Potomac Speedway Results 2000-03-31

Deese Holds Off Bare to Win $2,000 55-Lap Bobby Allen Memorial at Potomac Speedway

By: Vicki Adkins

Budds Creek, Md. -- Twenty-four cars made the starting line-up of the first event of the I.T.S.I. New Millennium Super Late Model Series, the annual 55-lap, $2,000 to-win Bobby Allen Memorial. Roy Deese of Odenton, Md., started the event third on the grid and went on to lead 47 laps, taking the checkered flag. Deese held off several challenges from Booper Bare to pick up his 39th career win at Potomac Speedway. "Booper is a hell of a racer," said Deese during the post-race interview. "I'll give Booper some credit. He did race me clean. We did some short track racing." "I knew he was there, I just never looked back." Deese then dedicated his win to the late Bobby Allen, a former late model car owner. "I never got to drive for Bobby, but I'd like to dedicate this race to him." Along with Deese, defending Bell Motor Company Semi-Late Points Champion Paul Cursey, of Baltimore, Md., made it two in-a-row, visiting victory lane in the 20-lap event. For the second week in a row, the winner of the Coors Light Pure-Street Stocks was decided after the post-race inspection. Jamie Lathroum of Mechanicsville, Md. picked up his first win of the season in the Coors Light Pure-Street Stocks after Mike Latham was placed back in the field for a rule infraction after his visit to victory lane. Also, for the second week in a row, the winner of the Mac Tools Four-Cylinders was decided after the post-race inspection. Chappy Knaack of Linthicum, Md., picked up his first win after Leo Nichols, a regular racer of Winchester, Va., was disqualified for an illegal suspension. Kevin Sprague of Pasadena, Md., made his way into victory lane for the first time this year in the Gardiner Outdoor Products Enduros. Potomac Speedway also sponsored a children's bike giveaway. Fourteen-year-old Norman Fitzgerald of West Point, Va., was the lucky bike winner. Twenty-seven cars attempted to qualify for the Budweiser Late Model 55-lap Bobby Allen Memorial feature event. After a consolation heat race, 24 cars were set for the line-up. Andy Anderson and David Hoffman made up the front starting row of the event. When the green flag waved, Anderson showed the way. As they entered turns three and four, third-place starter, Roy Deese, Jr., made a bid for the lead on the inside groove. Anderson was able to hold him off to lead lap one. On lap two, the yellow flag waved for Bill Timme who spun going into turn one. With caution laps counting during the first 25 laps of the event, laps two, three, four, and five were completed under caution. On the restart, Anderson led the way. Deese challenged for the lead again, going to the inside of Anderson in turns one and two. The two ran side-by-side down the backstretch. Deese was able to get the position in turns three and four, but then got loose. Anderson battled back for the lead on the inside of turn four. The two crossed the start-finish line side-by-side with Deese edging Anderson at the line. With lap six in the books, the yellow flag waved again when defending Budweiser Late Model points champion, Jeff Pilkerton, spun in turn two. Laps seven, eight, and nine, were ran under caution. On the restart, Deese led the way. One more lap was completed when Anderson tried to retake the lead from Deese. Anderson made his move on the outside groove on the backstretch. The two ran side-by-side with Anderson making the pass in turn four. Anderson led the way to complete laps 11, 12, and 13, when Deese again battled for the lead. He made his move on the inside of Anderson in turns one and two. Deese was able to get the advantage and the two ran side-by-side into turns three and four. Deese powered his way out front to lead the lap. As they entered turns one and two, Anderson spun, bringing out the third caution of the event. Laps 15-18 were completed under caution. When the field went back to green, Deese led the way. Before the lap was completed, a caution then came out for Jack Bland, who lost a tire in turn four. Laps 19-21 were ran under yellow flag conditions. Deese again easily led the way on the restart. The caution flag waved again as David Hoffman and Tim Murphy got together in turns one and two, running laps 22-25 under caution. With the first 25 laps completed, caution laps in the second part of the feature were no longer counted. As the field went back to green, Deese led the way with Jim Bernheisel in tow. Booper Bare challenged Bernheisel for second and was able to take the position on lap 28. The sixth caution of the event came out on lap 30 for Tom Rawlings in turns three and four. On the restart, Bare dove to the inside of Deese as they entered turns one and two and again in turn four. Deese was able to hold him off. After a caution on lap 31, Bare again challenged for the lead going to the inside of Deese in turns one and two. The two ran side-by-side down the backstretch. Deese ran the high groove in turns three and four, giving him a slight edge. Bo Feathers also joined in the battle. Deese was able to hold onto the lead with Bare in second, and Feathers in third. Bare challenged for the lead again on laps 34, 35, 36, and 37, but Deese held onto the lead. On lap 39, Bare again made a bid for the lead, going to the inside of Deese in turns three and four. Feathers again made it almost a three-way battle for the lead, going to the inside of Bare. All three cars remained in their positions. Deese then began to pick up a slight advantage over Bare. By lap 52, he had about a four-to-five car length lead. Deese went on to take the checkered flag, followed by Bare in second, Feathers in third, Gary Stuhler in fourth, and David Williams in fifth. Tom Rawlings and Tim Murphy won the heats. In the 20-lap Bell Motor Company Semi-Late feature, Jeff Reeley started on the pole and led the way as the