Two was the optimum number at Bedford Friday night as a huge crowd spent $2 apiece to see two first time winners and two old hands in Victory Lane. Bob Jay, the all time career Semi Late win leader took his first win of 2018 and Denny Pittman won his second Pure Stock event of the season. At the other end of the spectrum, Drake Troutman devastated the Emod field for a first career win before point leader Todd Price closed the evening with a career first 4 Cylinder win. Each division went for 20 laps in the special program.
After a frustrating season. Bob Jay’s low point average earned him the pole position in the Semi Late event, He grabbed the lead at the start and led the distance. Behind Jay was a lively battle as Mark Patterson, Jesse Snyder and Greg Hainsey battled for second. Point leader Bill Replogle joined that battle late in the event a Patterson faded.
Snyder emerged in second late in the event and had several shots at Jay after caution events, But Jay was not to be denied. Snyder chased him to the end and took second. Hainsey, Replogle and Travis Calhoun completed the top five. Snyder and Brian Weyandt Jr won the heats.
Beau Aikey led the first Emod lap before his motor broke on lap two. With Aikey’s retirement, Drake Troutman inherited the lead, and ran off for a dominating win. As Troutman pulled ahead in the event which went the final 19 laps green, Ray Kable III and Vic Vandergrift put on a race long battle for second. Rick Hulson joined that pair late and made it a three way gang. Often zipping through lapped traffic, they traded spots with Hulson snagging third for good on lap 14.
But none of the chasers had anything for Troutman, who ran to half lap lead at the finish. Kable, Hulson, Vandergruft and Mike Altobelli Sr trailed. Vandergrift and Ken Singer won the heats.
Denny Pittman got by Laura Chamberlain to lead the first Pure Stock lap. He held on as a mob was in hot pursuit. Kyle Weyandt secured second on lap six, but the charge of the night was Josh Frankenberry, who jumped int the mix from his eighth starting spot.
After Frrankenberry arrived in third by lap seven, he and Weyandt took runs at Pittman in addition to trading the second spot, but Pittman hung on. At the finish, Pittman took the win ahead of Weyandt, Frankenberry, Tim Brown and Chamberlain. Erik Weyandt and Frankenberry won the heats.
Bill Shehan was the early 4 Cylinder leader. Rusty Martin and eventually Todd Price ran him down and the battle was on. Martin and Price both got by on lap ten and Price immediately went to challenging for the lead. The pair went side by side for several laps, with Price actually leading lap 14, before he edged by for good on lap 16.
At the finish, Price who is the point leader currently, scored his first career 4 Cylinder win, ahead of Martin, Steve Frederick, Shehan and Derek Iser. Martin and Dustin Kinser won the heats.
SEMI LATE 20 LAPS Bob Jay, Jesse Snyder, Greg Hainsey, Bill Replogle, Travis Calhoun, Scott Sturtz, Dave Whetstone, Tom Brady, Chubby Childers, Chriis Wolfe, Ryan Whetstone, Mark Patterson, Brian Weyandt Jr, Kyle Weyandt, DNS Cale Martin
EMOD 20 LAPS 1 Drake Troutman, Ray Kable III, Rick Hulson Viv Vandergrift, Mike Altobelli Sr, Ken Singer, Joe Pluta, Justin Milburn, Sam Reeder, Ken Summers, Beau Aikey, DNS Ryan Peer, John Whitfield
PURE STOCK 20 LAP 1 Dennhy Pittman, Kyle Weyandt, Josh Frankenberry, Tim Brown, Laura Chamberlain, Dalton Ritchey, DJ Donivan, Charlie Clise, Shawn Shoemaker, Erik Weyandt, James Foor, Travis Group, Nathan Gilliland, Dakota Foor, Barry Weyandt, Kyle Deneen, Reed Stickel, Mark Shaffer, Darren Howsare, DNS Trent Clark
4 CYLINDER 1 Todd Price Rusty Martin Steve Frederick, Bill Shehan, Derek Iser, Adam Plubell, Wyatt Marker, Dacron Powell, Michael Carlyle, Bryan Ickes, Eric Zimmerman, Ernie Hewitt, Chris Graybill, Dustin Kinser, Jeremy Miller, Daniel Horning, Wayne Brenize, Raymond Siegmyer, Chris Reckner, DNS Dalton Long, Karl Bailey.
