RIDDLE, COOK, STEVENS, GARGETT AND ROBERTS WIN AT YAKIMA SPEEDWAY
The regular season is closing in on Yakima Speedway's 2009 season but last Saturday's racing was some of the best all year.
Courtesy: Kelly Hart, Yakima Speedway Media Relations
With the regular season starting to wind down at ASA Sanctioned Yakima Speedway, point battles are heating up. Winning main events on Saturday night were Owen Riddle – Late Models, Terry Cook – Pure Stocks, Greg Gargett – Hornets, Joe Roberts – Youth Hornets and Joe Stevens – Bump to Pass.
Starting off the evening were the Yakima Driving School Youth Hornets with a small field consisting of point leader Kyler Conduff, Joe Roberts and Christian Hall. Roberts swept the evening winning all three events and closing the point battle with Conduff.
The Bump to Pass cars numbered 5 but the action on the track was hard to keep track of with lots of dumps, bumps and spins. Fat Albert won the Trophy Dash and Heat Race, but the Main Event belonged to Joe Stevens who led the final 10 laps for the win. As usual, Donnie Stevens kept the race alive with his Camaro, spinning and banging and holding off point leader Jake Breshears.
In the CWI Security / EZ Credit Auto Sales Hornet division Greg Gargett continues to reel off wins. Gargett led the last 14 laps of the 20-lap event. Gargett also won his Heat Race. Josh Parmentier and Keith Erickson picked up wins for the P, B & J team in the Trophy Dashes. Chris Morrison won the other heat.
A lesson for new racers is to keep working on your car and make it better. Terry Cook has been thrashing on his H&H Furniture Pure Stock all season long and the work paid off Saturday night with his first Main Event win of the season. Cook led the last 22 laps, holding off Jeff Liebert for the victory. Cook missed a clean sweep, as Liebert set fast time but Cook did also win his Trophy Dash and Heat Race. Rob Allen won the other Trophy Dash. The official finishes in the Pure Stock division are not final, as post race inspection may have disqualified one of the competitors.
One of the best fields of Late Models this season graced the Yakima Speedway pit area. Thirteen cars took the green flag with Erick Hargraves pacing the first five circuits. Dan Obrist shook off some early season disasters to take over the lead on lap six. Into traffic, Hargraves continued to dog Obrist, with Buck Noel, Jr., Owen Riddle, Ron Bemis and Jack Mondor making up a second pack battle for third but keeping the leaders within striking distance. In traffic on the 23rd lap Hargraves split two cars using one as a pick and took over the lead going into turn 3. With Hargraves back in the top spot, Obrist kept up the pressure and on the 27th lap Hargraves exited the track with electrical problems handing the lead back to Obrist.
Obrist had a mirror full of Riddle, who had cleared Noel, Jr. and set sail for the leader laps earlier. Monumental pressure settled over the crowd as Obrist and Riddle had some anxious moments earlier this season and everyone was waiting to see what would happen. Once again in traffic as the laps were dwindling, Riddle saw an opening, split it and took over the top spot coming down the front stretch to take the lead at the stripe on the 56th lap. Riddle would pull away for the win with Obrist having his best finish of the season in second. Noel, Jr. was making his debut in a Late Model and made it a memorable won with great finishes all night. “A dream come true!” Noel said in an earlier interview on the front stretch.
Riddle again set fast time with a 19.274 lap, and Bemis and Marcus Maggard won the Trophy Dashes.
RESULTS 8/15/09
BUMP TO PASS
DASH: Fat Albert, Joe Stevens, Jake Breshears, Donnie Stevens
HEAT: Albert, D. Stevens, J. Stevens, Leo Wood, Breshears
MAIN: Joe Stevens, D. Stevens, Breshears, Albert, Wood
Lap leaders: Albert 1-2, D. Stevens 3-10, J. Stevens 11-20
YAKIMA DRIVING SCHOOL YOUTH HORNETS
DASH: Joe Roberts, Christian Hall, Kyler Conduff
HEAT: Roberts, Conduff
MAIN: Joe Roberts, Conduff, Hall
Lap Leaders: Conduff 1-4, Roberts 5-10
EZ CREDIT AUTO SALES / CWI SECURITY HORNETS
B DASH: Keith Erickson, Eric Coble, Morgan Morrison, Julie Melville
A DASH: Josh Parmentier, Greg Gargett, Ryan Kallenberger, Chris Marang
B HEAT: Chris Morrison, Michael Beck, Melville, Darrel Tidrick, Tyler Breshears
A HEAT: Gargett, Parmentier, Erickson, Marang, Josh Washington
MAIN: Greg Gargett, Washington, Kallenberger, Garbage Can Killer, Coble, Beck, Melville, M. Morrison, Marang, Tidrick, Parmentier, Erickson
Lap Leaders: Coble 1, Washington 2-5, Gargett 6-20
H&H FURNITURE PURE STOCKS (not official as of press time)
FAST TIME: 24.440 Jeff Liebert
B DASH: Rob Allen, Mike Denton, Daniel Coble, Tyson Richter
A DASH: Terry Cook, Ron Pepper, Joe Estep, Jeff Liebert
HEAT: Cook, Allen, Derek Raptcheff, Liebert, Coble
MAIN: Terry Cook, Jeff Liebert, Pepper, Estep, Allen, Raptcheff, Richter, Coble
Lap Leaders: Allen 1-2, Cook 3-25
LATE MODELS
FAST TIME: 19.274 Owen Riddle
B DASH: Marcus Maggard, James Mugge, Bill Mills, Taylor Riddle
A DASH: Ron Bemis, Buck Noel, Jr., Dan Obrist, Jack Mondor
MAIN: Owen Riddle, Obrist, Noel, Jr., Bemis, Mondor, Alex Kerslake, Taylor Riddle, Ed Thomsen, Maggard, Mills, Lenard Barthel, Mugge, Erick Hargraves
Lap Leaders: Hargraves 1-5, Obrist 6-23, Hargraves 24-26, Obrist 27-56, Riddle 57-60
