Second Straight Wins for Brown, O'Neal, Trevathan and Wester

Mesquite, TX (April 9) – The early season leaders were clearly defined in four classes Saturday night at Devil's Bowl Speedway. Charlie Brown topped the super sprints while Dale Wester claimed the champ sprint win. It was the second straight victory for the two drivers. Skip O'Neal and Steve Trevathan also doubled in the late models and street stocks respectively. Clyde Dunn, Jr. followed up his second place finish last week with a victory this time.

After starting off the season with a victory, Charlie Brown was relegated to the outside of the sixth row for the start of Saturday’s A feature. Polesitter Kurt Summers battled with Russell Shoulders down the front straight before taking the early lead in the Soulman’s Barbeque Nr. 99.

  Action was tight in the pack and Tim Shaddock got collected just after the first lap was finished. His Dal-Tex Rentals & Sales Nr. 12 flipped hard in turn two, bring out the red flag.

  When the race resumed, Summers pulled away as Bill Waller took over the runner-up position in the Lubrication Engineers Nr. 53. Brown had moved into the top five by the fourth lap. He took over fourth place on the fifth circuit and moved past Shoulders and Waller to take the second position on the eighth lap.

  Two trips later around the half-mile clay oval, and Brown pulled past Summers to take the lead. For the final few laps, Brown increased his lead to take a comfortable second straight victory in the Keith’s Truck & Accessories / Forney Kar Wash Nr. 72. Summers scored a solid second with Larry Long taking the third position in the Town East Ford Nr. 28. Shoulders was fourth in his Nr. 21 with Brandon Erwin taking fifth in the Mack’s Auto Service Nr. 9. Summers, Shoulders and Terry Holland in the Nr. 6X won the heat races.

It took three tries to get the street stock feature started. Before Gayla Jones led the first lap in the Imperial Electric Nr. 42, a third of the 21 cars which started were on the trailer. Last week’s winner Steve Trevathan in the Pit Stop Pizza Nr. 14 and Spring National winner Danny Zimmerman in the Quality Intermodal Delivery Nr. 11X were able to get past Jones and pull away to battle for the lead. Zimmerman managed to get ahead of Trevathan as the white flag flew, only to have Trevathan get back around on the final circuit to take his second straight victory.

  While the top two were racing side by side, the battle for third close all the way to the finish. Jones fell back to fourth but pulled back into third at the halfway mark. Michael Clugston, Jr. took fourth after starting 17^th in his Nr. 00 and Arin Lawrence rounded out the top five in the Nr. 52.

  Trandel White in the Verna May / Garcia’s Lawn Care Nr. 10 won his heat and topped the trophy dash. Johnny Philpot in the J & S Direct Doors Nr. 12 won his heat, as did Danny Zimmerman.

Jason Troutman pulled away from Richard McGibboney as the green flag fell on the US modified feature. The racing was close and intense down the back straight, with Troy Cave getting turned sideways just short of turn three.

  The left rear wheel of the Trick Chassis Nr. 98 caught the dirt and started the car flipping. After hitting the tractor tire protecting the warning lights on the inside of turn three, the car flipped high in the air, and rolled over a couple more times before coming to rest upright. Cave was able to walk away from the wreck.

  Troutman in the lead in the Town East Ford Nr. 44 took the lead but the yellow flag flew moments later as Troutman, Johnny Dunn, Jr. and Richard McGibboney were racing three wide for the lead through turn two.  McGibboney got turned and collected Rowdy Starnes. Both headed to the pits and the trailer after the contact.

  Johnny Dunn Jr. soon claimed the lead in his Speed Specialties Nr. 99, but Colby Smith also moved up in his The Shop Nr. 01 to battle with Dunn. Past champions Bobby Ruffin and Clyde Dunn, Jr. worked their way up from the fifth and sixth row starting spots to make the fight for the top spot a four way battle.

  With just a few laps left in the feature, Clyde Dunn, Jr. put his Smiley’s Race Car Products Nr. 88 into the lead. Ruffin move his Hoosier Tire Southwest Nr. 121 in to second as the race came to a close. Third at the checkered flag was Johnny Dunn, Jr. with Colby Smith taking fourth. After starting on the eighth row, B Main winner Randy Kirkland claimed the fifth position in his Reliable Plumbing Nr.77.

  Ruffin, Richard McGibboney in the Baber’s Garage Nr. 19 and Chris Huckeba in the Troy ’s Used Cars Nr. 04 won the modified heat races.

The flips started early in the evening when Justin Spoerl took a hard flip down the back straight while leading the championship sprint heat. He walked away from the damaged Allard Machine Shop Nr. 43. Preston Grosvenor topped the heat which resumed after the crash cleanup.

  When the championship sprint feature took the green flag, it was Grosvenor driving the Enduro Powder Coating Nr. 20X taking the early lead. Dale Wester came through the pack to claim the lead on the fourth lap in his T&T Truck Parts / Allard Racing Engines Nr. 12.

  Wester stretched out his lead, but the battle of the race was between Grosvenor and Michael Lang in the Nr. 14 for the second spot. Martin Edwards in the Parks Auto Sales Nr. 45 made it a three way battle for the position as they approached lapped traffic. Edwards tried to get under Randy Smith’s Nr. 120 on the front straight on the eighth lap, as Lang went around the outside. Edwards jumped Smith’s left rear tire and careened into the front straight wall, rolling the sprinter completely over.

  When the race resumed, Wester easily pulled away for his second straight victory, followed by Grosvenor and Lang in second and third. Troy Bontrager claimed fourth in the Grice Machine Nr. 10 with Randy Bryant taking fifth in the Custom Engine Balancing Nr. 6.

The late model feature started fast and furious with Darren Ellis pulling out front in the Adams Fence Nr. 21X. On the second lap, Jerry Horn #9D Horn’s Medical Supply late model got shoved around in the middle of turn four while running third. Five cars were collected in the crash, with Chuck Beusch’s Family Chiropractic Nr. 13 and Ronnie Welborn’s Baxter Motorsports Nr. 20 being towed away, knocked out of the race.

  Ellis led the pack back under the green flag, but Skip O’Neal was on the move in the Urban Fire Protection / W.A. Lockridge Associates Nr. 8, quickly challenging for the lead. O’Neal got past Ellis, but was unable to pull away. Ellis and Tom Lorenz in the Smiley’s Racing Nr. 84 stayed within a couple car lengths of the leader. They traded the second spot, but neither could get a chance to pass O’Neal.

  Ellis took the second spot, Lorenz was third, with Michael Grubbs fourth in his first night driving the Blueprint Service of Plano Nr. 23 and Britt Ables taking fifth in the Ables Auto Nr. 51. Lorenz and O’Neal topped the heat races.

Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Race Results – Sat, April 9, 2005

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Next At Devil's Bowl

Saturday, April 14

HUG-A-BEAR NIGHT

Super Sprints, Champ Sprints, USA Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks