Wednesday evening saw a return trip back to the Knoxville Raceway as the second part of the Harris Clash was back in action after being delayed for a couple weeks. IMCA sportmods along with the Deery Brothers Summer Series for late models were on the card for the night.
Once the qualifying events were in the books, it was time to go feature racing. Pole sitter Jared Timmerman paced the field of IMCA sportmods to the green flag with twenty-three other competitors lined up with him. The field had been dwindled down from over seventy entries. An early caution on lap two saw Cayden Carter take advantage of the double-file restart as he jumped to the outside and blasted his way to the second position after passing four cars. Two laps later Carter's machine would begin to show smoke, but that didn't slow the youngster down as he used the top side to power by Timmerman for the lead on lap six. Timmerman would regain the lead five laps later and appeared to be on his way to picking up perhaps the biggest win of his career, until the yellow flag came out as the field was coming to the checkered flag. Cayden Carter lost the handle of his machine in turn three and spun to a stop before getting run in to by Adam Ackerman a few seconds later. Both cars would be done for the event.
That meant a two-lap shootout to decide the winner. Timmerman was out front ahead of Nate Chodur and Dylan Book on the restart. Timmerman was able to hit his marks the final couple laps while the rest of the field struggled with the handling in the corners. Jared Timmerman would pick up the top prize and trophy with the win. Dylan Book got by Nate Chodur at the end for second and third, respectively. Jeremy Embrey finished in fourth after starting 21st on the grid, and Jim Gillenwater rounded out the top five competitors.
The thirty-five lap IMCA late model event would cap off the evening as Tyler Bruening and Jay Stewart sat on the front row. The race had a hard time getting started as three restarts were needed before getting a lap completed. The action wasn't up to speed long until another caution waved on lap two when Jeremiah Hurst spun sideways on the front stretch. Yet another caution flag was displayed when T.J. Criss spun his machine and Kevin Blum had nowhere to go and slammed into the stopped car. After the violent hit, it was good to see both drivers were okay.
When racing resumed, Jay Stewart held down the top spot ahead of Bruening and Jeff Guengerich, who was piloting the defending champion car. Last year Tommy Elston drove the #15 to the win. After restarting fourth, Ray Guss Jr quickly dove to the inside of Bruening and took the third spot away. Guengerich would drive to the inside of Stewart to take the lead away while Guss followed to second. Behind them a couple of crafty veteran late model drivers were on the prowl as Darren Miller and Brian Harris were now both in the top five just five laps into the race. Both Miller and Harris may be better known for their open late model reputation, but they were out to prove that they can wheel any type of machine put in front of them.
Miller snuck inside of Stewart to take away the third spot. At that point I noticed Jeff Aikey had already made his way into the top ten. After failing to finish his heat race and narrowly securing a transfer spot in the "B-main", Aikey started nineteenth on the grid. He had taken over the seventh spot on lap six before getting by Andy Eckrich for sixth a lap later. Aikey cracked the top five with a pass on Jay Stewart on lap ten, which also happened to be the circuit that Ray Guss Jr powered his machine around the cushion to snare the lead away from Jeff Guengerich. Guss would instantly put distance between he and Guengerich before a caution bunched the field back up around the midpoint of the race.
The fast pace was short-lived, however, as Charlie McKenna clipped the inside berm entering turn one and went for a wild ride. I counted at least six barrel rolls before the car sat back down on all four tires. Fortunately McKenna got out of the car under his own power and walked back to his trailer. Restarting in fourth, Jeff Aikey ducked to the inside lane and passed Guengerich and Darren Miller to advance to the runner up spot. It seemed Aikey was set to challenge Guss for the win, but he apparently used up his tires in getting to the front as Miller was able to get back by him for second. Ray Guss again would pull away from the field as he picked up his fourth win of the season. Darren Miller took home a solid second place finish in his first start of the season. Jeff Aikey, Jeremiah Hurst, and Brian Harris rounded out of the top five. Hurst rebounded nicely after that lap one spin and was definitely a fast car on the inside lane.
Despite only having two classes of cars, the program seemed to drag on throughout the night. Tow trucks were slow in hooking up cars on the track, something I have not had the misfortunes of witnessing much this year. But then again, I was at the "Sprint Car Capital of the World". After stopping down to chat with a couple drivers, I made my way home and walked in the door right around 2AM.
I'd like to thank Bob Harris for putting on this terrific event each year. It seems the weather is always a factor in the originally scheduled date, and I've been around long enough to know that the crowd base and perhaps car counts taper off if an event is forced to reschedule. But Bob Harris was determined to put on a great show for the fans, and he definitely made me feel welcome for both events of the Harris Clash this year.
For complete results, be sure to check out www.harrisclash.com or www.imca.com. As of right now, I'm unsure of my weekend plans. I was going to hit up Marshalltown Friday, but they have postponed their modified gambler race to next week to help out with the time factor. They have a couple makeup features to run Friday night as a result of the rains that came last week. I have also been thinking of going to Boone on Saturday. For some reason or another, I have yet to make it to that track yet this year, which is definitely different for me. One race I do know I'll be at will be Tuesday night as the USMTS invades Algona during the Kossuth County Fair.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
No comments:
Post a Comment