Brandon Riehl was the top qualifier in the field of 20 cars that qualified for the ninth race of the MidState Series between Tri-City Raceway and Yakima Speedway. But his quickness and his new track record wasn’t enough to bring home his third win of the series.
After experiencing a variety of problems during the last several races, Riehl rallied last week at Yakima for a win, but Jefferson was determined to limit his win streak to one.
Mike Zamora sat on the pole as the result of a four-car invert, with Alden Hamilton, Jason Jefferson, and Riehl following him to the green flag start of the 75-lap main event. The front four remained in position for the early stages of the race, but by lap 20 Hamilton gave way to Mike Nelson, with Riehl in the lead and Jefferson second.
On lap 30, Riehl came together with Jerry Markee, sending both to the rear of the pack, and enabling Jefferson to take the lead. Four caution flags gave Jefferson time to catch and finally pass Riehl by lap 30. For the remainder of the race Jefferson played a cat and mouse game with the field through several cautions, sprinting to substantial leads on the restarts.
Riehl was able to move through the pack to a third place finish behind Nelson, with Brad Rhoads and Zamora rounding out the top-five.
For the Limited Sportsman, Rod Schultz, Jr., set a new track record and was on his way to his fourth MidState win before a disqualification scratched him from the finish, enabling Brian Lambert to post his first win of the year.
As the result of an invert, Todd Connell began the race on the pole, with J.C. Wofford, Tim DeWeese, John Rose, Jeff Estabrook, B.J. Tidrick, Lambert, Schultz, and first time racer, Nancy Goehring filling out the field.
For the 35-lap main event, there were several lead changes, but Schultz took the lead on lap 21, with Lambert and Tidrick close behind. The only caution came out on lap 3, when Rose came together with Connell. Rose was then black-flagged and sent to the rear of the field, but managed to finish third behind Lambert and Tidrick, with DeWeese and Wofford gaining fourth and fifth, respectively.
Also on the card were the Foreign Stocks, with a field of 12 racers. And the racer of day in this class was Scott Tiplady, who was top qualifier, second in the A Dash, and first in his heat. His race to win the 35-lap main event, would not come easy, though.
As the result of an eight-car invert, Bob Quartermain sat on the pole, with Jim McKay, Jeff Jones, and John Grosvenor filling out the front grid. Grosvenor took the point from Quartermain on the green flag lap, but could only hold the lead for a few laps.
By lap 10, Terry Rinnick took the lead, with Tiplady moving into second place, and the two holding their positions until lap 29, when Tiplady slipped by Rennick for the lead, and the victory. Rinnick, Grosvenor, Jones and Skip Markham followed the leader to the checkered flag. Only two cautions served to slow the pack.
Sunday night, the really Big Rigs came to town and brought with them enough tonnage to bring down any racetrack. Nine rigs qualified for the 25-lap main event, with Vic Smith on the pole and Kevin McMeckan, Darren Berdahl, Mervin Pidhenry rounding out the front grid. Top qualifier Peter Van Dyke began the race in sixth place as the result of an invert.
Smith could only hold the lead for a few laps before McMeckan thundered past him. But he his lead would be short-lived as well. By lap 10, Cory Riplinger grabbed the lead and held it all the way to the checkered flag, with Pidhenry and Van Dyke following him to the podium.
Also on the schedule for the evening were Tri-City Raceway’s own Pure Stocks, Bombers and Mini Stocks.
The 50-lap Pure Stock main event was filled with color: yellow and red. Six cautions and one red flag came out during the race, causing the lead to change on several occasions. Top qualifier and new track record holder, Tracy Klemsrud, began the race in tenth place because of the invert, and could muster no more than a fourteenth-place finish.
Sitting on the pole, Angie McKay held position for almost 10 laps, before being passed by Klemsrud, Gilbert Burris and Terry Barnes. At the half-way point of lap 29, Barnes took the lead, and held it to the finish, with Burris, Tim Sumner, James Ewing, and Tony Delp rounding out the top-five.
For the Bombers, points-leader Chris Worley continued his winning ways with his fifth win out of six races. For the 20-lap main event, Bob Wilson started on the pole, with top qualifier and new track record-holder, Worley, at the rear of the pack.
It only took Worley 10 laps to grab the lead from Robert McInturf who took the lead from the pole-sitter on lap five. Racing to substantial leads, Worley held his position all the way to the checkered flag, with David Gentyler, Owen Berglund, Wilson, and Erick Hargraves following him to the finish line. In qualifying, Gentyler and Hargraves also broke the old Bomber track record.
In the 20-lap Mini Stock main event, top qualifier Robert Claphin took his momentum all the way to checkered flag after he grabbed the lead from pole sitter Robert Hill on lap ten. The race was caution free as Hill, Jeremiah Marceau and Mike Hoff followed him across the finish line.
