West Michigan Racing

Friday July 7
Neiser and Tuttle Lead the Way at Winston Motor Speedway

Friday July 7th saw the return to victory lane by two longtime Winston Motor Speedway regulars. One veteran demonstrated that he can drive with or without a wing taking the win in the Great Lakes Outlaw Modified Series while the other veteran picked up his first win since his Late Model Track Championship last season. The weather was perfect and not enough can be said for the condition of the track. The addition of 3500 yards of clay and the grooming of the track by Wilkerson Excavating has drivers and fans raving about the side-by-side racing that takes place every week.

In the Late Model division three lanes of racing provided great action all over the track. Pole sitter Denny Lynn Jr set the pace for 25 lap main event in the early going. Tom Dusen jumped to the high side of the track and the early going and began to pick off cars from his 5th place starting position. On lap six Dusen was able to grab the point on the backstretch. Rich Neiser and Tim Stott also made their way by Lynn Jr. on lap ten with inside passes. With laps winding down Dusen and Neiser staged a battle at the front racing side by side with Stott looking for the fastest line behind them. With five laps to go Neiser, Winston’s 2005 Late Model Champion cleared Dusen and was on his way to his first Late Model win of 2006. Dusen was left battling Stott side by side for the remainder of the race. On the final turn Dusen got a little bit better bit coming out of turn four and was able to edge Stott for the runner-up position. Ricky Whipple captured the fourth spot. Kevin Nelson Jr. earned the hard charger of the event coming from his fifteenth starting position to earn a top five. Eric Spangler and Rob Taylor took Heat Race wins. Tim Stott garnered Dash event honors. Dusen was the fastest in Time Trials.

There were two distinct stories that took place in the Great Lakes Outlaw Modified main event. One was that of sixty-nine year old Earl Gerard and the other was that of local hot shoe Tim Tuttle. The winged Modified were led and dominated in the early going of the race by Gerard. At the half way point Gerard was half a track ahead of the closest competitor. Gerard’s Sunday cruise ended when Dan Dykman and John Hadley made contact in turn three resulting in the only caution of their 25 lap main event. An insurmountable lead by Gerard turned out to be a bumper-to-bumper restart. On the restart Tim Tuttle used his vast experience at Winston and made quick work of Gerard by turn one. Gerard’s fall back continued as he fell back to fifth at the end of the race. Once Tuttle grabbed the point there was no stopping him. Tuttle took home the $600 winners share. The race for second was won by Dave Pries, followed by Melvin Allen and John Horn. Heat Races were won by Horn and John Krusinsky. Tuttle was the quick Qualifier.

Chad Weinrick and Mike Welch had the fans attention in the Sportsman division in the early going. These two drivers raced door to door for eight laps until a caution flag was waved for a spinning car on the backstretch. During the caution laps bad luck hit Weinrick who was reported to have fuel leaking from his fuel cell and was waved into the pits. Welch looked steady holding the lead until lap fifteen of the twenty-lap event. Welch’s low line began to slow in the late going. Mike Lynn found the top of the track to his liking and made his way by Welch with five laps to go. The win was Lynn’s third of the season. Greg Smith muscled his way inside Welch two laps later in turn three to take the second spot. Welch, Jamie Gilmore and Mike Anderson completed the top five. Juusola and Smith took Heat race wins. Anderson won the Dash event. Joe Near tripped the clock as the fastest Sportsman in Qualifying.

Bomber driver Mike Epplett continued his winning ways. Epplett took advantage of a slip by leader and outside front row starter Jamie Woodring in turn three to grab the point three laps into the main event. Woodring fell back to sixth but by the end of the event was the fastest Bomber on the track. Epplett held of the early charges of Tim Jeffries and Nathan Walton before both of them were part of cautions. Fast Car Dash winner Tony Weinrick moved into the mix with six laps to go. A caution with one lap to go left set the stage for a great finish. On the final lap Epplett hit all of his marks to take his fourth win of the season. Weinrick held off the hard charging Woodring to capture second. Tim Jeffries and Sadie Klien rounded out the top five. Heat Races were won by Epplett and Walton. Kyle Borgman was the fastest Bomber in Time Trials.

The Mini Stock class was small in numbers but came up large in racing action. Carl McCann, Brad Bates and Jared Guinn put on a great show of car control as they raced three abreast at the half way point of their main event. All three drivers held the lead at some point during the Mini Stock feature. With one lap to go Bates was the leader. With one turn to go it was Guinn. At the finish line Guinn was credited with the win in a photo finish. Points Leader McCann was third followed by Zack Rounds, and Mark Farber. Bates was the winner of the Heat and Dash events. Guinn was the Quick Qualifier.

Young Gun Driver Blake Meyering continued his dominance with wins in the Feature, Heat Race and Time Trial events. The win was Meyering’s ninth of the season. Adam Spencer chased Meyering to a second place finish in the feature event. Eric Harald and Glen Parker completed the four-car field run down in the main event. Kiley Kennedy won a Heat race.

Next Friday night July 14th five classes will be in racing at Winston. The Late Model Division will be given the night off in respect to the drivers who want to qualify Friday night for Saturdays 18th Annual "Wood Tic 100" at Merritt Speedway. Michigan Modified will run at Winston but track points will not be given for the night. For the Best in Family Entertainment along the Lakeshore make your way to Winston Motor Speedway.