HAT results 97-07-20

DirtNews Digest Your Online News Source for Late Model Dirt Track Racing "Get Some Dirt On Your Computer!" Todd Turner, editor

Email address: DirtNews@aol.com Web site: http://members.aol.com/dirtnews/digest =================================== CONTENTS: July 16-19 results (published July 20) HAV-A-TAMPA: Arp outduels Hartman in Ironman 100 CAPSULES: Hav-A-Tampa, MACS and NASCAR results =================================== HAV-A-TAMPA DIRT RACING SERIES Ironman 100

UNION, Ky. (Friday and Saturday) Skip Arp, stalking Bart Hartman nearly the entire race, snagged the lead when Hartman had traffic trouble and won the Ironman 100 at Florence Speedway for his first Hav-A-Tampa victory in 14 months.

Arp, who has seven top-five finishes this year but hasn't won a series race since May 11, 1996 at Lake View (S.C.) Speedway, pocketed $15,000 after taking the lead on the 91st lap and pulling away from Hartman. Bob Pierce, who led the first 24 laps, finished third while Rick Aukland and Wendell Wallace rounded out the top five at the dry-slick half-mile oval south of Cincinnati.

Defending race champion Jack Boggs finished sixth while Johnny Virden rallied from his 14th-starting spot to finish seventh. Local driver John Holt, series points leader Billy Moyer and Donnie Moran rounded out the top 10. Polesitter Mark Miner dropped out of the race on the 39th lap while running fourth and placed 22nd in the 24-car field.

"Boy, I'm tickled to death we got this thing," said Arp, whose nine-lap stretch in the lead was his longest of the year despite three fast qualifying times. "It's been a tough year so far, but maybe we can keep it up."

Hartman kept Arp in check for most of the race, but when several soon-to-be-lapped cars -- including unrelated drivers Freddy Smith and Clint Smith -- blocked the favored inside groove, Hartman had a tough choice to make as the laps wound down.

"(The) lapped traffic, they weren't moving, so I had to go somewhere and look around," said Hartman, who reluctantly moved his yellow No. 75 up to the high side after following them three laps. "I took a chance, he stayed in his line, and (Arp) got by me."

"I took a chance trying to roll them a couple of laps on the outside, and it just wouldn't work," continued Hartman, who led laps 25-90. "Skip got under me. I was glad to see he won it, but I'd much rather it have been me."

Arp, who started outside the second row, was glad to see Hartman take a crack at the outside groove as the leaders entered Turn 3 on the 89th lap.

"Really, the whole race, I didn't feel like I was no better than (Hartman), and when I see us coming up on that big pack of traffic, I thought maybe the only chance I got is if he gets hung up in traffic," Arp said. "I felt like, at that time, the bottom line was probably a little bit better, and if he ever did go try to go to the outside, if I could get under him, maybe I could get by him."

When the leaders crossed under the flagstand on the 89th lap, Arp was just a car length behind after being as much as 12 lengths behind just a few laps earlier. With Hartman still up high, Arp was side-by-side with Hartman on the next lap and then took a clear lead and pulled away on the 91st lap as the lapped cars continued to cause problems for the leaders.

"It really worked out good for us," Arp said. "If he'd have been behind me at the end, it probably would've been the same way. So it really worked out good."

While Arp tried to work his way past the slower cars, Hartman found his hands full with Pierce and Aukland, who had been nearly a straightaway behind but caught the leaders. Pierce also slipped under Hartman on the 91st lap, but gave second spot back a lap later when he got too high coming out of Turn 4.

Hartman, whose nosepiece got bashed as Pierce went past, couldn't muster an answer to Arp's charge. Arp cleared the lapped traffic by the 97th lap and built a half-straightaway lead in cruising to victory.

"It's been tough," Arp said. "We've had good cars and good motors, and everybody's been working hard on the car, and our sponsors, but, boy, we just haven't been having no luck. We felt like we should've won two or three races, and we hadn't won any, so we're tickled to death to get this win."

Hartman has led 199 of his last 300 racing laps, but has only one win to show for it after breaking on the last lap in a STARS race at Hagerstown, Md., last week, then losing to Arp in the waning laps at Florence. Still, he was pleased with another solid showing.

"I'm happy with it," Hartman said. "We've been strong all year. It's just another feather in our cap. It's the best I've ever run here at Florence. I think the fans saw a helluva show. I made 100 laps and only made one mistake, that's not too bad."

The race was slowed by caution just two times, the first when Miner slowed on the front stretch on the 39th lap to retire and give up his fourth position. The second yellow flag appeared on the 51st lap when Jerry Rice, who had been battling hard in the middle of the pack, bashed the front-stretch wall and came to a stop at the entrance to Turn 4.

An angry Rice climbed from his car and flipped off Donnie Moran as the field drove past, then threw a dirt clod at the No. 99 the next time around. Hav-A-Tampa officials disqualified Rice for unsportsmanlike conduct, withholding points and purse money.

