Above Ron Wolf
Above Ron Wolf
By Kristy Palmer
April 19, 2003… The clouds parted and the racing started Saturday night at South Sound Speedway. The Late Model Super Stocks, Top Notch Trailers Street Stocks, Hinkle Homes Pure Stocks and NW Legends started up the Saturday night race show.
Ron Wolf won the 100-lap main event, the first of the season. Wolf has never won, let alone finished a main event at South Sound in the past few years. He is usually plagued by mechanical problems or involvement in an accident. He finally broke the hex and won the main event after leading for 95 of the 100 laps. Curtis Zelmer and Jeff Walcker started on the front row of the main event. Zelmer led for five laps before Wolf took over. On lap two, Dave Ford ran over some debris and it was thrown up into his radiator. The race went yellow, then red to clean up and Ford was done for the night. On lap 11 another spin took place with Chad Hinkle and Jerry Clark. Each lost one lap. Zelmer held on to second spot until lap 14 when he and Eric Tibbitts spun resulting in both losing a lap. Jim Clair went off on lap 30 due to an overheating problem. Jeff Walcker also went off for mechanical problems.
Half way through the 100-lap main, Wolf was still leading with Nick Behn and Dan Rhodes half a lap behind. Another yellow came when Jerry Clark spun in turn two and lost one lap. Behn was falling back in the line up and went off the track on lap 79 for mechanical problems. The final 20 laps ran very smoothly with no more cautions. Ron Wolf was victorious with Dan Rhodes in second and Chad Hinkle in third. Curtis Zelmer, Kevin Carver, Eric Tibbitts and Tim Gosch rounded out the top seven.
The Top Notch Trailers Street Stocks made their season debut. JJ Hamilton clocked in a new track record of 15.73. Bobby Micielli won the trophy dash. Dan Woodward led all eight laps of the heat race with JJ Hamilton, Bobby Micielli, and Bill Posh Jr. in tow. Ron Ehli and Mike Brooks were close behind. Woodward also led all 25 laps of the main event. Bobby Micielli ran tough in second and fought off Bill Posh Jr. and JJ Hamilton. Woodward won with Micielli in second and Hamilton in third. Posh was fourth followed by Ehli and Brooks. Bill Manney didn’t start off his year so great with a blown motor in practice.
Rookie Josh Zahn took the fastest qualifying position in the Hinkle Homes Pure Stocks. Jake Petty won the dash. Dave Crawford led all eight laps of the A heat race. Petty was second with Zahn in third. Lloyd Bonar won the B heat race with Justin Floreck and Andre Pilon in tow. Bonar led the first lap of the main event and Crawford led the next nine. Mike Saylors took over the lead on lap 11 and brought Zahn around with him. Zahn and Saylors battled until lap 22 when Zahn finally got around Saylors. Zahn won the main event with Saylors, Crawford, Amanda Easley and Justin Floreck in the top five. Mark Rorvik was fifth with Charlie Manier, Andre Pilon, Chris Huisingh, Bonar and Petty finishing up the field.
Billy Weber clocked in fastest for the NW Legends and Bob Kronenberg, Rich Spooner and Bradley Shaw won trophy dashes. Weber also won a heat race. Rick McNeill won a heat race as well as Aaron Bellanca. Twenty-three cars started the main event. The first yellow came before any laps were complete. Andon Allen spun and left the track. The next yellow was for Matt Barrett who spun. Gordon Villa-Malais pulled into the center for a mechanical problem on lap 10. Weber left the track on lap 10 and came back on lap 14. Rich Spooner led up until the 27th lap when Garrett Haxby passed him. That was the last completed green lap before the last yellow was thrown. Then the checkered was shown due to time constraints. Haxby was first with Spooner in second. McNeill was third followed by Tony Carabello, Ken Armstrong and Rob Hawton.
Next week at South Sound Speedway will be the NWSST, FSCRA, Yelm National Auto Parts Bumblebees and Outlaw Compacts. Check out www.southsoundspeedway.com for ticket prices and all other race information.
Late Model Super Stock Results
Fast Time: Nick Behn 14.48
Dash: Eric Tibbitts
Main: Ron Wolf, Dan Rhodes, Chad Hinkle, Curtis Zelmer, Kevin Carver, Eric Tibbitts, Tim Gosch, Jerry Clark, Jimmy Clair, Nick Behn, Jeff Walcker, Dave Ford
Hinkle Homes Pure Stock Results
Fast Time: Josh Zahn 18.13
Dash: Jake Petty
B Heat: Lloyd Bonar, Justin Floreck, André Pilon, Amanda Easley, Chris Huisingh
A Heat: Dave Crawford, Jake Petty, Josh Zahn, Charlie Manier, Mike Saylors, Eric Lee
Main: Zahn, Saylors, Crawford, Easley, Floreck, Rorvik, Manier, Pilon, Huisingh, Bonar, Petty
Legend Results
Fast Time: Billy Weber 16.08
Semi-Pro Dash: Bradley Shaw
Master Dash: Bob Kronenberg
Pro Dash: Rich Spooner
Semi-Pro Heat: Aaron Bellanca, Joe Martin, Robert Hornbeck, Gordon Villa-Malais, Bradley Shaw, Larry Best, Scott Nielsen, Jeff Mueller, Tom Matheson
Master Heat: Rick McNeill, Ken Armstrong, Bob Kronenberg, Rob Hawton, George Hill, Dennis Fromm
Pro Heat: Billy Weber, Duane Swanson, Garrett Haxby, Andon Allen, Tony Carabello, Rich Spooner, Louis Grant
Main: Haxby, Spooner, McNeill, Carabello, Armstrong, Hawton, Bellanca, Grant, Matheson, Martin, Shaw, Fromm, Kronenberg, Best, Mueller, Hill, Nielsen, Hornbeck, Barrett, Weber, Swanson, Villa-Malais, Allen
Top Notch Trailers Street Stock Results
Fast Time: JJ Hamilton 15.73 Track Record
Dash: Bobby Micielli
Heat: Dan Woodward, JJ Hamilton, Bobby Micielli, Bill Posh Jr., Ron Ehli, Mike Brooks, Bill Manney
Main: Woodward, Micielli, Hamilton, Posh, Ehli, Brooks
Points as of 4/19/03
Hinkle Homes Pure Stocks
1. Josh Zahn 162
2. Jake Petty 140
3. Cahrlie Manier 125
4. Justin Floreck 122
5. Mark Rorvik 110
6. Brandon Tompkins 87
7. Dave Crawford 73
8. Mike Saylors 68
9. Andre' Pilon 59
10. Amanda Easley 59
Points as of 4/19/03
Top Notch Trailers Street Stocks
1. Dan Woodward 85
2. JJ Hamilton 81
3. Bobby Micielli 77
4. Bill Posh Jr. 69
5. Ron Ehli 60
6. Mike Brooks 56
Points as of 4/19/03
Late Model Super Stocks
1. Ron Wolf 70
2. Chad Hinkle 70
3. Eric Tibbitts 62
4. Curtis Zelmer 60
5. Dan Rhodes 58
6. Nick Behn 58
7. Tim Gosch 52
8. Kevin Carver 50
9. Jeff Walcker 48
10. Jimmy Clair 40
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