ONA, WV-Ona Speedway fans were treated to a thrilling night of racing on Saturday, September 23rd for the Yes Chevrolet/Yes Ford Season Championships. 55 drivers from 2 countries and 5 different states were in the pit area to put on a great show for the fans.
Stacie Watson and Evan Strickland kicked off the night with a side by side battle for the lead in the opening laps of the Gumbo Stock Cafe Crazy Compact feature. Strickland would give up the high side after a couple laps of side by side battling to tuck in behind Watson. Strickland would stay right behind Watson during the opening third of the race, then started to fade to 7-8 tenths behind Watson. As the race reached it’s final 5 laps, Strickland began closing back up on Watson. Strickland would get to within a car length of Watson, but wouldn’t have enough to make the pass as Watson came across the checkered flag to take the feature win and also the track championship! Strickland finished second with Evan Proctor third and Andy Ennis fourth.
Jake Keaton dominated the nights 25 lap All Seasons Powersports Late Model feature to claim the feature win and the track championship! Gregg Carby and Jacob Bell had an entertaining battle for second that lasted nearly the entire race. Things got really intense when Carby and Bell split a lap car and went three wide for the position coming off of turn 4! Carby would hold off Bell to finish second with Bell third, Devyn Marcum fourth, and John Morton fifth.
Drama occurred before the race even started in the Contempo Trophy & Awards UCAR feature. Fast qualifier Jay Workman failed to make the start of the race due to mechanical problems. This put Chris Deskins and Joe Workman on the front row. On the start, Deskins would get the lead with Workman close behind him. The two battled close for the first few laps with Deskins starting to inch away the further along the race went. Behind the front two, the action was intense with Tim Cassidy, Keith Watson, and Nick Fowler all battling. Deskins would pull away to a little over a three second lead at the checkered flag to claim the feature win and also the track championship! Workman finished second with Cassidy third, Watson fourth, and Fowler fifth.
Jason Garrett and Jake Keaton battled side by side to start the nights 20 lap Mays Tire & Service Center INEX Legends Car Pro feature. Keaton would use the high side to lead lap one while the following lap Garrett, the fast qualifier, would slow bringing out the AirTech Heating & Cooling caution flag. Garrett would pull into the infield and be done for the race. On the restart, Keaton and Will Geer would battle side by side for the lead with the two making contact in turns three and four. Geer got crossed up and lost several positions but the race stayed green as no cars stopped or spun. Geer worked his way through the field and by lap 8 made his way up to third behind new second place runner Dale Garrett. Garrett and Geer would have an intense battle for several laps until the two would make contact in turn one on lap 12, sending both cars spinning and bringing out the AirTech Heating & Cooling caution. Both cars would go to the rear as part of the spinner-spinnee rule.
On the choose rule selection, most of the field stayed low with Garrett and Geer the only ones choosing the high side, allowing the front row to be Keaton and Garrett. On the restart, Keaton continued with the lead while Garrett and Tyler Martin made contact in turn three battling for second. Garrett would spin around with Geer having nowhere to go and clip Garrett and getting upside down. Thankfully, all drivers walked away uninjured. On the restart, Keaton would hold off Tyler Martin to come across the checkered flag and claim the win and the track championship! Tyler Martin finished third with Matthew Martin third, Adam Jeffrey fourth, and Scott Martin fifth.
Jake Tretow and Danny Trent would slice their way from the 4th and 5th starting position to take positions 1 and 2 at the start of the nights 25 lap Pro Grand National Tour Baby Grand Stock Car feature. On lap two, Tretow and Trent would make contact with Tretow spinning. Trent tapped out, allowing Tretow to get his position back while Trent went to the tail. On the restart, Tretow would lead while all eyes were on Trent working his way through the field. On lap 5, Trent moved into second and set his sights on Tretow. Trent would catch Tretow as the two would battle nose to tail in an intense battle for the lead that would literally last the rest of the race. Tretow never flinched under the pressure of Trent though as he came to the checkered flag to take the feature win! Trent finished second with Justin Gareis third, Joe Dunn fourth, and England’s Rob Cordell fifth.
