BATTLE MOUNTAIN, Nevada -- A rather unusual situation stole the headlines tonight at Battle Mountain Raceway as a local father and son driver duo won two of the four feature events. Nick Ayers captured his third I.M.C.A. Modified feature of the season at the quarter-mile clay oval while his dad Lloyd Ayers stepped into the Mini Mod usually driven by Brian Garner then proceeded to win that feature in grand style. In other divisions, Brian Thorp prevailed in the Pro Stocks while Doug Hunziker wowed the fans as he pulled off a victory in the final lap in the ATV feature race.
Ayers The Younger didn't missed a beat in the twenty-lap Modified feature as he started on the outside of row one and never looked back. Battle Mountain's Randy Ayers ran second to Ayers the entire distance in his MOPAR powered car. Third place went to Rodney Sweet who ran the entire race against the Ryndon rooster rancher Joe Rigsby. Sweet turned in a sweet victory in the trophy dash and, by doing so, prevented a 'clean sweep' by the 35 year-old Ayers.
Ayers The Elder looked very impressive and sharp in the Mini Mod feature race after being away from driving competitively for the past ten years. The fifty-four-year-old veteran finished second in his heat and second in the trophy dash. In the heat Ken Knight, not a youngster himself, beat him. Lloyd might have won the dash but fifty-four year-old Heinz Woelki from Winnemucca had too much for him. The feature race started the same way as Woelki took first from Ayers on the second lap and started to pull away. Slowly, Ayers got his rhythm back from years of rust and reeled Woelki back in. Near the halfway point, Woelki came upon a back marker between turns one and two with Ayers breathing on his neck. Leader Woelki went left to pass while Ayers took the inside and the lead. On the next turn, one of Woelki's tires lost air and his night was over. Lloyd Ayers took his first checkered in over ten years. Knight followed him for second.
In the Pro Stocks, two of the top two point men were unable to answer the bell for the feature due to preliminary action. The defending Battle Mountain Pro Stock champion, and the current leader Frank Iturriaga might still be trying to answer that bell as his steering wheel came off as he powered off of turn two during the dash. The car took a ninety-degree turn and clobbered the wall. Frank was uninjured by the hard hit but the car was unusable the rest of the night. Earlier in the heat race, Mike Dorning paid a heavy price for winning the event as he lost a transmission seal, scattering oil far and near. Spring Creek ace Brian Thorp led all twenty laps in the feature to win his second feature in a row at Battle Mountain Raceway. Calvin Hartley dumped his car for his second successive time this season. Hartley was uninjured. Elko's Larry Rogers and Dave Wearin of Battle Mountain chased Thorp to the checker flag. Thorp was also the winner of the trophy dash.
In the most thrilling race of the evening, the ATV feature competition was a barnburner. In the heat race, Battle Mountain rider Justin Greenhalph beat fellow townsman Doug Hunziker for the win. Justin tacked on a victory over Dale Updike in the trophy dash and seemingly ready to score a sweep on the infield course. Lap after lap, Greenhalph held his own against all comers. His stiffest test was from Doug Hunziker who was all over the leader. Hunziker would challenge Greenhalph and then fall back. On the final lap, Hunziker put it all together and passed the leader and won handily. Greenhalph hung on for the runner-up position ahead of Updike, Chancy Campbell, and Kim Mize.
The next race here at the track will be a special two-day Friday Saturday event for a combination Summit Raceway (Elko) vs. Battle Mountain July 11 & July 12 starting at 7 p.m.
- Heat
- Nick Ayers, Randy Artz, Joe Rigsby, Rodney Sweet
- Dash
- Rodney Sweet, Nick Ayers, Joe Rigsby, Randy Artz
- Feature
- Nick Ayers, Randy Artz, Rodney Sweet, Joe Rigsby
- Heat
- Mike Dorning, Brian Thorp, Frank Iturriaga, Dave Wearin, Larry Rogers
- Dash
- Brian Thorp, Larry Rogers, Dave Wearin, Frank Iturriaga
- Feature
- Brian Thorp, Larry Rogers, Dave Wearin, Calvin Hartley, Paul Bowen, Frank Iturriaga DNS, Mike Dorning DNS
- Heat
- Ken Knight, Lloyd Ayers, Paul Bowen, Brian Jonas
- Dash
- Heinz Woelki, Lloyd Ayers, Ken Knight, Brian Jonas
- Feature
- Lloyd Ayers, Ken Knight, Brian Jonas, Paul Bowen
- Heat
- Justin Greenhalph, Doug Hunziker, Dale Updike, Chancy Campbell, Kim Mize
- Dash
- Justin Greenhalph, Dale Updike, Chancy Campbell, Doug Hunziker, Kim Mize
