July 18th: Greg Chandler Frame & Body Championship Opener

Johnson, Artis, Powers, Salmons, Hass, Watson, Gue, and Bailey win Greg Chandler Frame & Body Championship Opener!

ONA, WV-The Ona Speedway was back to racing on Saturday, July 18th for the Greg Chandler Frame & Body Championship Opener. Hot temperatures outside led to a night of action on the track as 68 cars from 4 different states entered to compete.

The night started with the 15 lap Sport Mod feature. Drama occurred before the race even started as June 26th winner Chris Jividen had mechanical issues on the pace laps and had to pull off the track. Marty Powers took the lead at the start and dominated the 15 lap feature, picking up his first win of the season. Justin Shanteau finished second with Chris Smith finishing third in his first race at Ona, Marty Lamm fourth, and Chris Jividen fifth.

Mooresville, NC’s Jerick Johnson stormed to the lead at the start of the 25 lap Late Model feature with Joe Fihe in second and an intense, three way battle for third between Sam Osborne, Kenny Parsons, and Shane Koontz. On lap 15, Parson’s #45 machine got loose, bringing out the races first caution. On the restart, Sam Osborne stormed into the second position off of turn two and set his sights on Johnson. Osborne drove his #42 machine hard into turn three and spun into the guardrail. Osborne was able to drive away from the incident but pulled off the track with damage to his machine.

On the next restart with 9 laps to go, last place starter Shane Koontz passed Joe Fihe to move up into the second position. Johnson continued to stretch his lead up front while Koontz and Fihe battled for second. Johnson, a former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, would come across the checkers to take the win with Koontz in second, Joe Fihe third, Bobby Fihe fourth, and Kenny Parsons in fifth.

Youngster Preston Hysell led the field to the green in the 20 lap Crazy Compact feature. Hysell, Donna Bush, and Thomas Bailey had an intense, three car battle for the lead in the races early stages as they approached lapped traffic on lap four. Chaos ensued when the leaders got to the lapped car as Hysell made contact with the #01 machine of Woody, spinning his #9 machine. The caution was charged to Woody, giving Hysell his spot back.

Hysell was able to hold on to the lead until his car sputtered on a lap 6 restart, allowing Thomas Bailey to take the lead. Bailey led the remaining laps to take his third feature win in a row with Donna Bush second, Dustin Higginbotham third, Lexi Jividen fourth, and Stephanie Smith fifth.

Jeff Taylor took the lead to start the 20 lap Classic Car feature. Danny McGowan stormed to the lead to pass Taylor on lap 3 while Brad Cooper and Will Hass stormed through the field to run second and third. Cooper and Hass caught McGowan as the race reached it’s halfway point for a three car battle for the lead! Cooper showed McGowan the bumper several times with McGowan able to hold on to the lead. On lap 17, Cooper and McGowan made contact with McGowan and Cooper getting loose, allowing third place runner Will Hass to pass both of them on the high side to take the lead!

Hass continued to lead with McGowan right on his bumper until a caution on lap 19 setup a green-white-checkered restart. On the restart, McGowan stayed right on the bumper of Hass and coming to the white flag was able to get a run on Hass. Going into turn one on the final lap, McGowan drove in hard and made contact with Hass, spinning Hass around. McGowan was charged with the caution and went to the tail, setting up another green-white-checkered finish with Hass leading and Cooper in second. On the restart, Hass was able to hold off Cooper to take his second win in a row with Cooper second, Cam McKinney third, Danny McGowan fourth, and Tyler Brown fifth.

In the night’s 25 lap Hobby Stock feature, Jason Salmons took the lead at the start while an intense, race long battle for second waged between Kenny Chapman and Brett Carey. The two battled nose to tail, side by side, and bumped each other at times in the battle for second. Chapman was able to hang on to second and in the races closing stages mounted a charge on Salmons. Coming to the checkered flag, Salmons held on to win by a car length over Chapman in second, Carey in third, Jividen fourth, and Clinton Thompson fifth.

