November 1, 2006

Barger, Brogan & Mayberry Defend Class Titles; Veteran Champ Wolfe Reclaims Late Model Championship; Bryant Wins 1st Natural Bridge (Va.) Speedway Crown

Three Natural Bridge Speedway drivers put an exclamation point on their 2006 championship seasons with season-ending victories in their respective classes. Another 2006 class champion rolled home second in the final race of the year while the fifth titlist had to borrow a competitor’s car to run long enough to secure his class points honors.

The season’s final points races were held last Sunday afternoon before a hardy crowd after having been previously postponed on two occasions.

Gerald Wolfe Jr. won his ninth over-all track title and secured his second Spencer Home Center Late Model division title as he rolled to a flag-to-flag win – his 10th victory in 24 starts this year – in the class’ 35-lap season finale. Defending champion David Bennett, who, like Wolfe, hails from Covington, locked up runner-up points honors with his fifth-place run in Sunday’s feature. Mike Ayers of Fincastle chased Wolfe across the line Sunday afternoon to lock up third place in the points pyramid. Millboro’s Timmy Simmons and Waynesboro’s R.E. Cubbage finished third and fourth, respectively in the season’s final dash for cash.

Buena Vista’s Chris Barger, who entered Sunday’s action with a seemingly insurmountable points lead, suddenly found himself in crisis when his car broke during warm-up laps. The Barger Racing Team arranged with Ricky Wells of Gladstone to allow Barger to start Wells’ ride and finish the minimum laps necessary to secure Barger’s successful defense of his 2005 Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman class championship. Barger was officially credited with a 12th-place finish, but it was more than enough to provide the young Buena Vista pilot with a 10-point win over Terry Dame of Natural Bridge in the points battle. Dame did all he could to help his team’s cause by surviving a wild 25-lap feature to take his sixth checkers of the year. Tim Stalnaker of Natural Bridge wheeled to the front of the field early on from his fourth starting slot. On lap 12, however, Stalnaker’s car exited the track in turn three, sending him to the rear of the field. Shortly after taking the lead, Dame’s ride spun 360 degrees coming out of turn four, but he made a great save to hold the lead. In the late laps, Dame received a significant challenge from Mike Bryant, but was able to fend off the Shipman veteran’s challenge. Ken Nelson, Jr. finished third on Sunday. Daniel Brown Jr. and Stalnaker finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

David Brogan capped off his fourth consecutive Street Stock championship by winning a thrilling Street Stock finale, waging a fierce battle with Lexington’s Troy Fitzgerald, who led drivers in all classes with 11 wins this season, which was short-circuited when Fitzgerald suffered a flat tire running side-by-side with Brogan on the white flag lap. Lynchburg veteran Tom Guthrie wrapped up second place in the class points struggle by finishing second Sunday afternoon. Tony Knicely finished third while Fitzgerald limped home in fourth. Lexington’s Kerry Breeden notched a top 5 finish in his first start of the season. Though neither Ricky Higgins nor Scott Hostetter won a race this season, their consistency allowed them to finish third and fourth, respectively, in the points competition.

Buena Vista’s Ronnie Martin Jr. led nearly the entire 25 laps in securing his sixth Pure Stock win of the season, matching Coray Brown’s class-leading win total. Martin finished fourth in the points while Brown secured third in the points race, though he encountered troubles early in Sunday’s race and retired early after an encounter with the back stretch guard rail.

Spout Spring’s Ricky Mayberry, who battled with Todd Garrett and Danny Bryant for second place throughout much of the feature, finished second, cementing his second consecutive Pure Stock title. Following Martin and Mayberry to the line Sunday were Garrett, Gerald Hostetter and Brian Rhodes, respectively. Garrett finished second in the class’ points standings.

Anticipated drama in the any car finale did not last long. Amherst’s Mike E. Bryant and Lexington’s Derrick Ayers entered the last race of the speedway season tied for first place in the points and starting side-by-side on the front row. Bryant broke to an early lead. Ayers was running third on lap 5 when his night of horror began, as mechanical difficulties sent him to the pits for the first of what would prove to be multiple visits. Ayers finished 16th with his tough-luck run. Meanwhile Bryant seized his first track title by claiming his fourth win of the year in flag-to-flag fashion, though he was passed once late in the race by his son, Michael, who eventually finished second behind his father. Roseland’s James Campbell finished third, locking up the same position on the class points list. Pete Deacon and Joe Bryant finished fourth and fifth in Natural Bridge Speedway’s 120th and final 2006 stock car feature.


Final 2006 Natural Bridge Speedway points standings

Late Model – 1) Gerald Wolfe Jr., Covington, 683; 2) David Bennett, Covington, 645; 3) Michael Ayers, Fincastle, 619; 4) Ricky Almond, Madison Heights, 508; 5) Timmy Simmons, Millboro, 453.
Sportsman – 1) Chris Barger, Buena Vista, 626; 2) Terry Dame, Natural Bridge, 616; 3) Shad Cooper, Lexington, 609; 4) Tim Stalnaker, Natural Bridge, 607; 5) Mike Bryant, Shipman, 607.
Street Stock – 1) David Brogan, Fincastle, 646; 2) Tom Guthrie, Lynchburg, 582; 3) Ricky Higgins, 537; 4) Scott Hostetter, 532; 5) Troy Fitzgerald, Lexington, 528.
Pure Stock – 1) Ricky Mayberry, Spout Spring, 630; 2) Todd Garrett, Evergreen, 605; 3) Coray Brown, Lexington, 586; 4) Ronnie Martin Jr., Buena Vista, 570; 5) Gerald Hostetter, Buchanan, 525.
Any Car – 1) Mike E. Bryant, Amherst, 622; 2) Derrick Ayers, Lexington, 606; 3) James Campbell, Roseland, 601; 4) Jamie Wright, Lexington, 448; 5) Brian Newton, Madison Heights, 429

 

October 16, 2006

Bo Feathers Grabs Checkers and $5,000 As 52 Super Late Model Drivers Thrill Over 4,000 Fans at Natural Bridge (Va.) Speedway’s First Sunoco Fall Classic

Chilly temperatures did not deter the enthusiasm of the approximately 4,000 racing enthusiasts who gathered at Natural Bridge Speedway last Saturday to witness Winchester’s Bo Feathers emerge from a field of 52 Super Late Model competitors to claim the checkers and the $5,000 winner’s purse in the inaugural Sunoco Fall Classic.
“I’ve always loved to race here at Natural Bridge,” said the ebullient winner as he received his tall trophy and the winner’s check from John Warren of Sunoco World Wide Racing Fuels. “It always good to be with a group of talented drivers like we have here tonight, and it’s great to see such a large crowd of race fans here to enjoy the show,” Feathers continued.
Double zeroes were the order of the day in the 50-lap Super Late Model feature. Local favorite Booper Bare of Rockbridge Baths, who started on the front row alongside pole sitter Tim Senic of Elkins, WV, wheeled his No. 00 ride on the lead for the first 24 laps before Feathers zipped past Bare to take the lead for good in his No. 00 machine. Feathers started seventh in the field of 24 thunderous machines that took the green flag in the final, which capped off a day filled with Super Late Model competition featuring a multitude of current and former champions at dirt tracks in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
By lap 5 of the championship feature, Tim Dohm of Charleston, WV, had roared into second behind Bare. On lap 12, Feathers slipped past Dohm for the runner-up slot just a few minutes before Dohm’s machine balked and retired to the pits for the remainder of the night. With Dohm’s departure, 31-year veteran Gary Stuhler of Greencastle, Pa., who had earned the $300 quick time qualifying bonus by ripping off a lap around the 3/8-mile NBS dirt oval in 17.596 seconds, took over the third slot behind Bare and Feathers, respectively.
West Virginians Andy Anderson and Greg Buckland completed the top 5 after 15 laps, but both would experience misfortune as the race went on, as mechanical problems consigned Anderson to a 22nd-place finish while Buckland rolled home 15th.
On lap 25, Feathers, who had won 2006 races at five different speedways prior to his Saturday night victory at NBS, which he has long designated one of his two favorite tracks on which to race, burst past Bare to snare the lead.
As the laps rolled by, Kenny Pettyjohn of Millsboro, Delaware wheeled his No. 88, which is owned by Bare, into the top 5 and passed the checkers in fourth place. Gerald Davis of Delray, WV made one of the two biggest moves of the Classic as he started 18th and worked his way through traffic to finish fifth.
Rounding out the top 10 finishers were NBS regular Late Model competitor Timmy Simmons of Millboro, Winchester’s Allen Brannon, Jeremy Peck of Athens, WV, Scott Cross of Centreville, Md. and veteran Denny Bonebrake of Hagerstown, Md., who matched Davis’ progress by starting 23rd and moving up 13 spots to finish 10th.
Stuhler was the first SLM pilot to qualify for the 50-lap final by ripping off the quickest qualifying lap of 17.596 seconds. Stuhler went out 10th for his two qualifying laps and then had to wait nervously as over 40 more competitors tried to best his time. Local favorite Larry Ramsey followed Stuhler out for qualifying, and his quick lap of 17.797 was the fourth fastest qualifying effort. Anderson bested Ramsey’s mark with a circuit of 17.777. Bare, who qualified 47th, clocked the second quickest time, touring familiar terrain in 17.773. Dohm posted the fifth quickest qualifying lap in 17.8.
The show continued with five 10-lap heat races with the top three finishers in each heat transferring to the final.
Anderson grabbed the checkers in the first qualifying heat with Feathers and Buckland finishing second and third, respectively. The second heat went to Bare, who was followed to the checkers by teammate Pettyjohn and Waynesboro’s Joe Leavell. Three Natural Bridge Speedway regulars swept the three transfer positions in the third heat with Simmons grabbing the checkers and Ramsey and Gladstone’s Ricky Knight earning the final two transfer slots from the third of the 10-lap qualifying laps. Dohm roared to an impressive win in the fourth qualifying, which also sent Darryl Hills of Great Mills, Md. and Kenny Johnson of Parkersburg, WV on to the main event. Senic led the pack to the checkers in the fifth heat, earning a slot in the finals along with NBS stalwart Bobby Thompson of Concord and Winchester’s Allan Brannon, who finished second and third, respectively.
Quick qualifier Stuhler and each of the five heat winners qualified for the Integra MX 6-lap dash, which would establish the grid for the main event’s first three rows. Senic earned the pole with his dash win. Following Senic to the checkers were Bare, Dohm, Simmons, Stuhler and Anderson, respectively.
Six of the final eight slots in the 50-lap main event were determined in two 15-lap B Main races. The top three finishers from each of the consolation events advanced to the final. Peck won the first B Main. Also qualifying from the first of the two consolation races were Tony Crim of Front Royal and Cross, who finished second and third, respectively. Davis claimed the checkers in the second B Main. He was followed to the checkers and the main event by Winchester’s Jonathan DeHaven and Berryville’s Greg Elrod. The final two slots in the final went to Bonebrake, who had the quickest qualifying time of those who had not already earned their way into the main feature. Completing the field was multi-time NBS champion Gerald Wolfe, Jr. of Covington, who received the track provisional.
Fincastle’s David Brogan, who earned his fourth consecutive NBS Street Stock championship this season, took the winner’s trophy and the winner’s purse with his win in the 20-lap non-points Street Stock feature after starting 14th in the 19-car grid.
Shipman’s Mike Bryant, who was celebrating his birthday, held off a spirited challenge from fellow NBS regular Tim Stalnaker and led flag-to-flag to claim the checkers in the 20-lap non-points Sportsman feature.
Lexington’s Jamie Wright, who moved up from Any Car to Pure Stock halfway through the 2006 season, started fourth in the 22-car grid and picked up his first Pure Stock win as he held off fellow Lexingtonian Coray Brown in the 20-lap non-points Pure Stock nightcap.
Natural Bridge Speedway will close out its 2006 season with its final points racing show on October 28 to make up for the show recently postponed by inclement weather. Lexington’s Derrick Ayers and Amherst’s Mike E. Bryant enter the final Any Car feature in a dead tie for the points lead. The gates will open at 2 p.m. and the first green flag will drop at 4 p.m. in order to help beat the evening chill. 

