DeGRAFF – Shady Bowl Speedway honored the memory of its most popular driver and his son Saturday night.
The annual Neal Sceva Memorial unfortunately now has another name added on it since Neal’s oldest son, Neal Jr., passed away this spring after a lengthy illness. The event featured the Wooten Automotive and Towing of Urbana Street Stocks.
The race turned out to be a marathon slowed by yellow flags. It took three complete restarts to get the second lap completed. A full field of 20 cars took the green with Don Mahaffey Jr. leading lap one. Josh Sage took the lead on lap two and through lap nine when mechanical woes sent him to the pits. Buck Purtee then led the parade for 13 laps, with Jason Mahaffey being credited with leading lap 20.
Purtee and Mahaffey were racing hard when they made contact on the back chute. The ensuing melee sent both to the pits ending Purtee’s night. Mahaffey was able to make quick repairs and return to start at the rear of the field.
On the restart, “Chargin” Chris Parker took the lead. Parker, who set quick time (14.648), led the final 26 counters to notch the win is his Pro Tow Chevy. Parker survived a trip to the pits and a restart from the rear of the field. The win made for a huge pay day for the Bellefontaine driver as he won the $2,051 first place money. In addition, Dave and Becky Sceva added a Mac Tools toolbox, an aluminum racing jack and a trophy that Neal Sr. had won during his stellar career.
The prize money, toolbox and jack brought Parker’s win total to well over $12,000. The results will not be official pending a tire evaluation, with results in by late week. Parker could not have run another lap as the rear gear broke when he stopped to get his checkered flag. Three second generation drivers ran second through fourth, with Chad Small II second, Jake Heckman third and Jason Mahaffey fourth. Rookie Tyler Parker turned in his best showing of the season, winning a heat and finishing fifth in the feature. Mahaffey carried the dash checkered with Heckman winning the first heat.
In Wooten Automotive and Towing of St. Paris Modified action, the ageless veteran Terry Humphrey led the first 10 laps before getting in a tangle with another car putting him on the tail. Bellefontaine’s Logan McPherson took the lead on the restart. He never looked back as he led the rest of the way in his family-owned racer to enjoy victory lane photos. Brad Yelton, Daniel McPherson, Greg Winget and Hayden Wren rounded out the top five. Kyle Purvis set quick time with a 13.645 lap. Parker won the four-lap dash, with Mike Carroll and Jason Kidd posting heat wins.
The Bullet Liners of Dayton Thunder Cars were up next. Tim Hines led the first eight laps of the main before being sent to the tail for breaking out. On the restart it was a familiar story with Quincy’s Buck Purtee taking over the lead in his Fat Boys Chevy. Purtee, who was fast qualifier (15.414), went on to take the win. Brad Blue, Robert Roush, Tim Hines and Landen Jones finished second through fifth. Blue won the four-lap dash, with Hunter Hicks winning the heat race.
Twenty-four cars started the Harrod Septic Solutions Compact feature. Tony Heath led the pack under starter Charlie Gifford’s green flag. Heath led the first nine laps before Bobby Terry motored by. Terry led the rest of the way to post an apparent win. But like the old Wide World of Sports clips “from the thrill of victory, to the agony of defeat,” Terry was disqualified after failing a post-race inspection. Jimmy Devuono of Columbus was awarded the win. It was the first win in four years for the Devuono Body Shop-sponsored Cavalier. Jimmy McElfresh was second, dash winner Tyler Mahaffey was third, Devin Glessner fourth and fast qualifier Michael Litchfield (16.655) fifth. Terry and Kolton Morgan won heat races. Jake Kohler took the “B” main.
The 100-lap K.O.E. Enduro was won by David Lockhart. Scottie Marquis, Gary Snyder Jr., Seth Ragar and Gary Snyder III filled out the top five. Apparent winner Jordan Gustin was disqualified.
This Saturday will be “Kids Night,” a night of fun for the young fans with Big wheel races and more. Dave Nagel Excavating LLC Late Models, Wooten Automotive and Towing of St. Paris Modifieds, Wooten Automotive of Urbana Street Stocks, Harrod Septic Solutions Compacts, Bullet Liners of Dayton Thunder Cars, Frazier/Parsons Designs FOMOCO Cruisers and M.A.C.K.S. Karts will be competing. Racing will start with dashes and heats at 5:30 p.m. The Big Wheel Race and penny and candy scramble should start around 7:30 p.m.
