ONA, WV-It was another great night of racing at the Ona Speedway on Saturday, September 9th when the Ohio Wheelman Super Stock Series invaded Ona for the first time this season. The series brought 18 of the fastest Street Stocks to Ona.
The night started with dash and heat races for the Ohio Wheelman Series. Jeff Kuykendall won the dash race while defending Ona Street Stock track champion Chris Jividen won heat race #1. Heat race #2 saw a lot of excitement as Kylee Wood made a last lap pass to take the win.
The first feature up was the 20 lapper for the Jeffrey Trucking INEX Legends Car Semi-Pro feature. Jay Dunlap took the lead at the start with Randall Cline immediately moving into second. After a few laps of battling for the lead Cline made the pass on Dunlap to take the lead on lap three. A close battle for second would then take place between Jay Dunlap and his brother Rob Dunlap with Rob eventually making the pass to move into second. Dunlap closed in on Cline as the two battled for the lead in the races closing laps! Cline would hold off Dunlap and win by a car length to claim his first career Ona Speedway win! Rob Dunlap finished second with Jay Dunlap third, Jeremy Dosier fourth, and Teddy Berry fifth.
Jeremy Cooper battled Andy Booten on lap one of the nights 20 lap Patriot Meat Processing Modified feature to gain the lead and would go on and lead the remaining laps to score his fourth win on the season! Andy Booten finished second with Wes Smith third, J. R. Adkins fourth, and Benny Hickle fifth.
The Jeffers Excavating & Transportation 50 Ohio Wheelman Super Stock feature was moved up a race in the program due to threatening weather. Ona Speedway regular Tommy Rowe led the field to the green flag and would lead the first 7 laps of the race. On lap 8, in turns 1 and 2, Rowe slipped high, allowing Stephen Schlea to take the lead on lap 8. Schlea would lead until the first AirTech Heating & Cooling Caution would fly on lap 15 for Joe Coursen who hit the guardrail. On the restart, trouble would occur again as Marty Powers would slow with a flat tire. On the restart, Jeff Kuykendall would battle Schlea for the lead on the high side! After a couple laps of battling, Kuykendall would take the lead on lap 17. From there, Kuykendall would pull away in a race that stayed green the remaining laps to come across the checkered flag and score the win! Billy Roberts outdueled Dennis Wood in an intense battle to finish second with Wood in third. Schlea finished fourth with Chris Parker fifth.
Jacob Bell and Jake Keaton battled for the lead to start the nights 20 lap All Seasons Powersports Late Model feature with Bell leading the first three laps and Keaton taking the lead on lap four. A couple laps later, Gregg Carby would move by Bell and take the second position. While the front two spread out, the best battle all race long was for third between Bell and Burcham as they battled nose to tail most of the race. Keaton would lead the remaining laps to claim his fourth win of the season! Carby finished second with Bell third and Burcham fourth.
Jason Garrett lead the field to start the nights 20 lap Mays Tire & Service Center INEX Legends Car Pro feature. Jake Keaton would move into the second position with an intense battle early on in the race between Dale Garrett and Will Geer. The two would make contact with Garrett spinning on lap 6 to bring out the races only AirTech Heating & Cooling caution flag. On the restart, Jason Garrett continued with the lead with Keaton tucked right behind him. Dale Garrett and Geer would also continue their intense battle for third with Tyler Martin right behind them to make it a three car race. Garrett and Keaton stayed bumper to bumper for nearly the entire race but Keaton wouldn’t have enough to pass Garrett as Garrett came across the start/finish line to claim his first career Legends Car win! Keaton finished second with Dale Garrett third, Geer fourth, and Tyler Martin fifth.
Nick Fowler and Jay Workman battled for the lead early in the nights 20 lap Contempo Trophy & Awards feature with Fowler leading lap one. Workman would slow with problems and pull off the track, allowing Chris Deskins to move into the second position. Deskins would catch Fowler as the two would would battle for the lead. After several laps of battling, Deskins would make the pass on Fowler on lap 8. Fowler would then be in a battle for second with Tim Cassidy with Cassidy taking the second position. Cassidy wouldn’t have enough to catch Deskins though as Deskins would come across the checkered flag to claim his fourth win of the season! Cassidy finished second with Fowler third, Keith Watson fourth, and David Adkins fifth.
