Ohio's Fun Place to Race!!
2024 Race Season |
 | June 18, 2016 |
 It was one of the fan favorite nights of the year, Kuester Implement Autograph Night at "Thunder In The Valley". Three first time winner's pulled into Victory Lane after another good night of racing. Sixty car and truck combinations were pit side and it was 86 degrees and sunny at race time.
The first feature to take to the Speedway was the JD Byrider Street Stock's for their 20 lap event. Curtis Collins in the #66 and the #11 of TJ Barker brought the field to green. Barker rocketed out front, but that was not the place to be. In spectator drag action at intermission, one of the cars blew a radiator hose that made a mess in turns 3 and 4 on the bottom lane. Track crews worked feverishly to clean it up and the the cars were ran through the area to test it out, everything appeared to be good to go. Unfortunately, the leader is always the first to test out track conditions and that was Barker. He got in to turn 3 and it looked like the car was on a sheet of ice. Barker tried to save it, but there wasn't much he could do. Larry Smith in the #44 clipped Barker, taking the nose off, cutting a radiator hose and later they found out it tweaked the frame. Just a bad deal for Barker who has been close to breaking into the winner's circle himself, will continue his quest not just for a victory, but for some luck. Smith was able to continue and would start on the outside of the front row for the restart. After using a couple different products in another attempt to clean up the black ice in turns 3 and 4, the track crews finally got the mess under control. Smith would jump out front with Josh Moss in the #77 and Gabe Pringle in the #7 following. Pringle would take some shots at Moss and Moss took some shots at Smith, but track conditions were still a little sketchy. On lap 13, Pringle looped in turn 4 while trying the outside lane and would bring out another caution after spinning in turn 2 while working his way back up a few laps later. He would eventually find his way back to the front for a third time. Waylon Orr in the #28 worked his way to second and was looking for three trips to victory circle in a row. On the restart, Smith pushed up high in the first turn to keep Orr behind and some contact ensued, that opened the bottom for Moss. The #77 had the lane and the advantage down the back straightaway as the #44 started to move down the track to close the door. As they went into turn three, Smith and Moss made contact, resulting in Smith being sent to the tail. Orr would lose a left rear tire after the contact with Smith in turn one, ending his bid for the 3-pete. That put the #21 of Sophmore Colton Ritchey and the #77b of Bear Schwartz in second and third with Pringle back up to fourth. With a five lap shootout left to decide who would take the win, Moss would have the advantage on the restart. Pringle would work his way around Ritchey, but would run out of time. Picking up his first career feature victory was the New Cumberland OH driver in the Peterman Plumbing, BCS, Buckey Mowing, Jim Romig Excavating, Somerdale Inn, Lindentree, Classic Car Creations, RG Smith Company, Tolloti Pipe, Haas Body Shop and Moonshine Daddy sponsored #77. Rounding out the top 5 was Pringle, Ritchey, Smith and Schwartz. Following post race inspection, Pringle, Ritchey and Orr were disqualified giving Smith second, Schwartz third, Collins fourth and Barker fifth.
The Summit Racing Economy Modified's pulled onto the 3/10 mile oval for their 25 lap feature. Shawn Marder in the #25 and Matthew Mills in the #4 started on the front row. Mills was racing with a heavy heart as his Grandfather passed away the day before, but he was racing with a purpose. Mills jumped out front with Braden Swaney in the #27 following. The "Rooster" Brandon Bailey in the #55 would make the move to third on lap three and the #38 of Kevin McClintock would move up to fourth on lap four. The front two would open up a slight gap as Bailey and McClintock battled for 3rd. McClintock was all over the back of that #55 but time and time again, Bailey held on to the position. Swaney settled in right in the tire tracks of Mills, both not putting a wheel wrong. Would Swaney make a move? When would he make the move? Does he have enough? Is Mills too strong? Will a caution come out? Those questions would all be answered on lap 19. The caution waved as Mills, who was driving his heart out, ran 2 consecutive laps under his qualifying time, sending him to the tail of the field. That put Swaney and Bailey on the front row, both looking for their first career Modified win. Swaney would blast out to the lead and let Bailey battle again with McClintock. Swaney would pull away and take home his first career win after a couple Compact Championships and many feature wins. He said in Victory lane, those don't even compare. Following the Tusky OH driver in the Full Force Tae Kwon-Do, Isagenix, My Museum Tattoo, Schneider Home Improvement, JDS Mowing, Schwartz Trucking, Gribble Fabrication and Boulevard Lanes sponsored #27 was Bailey, McClintock, Lee McCreery and Bryce Allensworth.
