was Public Safety Night at San Antonio Speedway. Fortunately, for all of our drivers, the law enforcement officers in attendance were not armed with their radar guns. Therefore, not any traffic citations were issued for racing, speeding or excessive noise. Greg Rohmer, Tater Mason, Robert Barker and Kelly Earnhardt were all involved in high speed chases and each emerged with a BIG victory!

 

Ten cars were on tap for the Road Runner feature event. AND if you had to pick one guy out of the line-up, who looked guilty of exceeding the speed limit, Greg Rohmer would be that person. Starting in the fourth position, it didn't take but 4 laps for Rohmer to push the pedal to the metal and pass Jason Kelly for the lead with Frank Torres, Randy Frautschi and Larry Jackson falling in place behind them. With just 2 laps remaining, the yellow flag flew for the spun out cars of Jackson in Turn 2 and Roy Bernal in Turn 4. When the checkered flag dropped, it was Greg Rohmer getting his mug shot taken in victory circle. Kelly, Bernal, Jackson and Kelly Earnhardt filled out the top five finishing positions. Frank Torres was disqualified (vacuum test not legal).

 

The next class of cars dispatched out onto the track for their feature event were the Sportsman. Clearly, these drivers carry two forms of ID....their driver's license and their license to thrill. Taking off faster than a speeding bullet was Tater Mason. By Lap 4, the usual cast of suspects were running in the top four positions - Mason, Eric Knudtson, Justin Oates and Tom Casey. At times, these racers were so close, they could have frisked each other. Unfortunately for Knudtson, two spins took him out of the mix. All the evidence piling up pointed to a thrilling finish. The last lap saw Mason and Oates side-by-side, aimed straight for Turn 1 and John Casey's racer. Mason dipped low below Casey and Oates took the high groove. When the race was over, there was no need to dust for fingerprints, Tater Mason's were all over the checkered flag. Oates, Frank Johnson, Casey and Scott Jerkins were the next contenders to cross the finish line.

 

You have the right to remain silent....WRONG! Nine late model engines fired up and were ready to make some NOISE! Robert Barker was on the pole followed by Danny Garcia, Mike Balzer, Larry Bendele and Jesse Salazar. When the green flag waved, Barker blasted into the lead. On Lap 8, it didn't take a long, drawn out investigation to figure out what brought out the red flag. When Jason Smith took a peek to the inside of Garcia, the two touched and before you knew it, Bendele and James Cole were also at the scene of the crime. When green flag racing returned, Cole was somewhere he did not want to be....in the pits and losing laps. The other drivers made repairs and returned to racing action. Barker was still showing the way and running in the second spot was Jason Oates who was making his first appearance of the year in the late model class. Two things happened at the halfway marker, the caution lights lit up for the spun out car of Brian Moczygemba and Cole returned after lengthy repairs. As the laps wound down, an All Points Bulletin (APB) was issued for Robert Barker. On Lap #40, he was FINALLY found....in winner's circle. Oates hung on to a very loose racecar to finish in the second spot. Balzer, Salazar and Garcia were next to cross the stripe. Bendele finished the night steamed in the pits with radiator problems. Smith experienced mechanical problems which put him 1 lap down.

 

The girl on-the-go in the WOW (Women On Wheels) feature event was Kelly Earnhardt.

 

Congratulations to all of our winners!

[abrungot]

AWESOME WRITE UP!!!

[REBELRACER]

have the points been updated yet...............

[debwill]

Although the official points have not been released yet, my unofficial calculations for the Late Models are really close, as follows:

 

1. Jason Smith - 806

2. James Cole - 800

3. Jesse Salazar - 799

4. Larry Bendele - 798

5. Danny Garcia - 797

 

As you can see, the top five drivers are only separated by nine points! I think this next Saturday night promises to be a very interesting "race to the championship" by the Late Models.

 

I think the top five Sportsman remain the same, as follows: 1. Justin Oates, 2. Eric Knudtson, 3. Tom Casey, 4. Tater Mason, and 5. Craig Crawley.

 

The Road Runners had a switch in the points' race, I think. Greg Rohmer still remains in first, but Randy Frautschi is now in second, followed by Irish O'Leary.