— courtesy Orange County Speedway
— by Jim Cribbs
Orange County Speedway, Saturday, September 30
Annual Chad Pergerson and Kevin Bowen Memorial Race
Twin 50-lap races for the Mike Bledsole Mechanical Heating and Air Late Model Stocks may have shaken up the points race for this year’s track championship a bit, as points leader, and 2016 track champ, Terry Dease ended up on his roof and the second-place driver in the points race, Chris Denny, was a no-show, a result of crashing his car in the previous race night. In race one, top qualifier Craig Moore, in his first OCS start of the year, allowed the other front row starter, Stacy Puryear, to slip by him at the green and hold on for the win, Puryear’s second win in three consecutive starts. The second twin resulted in those two drivers switching places with Moore taking the win and Puryear the runner-up. Dease finished a strong third in race one but settled for seventh in race two, a result of his jaw-dropping flip down the front stretch six laps in. Dease was uninjured in the accident. The cars of both Chuck Lawson and Daniel Moss showed their strength at times. Moss spent some laps banging fenders with Dease in the first twin, completing the race in fifth with Lawson sandwiched between those two for fourth. An inverted start in the second race gave Lawson the top starting spot at the green. Lawson kept the hard-charging machines of Puryear and Moore behind him with some remarkable car control until Puryear slipped by sixteen laps in. Lawson finished that race in third, ahead of the fourth-place car of Camden Gullie.
The Limited Sportsman racers labored through their own exciting, but brief, twin 20-lappers, with the top qualifier for the night, Daniel Moss, taking home the winning trophy in both races. Moss, a Late Model Stock regular, was making his first season appearance in this division. Gary Young, Jr, qualified second and finished there in both races. Barry Beggarly, Jr, the sixth-place starter, completed race one in third but mechanical issues left him at the back of the pack for the second one. The points leader coming into the event, Daryl Carver mustered a seventh-place finish in race one, after a lap-12 dust-up with the car of Brent Evans, Jr, but improved to third in the second event. Second in points behind Carver, Evans, Jr had worse luck, spinning out under caution as a result of a flat tire then brushing the side of Carver’s car, giving him the last spot in the 12-car field for the first twin. Evans, Jr salvaged an eighth-place finish in the second twin.
Race number eight in the Pure Stock division proved to be the charm for Bobby Clayton, Jr, as he picked up his first season win, and possibly the points lead, in the 25-lap race. Clayton, Jr entered the race second in points to five-time season winner and 2016 track champ Danny Winstead. Winstead appeared to turn a sixth-place start into a second-place finish, more than likely assuring him of a third consecutive track title. However, Winstead’s car was disqualified in post-race inspections, placing him last in the 12-car field. His misfortune moved Brandon Watson up one spot for a second-place finish. Chase Sandefur inherited third, followed by Trevor Winstead and Les Aliff, fourth and fifth respectively. Thomas Penny, not considered a front-runner to date, turned heads by outgunning everyone in qualifying, getting his first pole position. That turned out not to be the charm for Penny as he finished the race in tenth, six laps in arrears.
Hill’s Complete Carpet Care Super Mini-Trucks 20-lap race did little to change the tight points race for the top two drivers. Coming into the event, John Comstock held a four-point lead over five-time season winner Jeffrey Martin and padded that a little by getting his fourth victory of the year, with one race left. Martin’s truck finished in second. In a case of deja vu all over again, Comstock started on pole with the truck of Devin Parrot beside him. The trucks of Jeffrey and Scott Martin made up the second row with Dalton and Noah Martin behind those two. Two cautions flags flew, one for the spinning truck of Dalton on lap 8 and the other when Parrot looped his machine eight laps from the end. Parrot recovered for a third-place finish, followed by Scott, Dalton and Noah Martin, fourth through sixth respectively, all trucks on the lead lap.
In the Quality Collision Solutions of Graham Grand American Modifieds division, it was disqualifications that determined the outcome of this 25-lap race, more than the racing itself. Gary Young, Jr was the fastest qualifier prior to the event and appeared to pick up his fourth win of the season. It was not to be as his tires failed post-race inspections and he was placed at the back of the five-car field. A similar fate awaited points-leader Richard Thomas with his tires also not passing, relegating him to fourth. That left John Barilka with his first season win, followed by Michael Roney in second and Jonathan Cook third. Todd Massey qualified second but did not start the race.
A tight points battle for Smokey Dave’s BBQ Mod4’s narrowly missed a shake-up in the fight to be this year’s track champion. At the end of the 25-lap event, top qualifier Corey Purnell walked away with his second season win and points-leader Dennis Capps settled for second. Harold Summey rounded out the top three. Summey started beside Purnell but snatched the lead from Purnell at the drop of the green. Three laps in, the last-place car of Randy Ayers spun out at the start/finish line bringing out the caution. As Ayers righted his car and pulled off, he did so in front of the field, causing Summey to lock his brakes and Purnell to spin behind him. (Purnell sits 8 points behind Capps in the standings with Summey 10 points in arrears.) This miscommunication with his spotter prompted officials to park Ayer’s car for the night.
A full field of classic cars in the Southern Ground Pounders event led to a wild show with several different divisions competing with each other throughout the race. There were big-block, high-horsepower racing machines from 1936 to 1972 models. It was Eddie Gilbert in a ‘65 Ford Falcon that prevailed for the win. Driving a ‘72 Pontiac Ventura, Chris Mincey took the next spot with Mack Tatum in his ‘65 Mustang rounding out the top three.
(Orange County Speedway is a paying advertising client of WIZS.)