ONA, WV-53 race cars from four different states were in attendance at the Ona Speedway on Saturday, September 7th for the penultimate points race of the season. Fans in attendance were treated to 212 laps of exciting racing action throughout the show.
The first feature to hit the track was the 30 lapper for the LG Pressure Washing Modifieds that paid $1,000 to win. Front row starters Jamie Womack and Wes Smith battled side by side for the lead at the start with Smith gaining the lead. Fast qualifier Jeremy Cooper quickly moved into the second position and started pressuring Smith for the lead until the races first Dutch Miller Automotive caution flag flew on lap six as Benny Hickle slowed. On the Tri-State Stoneworks restart, Cooper chose the high side and started alongside Smith as they battled side by side for the lead! Cooper would use high side momentum to lead lap 7 while Smith drove deep into turn one and regained the lead. Cooper tried to do the cross over move on Smith coming out of turn two but would clip the infield grass and spin wildly, bringing out the races second yellow flag. Cooper would then have to go to the tail.
On the restart, Smith continued to lead while Josh Artis, Jamie Womack, and Thomas Mays engaged in an intense three car battle for second. Meanwhile, following some more yellows, Cooper would make his way back up in the fold and would join Artis, Womack and Mays to make it a four car battle for second. That battle continued until lap 14 when a bolt snapped, causing Mays car to spin wildly going into turn three. Mays would be ok but would be unable to rejoin the race. On the restart, Cooper quickly moved up into the second position behind Smith. But as the laps wore on, Smith would pull away until he came up on the lap cars of Rob Dunlap and Danny Vickers with a few laps to go. On the final lap, the traffic allowed Cooper to quickly gain on Smith. Into turn three, Smith went way high, allowing Cooper to sneak underneath of him as they were now side by side off of turn four! In a drag race to the checkered flag Smith crossed the line first by a margin of victory of 0.007 seconds to take the win! The finish was too close for the naked eye to tell and had to go back to timing and scoring to determine the winner. Cooper finished second with Artis third, Womack fourth, and Vickers fifth.
Mike Burcham took the lead to start the nights 30 lap All Seasons Powersports Late Model feature with Gregg Carby right on his bumper! Fast qualifier Jake Keaton, who drew an invert of four, made his way through the field and by lap 5 was in the second position and looking right on the bumper of Burcham! On lap 7, Keaton made his move on Burcham and dove underneath of him in turn three to take the lead! Trying to follow Keaton through, Carby also stuck his #17 machine underneath of Burcham as the two made heavy contact with both cars wrecking in the middle of the turn, bringing out the races first Dutch Miller Automotive caution flag Carby would be unable to continue on while Burcham was able to continue on, howbeit with quite a bit of body damage. On the Tri-State Stoneworks restart, Keaton continued with the lead with Carson Lucas now in second. The top two remained that way while the best racing was for fourth between Burcham and Joe Fihe. Keaton would lead the remaining laps and take the feature win with Lucas in second, Jim Newman third, Burcham fourth, and Fihe in fifth!
Drama occured early on in the nights 30 lap Haunted Majestic Halloween Bash Qualifier for the Brody Nash Century 21 Crown Vics. The front row of JR Adkins and Jamie Womack battled side by side for the lead on the opening lap and as they went into turn three, Womack’s car just went straight as it went hard into the outside guardrail, ending his night and ending his championship run. When the race resumed, Adkins would take the lead and never look back, leading all 30 laps to take his first win since June! Indiana driver Brian Moore finished second with Karsyn Maxey third, Chris Jividen fourth, and Shane McLane fifth.
Big time trouble nearly occurred on the start of the nights 30 lap Haunted Majestic Street Stock feature. Outside polesitter Chris Jividen spun around at the start finish line in front of the field but miraculously, all drivers avoided contact and continued on with a complete restart. On the second attempted start, polesitter JR Webb would take the lead while Mike Christy quickly getting by Jividen for second. As the laps wore on, 5th and 6th place starters Tommy Rowe and Kenny Chapman came charging through the field with Rowe moving to second and Chapman to third. Jason Skeens was also on the charge in fourth as the Dutch Miller competition caution flew on lap 15.
On the Tri-State Stoneworks restart, Jason Skeens, who loves running the high side, went high on the choose and started alongside of Webb. Webb would continue with the lead while now Skeens, Rowe, and Chapman would engage in some intense racing for the second position. That battling all culminated on lap 23 when Skeens and Rowe made contact with Skeens nearly spinning, but saving it. Skeens would unfortunately have to go down pit road a lap later with mechanical problems and be done for the night. Webb would go on to lead the remaining laps and win his first race back since returning to racing at Ona! Rowe finished second with Chapman third, Christy fourth, and Melinda Spurlock fifth.
