Riverside FANatic 7/14/06
by Alan Plummer
July 14th was a spectacular night of racing at Riverside Speedway, a PASS sanctioned track. The Bear Ridge Sportsman Coupes were visiting for the night. They put on a heck of a show. Their suspension setup, normally running on dirt, seemed to absorb a lot more impact. Twice I saw two cars get together and recover, from what would have sent a Late Model over turn one.
First up for the night were the Angels. The 55 of Traci Nelson started on the pole, with the 36 of Allison Brown on the outside. Brown took the lead, but it was short lived as the 44 of Jennie Dion took first place. On lap 10, the 7 of Kate Demar edges past Brown for 2nd. In the final laps, Demar is giving it all she has to catch Dion, but can’t get it done. At the stripe it is Dion, followed by Demar and Brown.
The Daredevil novice division had a much better night, than last week. The 2 of Curtis Randall started on the pole with the 3 of Kristopher Russell outside. Randall took the initial lead, but checked up, letting the 00 of Ciara McCoy take 1st. By lap 5 the 19 of Walter Bandy had moved to 2nd and was trying to chase down McCoy, but ran out of laps. McCoy crossed took the checkers followed by Bandy and the 3x of Jamie Kenison Jr.
In the Daredevil Masters division, the 7 of Dayna Randall started up front with the 8 of Tyler Leighton outside. Randall took the lead. Before the 1st lap could be completed the 48 of Tyler Barrows and the 01 of Sami Good got together, as a result both were sent to the rear. Randall again takes the restart. Like a sling shot, Gooden gets to the second spot on lap 2, and passed Randall on lap 4, bringing the 04 of Shawn Swallow with him. Swallow spends the rest of the race trying to go by Gooden, but can’t make the car stick. Gooden takes the checkers followed by Swallow and Randall.
In the Dwarf car division, the 28 of Ernie Laplant started on the pole with the P38 of Jim Barker outside. Laplant took the lead. On lap 2 the 2 of Eric Hall moves into 2nd. The 6 of Travis Belisle, and the 68 of Tim Sherman, moved through the field quickly. By lap 7 Sherman had the top spot, and the following lap Belisle had taken 3rd. On lap 13 Belisle makes a move for second, but gets into Laplant and has to back out of the throttle. With 5 laps to he tries again, and completes the pass. Sherman had a quarter lap lead when he took the checkers, followed by Belisle and Laplant.
The Street Stocks were up next. The 16 of Daniel Gooden started on the pole with the 66 of Michael Moore outside. Moore got the jump on the start, bringing the 19 of Jake McDowell with him. Michael Smith in the 22 moved into 3rd on lap 3. On lap 7 Smith moved into 2nd as the 03 of Jason Kenison moved into 3rd. On lap 10, the point leader, the 76 of Ryan Delabruere had a tire go down. Smith makes a move for the top spot, but can’t do it, leaving the door open for Kenison to sneak into. Moore takes the win, followed by Kenison and Smith.
I normally don’t write about the spectator drags, but I found the final match interesting. It came down to Floyd Bennett Jr., in Luke Shannon’s car, up against Chris Caron, in a best 2 out of 3 match. The split the first two races. On the final race Caron gets a little lead, but seems loose, and Bennett drives it in really hard with the two making contact, with Bennett coming out on top.
The Bear Ridge Coupes were next on the field. Bear Ridge owner C.V. Elms was behind the wheel of the 6 car. The 73 of Kevin Chaffee started on the pole with the 3 of Josh Harrington outside. Chaffee takes the lead. On lap 3 Harrington slides up the track, giving 2nd to Elms. Lap 12 saw Elms taking the lead and the 33 of Melvin Pierson moving into the 3rd spot. Elms went on to take the win, followed by Chaffee and Peirson.
The Cyclones were last up for the night with the 4 of Aric Cole on the Pole with the 99x of Nick Pilotte outside. Pilotte got the jump followed by the 72 of Paul Hodge. By lap 20 Hodge was in the lead followed by Pilotte. Pilotte had retaken the lead by lap 50, but Hodge powered his way back. With 18 to go Pilotte and Hodge battle back and forth. Lap 62 Hodge pits, giving Pilotte the lead and the win. The 12 of Tyler Therrien takes second, after and early ride off turn one. Jeff Ainsworth in the 41 takes third, followed by the 7 of Todd Kenison and the 75 of Stephen Way.
I was supposed to make my way down to Bear Ridge on Saturday, but plans got changed at the last minute. From what I here, about 15 of our Cyclones went down there to race, with 2nd , 8th through 13th place being taken by Riverside regulars. Hopefully I can make it down there of the Sept. race.
Next week moves back to Saturday night. On the card will be the Late Models, Super Stocks, Street Stocks, Cyclones, plus “The Battle of the Sexes Challenge” featuring the top 5 Angels versus the top 5 Cyclones in a 20 lap shootout. Post time 6pm. Pictures and archived FANatic articles can be seen at http://racing.apcomptech.com If you have any questions or comments email me at riversidefanatic@apcomptech.com