The 2017 edition of Late Model Speedweek stopped at Bedford and produced a first time winner, Walker Arthur. Arthur became the 138th different Late Model winner at the historic speedway and it came in the track’s 600th Late Model event, adding his name to those who will be honored at festivities at the track later this season. In other action, Alyssa Rowe held off the Taylor brothers to score the EMod win and Denny Pittman took the Pure Stock event after some post race controversy
By the luck of the draw, Walker Arthur and Jeff Rine led the Late Model field to the green and Arthur grabbed the early lead. Rine was in hot pursuit in the early laps, actually making a bid for the lead as he suffered a flat tire on lap 12. The resulting yellow, the only slow down of the event, placed Austin Hubbard on Arthur’s rear bumper.
On the restart, Arthur sped away but over the next 28 all green flag laps, Hubbard alternately closed and then fell back on the leader. By about lap 30, the plot thickened as Mike Pegher ran down the leaders in lapped traffic and he brought Jared Miley with him.
Things got really tight as the laps wound down as Kyle Hardy and Andy Haus arrived in the mix after starting deep in the field. Action ruled the last three laps as Arthur and Hubbard navigated heavy lapped traffic. Pegher got trapped in traffic as Hardy made the big late race move to secure third, zipping by Pegher and Miley on the last lap.
At the finish, Arthur led Hubbard across the line, followed by Hardy, who started 10th, Miley and Haus. Arthur pocketed $5000 including cash from the family of Gigs Foor, in whose memory the race was run. Heats were won by Miley, Rine and Haus. DJ Troutman won the B in his father’s car after his own car suffered damage earlier in the evening
The EMod event started off wildly as a five wide battle on the backstretch led to a huge pileup in turn three. On the second attempt. Drake Troutman led the first lap before Alyssa Rowe shot by. She was challenged by lap three by Evan Taylor but she hung on.
A lap 8 caution closed the field and brought third place runner Jonathan Taylor into the mix but Rowe hung on, actually pulling away in the closing laps as the brothers battled. At the finish it was Rowe, Even Taylor, Jonathan Taylor, Mike Potosky and Dave Brown. Potosky and Brown won the heats.
The Pure Stock event was another mob scene at the front. Barry Weyandt led the distance ahead of 12 cars in the group. He hung on for the win by holding off challenges from Dave Lambert and later Denny Pittman. But in the post race tech line, both the first two failed, giving Pittman his first ever Bedford win. He was followed by Kyle Weyandt, who slid through the field from his 10th starting spot, Trent Clark, Brad Feight and Tyler Ritchey. Ritchey and Lambert won the heats.
LATE MODEL 40 LAPS 1 Walker Arthur, Austin Hubbard, Kyle Hardy, Jared Miley, Andy Haus, Mike Pegher, Jason Covert, Dan Angellichio, Kenny Pettyjohn, Chad Hollenbeck, GR Smith, Glenn Elliott, Dylan Yoder, Waylon Wagner, Bryan Bernheisel, Chuck Clise, Dan Stone, Danny Snyder, Pancho Lawler, Jeff Rine, DJ Troutman, Mike Altobelli J, Matt Sponaugle, Matt Cosner, Tyler Hershey, DNQ Nick Dickson, Tyler Horst, Curtis Heath, DJ Myers, Keith Jackson, Mike Lupfer, Brian Tavenner, Dave Troutman
EMOD 18 LAPS 1 Alyssa Rowe, Evan Taylor, Jonathan Taylor, Mike Potosky, Dave Brown, Beau Aikey, Mike Altobelli S, Jamie Kohan, Mike Meck, Drake Troutman, Bill Pluta, Dacron Powell, John Whitfield, DNS Darrell Edwards, Ryan Peer, Justin Milburn
PURE STOCK 15 LAP 1 Denny Pittman, Kyle weyandt, Trent Clark, Brad Feight, Tyler Ritchey, Jason Haggerty, Dakota Foor, Kye Beckett, Reed Stickel, Erik Weyandt, Dave Green, Laura Chamberlain, Anthony Foor, Joe Means, Jim Dearmitt, DNS James Foor, Josh Frankenberry, Kevin Weyandt, Joe Dearmitt, DQ Barry weyandt, Dave Lambert
