Potomac Speedway - 3/24 Results

Budds Creek, Md. - It was opening night of the 2000 racing season at Potomac Speedway this past Friday, March 24th. With a packed house, the racing action proved to show the fans that the 2000 season was well on its way to being another exciting one. Booper Bare of Rockbridge Baths, Va., showed his strength early in the night by first picking up a heat race win and then going on to win the first Budweiser Late Model feature of the 2000 racing season. Defending Bell Motor Company Semi-Late points champion, Paul Cursey of Baltimore, Md. dominated the division by first picking up the heat race win and then taking the first feature checkered flag of the season. Johnny Smith of Severn, Md., took the checkered flag in the 15-lap Coors Light Pure-Street Stock feature event. Mike Latham was the feature winner but was disqualified during post-race inspection. Wayne Graves of Chaptico, Md., added another win to his string of victories in the Mac Tools Four-Cylinders, first in the heat race event and then in the feature. Graves was declared the winner after Greg Gunter was disqualified during post-race inspection of the 12-lap event. Defending Gardiner Outdoor Products Enduro Stock points champion, John Burch of Owings, Md., continued on in championship style picking up a victory first in the heat race and then in the 20-lap feature event. In the 25-lap Budweiser Late Model feature event, Booper Bare and George Moreland made up the front starting row and battled side-by-side for the lead as the green flag waved. Bare edged Moreland for the top spot as they entered turns three and four. Before the first lap was completed, the yellow flag waved when Larry Emory spun in turn four. The field was then reset for a complete restart. As Bare and Moreland showed the way once again, a caution came out when Jack Bland was tapped from behind and spun around. Once again, the field had a complete restart. Bare and Moreland battled for the top spot once again as the green flag waved. Bare was able to get the top spot to put the first lap in the books for the 2000 racing season. Two laps were completed when the race was red flagged for an incident in turn four. Ricky Edmonds' car had hit the inside embankment and then rolled onto its side. Edmonds complained of neck pain and was transported to St. Mary's hospital for examination. When the race went back to green flag racing, Bare once again led the way. By lap five, he had about a half straight-a-way advantage over Moreland. On lap seven, Bo Feathers, who started sixth, made a bid for the second-place position. Feathers was able to make the pass on the backstretch. Bare continued to lead unchallenged for the top spot until lap 15 when caution number seven out of eight came out for Tim Murphy who spun in turn two. On the restart, Feathers dove to the inside of Bare. Bare was able to hold him off and went on to take the checkered flag. Feathers finished second, followed by Moreland in third, David Williams in fourth, and David Sibold in fifth. Bare and Moreland won the heats. Sommey Lacey and Paul Cursey made up the front starting row of the 20-lap Bell Motor Company Semi-Late feature. Cursey easily led the way as the green flag waved to complete lap one. By lap three, he had about a five-car length advantage over second-place runner Jeff Reeley. The field was brought back together on lap seven when the first of four cautions came out when Jason Jarvis spun as he exited turn two. Cursey showed the way on the restart. By lap 12, Cursey had again stretched his lead out to about a five-car length advantage over Reeley. As he entered turn four, Cursey got caught up behind the lapped car of Bill Danel. Reeley was able to catch Cursey and passed him for the lead as they exited turn four. Cursey came battling back for the top position on lap 13 and was able to pass Reeley. As they entered turn two on lap 14, Cursey got a little loose. Reeley ran into the back of Cursey causing Reeley to slow. The caution flag then waved for Reeley on lap 15. Cursey again showed the way on the restart. Two more laps were completed when a caution came out on lap 17 for Fireball Latham. On the restart, second-place runner, Sommey Lacey challenged Cursey for the lead in turns one and two. Cursey was able to hold him off. Lacey again challenged for the lead on lap 19 in turns one and two, but Cursey once again held onto the top spot. He went on to take the checkered flag, followed by Lacey in second, Darryl Hills in third, Reeley in fourth, and Ronnie Hollidge in fifth. Lacey and Cursey won the heats. The Coors Light Pure-Streets Stocks kicked off the 2000 racing season with the first feature event of the evening. Rusty Alton and Mike Latham led the field around to take the green flag. Latham was able to get out front to lead lap one. After the first two laps were completed, the first of five cautions came out when Jeff Edwards slowed as they exited turn two. Latham easily led the way on the restart. By lap nine, Latham had about a four-to-five car length advantage over second-place runner Alton. Johnny Smith challenged Alton for second-place on lap nine and was able to take over the position. Alton came battling back, but was unable to retake the position. Latham continued to show the way and went on to take the checkered flag, unchallenged for the lead. During post-race inspection, Latham was disqualified for an illegal suspension, along with fifth place finisher Tim Shelton. Sixth place finisher Stevie Long was regulated to the last spot on the field for losing a muffler. Second-place finisher Johnny Smith, then got the win. Jamie Lathroum, who passed Alton on lap 14, took second, followed by Alton in third, Kirk Confair then finished fourth, with Mike Suite rounding out the top five. Alton and Latham won the heats. In the Mac Tools Four-Cylinders feature event, Greg Gunter started on the outside pole and showed the way as the green flag waved. By lap three, Gunter had almost a straight-a-way advantage over Wayne Graves. The field was brought back together on lap 10 when the first and only caution flag waved for Calvin Wright who slowed on the frontstretch. When the race went back to green flag racing, Gunter easily led the way. He went on to take the checkered flag, finishing with about a half straight-a-way lead over Graves. During post-race inspection, Gunter was disqualified for an illegal suspension. Graves then took the win, followed by Leo Nichols in second, Scotty Scott in third, Bob Tester, Jr., in fourth, and Sam Woods, Jr., in fifth. Graves and Gunter won the heats. In the Gardiner Outdoor Products Enduros 20-lap feature, front row starters John Burch and Joe Adams battled for the lead as the green flag waved. Adams won the battle to lead lap one. Burch came charging back on lap two, going to the inside of Adams on the backstretch. He was able to make the pass for the lead as they exited turn four. Burch then began to pull away from the rest of the field. By lap four, he had about a five-to-six car length advantage. Adams slowly began to make up some ground on Burch by lap seven. The red flagged was waved on lap eight when Paul Schendel's car rolled on its side in turn two. Schendel was uninjured from the incident. When the race went back to green, Adams made a bid for the lead on the inside groove. Burch was able to hold him off to lead the way. The race was slowed again on lap 13 when a caution came out for Kevin Sprague and Ben Bowie. Bowie got loose on the backstretch after making contact. Sprague had no where to go and hit Bowie. Burch again led the way on the restart. On lap 14, Adams again challenged for the lead, going to the inside of Burch on the backstretch. The two ran side-by-side into turns three and four. Burch was able to edge Adams as they exited turn four. Adams looked to the inside of Burch one more time on lap 18, but couldn't make the pass for the lead. Burch went on to take the checkered flag, followed by Adams in second, Chet Gagnon in third, Ray Weaver in fourth, and Wayne Weaver in fifth. Burch and Adams won the heats. This Friday night at Potomac Speedway will host the annual 55-lap, $2,000 to win, Bobby Allen Memorial Budweiser Late Model Feature, along with a regular show. The event is the first of the 10 ITSI New Millennium Super Late Model Series events. Many top drivers are expected to be on hand. Pit and grandstand gates open at 6:00 p.m., with racing starting at 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact Potomac Speedway at (301) 884-4624 or look us up on the web at www.potomacspeedway.com.

