racersax
06-08-2008, 06:54 PM
BUCKWALTER, MERCADO, SWIFT AND KOSTIAK FLY TO AIRPORT WINS
The weather was hot, but the driver determination was even hotter as the Airport competitors got back to action on the clay oval after a two week layoff for the Memorial Day Holiday and rain.
Brian Kostiak picked up his second career win in the 125 class. Rich Mellor and Phil Durham led the field to the green. The two were often nose to tail with Kostiak holding down the third spot in the early going. On lap 19, the front runners ran into trouble as they raced thru turns 3 and 4. The two got crossed up with Durham going over the front of Mellor's #12 machine and Mellor getting turned over. This allowed Kostiak to assume the number 1 spot on the restart, a position he would hold for the balance of the event. Shane Braxton gained several positions as the laps counted down moving past Heather Colbert on the last circuit to take the second spot at the checker.
Fan favorite, Angelo Mercado, kept all the wheels on his #3 600 racer this week and pulled into Victory Lane ahead of the #2T of Luke Thomas. Thomas ran one of his best races this season, staying in the front three thru most of the event. Thomas and Jack Conover swapped third and fourth positions several times as the two maneuvered thru traffic. Jon Holmquist applied pressure on Mercado following several restarts, but fell to fifth behind Glenn Heverin and Conover. Thomas got by Conover in the closing laps to secure second place at the line.
The 250 Stock class had Barry Pollard and Alex Swift on the front row as the Green flag waved. From past experience, you had to assume that Swift was certainly going to be in contention for the win. He didn't disappoint! On the first lap, Todd Elwell brought out the yellow as he got "punted" to the infield on the backstretch. After a last place restart, Elwell was able to recover to an eighth place finish. After the first lap restart, Swift roared by Pollard to take the lead and the eventual win. Swift said in his post race interview that his #90 machine would "stick" wherever he put it allowing him to get thru traffic with ease. Following Swift across the line was Marco Michetti, Durham, Pollard and Lew Schwander.
The 270 class saw Tim Buckwalter pick up his first Airport win. The personable Buckwalter has been trying to put his white #25 in Victory Lane all season. However, he has been caught up in accidents or suffered mechanical problems with his machine which prevented him from getting close to a win. Tonight was his night to break thru. Starting on the front row, he blasted out to a comfortable lead over Josh Martin, Todd Elwell and Drew Boyce. The "wheel loss" syndrome hit two in this class. The #70 of Eddie Wagner was the first to experience three wheels on lap 2. Then on lap 9, the right front wheel left the #7 of Roland Saxton Jr's machine causing it to lay on its side in turn 1 and leaving both racers as DNFs. Buckwalter, meanwhile, continued his domination throughout the event pulling away from the pack on every restart. His only concern may have been the last restart which was a Green, White, Checker for the finish after a lap 24 spin by Cameron Merriman in turn 4.
In the Junior feature, it was Tyler Tank and Zoe Mattis occupying the front row. Tank pulled out to a substantial lead over Mattis. Justin Layton got by Glenn Frye for the second spot as Frye slid into the turn 4 wall on lap 11. On lap 19, Layton got a wheel on the backstretch wall and rolled the #28 on its side. Frye, who had been steadily moving back up thru traffic, was able to assume the second spot at the finish ahead of Kelli Matherly, Tim Colbert and Zoe Mattis. Tank was the 250 winner with Tim Colbert taking the 125 win.
The night was billed as Driver Appreciation Night. Several "perks" were offered thru the media in an effort to bring back some of the former Airport members and perhaps gain some new ones. It seemed to work as 91 cars were entered into the night's field. Also, Miss Microracing 2008 was on hand to greet the fans and drivers as well as handle some of the night's duties.
The next races will be on the 1/8th mile clay oval on June 14, a night that will also honor our service men and women. Put this one on your calendar.
