HAT results 97-07-29

Wallace gets wild HAT win (July 29)

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 25-26 results (published July 29) HAV-A-TAMPA: Wallace wins wild scramble at Tazewell CAPSULE: Poche dominates SUPR at Baton Rouge =================================== HAV-A-TAMPA DIRT RACING SERIES

TAZEWELL, Tenn. (Friday and Saturday) Wendell Wallace, coming out on top in an action-packed race that saw eight lead changes among six drivers, sliced into Billy Moyer's Hav-A-Tampa points lead with his Tennessee 100 victory worth $15,850 at Tazewell Speedway. Wallace held off Rex Richey in the harried final laps for his fourth Hav-A-Tampa win of the season, cutting Moyer's points lead to 76 points with nine events left in the season.

"This racetrack is unbelievable," Wallace said after the wild scramble slowed six times by caution. "We could run on the low side and up top, there were three or more grooves that would work for us. Once we got out in front when (polesitting teammate) Dale (McDowell) fell out, it was everything we could do to keep those other guys from getting by us. I don't remember when any of us raced this hard."

Richey, who kept the heat on Wallace the final laps, settled for second place ahead of Scott Bloomquist, Mark Miner and Freddy Smith at the high-banked 3/8-mile oval in eastern Tennessee. Ronnie Johnson, Clint Smith, Donnie Moran, Skip Arp and Ray Cook rounded out the top 10 and the list of drivers finishing on the lead lap. Moyer dropped out of the race after 73 laps and finished 15th after fuel-pump problems.

"GRT race cars and that Russell Baker engine got the job done," Wallace said. "I tell you, O.J. Monday has done what it takes to put me and Dale up front and we try to share as much information as possible, but when you get on a place like this, it's all you can do to just hang on. We did and we're glad to win again."

Bloomquist, starting outside the front row, led the first 15 laps before Scott Sexton blasted past on the inside to take the lead. But one lap later, Freddy Smith took the point from Sexton, who had bested Smith and Bloomquist in a rain-shortened Southern All-Star sanctioned event at Tazewell on May 31.

Smith led laps 17 through 22 as Sexton dropped out of the race with a broken spindle on the 20th lap. Smith gave way to Wallace on laps 23 through 26. Then it was McDowell's turn as the driver of the No. 17m Monday Motorsports raced past on the outside to win a duel of teammates and lead the 27th circuit. Six laps later, Wallace drove his No. 6m past McDowell to retake the lead he would never give up.

McDowell ended up leaving the race with an overheating problem on the 49th lap and settled for 19th place.

CAR COUNT: 38 late models.

FAST QUALIFIER: Dale McDowell, 11.895 seconds (113.493 mph).

FIRST HEAT (top four advance): Dale McDowell, Billy Moyer, Freddy Smith, Mark Miner, Ricky Rogers, Jeff Treece, Rick Aukland, David Gibson (Warren Strickler scratched).

SECOND HEAT: Scott Bloomquist, Wendell Wallace, Marshall Green, Skip Arp, Randle Chupp, Clint Smith, Roger Best, Jason McMahon, Rodney Dickson.

THIRD HEAT: Ronnie Johnson, Ray Cook, Randy Boggs, Billy Ogle Jr., Jack Trammell, Pete Broughton, Dewayne Johnson, Bill Reed, David Payne.

FOURTH HEAT: Rex Richey, Steve Smith, Scott Sexton, Donnie Moran, Earl Pearson Jr., Johnny Virden, Clayton Christenberry, Harold Simpson (C.J. Rayburn scratched).

FIRST CONSOLATION (top three advance): Ricky Rogers, Jack Trammell, Jeff Treece, Pete Broughton, Dewayne Johnson, David Payne (Rick Aukland, Wayne Strickler and Bill Reed scratched).

SECOND CONSOLATION: Clint Smith, Earl Pearson Jr., Jason McMahon, Johnny Virden, Clayton Christenberry, David Gibson (Randle Chupp, Roger Best, Harold Simpson, Rodney Dickson and C.J. Rayburn scratched).