The Canton Auto Salvage Compact's were up next for their 20 lap feature and they would run green to checkered, caution free. Clayton Oliver in the #19 and Cody Shields in the #92 would bring the field down for the start. Oliver, who had a miss in his engine all throughout the evening, would get the advantage into turn one. The miss did affected his lap times a little bit, but not drastically. The #16 of Mike McDonald and the #27 of Britt Vanmeter quickly raced to second and third. Vanmeter was looking for 3 feature wins in a row. Blaine Salsberry in the #4 moved up to fourth after starting sixth on lap 3. Vanmeter would take over the top spot on lap 5 and fastest qualifier and new track record holder Gage Jaberg in the #21 moved up to 3rd behind Salsberry. Salsberry would swing to the high side and start to work over Vanmeter with Jaberg looking on. Salsberry was able to wrestle the top spot away on lap 11 and would start to pull away. Jaberg and Vanmeter would trade the second spot several times in traffic but that allowed Salsberry to check out. Following the Uhrichsville OH driver in the Take 2, Buckey Mowing, Rt. 39 Auto Salvage and Dairy Queen of Uhrichsville sponsored #4 to the line was Vanmeter, Jaberg, McDonald and Oliver.
The McIntosh Oil Company Late Model 30 lap feature had the #17 of Bob Schneider Jr and the #4 of Matthew Mills bringing the field down for Chief Starter Terry Colletti's green flag. Mills would do just as he did in the Modified, Rocket out to the lead. The first caution waved on lap 2 as the #22 of Todd Ripley got into the back of Schneider, sending him around. Ripley showed great sportsmanship by admitting fault, but Schneider had to go pit side to repair some cosmetic damage, so both would go to the tail. That put the #1 of Bryant Smith on the outside of Mills for the restart. Those two would battle hard for a couple laps until Bryant prevailed in the outside lane. Just as Bryant was able to move down to the bottom lane, Mills got into the back of him, spinning him in turn four. Mills was sent to the tail and that put Bryant's brother Bubba to his outside for the restart. Over the last 3 years or so, Bubba has been tagged with the nickname "Mr Restart". Bubba would live up to that name once again. The #12 scooted out front and started to put distance between himself and Bryant rather quickly. Just after the halfway point, Bryant appeared as if he was starting to reel back in the leader. I'm not sure if his car was better on the long run or if Bubba was saving his stuff, either way, the lead was down to only a car length. With 10 laps remaining, the next to last caution waved as Larry Baker in the #6 got into the back of Schneider in turn 4. As Baker went high to miss the spinning Schneider, he went right into the path of Ripley. Ripley hit the right front of the #6 and went airborne. Thankfully, the #22 came down on all 4's, but had enough damage that he wasn't able to continue. Bubba would hold off Bryant on the next couple restarts to pick up another victory in 2016. Rounding out the top 5 following the North Canton OH driver in the Finish Line Motor's, Finish Line Design's, Smith's Auto Sales and Freedom Auto Finance sponsored #12 was Bryant, Mills, Schneider and Baker. Bryant had an issue in post race tech (not with the car) and was disqualified, moving Jesse Page into the top 5.
The final feature of the evening was another exciting Finish Line Motor's Mini Truck 12 lapper. Cody Jaberg in the #22 and Keith Anderson in the #32 brought the field down for the start. Jaberg would lead as Joe Linard in the #82 worked his way into second. The first caution waved on lap #4, as Linard was trying to make a pass for the lead in turn one, Jaberg tried to defend the position by pushing the #82 up the track. The two made contact, sending Linard to the infield. Linard looked like he had it saved, but then spun his machine around. Both drivers were sent to the tail, putting Anderson and new track record holder Colt Locker in the #118 to his outside for the restart. Anderson was able to get the lead and then the second and final caution waved as Rich Schweitzer in the #84 lost a rotor and a right front wheel. Last week's make up feature winner showed off the skills by keeping his machine out of the wall and the rest of the field did a good job avoiding him. On the restart, the move of the race was made. Out of nowhere, Jaberg suprised the leaders by dropping his machine to the low side of Anderson and Locker off turn 2. Codeman got deep into turn three and completed the incredible and 3-wide pass for the top spot. Locker would fall into a second place battle with Linard. There was contact several times between the two and that allowed Jaberg to inch away to pick up his first career feature victory. Linard would get around Locker but ran out of time. Following the 3rd generation New Philadelphia OH driver in the T&L Mowing, Rt. 39 Auto Salvage and DFC Racing Carburetors sponsored #22 was Linard, Locker, Alex Striejewske, who made his debut, and Anderson.
Coming up Saturday night June 25th is Adventure Harley Davidson Mid-season Championship Night. It's hard to believe we have reached the halfway point of the 2016 season. Come out and join us for all 5 Regular Divisions as they will be racing for those beautiful Mid-season trophies!!
