8/17/2024
Tri-County Speedway
Hibriten Auto Mart Back 2 School 330
A little rain, a little sunshine, and a lot of competition made up the race on Aug 17th. Due to rain, the track officials had to do some creative rearranging of the race schedule. With this smart thinking, all of the races were able to be completed with just the second Grand National race being cut a little short. This way the track was able to meet the 11 pm curfew.
Race #1 of the night was the first Grand National race. Jason Kitzmiller, #97, led all qualifiers with a lap time of 16.298, 88.354 mph. The evening’s first caution was on lap 14 when Steve Bush, #20, caused an incident while being lapped in turn 3. It also collected Kitzmiller and Jeremy Mayfield, #21. The occasion was also used as a competition caution. While under caution, the rains came and the Grand National event was put on hold while the track was dried. The officials decided to put the FWD division on the track. The FWD cars had treaded tires which finished drying the track while they ran their event. Once the Grand National race resumed, it ran caution free. Kitzmiller came home the winner. He was followed by Mayfield in second and AJ Henriksen, #79, in third.
Technically, the Front Wheel Drive Division was the second feature of the night. However, it ran in the middle of the Grand National series first race. Jackie Stone, #17, set the pace in qualifying with a lap of 19.367, 74.353 mph. The top 4 were inverted for the start of the race. This allowed Randy Hupp, #54, to lead the field to green. The race’s only yellow was displayed on lap 19 when Dana Maxwell, spun on lap 19. The green waved with one lap to go to finish the race. Jason Garwood, #46, won the race. Stone was second and James Powell, #27, was third.
Race #3 was the Late Model Division. Parker Eatmon, #45, grabbed the pole, with a lap time of 15.481, 93.017 mph. Zach Bruenger, #52, was awarded the pole via the invert. Two cautions were displayed for the race. Both involved Mitch Walker in the #15 car. First time was on lap 9 for a spin in turn 2 and the second was on lap 20 when he spun on the front stretch. Eatmon won the event. Austin Green, #23, came home second. He was followed by Walker in third.
Race 4 was the Renegade Division. Klint Townsend, #9, was fastest qualifier with a lap time of 19.457, 74.009 mph. Once again the front spot had to be relinquished via an invert of the top 4. Jackson Sparks was the beneficiary of the invert and started p1. It was short lived as he and Michael Waldrop, #22, become entangled in turns 3 and 4. Caution #2 was on lap 7 when Steve Smart, #16, spun on the backstretch. Waldrop was involved in the event’s last caution on lap 21. He spun on the front stretch. Townsend overcame the invert and won the race. Gary Ledbetter, #28, was second and Smart came back to finish third.
Race 5 of the night was the Street Stock Division. Marlin Yoder, #08, captured the pole speed with a time of 16.798, 85.724. When the invert was drawn, it resulted in a 7th place start for Yoder due to the inversion of the top 7. This placed Davey Smart, #14, on the inside front row to start the race. Jeff Sparks, #7, won the event, with a fast closing Yoder in second. The #55 car of Johnny Reynolds was third.
The Limited Late Models was the sixth event of the night. Matt Leicht led all qualifiers with a lap of 15.975, 90.140 mph. An invert of the top 4 qualifiers awarded the top spot to Isaac Kitzmiller, #97. Caution #1 was on lap 1 when Zack Franks, #1, and Kristen Wallace, #12 collided. A restart saw another caution on the first lap. This time, it was Owen Wilson, #42, who spun against the outside wall in turn 3. Matt Leicht spun on lap 10 to bring out caution #3. At the end of the night, William Aldred took home the trophy for the win. He was followed by Austin Harris, #59, in second and Kade Brown, #66, rounded out the top 3.
Event #7 of the night was the Crown Vic Series. Jacob Hayes, #0, was fastest in qualifying with a lap time of 20.608, 69.875 mph. The entire field was inverted which led to Nic Waldrop, #22W, being the first to see the green flag. Jacob Hickman, #22H, spun on lap 2 which brought out the race’s only caution. Hayes recovered from the last starting position to win the race. Kyle Dubeau, #12, placed second and Nic Waldrop finished third.
The eighth and final race of the night was the second race for the Grand National Series. The race was shortened to 35 laps to meet the 11pm curfew. The top 3 finishers was identical to that of the first Grand National race. Jason Kitzmiller, #97, was first. He was followed by the #21 of Jeremy Mayfield. AJ Henriksen, #79, was third.
We hope race fans enjoyed all the events at Tri County Speedway tonight. Hopefully, next time we will not have to be delayed with rain. Our next event will be Aug. 31st. Hope to see you there!
Article Credit: Debbie Setzer
Submitted By: Chris Lesondak