Sunoco Fall Classic Results
(starting position in parentheses)
Natural Bridge (Va.) Speedway
50 Laps – Oct. 14, 2006


1 – #00 Bo Feathers, Winchester (7), $5,000
2 – #00 Booper Bare, Rockbridge Baths (2), $2,500
3 – #90 Gary Stuhler, Greencastle, Pa. (5), $1,500
4 – #88 Kenny Pettyjohn, Millsboro, De. (8), $1,250
5 – #28 Gerald Davis, Delray, WV (18), $1,000
6 – #67 Timmy Simmons, Millboro (4), $900
7 – #30 Allen Brannon, Winchester (16), $850
8 – #15 Jeremy Peck, Athens, WV (17), $800
9 – #07 Scott Cross, Centreville, Md. (21), $775
10 – #5 Dennis Bonebrake, Hagerstown, Md. (23), $750
11 – #93 Tony Crim, Front Royal (19), $725
12 – #7 Darryl Hills, Great Mills, Md. (10), $700
13 – #8E Greg Elrod, Berryville (22), $675
14 – #23 Gerald Wolfe, Covington (24), $650
15 – #8B Greg Buckland, Mt. Hope, WV (12), $600
16 – #8L Joe Leavell, Waynesboro (13), $575
17 – #7 Bobby Thompson, Concord (11), $550
18 – #39 Ricky Knight, Gladstone (14), $525
19 – #62 Kenny Johnson, Parkersburg, WV (15), $500
20 – #S2 Tim Senic, Elkins, WV (1), $500
21 – #13D Jonathan DeHaven, Winchester (20), $500
22 – #25 Andy Anderson, Martinsburg, WV (6), $500
23 – #6T Tim Dohm, Charleston, WV (3), $500
24 – #90 Larry Ramsey, Lexington (9), $500

Laps 1-24 Led by: Booper Bare $144
Bonus sponsored by: Midway Machine Shop
Laps 25-50 Led by: Bo Feathers, $156
Bonus sponsored by; Midway Machine Shop

Quick Time Qualifying Winner: #90 Gary Stuhler (17.596 seconds), $300
Sponsored by: Ernie's Salvage Yard

Integra MX 6-Lap Dash Winner: #S2 Tim Senic, $200 by Beverly Brothers Logging and Gift Certificate to Shocks


Heat 1 Winner: #25 Andy Anderson
Heat 2 Winner: #00 Booper Bare
Heat 3 Winner: #67 Timmy Simmons
Heat 4 Winner: #6T Tim Dohm
Heat 5 Winner: #S2 Tim Senic

First B Main Winner: #15 Jeremy Peck
Second B Main Winner: #28 Gerald Davis

September 26, 2006

POINTS BATTLES COME DOWN TO FINAL WEEKEND;  THOMPSON WINS FOURTH IN FIVE LATE MODEL STARTS ON NATURAL BRIDGE (Va.) SPEEDWAY’S DIRT OVAL


And so it all comes down to one final Saturday night of points racing at Natural Bridge Speedway.
Following last Saturday’s penultimate features of the campaign, four of the five classes appear to have little chance for movement at the top of their respective points heaps, but the Any Car class championship will be determined mano a mano this Saturday as Mike Bryant of Amherst and Derrick Ayers of Lexington are locked in a dead tie for first place. Whichever driver crosses the finish line first on Saturday night will be the 2006 Any Car champion.

Each of last Saturday’s winners had made multiple previous trips to Victory Lane in 2006.
Concord’s Bobby Thompson continued his blazing hot streak in the Spencer Home Center Late Model feature. Thompson seized the lead from Millboro’s Timmy Simmons eight laps into the 35-lap Late Model event and held off hard-charging Gerald Wolfe Jr. to claim his sixth Late Model win and the fourth in the last five outings for the Black Horse Racing team. Thompson has won 10 races: four as the pilot of the Black Horse Racing Street Stock machine before moving to the seat of the team’s Late Model chariot, which he has guided to Victory Lane on six occasions.