green flag waved. As Reeley led, Darryl Hills and Paul Barham battled for second. Hills was able to take over the spot and hang onto it on lap five. On lap nine, Reeley went wide in turn four, opening the door for Hills. Hills made his move on the inside groove and the two crossed the start-finish line side-by-side. Hills edged Reeley by a few feet. Just after lap nine was completed, the fourth of six cautions came out when Bill Danel spun in turns one and two. On the restart, Reeley dove to the inside of Hills. He was able to make the pass for the lead as they exited turn two. Before the lap was completed, the yellow flag waved again for Jason Jarvis. Reeley again dove to the inside of Hills as the green flag waved. The two ran side-by-side into turns one and two. Reeley was able to make the pass as they exited turn two. On lap 13, Paul Cursey, who started 11th on the field and worked his way up to third, made his move on the inside of Hills. With the top three bunched together, it was almost a three-way battle for the lead. Cursey made the pass on Hills. He then made the pass on Reeley as they exited turn four on lap 14. On lap 18, the final caution of the event came out when Reeley spun in turn four after making contact with then third-place runner Paul Barham. Barham then made contact with Ronnie Hollidge. On the restart, then second-place runner, Sommey Lacey, looked to the inside of Cursey as the green flag waved. Lacey was unable to challenge for the top spot as Cursey went on to take the checkered flag. Cursey finished with about a three-to-four car length advantage over Lacey. Steve Benjamin finished third, followed by Hills in fourth, and Jarvis in fifth. Reeley won the heat. Dan Dotson and Jamie Lathroum made up the front starting row of the 15-lap Coors Light Pure-Street Stocks. When the green flag waved, Lathroum led the way. Fourth-place starter, Mike Latham, challenged Lathroum on the outside in turns one and two. The two battled side-by-side for the lead the whole lap around. Latham just edged Lathroum at the start-finish line to lead lap one. Latham then pulled ahead in turns one and two. On lap four, Latham got caught behind the slower car of Kevin Johnson. As Latham checked up, Lathroum tapped the rear of Latham, but they all continued with no damage done. On lap eight, Lathroum looked to the inside of Latham in turns three and four, but couldn't make a move. Lathroum did challenge for the lead on lap 10, but Latham held him off. Latham went on to lead the rest of the event unchallenged for the lead, taking the checkered flag. During the post-race inspection, he was delegated to 13th spont and the victory went to Lathroum . Finishing second was Tim Shelton, followed be Mike Roop third, Stevie Long fourth, and Tom Turner in fifth. Latham and Shelton won the heats. In the Mac Tools Four-Cylinders 12 lap feature event, Chappy Knaack led the way as the green flag waved. By lap two, he had about a three-to-four car length advantage. Seventh-place starter, Leo Nichols, quickly closed in on Knaack and challenged for the lead on lap three. Nichols went to the inside of Knaack as they exited turn two, completing the pass on the backstretch. Nichols then began to pull away from the rest of the field. His almost straight-a-way advantage was cut down on lap 10 when Patrick Pack spun in turn two and third-place runner Calvin Wright slowed. Nichols easily led the way on the restart. He went on to take the checkered flag, unchallenged for the lead. Knaack followed behind in second place. During the post-race inspection, Nichols was disqualified for an illegal suspension, giving the win to Knaack. A good battle for second developed between Scotty Scott and Wayne Graves. The two crossed the start-finish line side-by-side. Scott got what was then the second-place position by just inches over Graves. Sam Woods finished fourth, followed by Linda Wright in fifth. Jerry Dick and Calvin Wright won the heats. Kevin Mann and Kevin Sprague battled for the lead at the drop of the green flag in the 20-lap Gardiner Outdoor Product Enduro feature. Mann won the battle to lead lap one. Sprague challenged for the lead on lap four, going to the inside of Mann in turn four. The two crossed the start-finish line side-by-side, with Mann leading the lap. They continued to run side-by-side into turns one and two and down the backstretch. Mann again powered his way out front in turns three and four. As they exited turn four on lap seven, Mann got caught up behind the slower car of Jimmy Suite. Sprague was able to make the pass on Mann to take over the lead. Mann and Suite made contact, causing Suite to spin. Sprague then began to pull away. By lap 10, he had about a four-to-five car length advantage. On lap 11, Ben Bowie passed Mann for second. Sprague then got loose as he exited turn two, allowing Bowie to close in. The top three cars all ran nose-to-tail. The race was then slowed for an incident involving Jimmy Suite. Sprague easily led the way on the restart. By lap 17, Bowie was glued to Sprague's rear bumper. Bowie made a bid for the lead on the inside groove on the backstretch. They ran side-by-side into turns three and four. Sprague got the advantage as they exited turn four. Bowie challenged again on lap 18 and then lap 19, but again Sprague held him off. A caution came out on lap 20 for Ray Weaver who spun in turn two. On the restart, Bowie looked to the inside of Sprague again. The two made light contact, but kept going. Sprague went on to take the checkered flag, followed by Bowie in second, John Burch in third, Joe Adams in fourth, and Mann in fifth. Sprague and Mann won the heats. This Friday night, April 7th, will be M.A.R.F. (Metropolitan Auto Racing Fans) night at Potomac Speedway. A regular show will be on hand, along with the Chesapeake Web Design Bomber Class making their debut. 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.

