by Jim Cribbs
An eery, orange full moon hanging above the turn one fence may have been prophetic as quite a bit of trouble for the drivers occurred in that turn. Before the night’s racing began, what looked to be hundreds of kids got a thrill when all the drivers, loaded with several kids in each car, made a few easy laps around the track on Kids Ride Along Night at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont Saturday night. After that, six racing divisions provided plenty of short track action.
When the checkered flag flew at end of the Mike Bledsole Mechanical Heating & Air Late Model Stock 75 lap race, the 2016 Track Champion for that division, Terry Dease, had his first win of the season and his first since the 2014 season.
At the start of the race, Chris Denny was on the pole as the fastest qualifier (14.414 sec, 93.659 mph) and Chuck Lawson was to his outside. Dease was the third place starter with Daniel Moss beside him. Starting fifth was the car of Stefan Parsons, son of former NASCAR racer Phil Parsons, and Camden Gullie was beside him. Jonathan Hall took the green behind those two. When the race was complete, it was Dease out front, followed by Parsons in second. Denny had to settle for a third place finish, Moss was fourth and Hall came in fifth. Taking sixth was Gullie and Lawson, the victim of motor problems 33 laps in, settled for seventh.
Before the field could get to turn one, Lawson snatched the lead from Denny and looked to be in a class of his own. Fate would not see it that way as his car slowed drastically near the halfway point, then regained speed, only to drop back again and eventually retiring from the race with a smoking machine. With Dease in the lead, caution on lap 38 brought the field back together.
On the restart, it was the cars of Dease, Denny, Parsons and Moss, first through fifth respectively. Parsons made quick work of Denny, getting by him before that lap was complete. However, it didn’t stay that way with Moss battling side by side with either Parsons or Denny for second place throughout the rest of the race.
Starting on the pole for the second time this season proved to be the charm for Daryl Carver in 35 laps of Limited Sportsman racing as he picked up his second consecutive win. Brent Evans, the second place starter, finished in that spot. The third and fourth place starters, Barry Beggarly, Jr and Gage Painter respectively, decided to change spots for the finish. Painter, who hails from Statesville and was competing in his first OCS race, drove the number 12 car. His nickname is 12 gauge and remarkably, he’s only twelve years old.
Back in the pack could have arguably been the best racing of the night as fifth place starter Tracey Chambers first defended charges by the car of Gary Young, Jr, who started seventh, and appeared to run Chambers up the track in turn 4 to take that spot fourteen laps in. A few laps later, Jerry Hinesley, from a sixth place start, did some fender rubbing with the car of Richard Hayden, who began the race behind him. Hinesley, apparently suffering mechanical woes, left the race six laps from the end, finishing 10th. At the finish, it was Chambers taking fifth after some contact with Hayden, who finished behind her. The cars of Austin Purnell and Corey Purnell settled for seventh and eighth.
In the third start of his career and after inheriting the first place starting spot, Taylor Tolar improved on his fourth place finish a couple of weeks ago, earning his first win in the 25 lap Pure Stock event. Danny Winstead was the fastest qualifier but was required to start sixth, the result of two consecutive wins this year. He looked to have a third straight win until faltering on a lap 15 restart and getting a not-so gentle push from the front bumper of third place starter Bobby Clayton, spinning Winstead’s car into the first turn wall and out of the race for a sixth place finish. Clayton ended up finishing in third with Jamie Kerr, who started behind Clayton, getting around him for the second place spot. Trevor Winstead followed in fourth with OCS first-timer Lonnie Glosson’s car the fifth place finisher.
The Super Mini Trucks competed for ten laps, not once, but twice. Jeffrey Martin, one of four Martin family members in the race, walked away with the win, not once, but twice. John Comstock was the fastest qualifier for his third consecutive race but was relegated to a sixth place starting spot, the result of two consecutives wins this year. At the end of race one, it was Martins taking second, third and fifth, Wesley, Scott and Kiser, with Devin Parrott sandwiched between the last two. After taking the win for the first race, Jeffrey started fourth in race two, as the top four finishers from race one were inverted. That didn’t prove to be a problem for Jeffrey, as he quickly motored to the top spot, holding for his second win of the night. Comstock faired a little better this time around, taking second. Then it was the trucks of Wesley, Kiser and Scott finishing third through fifth. Parrott, after spinning on the last lap, took sixth.
The Quality Collision Solutions Grand American Modifieds competed in twin 20 lap races. Newcomer Dillon Harville, not only proved to be the fastest qualifier for the first race, but turned out to be the dominant driver, taking the win in both races. Gary Young, Jr, the next quickest qualifier, was required to start sixth after winning the previous two races of the season. Starting second through fifth were Richard Thomas, Todd Massey and Roy Cook, in that order. Michael Roney and Larry Cook started behind those two.
At the finish of race one, it was Thomas, Roney and Cook, taking second through fourth. Larry Cook and Todd Massey finished in the next two spots. Young, Jr took the checkered in second but post-race inspection led to a disqualification. That problem was fixed, allowing Young, Jr to start the second race.
Harville started fourth in the second race, as the top four finishers from race one were inverted. After contact with second place starter Thomas going into turn one on the second lap, Harville bolted out front and never looked back for his second win of the night. Thomas recovered to take second. Finishing third through sixth were Young, Jr, Roney, Massey and Larry Cook. Roy Cook did not start the race.
Kenneth Smith was the winner of the ten lap Carolina Collector Auto Fest Vintage Sportsman ten lap event.
Cover and Above Photos by Jeremy Tyndall
Mike Bledsole Mechanical Heating & Air Late Model Stock 75 laps
1) Terry Dease
2) Stefan Parsons
3) Chris Denny (Pole)
4) Daniel Moss
5) Jonathan Hall
6) Camden Gullie -1 (lap down)
7) Chuck Lawson -42
Limited Sportsman 35 laps
1) Daryl Carver (Pole)
2) Brent Evans
3) Gage Painter
4) Barry Beggarly, Jr
5) Tracey Chambers
6) Austin Purnell
7) Cory Purnell
8) Richard Hayden
9) Gary Young, Jr -4
10) Jerry HInesley -7
Pure Stock 25 laps
1) Taylor Tolar
3) Jamie Kerr
4) Bobby Clayton
5) Lonnie Glosson
6) Danny Winstead -10 (Pole) (started 6th, 2 consecutive wins)
Hill’s Complete Carpet Care Super Mini-Trucks 10 laps, First Race
1) Jeffrey Martin
2) Wesley Martin
3) Scott Martin
4) Devin Parrott
6) Kiser Martin
7) John Comstock (Pole) (started 6th, two consecutive wins)
Hill’s Complete Carpet Care Super Mini-Trucks 10 laps, Second Race
1) Jeffrey Martin
2) John Comstock
3) Wesley Martin
4) Kiser Martin
5) Scott Martin
6) Devin Parrott
Quality Collision Solutions Grand American Modifieds 20 laps, First Race
1) Dillon Harville (Pole)
2) Richard Thomas
3) Michael Roney
4) Roy Cook
5) Larry Cook
6) Todd Massey
Gary Young, Jr (started 6th, 2 consecutive wins) (disqualified post-race inspection)
Quality Collision Solutions Grand American Modifieds 20 laps, Second Race
1) Dillon Harville (Pole)
2) Richard Thomas
3) Gary Young, Jr
4) Michael Roney
5) Todd Massey