Friday, July 18, 2008
Can Anyone Beat John McCaul at Winston Speedway?
The Friday July 18th race program at Winston Speedway had a little bit of everything for the fans. Not only were there five divisions of racing there was a Push Me Race, A Roll Over contest and Spectator drags. There was laughter in the stands as fans watched the “Push me Race”. One car under power pushes another that is in neutral causing some interesting maneuvers. There was also looks of shock and disbelief in the stands as cars were rolled over after hitting a steel ramp on the front stretch. Combine this with some great racing and another great night at Winston Speedway was put in the books.
If you’re a fan of Modified driver John McCaul you think he has an “S” on his chest. For the rest of the Modified drivers and their fans it is more of a “Bull’s-eye”. For the eighth time this season McCaul showed his dominance. Dean Wilkerson looked like he was going to be the man to knock McCaul of his pedestal. For half the Integra Racing Shocks and Springs UMP Modified feature Wilkerson held the point. Twelve cautions and a rocket ship under McCaul did not aide his cause. Coming from the sixth position McCaul took the lead from Wilkerson on lap nine and never looked back. While McCaul opened his lead, Wilkerson wound up in the pits with mechanical failure. By the end of the race only seven of the seventeen starters were still on the track. Dan Dykman proved that his car was still in great shape after a wild accident last weekend. Dykman finished second ahead of Derek Poland, Randy Whitten and rookie Jared Guinn. Heat races were won by Dykman and Wilkerson.
The Port City Racing Sportsman division is a log jam at the top of the Point standings. Balanced competition is making for a great run for their season championship. Early in the race 60 year old Mike Anderson held the point. On lap five Kody Weisner and Tim Tuttle made contact on the front stretch causing Tuttle to look like a "Joey Chipwood" stunt driver riding on his two driver’s side tires showing the bottom of his car to the fans. Unbelievably both drivers did get some more racing in before giving into mishandling cars. Anderson’s lead lasted until lap 10 when Chad Wienrick made his pass to the front. The rest of the race saw great action as Weinrick and Ralph Sternberg swapped the lead back and forth running side by side. Fans were on their feet as Weinrick captured the win while Point Leader Ralph Sternberg settled for second. Mike Lynn charged from eleventh to third beating Rob Stenberg and Larry Passenier to the line. Tim Tuttle won the “Dash for Cash’ and a Heat race. Jeremy Holman also garnered a Heat race win.
The best race of the night was in the Factory Stock division. Coming for the line you could have thrown a blanket over the first three cars as they charged three abreast for the win. The win was the feel good story of the night. Fifteen year old Muskegon High School student Justin Gilland has been racing since he was twelve. Fans of Winston Speedway have watched Gilland come of age this season. Gilland started out turning laps, gaining experience and never altering the finish of a race with his inexperience. Those days are gone as Gilland, Derek Passenier and Bill Delong put together one of the most exciting finishes of the season. When the checkered was waved Gilland was all smiles as his and his family’s efforts had finally paid off with a feature win. Bill Delong’s charge from seventeenth nipped Derek Passenier for the runner-up spot at the finish line. John Person and Loren Peterson completed the top five. Heat race winners were Zach Wiggers, Brad Huisken, and Robby Sternberg. Scott Erickson claimed the top transfer spot in the “B” Feature.
Sprague’s Auto Parts Mini Stock drivers CJ Rector and Mark Farber pulled away from the rest of the field to stage their own battle up front. When the dust settled it was Rector picking up the win. Kyle Hulett, Harley Farkle and Cody Moorman completed the top five. Hulett and Chris Rice claimed Heat race wins earlier in the evening. In the Warrior four cylinder class Harley Farkle edged Heat Race winner Dale Hilliard for their Feature win.
In Special events, Cousins Josh and Robby Sternberg won the Push Me Race. Steve Delong rolled his way to a win over Randy Whitten in Roll Over contest. The Spectator Drag competitions saw Kenny Wilson take top honors in his Jaguar.
The action at Winston continues grow next Friday July 25th. Matt Sprague gave fans a peek of what to expect next Friday as he turned laps at Winston’s 3/8 mile oval in under 12 seconds with his “Bat Man’ wing attached. The $2000 to win Outlaw Late Model show is the headline event. Fans will get to see the fastest laps turned at Winston this season. Combine this with a full racing program and you can understand the attraction of Winston Speedway. For the Best in Family Entertainment along the lakeshore make your way to Winston Speedway.