Budweiser Late Models

1. Roy Deese, Jr.-05, 2. Booper Bare-00, 3. Bo Feathers-00F, 4. Gary Stuhler-19, 5. David Williams-25, 6. Rick Hulson-18, 7. George Moreland-24, 8.Allen Brannon- 4N, 9. Andy Anderson-40, 10. David Hill-75, 11. Tim Murphy-21M, 12. Tom Wagner, Sr.-50, 13. David Hoffman-15, 14. Larry Emory-1, 15. Bill Timme-81, 16. Chuck Finch-21F, 17. Harold Dorsey, Jr.-92, 18. Jeff Pilkerton-8, 19. Tom Rawlings-31, 20. James Adkins, Jr.-28, 21. Pat Wood-3, 22. Jim Bernheisel-119, 23. Jack Bland-41, 24. Les Hare-1X. DNS: Brian Miller-12, Jackie Booth-33, David Sibold-07

Bell Motor Company Semi-Lates

1. Paul Cursey-37, 2. Sommey Lacey-45, 3. Steve Benjamin-94, 4. Darryl Hills-7, 5.Jason Jarvitz-J18, 6. Jeff Reeley-21J, 7. Paul Barham-5, 8. Ronnie Hollidge-0, 9. Dennis Windsor-43 (pure-street), 10. Bill Danel-89, 11. Jeff Burroughs-10oz., 12. Walt Homberg-25T (pure-street), 13. Billy Tucker-B1 DQ: Andrew Fertig-10

Coors Light Pure-Street Stocks

1. Jamie Lathroum-6, 2. Tim Shelton-55, 3. Mike Roop-04, 4. Stevie Long-44, 5. Scott Thompson-25T, 6. Johnny Smith-82, 7. Bobby Tipton, Jr.-12, 8. Tommy Hitt-7T, 9. Gary Tavenner-31, 10. Kirk Confair-81, 11. Ken Coron-51, 12. Rusty Alton-3, 13. Mike Latham-78, 14. Kevin Johnson-67, 15. Billy Tippett-37, 16. Jeff Thomas-33, 17. Mike Suite-3M, 18. Blaise Higgs-22 (enduro), 19. Dan Dotson-2D, DNS - Jeff Edwards-43. P.J. Hatcher-77

Mac Tools Four-Cylinders

1. Chappy Knaack-88, 2. Scotty Scott-42, 3. Wayne Graves-27, 4. Sam Woods-00, 5. Linda Wright-1, 6. Pop Woods-3, 7.Jeff Auman- 6, 8. Patrick Pack-72, 9. Jerry Dick-44, 10. J.T. Mclanigan-13, 11. Calvin Wright-94, 12. Andy Self-99, 13. Duece Wright-29 (enduro), 14. Scotty Nelson-22 (enduro), DNS - Bob Tester, Jr.-5 DQ-Leo Nicolas-11N

Gardiner Outdoor Products Enduros

1. Kevin Sprague-55, 2. Ben Bowie-17, 3. John Burch-12, 4. Joe Adams-69, 5. Kevin Mann-22, 6. Wayne Weaver-57, 7. John Ballou-112, 8. Chet Gagnon-30, 9. Wayne Suite-00, 10. Marty Page-29, 11. Gary Holt-104, 12. George Heinz, Jr.-56, 13. Bob Kolbe-9, 14. Paul Schendel-8, 15. Jimmy Suite-1, 16. Ray Weaver-11, 17. Josh Moxley-23, DNS Glenn Evans- GR8, Deano Painter-6, DQ - Rodney Holt-007