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Drivers Tame Tough Track

Cory Penfold
Moxie Media & Promotions

A packed house got one heck of a show Saturday night at Willamette Speedway. Drivers had their hands full with more than just the steering wheels of their race cars. Track conditions created some very interesting situations for all drivers in every division. Fans who were in their seats early enough for qualifying probably had a pretty good idea of what the night would hold for racing action. Friday night Willamette Speedway was hit by a severe downpour that soaked the track for manager and track prep extraordinaire Chris Nofziger.

Given the circumstances dealt to him, Nofziger went to work with the grader and water truck to massage Willamette's racing surface into something that was more than most track prep specialists in his position could provide to their talent. Track conditions were the talk of the night and the action and chaos that came with it gave the fans a show they went home talking about when it was all said and done. All things considered Chris Nofziger proved he has taken the knowledge passed down from track founder Clair Arnold and son Bill Arnold and mastered his craft. Track conditions weren't perfect but they weren't going to be any better than what Nofziger accomplished on the big grader.

Five classes were on the card for the second show of the year. Hornets, Street Stocks, Sportsman, IMCA Modified and Super Late Model drivers tested their endurance and maintenance of their machines on the big, fast one-third mile oval. Qualifying ended with Tracy Muse as fast time in the Hornets, Kevin Roberts (Street Stock), Tom Yeack (Sportsman), Dustin Cady (IMCA Modified) and Brian Cronk would all top the speed charts on the scoring system in their respective divisions. Tom Yeack (Sportsman), John Campos (IMCA Modified) and Collen Winebarger in the Late Models.

It was very evident from early on that if a driver was leaving Willamette Speedway's Victory Lane with some hardware, no doubt they were going to earn it and need a big dose of Lady Luck on their side. Heat races really got things into high gear. It was the first time of the night all drivers would see what they were up against in the competition department as well as the track itself.

In the Hornets feature Roe Lavvorn collected her first win of the season. She checked out after Tracy Muse and Crystal Flath tangled with each other in turn four. Muse and Flath avoided major damage but the handling was affected enough that Lavvorn made easy work of the feature and cruised to the winners circle. She said it was a good win considering just the day before her and crew "Dragged the car out of the bushes and cleaned it up". She stated they will be a regular competitor for the rest of the year.

Street Stock feature was arguably the race of the night. Fans witnessed an incredible battle among Kevin Roberts, Mark Gaylord, Kyle Yeack who filled in for Mikey Brakeall and JJ Irvine. the four drivers would swap spots multiple times in a heated race for the lead after an early exit from one of the division forerunners Justin Evans snapped an axel on lap seven. The battle for lead that was held by Irvine was spectacular as he held Roberts, Gaylord and Yeack at bay until they ganged up on him went three and almost four wide. All four drivers came out clean and settled in behind Roberts who a near perfect race and claimed the feature in impressive fashion. The fight for second behind him was a real barnburner and had the crowd on their feet. Kyle Yeack drove to second, Gaylord was third and Irvine a close fourth while Jody Tanner rounded out the top five.

Sportsman feature gave the crowd some thrills with a good race for the top spot between early leader Chad Slover and Jeff Rash. Slover jumped to the front and battled an ill handling race car while trying to keep Rash and the rest of the field behind. Jeff Rash would scoot under Slover to take the lead and from there it was the #1 car up front. Rash did a great job of driving as the track continued to rut up and challenge the drivers. Team Hackney would finish 1-2 with Clyde in second after Tom Yeack lost a driveline on the front stretch and ended his race prematurely. Jody Tanner who was pulling double duty finished fourth and Eric Lindquist landed in the fifth position.

The IMCA Modifieds hit the track for their 30 lap main event and were immediately challenged by tricky track conditions. A 21 car field that was stacked was some serious competition. Craig Cassell was the on the pole and jumped to an early lead. Behind him 20 cars were bumper to bumper and door handle to handle in a knock down, drag out brawl that held multiple story lines. Attrition due to the tracks surface was claiming cars at a rapid rate without prejudice. Cassel would eventually lose the lead to Yeack and fade to mid pack. Yeack was up front and driving like a man possessed when the challenge from Campos came on strong. Campos would test Yeack and his driving skills with heavy pressure from all angles. The two very talented drivers gave a frenzied crowd all the excitement they could stand lap after lap. Cautions would fly for debris and wrecks as the leaders shot it out. After a late race caution for a stalled car in turn four the field would be bunched up for a bumper to bumper single file restart Yeack was up front with Campos hot on his heels. Ron Berry who surprised everyone with quite possibly the drive of the night was sitting third and would give Yeack and Campos a battle they won't soon forget. Berry pressed and challenged for the lead while using the middle to high groove.

Yeack looked to be in total control despite the challenges of both Campos and Yeack but Lady Luck jumped ship and Yeack would fall victim to the track conditions and his night came to a close in turn two after losing the left rear wheel and tire.

Campos was the beneficiary of the Yeack’s bad fortune and assumed the race lead in the late stages. Ron Berry sat second on the restart. Once the green was given to the field, Campos went to work and drove to the win for the second straight race and is two for two. Berry finished second in only his second start in a modified and both he and car owner Nick Anderson were all smiles on the front stretch after the show. Craig Cassell fought his way back to a strong third place finish while Collen Winebarger and Brett James rounded out the top five.

Late Models were the final race of the night and for the second straight week Joey Tanner behind the wheel of Dave Walters #67 would find himself on the pole. Tanner was the benefactor of the invert determined by the roll of the dice after the trophy dashes. Right from the start Tanner flexed his muscles and set himself apart from the field. Behind him a wicked fast field of late models hunkered down and got busy. Chasing Tanner down wasn't going to be easy for anyone and including defending track champion Rob Mayea and fast qualifier Brian Cronk. Mayea broke out of traffic to run down Tanner and put on a show that was nothing short of a heavyweight title fight. The two front runners would exchange the lead on numerous occasions with excellent passes at both ends of the race track. Mayea was absolutely rocket fast on the exit while Tanner had the advantage through the center of the turns.

Mayea performed a text book slide job on Tanner to steal the lead after a late restart and put some distance between them only to have Tanner run down and return the favor in the same turn three laps later. A final caution would come out with four laps left and now Tanner and Mayea sitting one two would have deal with the hard charging Brian Cronk. When the Green dropped Tanner lead the field through the first two turns and committed to the middle groove to avoid the ruts in turn four when Mayea gave it one last shot and man handled his Rocket chassis through those ruts and found enough traction to complete a pass for the lead. Mayea had enough in him to hold off Tanner and park his #37 machine in Victory Lane. Tanner finished second with Cronk hot on his bumper for a solid third place finish. Collen Winebarger and Jeremy Shank completed the top five.

Willamette Speedway will be hosting Ladies Night this Saturday. All females age 18 and up will receive a discounted admission of only five dollars. Qualifying starts at 4:30 and racing begins at 6:30pm. The Super Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, Super Sports, Street Stocks and Hornets will be racing. Come join us for the best racing in the West.

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