KALISPELL, Montana — Greg Ochs drove a patient race in the Northwest Modified Series main event to catch Frankie Volz Jr. late and finally pass the Spokane native with three laps to go for victory in the series’ return to Big Sky country.
Ronan’s Don Webster finished third with James Spiering III and Kevin Dietrich rounding out the top-5.
Webster moved by Cory Schrader on lap three to take the top spot in the running order with Volz Jr. right on his heels. Dietrich and Ochs made their way from the back of the field and ran fourth and fifth respectively by lap 20.
Ochs cleared Dietrich for fourth place on lap 29 and set sail towards the top-3 running order.
Volz Jr. used a solid run on Webster to take over the lead off turn No. 3 near the races midway point. Ochs moved his way to second place by lap 63 of the 75 lap main event and took aim at Volz Jr. With debris on the race track one of the evening’s few yellows came out bunching the field up for a restart. With three laps to go Ochs exited turn No. 4 side-by-side with Volz Jr. and took the race winning lead entering the next corner.
Saturday’s win was Ochs second in as many weekends.
“It’s great to be back here at Montana Raceway Park,” Ochs said. “We’ve got a lot of laps around here and that sure helped us tonight. It was great to be able to come back up here and put on a show.”
In the Pabst Blue Ribbon Hobby Stocks main event, Jason Young broke through for his first main event victory in the division.
Starting near the tail end of the field, Young made his way to the front with points leader Dustin Martel as the duo chased leader Casey Brandt for the lead.
Brandt kept both drivers at bay for several laps before leaving the bottom groove open with Young pouncing on the opportunity. Martel used the high side to clear Brandt at nearly the same time but did not have enough to catch Young for the win.
“We have had a good car this year when we’ve brought it out,” Young said. “I have to thank Dick Robinson for all his help. This was cool to get the win here tonight.”
Kyle Basler returned to the Flathead Beacon Hornet division after a one-race absence and made the most of his run with a victory over Brandon Huntley.
Huntley debuted a new car in his first start of the 2011 season and used it to his advantage early by holding a solid lead on Josh Brinton and Katie Pilsch. Ryan Krause made a late race charge with Basler to the front and the pair moved by Brinton for position with less than 10 laps to go.
Pilsch returned to the division she dominated two years ago en route to a championship, but, fought tire problems off and on throughout the night including at the end of the main event which forced her to pit and give up the second place position.
Basler passed Huntley with five laps to go and forced his opponents to ride behind the him for the final four laps as the three showcased the excitement of the entry level division with a sprint race to the checkered flag.
The Flathead Beacon Bombers hold their longest race of the season on Aug. 6 with the running of the Travelodge 75. Also racing next weekend will be the Lucas Oil Super Stocks, CHS Legends Series, Wanna Race Bandoleros and the MRP Compacts. Tickets are on sale through the track’s website at www.montanaracewaypark.com For more information call (406) 257-RACE (7223) or find the track on Facebook.
Montana Raceway Park results for July 30, 2011:
Flathead Beacon Hornets
Trophy Dash Winner: Josh Brinton
B-Heat Race Winner: Dennis Gallaway
A-Heat Race Winner: Zach Havens
Main Event Finishing Order:
Kyle Basler
Brandon Huntley
Ryan Krause
Josh Brinton
Marianne Hanson
Derrik Newton
Katie Pilsch
Kendra Bicknell
Dennis Gallaway
Zach Havens
Keith Sheppard
Pabst Blue Ribbon Hobby Stocks
Trophy Dash Winner: Mike Rowe
B-Heat Race Winner: Steve Hrisook
A-Heat Race Winner: Ed Linn
Main Event Finishing Order:
Jason Young
Dustin Martel
Rick Mitchell
Casey Brandt
Brandon Martel
Ed Linn
Josh Davis
Mike Rowe
Cory Reum
Steve Hrisook
Chuck Swope
Jim Kruze
Mike Burke
Northwest Modifieds
B-Trophy Dash Winner: Ron Wright
A-Trophy Dash Winner: Kevin Dietrich
Heat Race Winner: Dietrich
A-Heat Race Winner: Kelley Dupuis
Main Event Finishing Order:
Greg Ochs
Frankie Volz Jr.
Don Webster
James Spiering III
Kevin Dietrich
Chris Ochs
Ron Wright
Cory Schrader
Dave Weaver
