Though the clouds looked awfully dark on Saturday afternoon, May 7th, the sun came out and the race season at South Sound Speedway is officially underway now that every South Sound class has had a chance to race. The Late Model Super Stocks and the Modifieds were the latest to get a race in. Along with the Delta Camshaft Mini Stocks and the Super Mini Cup Open Division and Future Stars they dazzled the crowd.
Brad Tanner qualified fastest for the Late Model Super Stocks. Of the 26 cars who qualified, 23 of them were within one second of each other. The class is a mix of very closely competitive cars. Ken Kaltschmidt won the B dash while Tanner took the A dash. With 26 cars, a B main was run. Paul Blake who was supposed to start on the pole dropped out after a valve broke. Jimmy Clair checked in but blew a rear seal in his car during practice and was unable to participate all night. Brad Stanwood and Kaltschmidt started on the front row of the B main event. Kaltschmidt took the lead from the first lap with Stanwood in second. A caution was thrown on lap three when Steve Zibulsky stalled after Pat Schwartzkopf spun and collected Zibulsky and Bob Coffey. Schwartzkopf left the track three laps later. Al Carver left the track on lap 11 with a mechanical problem. Kaltschmidt won the B main with Brad Stanwood in second. The pair moved up into the A main event and the trophy went to Bob Coffey who finished third. Zibulsky was fourth with Charlie West Jr. in fifth. Schwartzkopf finished sixth after returning on lap 15 and Al Carver was seventh.
Nick Behn and Tim Gosch started on the front row of the A main event for the Late Model Super Stocks. Before a lap could be completed a caution came out when Tim Gosch spun. It caused a pile up on the front stretch and Dan Obrist had some damage and left the track. Obrist came back out within the caution without the side panels on his car. The race was completely restarted and Behn and Gosch were on the front row again. Another caution came out after one lap when Dustin Wilkinson spun. Devin Eierman left the track on this lap and didn’t return for the rest of the night. The next caution came before another green flag lap could be completed. This time the flag was for Jim Wilcox spinning. Wilcox lost one lap on his spin. When the race got restarted Wilcox jumped the started and received a one-lap penalty. Nick Behn lost power and oil pressure in his car on the restart lap and left the track for the night. Things got restarted and Gosch took the lead with Tom Sweatman in second and Joe Constance in third. Ken Kaltschmidt left the track on lap 11 but returned later in the race for three more laps before leaving again. Dan Obrist left the track again on lap 13 and Bob Presley left on lap 14. Presley had an altercation in practice that broke a shock internally. During the race Presley realized it was broken and decided to pull off so as not to be a hazard to any other driver. Ben Brubaker was the next mechanical victim on lap 15.
The fourth caution of the race was thrown on lap 17 when Mike Obrist spun and left the track. Gosch was still out front but Sweatman pushed past him on lap 23. A caution was thrown on the next lap when Phil Willis spun. Another caution came out on lap 30 when Dustin Wilkinson had a fire under his car. He got off the track and the fire was put out and he came back 22 laps later. The rest of the race went caution free but that doesn’t mean there were no incidences. Sweatman was still running out front and was keeping a pretty good lead over the pack. Tim Gosch was running second with Joe Constance in third. Constance got around Gosch on lap 39 for second. Brad Tanner was running fourth with Troy Conrad in fifth. Angela Cope was sixth, Wes Rhodes was seventh and Willy Thom was eighth. On lap 73 Angela Cope lost her position as well as a lap when she was spun. Phil Willis received a black flag for the incident. It seemed as if the top three would remain the same but in lapped traffic, Troy Conrad got around Tim Gosch for third. Tom Sweatman ran away with the win. Joe Constance was second with Troy Conrad third. Tim Gosch had a great showing and finished fourth followed by Brad Tanner and Wes Rhodes, all on the lead lap. Willy Thom finished seventh with Angela Cope in eighth, both one lap down. Brad Stanwood finished in ninth with Jim Wilcox in tenth. Dustin Wilkinson, Phil Willis, Mike Obrist, Ben Brubaker and Bob Presley finished out the top 15.
It was another great night for Kevin Koepke in the Delta Camshaft Mini Stocks. Koepke clocked in fastest for the class with a 17.345. Koepke also won the dash. Vicki Shaffer and Bill Hansel started on the front row of the B heat race but after only two laps Shaffer began to have problems and had to leave the track. Freeman Pruitt took the lead from Hansel after Hansel took turn four wide. Pruitt went on to win with Hansel in second and Richard Smith in third. Todd VanDiest led from lap one of the A heat race to win over Floyd Hayne and Kyle Hartman. Pruitt jumped out to the lead in the main event as well and held on as the first caution was thrown on lap eight when Todd VanDiest spun. After having clutch problems all night, Derek Vetter took his car into the pits on that same lap. Another caution came out before a lap was complete when Jeff Bracale, Kyle Hartman and Vicki Shaffer all got together in turn four. After the restart it only took Kevin Koepke one lap to take the lead from Freeman Pruitt. Pruitt got moved back even further when Tom Keehan also passed him on that same lap. Jon Bodwell moved into third on lap 13 and on lap 15 a caution was thrown when Billy Smitham spun. After the racing got back underway Bill Hansel spun and Kyle Hartman was given the black flag for it. Bodwell got around Keehan on lap 18 and had Koepke in his sights until he spun on lap 24 of the 25 lap main event. Koepke won his second in a row and added more to his points lead. Tom Keehan was second with Floyd Hayne in third, Jeff Bracale in fourth and Vicki Shaffer in fifth. Freeman Pruitt ended up sixth with Bodwell, VanDiest, Norman Steelhammer and Nancy Martin rounding out the top ten.
