San Antonio Speedway

[GoGirl]

Who had the fastest hot rod in Hazzard...ooops rather San Antonio Speedway this past Saturday night? HINT: It was not Bo or Luke Duke in their #01 Dodge Charger named "The General Lee." The correct answers were Robert Barker, David Schooman, Mark Mathias and Mona Turner. Each of these good ol' boys and girl "duked" it out with their competitors AND prevailed in their feature event.

 

Nine NASCAR Late Model drivers were lined up on the front straightaway, and standing by the right front fender of their racers for out-of-car introductions. In 40 laps, one of these drivers would be standing somewhere else...AND that somewhere else would be victory circle! Sitting on the pole was Donny Horelka followed by Mark Ackerman, Mike Reininger, Robert Barker and Joe Aramendia. James Cole set fast time during qualifying with a lap clocked in at 19.93 seconds, and he would start in the sixth position. When the green flag was displayed, Horelka hopped into the lead in Turn 2. Three laps later, Ackerman motored past Horelka to take a turn at the point. Not to be outdone by Horelka or Ackerman, Barker blasted to the head of the pack on Lap 11. That's when the yellow flag flew for an incident involving Aramendia, Horelka, Cole and Michael Lampton. The front end of Cole's car sustained the most damage, and he hit the pits for repairs. All were able to continue from the rear of the field. Ackerman was placed back in front with Barker inhaling his fumes. Barker wasted little time assuming the lead when green flag conditions returned. Shortly thereafter, the action came to a screeching halt when Ackerman, Scott Jerkins and Reininger were involved in a tangle coming off Turn 2. Aramendia, Cole and Horelka quickly moved into positions 2 - 4 on the restart behind Barker. With 8 laps remaining, the final caution flag flew when the bumpers of Horelka and Cole touched, and Cole went for a spin. As the laps wound down, Aramendia really wanted to win, but Barker put his (right) foot down, and claimed his seventh victory of the season. Finishing in the third position was Horelka followed by Brian Moczygemba and Lampton.

 

With ten NASCAR Sportsman drivers buckled in and ready to go 25 laps...anything can and usually does happen. Paired together on the front row were Robert Mayberry and Keith Garrett followed by Jamie Evans and Mark Rahn. Mayberry held the No. 1 position until Garrett zipped past him on Lap 6. Meanwhile, Greg Rohmer and Eric Knudtson had "sliced and diced" their way through traffic, and found themselves right behind Garrett. On Lap 10, Rohmer strutted his stuff into the lead. Knudtson then began to apply pressure on Garrett, but Garrett stood firm and held on to his second spot. With a handful of laps remaining, Rahn spun and brought out the yellow flag. Disaster was about to strike, but no one knew it yet. With two laps to go, second place was not an option for Rohmer or Garrett. They were door-to-door, when they touched and spun out between Turns 3 & 4. That left the rest of the field scrambling for an escape route, and most didn't find one. Somehow, David Schooman snuck through the carnage unscathed. Garrett and Knudtson suffered race-ending damage. Rohmer's pit crew made repairs and he rejoined the field. Schooman went on to claim his very first feature win! Chasing him to the checkered flag were Garfield Shanklin, Rohmer, Mayberry and Evans.

 

The drivers in the NASCAR Road Runner division should be commended for going the distance from green flag to checkers without any cautions. Ken Jones took the initial lead, but quickly lost it when he literally came between Mark Mathias and Richard Curtis. Mathias took the advantage on Lap 2 and never looked back. Crossing the stripe behind Mathias were Curtis, JR Eichelberger, Randy Frautschi and Jones.

 

Mona Turner continued her domination in the NASCAR Women on Wheels division, as she triumphed over Missy Jones in their 6-lap feature event.

 

Following the races, everyone was invited to a Pit Party, that included a special appearance by the Dukes of Hazzard General Lee tour.