Sunday morning I made the trek towards the southeast to take in the Dlouhy Memorial. After taking in three nights at Knoxville, this trip would be my fourth consecutive night of racing. This is the first time I can say I've done that all season long! Late models, modifieds, stock cars, b-modifieds, hobby stocks, and four-cylinders were on the slate for the mid-afternoon show. It was announced that more then 130 race teams were packed into the pits.
Six hobby stocks showed up to race. Randy Butterbrodt would hold down the lead early, but Joe Grant would take over the lead around lap four. Butterbrodt would regain the lead using the low groove, but when they encountered lapped traffic Matt Short was able to find the fast way around to take the lead. He would hold on to take the win ahead of Jeremy Cambell, Butterboldt, Nate Yoerger, and Joe Grant. Bruce Yoerge rounded out the field.
Track champion Roy Pestka led the twenty-two car field of b-modifieds to the green flag. He would continue to set the pace throughout the race as he picked up the feature win. Brant Hubler finished second, Jarrett Franzen was third, Dakota Hayden fourth, and Kevin Schroeder rounded out the top five.
Twenty-six four-cylinder cars showed up on Sunday to race. The field was narrowed down for the feature to 24 starters. The lead swapped several times in the early going as Chuck Fullerkamp, Ricky Kay, and Jacob Ellithorpe exchanged times at the front of the pack. When the checkered flag waved it was Ellithorpe taking the win. Shane Evans finished second, Fullerkamp third, Gene Potter fourth, and Bryce Bailey rounded out the top five after starting last as he transferred out of the B-main.
Terry Rittmer paced the field of stock cars early on, but Tim Current was on the move from the drop of the green flag. Following a second caution flag Current maneuvered his machine to the inside of Rittmer's to take the lead away. Deeper in the field Matt Greiner was making his way forward and he moved into fourth around lap six. Greiner picked up a couple more positions and was on Current's rear bumper following a late restart. Current was able to drive away for the victory. Greiner finished second, Mike Schmidtz was third, Joe Bonney fourth, and Jeremy Marquette completed the top five.
After winning the fast dash, Tommy Elston sat on the pole for the late model feature. With Jake Meier in a borrowed car flanking him to the outside, the two paced the field to the green flag. However it was third starter Ray Guss Jr. that bolted to the lead. Guss Jr appeared to be the class of the field until a caution flag came out. Lapped cars ahead of Guss Jr spun in turn four, and Guss Jr had to spin to avoid serious contact with them. While he did not stop, officials decided he was part of the caution (perhaps he bumped somebody, I don't know). Thus he was sent to the tail of the field, but he opted to go to the pits before the restart. That handed the reigns over to Tommy Elston, and from there on Elston motored to the victory. Matt Ryan finished second, Jake Meier was third, Kevin Kile fourth, and Gary Webb finished fifth after starting seventeenth.
Thirty-eight modifieds were narrowed to a starting field of twenty-six for the $2,000 to win top prize. Pole sitter Brian Webb held the top spot on lap one, but Brandon Durbin snagged it away on lap two. Steve Stewart had his car working great and took over the lead from Durbin about six laps in to the thirty-five lap event. With the bottom side the only lane that was working, Stewart was able to open up a straight away advantage by the halfway point. Several cautions plagued the remainder of the race, including one for a pileup that included eleven cars. As the laps clicked off the white flag was displayed to the leaders. A caution flag would soon follow, and the crowd thought the race was over as in previous times if the leader took the white the race was over.
However, it was announced that the white flag was inadvertently thrown on lap 28, with seven laps remaining. Thus the field was realigned and went back racing. Two more yellow flags would fly, but that didn't distract Steve Stewart as he picked up the big prize for his efforts. Ryan Dolan finished second, Mark Schulte third, Kevin Kile fourth, and John Bull rounded out the top five.
I was extremely happy with the car count on Sunday. With a day race I can understand the track becoming a one-laner, but drivers were still able to make their way to the front. The only thing I wished they would have done differently was use single file restarts instead of double file. That way the guys on the outside didn't lose four spots on most restarts, as was the case on several occasions.
I'd like to thank Kathy Dlouhy for the great hospitality and the invite. Although the program did run a bit long in my opinion, I enjoyed myself.
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