Jim Wysong finished the season in fitting fashion Saturday as he solidly won the Third Annual PPG 100 at Rocky Mountain Raceways.
Wysong won the PPG Modified Series Championship last week. This week he showed how he got it with his win in the 100-lap feature and a new track record.
The night started with a record-setting qualifying lap of 15.623 seconds. That reset his 15.653 second record set last week.
He followed that up with a win in the PPG 100. Wysong started eighth in the 19-car field. He moved up quickly. He broke into the top five on lap five and was in third by lap 10. After a hard fought battle with Lynn Hardy nd Michael Hale, Wysong took the lead for the first time on lap 34. From there he took off, building up a lead of about six seconds when the red flag came out on lap 50 for a refueling break.
Following the 10-minute break for minor adjustments and to put fuel in the cars, Wysong led the pack back to the green. He led for a short time before Hardy took the lead back on lap 56. But Hardy's run at the front would be short lived as Wysong's car came back to him. Wysong retook the lead on lap 65 and never looked back. He once again built up a solid lead of over six seconds before a caution on lap 87. That put the rest of the field on his back bumper. Wysong was able to hold on, however, holding off a hard-charging Rick Ellison and Hale. Hale passed two cars in the final two laps to finish second. Ellison, Hardy, and Jim Eaton rounded out the top five. For Wysong, the finish came just in time as his tires were starting to wear.
"I thought they were bad but with oil on the track it seemed like everyone was having problems like me," he said. "It feels good now that it's over. One hundred laps is a long race."
Wysong was also part of the Temple Maschines Dash of Cash earlier in the night. The dash, which saw competition from the season's six winners-Wysong, Hardy, Ellison, Eaton, Mark Ith, and Clint Eames-paid out $5,000 to the winner. In fitting fashion, the battle for the cash came down to Wysong and Hardy, who fought all year long for the championship. Hardy came out on top this time. Wysong made a hard charge on the last lap, but he got loose coming out of turn four and that gave the win to Hardy.
In the Legends, Doyle Olsen won the main event but came up short in the points. Jeff Kelley finished third. That, coupled with a second place heat finish, was enough for Kelley to hold off Olsen for the 1999 Championship. Olsen was followed by Michael Schultz, Kelley, Brandon Burton, and Kelly Van Cleave in the main event. Schultz won the trophy dash and a heat race. Burton won the other heat race.
Despite crashing on the first lap and finishing last in the main event, Wade Hugoe held on to the Rocky Mountain Engines Figure 8 points lead to win the 1999 Championship. Hugoe won the heat race earlier in the night, but spun and hit Tracy Eaton head on as the green fell on the main. Eaton, who finished second in points, was able to repair his car and come back to win the event. He was followed by Dave Fleishman, Jimmy Hamilton, Bill Baker, and Bruce Kremers.
Michael Norman and George Eastin won the Wynn's Train event followed by Marla Womble/Mark Womble, Skip Delaney/Randy Winn, Ray Nieser/Greg Gleason, and Mike Peterson/Bill Baker. Justin Miller and Scott Jasmer finished sixth, which was enough for them to win the 1999 Wynn's Train Championship.
The season also came to a close for the Sears Craftsman ET Series on the drag strip this weekend. In Friday's season finale, the winners were: Anthony Hoffman, Motorcycle; Brad Monroe, Top Comp; Tim Marshall, Sportsman; Frank Santarosa, Super Pro; Eddie Conover, Pro; Brandon Lynch, Arctic Circle Junior Dragsters Minor; and Stacey Mackay, Arctic Circle Junior Dragsters Major.
Mackay's win helped her unofficially secure the 1999 Arctic Circle Junior Dragster Major Championship. Other unofficial champions are: Paige Mobley, Arctic Circle Junior Dragster Minor; Darrin Roberts, Motorcycle; Jed Dubach, Top Comp; Kevin Kingsbury, Sportsman; Frank Santarosa, Super Pro; and Harry Bras, Pro. The track is reviewing all results to finalize the standings.
