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MAY 29, 2007 |
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FANS COME TO CRYSTAL IN DROVES Crystal, MI (5/26) What was to have been a Memorial Day Weekend duet settled to be a Sunday evening solo when rain hit the Crystal Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon. Despite the setback, the fans turned out in droves as the track held the 1st of its "Yes 2 Kids" nights where kids rode on participating driver's cars before the races and then honored the memory of one its employee who died over the winter season. The 1st annual Janet Zeigler Memorial race paid tribute to a long standing family involvement by the Zeigler family at the track. The family was on hand to distribute beautiful trophies to the feature winners. Mike Corder was able to fend off Todd Bush and Jeff Reist in the Pro Stock division to collect the 1st of those trophies as he led the event from very early on to take the win. Bush and Reist were able to stay close but never were able to pull along side Corder. Chaney Newland came home 3th, followed by Robert Griffin, Pete Hundey, Vern Buskirk, Terry LaClear, and Doug McKeown, Sr.. Barry Rinard and Corder chalked up heat wins. Over in the Late Model division, Zack Olger took the lead away from Scott Baker with about 7 laps left to go and then proceeded to open a nice cushion as he took his 1st feature win at Crystal in 2007. Dona Marcoullier and Kevin Nelson, Sr. fought a good fight as they settled for 3rd and 4th respectively, followed by David Hilliker, Rick Stout, Justin Robinson, Scott Fisk, Ryan VanderVeen, and Bill Trueblood, Jr. Paul Tucker and Trueblood took B Main wins with heat wins recorded by Vanderveen, Jim Gallagher, Mark Andersen, Fisk, and Nelson. In another chapter of 'winning it at the edge,' Tim Wood took advantage of a slip by Chris Busbee to record a feature win and receive one of the Janet Zeigler trophies. Busbee was obviously one of the fastest Pro Trucks on the track as he took the lead early and appeared to be on his way to the win despite a constant pressure from Wood. As the drivers came into turn three for the final time, Busbee slid too high and hung up on the turn 4 berm, allowing Wood to sneak under him for the win. Aaron Raby was 2nd, followed by Chris Verhaar, Shad Parks, Rodney Heikkila, Jerry Koons, Busbee, Jamie McCormick, Charles Perry, and Andrew Fidler. Koons and Perry collected heat gold. The Engine Pro IMCA Modified feature was Melvin Allen and then the rest of the field. Allen wasted no time taking advantage of his up front starting position as he set a torrid pace for the rest of the field. A couple of cautions would tighten the field but Allen just walked away again. Myron DeYoung made a late charge to the front but it was too little, too late as Allen took the win and the big trophy. DeYoung was followed by Don Proctor, Jr., Josh Borton, Brennan Bowen, Joe Fowler, Brad Roberts, Randy Ruesink, Jason Maurer, and Chris Wiggins. Luke Olger and DeYoung added heat wins to their records while Allen, Rob Newman, Roberts, and Paul Grosnickle chalked heat wins. The Street Stock feature saw Mike Vandermark recover from a big fire during his heat to take the win from his 18th place starting position. A leaking valve cover caused a huge fire during his heat, causing him to start near last in the feature but Vandermark found a groove on the bottom that no one else was able to tame and he walked forward to assume the lead from J.R. Schmid late in the race. Vandermark cruised on to the win followed by Michael Sparks, Mickey Carman, Jr., Steve Buskirk, Schmid, Al Kiester, Dan Minikey Jr., Ryan Kent, Thomas Stevens, and Lloyd Long. Bryan Craigmyle and Schmid took heat races. The final event of the evening was the Flinn Stock race. While it was a hotly contested event between eventual winner Scott Kimball and Cody Ordway, the race may be remembered as the 1st claim in the division as a fan in the stands claimed Ordway's car after the race. Division rules allow anyone to claim a car finishing the race, provided they follow the proper procedure. Jacob Raby brought home a 3rd, followed by Larry Bulson, Kent Strong, Gavin Parks, Joe Nieman, Nick Messner, Anthony Fellows, and Kyle Shattuck. Kimball and Parks posed for heat win photos. Get all the latest auto racing news - Subscribe to MARC Times Racing News Today! |
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