Six cars showed up to race the first Modified race at South Sound Speedway. Jim Midwood checked in but broke and was unable to race. Jim Potter qualified fastest with a 15.332 second lap. Ray Potter won the heat race and the dash. Jim Potter took the lead straight off in the main event. David Ward left the track on lap one after having a mechanical problem. Jim Potter was out front with Ray Potter in second, Steve Suckow in third and Curtis Zelmer in fourth. Suckow left the track on lap 11 making it a three car race. On lap 17 the caution and checkered were thrown together when Curtis Zelmer was being lapped by Jim Potter and Ray Potter took Zelmer around. Ray Potter got the black flag and was penalized a lap. Jim Potter won with Curtis Zelmer in second and Ray Potter third.
Steven Roberts was the fast qualifier for the Super Mini Cup Open Division but it was Cody Stewart who rushed to the dash win. Brooke Lefor led the heat race until Roberts took over on lap five. Roberts won with Lefor in second and Stewart in third. Buddy Benefield and Brooke Lefor started on the front row of the main event. Lefor took the lead and Roberts followed in second until lap nine when he took the lead. They ran the rest of the race without incident. Steven Roberts won the main event followed by Brooke Lefor and Cody Stewart. Dan Larson Jr. was fourth with Terryl Dykstra in fifth. Dan Larson Jr., Dave Torrey, Dave Vanderpol, Josh Stevens and Buddy Benefield finished out the top ten.
Aaron Stanley clocked in fast for the Super Mini Cup Future Stars. Newcomer Tanner McCombs won the trophy dash over Stanley, Kayla Roberts and Matt Benefield. Benefield won the Heat race over Stanley, Austin Thom and McCombs. Austin Thom and Kayla Roberts started on the front row of the main event. Thom led the first lap before a caution was thrown for Chad Neet spinning. A black flag was given to Jacob VanGesen for contact. Aaron Stanley took the lead from Thom the next lap. Stanley won his second main event in a row. Matt Benefield was second and Tanner McCombs was third. Kayla Roberts, Austin Thom, Zach Blockhan, Dustin Torrey, Chad Neet and Jacob VanGesen finished out the field.
Coming up this Saturday, May 14th, on the 3/8ths oval will be the North Star Yachts and Commercial Drivers Services Sportsman, 360 Wingless Sprint, Hinkle Homes Pure Stocks, Yelm National Auto Parts Bumblebees and the Foreign Stock Car Racing Association (FSCRA). Racing will begin at 6:30 pm with qualifying at 5:00 pm. Check out www.southsoundspeedway.com for ticket prices and other coming events as well as results, photos, points and stories of your favorite South Sound Speedway drivers.
Late Model Super Stock Results
Fast Time: Brad Tanner 14.274
B Dash: Ken Kaltschmidt
A Dash : Brad Tanner
B Main: Ken Kaltschmidt, Brad Stanwood, Bob Coffey, Steve Zilbusky, Charlie West Jr., Pat Schwartzkopf, Al Carver A Main: Tom Sweatman, Joe Constance, Troy Conrad, Tim Gosch, Brad Tanner, Wes Rhodes, Willy Thom, Angela Cope, Brad Stanwood, Jim Wilcox, Dustin Wilkinson, Phil Willis, Mike Obrist, Ben Brubaker, Bob Presley, Ken Kaltschmidt, Dan Obrist, Nick Behn, Devin Eierman
Delta Camshaft Mini Stocks
Fast Time: Kevin Koepke 17.345
Dash: Kevin Koepke
B Heat: Freeman Pruitt, Bill Hansel, Richard Smith, Nancy Martin, Norman Steelhammer, Billy Smitham, Vicki Shaffer A Heat: Todd VanDiest, Floyd Hayne, Kyle Hartman, Kevin Koepke, Tom Keehan, Jon Bodwell, Tim Garske, Jeff Bracale
Main: Koepke, Keehan, Hayne, Bracale, Shaffer, Pruitt, Bodwell, VanDiest, Steelhammer, Martin, Hansel, Smith, Hartman, Smitham, Vetter
Modified Results
Fast Time: Jim Potter 15.332
Dash: Ray Potter
Heat: Ray Potter, Jim Potter, Steve Suckow, Curtis Zelmer
Main: J. Potter, Zelmer, R. Potter, Suckow, David Ward
Mini Cup Open Division Results
Fast Time: Steven Roberts 16.822
Dash: Cody Stewart
Heat: Steven Roberts, Brooke Lefor, Cody Stewart, Dan Larson Sr., Dave Torrey, Terryl Dykstra, Dave Vanderpol, Buddy Benefield, Dan Larson Jr., Josh Stevens
Main: Roberts, Lefor, Stewart, Larson Sr., Dykstra, Larson Jr., Torrey, Vanderpol, Stevens, Benefield
Future Star Results
Fast Time: Aaron Stanley 17.967
Dash: Tanner McCombs
Heat: Matt Benefield, Aaron Stanley, Austin Thom, Tanner McCombs, Kayla Roberts, Zach Blockhan, Jacob Van Gesen, Chad Neet, Dustin Torrey
Main: Stanley, Benefield, McCombs, Roberts, Thom, Blockhan, Torrey, Neet, Van Gesen
