2003 EPHRATA RACEWAY PARK RACE RESULTS
BEHN WINS NW PRO 4 TRUCK CHALLENGE RACE JUNE 21st at Ephrata Raceway
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by Kelly Hart
June 21st 2003(Ephrata, WA) Nick Behn #92 of Rochester, WA showed up at Ephrata Raceway Park on Saturday in time to unload and qualify. With no practice laps under his belt, Behn just missed setting a new track record for the NW Pro 4 Truck Challenge with a 15.74 clocking around the high banked ¼ mile oval at ERP. Cheryl Hamblin #23 (Graham,WA) is the track record holder with a 15.71 track record.
Behn kept up the torrid pace in the main event starting towards the middle of the pack in the 18-truck field after the class invert. Behn patiently wound his way through traffic to overtake racelong leader Josh Charles #8 (Renton,WA) on the 31st lap of the 50 lap main. Behn never was challenged after taking over the top spot and won decisively. Second place went to Roger Pagel #19 (Fife,WA) who drove a strong race but never lead. He was second for quite awhile, following both Charles and Behn. In third place was Ephrata's Kevin Burck #12 in his first truck ride of the season. Burck got a call during the week asking if he'd like to race a truck at his hometown track and said sure. For those of you counting Burck now has top five finishes this year in his son's Vega from the Youth Hornet Class at ERP, in the NSRA Sprint Cars a few weeks back, and now in the Pro 4 Trucks. What will this versatile driver do next?
Rounding out the winners of events in the NW Pro 4 Truck Challenge series were dash winners Carl Sheffler #33 (Tacoma, WA) and Hamblin. The heat race winners were Charles and Behn.
Also racing Saturday night at ERP were the Les Schwab Mini Stocks. Fast time was set by Anthony Wolf #3 of Soap Lake, Wa at 17.13. Picking up the trophy dash wins were Les Gibson #32 (Moses Lake, Wa) and Richard Brown #84 (Ephrata, WA). The heat race winner was Wolf. The main event turned into a race of attrition as just 4 cars survived in the end. At the end of the evening the most surprised driver had to be Richard Brown who was awarded his second win in a row after #82 Tom Veenstra (Ephrata) had his car disqualified for being underweight.
The Pick Up Pros of Moses Lake Hobby Stocks were led in qualifying by Jeff Hector #78 (Ephrata) with a 16.46. The class points leader had a rough night, with brake problems early, a flat tire later, and the victim of a dragging muffler while leading the first 17 laps of the 25 lap main. Hector starting 8th in the 8 car field passed the other seven cars to lead the first lap and was never even remotely challenged until the muffler failure. Tough break for Jeff, but there are many more race nights before this season is done. Frank Fekkes #17 (Ephrata) won the B trophy dash and the main event. Fekkes was dogged by Lewis Schooler #96 (Ephrata) in the mighty Mopar and Paul Dart #11 (Ephrata) the final laps before capturing the win, his first of his career. Fekkes turns 18 this week so it was a great early birthday present for the rookie. Schooler won the A trophy dash and the heat race with what he claims are the wrong gears in the car after blowing a transmission in Thursday night practice and throwing a tranny together to get the points tonight.
Either Bill Patty #33 is the luckiest Pepsi Cola Street Stock racer on the planet, or the best of show. The Quincy, WA driver was involved early in the night in a very nasty looking wreck that started in turn two and ended in the infield of turn three. In the A heat race Patty got loose exiting turn 2, corrected the car just as Keith Kleyn #15 (Quincy, WA) was exiting the corner and launched over the left rear riding Patty's roof and door all the way till coming to rest in turn 3. A scary moment as Kleyn was shaken up and the entire left rear quarter panel was ripped from Patty's car making it look like a reverse modified. Patty drove off to the pits and came back to finish second in the heat. Kleyn returned for the main.