Wolfe, who is the only NBS driver in any class to finish in the top 5 in each of the year’s 23 races thus far and has nine wins, too, holds a commanding 33-point lead over 2005 Late Model champion David Bennett of Covington. Fincastle’s Mike Ayers, who finished third on Saturday night, will enter the season’s final points race with a stranglehold on third place in the points. Waynesboro’s R.E. Cubbage wheeled to a fourth-place finish last Saturday while Buchanan’s Neil Murray completed the Late Model top 5.

For Sportsman pilot Tim Stalnaker, 2006 has been a season of ups and downs. The Natural bridge veteran found an up groove last week as he bolted to the lead on the first circuit of the 25-lap Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman feature and claimed a flag-to-flag win in the caution-free event. It was his seventh win of the 2006 season, tying him with Barger for the class lead in victories. Gladstone’s Ricky Wells finished a strong second. Following the two leaders to the stripe were Terry Dame, Chris Barger and Shad Cooper, respectively.

As the Sportsman machines take the green flag this Saturday, defending champion Barger holds a 19-point edge over second-place Cooper in the points battle. Cooper is second with 587 tallies, followed closely by Dame with 586, Stalnaker with 582 and Shipman’s Mike Bryant with 579 markers.
Fincastle veteran David Brogan took the lead on the fourth trip around the well-packed dirt oval in the 25-lap Street Stock feature. Despite a spirited challenge from Troy Fitzgerald, Brogan maintained the lead and grabbed the checkers for the first time since July 15. The fifth win of the season for Brogan cemented his hold on a fourth consecutive Street Clock championship, as he will take Saturday’s final points green with a 62-point lead over second-place Tom Guthrie. Crossing the finish line behind winner Brogan and runner-up Fitzgerald were Guthrie, veteran Earl Brooks Jr. and Ted Miller.

The Pure Stock feature provided its usual excitement. For the second consecutive week, the race reached its waning laps with Coray Brown and Danny Bryant engaged in a furious battle for the lead. The race was red-flagged on lap 22 of the 25-lap feature as a result of a spectacular four-car exit from the speedway through turn three, which involved the machines piloted by Ronnie Martin Jr., Gerald Hostetter, Fred Clark and Jason Niday. After the metal melee had been cleared, the race began again with a lap 23 restart. Brown got a huge jump on the restart and held off Bryant in convincing fashion to claim the win. Sandy Sale, Jamie Wright and Fred Giles, had their strongest finishes of the year, finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 18-car field.

Spout Spring’s Ricky Mayberry, attempting to defend his 2005 Street Stock championship, will enter Saturday’s finale with a 24-point lead over Pure Stock points runner-up Todd Garrett.

Roseland’s James Campbell continued his stellar Any Car performances by posting his sixth feature win of the season. Ayers, who entered the race last Saturday six points behind Bryant in the points run, made a strong late-race surge and finished second behind Campbell. Bryant finished eighth, which put the duo dead even entering the final race of the year. Following Campbell and Ayers to the finish last Saturday were Chris Nicely, William Beavers and Brian Newton, respectively.

The final points racing event of the season will feature a 30-lap Pure Stock battle. Gates will open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to drop at 6:30 p.m.

September 12, 2006

THOMPSON, BARGER, FITZGERALD, GARRETT & ROBINSON WINNERS AT NATURAL BRIDGE
 

Three of the five winners in last Saturday night’s Natural Bridge Speedway show claimed flag-to-flag victories. The other two victorious drivers worked their way through the field to the front on their way to the checkers. One of the latter was the first Bridge pilot to reach double figures in wins for the 2006 campaign while the other who came from off the pace had never won before posting wins in his last three races.

Buena Vista’s Chris Barger started on the pole in the Sportsman feature and led all the way in the caution-free race. Barger’s win was his seventh of the year and gave the defending class points champion a firmer hold on defending his points title. Tim Stalnaker, who entered the race tied with Barger with a class-leading six wins, started fifth and moved quickly into the runner-up position behind Barger. Stalnaker pressured Barger for the last 15 laps, looking both high and low for an opportunity to pass, but Barger constantly shut the door. Terry Dame rolled home third. Ricky Wells and Mike Bryant finished fourth and fifth, respectively. 

