BARKSHIRE’S DODGE TAKES HIM TO VICTORY LANE IN THE 9TH ANNUAL MILLER 200

Source: South Sound Speedway Public Relations
Date: 07/26/2004

The green came back out for 12 laps before a caution was thrown on lap 49.

Billy Weber and Wilbur Bruce got stuck together while running in sixth and seventh. Weber was done for the night but Bruce kept racing and lost two laps in the caution.

Steve Blankenship brought out the next caution on lap 72 when his car slowed and he went off. After three laps of green flag racing, Tim Gosch spun on the front stretch on lap 80 to bring out a caution. Lap 91 brought out another caution when James Van Cleve and Troy Tramell got together. The pair was running third and fourth in the race. Van Cleve lost one lap but Tramell just went to the back of the pack. The caution was held out until lap 96 when the cars were directed into the pits for the half way pit stop.

Cars were allowed two tires and fuel. Bob Presley was still out front with Jeff Barkshire now in second. Jim Wilcox was third with Willy Thom fourth and Nick Behn fifth. Kevin Carver was sixth, Chad Hinkle seventh, Ray Wallace eighth, Phil Willis ninth and Mike Obrist was tenth.

The race got back underway and ran green until lap 112 when Ray Wallace spun. Wallace lost a lap on the yellow and then lost another lap with a black flag after spinning Mike Obrist during the caution. The laps were clicking off faster now and Presley was still out front until lap 126 when Barkshire moved to the inside of him. Barkshire took the lead with 75 laps to go in the 200 lap main event. His lead began to widen and he came into lapped traffic 10 laps later. Lap 145 brought out a caution when Troy Eaton and Chad Hinkle got together and collected Tommy Rasmussen. Rasmussen and Hinkle left the track along with James Van Cleve. Jim Wilcox, who was running second, also left the track with a fluid leak. Bob Presley was now second and Willy Thom was now third. Nick Behn and Kevin Carver were running fourth and fifth. Ron Wolf brought out the next caution on lap 175 when he spun and lost a lap.

The final caution was thrown on lap 183 when Troy Trammel got into Nick Behn. Behn got himself collected back up without losing a lap in the caution. Tramell was black flagged for the incident, sent to the back and lost a lap. After the checkered flew on 200 laps Jeff Barkshire was the winner. Bob Presley finished second and Willy Thom was third. Kevin Carver finished in fourth with Mike Obrist in fifth and Nick Behn in sixth. Ron Wolf, Troy Tramell, Wilbur Bruce and Kirk Hall rounded out the top ten.

Jeff Barkshire and Kirk Hall both won dashes while James Van Cleve clocked in fastest. Since 27 cars showed up, a B main was ran. Curt Zelmer won it with Steve Blankenship, Tommy Rasmussen and Troy Eaton getting the top four positions and moving up into the 200-lap main event. Travis Shopshire and Tim Minister did not make the big show. Mitch Franklin broke before the main and couldn’t compete while Michael Short broke before qualifying and towed his car back home. Paul Blake also broke his steering during qualifying and was unable to continue.

Dustin Wilkinson had a great night in the Top Notch Trailers Street Stocks.

He qualified fastest out of the group with a 15.517 second lap. While he chose not to run the dash, he did win the A heat race. He accomplished this with a last lap pass over Ron Ehli. Ehli won the dash earlier in the night.

A caution on lap five of the heat race took out four of the six remaining cars in the race. Jay Hopkins had already left the track with a flat tire the lap before. Ryan Stone got into Dan Woodward, taking them both out of the race. Josh Bradley limped his car off with some damage and Leon Ames did the same. Paul Hopkins won the B heat race over Bill Posh Jr. and Sean Riley. Early in the B heat race Mike Brooks blew his motor in a cloud of dust and smoke. Brooks, Bradley and Jay Hopkins were unable to start the main event. Wilkinson took the lead of the main event on lap one with Dan Woodward and Ron Ehli close behind. Bill Posh spun on lap six but collected himself, losing only one lap to the leaders. Ron Ehli took second from Woodward on lap seven. On the next lap Sean Riley was leaking fluid and spun, bringing out a caution. This was Riley’s first night of racing at South Sound Speedway but we was unable to finish the main event. Bill Posh Jr. was mechanically blacked on lap 12 with a flat tir e, he returned six laps later. Woodward reclaimed second place from Ehli on lap 16. Chris Huisingh took his car off the track on lap 21 with a problem on his first night of racing in the Street Stock division. Dustin Wilkinson won his second main event of the season with Dan Woodward in second and Ron Ehli third. Paul Hopkins finished fourth and Ryan Stone was fifth. Leon Ames and Buck Bourne were sixth and seventh.