Next weekend, Midgets, Pure Stocks and Mini Stocks are scheduled to race. The pit gate will open at 2:00 p.m., with the main gate opening at 5:00 p.m. Qualifying will begin at 6:00 p.m. with racing set to start at 7:00 p.m.
Results: MidState Late Models: 1. Jason Jefferson (Naches), 2. Mike Nelson (Kennewick), 3. Brandon Riehl (Boring, OR), 4. Brad Rhoads (Portland, OR), 5. Mike Zamora (Kennewick), 6. C.J. Miller (Vancouver), 7. Davey Manthei (Vancouver, BC), 8. Alden Hamilton (Kennewick), 9. Bob Olson (Walla Walla), 10. Brad Tanner (Portland, OR), 11. Jerry Markee (Ellensburg), 12. Travis Bennett (Yakima), 13. Jody Tanner (Portland, OR), 14. Ed Thomsen (Richland), 15. Bill Mills (Zillah), 16. Kirk Hennefer (Darby, MT), 17. Luke Ledgerwood (Pomeroy), 18. Rod Schultz (Woodland), 19. Jeff Bailey (Pasco), 20. Steve Thompson (Kennewick). Top Qualifier: Riehl (17.889) A Trophy Dash: Zamora, Hamilton, Riehl, Jefferson B Trophy Dash: Tanner, Manthei, Schultz, Markee
MidState Limited Sportsman: 1. Brian Lambert (Kennewick), 2. B.J. Tidrick (Yakima), 3. John rose (Yakima), 4. Tim DeWeese (Selah), 5. J.C. Wofford (Wapato), 6. Jeff Estabrook (Maple Valley), 7. Nancy Goehring (Kennewick), Todd Connell (Yakima), 9. Rod Schultz, Jr. (Woodland). Top Qualifier: Schultz (19.831) A Trophy Dash: Tidrick, Schultz, Estabrook B Trophy Dash: Wofford, Connell, Rose, DeWeese Heat Race: Lambert, DeWeese, Wofford, Estabrook, Connell, Rose, Tidrick, Goehring
Foreign Stock Cars: 1. Scott Tiplady, 2. Terry Rinnick, 3. John Grosvenor, 4. Jeff Jones, 5. Skip Markham, 6. Jim McKay, 7. Jerry Koepping, 8. Bob Quartermain, 9. Mike Courage, 10. Earl Williamson, 11. Earl Williamson, 12. Dan Hale Top Qualifier: Tiplady (20.018) A Trophy Dash: Courage, Tiplady, Jones, Rinnick B Trophy Dash: Markham, Grosvenor, Mundy Heat Race: Tiplady, Rinnick, Grosvenor, Mundy, Markham, Jones, Courage
Pure Stocks: 1. Terry Barnes, 2. Gilbert Burris, 3. Tim Sumner, 4. James Ewing, 5. Tony Delp, 6. Jade Williams, 7. Bob Franklin, 8. Angie McKay, 9. Greg Brown, 10. Larry Smith, 11. Jason Brinkley, 12. Chris Alger, 13. Christy Hill, 14. Tracy Klemsrud, 15. David Moore Top Qualifier: T. Klemsrud (22.369) A Trophy Dash: T. Klemsrud, Ewing, Delp, Barnes B Trophy Dash: Burris, Sumner, Brown, Brinkley C Trophy Dash: Brenda Sanford, Smith, Alger, Franklin Heat Race 1: Barnes, Ewing, T. Klemsrud, Burris, Brinkley, Williams, Brown Heat Race 2: Sumner, McKay, Smith, Alger, Moore, Hill, Sanford
Bombers: 1. Chris Worley, 2. David Gentyler, 3. Owen Berglund, 4. Bob Wilson, 5. Erick Hargraves, 6. Robert McInturf Top Qualifier: Worley (23.026) A Trophy Dash: Gentyler, Worley, Hargraves B Trophy Dash: McInturf, Wilson, Berglund Heat Race: Hargraves, Worley, Gentyler, Berglund, Wilson, McInturf
Mini Stocks: 1. Robert Claphin, 2. Robert Hill, 3. Jeremiah Marceau, Mike Hoff Top Qualifier: Claphin (21.439) A Trophy Dash: Hill, Claphin, Marceau, Hoff Heat Race: Hill, Claphin, Marceau, Hoff
Big Rigs: 1. Cory Ripplinger, 2. Mervyn Pidhenry, 3. Peter Van Dyck, 4. Darren Berdahl, 5. A.J. Watson, 6. Kevin McMeckan, 7. Vic Smith, 8. Jeff Lynn, 9. Troy Pidhenry Top Qualifier: Peter Van Dyck (24.766) A Trophy Dash: Berdahl, Pidhenry, Van Dyck, M. Pidhenry B Trophy Dash: Ripplinger, Berdahl, McMeckan, Smith Heat Race: Riplinger, Watson, T. Pidhenry, Van Dyck, McMeckan, Berdahl, M. Pidhenry, Smith, Lynn