600 finish: Angelo Mercado, Luke Thomas, Jack Conover, Glenn Heverin, Jon Holmquist Jr., Jerry Allen, Cameron Bellinger, Shane Lewis, Randy Oswald, Bob DeVault, Bryan Radcliff, Rich Mellor, Bill Thomas, Stewart Carmichael, Tres Schnackenberg, Gregg Cable, Jon Stewart. DNF: Jim Garrison, Lou Onimus, Rick Stief.
270 finish: Tim Buckwalter, Drew Boyce, Todd Elwell, Ken Andreas, Bill Murphy, Marco Michetti, Barry Pollard, Mike Rice, Cameron Merriman, Ryan Wozunk, Bill Sorey, Bryan Morrill, Evan Bowlsbey. DNF: George Savaren Jr., Gage Green, Kyle Melvin, Roland Saxton Jr., David Nelson, Elbert Melvin, Josh Martin, Eddie Wagner, Luke Fogg. DNS: Brent Sheaffer, Stefanie Palmai.
250 Stock finish: Alex Swift, Marco Michetti, Phil Durham, Barry Pollard, Lew Schwander, Cameron Bellinger, Tom Curtis, Todd Elwell, Jon Keller, Kelsey Johnson, Ava Mercado, Jeffrey Wills, Mark Schwinger, Rebecca LaMothe, AJ Mitchell. DNF: Jim Garrison III, Ernie Carlisle.
125 finish: Brian Kostiak, Shane Braxton, Heather Colbert, Evan Krautwald, Brittany Whitesall, Phil Durham, Jim Pollard, Steve Brown, Rich Mellor, Zach Short, Hannah Schrom. DNF: Mark Yoder, Corissa Matherly, Lee Reinhardt, Areanna Bassler, Justin DeLong. DQ: Cody Drace
Junior finish: Tyler Tank, Glenn Frye Jr., Kelli Matherly, Tim Colbert, Zoe Mattis, Kyle Newkirk, Shelby Garrison. DNF: Justin Layton, Erin DeLong. DNS: Nandi Palmai
[END]
The weather was hot, but the driver determination was even hotter as the Airport competitors got back to action on the clay oval after a two week layoff for the Memorial Day Holiday and rain.
Brian Kostiak picked up his second career win in the 125 class. Rich Mellor and Phil Durham led the field to the green. The two were often nose to tail with Kostiak holding down the third spot in the early going. On lap 19, the front runners ran into trouble as they raced thru turns 3 and 4. The two got crossed up with Durham going over the front of Mellor's #12 machine and Mellor getting turned over. This allowed Kostiak to assume the number 1 spot on the restart, a position he would hold for the balance of the event. Shane Braxton gained several positions as the laps counted down moving past Heather Colbert on the last circuit to take the second spot at the checker.
Fan favorite, Angelo Mercado, kept all the wheels on his #3 600 racer this week and pulled into Victory Lane ahead of the #2T of Luke Thomas. Thomas ran one of his best races this season, staying in the front three thru most of the event. Thomas and Jack Conover swapped third and fourth positions several times as the two maneuvered thru traffic. Jon Holmquist applied pressure on Mercado following several restarts, but fell to fifth behind Glenn Heverin and Conover. Thomas got by Conover in the closing laps to secure second place at the line.
The 250 Stock class had Barry Pollard and Alex Swift on the front row as the Green flag waved. From past experience, you had to assume that Swift was certainly going to be in contention for the win. He didn't disappoint! On the first lap, Todd Elwell brought out the yellow as he got "punted" to the infield on the backstretch. After a last place restart, Elwell was able to recover to an eighth place finish. After the first lap restart, Swift roared by Pollard to take the lead and the eventual win. Swift said in his post race interview that his #90 machine would "stick" wherever he put it allowing him to get thru traffic with ease. Following Swift across the line was Marco Michetti, Durham, Pollard and Lew Schwander.