CAR COUNT: 45 late models.

FAST QUALIFIER: Mark Miner, 16.639 seconds (half-mile oval).

FIRST HEAT (top four advance): Mark Miner, Bart Hartman, Wendell Wallace, Shawn Toczek, Scotty Earl, Eric Shepherd, Shane Yoder, Scotty James, C.J. Rayburn, Audie McWilliams, Jimbo Smith.

SECOND HEAT: Bob Pierce, Jack Boggs, Jerry Rice, Johnny Virden, Darrell Lanigan, Donnie Moran, Dale McDowell, Earl Pearson Jr., Jesse Lay, Randy Boggs, Buster Goss, Tony Lay.

THIRD HEAT: Rick Aukland, Billy Moyer, Freddy Smith, John Mason, David Gibson, Rex Richey, Steve Landrum, Danny Ferguson, Brandon Green, Johnny Johnson, John Lawhorn (Gary Green scratched).

FOURTH HEAT: Skip Arp, Steve Barnett, John Holt, Clint Smith, John Gill, Troy Green, Marshall Green, Paul Davis, Jeff Coulter, Greg Williams (Jim Curry scratched).

FIRST CONSOLATION (top three advance): David Gibson, Scotty Earl, Ray Cook, Rex Richey, Steve Landrum, C.J. Rayburn, Eric Shepherd, Scotty James, Audie McWilliams (Shane Yoder, Danny Ferguson, Brandon Green, Johnny Johnson and John Lawhorn scratched).

SECOND CONSOLATION: John Gill, Darrell Lanigan, Donnie Moran, Dale McDowell, Marshall Green, Jim Curry, Earl Pearson Jr., Troy Green, Jesse Lay, Tony Lay (Paul Davis, Jeff Coulter, Randy Boggs, Greg Williams and Buster Goss scratched).

FEATURE (Pos., driver, hometown, car no., chassis, laps, winnings not including Winner's Circle bonuses) 1. Skip Arp (31), Georgetown, Tenn., GRT, 100, $15,000 2. Bart Hartman (75), Zanesville, Ohio, MasterSbilt, 100, $8,500 3. Bob Pierce (32), Danville, Ill., MasterSbilt, 100, $5,000 4. Rick Aukland (12), Fargo, N.D., Rayburn, 100, $3,500 5. Wendell Wallace (6m), Batesville, Ark., GRT, 100, $3,000 6. Jack Boggs (B4), Grayson, Ky., MasterSbilt, 100, $2,750 7. Johnny Virden (1v), Russellville, Ark., GRT, 100, $2,500 8. John Holt (1H), Independence, Ky., Rayburn, 100, $2,250 9. Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., Rayburn, 100, $2,000 10. Donnie Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, MasterSbilt, 100, $1,750 11. John Gill (75), Mitchell, Ind., MasterSbilt, 100, $1,500 12. Darrell Lanigan (29), Union, Ky., MasterSbilt, 100, $1,300 13. Clint Smith (1), Griffin, Ga., GRT, 99, $1,200 14. Freddy Smith (00), Knoxville, Tenn., GRT, 99, $1,100 15. Dale McDowell (17m), Rossville, Ga., GRT, 99, $1,000 16. Ray Cook (53), Murphy, N.C., GRT, 99, $975 17. John Mason (72), Millersburg, Ohio, GRT, 98, $950 18. Shawn Toczek (55), Griffith, Ind., Rayburn, 98, $925 19. David Gibson (G2), Ash Flat, Ark., GRT, 98, $900 20. Scotty Earl (s44), Louisville, Ky., Rayburn, 97, $900 21. Steve Barnett (89), Franklin, Ind., Rayburn, 68, $900 22. Mark Miner (7), Stockbridge, Ga., GRT, 39, $900 23. Marshall Green (89), Dalton, Ga., Warrior, 17, $900 24. Jerry Rice (1B), Verona, Ky., Warrior, 51 (finished 22nd but disqualified and placed last because of unsportsmanlike conduct).

NOTES: Fans of the winner can join the Skip Arp Fan Club by mailing a request to 6995 Davis Ferry Road, Loudon TN 37774 .... Arp managed to drive his car despite a troubling case of tennis elbow in his right arm .... the feature ended about 10:30 p.m. .... Bob Pierce swapped motors Saturday, using a bigger motor that required adding an extra 100 pounds .... Rex Richey drove the Calvin-Cheek owned No. 23 that has previously been driven this year by Pierce and Stan Massey .... it was the first Hav-A-Tampa event at Florence .... the Ironman race was formerly run in a 200-lap format .... Buster Goss of Rome, Ga., was among the fastest qualifiers, but struggled mightily in his heat race and didn't advance to the feature.

NEXT HAV-A-TAMPA RACE: July 25-26, Tazewell (Tenn.) Speedway, $15,000 to win.

