Weekend Race Recap
Well the day was a long one with the skies opening up until doors opened. The rain let up and we actually saw sun for the first time all day. The track crew did a great job coving the ramps and approaches to the race lanes; this was needed considering the run off of the Speedway track. The racing was slower than what we would have seen under prime conditions but the drivers still had some awesome runs. Grave Digger was on the inside lane and seemed to be dialed in until the final run where Randy Brown narrowly beat out Chad Fortune in Superman.
The crowd saw the Street Warriors out on the track first with some greasy runs they did have their time steadily improved as the track started to dry out.
Freestyle was a started out with no rain but we would not see our fortune of no rain hold off. Iron Warrior was out first and landed with a score of 15. The rain slowly started as El Toro Loco hit the track and he would better the score by landing a 17. Gunslinger was able to navigate the now slick track and even take over the lead by scoring a 19. The local hero Mike Vaters in Black Stallion who had trouble making it to the line in racing (but did make it before time expired) made a move to the top with the lead. Superman who finished second in racing set a pace that could only be beat by one man, the score to beat now is 23. Randy Brown in Grave digger had the toughest track conditions to deal with. The rain was coming down solid now and he had to string a run together to beat Superman. He would come out on top with a 25.
Saturday Night
Round One
Grave Digger vs Gunslinger - Grave Digger
El Toro Loco vs Superman – Superman
Iron Warrior vs Black Stallion – Black Stallion
Semi Finals
Grave Digger vs Iron Warrior (fast loser) – Grave Digger
Superman vs Black Stallion – Black Stallion
Finals
Grave Digger vs Black Stallion – Grave Digger
The night and track were in prime condition for freestyle. The track was fast and tacky with the weather slightly cloudy and no rain. The first out was Iron Warrior and man was he pumped coming out as the first truck and pulling down a 21. The Chris Baker driving El Toro Loco had a good run using about everything out there. He would have a 21 also putting him in a tie with Iron Warrior. Gunslinger came out with the fast pace action he thought would get him to the top. The number of hits if drivers were not on the gas was greatly reduced if not on the throttle due to the spread out nature of the speedway setting. He would get the lead along with the first two trucks landing at the 21 in points. Black Stallion had the hometown crowd behind him but with obstacles getting worn down from the hard hitting trucks in front of him he would fall short of a winning run with a 20. Superman who finished with two seconds last night knew it was going to be tough but with a go for broke attitude he would fly past the current leaders with a 24. The speed and distance Chad was getting off of the smaller hits was breath taking. Grave Digger driven by Randy Brown was the last to go and starting his run with a six rotation doughnut really got the crowd excited. The sting of hit he put together seemed effortless and the way he would come out of a small doughnut facing the next hit was magic. He would be on top in the four main events we have had so far scoring a 27 he tonight. It was an amazing sell out crowd and can’t wait to see what the boys have planned for us tomorrow.
Sunday
The racing was a smaller bracket due to some breakage on a few of the trucks. Iron Warrior who worked through the morning was in a bad spot considering the transmission blew at the start of intros. They worked hard to get it done but after replacing it they were unable to make it happen looks like problems ran deeper than just the trans. Grave Digger was on the line for the first round of racing but it was noticed that he had blown a planetary. He would not be back for racing to defend his back to back final wins from the nights before. It was down to four trucks. The lineup was Gunslinger, El Toro Loco, Superman and Hagerstown’s own Black Stallion. Gunslinger and El Toro would be out of the running for the main which placed Black Stallion and Superman on the line both looking for their first win here. Superman would end up taking the win after Black Stallion missed hitting third gear. Chad was glad to have one since he was so close on Friday night.
Freestyle was down to five trucks since Grave Digger had made it back for Freestyle. The hard pack slick course had drivers fighting for traction in some sections and hooking up in others. The Lead jockeyed for all the trucks finally settling with Chad Fortune in the lead, with Digger left to run today. Chad was there for redemption for missing racing and was exciting to watch with a great timed run and then after time had stopped he put a show on for the fans. He would end up in the winner’s circle for the fifth time this weekend and feet to be proud of for the fact he was up against some of the most talented drivers on tour.