The Foreign Stock Car Racing Association (FSCRA) had one of the most exciting trophy dashes ever at South Sound Speedway. Jim McKay had led the first three laps but as they came out of turn four and came to the start finish line, they were three abreast. John Grosvenor was down on the bottom and Jerry Koepping was on the outside making Jim McKay the meat in their sandwich. It was a close call at the line but Jim McKay took the win by half a nose with John Grosvenor in second and Jerry Koepping in third. Ron Stocker lead all eight laps to win the B heat race over Craig Derksen and Tony Deegan. Bob Quarterman led the first lap of the A heat race with Jim McKay in second. McKay spun on the next lap and brought out the caution.

John Grosvenor quickly took the lead on the restart, never looking back.

Jerry Koepping finished second with Quarterman third. Craig Derksen and Dan Hale each led a lap of the main event before Jerry Koepping took over on lap three. Lap four brought the only caution of the race when Tony Deegan stalled on the wall in turn one. Koepping led at the restart with John Grosvenor in second and Chris Cunningham in third. Grosvenor took the lead from Koepping on lap 10 but Koepping took it back on lap 12 and brought Chris Cunningham around with him. Cunningham then took the lead on lap 15 and Grosvenor moved into second. Cunningham took the win, his first win at South Sound. Koepping got by Grosvenor by a nose at the line for second, leaving Grosvenor in third. Jim McKay finished fourth and Dan Hale was fifth. Bob Quarterman, Vic Rogers, Tony Schriber, Ron Stocker, and Craig Derksen rounded out the top ten.

Late Model Super Stock Miller 200 Results Fast Time: James Van Cleve 14.145 Dash A: Jeff Barkshire Dash B: Kirk Hall B Main: Curtis Zelmer, Steve Blankenship, Tommy Rasmussen, Troy Eaton, Travis Shopshire, Tim Minister

Main: Jeff Barkshire, Bob Presley, Willy Thom, Kevin Carver, Mike Obrist, Nick Behn, Ron Wolf, Troy Tramell, Wilbur Bruce, Kirk Hall, Ray Wallace, Curtis Zelmer, Troy Eaton, Jim Wilcox, Chad Hinkle, James Van Cleve, Phil Willis, Tommy Rasmussen, Jim Moen, Tim Gosch, Steve Blankenship, Billy Weber

Fast Time: Dustin Wilkinson 15.517

Dash: Ron Ehli

Heat A: Dustin Wilkinson, Ron Ehli, Leon Ames, Dan Woodward, Ryan Stone, Josh Bradley, Jay Hopkins Heat B: Paul Hopkins, Bill Posh, Sean Riley, Buck Bourne, Chris Huisingh, Mike Brooks

Main: Wilkinson, Woodward, Ehli, P. Hopkins, Stone, Ames, Bourne, Posh, Huisingh, Riley

Fast Time: Chris Cunningham 15.305

Dash: Jim McKay

Heat A: John Grosvenor, Jerry Koepping, Bob Quarterman, Chris Cunningham, Jim McKay, Dan Hale Heat B: Ron Stocker, Craig Derksen, Tony Deegan, Tony Schriber, Vic Rogers

Main: Cunningham, Koepping, Grosvenor, McKay, Hale, Quarterman, Rogers, Schriber, Stocker, Derksen, Mundy, Deegan

See Also .:

• South Sound Speedway Track Page

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