Potomac Speedway race report 2002-04-20

A Night for the Ford drivers as Hills and Lathroum win at Potomac Speedway.

Budds Creek, Md., -- With the exception of the Four Cylinder division, drivers racing Fords at dirt tracks are hard to come by. Two of the few Ford drivers in the top two divisions put on dominating performances Saturday night at Potomac Speedway. Darryl Hills of Great Mills, Md., picked up his first win of the season in the Budweiser Super Late Models while rookie driver and defending Coors Light Street Stock points champion Jamie Lathroum of Mechanicsville, Md., visited victory lane for the second time this year in the Bell Motor Company Limited Late Models.

Other feature winners include Bobby Tipton, Jr. of Baltimore, Md., taking the checkered flag for the second time this year in the Coors Light Street Stocks. Scotty Nelson of Mechanicsville, Md., won his second feature of the year in the Potomac Speedway Four-Cylinders.

John Sellner of Huntingtown, Md., became the first repeat winner of the year in the Arby's Hobby Stock division. Last week's feature winner, Jeff Helsel, was the M.A.R.F. Hard Charger of the race award winner. Helsel started eighth on the grid and finished sixth. Jerry Oliver of Mechanicsville, Md., found his way to victory lane for his second win of the season in one of the most exciting features of the evening, the Chesapeake Web Design Bombers.

Thanks goes out to Peggy Scott "the bike lady" and her husband, Jerry Scott, one of our tow truck men, they donated a scooter for the children's prize giveaway. Seven-year-old Mason Hanson of Mechanicsville, Md., was the lucky scooter winner.

Rick Jones and Darryl Hills started on the front row of the 25-lap Budweiser Super Late Model feature. Hills took the early lead to put the first two laps in the books. On lap three, the race was red flagged when Harold Dorsey, Jr. and Walter Crouch got together on the frontstretch. The incident caused a hard series of crashes involving P.J. Hatcher, James Adkins, Jr., Eric Ohler, and Sean Cosgrove. P.J.'s wrist was broken in three places and Sean Cosgrove received a concussion while his car was totaled, both are doing well now. Dorsey, Adkins, and Ohler were able to continue. As the race went back to green flag racing, Hills again led the way. He went on to lead through five more caution flags and restarts, jumping out front to a four-car length advantage each time. After the last caution flag on lap 17 for fluid on the track, Hills finished the last stretch of green flag racing to take the checkered flag with a straight-a-way lead over second-place finisher Tommy Wagner, Jr. "It's been pretty good all night," said Hills talking about his racecar. "We've been working on it really hard. I'm glad that we got everything to come together," Hills added. Rick Jones finished third while Adkins worked his way back up through the pack to finish fourth. Deane Guy rounded out the top five. Hills and Jones won the heats.

In the 20-lap Bell Motor Company Limited Late Model feature, Johnny Smith and Jamie Lathroum made up the front starting row. As the green flag waved, the two battled for the lead side-by-side with Lathroum getting the position as they exited turn two. Smith came battling back with Lathroum beating Smith back to the start-finish line by inches to lead lap one. A caution came out for Paul Hoffman on lap two when he spun in turns three and four. Lathroum easily showed the way on the restart, jumping out front with a four-car length lead. By lap six, Lathroum extended his lead to almost a straight-a-way advantage over Smith. His lead was cut down on lap 11 when a caution came out for an incident involving Melvin Muir. Hoffman's car pushed up the track in turns three and four, hitting Muir's car and causing him to hit the wall hard in turn four. Lathroum again easily showed the way on the restart. He went on to lead the last nine laps unchallenged for the lead. Lathroum finished with a straight-a-way lead over second place finisher Smith. Ronnie Hollidge finished third, followed by Paul Cursey in fourth, and Sommey Lacey in fifth. Hollidge won the heat.

In the 15-lap Coors Light Street Stock feature, Billy Lackey and Bobby Tipton, Jr. battled for the lead at the drop of the green flag. Lackey won the battle to put lap one in the books. On lap four, a caution came out for Jeff Snavely who spun in turn two. On the restart, Lackey led the way. As they exited turn four, Tipton made a bid for the lead. The two crossed the start-finish line side-by-side with Lackey leading the lap by inches. They stayed side-by-side in turns one and two with Tipton making the pass to take over the top position. Once Tipton took over the lead, he never looked back. He went on to lead the rest of the feature unchallenged for the top spot. Jimmy Jesmer finished second followed by Lackey in third, Billy Tippett in fourth, and Jeff Thomas in fifth. Jesmer and Matt Tarbox won the heats.

Scotty Nelson started from the pole in the 12-lap Potomac Speedway Four-Cylinder event and pushed his way out front at the start to lead lap one. He then began to pull away from the rest of the field, opening up a straight-a-way advantage by lap four. Scotty Scott began to make up some ground on Nelson when the first and only caution of the event took place on lap 11 for Linda Wright. On the restart, Nelson jumped out front. Scott looked to the inside of him as they exited turn four, but couldn't make a move. Nelson went on to take the checkered flag followed by Calvin Wright in third, Jerry Dick in fourth, and Brad Wiley in fifth. Nelson also won the heat.

We would like to welcome the Leonardtown Arby's as our new sponsor for the Hobby Stocks. In the 15-lap Arby's Hobby Stock feature, John Sellner took the lead from the outside pole position to put lap one in the books. By lap four, he had about a three-car length lead over Barry Lear. With six laps into the race, the top two cars had a straight-a-way advantage over the rest of the field. Lear closed in on Sellner on lap 10 and looked to the inside of him in turn four. He was unable to make a bid for the lead. Sellner again pulled ahead of Lear by three car lengths and went on to take the checkered flag in the caution free event. Lear finished second followed by Ray Weaver in third, Jeff Helsel in fourth, and Ben Bowie in fifth. Chuck Williams won the heat.

William Crouse and Debbie Williams battled for the lead at the start of the 15-lap Chesapeake Web Design Bombers feature. Crouse won the battle to lead the first two laps. A caution came out on lap three for debris on the track. On the restart, Eric Hanson and Debbie Williams both went by Crouse and battled for the lead. The two made contact with Hanson spinning. Kyle Nelson then took over the top spot. Nelson led the next two laps. On lap five, Jerry Oliver made a bid for the lead as they exited turn two. The two ran side-by-side the whole circuit around with Oliver beating Nelson back to the start-finish line by a nose. They continued to battle with Nelson retaking the lead as they exited turn four. The two continued to battle side-by-side. On lap 10, they made contact, both almost spun, but were able to continue. Jimmy Suite was able to get by both of them to take over the lead. On lap 13, Oliver made a bid to retake the lead as they exited turn four. They completed the lap side-by-side with Suite leading the way On lap 14, Suite went wide in turn four. Oliver looked to the outside of him but couldn't make the pass. On the last lap, Oliver went to the outside groove in turn two and was able to pass Suite for the lead. The two made contact in turns three and four but Oliver was able to hold on and took the checkered flag. Suite finished second followed by Nelson in third, Mike Manginell in fourth, and Thomas Pickerey in fifth. Oliver also won the heat.

This coming Saturday night, a regular show will be on hand for the Auto Racing Club of Hagerstown (ARCH) night sponsored by Superior Tank. Pit and grandstand gates open at 4:30 pm with racing starting at 6 pm. For more information, contact the track office at 301-884-4624 or check out the web at www.potomacspeedway.com.

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