ELKO, Nevada -- The Battle Mountain Boys took charge Saturday night at Summit Raceway in Elko, NV as Ward Amberson and Nick Ayers administered a lethal one-two punch by sweeping the I.M.C.A. Modified feature race. Between the two of them, they took no prisoners as they captured all of the modified events. Amberson won his heat race while Ayers collected the hardware by winning the trophy dash. But in the feature race Amberson led all thirty laps on the quarter-mile clay oval, perfectly groomed by trackman Bruce Dayton.
Amberson had to put up with no less than nine caution flags during the race, sometimes evaporated huge leads. Starter Lincoln Litchfield called for no less than three complete restarts before all the drivers got onto the same page, but not before pole starter Jim Lester of Elko was eliminated in a tangle with Amberson. The eventual winner had problems until the last ten circuits. Ayers, winner last Saturday night in Battle Mountain Raceway, wanted to make it two-in-a-row in the 'northeastern tour'. So he pressed hard on the leader and got to within inches of Amberson.
Meanwhile, 'The Ryndon Rocket' Joe Rigsby was reeling-in Ayers. With only several laps remaining, rookie Terry Taylor, running in only his third race, slid behind Rigsby as he passed Dan Basanez. Basanez pitted as Taylor spun in front of the start/finish line with Austin's Craig Maestretti moved up to fourth.
At the checkered, Amberson held off Ayers by two lengths. Third went to Rigsby and the rookie, Taylor, got by Maestretti for fourth, his best finish in his three races. But Taylor didn't remember to stop pull his car in the designated check area. Subsequently, his was disqualified.
Amberson, the defending Battle Mountain Raceway champion, had the right set-up for the tacky track and has his sights on another championship, or two, in 2003.
Spring Creek driver Richard Rue also had the 'right stuff' Saturday night as he won a thriller in the thirty-lap Pro Stock division, although it wasn't easy. After the 'Faster Pastor' Chris Cupples, Pastor of the Cavalry Baptist Church in Elko, banged fenders with Brian Thorp on the initial lap, and was unable to return, Thorp resumed the pole position. Rue, taking advantage of his outside front row position, had no problems except for Thorp. As if they took a page out of the I.M.C.A. Rules of Etiquette book, the Pro Stock's color of the day was yellow.
Once the race started for real, Rue cling for first over Thorp, the defending Pro Stock champion at Summit Raceway. Stacey Beeler, another of those Battle Mountain Boys, was trying to win his third Pro Stock features in a row. But, Rue and Thorp had different ideas. It turned out to be a two-car race as Rue and Thorp battled it out. Rue's car was strong and so was Thorp's. The difference was heavy lapped traffic. Rue didn't have as much problem but Thorp had more in front of him at the crucial times. At one time, Thorp sped past the leader but had to get it back to Rue as a back-marker loomed in his path. Thorp never recovered. At the checkered flag, Rue had a commanding one-quarter-lap advantage over the disappointed Thorp. Beeler finished in third over Spring Creek driver Terry Lister and Bo Yocum. Rue and Thorp divided the preliminaries as Rue took honors in the heat race while Thorp captured the trophy dash.
One of the most exciting finishes ever at any racetrack, a couple of Elko drivers Chris Steensen and Sam Coffelt went head to head in the Mini-Mod feature. Add another local lad to the mix, Mike Fietzek, and we had a great race. Coffelt took the early lead with Steensen on his tail. When Steensen spun, Fietzek took his place to chase the leader. He raced even with Coffelt into turn one but went into the apron and swiftly switched ends. Meanwhile, Coffelt paced the event and held it no matter who was in second place. Until the last turn! Steensen had returned to the melee and pressed the leader big time. The pursuer had his chance leaving turn four heading to the checkered. Both drivers gave their all for that last few feet, as the crowd sprang to their feet rooting on their favorites. By the thinnest of eyelashes, Chris Steensen got the nod from the scorers and went to Victory Circle. It was a two night win for Steensen as he raced to victory in the heat race, but in the trophy dash it was Fietzek.
The newest division from the racing association, Elko County Auto Racing (ECAR), saw Marnie Thorp, the First Lady of the track, put two feature wins on the books, as she took the measure of Austin Senecal. The young lady turned in a wire-to-wire victory in the ten-lap feature in the Gen-X class. Thorp won the heat while Senecal took the trophy dash.
Racing resumes Saturday night May 10 at Summit Raceway. Grandstands will open at 5 with racing at 7. Fans are urged to visit the track's website, www.summitraceway.com. for all up to date news, points, and features.
- Heat race
- Ward Amberson, Jim Lester, Dan Basanez, Nick Ayers, Craig Maestretti
- Trophy Dash
- Nick Ayers, Ward Amberson, Jim Lester, Dan Basanez
- Feature
- Ward Amberson, Nick Ayers, Joe Rigsby, Craig Maestretti, Dan Basanez, Jim Lester, Terry Taylor DQ
- Heat race
- Richard Rue, Chris Cupples, Brian Thorp, Terry Lister, Stacy Beeler
- Trophy Dash
- Brian Thorp, Terry Lister, Richard Rue, Chris Cupples
- Feature
- Richard Rue, Brian Thorp, Stacy Beeler, Terry Lister, Bo Yocum, Bruce Fisher, Jr. Chris Cupples
- Heat race
- Chris Steensen, Mike Fietzek, Sam Coffelt, David Wright, Steve Pruitt, Josh Giguerie
- Trophy Dash
- Mike Fietzek, Chris Steensen, David Wright, Sam Coffelt
- Feature
- Chris Steensen, Sam Coffelt, Mike Fietzek, David Wright, Steve Pruitt, Josh Giguerie
- Heat
- Marnie Thorp, Austin Senecal
- Trophy Dash
- Austin Senecal, Marnie Thorp
- Feature
- Marnie Thorp, Austin Senecal