Wes Smith and Jeremy Cooper had some of the most intense racing of the season as they battled side by side for the lead to start the Patriot Meat Processing Modified feature. With Smith down low and Cooper up high, the two battled side by side lap after lap. Smith led at the line the first two laps while Cooper led at the line using high side momentum the next two laps. On lap 5, Smith would finally clear Cooper as Cooper tucked behind Smith. The two battled nose to tail for several laps but as the laps wore on, Smith started to pull away as he would come across the checkered flag to take the feature win! With his second place finish, Cooper would clinch the track championship! Andy Booten finished third with Benny Hickle fourth and Adam Keasling fifth.
The final two races of the night would be the two where the points battles were extremely close. In the Jeffrey Trucking INEX Legends Car Semi-Pro class, Rob Dunlap held a 1 point lead over Randall Cline. Cline would have to win the race or finish two positions ahead of Dunlap to win the title, while Dunlap could clinch by finishing ahead of Cline. On the race start, Dunlap jumped out to the lead while a tough start for Cline had him fourth in the running order. Cline would pick off Jeremy Dosier and Jay Dunlap to move into the second position on lap 9. Once in second, Cline began catching Dunlap who had jumped out to about a second lead. Within 5 laps, Cline was there, right on the back bumper of Dunlap in a battle for not only the race win, but the championship!
With two laps to go, Cline was right on the bumper of Dunlap as the leaders hit lap traffic. Going into turn one, Dunlap looked low on the lap car of Dean Brotherton and got held up, allowing Cline to go high on Dunlap and pass him in the middle of the turn to take the lead! Off of turn two Dunlap would spin, bringing out the AirTech Heating & Cooling caution flag. Because of cars that were a lap down, Dunlap would restart the race in fifth as another yellow flew for Jeremy Dosier who spun. On the next attempt at the green-white-checkered restart, Cline would lead while Dunlap would quickly move into second and be right on Clines bumper at the white flag! Into turns 1 and 2 Cline maintained the lead and had three car lengths on Dunlap down the backstretch. Into turn three, Dunlap drove in deep and would spin his machine while Cline would come across the checkers and take the race win and the track championship! Kenny McComas finished second with Jeremy Dosier third, Jay Dunlap fourth, and Rob Dunlap fifth.
The Haunted Majestic Street Stock title race would see Kenny Chapman and Tommy Rowe tied for the points lead. This created a heads up battle of whoever finished ahead of each other during the 25 lap feature would win the championship. At the race start, Chris Jividen and Chapman would battle side by side for the lead with Jividen leading and Chapman tucking into second while Rowe was stuck in fifth. On lap three, Rowe would move up a spot into fourth. On lap four, the races first AirTech Heating & Cooling caution would fly with contact between Marty Powers and Clinton Thompson.
On the choose, Jividen, Chapman, and Christy all stowed low while Rowe jumped up to the high side to start alongside Jividen in a move that would be crucial to how the championship race played out. On the restart, Jividen and Rowe battled side by side for the lead with Rowe passing Jividen through turns three and four to lead lap five. The following lap, the AirTech Heating & Cooling caution fly again for Thompson who hit the guardrail off of turn four. The choose on this restart would see Rowe and Jividen stay low while Chapman moved up to the high line. On the restart, Rowe led into one while Chapman and Jividen made contact battling for second. Off of turn two, Chapman and Jividen were still making contact as both cars would spin around to bring out the AirTech Heating & Cooling caution! Both Jividen and Chapman would go to the tail as part of the spinner-spinnee rule.
On the restart, Rowe continued to lead while Mike Christy moved into second with Jividen third and Chapman fourth as a result of choosing the high line on the choose. Rowe and Christy would then have an intense battle for the lead with Christy desperately trying to find a way around Rowe. This battle raged on lap after lap as now Jividen and Chapman joined them in a four car nose to tail battle! On lap 18, Chapman decided to go high and it worked for him as he passed Jividen for third and kept digging to battle side by side for Christy for second! Seeing a track championship in his sights, Chapman passed Christy on lap 21 and moved into second! The championship contenders of Rowe and Chapman were now nose to tail for the lead and the track championship with only four laps to go!
