DeGRAFF – Shady Bowl Speedway hosted the third leg of the Ohio 300 late model series Saturday night.
A full field of 22 Dave Nagel Excavating LLC late models took the green flag. It took several restarts to get the race going, as the drivers seemed to think the race paid $3,000 to win on lap two, not lap 75. Chad Pendleton led the first lap before giving way to Mike Stacy.
Stacy led until lap nine when a yellow flew for Tyler Marsh’s crash on the front chute. On the restart Stacy once again took command, only to have the red flag come out for a back chute crash. Kenny George spun leaving Jamie Sites nowhere to go and he t-boned the George car. There were no injuries, but Sites’ Russ Bobb owned ride suffered major damage. The green came back out on lap seven and signaled Stacy’s last lap out front. Quincy’s Josh “The Dominator” Smith took over the point in his Harpe Racing Camaro. Smith was never challenged the rest of the way, as he clearly had the field covered. Second-place finisher Jim Lewis Jr. could only watch as Smith took his second Ohio 300 win. In victory lane Josh thanked his father for building his cars and keeping them prepared every week. Once again, he won in the oldest car of all the ones the team owns. It has been dubbed the Smithasarus. Matt Parsons, was third, Scott Drake fourth and Billy Hutson fifth. Don Mahaffey Jr. was qualifier with a time of 13.727. Parsons was the dash winner, with Jason Mahaffey, Tyler Marsh and Sites winning heats. The fourth and final race of the series is Aug. 26th at Kil-Kare Speedway in Xenia. That race will pay $5,000 to win and the overall champion will be crowned.
The Wooten Automotive and Towing of Urbana Street Stocks took to the asphalt for their 25-lap feature. Jacob Heckman was leading as they completed lap number one. Fast qualifier Jason Mahaffey (14.759) took over the point in his Adams Automotive Monte Carlo. The race was all but over at that point as Mahaffey opened up a large lead that he never gave up all the way to the checkered. Chris Parker, Jacob Heckman, Buck Purtee and dash winner Jamie Sites filled out the top five spots. Brad Blue carried the checkered for the heat win.
The Bullet Liners of Dayton Thunder Cars hit the speedway next for their 20-lap feature. Corey Wooten led the first six laps, but you could tell he had missed the set up as the car was a handful to drive. In previous weeks the car looked to be on a rail. He was able to lead for six laps before Xenia’s Scott Drake motored by. Drake went on to post his first win of the season in his Jim’s Body Shop Monte Carlo. Fast qualifier (15.450) Buck Purtee was second, with Brandon Helton third, Brad Blue fourth and Landen Jones fifth.
The Harrod Septic Solutions Compacts saw 20 cars qualify. There were more cars on hand, but they lost their chance to qualify when they failed a pre-race inspection, leaving them in the “B” main. The 25-lap feature went green with Nick Hall leading the pack. The action in the pack was crazy as always with paint, feelings and dents exchanged every lap. Hall led until lap 14 when Jimmy McElfresh became top dog. McElfresh opened a lead and cruised to the win in his Chuck “Six Pack” Hoepker Sunbird. The Columbus driver also set fast time (16.935). Finishing second through fifth were Jeramiah English, Devin Glessner, Aaron McDole and Chase Lang. Kevin Baggett was the winner of the four-lap dash, with Chris Hensley and Chase Lang taking heat checkereds. Steve Duty claimed the top spot in the “B” main.
This Saturday night, Shady Bowl will host the annual Blackford’s 55 for the Dave Nagel Excavating Late Models. The event honors the father-son team of Buster and Bussie Blackford. The schedule will also include the Wooten Automotive and Towing of Urbana Street Stocks, the Harrod Septic Solutions Compacts and the Frazier/Parsons Designs FOMOCO Cruisers. There will also be race car rides for the kids. Racing will begin at 6:30 p.m.
