San Antonio Speedway

[GoGirl]

It was Texas Dodge Dealers' Night at San Antonio Speedway this past Saturday AND not only did Charlie Henley, Keith Garrett, Robert Barker and Kelly Earnhardt grab life by the horns...they also grabbed the checkered flag in their feature event.

 

Kicking off the action was the NASCAR Road Runner division. Eight cars were on tap to go 15 laps with Ken Jones starting on the pole followed by Irish O'Leary, Charlie Henley, Randy Frautschi and Mark Mathias. Henley quickly moved into the lead when the green flag was displayed. Lap 2 saw the caution flag being thrown into the wind, as contact between O'Leary and Mathias sent the latter spinning out. On the restart, Henley took off with a very fast Frautschi super-glued to his back bumper. Five laps later, O'Leary once again found himself on the receiving end of the yellow flag, as he was trying to pass Richard Curtis on the high-side, and spun out. Mathias raced his way back through traffic and was running in the third position when JR Eichelberger spun out with five laps remaining. The No. 1 position was being hotly contested between Henley, Frautschi and Mathias. On the second to the last lap, Mathias' hopes for a win ended in a spin. Henley was able to hold off Frautschi and capture his first 2005 feature win. Finishing in the third position was Curtis followed by Eichelberger and Jones.

 

Thirteen NASCAR Sportsman drivers tweaked, tinkered and tuned on their racecars all week long...AND now it was time for them to hit the road for 25 laps of racing excitement. Lap 1 resembled 5:00 o'clock rush hour with the cars lined up nose-to-tail, door-to-door AND all of them in a hurry. Eric Knudtson kissed the outside retaining wall between Turns 3 & 4 after contact with Tom Casey. On the restart, Justin Oates and Tater Mason touched, and David Schooman spun to avoid them. All of the drivers involved in both of these incidents were able to make repairs and rejoin the field. The third start was the charm, as Keith Garrett jumped into the lead with Greg Rohmer and Steven Ramzinski falling in line behind him. It became obvious on Lap 4 that Knudtson didn't get stuck in any traffic, as he was already in the fourth spot. Just past the halfway marker, a roadblock was set-up just off Turn 2...it was the spun out car of Ramzinski, and when Casey rounded the corner, he was unable to dodge him. Both drivers were okay, but the same could not be said for their cars. At this point Garrett, Rohmer and Knudtson were running 1-2-3. With three laps remaining, not only did Mason see the yellow flag fly when he and Garfield Shanklin touched...he saw the black flag too. When racing resumed, the wheels in Garrett's head must have been turning 1,000 mph as he was able to shut the door on Rohmer and snare his very first feature win ever! Knudtson, Oates and Shanklin were next to cross the stripe. Unfortunately, Knudtson was disqualified during post-race inspection due to an illegal clutch (underweight).

 

Twelve NASCAR Late Models exploded onto the track for their 40-lap feature event. James Cole set fast time during qualifying with a lap clocked at 19.91 seconds. Joe Aramendia and Danny Garcia started on the front row, however, a first lap tangle would send both drivers to the back of the pack, and Doug Forrest very hard into the wall between Turns 1 & 2. This moved the points' leader Robert Barker and Cole up to Row 1. When the green flag came out again, Barker bolted into the lead with Cole and Larry Bendele in tow. Throughout the entire race, Bendele was all over Cole and then some. The fans loved every lap of it...and so did Barker, as he watched his lead increase. With six laps remaining, the yellow flag emerged when Scott Jerkins spun out in Turn 4. No one could touch Barker, and on Lap 40 he parked his #17 racer in victory circle. Chasing him to the checkers were Cole, Bendele, Donny Horelka and Aramendia.

 

Three ladies competed in the NASCAR Women on Wheels feature event. Kelly Earnhardt started on the pole and cruised to an easy victory over Missy Jones and Mona Turner.

 

Congratulations to all of the winners!