Portland, Oregon. May 5. Loyal Fast Friday fans braved chilly spring weather to enjoy a thrilling night of racing at the historic North Portland oval. The NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Late Models Stock Cars were on hand for two 25 lap main events, which saw Brandon Riehl of Boring, Oregon land his second win of the season, and first time winner C.J. Miller run away with the win in the second 25 lapper. In Exide Shortrack Limited Sportsman action, it was Kenny Gummus picking up win number two of the year, with Ray Elwess taking control of the Accel Street Stock points race.
Nineteen took the green in the first Late Model main event, the field went into turn one side by side, as the cars exited turn 2, Pat Bliss lost the back end and went around which sent drivers scurrying for clear track. Point leader Jody Tanner and Christopher Kalsch both left on the hook and Bliss limped to the pit. On the restart Eric Sayre established the pace followed by Dan Obrist and Brandon Riehl, the cars went nose to tail through lap 8 when Sayre developed a severe push which allowed Reihl to pass on the outside. Riehl controlled the rest of the race and went on to win by 20 car lengths. "This win goes out to the guys on the crew, they have worked so many hours, I can't thank them enough." Reihl said in victory lane. The top five were Reihl, Sayre, Obrist, J.R. Perrott, and Tony Schmidt in fifth.
The second 25 lap main event saw 15 cars make it back to the grid. On the pace lap, Dan Obrist broke a suspension part and made contact with the infield tire barrier, the damage eliminated the former track champion. Eric Dahlquist started on the pole with C.J. Miller outside, and at the green flag Miller jumped out to a huge margin, he got such a great start NASCAR officials threw the yellow to line them up again. The race was restarted two more times then finally the drivers were told to start single file. Dahlquist assumed the lead when the green flag flew followed by Miller and Tony Schmidt. At the rear of the field, Jody Tanner in a backup car he rented from last years champion, Darren Shaw, was involved in spin when he got together with the 41 of Don Gibson. After the race Tanner said, "It was a tough night on the track and I tore up a lot of good equipment, but I bet the folks at Jody's Bar and Grill are having a great time!" Back at the front C.J. Miller in his Chevorlet was hooked up and on a rail, he quickly disposed of Dahlquist on lap 2 and never looked back. The fastest car on the track was Brandon Riehl, but by the time he worked his way through the traffic from his sixth started position, there was not enough time to catch Miller. At the checkered flag it was Miller collecting his first feature win, with Riehl in second followed by Tony Schmidt, Eric Sayre, and Dahlquist in fifth. Reihls finishes and Tanners bad luck moves the former Rookie of the Year into the point lead by 26 over J.R. Perrott. Tanner drops to sixth place 57 markers back.
Kenny Gummus picks up the win in Exide Shortrack action after a post race inspection nullified Brad Tanner's apparent win. The Limited Sportsman division has been getting more competitive each week as you could throw a blanket over the top 5. The win was the second of the season for Gummus; Scott Winebarger, Brad Stanwood, Dale Holland, and Robert Eubanks followed him to the stripe in fifth. Consistency puts Stanwood in the point lead by 3 over Scott Winebarger; the rest of the top five are Kenny Gummus, Dale Holland, and Robert Eubanks.
Thirty-five street stocks lined up for three main events. The Accel Street Stocks have an ultra competitive class in which the drivers need to be prepared to turn either right or left at the flip of a coin. In the 15 lap "C" main event it was Chuck Palmer winning form the back and transferring to the "B". The 20 lap "C" main event saw the #92 of Dave Cannon use the outside groove on the tricky ¼ mile pick off cars and transfer into the "A" main. The "A" main started with Sonny Sayre receiving the black flag for jumping the start, which put the up-front runner at the rear of the field, Sayre finished 15. Points contender Brad Hanken, Brad Tanner, and Don Jenner battled in the top five for the entire 25-lap distance, which allowed Ray Elwess and Scott Puncochar to pull away. At the Finish it was Elwess over Puncochar, with Tanner, Hanken and Jenner rounding out the top five. The win vaults Elwess into the point lead, with Puncochar in second, Hanken in third, Jenner in fourth, and Brad Tanner in fifth.
The Best of Show Bumpin' Bombers saw two crowd thrilling drives by Dennis Krohling and Jeff Brookshire, as they split rounds 3 and 4 of the Bomber championship. This was Krohlings first Bomber win, and the youngster was extremely excited in victory lane, Krohling stated, "I want to the Brookshire family for getting me involved in Bomber racing, this is the most fun you can have."
The next event on the Portland Speedway calendar is Hoss Sauce Night at the Races Friday, May 12. The NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Late Model Stock Cars will be in action along with the Exide Shortrack Limited Sportsman on the Monster half-mile oval. The Accel Street Stocks take to the ¼ mile, and the Figure 8 cars return for the second time this season. Gates open at 5pm with racing starting at 7pm. Log onto www.portlandspeedway.com for all the latest news and information as well as to order tickets online to upcoming events.