Rowe and Chapman were both driving their guts out, with Rowe desperately trying to hang onto the lead and Chapman desperately trying to pass Rowe. On the final lap, it was Rowe and Chapman still first and second. Chapman couldn’t make any move in one and two. Down the backstretch and into turn three, Chapman drives his machine in deep and drifts up the track while off of turn four Rowe gets sideways loose! Both drivers throttled up off the corner as it was Rowe coming across the checkered flag by 0.424 seconds to take the feature win and the track championship! Chapman finished second with Christy third, Marty Powers fourth, and Jividen fifth.
The Ona Speedway will return to action on Saturday, October 7th for the annual Trick or Treat Night! All classes will be in action for a full racing program and we will have trick or treat during intermission where all cars will be brought on the frontstretch and fans will be allowed on the track for trick or treat. This is always a fan favorite event. With the cooler fall temperatures, start times will be a little earlier as racing will start at 6:00 pm. For more information visit www.onaspeedway.com.
Complete Results
Baby Grand Stock Cars
Fast Qualifier: Danny Trent-18.730
25 lap Feature: Jake Tretow, Danny Trent, Justin Gareis, Joe Dunn, Rob Cordell
Lap Leaders: Jake Tretow (1-25)
Car Count-5
All Seasons Powersports Late Models
Fast Qualifier: Jake Keaton-18.166
25 lap Feature: Jake Keaton, Gregg Carby, Jacob Bell, Devyn Marcum, John Morton (DNS: Mike Burcham)
Lap Leaders: Jake Keaton (1-25)
Car Count-6
Patriot Meat Processing Modifieds
Fast Qualifier: Wes Smith-18.006
25 lap Feature: Wes Smith, Jeremy Cooper, Andy Booten, Benny Hickle, Adam Keasling, J. R. Adkins
Lap Leaders: Wes Smith (1-2), Jeremy Cooper (3-4), Wes Smith (5-25)
Car Count-6
Haunted Majestic Street Stocks
Fast Qualifier: Chris Jividen-19.483
25 lap Feature: Tommy Rowe, Kenny Chapman, Mike Christy, Marty Powers, Chris Jividen, Chris Wheeler, Melinda Spurlock, Clinton Thompson
Lap Leaders: Chris Jividen (1-4), Tommy Rowe (5-25)
Car Count-8
Contempo Trophy & Awards UCAR’s
Fast Qualifier: Jay Workman-19.703
25 lap Feature: Chris Deskins, Joe Workman, Tim Cassidy, Keith Watson, Nick Fowler, David Adkins, Jacob Burgoff, Reuben Fetty (DNS: Jay Workman)
Lap Leaders: Chris Deskins (1-25)
Car Count-9
Mays Tire & Service Center INEX Legends Car Pro
Fast Qualifier: Jason Garrett-19.764
20 lap Feature: Jake Keaton, Tyler Martin, Matthew Martin, Adam Jeffrey, Scott Martin, Dale Garrett, Will Geer, Jason Garrett
Lap Leaders: Jake Keaton (1-20)
Car Count-8
Jeffrey Trucking INEX Legends Car Semi-Pro
Fast Qualifier: Rob Dunlap-20.098
20 lap Feature: Randall Cline, Kenny McComas, Jeremy Dosier, Jay Dunlap, Rob Dunlap, Teddy Berry, Elijah Johnson, Frank Lusher, Dean Brotherton
Lap Leaders: Rob Dunlap (1-17), Randall Cline (18-20)
Car Count-9
Gumbo Stop Cafe Crazy Compacts
Fast Qualifier: Stacie Watson-21.820
20 lap Feature: Stacie Watson, Evan Strickland, Evan Proctor, Andy Ennis
Lap Leaders: Stacie Watson (1-20)
Car Count-4