CREDIT: Todd Turner <DirtNews@aol.com> of DirtNews Digest. ------------------------------------------------------------- WEDNESDAY'S RACE CAPSULE

ANDREWS WINS MACS RACE AT SHARON SPEEDWAY: Todd Andrews of Duke Center, Pa., pocketed $3,000 for winning the opening 35-lap race on the Mid-Atlantic Championship Series Thunder in the Mountains tour at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio. The victory on the hot and dusty night was Andrews' third series win of the year. Ron Davies came from the tail to finish fourth, while Dick Barton pitted on the 12th lap and rallied to finish fifth. Bob Close, John Britsky, Chub Frank and Scott Haus won heats. There were 34 cars in attendance. FEATURE (35 laps): (1) Todd Andrews, (2) Scott Haus, (3) Bob Salathe, (4) Ron Davies, (5) Dick Barton, (6) Denny Chamberlain. ------------------------------------------------------------- THURSDAY'S RACE CAPSULES

FRANCIS GETS HAV-A-TAMPA VICTORY AT CARTER COUNTY: Steve Francis of nearby Ashland, Ky., won a dust-shortened Hav-A-Tampa Dirt Racing Series feature worth $10,000 at Carter County Speedway in Olive Hill, Ky. The race was cut from 100 to 51 laps because of dusty track conditions and time. Billy Moyer (17.619 seconds) was the fast qualifier among 28 cars, but lasted just 11 laps in the feature. FEATURE (51 laps): (1) Steve Francis, (2) Jack Boggs, (3) Joe Meadows, (4) Freddy Smith, (5) Mark Miner, (6) Clint Smith, (7) Skip Arp, (8) Dale McDowell, (9) Marshall Green, (10) Randy Boggs, (11) David Gibson, (12) Jackie Boggs, (13) Shawn Holliday, (14) Donnie Moran, (15) Kennie Compton Jr., (16) Eddie Carrier Jr., (17) Ray Cook, (18) Wendell Wallace, (19) Paul Davis, (20) Earl Pearson Jr., (21) Shane Yoder, (22) Brandon Kinzer, (23) Thomas Ware, (24) Bill Bocook, (25) Johnny Virden, (26) Billy Moyer.

ROBBIE BLAIR GETS THUNDER IN THE MOUNTAINS VICTORY: Robbie Blair of Titusville., Pa., outdueled Chub Frank for a $3,000 victory in the 35-lap second leg of the MACS Thunder in the Mountains tour at Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa. Blair and Frank's lead-swapping battling on the groovy half-mile oval came after Todd Andrews, who started 16th but took the lead on the 24th lap, fell out when he lost a right-rear tire on the 28th lap. Blair, Randy Kimmell, Scott Haus and Denny Chamberlain were heat winners on a night when 37 cars were in competition. In a scary moment, veteran driver Lynn Geisler was briefly knocked unconscious during the feature when a rock hit his helmet and broke his visor. The track crew, his sons and medics attended to him, and he climbed from his car into an ambulance after about five minutes. Geisler is apparently OK. FEATURE (35 laps): (1) Robbie Blair, (2) Chub Frank, (3) Scott Haus, (4) Bob Salathe, (5) Denny Chamberlain, (6) Randy Kimmell, (7) C.S. Fitzgerald, (8) Nolan Dalton. ------------------------------------------------------------- SATURDAY'S RACE CAPSULE

JOE KOSISKI WINS LAST-LAP BROTHER BATTLE IN SOUTH DAKOTA: In a battle of brothers, Joe Kosiski tracked down race-long leader Steve Kosiski and made a pass in Turn 3 on the final lap for a NASCAR Busch All-Star victory at Park Jefferson Speedway in Jefferson, S.D. It was the first series win of the year for Joe Kosiski, the defending series champion. Polesitter Bob Moore settled for fourth place while series points leader Ray Guss Jr. finished 26th. FEATURE (50 laps): (1) Joe Kosiski, (2) Steve Kosiski, (3) Dirk Kirk, (4) Bob Moore, (5) Bob Dominacki, (6) Bill Martin, (7) John Anderson, (8) Jay Johnson, (9) Tom Svoboda, (10) Denny Osborn, (11) Rick Wendling, (12) Gary Webb, (13) Skip Frey, (14) Sonny Findling, (15) Terry Schlipman, (16) Brian Birkhofer, (17) Bob Hampel, (18) Steve Boley, (19) Dale Pash, (20) Kurt Stewart, (21) Tom Cannon, (22) Terry Golder, (23) Larry Watterson, (24) Scott Koskovich, (25) Ray Guss Jr., (26) Mike Walker, (27) Bob Helm, (28) Danny Ahrens. ------------------------------------------------------------- CAPSULE CREDITS: Ozzie Altman <VctoryLane@aol.com> of Hav-A-Tampa, Don Craft <pp01548@ppp.kcc.edu> and Chip Stebbins <chip1@madbbs.com>. -------------------------------------------------------------