FEATURE (Pos., driver, car no., hometown, chassis, laps, winnings) 1. Wendell Wallace (6m), Batesville, Ark., GRT, 100, $15,850 2. Rex Richey (23), Ringgold, Ga., Warrior, 100, $8,600 3. Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., Rayburn, 100, $5,100 4. Mark Miner (7), Stockbridge, Ga., MasterSbilt, 100, $3,550 5. Freddy Smith (00), Knoxville, Tenn., GRT, 100, $3,900 6. Ronnie Johnson (5), Chattanooga, Tenn., MasterSbilt, 100, $2,750 7. Clint Smith (1), Griffin, Ga., GRT, 100, $2,850 8. Donnie Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, MasterSbilt, 100, $2,550 9. Skip Arp (31), Georgetown, Tenn., 100, $2,300 10. Ray Cook (53), Murphy, N.C., 100, $2,050 11. Randy Boggs (17), Grayson, Ky., Rayburn, 97, $1,500 12. Pete Broughton (98), Wimauma, Fla., Barry Wright, 93, $1,450 13. Dewayne Johnson (45), Columbus, Ga., TNT, 92, $1,200 14. Jeff Treece (6), Knoxville, Tenn., Warrior, 87, $1,100 15. Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., Rayburn, 73, $1,300 16. David Payne (8), Murphy, N.C., GRT, 72, $975 17. Earl Pearson Jr. (7), Jacksonville, Fla., GRT, 62, $950 18. Billy Ogle Jr. (201), Knoxville, Tenn., Warrior, 50, $925 19. Dale McDowell (17m), Rossville, Ga., GRT, 49, $1,200 20. Steve Smith (3), Powell, Tenn., MasterSbilt, 49, $900 21. Jack Trammell (90), Lake City, Tenn., Warrior, 23, $900 22. Scott Sexton (52), Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Stinger, 20, $900 23. Marshall Green (89), Dalton, Ga., Warrior, 5, $1,200 24. Ricky Rogers (25), Knoxville, Tenn., MasterSbilt, 5, $900

NOTES: The victory was Wendell Wallace's ninth career Hav-A-Tampa win .... Wallace is third in Hav-A-Tampa winnings this season with $109,775 and has finished in the top 10 a series-high 19 of 23 races .... Wallace tied Donnie Moran for second with his fourth win of the season, while Moyer leads with seven victories .... Dewayne Johnson and Pete Broughton took provisional starting spots .... Johnny Virden refused his provisional offer .... Dale McDowell was the 13th different pole winner of the season .... next up for the series is the "Mason-Dixon Summer Tour" (see schedule below) .... the trip north will definitely add to the list of the drivers racing with the series, which numbers 407 so far this year .... however, only 164 drivers have advanced to at least one feature event.

HAV-A-TAMPA POINT STANDINGS (top 20 listed through July 26): Billy Moyer 3,549; Wendell Wallace 3,473; Freddy Smith 3,328; Donnie Moran 3,235; Dale McDowell 3,118; Clint Smith 3,103; Skip Arp 3,020; Marshall Green 2,812; Ray Cook 2,680; David Gibson 2,666; Johnny Virden 2,385; Mark Miner 2,041; Bill Frye 2,039; Ronnie Johnson 1,810; Earl Pearson Jr. 1,751; Steve Russell 1,743; Gar Dickson 1,403; Robbie Starnes 1,262; Rex Richey 1,223; Bob Pierce 1,144.

HAV-A-TAMPA MASON-DIXON SUMMER TOUR Aug. 1, Interstate 30 Speedway, Little Rock, Ark., $10,000 to win Aug. 2, Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway, $10,000 to win Aug. 3, Tri-State Speedway, Haubstadt, Ind., $10,000 to win Aug. 5, LaSalle (Ill.) Speedway, $10,000 to win Aug. 6, Beaver Dam (Wis.) Raceway, $10,000 to win Aug. 8-9, Cedar Lake Speedway, Somerset, Wis., "USA National 100," $30,000 to win

CREDIT: Ozzie Altman <VctoryLane@aol.com> of Hav-A-Tampa. ------------------------------------------------------------- FRIDAY'S RACE CAPSULE

POCHE WINS FOURTH SUPR RACE OF SEASON: Fast qualifier and polesitter Ronnie Poche of Natchitoches, La., led flag-to-flag at Baton Rouge (La.) Raceway for his fourth Southern United Professional Racing (SUPR) victory of the season. Poche, who won his heat race from the rear, got a jump on Ricky Kirkland at the outset of the feature and never looked back. Series points leader Doug Ingalls finished 12th as the final car on the lead lap. (Saturday's SUPR race at Sun Coast Speedway in Gulfport, Miss., was rained out). FRIDAY'S FEATURE (40 laps): (1) Ronnie Poche, (2) Marlon Wild, (3) Eddie Taylor, (4) Ricky Kirkland, (5) Ronny Adams, (6) Tod Hazel, (7) Bubba Mullins, (8) Howard Willis, (9) Butch Patton, (10) David Ashley. ------------------------------------------------------------- CAPSULE CREDIT: Steve Molnar <imolnar@bellsouth.net>. ------------------------------------------------------------- CORRECTION: STARS late model driver Steve Francis won the match race with sprint car driver Dale Blaney on Saturday at Buckeye Raceway. Initially, officials declared Blaney the winner, but on Sunday the finishing order was reversed because the laps (Francis was supposed to complete eight, Blaney nine) were miscounted. -------------------------------------------------------------