SECOND LEG OF THE TRIPLE CROWN GOES TO BENNY LESTER

 

Lakeville,Ohio 07/25/08

     Benny Lester has had some great runs and some tough luck this year in the New Lakeville Late Models.The pilot of the Hall's Auto Sales entry has never let the swings slow his desire to perform at his best and Friday night was the proof that he has the ability and the machine to make it happen.In the first leg of the Triple Crown three race series,back on May 23rd,Lester had battled very hard to record a fifth place finish and stay within striking distance to wrap up the title on October 3rd and 4th at The Ohio Dirt Blowout.On Friday night he had the look of the tiger in his eyes and showed his strength by winning his heat race to position himself in the third starting spot in the forty lap feature event.As the front row of J.R.

Gentry and Jason Flory came off of turn four for the first time,contact was made involving several cars and Flory sustained enough damage that his night was finished and went to the pits.On the realignment and restart that moved Kristin Flory to the outside of the front row with Lester and Mike Lonas in the second row.Only one lap was completed as the yellow came out for Eric Eicholtz as he spun while the fans saw several side by side battles with K.Flory putting heat on Lester who had  taken the point and Gentry and Lonas battling for position.In the first eight laps,Lester somewhat checked out on the field as he began to work his way through lap traffic.Debris on the track slowed the field again on lap sixteen.On the single file restart,K.Flory was pressuring Lester and the seventh place starter,Coby Bartrum was running his best race of the year as he was shown in the fourth place.Lonas was attempting to get around Gentry on several occassions but pulled off the racing surface on lap twenty five and was finished for the evening.Late in the event,Eicholtz had made a very good recovery from his earlier spin and was picking off positions as he started his climb to the front.K.Flory chased Lester very close in the final ten laps as she tried the high side and the low side to move to the point but could not make the pass on the leader.Lester was the first to the checker with K.Flory second,Gentry finished third,Bartrum recorded a fourth and Eicholtz was the fifth place finisher.

     Tim Hunter made it to the winners circle for the fifth time this year as he took over the lead on lap three of the Winged Sprint feature in his Berlin Bakery rocket ship.Jeremy Aumend set sail at the drop of the green and looked as if it may be his night of glory as he went to the point with Cody Jacobs in tow.Off of turn three on the third lap is when Hunter put the hammer down and went to the front as he positioned his car to the bottom side of the track which was his fast way around the 3/8th mile speedplant.Jacobs made the pass on Aumend on the high side of the track on lap eighteen and brought with him,point leader Nick Mulheim.Sixth place starter Kurt Jeffries began his run to the front on lap ten as he joined the battle with Mulheim and Aumend.Hunter was the first to the finish with Jacobs getting second,Mulheim was third,Jefferies finished fourth and Aumend maintaining a fifth place finish.Hunter and Jefferies took the two heat race wins.

     Frank Oriti got a somewhat late start on the year in the Hamlin Racing Engines Pure Stocks,but has showed his strength as he won his heat race and recorded his fifth feature win in his Mars Trucking sponsored entry.Oriti had earned a pole starting position on the redraw and had Don Baney lined up on the outside of the front row.Oriti was shown with a small lead early in the feature as Baney was getting the heat from Jose Marsh from his third spot.Oriti got stronger as the laps ticked off and the same with Dave Haven Jr as moved onto the rear bumper of Marsh.Bob Daugherty was forced to start in the seventh place and joined the chase on lap ten.Oriti then drove to the win with Baney,Marsh,Haven Jr,and Daugherty rounding out the top five.Marsh had won the other heat race earlier in the evening.

     Point leader Sean Rush dashed to the lead from his eighth starting spot in the finale for the Mini Stocks with Jordan James falling in behind the leader as Kyle Moore and Brad Hensel battled side by side in the early stages.Dustin Cyrus then joined the battle and Doug Hensel was positioning himself to make his strike.Rush was able to stay out front by a sizable distance as Moore secured the runner up spot.Rush crossed the finish line first with Moore second,however in the post race tech inspection,both Rush and Moore were disqualified and the win was given to James for his second victory of the year as he had been chasing Rush for the points title.Cyrus was rewarded with the runner up spot with Brad Hensel third,Doug Hensel fourth and Jason King fifth.James and Rush took earlier heat wins.

     The New Lakeville Speedway will be back in action next Friday night August 1st with all seven division of action.Stay up to speed on all the action at www.lakevillespeedway.com.

 

                                                                                 SUMMARY

 

Late Models

 

Heat 1- Kristin Flory,John Reasor,J.R.Gentry,Jason Flory,Ryan Eddleblute

Heat 2- Benny Lester,Coby Bartrum,Matt Irey,Mike Lonas,Clint Coffman

TRIPLE CROWN #2

             Lester,K.Flory,Gentry,Bartrum,Eric Eicholtz,Jay McDougal,Irey,Eddleblute,Coffman,Reasor

             Gary Hensel Sr,Richard Grogg,Bill Clapp Jr,Lonas,J.Flory.

 

Sprints

 

Heat 1- Tim Hunter,Jeremy Aumend,Bill Underwood,Gary Feller,Nick Patterson

Heat 2- Kurt Jefferies,Cody Jacobs,Nick Mulheim,Chad Levingston,Danny Mumaw

Feature - Hunter,Jacobs,Mulheim,Jefferies,Aumend,Underwood,Mumaw,Feller,Levingston,Patterson

 

Pure Stocks

 

Heat 1- Jose Marsh,Paul McVicker,Donna Canode,Dave Haven Sr,Larry Loney

Heat 2- Frank Oriti,Don Baney,Bob Daugherty,Dave Haven Jr,Shaun Cains

Feature - Oriti,Baney,Marsh,Haven Jr,Daugherty,McVicker,Cains,Haven Sr,Canode,Heath Jessup,

               Loney,Murray Anderson,Jason Kodek,John Stream,Mark Bee

 

Pure Stocks

 

Heat 1- Jordan James,Kyle Moore,Brad Hensel,Lenny Quinn,Doug Hensel

Heat 2- Sean Rush,Dustin Cyrus,Jason King,Roger Rush Sr,Mark Myers

Feature - James,Cyrus,Brad Hensel,Doug Hensel,King,Myers,Bobby Stamper,Steve Quicksall,Rush Sr,

              Carl Roberts,Roger Rush Jr,Keith Rush,Don Clay,Quinn,(Sean Rush and Kyle Moore DQ)