LONNIE ADAMSON BLASTS TO VICTORY

Source: Derrick Shannon
Date: 06/25/2000

Portland, OR. June 23. The annual "Open Wheel Spectacular" at Portland Speedway gave race fans the fix they needed, as the SRL Supermodifieds and WMRA Midgets provided for the need for speed. It was young Lonnie Adamson blowing away the field in Supermodified action, with Rory Price taking the victory in the WMRA Midget feature. The NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Late Models were also on hand for a pair of main events that were shared by Brandon Riehl and Eric Dahlquist.

The SRL Supermodifieds returned to Portland Speedway after a five-year absence to headline the evenings racing events. The 76 Lubricants "Open Wheel Spectacular" drew fourteen supers with series standout Troy Regier setting the pace with a qualifying lap of 17.371. Lonnie Adamson added some hardware to his trophy case with a win in the Trophy Dash. The SRL Supermodifieds normally do not run Trophy Dashes, but they agreed and the more than 3,000 fans openly welcomed the action. The first 8-lap heat race saw Jim Birges take the win over IRL driver Davey Hamilton, with Randy Anderson winning heat race #2 over Lonnie Adamson. The Supermodifieds invert the entire field, which gives fans the action they crave. At the start the car on the move from the back was Troy Regier, he picked off cars high and low on his march to the front. It appeared as if Regier was going to pick up victory number 7 of the year, but misfortune struck as he broke a magneto on lap 11 and was sidelined for the rest of the 30-lap event. Over the final 19 laps it became a one horse race as Lonnie Adamson ran away with the victory and in the process lapped up to fourth place. Following Adamson to the line were Rick Veenstra in second, Jim Birges in third, with Davey Hamilton coming home fourth and Eric Silsby rounding out the top five after a heat race incident forced the crew to thrash to get the car ready for the main event. After the event Adamson said, "The track was rough but it really came to me. Anytime you can win it feels great." Rick Veenstra added, "I like the SRL Series because it gives drivers the opportunity to race at great venuse like Portland in front of big crowds. There are no more tracks that run the Supermodiefieds on a weekly basis, so this is are only way to race these cars." The SRL Supermodifieds return to action over the Fourth of July weekend in Twin Falls Idaho.

In perhaps the best race of the evening, the WMRA Midgets put on a thrill show for the fans. As the push trucks sent these little rockets off, the crowd moved to the collective edge of their seats. The nimble little open wheel machines dashed inside and outside of each other lap after lap. The action was slowed only for one caution during the course of the 35-lap feature. Rory Price, Brad Curtis, Rick Kraft, and John Starks battled side by side throughout the race. Over the last 10 laps, a blanket could have covered the top three, with no one taking the advantage over the other. Price, Curtis, and Kraft exchanged the lead on each corner, going high and low. On the final lap the three cars entered turn 3 side by side and Price drove it real hard and pulled a patented slide job on the asphalt to take lead in the final corner and win the dazzling feature. Curtis held on for second, with Kraft coming home third. The next event on the WMRA schedule is July 1 at Spanaway Speedway.

The NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Late Model Stock Cars sandwiched the evenings racing action with a pair of 25 lap main events. The WRS Late Models are winding down their compressed asphalt season and only have two race dates left on the calendar. It appears that the run for the championship is fast becoming a three-horse race among Tony Schmidt, Jody Tanner and Brandon Riehl. Occasional visitor Darren Shaw came back for the weekend and set fast time with a lap of 20.735. It appears Greg Biffle's six-year old record of 20.112 will not be touched and go down in the record books at Portland Speedway. Jody Tanner took the win in the Trophy Dash over Shaw, Riehl, and C.J. Miller. Dan Obrist and Shaw took the victories in the heat races. The first main event placed 18 cars on the grid with Rod Schultz being placed on the pole after the invert. The action got started immediately, when Schultz and Christopher Kalsch bid for the same piece of real estate going into turn 3. The result left the Chevy of Kalsch damaged beyond repair and the cars of Tanner, Shaw, Eric Dahlquist, and Michael Short having to pit to change tires and remove some body panels. Short was unable to continue. Sixteen cars made the restart with the #9 of C.J. Miller taking the early lead followed by Tony Schmidt, Riehl, and Obrist. By lap 8 Riehl had made his way to the lead and held off the challenges on Schmidt over the closing laps. The rest of the top-five were Schmidt, Obrist, Dahlquist and Eric Sayre. The second 25-lap main event saw 15 cars make it back to the grid. Championship point contender Tony Schmidt was dealt a blow when the spinning car of Rod Schultz blocked his way and he had nowhere to go. The crash ended his evening. Eric Sayre rebounded from the first main and took the lead in the second feature over Riehl, Obrist, and Miller. The pair dueled for several laps until Riehl got into the back of Sayre coming out of Turn 4 causing Sayre to spin down the front stretch and into the infield. The spin collected the cars of Obrist and Miller. Miller continued but Obrist left on the hook. Riehl was assessed a three-lap penalty from NASCAR for the contact. On the restart Eric Dahlquist emerged as the car to beat and held on for his first win of the season holding off the challenges of Jody Tanner over the final 6 laps. Rounding out the top five were Eric Sayre making it back to finish third, with Randy Allen in his best run of the year to finish fourth, and Jim Clair coming home in fifth. Clair remarked after the race, "This is like a win for us. We don't have much time to work on the car because I'm a long haul driver. This is just great." The victory in the first main was Riehls' fourth of the season and vaults him back into the point lead by 18 over Tanner, with Schmidt in third one point behind Tanner. Eric Sayre is in fourth with Dan Obrist moving up to fifth.

The final Fast Friday event of the season is next Friday June 30. The Late Models, Limited Sportsman, Street Stocks, and Bombers will be on hand for Safeway/Gatorade Night at the Races. Gates open at 5pm with racing at 7pm. This weekend also boasts the Crash-Bang Extravaganza on Monday July 3, and the NASCAR Winston West Series NAPA AUTO PARTS 200, "A tribute to Hershel McGriff" on Tuesday July 4. Log onto www.portlandspeedway.com for all the latest news and information.

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