The 270 class saw Tim Buckwalter pick up his first Airport win. The personable Buckwalter has been trying to put his white #25 in Victory Lane all season. However, he has been caught up in accidents or suffered mechanical problems with his machine which prevented him from getting close to a win. Tonight was his night to break thru. Starting on the front row, he blasted out to a comfortable lead over Josh Martin, Todd Elwell and Drew Boyce. The "wheel loss" syndrome hit two in this class. The #70 of Eddie Wagner was the first to experience three wheels on lap 2. Then on lap 9, the right front wheel left the #7 of Roland Saxton Jr's machine causing it to lay on its side in turn 1 and leaving both racers as DNFs. Buckwalter, meanwhile, continued his domination throughout the event pulling away from the pack on every restart. His only concern may have been the last restart which was a Green, White, Checker for the finish after a lap 24 spin by Cameron Merriman in turn 4.
In the Junior feature, it was Tyler Tank and Zoe Mattis occupying the front row. Tank pulled out to a substantial lead over Mattis. Justin Layton got by Glenn Frye for the second spot as Frye slid into the turn 4 wall on lap 11. On lap 19, Layton got a wheel on the backstretch wall and rolled the #28 on its side. Frye, who had been steadily moving back up thru traffic, was able to assume the second spot at the finish ahead of Kelli Matherly, Tim Colbert and Zoe Mattis. Tank was the 250 winner with Tim Colbert taking the 125 win.
The night was billed as Driver Appreciation Night. Several "perks" were offered thru the media in an effort to bring back some of the former Airport members and perhaps gain some new ones. It seemed to work as 91 cars were entered into the night's field. Also, Miss Microracing 2008 was on hand to greet the fans and drivers as well as handle some of the night's duties.
The next races will be on the 1/8th mile clay oval on June 14, a night that will also honor our service men and women. Put this one on your calendar.
600 finish: Angelo Mercado, Luke Thomas, Jack Conover, Glenn Heverin, Jon Holmquist Jr., Jerry Allen, Cameron Bellinger, Shane Lewis, Randy Oswald, Bob DeVault, Bryan Radcliff, Rich Mellor, Bill Thomas, Stewart Carmichael, Tres Schnackenberg, Gregg Cable, Jon Stewart. DNF: Jim Garrison, Lou Onimus, Rick Stief.
270 finish: Tim Buckwalter, Drew Boyce, Todd Elwell, Ken Andreas, Bill Murphy, Marco Michetti, Barry Pollard, Mike Rice, Cameron Merriman, Ryan Wozunk, Bill Sorey, Bryan Morrill, Evan Bowlsbey. DNF: George Savaren Jr., Gage Green, Kyle Melvin, Roland Saxton Jr., David Nelson, Elbert Melvin, Josh Martin, Eddie Wagner, Luke Fogg. DNS: Brent Sheaffer, Stefanie Palmai.
250 Stock finish: Alex Swift, Marco Michetti, Phil Durham, Barry Pollard, Lew Schwander, Cameron Bellinger, Tom Curtis, Todd Elwell, Jon Keller, Kelsey Johnson, Ava Mercado, Jeffrey Wills, Mark Schwinger, Rebecca LaMothe, AJ Mitchell. DNF: Jim Garrison III, Ernie Carlisle.
125 finish: Brian Kostiak, Shane Braxton, Heather Colbert, Evan Krautwald, Brittany Whitesall, Phil Durham, Jim Pollard, Steve Brown, Rich Mellor, Zach Short, Hannah Schrom. DNF: Mark Yoder, Corissa Matherly, Lee Reinhardt, Areanna Bassler, Justin DeLong. DQ: Cody Drace
Junior finish: Tyler Tank, Glenn Frye Jr., Kelli Matherly, Tim Colbert, Zoe Mattis, Kyle Newkirk, Shelby Garrison. DNF: Justin Layton, Erin DeLong. DNS: Nandi Palmai
[END]