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McIntosh Oil Company Late Model's
Fast Time: Bubba Smith 13.949
Heat 1: Matthew Mills, Tom Stankiewicz, Larry Baker, Bryant Smith, Bubba Smith, Todd Ripley
Heat 2: Mark Willison, Bob Schneider Jr, Gary Hoopingarner, Jesse Page
Feature: Bubba, Mills, Schneider, Baker, Page Ripley, Bob Eichel, Hoopingarner, Stankiewicz and Willison.
Summit Racing Economy Modified's
Fast Time: Lee McCreery 14.711
Heat 1: Doug McMillen, Lucas Ripley, Brandon Bailey, Bryce Allensworth, Kevin McClintock, McCreery and Swaney.
Heat 2: Bill Westlake, Matthew Mills, Shawn Marder, Cristian Bailey, Laney Striejewske.
Feature: Swaney, Brandon Bailey, McClintock, McCreery, Allensworth, Ripley, Westlake, Mills, McMillen, Cristian Bailey, Marder, Striejewske, Kaufman.
JD Byrider Street Stock's
Fast Time: Colton Ritchey 16.321
Heat: Pringle, Josh Moss, Orr, TJ Barker, Ritchey, Larry Smith, Bear Schwartz
Feature: Moss, Smith, Schwartz, Curtis Collins, Barker, Vanessa McCreery.
Finish Line Motor's Mini Truck's
Fast Time: Colt Locker 16.418 (NTR)
Heat: Rich Schweitzer, Joe Linard, Cody Jaberg, Colt Locker, Keith Anderson, Alex Striejewske
Feature: Jaberg, Linard, Locker, Striejewske, Anderson, Schweitzer.
Canton Auto Salvage Compact's
Fast Time: Gage Jaberg 17.517 (NTR)
Heat 1: Blaine Salsberry, Britt Vanmeter, Clayton Oliver, Mike McDonald, Gage Jaberg, Cody Shields, Kyle Finlayson.
Heat 2: Dan Buckey, Sam Bigham, Brandon France, Korey Herron, Jack Walton, Noah Patterson, Tyler Eichel
Heat 3: James Butts, Bruce Gibson, Tyler Nign, Andrea Bishop, AJ Vasilliu, Kyle Shalosky.
Feature: Salsberry, Vanmeter, Jaberg, McDonald, Oliver, Shields, Finlayson, Bigham, Patterson, Buckey, France, Herron, Eric Kugler, Vasilliu, Butts, Bishop, Walton, Nign.
Spectator Drags: Anthony McClintock
By Chris Kail
Written by: Chris Kail |
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06/18/2016 Race
Late Models Listings |
| Finish Pos. | Driver |
| 1. | Smith, Bubba |
| 2. | Mills, Matt |
| 3. | Schneider Jr, Bob |
| 4. | Baker, Larry |
| 5. | Page, Jesse |
| 6. | Ripley, Todd |
| 7. | Eichel, Bob |
| 8. | Hoopingarner, Gary |
| 9. | Stankiewicz, Tom |
| 10. | Willison, Mark |
| More |
06/18/2016 Race
Economy Modifieds Listings |
| Finish Pos. | Driver |
| 1. | Swaney, Braden |
| 2. | Bailey, Brandon |
| 3. | McClintock, Kevin |
| 4. | McCreery, Lee |
| 5. | Allensworth, Bryce |
| 6. | Ripley, Lucas |
| 7. | Westlake, Bill |
| 8. | Mills, Matt |
| 9. | McMillen, Doug |
| 10. | Bailey, Cristian |
| More |
06/18/2016 Race
Street Stocks Listings |
| Finish Pos. | Driver |
| 1. | Miller, Todd |
| 2. | Pringle, Gabe |
| 3. | Ritchey, Colton |
| 4. | Smith, Larry |
| 5. | Schwartz, Bear |
| 6. | Orr, Waylon |
| 7. | Collins, Curtis |
| 8. | Barker, TJ |
| 9. | McCreery, Vanessa |
| 10. | Grove, Kyle |
| More |
06/18/2016 Race
Mini Truck Listings |
| Finish Pos. | Driver |
| 1. | Jaberg, Cody |
| 2. | Linard, Joe |
| 3. | Locker, Colt |
| 4. | Striejewske, Alex |
| 5. | Nicholas, Dusty |
| 6. | Schweitzer, Rich |
| More |
06/18/2016 Race
Compacts Listings |
| Finish Pos. | Driver |
| 1. | Salsberry, Blaine |
| 2. | Vanmeter, Britt |
| 3. | Jaberg, Gage |
| 4. | McDounld, Mike |
| 5. | Oliver, Clayton |
| 6. | Shields, Cody |
| 7. | Finlayson, Kyle |
| 8. | Bigham, Sam |
| 9. | Patterson, Noah |
| 10. | Buckey, Dan |
| More |
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