<pre> Budweiser Late Models

1. Booper Bare-00, 2. Bo Feathers-00F, 3. George Moreland-24, 4. David Williams-25, 5. David Sibold-07, 6. Rick Hulson-18, 7. David Hill-75, 8. Bill Timme-81, 9. Chuck Finch-21F, 10. Larry Emory-1, 11. Tim Murphy-21M, 12. David Bennett-14, 13. Brian Miller-12, 14. Harold Dorsey, Jr.-92, 15. David Hoffman-15, 16. Jack Bland-41, 17. Ricky Edmonds-23R, 18. Deane Guy-45, 19. Jeff Pilkerton-94, DNS - Tom Rawlings-31, Tom Wagner-50

Bell Motor Company Semi-Lates

1. Paul Cursey-37, 2. Sommey Lacey-45, 3. Darryl Hills-7, 4. Jeff Reeley-21J, 5. Ronnie Hollidge-0, 6. Billy Tucker-B1, 7. Jason Jarvis-J18, 8. Dennis Windsor-43 (pure-street), 9. Fireball Latham-41, 10. Bill Danel-89, 11. Steve Benjamin-94, 12. Jeff Burroughs-77 (pure-street), DNS - Paul Barham-5

Coors Light Pure-Street Stocks

1. Johnny Smith-82, 2. Jamie Lathroum-6, 3. Rusty Alton-3, 4. Kirk Confair-81, 5. Mike Suite-3M, 6. Mike Roop-04, 7. P.J. Hatcher-77, 8. Jeff Thomas-33, 9. Blaise Higgs-17, 10. Stevie Long-44, 11. Bobby Tipton, Jr., 12. Jeff Edwards-43, 13. Dan Dotson-8, 14. Charles Gagnon-7T, 15. Larry Fuchs-2, 16. Ken Coron-51K, 17. Tom Turner-25T, 18. Billy Tippett-37, 19. Joe Adams-25, 20. Bobby Meyers-67 DQ: Mike Latham-78, Tim Shelton-55

Mac Tools Four-Cylinders

1. Wayne Graves-24, 2. Leo Nichols-11N, 3. Scotty Scott-42, 4. Bob Tester, Jr.-5, 5. Sam Woods, Jr.-00, 6. Sam Woods, Sr.-3, 7. Curtis Manuel-17M, 8. J.T. McLanigan-13, 9. Linda Wright-1, 10. Patrick Pack-72, 11. Calvin Wright-94, DNS - Jerry Dick-44, Chappy Knaack-88, Scotty Nelson-24JR. DQ - Greg Gunter-15

Gardiner Outdoor Products Enduros

1. John Burch-12, 2. Joe Adams-69, 3. Chet Gagnon-30, 4. Ray Weaver-11, 5. Wayne Weaver-57, 6. Rodney Holt-007, 7. Marty Page-29, 8. Bob Kolbe-9, 9. Barry Lear, Jr.-99, 10. Wayne Suite-00, 11. George Heinz-56, 12. Gary Holt-104, 13. Josh Moxley-23, 14. Ben Bowie-17, 15. Kevin Sprague-55, 16. Kevin Mann-22, 17. Paul Schendel-8, 18. John Ballou-112, 19. Deano Painter-6, 20. Jimmy Suite-1

-Vicki Adkins-