Nick Fowler stormed to the lead to start the nights Firecracker 40 for the Contempo Trophy & Awards UCAR’s. Fowler’s championship rival Jay Workman quickly moved into the second position and battled Fowler for the lead! After several laps of nose to tail battling, Workman saw the hole he needed and made the pass for the lead on lap 10! From there, Workman never looked back, surviving two segment restarts, to claim his fifth win of the season! Fowler finished second with Chris Deskins charging from eighth to finish third, Keith Watson fourth, and Jake Burgroff fifth. Workman and Fowler both won preliminary heat races.
Adam Jeffrey led the opening lap of the nights 20 lap Three Sixteen Motorsports INEX Legends Car feature. Jeffrey was quickly stalked by points leader Jason Garrett who took the lead on lap two. With Garrett leading, the best race on track was for the second position between Jeffrey and Dale Garrett. Dale Garrett would eventually move into the second position, but would never have enough to challenge his older brother as Jason Garrett came to the checkered flag to claim the win! Dale Garrett finished second with Jeffrey third, Randall Cline fourth, and Nate Dunlap fifth. Dunlap was scored as the Semi-Pro winner. Both Jason and Dale Garrett won preliminary heat races.
The Ona Speedway will be back in action for a mega event on Saturday, September 21st that will feature the West Virginia Roar & Soar Car & Plane Show from 9 am-1 pm and then the West Virginia Lottery Season Championships that evening at 6:30 pm that will be the final points race of the season and feature all Ona Speedway divisions. For more information visit www.onaspeedway.com.
Complete Results
All Seasons Powersports Late Models
Fast Qualifier: Jake Keaton, 18.039
30 lap Feature: Jake Keaton, Carson Lucas, Jim Newman, Mike Burcham, Joe Fihe, Jordan Tramelle, Gregg Carby
Lap Leaders: Mike Burcham (1-6), Jake Keaton (7-30)
Car Count: 7
LG Pressure Washing Modifieds
Fast Qualifier: Jeremy Cooper, 18.053
30 lap Feature: Wes Smith, Jeremy Cooper, Josh Artis, Jamie Womack, Danny Vickers, Rob Dunlap, Thomas Mays, Steve Hass, Cory Balser, Benny Hickle
Lap Leaders: Wes Smith (1-6), Jeremy Cooper (7), Wes Smith (8-30)
Car Count: 10
Haunted Majestic Street Stocks
Fast Qualifier: JR Webb, 19.530
30 lap Feature: JR Webb, Tommy Rowe, Kenny Chapman, Mike Christy, Melinda Spurlock, Jason Skeens, James Harding, Chris Jividen
Lap Leaders: JR Webb (1-30)
Car Count: 8
Contempo Trophy & Awards UCAR’s
Heat One: Jay Workman, Keith Watson, Jake Burgroff, Preston Hysell, Evan Strickland, Lillian Bailey
Heat Two: Nick Fowler, David Adkins, Tim Cassidy, Chris Deskins, Reuben Fetty, Donovan Shull
Firecracker 40: Jay Workman, Nick Fowler, Chris Deskins, Keith Watson, Jake Burgroff, Tim Cassidy, David Adkins, Preston Hysell, Evan Strickland, Lillian Bailey, Donovan Shull, Reuben Fetty
Lap Leaders: Nick Fowler (1-9), Jay Workman (10-40)
Car Count: 12
Three Sixteen Motorsports INEX Legends Cars
Heat One: Dale Garrett, Nate Dunlap, Elijah Johnson, Kenny McComas, Logan Stalnaker
Heat Two: Jason Garrett, Adam Jeffrey, Randall Cline, Ethan Johnson
20 lap Feature: Jason Garrett, Dale Garrett, Adam Jeffrey, Randall Cline, Nate Dunlap, Kenny McComas, Elijah Johnson, Ethan Johnson, Logan Stalnaker
Lap Leaders: Adam Jeffrey (1), Jason Garrett (2-20)
Car Count: 9
Brody Nash Century 21 Crown Vics
Fast Qualifier: Jamie Womack, 21.606
Haunted Majestic Halloween Bash Qualifier: JR Adkins, Brian Moore, Karsyn Maxey, Chris Jividen, Shane McLane, Jay Dunlap, Jamie Womack
Lap Leaders: JR Adkins (1-30)
Car Count: 7
