2001 Ohio Valley Classic Modifieds Results
Saturday, August 28, 2001
Shady Bowl Speedway
DeGraff, Ohio
Carrigan Seizes Moment, Wins at Shady Bowl
by Shawn Sell
After a couple attempts last season and two more already in 2001, Murfreesboro, Tennessee's Doug Carrigan finally got the win he traveled over eight hours to get in the most recent Ohio Valley Dwarf Car Association event at Shady Bowl Speedway near DeGraff, Ohio. Carrigan's victory was anything but easy, as he had to overcome a high speed shootout with three-time Shady Bowl winner Bill Hostetler and the always fast Chad Pendleton, making his return behind the wheel of a dwarf.
Based on an invert from the heat races, the double points event was brought to the green by Brad Coons and Mark Jamison. Coons wasted little time in taking the lead, bringing Hostetler, Mike Weisberg, Carrigan and Pendleton with him. Coons' time out front was short-lived as Hostetler made a pass for the top spot on lap two. On a night where attrition would prove to take its toll on many of the regular frontrunners, Weisberg was the first to get bit on lap five. Going into turn one, Weisberg went too low and clipped the inside tires, spinning him out and sending him to the hill early, joining Spence Stearns who retired earlier with mechanical problems.
On the restart, Pendleton in the Hostetler-owned dwarf truck took second away from Coons, with Carrigan and current points leader Wayne Fitzpatrick slipping by as well. The yellow waved again on lap six as Mount Vernon's Mike Rector appeared to lose an oil line and spun on the front stretch in a cloud of smoke, retiring him to the hill. When racing resumed, Coons fell victim to mechanical woes and began to slip back in the field. The problems reached a climax when he spun in turn four and hit the inside wall rupturing his radiator and ending his night early.
When the green came back out, the front four continued to wage an epic battle, with the front two of Hostetler and Pendleton holding steady and Carrigan and Fitzpatrick swapping positions on laps eight and nine. The entire complexion of the event and the quest for the season championship took a huge turn on lap ten when Fitzpatrick came to a stop in turn three with a broken right front spindle. The result was Fitzpatrick's first DNF of the 2001 campaign after an incredible streak of seven straight top fives to start the year.
After the event's final yellow, the pack settled into a steady groove. Behind the highflying front trio, Mark Jamison and Mark Bernard were battling it out for fourth place, with Jamison holding the advantage. Behind that battle, Max Evans and the steadily improving Josh Sell were in a tight race for the number six spot. After a terrible start to his second season of racing, Sell was able to make a pass of the Evans on lap 17 to claim the position for good.
With the white flag ready to be displayed, Hostetler looked to be in control as the leader's began entering lapped traffic. On lap 19, Hostetler was slowed momentarily behind a lapped car and was tagged from behind by Pendleton. Carrigan took advantage of the moment, squeezing beneath Pendleton, Hostetler and the lapped car and set sail for his first feature win at Shady Bowl. The resulting contact ripped second gear out of Hostetler's car and allowed Pendleton to slip by to take runner-up honors, with Hostetler holding onto third. Jamison prevailed in the battle of the Mark's to take fourth place in another strong run for the veteran driver. Knocking on the door to the top five were Sell, in a career-best run for him and Evans in seventh. Rookie C.E. Daugherty finished eighth with ninth going to Keith Bailey. Another rookie, Max Thomas finished a somewhat disappointing tenth after clutch problems ended an other wise strong run early.
The evening's first heat event provided an epic battle between Hostetler and Pendleton. Coons jumped to the early lead from the outside pole only to be overtaken Hostetler and Pendleton. Hostetler appeared destined for victory, but Pendleton had other ideas as he went low on the last turn of the last lap to take the win. Coons and Fitzpatrick took the final two points positions. Heat number two was all Carrigan as he led the distance from the outside of row one. Weisberg came all the way from last in the seven-car field to claim second with Jamison and Bernard rounding out the top four.
The aforementioned attrition caused a major shake-up in the chase for the Shady Bowl championship. What before was a nine-point deficit for Hostetler is now a 27-point cushion atop the standings over Fitzpatrick with just three points races left. Third through fifth still show Coons, Weisberg and Evans. Bernard's top five run moves him past Rector into the number six spot. Sell and Carrigan, by virtue of his heat and feature win are tied for eighth, with Jamison rounding out the top ten. The dwarfs return to action on August 18 joining the 305 Sprint Car series, the VARC vintage cars and Pro and Flying Stocks on the card.
Heat 1: Pendleton, Hostetler, Coons, Fitzpatrick, Evans, Rector, Bailey, Daugherty.
Heat 2: Carrigan, Weisberg, Jamison, Bernard, Sell, Thomas, Stearns.
Feature: Carrigan, Pendleton, Hostetler, Jamison, Bernard, Sell, Evans, Daugherty, Bailey, Thomas, Fitzpatrick, Coons, Rector, Weisberg, Stearns.