LONGTON EARNS FIRST LATE MODEL WIN OF 2003

Source: Pace/Yakima Speedway
Date: 05/25/2003

Also racing was the exciting Boomers Roadside Bar & Grill Street Stock class, which has not had a repeat winner all season.

Walker would do his best to give himself a great starting position in qualifying. The Prosser, Wash. native wheeled the No. 34 Shy’s Pizza/ Hall Chevrolet Monte Carlo to a $100 bonus for setting quick time with a lap of 18.996 seconds.

The 21-year old Columbia Basin Community College student followed that up with a win in the A-Trophy Dash and looked like the car to beat heading into the 75-lap main event.

A six-car invert put Ron Turner’s Pro-Ditch Racing Chevrolet on the pole with the Magic Metals Monte Carlo of Troy Trammell to the outside. The top-5 qualifying effort from Trammell was his best effort of the season thus far.

Mike Longton and Walker made up row three and each was looking to establish themselves in the 18-car field. Turner would lead the first lap of the event with Longton moving up to third place by lap 6.

Trammel would maintain second place over Longton until lap 16. Longton’s D&G Bodyworks Ford Taurus was on the fast track as he chased down Trammell and made the pass on the backstretch.

By lap 19, Longton had closed to the rear bumper cover of Turner as the pair raced for the lead over the next two circuits. Longton grabbed first place by lap 21 and maintained the point through the next 54 laps.

Walker was unable to move any higher than third place by lap 21. The Brian Harris Used Cars $1,000 three-in-a-row bonus was safe as Walker kept his Chevrolet out of trouble and maintained the points lead heading into the June 7 main event for the late model division.

Turner, in only his second start of the season earned a second runner-up finish at Yakima Speedway. The Spokane, Wash. driver was a runner-up in the Apple Cup and plans to return on June 7 for a try at his first Speedway win.

Other drivers who had good runs in the late model division were Travis Bennett, who started 10th and moved to sixth place by lap 24 and netted a fourth place finish when the checkers fell; Mel Shenyer maintained his top-10 points standings with a fifth place finish and Ken Olson, who trails Walker for the division’s points lead, kept pace with a sixth place finish after starting eighth.

In the Boomers Roadside Bar & Grill Street Stock division, Richard Cagle was looking to make it two straight wins, but several drivers were also looking to drive their car into victory lane at the completion of the 35-lap main event.

Casey Merrill would lead things early after starting in third place. Terry Cook would overtake Merrill on lap four and lead the next 11 trips around the famed .500-mile. Also on the move was fast time winner Erick Hargraves who started in 11th place based on a full-field invert.

Cagle moved his Pontiac into the lead on lap 13 and kept an eye on the quickly approaching Hargraves. By lap 23, Hargraves had moved his Pontiac into second place on the field and with the laps closing down tried to find a way around Cagle.

On lap 30, Hargraves was loose in turns No. 2 and 4 trying to keep his car side-by-side with Cagle. With the white flag coming out, Hargraves moved his car around Cagle on the outside entering turn No. 1 and held off the veteran at the checkers. Cook came home second with Jeff Sisk and Jack Anderson rounding out the top-5.

In the Yakima Speedway Hobby Stock division, Don Klang was the marked man as every driver was out to prevent him from capturing the three straight victories bonus put up by EZ Credit Auto Sales. Klang, the defending champion and current points leader, qualified sixth fastest in the 15-car field. Neal Smith won fast time and started 14th based on a full-field invert.

Also starting out back was Buck Noel Jr., who trails Klang in the points standings and is the only other driver to find victory lane this season. Noel was looking for the win and a chance to move up in the points standings when the checkers fell and the class did not disappoint the fans as they put on a great 25-lap main event.

Ron Morton led the race early with Noel moving into the top spot by lap five and never looking back. Klang was never able to mount a serious charge to the front and settled for sixth place in the final running order.

Smith moved himself to second place by lap six and came home with runner-up honors. Dusty John, in his first start of 2003, earned a third place finish with Thomas Benscoter and Jeff Mullins rounding out the top-5.

Main

1) Mike Longton 2) Ron Turner 3) Scott Walker 4) Travis Bennett 5) Mel Shenyer 6) Ken Olson 7) Ron Dexter 8) Greg Kuhlmann 9) Erick Hargraves 10) Ron Bemis 11) Bill Mills 12) Amber Cope 13) Troy Trammell 14) Jack Eby 15) Christopher Kalsch 16) Ed Thomsen 17) Angela Cope 18) Josh Jones

Fast Time

Scott Walker, 18.996 seconds

A-Dash Winner

Walker B-Dash Winner: Kuhlmann

Main

1) Erick Hargraves 2) Richard Cagle 3) Terry Cook 4) Jeff Sisk 5) Jack Anderson 6) Rick Christopherson 7) Harold Seekins 8) Casey Merrill 9) Frank Rose Jr. 10) Andy Beaman 11) Chris VanAmberg

Fast Time

Erick Hargraves, 23.600 seconds

A-Dash Winner

Sisk B-Dash Winner: Christopherson

Main

1) Buck Noel Jr. 2) Neal Smith 3) Dusty John 4) Thomas Benscoter 5) Jeff Mullins 6) Don Klang 7) Ron Morton 8) Ross Ogan 9) Don Sowder 10) Ted Wilburn Jr. 11) Joel Olson 12) Jeff Daughtry 13) Ron Hall 14) Jesse Vincent 15) Chad Pittman

Fast Time Winner

Neal Smith, 24.579 seconds

A-Dash Winner

Ogan B-Dash Winner: Sowder

See Also .:

• Yakima Speedway Track Page

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