The largest Street Stock field in recent memory provided a thrilling battle for the large crowd in attendance. Madison Heights veteran Earl Brooks Jr. led the first lap before hard-charging rookie Gary Argenbright Jr. took the point on laps 2 and 3 before a spinout moved him to the rear of the 18-car field. Lexington’s Troy Fitzgerald, pulled even with Brooks in turn four of lap 8 and grabbed the lead by scant feet as the two veterans roared past the flag stand with Brooks, Stephen Campbell, Ted Miller and points leader and three-time defending Street Stock champion David Brogan in hot pursuit. By lap 19, Miller had gone to the pits following a caution, and Argenbright had worked his way back into the top 5 behind Fitzgerald, Brooks, Brogan and a very competitive Ken Nelson in his blue-and-white No. 45 car. By race’s end, Fitzgerald had claimed his track-high 10th victory of the 2006 season. Nelson finished a strong second with Argenbright, Brooks and Brogan completing the top 5.

Spout Spring’s Joe Jenkins recorded the Late Model quick qualifying time, but was unlucky on the inversion draw, pulling a No. 5 pill, which put him in the fifth starting position while putting Ricky Almond and Bobby Thompson on the front row. Thompson, who won four Street Stock features earlier in the season piloting the car now wheeled by Argenbright, immediately jumped to the lead and never relinquished during the course of the Spender Home Center 50-lap Late Model feature, recording his fourth Late Model win. Almond ran in the top 5 for the first half of the race before fading late. Covington’s David Bennett finished second, holding off a fierce late-lap challenge from class points leader Gerald Wolfe Jr. Jenkins finished fourth with Mike Ayers claiming fifth place.

Evergreen’s Todd Garrett began on the front row in the 25-lap Pure Stock and took advantage of his fortunate draw, immediately jumping to the lead on the drop of the green, a position he held throughout the 25-lap feature. Lexington’s Fred Clark also started on the front row and ran second for the first 11 laps before Coray Brown muscled his way past to grab the second slot behind Garrett. Clark regained the second position for one lap before Brown reclaimed it for the remainder of the race. Danny Bryant and Ronnie Martin Jr. made great late-race moves to finish third and fourth, respectively, behind second-time winner Garrett and runner-up Brown. Clark completed the top 5 finishers. Brown made a tremendous run at Garrett off the final turn of the final lap, but Garrett held off the hard-charging Brown by six feet at the finish line.

Glasgow’s Franny Robinson made it three wins in a row in the 20-lap Any Car feature. After Roseland’s James Campbell had led most of the first 11 circuits, Robinson moved to the point on lap 12, then held off Campbell’s spirited challenge the rest of the way. Mike E. Bryant of Amherst rolled home third extending his class points lead over Derrick Ayers to seven with three races remaining in the season. Roy Reaves, the “Coleman Falls Comet,” ran fourth with Ayers claiming a fifth-place finish.
This Saturday’s show will feature a Lee’s Auto Repair 40-lap Sportsman feature. Gates are scheduled to open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to drop at 6:30 p.m.

FRONT ROW PROVES BENEFICIAL FOR BARGER, FITZGERALD, THOMPSON, BRYANT & ROBINSON AT NATUAL BRIDGE (Virginia) SPEEDWAY

Saturday at Natural Bridge Speedway proved to be a good night to start on the front row as the winners of all five features took the green with no fenders to chase in front of them and wheeled their way to flag-to-flag victories on the dry, slick track.

Buena Vista’s Chris Barger bounced back from his bad luck of the previous week, which limited him to a pair of laps and consigned him to a last-place finish, and overcame a balky shifter and roared to victory in a caution-free, 25-lap Sportsman feature. After consistently pulling away from the rest of the field for the first 10 laps, Barger suddenly appeared to get very loose on consecutive laps. It turned out that his car would not stay in fourth gear unless he held it there, so he finished the race with one hand on his shifter and the other on the wheel.

The defending class champion extended his points lead to a dozen tallies with his sixth feature win of the campaign. Terry Dame of Natural Bridge followed up his win of the previous week with a fine runner-up roll. Natural Bridge veteran Tim Stalnaker finished third while Lexington’s Shad Cooper and Shipman’s Mike Bryant passed the flag stand fourth and fifth, respectively.

