SEASON CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT EPHRATA RACEWAY PARK

EPHRATA, Washington — There are plenty of superstitions among the auto racing crowd. Never say you are going to get done early, green on a race car is bad luck and never point out a full moon. The full moon superstition is all about weird things happening. Season Championship Night at Ephrata Raceway Park was on a full moon and strange things did happen. Two class championships that could have easily been decided had the point leaders just fired up the car and finished the race turned out to be easier said than done. The closest point races went down to the final laps. If you were a race fan that comes to the track to see auto parts strewn around the raceway, Championship night was your cup of tea as wrecks were as plentiful as at any point all season long.

Going into the evening, Bart Hector, Jr. was 74 points behind Dallas White for the Kim Janke State Farm Agent Youth Hornet title. He was 21 points behind Jesse Hector for second place. Even with double points for the main it was a long shot that he’d leap from third to first in points. With point leader Dallas White black-flagged and losing main event points, and second in points Jesse Hector blowing a motor and finishing far back in the main, Hector had much to gain. In a time limit, lap shortened 23-lap main event, Bart Hector, Jr. found himself in winners circle and when the evening points were tallied the division champion by 17 points. During the race night Stephnie Patty set fast time at 17.448 seconds and heat race wins went to Michael Olsick and Damon Claiborn.

In the Ephrata Pioneer Muffler II Adult Hornet division, Josh Hector made sure he kept his point lead intact. Going into the night 18 points ahead of Rod Julian, the best way to ensure the championship was to make sure he finished in front of Julian all night. And that is what he did. Josh Hector set fast time and won the 25-lap Adult Hornet main event to cement the title. Terry McGraw and Sid White won the heat races.

The Mini Stock division was one of the classes that the outcome was not in much doubt as to who would win the point title. David Macken had a commanding 114 point lead over the driving duo of Charles Larr/Sean Meyers and 120 point lead over Jeff Hector. So Macken had to just make all the races, and roll the car onto the trailer at the end of the night to win the title. At the end of the night, the car in pieces Macken did win the championship, but the point lead had shrunk to 59 points and Jeff Hector had moved up to second place with Larr/Meyers dropping to third. Jeff Hector set fast time at 16.377 and finished second in the main, one spot ahead of Meyers, to move up in the standings. Joe Smith won the eventful Mini Stock Main Event. The heat race winners were Hector and Chris McCart debuting a new orange Mini Truck.

With a small field of Pepsi Cola Street Stocks on hand, Bart Hector started the night clinging to a one point lead over son Eric Hector. When the night was over it was Bart Hector claiming another track championship, with Eric Hector second and JR Miner finishing third. Bart Hector set fast time at 15.734. Also winning the heat and main. An early race incident with another car took Eric Hector out of the running early in the shortened main event. Daniel Hector moved up to 4th overall in points with his second place finish in the main, and Sam Todd of Odessa was third in the event.

Another driver that seemed to have a championship close at hand was Kenny Brown in the Jerry’s Auto Supply Hobby Stocks. Going into the evening with a 36 point lead over Ephrata Police Officer Patrick Canady, Brown needed to pretty much just finish the evening somewhere near Canady in the main event to claim the top spot. Canady set fast time at 16.236 and finished one spot ahead of Brown in their heat race to pick up some more points setting the stage for a great main event showdown. Brown took over the main event lead with a lap 5 pass on Tanner Halley, that Halley repaid the favor on the next lap. A few laps later, Brown tangled with another car which subsequently earned him a black flag. That black flag resulted in a loss of points for the night. On the restart Russell Kain inherited the lead, a spot he would hold until the 19th lap when Canady made the pass and took over the lead. With the points he earned on Championship night Canady earned his first Hobby Stock championship by 102 points, on a night he started 36 points back. Kane and Jason Ray won the heat races.

A late season run of main event wins moved Mike Fought from second to first in points in the 360 Sprint division. In memory of his grandfather Clyde Fought; who passed away last week, Ephrata Raceway Park had a moment of silence and memorial laps during opening ceremonies. “Fishin” Bob Witte from Haymarsh, North Dakota set fast time at 13.341. The three trophy dashes were won by Doug Peter, Justin Popple and Donnie Kudrna. For the main event, thirteen cars took the track. On the first lap Bob Witte got caught up in an incident at the back of the field that also claimed Rickey Nelson from Spokane, WA. The ensuing green saw Rich Fast of Mesa, WA claim the top spot. By the tenth lap Kudrna and Fought had caught Fast. Kudrna slipped by, but slipped up the track with Fought driving past both down low to take over the lead. From the 11th lap on it was all Fought as he dominated the race, and claimed the Season Championship main and point title at the same time.

Ephrata Raceway Park has wrapped up its auto racing schedule for 2008. But the next two Sunday’s September 21st and 28th will see the track host Moto-Cross races. See www.ephrataracewaypark.com for details.

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