SWEATMAN DOMINATES MILLER 200 AT SOUTH SOUND SPEEDWAY

Source: Kristy Runyon
Date: 07/25/2005

Darren Rupinski and Ron Dexter started on the front row of the event. Brent Harris led the first lap before a caution was thrown for Dexter spinning. When the race went back to green Harris was still out front with Jay Sauls in second, Rupinski in third, Wes Rhodes in fourth and Joe Constance in fifth. Constance got around Rhodes on lap 24 and brought Tom Sweatman and Ken Kaltschmidt with him. On lap 44 when lapped traffic came into play Tom Sweatman moved into second spot with Joe Constance in third and Ken Kaltschmidt in fourth. Jay Sauls moved back to fifth spot. Then like a freight train on lap 52 Sweatman, Constance and Kaltschmidt all got around Brent Harris, moving him into fourth from the lead and Sweatman taking over. A tire went down on Ken Kaltschmidt’s car and on lap 65 he left the track. He was back four laps later. On lap 73 Darren Rupinski and Brad Stanwood spun causing the final caution of the first half. Rupinski managed to get himself straightened out and not lose a lap while Stanwood lost one to the pack. The halfway caution was thrown on lap 98 and the cars were put in line and sent to the pits for a ten-minute pit stop that could include two tires and gas.

As the second half began Tom Sweatman was still leading with Joe Constance in second and Brent Harris in third. Also on the lead lap were Mike Obrist, Nick Behn, Phil Willis, Jay Sauls, Dan Obrist and Darren Rupinski who were fourth through ninth. Sweatman wasted no time in getting himself a cushion between himself and the pack. He spent most of the night racing all by himself in front of everyone else. Lap 119 brought out the first caution of the second half when Phil Willis spun losing a lap. During the caution Mike Obrist took his car into the middle of the track with mechanical problems. Just a few laps earlier another car made contact with him and he went onto the front stretch wall in front of the crowd but kept racing until the caution. By lap 134 the top four were running straight in a row with no lapped traffic between them. Sweatman was still out front, Joe Constance was second, Brent Harris was third and Nick Behn had moved up into fourth.

Debris brought out a caution on lap 156. Brent Harris left the track on the caution with a problem, moving Behn up to third. The green went back out on lap 162 but lasted only that lap before the caution was thrown again. This time Ken Kaltschmidt had some brake problems and went into the turn one wall. On the restart Joe Constance lost the nose of his car and the caution was thrown again for debris. Lap 187 brought out the final caution of the race when Ray Wallace and Jay Sauls spun. Both lost a lap in the incident. After the rough 200-lap race Tom Sweatman was the winner. Coming in second was Joe Constance. Nick Behn finished third after winning the B-main to move into the race and starting 19th. Darren Rupinski finished the race in fourth, the last car on the lead lap. Dan Obrist was fifth, Ron Wolf was sixth, Jay Sauls was seventh, Jason Hedrick was eighth, Ray Wallace was ninth and Brad Tanner was tenth. Phil Willis finished up eleventh with Wes Rhodes, Brad Stanwood, Tim Gosch and Ken Kaltschmidt rounding out the top 15.

Bobby Micielli set fast time in the Top Notch Trailers Street Stocks with Ron Ehli winning the dash. Jim Moen led all eight laps of the B heat race to win over Mike Saylors and Cody Erskine. Jordan McGregor took the A heat race with Paul Hopkins in second and Jim Swanson in third. BJ Brown and Cody Erskine started on the front row of the main event. Erskine took the lead early with Mike Saylors in second and Jay Hopkins in third. Hopkins got into Saylors on lap eight. Hopkins lost a tire and was done for the night. Saylors continued on in the race. On lap 10 Cody Erskine lost the lead when he spun by himself. Bobby Micielli now led with Jim Swanson in second and Jordan McGregor in third. Dan Woodward got around McGregor on lap 15 for third. The third caution of the race came on lap 18 when Cody Erskine’s car slowed and he was stalled on the track. Lap 23 brought out another caution when Sean Riley headed into the wall. The final caution came on lap 24 when Jim Moen had a throttle stick. He connected with Mike Saylors and dragged him into the wall and almost over the wall. Saylors was complaining of some lower pain but seemed to be fine. Moen got out of his car and was fine but both cars looked like compacts. The race was checkered flagged at this point for time restraints and Bobby Micielli was the winner. Jim Swanson finished up second with Dan Woodward in third. Jordan McGregor was fourth and Ron Ehli was fifth. Paul Hopkins finished sixth, Bill Posh was seventh and BJ Brown was eighth.

Duane Lacy set a new track record in the Delta Camshaft Mini Stocks with a 16.677. Bill Hansel worked his way around for the dash win. Marc Nelson won the B heat race with Billy Smitham in second and Tim Garske in third. Tony Bartlotti won the A heat race over Wayne Dillon and Kyle Hartman. Marc Nelson started on the pole of the main event and took the early lead. Lap three brought out the first caution when Kyle Hartman spun and a ton of fluid was spilled on the track. Hartman was done for the night and the track was cleaned up. Nelson still led with Tim Garske in second, Jeff Bracale in third, Kevin Koepke in fourth and Wayne Dillon in fifth. Dillon brought out a caution on lap 12 when he spun. Lap 14 brought out the next caution when the leaders spun. Nelson, Garske and Bracale were all involved. Bracale got the black flag for the incident. Garske and Bracale each lost a lap. Kevin Koepke was now in the lead with Tony Bartlotti in second and Duane Lacy in third. After 25 laps Kevin Koepke took the win, his third of the season. Duane Lacy was second with Michael Hayne in third. Tony Bartlotti finished fourth, Norman Steelhammer was fifth, Tom Keehan was sixth, Marc Nelson was seventh, Freeman Pruitt was eighth, newcomers Reggie Gill and Larry Williams were ninth and tenth.

Next weekend at South Sound Speedway will be a double header. Saturday night will feature the North Star Yachts and Commercial Drivers Services Sportsman, Hinkle Homes Pure Stocks, 360 Wingless Sprints and the Mini-Cup Open Division and Future Stars. Racing will begin at 6:30 with qualifying at 5:00 pm. Sunday afternoon will showcase the Washington Association of Demolition Drivers (WADD), the Delta Camshaft Mini Stocks and the Yelm National Auto Parts Bumblebees. Racing Sunday afternoon will begin at 2:00 with qualifying at 12:30 pm. Check out www.southsoundspeedway.com for ticket information for these and other coming events.

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