8/14/2009
Silver Dollar Speedway
A Family Affair at Chico on Friday Night
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="420"] HRP Photo of Steve Cox[/caption]
Hirst started in the prime spot, outside row one. He led the field to the green flag. Falling into second was Peter Murphy. Murphy made a rare visit to the quarter-mile clay oval. Murphy was a regular in the early 2000's when he piloted the Morrie and Katie Williams #0. The first caution flew on lap nine when John Michael Bunch spun in turn two. He collected the big white tire in the infield and needed to make repairs before coming back into the race. Two laps later one of the oddest things happened in turn one. For the first time in my recollection a top wing sat in tack all by itself in turn one. For whatever reason the wing posts failed and Johnny Gray's top wing flew off and came to a stop on the top of turn one. Gray continued on to the pit area while the safety crew picked up the top wing. The ensuing lap saw Jason York and Kyle Harris bang wheels. Harris spun off turn four and got collected in the catch fence. He was uninjured and continued on. The final caution waived when Keith Bloom Jr. came to a stop in turn four.
Up front Hirst was unchallenged. On all of the restarts he held a commanding lead. Murphy was holding down the second spot. Mark Hall made a charge into the third spot. Third was where Hall would finish. The best racing of the night was between fourth place Brad Bumgarner and fifth Place Sean Becker. Becker tried every move to get around Bumgarner but it was to no avail. Bumgarner picked up another top five finish while Becker settled for fifth.
The dirt modified main event was another barnburner. Twist and turns kept the crowd entertained while the close racing provided the thrill for the drivers. Out of town driver Michael Paul led the first lap. He has been a nice addition to the speedway. On lap six Jeff Olschowka passed Paul. Olschowka looked to be the dominant car. Another car charging to the front was Ryan McDaniel. He had moved into the third spot and was challenging for the lead. Then disaster struck. A big ball of smoke emerged from the motor area and McDaniel came to a stop in turn four on lap 14. On the restart, Olschowka' car never responded and he limped to the pit area done for the night. Randy McDaniel was the new leader. Point leader Mark Abouzeid had moved his way into second and was going to challenge McDaniel for the win. The final five laps the two modified drivers raced nose to tail and as close as they could with out contact. McDaniel was able to hold off Abouzeid for the win. Abouzeid has now lost two weeks in a row to a McDaniel. Yet, looking at the big picture he still holds onto the point championship lead. Both Abouzeid and Randy McDaniel scored heat race wins.
The Weger's are about as entertaining bunch of racecar drivers as you could find. Their laid back demeanor makes them cool, calm and collected on the racetrack. Tonight is was Daniel's turn to shine. Two weeks ago he saw Patrick enjoy the spoils of victory lane. To get to victory lane Daniel had to hold off Patrick. In fact, Patrick passed Daniel on a lap seven restart. Daniel repaid the favor on lap nine. A few laps later Patrick swerved to avoid a slower car. This seemed to offset his car and consequently his right rear tire went flat. This moved Mike Grenert into the mix. Grenert is a strong challenger anytime he races at Chico. Grenert had one final chance to make something happen. On lap 19 Jeremy Blackshire spun in turn three. This brought out the caution. Rules state a main event must end with two consecutive laps of green flag racing. The race wound up going 21 laps but it didn't bother Daniel. He cruised to the win followed by Grenert, Kevin Bender and Scott Dahlgren. Neil Stinson finished fifth and also won the first heat of the night. Grenert won the second heat race.