In the main event, Jerry Patty #43 (Wenatchee, WA) led the first 6 laps before Patty rocketed around the outside of turn two and took the lead which he would never relinquish for this third win in a row. Winning heat races on the evening were Jerry Patty #43 and #5 Trucker Moore (Wenatchee, WA) making his ERP debut. Jerry Patty also won the B dash and Kleyn took the A dash. Fast time went to Eric Hector driving the #68 car for the evening while taking some time off from the CROW Sprint Car wars. Eric went 15.88 for the fastest lap of the class.
Ephrata Raceway Park is looking forward to the next race, Saturday Night June 28th as Schwan's presents the NW Outlaw Compacts, along with both classes of Hornets, the Street Stocks and the CROW Sprints back in action. Gates open at five with racing at 7pm.
RESULS 6/21/03
PICKUP PROS OF MOSES LAKE HOBBY STOCKS
Fast time: #78 Jeff Hector 16.46
B dash: #17 Frank Fekkes, #44 Larry Hagadorn, #08 Chuck Neville
A dash: #96 Lewis Schooler, #78 J. Hector, #43 Elvin Brincefield, #11 Paul Dart
Heat: #96 Schooler, #43 Brincefield, #78 J. Hector, #11 Dart, #17 Fekkes
Main: #17 Frank Fekkes, #96 Schooler, #43 Brincefield, #44 Hagadorn, #08 Neville, #78 J. Hector, #41 Bottineau, #11 Dart failed post race inspection (carburator).
Lap leaders, #78 J. Hector 1-17, #17 Fekkes 18-25.
LES SCHWAB OF EPHRATA MINI STOCKS
Fast time: #3 Anthony Wolf 17.13
B dash: #32 Les Gibson, #81 Doug Brown, #4 Mark Hoose, #10 Rud Kirkman
A dash: #84 Richard Brown, #2 Jeff Kreieder, #82 Tom Veenstra, #3 Wolf
Heat: #3 Wolf, #82 Veenstra, #84 R. Brown, #32 Gibson, #10 Kirkman
Main: #84 Richard Brown #32 Gibson, #10 Kirkman, #3 Wolf, #2 Kreider, #81 D. Brown, #82 Veenstra failed post race inspection (weight).
Lap Leaders: #2 Kreieder 1-3, #3 Wolf 4-6, #82 Veenstra 7-15.
PEPSI COLA STREET STOCKS
Fast time: #68 Eric Hector 15.88
B dash: #43 Jerry Patty, #78 Jeff Hector, #19 Christopher Knutson, #5 Trucker Moore
A dash: #15 Keith Kleyn, #68 E. Hector, #33 Bill Patty, #40 Dennis Chisum
B heat: #43 J. Patty, #78 J. Hector, #3 Ben Meyette, #8 Jeremy Creech, #19 Knutson
A heat: #5 Moore, #33 B. Patty, #68 E. Hector, #40 Chisum
Main: #33 Bill Patty, #68 E. Hector, #78 J. Hector, #3 Meyette, #19 Knutson, #15 Kleyn, #40 Chisum, #8 Creech, #5 Moore, #43 J. Patty
Lap leaders: #43 J. Patty 1-6, #33 B. Patty 7-20.
NW PRO 4 TRUCK CHALLENGE
Fast time: #92 Nick Behn 15.74
B dash: #33 Carl Sheffler, #86 Matt Stickler, #00 Lee Murray, #9 Rob Tipps
A dash: #23 Cheryl Hamblin, #58 Terry Warren, #92 Behn, #5 Kevin Bell
B heat: #8 Josh Charles, #12 Kevin Burck, #23x Steve Morris, #19 Roger Pagel
A heat: #92 Behn, #9 Tipps, #5 Bell, #33 Sheffler, #23 Hamblin
Main: #92 Nich Behn, #19 Pagel, #12 Burck, #58 Warren, #8 Charles, #86 Stickler, #00 Murray, #23x Morris, #5 Bell, #33 Sheffler, #9 Tipps, #48 Dick Boness, Jr., #27 Frank Reed, #73 Jason Majors, #17 Mike Clark, #74 Harold LeGault, #13 Omar Ramo, #23 Hamblin
Lap Leaders: #8 Charles 1-31, #82 Behn 32-50.