Perhaps the most thrilling race of the night came in the 20 lap Gumbo Stop Cafe Crazy Compact feature. Evan Proctor and Evan Strickland would literally battle side by side for the lead for the entire first half of the race with Proctor down low and Strickland up high, all while Stacie Watson was right behind them. Strickland would eventually give up the high side and lose second to Watson who set her sights on Proctor. On lap 15, Watson looked high on Proctor off of turn two and the two made contact going down the backstretch with both cars getting crossed up. Strickland would dive to the inside in turn three and take the lead in a thrilling move. Watson would move back into second but wouldn’t have enough to catch Strickland as Strickland came across the checkers to claim his first career feature win! Watson finished second with Proctor third and Andy Ennis fourth. The race officially had four lead changes.
The Ona Speedway will not host racing on Saturday, September 16th, but will host the inaugural West Virginia Roar & Soar Car & Plane Show! The event will feature a car show on the speedway, planes on display, inflatable for kids, a swap meet, and food trucks. The event will run from noon until 5:00 pm. This is an awesome opportunity for people to come out to the speedway and see some cool cars and planes and get to walk on the historic speedway as the cars will be staged all around the speedway. Admission is only $7 for ages 13 and up and free for ages 12 and under. The track will return to race on Saturday, September 23rd for the Yes Chevrolet/Yes Ford Season Championships.
Ohio Wheelman Super Stocks
Fast Qualifier: Billy Roberts-19.158
Dash: Jeff Kuykendall, Dennis Wood, Joe Coursen, Billy Roberts
Heat One: Chris Jividen, Stephen Schlea, Tommy O’Leary, Josh Poore, Chris Parker, Tommy Rowe, Howard Kelly Jr.
Heat Two: Kylee Wood, Tyler Harmon, Kenny Sharp, Clinton Thompson, Marty Powers, John Haney, Drew Smith
50 lap Feature: Jeff Kuykendall, Billy Roberts, Dennis Wood, Stephen Schlea, Chris Parker, Tommy Rowe, Josh Poore, Chris Jividen, Kylee Wood, Tyler Harmon, Drew Smith, Clinton Thompson, Kenny Sharp, John Haney, Marty Powers, Joe Coursen, Tommy O’Leary (DQ), Howard Kelly Jr. (DNS/DQ)
Lap Leaders: Tommy Rowe (1-7), Stephen Schlea (8-16), Jeff Kuykendall (17-50)
Car Count: 18
All Seasons Powersports Late Models
Fast Qualifier: Jake Keaton-17.890
20 lap Feature: Jake Keaton, Gregg Carby, Jacob Bell, Mike Burcham
Lap Leaders: Jacob Bell (1-3), Jake Keaton (4-20)
Car Count-4
Patriot Meat Processing Modifieds
Fast Qualifier: Wes Smith-18.283
20 lap Feature: Jeremy Cooper, Andy Booten, Wes Smith, J. R. Adkins, Benny Hickle (DNS: Josh Artis)
Lap Leaders: Jeremy Cooper (1-20)
Car Count-6
Contempo Trophy & Awards UCAR’s
Fast Qualifier: Jay Workman-19.910
20 lap Feature: Chris Deskins, Tim Cassidy, Nick Fowler, Keith Watson, David Adkins, Jacob Burgoff, Jay Workman
Lap Leaders: Nick Fowler (1-7), Chris Deskins (8-20)
Car Count-7
Mays Tire & Service Center INEX Legends Car Pro
Fast Qualifier: Will Geer-19.465
20 lap Feature: Jason Garrett, Jake Keaton, Dale Garrett, Will Geer, Tyler Martin, Zach Steele, Matthew Martin, Scott Martin, Adam Jeffrey
Lap Leaders: Jason Garrett (1-20)
Car Count-9
Jeffrey Trucking INEX Legends Car Semi-Pro
Fast Qualifier: Rob Dunlap-20.057
20 lap Feature: Randall Cline, Rob Dunlap, Jay Dunlap, Jeremy Dosier, Teddy Berry, Kenny McComas, Dean Brotherton, Elijah Johnson
Lap Leaders: Jay Dunlap (1-2), Randall Cline (3-20)
Car Count-8
Gumbo Stop Cafe Crazy Compacts
Fast Qualifier: Stacie Watson-21.843
20 lap Feature: Evan Strickland, Stacie Watson, Evan Proctor, Andy Ennis
Lap Leaders: Evan Proctor (1-5), Evan Strickland (6), Evan Proctor (7-14), Evan Strickland (15-20)
Car Count-4