Keith Watson passed Reuben Fetty on the start of the night’s Contempo Trophy & Award U Car feature to take the lead with Michael Hughart in second. Watson and Hughart battled nose to tail for the lead for the races first 15 laps. As the race reached it’s second half, Watson was able to stretch his lead out to take his second win in a row with Hughart in second, Fetty third, Danny Keyser fourth, and James Harper fifth.

The wildest race of the night went to the Legends Car division. Jeremy Fisher took the early race lead with Jerry Graley right on his bumper. The two battled side by side for the lead in the early stages until they made contact on lap 3 with Fisher spending. Both cars were charged with the caution and went to the tail. On the restart, Jerry Inbody stormed into the lead with Chase Malone right on his bumper in second. The two battled nose to tail for the lead for several laps.

On a lap 14 restart, Inbody and Malone made contact sending both drivers crashing in front of the field! Thankfully no other drivers got collected in the incident but Inbody and Malone’s cars were too damaged to continue. This left second generation driver Cameron Gue with the lead on the races final restart. Gue held on to the lead to come across the checkers and win in his second ever race! Will Geer finished second with Newton Moore third, Scott Martin fourth, and Wylie Jeffrey fifth.

The final race of the night was the 20 lap Modified feature. On the races initial start, Jeff Sheets and Jeremy Cooper made contact with both cars slamming the turn three guardrail hard. Sheets was done for the night while Cooper was able to restart. On the races second attempted start, Scott Pierson Sr. and Josh Artis battled side by side for the lead. The two battled side by side for the first two laps of the race.

Coming to start lap 3, Pierson cleared Artis for the lead but spun out from the lead when he went into turn one. This allowed Artis to inherit the lead on the restart as he led the remaining laps to take his first win of the season with Andy Booten in second, Steve Hass third, Marty Powers fourth, and Scott Pierson Sr. fifth.

The Ona Speedway will be in action next on Saturday, August 1st for Geer Brothers Body Shop Night featuring all 8 weekly divisions. A practice will be held on Thursday, July 30th from 5:00 pm-dark as racers prepare for the big night of racing on Saturday. Please follow the Ona Speedway Facebook page for all of the latest happenings at the track.

Complete Results

Late Models
25 lap Feature-Jerick Johnson, Shane Koontz, Joe Fihe, Bobby Fihe, Kenny Parsons, Sam Osborne (DNS: Rob Dunlap, Robbie Watson)
Car Count-8

Modifieds
20 lap Feature-Josh Artis, Andy Booten, Steve Hass, Marty Powers, Scott Pierson, Jeremy Cooper, Jeff Sheets (DNS: Greg Chandler)
Car Count-8

Sport Mods
15 lap Feature-Marty Powers, Justin Shanteau, Chris Smith, Marty Lamm, Chris Jividen
Car Count-5

Hobby Stocks
25 lap Feature-Jason Salmons, Kenny Chapman, Brett Carey, Chris Jividen, Clinton Thompson, James Jones, Bruce Thompson
Car Count-7

Classic Cars
20 lap Feature-Will Hass, Brad Cooper, Cam McKinney, Danny McGowan, Tyler Brown, Shannon Fischer, Rob Morrison, Ethan Ramey, Jeff Taylor
Car Count-9

U Cars
30 lap Feature-Keith Watson, Michael Hughart, Reuben Fetty, Danny Keyser, James Harper, Evan Adkins, Stephen Kuhn, Tim Cassidy, David Adkins, Chris Wheeler
Car Count-10

Legends Cars
20 lap Feature-Cameron Gue, Will Geer, Newton Moore, Scott Martin, Jeremy Fisher, Wylie Jeffrey, Jerry Inbody, Chase Malone, Chad Woodrum, Jerry Graley, Tommy Rowe (DNS: Tyler Martin)
Car Count-12

Crazy Compacts
20 lap Feature-Thomas Bailey, Donna Bush, Dustin Higginbotham, Lexi Jividen, Stephanie Smith, James Saylor, Woody, Dillon Higginbotham, Preston Hysell
Car Count-9