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Hearn Wins Two, Tommy Gets a Top 5 |
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08/17/07 |
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At the green flag, it was Bill Wilson, Kirk Horton, Danny Creeden, Mitch Gibbs, and Bruce Kline. The front runners stayed in position for much of the race, while David Van Horn, Jeff Heotzler, Tommy Meier, and Hearn all advanced toward the front. A seventh-lap caution flag brought them all together as Donnie Wilson went around in turn one. On the restart, Rich Eurich, Gary Edwards, and Bob McGannon tangled in turn one. The restart saw Bill Wilson, Van Horn, Davie Franek, Horton, and Creeden running in the top five, as Heotzler passed Creeden on lap ten to take fifth spot, with Hearn running right behind in sixth, and Meier coming up through the pack.
By lap 16, Heotzler was fourth, with Meier fifth, followed by Hearn, who had started 22nd. Hearn passed Meier on lap 18, and Heotzler passed Franek. It was Bill Wilson, David Van Horn, Heotzler, and Hearn running in the top four.
On lap 23, Hearn got by Heotzler for third place, then passed Van Horn and Bill Wilson to take the lead on lap 24. As his lead stretched, the battle for second place was underway. Heotzler got by Van Horn and Bill Wilson two laps from the end, and finished just behind Hearn to retain his slim points lead. At the checkered, it was Hearn, Heotzler, Bill Wilson, Van Horn, and Tommy Meier.
After the race, Hearn talked more about the race track than his own performance. After thanking his crew and sponsors, he praised the efforts of Vinnie Rotundo and his crew. “What you’re seeing here is a good race track. You can run from top to bottom, and that produces good racing. I’m not sure why it’s good some nights and not so good other nights, but I know Vinnie (Rotundo) and his crew are working hard, and I appreciate that. This is the kind of feature you used to see at Orange County – a couple of guys coming from the back of the pack to the front, either me or Jeff (Heotzler), or anybody for that matter, coming to the front at the end, with everybody holding their breath. It’s just good side-by-side racing, and that’s what it’s all about. If this track could be like this every week, I gotta believe it would be the best racing anywhere.” Hearn continued, “At the beginning, Vinnie’s job was to eliminate the dust, make it so the drivers could see where they’re going. The second part is to make multi-lane racing, which has been a little more difficult. But it’s been that way for the last three out of five weeks. But that’s what makes great racing, and I know Vinnie has his heart and soul in it; he takes a lot of pride in what he does, and I’ve always thought he was the best at what he does. The problem is that the dirt is worn out, and it takes a lot more effort to get it in shape. I don’t think it’s an exact science, but it’s a lot of effort, and it produced good results tonight.”
(In the fourth big block heat race, Rick Mill was involved in a serious crash when his #73 spun hard into the first turn barrier. Mill was taken to the hospital with bruised ribs, but later returned to the track to watch the races from atop his hauler.)
Order of finish:
74 Brett Hearn, 66 Jeff Heotzler ,7X1 Billy Wilson, 71 David Van Horn, 33 1/3 Tommy Meier, 53 Davie Franek, 55 Mitch Gibbs, 47 Jerry Higbie, 5 Chuck McKee, 244 Chris Whitehead, 673 Joe Morel, 79 Jeremy Markle, 11 Danny Creeden, 93x Craig Mitchell, 7 Donnie Wilson, 1 Dave Werber, 32 Cliff Ehrmann, 21M Bob McGannon, 82P JoePuzzella, 7K Kirk Horton, 59 Bruce Kline, 88 Steve Dodd, 24 Chris Shultz, 10 Rich Eurich, OB Gary Edwards, Jr., 28 Ric Hill
After his big block victory, Brett Hearn repeated the performance by taking the 25-lap small block modified feature.
On the first lap, Craig Mitchell came out of turn two high, and side-swiped the backstretch retaining wall, bringing the first of many caution flags. On the restart, Jerry Higbie came out of turn two on the high side, climbed the backstretch wall, but landed on all fours. He was unhurt, but his #17 was badly damaged. On lap three, Mitch Gibbs, Kirk Horton, David Van Horn, and Ted Zacker tangled between turns one and two. On the restart, it was Jeremy Markle, Neil Harris, Hearn, Chuck McKee, and Brian Krummel holding the first five spots. On lap four, Joey Barbagallo spun on the backstretch, and was missed by the field. On the restart, Hearn blew into the lead, passing Harris and Markle. Tim Hindley, who started mid-pack, was in fifth. On lap eight, Ted Zacker spun coming off turn four. On the restart, Markle lost a right front wheel coming off the front stretch, and tapped the first turn wall. After that, the race was caution-free.
Hearn stayed up front, with McKee challenging, while Hindley broke into third, and battled McKee for second for several laps before taking the spot on lap 14. There was another multi-lap battle between Krummel and Kirk Horton for fourth place. The two ran side-by-side for many laps, but Krummel endured the challenge and held the fourth spot at the finish. At the checkered, it was Hearn, Hindley, McKee, Krummel, and Horton.
After the race, Hearn was jubilant after winning both modified features. “Most weeks, either the #4 runs great, and the #74 runs poorly, or vice-versa. My crews worked very hard this week to get both cars working great.”
(There was a serious crash during small block warm ups as Greg Morgan slid hard into the first turn barrier and flipped, coming to rest on the side of the car. Morgan was uninjured, but the car was unable to compete.)
Order of finish:
4 Brett Hearn , 94 Tim Hindley, 211 Chuck McKee, 17 Brian Krummel, 7K Kirk Horton, 71 David Van Horn, 55 Mitch Gibbs, 10 Randy Sherlock, 9 Johnny Guarino, 80 Dom Roselli, 151 Gary Napolitano, 17 Everett Haubrich, 61 Ted Zacker, 53 Joe Barbagallo Jr., 24 Chris Shultz, 33 1/3 Tommy Meier, 68 Neil Harris, 313 Jeremy Markle, 17 Jerry Higbie, X Benny Rizzo 33 Craig Mitchell
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