Gary Argenbright, searching for his third consecutive Street stock win, got off to a great start, winning the quick time qualifying bonus by ripping off a 19.061 trip around the dirt circuit. He drew a No. 3 inversion pill, which put second-fastest qualifier Ted Miller on the pole and third fastest qualifier Troy Fitzgerald on the outside of row one for the special 35-lap feature. Argenbright was confined to the sixth slot in the 15-car starting grid due to winning the previous week. Fitzgerald immediately seized the lead, and just as quickly points leader and three-time defending Street Stock points champion David Brogan got into Fitzgerald’s tracks, where he would remain for all 35 laps. Though he made many efforts both high and low to get by Fitzgerald, the Lexington veteran would not allow the Fincastle driver to pass, and he tied Late Model pilot Gerald Wolfe, Jr. for most wins this season by grabbing his eighth Street Stock checkers. Veteran Earl Brooks Jr. made a late pass of Amherst’s Stephen Campbell to sneak by and claim third. Madison Heights’ Keith Nelson finished fifth behind Campbell.

Defending Late Model titlist David Bennett was the division’s fastest qualifier, ripping off a 16.485 lap. Concord’s Bobby Thompson was second with a trip in 16.616. Bennett drew a No. 2 pill for the inversion, leaving both on the front row, but giving the pole to Thompson, who took full advantage. He bolted from the pack with the drop of the green and continually extended his lead until he led by a dozen car lengths before a lap 19 caution brought the pack together for a restart. Thompson was undeterred, however, and pulled away once again. Class points leader Wolfe, who started sixth, shot his way through the field, and passed Bennett for second down the back stretch on lap 28 of the 35-lapper. Bennett finished third followed to the finish by Joe Jenkins of Spout Springs and Mike Ayers of Fincastle.

Buchanan’s Danny Bryant started on the pole in the 25-lap Pure Stock feature and immediately seized a lead that he would not relinquish, though there was certainly a flurry of action in the 17-car field amassed behind him. Waynesboro’s E.J. Campbell made his NBS debut a good one as he ran second and third much of the race and finished a strong second. Evergreen’s Todd Garrett made arguably the strongest run of the night as he started 16th and maneuvered his way to a third-place finish. Tommy Adams and Coray Brown finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

The 20-lap Any Car feature presented two exciting outcomes. Glasgow’s Franny Robinson started on the pole and posted his first-ever feature with flag-to-flag-dominance. Amherst’s Mike E. Bryant finished third and Lexington’s Derrick Ayers ran fifth, which moved the two drivers into a dead-even tie for first in the class points race headed into the season’s final month. Lexington’s Chris Nicely finished second Saturday night, and Brian Newton rolled home fourth.

This Saturday’s show will feature a 30-lap Any Car feature. Gates will open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to drop at 6:30 p.m.

August 21, 2006

                               Natural Bridge Speedway release for August 19-20 action

Even the rain could not stop the fun last weekend at Natural Bridge Speedway.

The show got started on Saturday night, but a fast-arriving shower forced the action to be red-flagged, but drivers and fans returned Sunday afternoon to cap off an exciting double dip of dirt track excitement.
A veteran Late Model pilot earned his eighth win, the most by any NBS driver this season. A veteran Sportsman driver saw his three-race winning streak end while a rookie Street Stock wheelman pushed his victory skein to two. Two other drivers recorded flag-to-flag wins, though neither came without a battle.

Covington’s Gerald Wolfe, Jr. found the Sunday afternoon track to his liking as he passed pole sitter Neil Murray of Buchanan for the lead on lap 3 of the 35-lapper and then displayed his skill through a series of late race restarts to claim his eighth victory of the campaign. The win extended Wolfe’s points lead over defending Late Model champion David Bennett to 17 with six weeks remaining in the racing season. By the midway point of the race, Wolfe led the entire field by at least ½ lap before a caution bunched the field together. On the lap 18 restart, Wolfe pulled away, but Bobby Thompson buzzed past Murray to snare second place. On lap 27, Murray suffered misfortune with a hard wreck going into turn three, which sent him to the pits for the remainder of the afternoon. On the lap 27 restart, Wolfe maintained his lead and Thompson held second, but Greg Robinson and Ricky Knight zipped past Mike Ayers to grab third and fourth, respectively. On lap 28, Knight squeezed past Robinson for third and held the position to the finish. Following Wolfe and Thompson to the checkers were Knight, Robinson and Ayers.

