San Antonio Speedway

[GoGirl]

School may be out (or almost out), however, at San Antonio Speedway it was back to the basics: A...B...and C. "A" was for a big ANNOUNCEMENT. "B" was for a BOUNTY placed on Robert Barker's head. And "C" was for CRAFTSMAN night at the races.

 

Five ladies thundered onto the track for their 8 lap NASCAR Women on Wheels (WOW) feature event. Kelly Earnhardt took off at the drop of the green flag with Carolyn Aramendia in hot pursuit. On Lap 3, Mona Turner spun out. This spelled D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R for the top two ladies. Somehow Earnhardt got turned around in Turn 2, and left Aramendia nowhere to go. This incident put both drivers behind the wall. Stacy Votion inherited the lead and went on to win. Turner and Melanie McDonald were the next contenders to cross the finish line.

 

The NASCAR Road Runners were revved up for their 15 lap feature event. Michael Odom and Richard Curtis were paired together on the front row followed by J.R. Eichelberger and Mark Mathias. Lance Gaither, who started in the fifth position, emerged with the lead on the first lap. Gaither's racecar looked very stout...until Lap 9. That's when his engine let go and he spun out. This left the rest of the field in a heap of trouble, as the track became a virtual roadblock. Damaged beyond repair were the cars of Eichelberger, Leland Frautschi and Randy Frautschi. J.D. Votion inherited the lead, but not for long as Mathias was able to soar past him on the restart. There was a quick yellow flag waved when Votion, George Reyes and Odom spun. As the laps wound down, no one could catch Mathias. Votion hung on for second place followed by Reyes and Odom. Curtis ended his night in the pits following two solo spins.

 

The always entertaining NASCAR Sportsman had eleven cars on tap for their 25 lap feature event. Robert Mayberry sat on the pole. When the green flag waved, Mayberry jumped into the lead with Charlie Earnhardt and Tater Mason in tow. On Lap 6, there was a huge melee in Turn 2. Earnhardt got sideways and Mason, Eric Knudtson and Keith Garrett could not steer clear of him. This pile-up eliminated Mason and Garrett. Knudtson's crew made repairs and sent him back on the track. On the restart, Greg Rohmer motored past Mayberry for the top spot. Three laps later, David Schooman spun out and collected Earnhardt. At this point, Rohmer was still showing the way with Mayberry and Evans lined up behind him. The yellow flag put in one last appearance with nine laps remaining. Earnhardt spun in power steering fluid left behind by Mark Rahn's racer. When the race concluded, Rohmer dodged all obstacles and captured his second victory of the season. Evans was the runner-up followed by Mayberry, Earnhardt and Shanklin.

 

USRA President and track manager, Terry Dickerson, announced that if Robert Barker won the NASCAR Late Model feature race, a $250.00 bounty would be placed on his head. Dickerson didn't stop his wheeling and dealing with that statement. If Barker would start at the back of the pack and win, not only would he be rolling in the May Madness dough ($1,000.00), Dickerson would pay him an additional $500.00. Barker accepted this challenge. It was a rocky start for pole-sitter, Michael Lampton, when he spun on the first lap. This put Brian Moczygemba and Todd Farris on the front row followed by Justin Oates and Joe Aramendia. Moczygemba and Farris were side-by-side most of the first lap with Farris taking the spot. It was a family affair yellow flag on Lap 4 when Aramendia attempted to pass his nephew (Moczygemba) for the second position. The two touched and went for a spin along with Oates. Farris and Donny Horelka were running 1-2, but already lurking in the third position was Barker. One short lap later, Barker blasted into the lead. Farris' great run came to end on Lap 8 when he ran out of racetrack coming off Turn 2 and spun into the inside retaining wall. The remainder of the race was clean and green. Speaking of green, on Lap 40, Barker won plenty of it...$1,500.00 to be exact. With this win, the bounty is in force. The next contenders to pass under the checkered flag were Horelka, Aramendia, Oates and Mark Ackerman.

 

A big announcement was made during intermission stating that the Texas Asphalt Modified Series (TAMS) had been purchased by the United States Racing Association (USRA).

[j.j.&s.racing]

good for barker, he found something during the offseason.

[Keith Garrett]

it was definatly a full moon night this weekend at least for me anyway , lol

[NickHolt]

good for barker, he found something during the offseason.

Yep. He sure did. He found out that all those years of trial and error, working your butt off with little financial support, learning something new every race, keeping accurate records, keeping your focus and gaining years of seat time pay off eventually.

 

His suspension set up is really pretty conventional, but it's tuned to perfection. His turn 3-4 corner times at 0.2 - 0.3 seconds quicker than the competition that he faced this past weekend.

 

Keep up the great work Robert and team.

 

Nick Holt