| By Bruce Crowley
Elko, NV…Three new drivers, plus two who won here two weeks ago, graced
the winners circle at Summit Raceway Saturday night during the Stock Car
races. The big winner was Battle Mountain standout Randy Artz, who captured
the second IMCA Modified feature race of the young season here at the
one-third quarter-mile clay track. It wasn’t easy for Artz as he trailed
Spring Creek veteran Ward Amberson for most of the 30-lap event. Amberson, a
12-time champion in the northeaster end of Nevada, had it his way until the
waning laps. Artz had been shadowed the leader from the second circuit until
lap 15 when Amberson went a little high leaving turn two trying to pass a
back marker; Artz took advantage of him by ducking to the inside groove,
leaving no where to go for leader Amberson. The back marker and the leader
brushed going down the back chute, just enough to allow Artz and his MOPAR
to take the lead. At the time, Artz and opening night winner Corey Steensen
were battling for the runner-up position. When Artz raced into the lead,
Steensen also got past Amberson. For the final four, it was all Artz and
Steensen and Amberson, who recovered quickly but he ran out of time trying
run down the two leaders. For the second time this season, the four Steensen
brothers raced together in the same feature, as Corey and Scott won their
heat races and now occupy the top two positions in the point standings, with
Bobby tied for fourth and Chris tied for fifth. With 14 races remaining, the
Flying Steensens have a good chance to sweep the top four sometime during
the year.
Elko’s John Levie made it two in a row in ECAR Pro
Stock action Saturday night, as the second year driver was head and
shoulders ahead of the rest of the field. Jay McLeod of Elko was the leader
in the feature race until Levie wrested the lead away, and with four to go,
he was off to the, well, off to the races. His two wins is a bit of a
stretch, and he did win twice, but the first one during the opener, he was
disqualified. For an illegal engine? An illegal tire? Illegal fuel? No, he
wore the wrong racing gloves. This past outing, he made sure he had the
correct mittens on. McLeod took tough in the former Bernie Sethaler chevy
all night, and once he’s comfortable in the car, he should be a contender
for the rest of the season. With his second place finish, he became the new
point leader over Terry Lister, who finished behind Winnemucca runner Lee
Bosch. Levie and Bosch won the earlier heat races.
The ECAR Mini Mods had only four running cars in their
15-lap feature, and former two-time track champion Mike Fietzek might have
learned something from daughter Jennifer, after the 15-year old sweept the
Gen-X class two weeks back. The elder Fietzek ran away with his heat race
and won the feature as well. If the race had only five laps more, 20 instead
of 15, Jack Hammond might have won his first of 2008. As Fietzek mowed down
the competition during the first half of the event, Hammond started to move
in the later stages. Hammond was hauling the mail in those precious few laps
in the feature, but finished less than two car lengths in back of winner
Fietzek. Hammond’s father Marty got into the vacant car of Steve Pruitt for
the first time. Marty look pretty good, was out of the way of the leaders
and might have a future in this cars. Time will tell. Also in Saturday’s
field was 15-year old Shalynn Guthrie who was injured two weeks ago when her
car struck the turn four guardrail. She suffered a severe bruise on her arm,
and was in the field again and finished fourth in the feature.
Last season’s champion in the ECAR Pure Stocks Dustin
Greenwood continued his mastery over the field, by winning the Trophy Dash
and the 20-lap feature. Early leaders Bernie Sethaler and former champion
James Lister was no match for Greenwood, who also beat his father Keith for
the first time. The only blemish on Dustin’s ledger on the night was a third
place finish in the heat race behind the winner Lister.
Last time out at the track, 15-year old Jennifer
Fietzek didn’t win anything this time in the Gen-X class, but she did finish
second to another red-hot 15-year old driver, Brian Bullock. Bullock didn’t
fool around Saturday as he won the heat before winning the big one. Brian is
a younger brother of Geoffrey Bullock who was the champion in the division
last year. This season, Geoffrey is running in the Pure Stock class, but
Saturday was the first time out for his new car, and new has to work some of
those bugs out.
Next racing action at Summit will be Saturday night
May 24 and June 7.
SUMMIT RACEWAY RESULTS SATURDAY NIGHT MAY 10, 2008 2
OF 16
IMCA MODIFIEDS
Heat one: Ward Amberson, Chris Steensen, James McCoy,
Ken Smith
Heat two: Corey Steensen, Jimmy Lester, Wade Taylor,
Ivan Nesham
Heat three: Scott Steensen, Bobby Steensen, Randy Artz,
Kevin Nelson
Feature: Randy Artz, Corey Steensen, Ward Amberson,
Scott Steensen, Chris Steensen
Jimmy Lester, Wade Taylor, Bobby Steensen, James
McCoy, Kevin Nelson
Ken Smith, Ivan Neshem DNS, Tracy Greenwood DNS, Neil
Wadford DNS
ECAR PRO STOCKS
Heat one: John Levie, Bobby Brown, Jay McLeod, Shawn
LaRoque, Teri Kellum
Heat two: Lee Bosch, Cody Maier, James Ogden, Terry
Lister, Ron Carey
Feature: John Levie, Jay McLeod, Lee Bosch, Terry
Lister, Bobby Brown,
Teri Kellum, Shawn LaRoque, James Ogden, Cody Maier,
Ron Carey DNS
ECAR MINI MODS
Heat: Mike Fietzek, Tanner Baer, Jack Hammond, Shalynn
Guthrie, Marty Hammond
Feature: Mike Fietzek, Jack Hammond, Marty Hammond,
Shalynn Guthrie,
Tanner Baer DNS
ECAR PURE STOCKS
Heat: James Lister, Bernie Sethaler, Dustin Greenwood,
Keith Greenwood,
Geoffrey Bullock
Dash: Dustin Greenwood, Bernie Sethaler, James Lister,
Keith Greenwood
Feature: Dustin Greenwood, Bernie Sethaler, James
Lister, Keith Greenwood
Geoffrey Bullock, Jake Lister DNS
ECAR GEN-X
Heat: Brian Bullock, Jennifer Fietzek, Ginnie
Greenwood, Jeff Tremain
Feature: Brian Bullock, Jennifer Fietzek, Jeff Tremain,
Ginnie Greenwood
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