HART & MORIARITY AT EVERGREEN

Source: ES Media Relations
Date: 07/13/2003

Points leader Chris Hart pulled the fourth place in the invert as the NASCAR Raybestos Brakes Series Parts Plus 125 Northwest Tour hit the oval. Fast qualifier of the evening was Jason Jefferson of Yakima. The race started under a six-car invert.

John Bender of Snohomish went into the a spin out of turn one of Lap 3. He went to the pits as the race continued under yellow flag until Lap 5. The green flag was quickly replaced by yellow again at Lap 6 for Matt Hall of Spokane as he had trouble on the same turn and joined Bender off the oval.

Brandon Riehl of Boring, OR maintained a lead through the first 20 laps but Kevin Hamlin of Snohomish stayed in his rear view making a quick inside move to pass for the lead on turn one. Jason Jefferson of Yakima held a competitive third.

Jefferson smoothly passed Riehl in Lap 45 and started the chase for the lead. Lap 56 saw points leader Chris Hart overtake Riehl, pushing Riehl down to fourth. The crowd enjoyed a fierce battle between Hamlin and Jefferson. Jefferson never missed the opportunity to try and get inside of Hamlin but Hamlin kept low. Meanwhile, Hart was still biding his time in third and Gary Lewis of Bothell had worked his way up into fourth.

Lap 76 saw Jefferson finally overtake Hamlin. Hart took advantage of the move and slid into second. Hart overtook Jefferson for the lead at Lap 97. The top four of Hart, Jefferson, Hamlin and Lewis remained steady and well ahead of the pack until Joe Benedetti slid into the turn three wall, pulling up the field near the end of the race. Hart held on for the win. Jason Jefferson was second, Hamlin finished third, Lewis fourth and Brandon Riehl rounded out the field in fifth.

“It was a good race,” Hart said, “I caught Jefferson in traffic and I know he’s a good driver. It’s just nice to have that little bit extra to add to the points.”

The 75 lap Super Stock feature started with Joey Decker on the pole. Decker pulled away strong with Lex Johnson chasing. Johnson passed at Lap 2 for the lead. Tom Sweatman moved into third by Lap 4 and passed Johnson for second by Lap 6.The yellow flag was out in Lap 8 as Matt Murphy checked up the back of Decker as Decker braked. John Zaretzke‘s #51 was coming out of turn two and also braked but not in time to avoid a bump with Murphy. Tom Matthew also took some contact in the melee. Unfortunately, the race was held up as tempers flared in the pits. Officials later met with Murphy over the incident.

The yellow flag was lifted in Lap 11 revealing the new post melee line up. Johnson was holding first with Harold Raczynski following, Tom Moriarity in third and Sweatman continuing in fourth. By Lap 27 Moriarity achieved the front. He quickly pulled away and left six car lengths between himself and Johnson. At Lap 30 Raczynski and Johnson were battling side by side. Both hit the wall on turn three. The crowd held its breath as Raczynski’s car lifted up and threatened to roll. The car steadied. The red flag came out to check the track for oil and the walls for damage. Both cars went to the pits. Johnson was able to return.

As the red flag was lifted, Moriarity re-established his lead and once again put several car lengths between him and the pack. The familiar yellow flag came out again for the infamous turn three. Scott Sarto had hit the wall. Flames could be seen from the stands bringing out emergency vehicles. Sarto was okay but his car left the race.

No sooner did the race begin than another yellow flag came out as Tom Matthew did a solo spin out in the backstretch. It was Lap 40 by the time the green was out. Moriarity was well out front, Sweatman a distant second. Gary Anderson had earned third and Decker was holding in fourth. All was smooth until Lap 55 when Eric Harvey made friends with the wall outside of turn one.

Lap 61 brought out a red flag and the emergency vehicles. Tom Matthew excited the crowds by scraping up the front wall and Murray Dyck hit the wall at turn one and turned around facing traffic. Both drivers were okay but Dyck’s car went out on a flat bed. Matthew went to the pits. The Northwest Tour drivers could be seen sitting or pacing impatiently. The Super Stocks feature was shortened to 70 laps to meet time constraints.

Track officials breathed a sigh of relief as the last nine laps went by without incident the final results brought Tom Moriarity of Monroe to the victory stage. Sweatman of Cosmopolis was second, Anderson of Everett was third, Joey Decker of Carnation fourth and Doug Davidson of Monroe rounded out the field.

When asked about his victory, Moriarity gave credit to his crew, “They gave me a hell of a car tonight!” He continued, “John (Zaretzke) is just having a rough time right now.”

Points leader Zaretzke shrugged off the earlier incident and loss with , “It’s just the maturity level kind of the thing. Guys are out there hitting brakes to block cars. We had 18 cars to start and at least 15 should have finished the race. We had, what? Ten? Nine? It‘s just a maturity thing.”

RESULTS

FAST TIME: Tom Moriarity 23.054

MAIN EVENT 75 LAPS: Tom Moriarity, Tom Sweatman, Gary Anderson, Joey Decker, Doug Davidson, Jimmy McVey, Lex Johnson, Lane Sundholm, John Zaretzke, Eric Harvey, Murray Dyck, Tom Matthew, Wade Bennett, Scott Sarto, Harold Raczynski, Ron Fritzley, Shane Harding, Kevin Brown, Matt Murphy DQ

See Also .:

• Chris Hart Driver Card
• Evergreen Speedway Track Page

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