In the lone feature run to completion on Saturday night, Gary Argenbright of Madison Heights grabbed the Street Stock checkers for the second consecutive week. It marked the sixth win of the season for the red No. 7 Street Stock ride, which was steered to its four earlier wins by Concord’s Bobby Thompson, who now pilots the No. 7 Late Model machine. Earl Brooks, Jr. led the early laps of Saturday’s 25-lap feature before Argenbright, who started in the sixth position, completed his move to the point. By the end of lap 10, Brooks had dropped from contention, and class points leader David Brogan of Fincastle ran second behind Argenbright with Lynchburg’s Tom Guthrie in the third position. A late caution forced a restart on lap 22, but Argenbright made a great run off turn four and held off the field to grab the checkers. Brogan and Guthrie finished second and third, respectively. Rounding out the top 5 were Ricky Higgins of Clifton Forge and Scott Hostetter of Lexington, who finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

The Sportsman class was running Saturday when the skies suddenly opened, forcing both the feature and the show to be red-flagged for the night. On Sunday afternoon, the 25-lap Sportsman feature was begun again from its beginning. Before the first lap was completed, pole sitter and class points leader and defending champion Chris Barger of Buena Vista slid high through turn four and hit the guard rail, causing his machine to sustain considerable damage. As the Barger crew worked feverishly to get the car in condition to at least complete the lap necessary to record points, Terry Dame of Natural Bridge thundered to the lead of the pack with Lexington’s Shad Cooper and Shipman’s Mike Bryant in hot pursuit. Closing on the front-running trio was Tim Stalnaker, who had won the previous three Sportsman features. Just past the midway point, Bryant appeared to develop a handling problem and dropped back to fourth, but did an admirable job of keeping his car rolling and in contention. Dame never let up, however, and roared to the checkers for his third win of the season. Cooper finished second; Stalnaker claimed third; Bryant hung on for fourth and Barger eked out fifth-place points. Just 14 points separate class points leader Barger and fourth-place Stalnaker. Cooper stands second, eight points behind Barger and one marker ahead of third-place Bryant. Dame is fifth in the points, eight points behind Stalnaker.

Brian Rhodes and Todd Garrett started on the front row of the Pure Stock feature, and the duo remained up front throughout the race in spite of the multitude of cautions caused by banging and beating behind them. Rhodes was pressured by Garrett throughout the competition, but the Evergreen pilot was unable to get past the No. 10 ride and was forced to settle for second for each of the race’s 25 laps. Danny Bryant and Toby Stalnaker spent nearly the entire race in the top 5 with the Natural Bridge Station driver wheeling his red No. 1 home third, and Bryant bringing his No. 25 to the finish line in fourth. Division points leader and defending champion Ricky Mayberry of Spout Spring recovered from an early caution and worked his way from the back of the field to a fifth-place finish.
The cream rose to the top in the Any Car feature as the top four drivers in the points standings comprised the top 4 finishers in Sunday’s 20-lapper. Roseland’s James Campbell led flag-to-flag to grab his fourth win of the season, but he had no choice but to bump into the rear bumper of a slower car at the finish line in order to hold off hard-charging Mike E. Bryant of Amherst by scant inches. The closest points battle of the season at NBS grew even tighter as Bryant’s second-place finish allowed him to pick up one point on points leader Derrick Ayers of Lexington, who celebrated his 26th birthday by finishing third on Sunday. Ayers now leads Bryant by two points with six races remaining. Lexington’s Jamie Wright, who stands fourth in the points, finished fourth in Sunday’s 15-car field. Kenneth Sloan of Lexington started ninth and finished fifth.

Bill Rice of Schuyler, who drove a Sportsman machine at NBS in the late 1970s, claimed victory in the Virginia Sprint Series 25-lap feature.

A 35-lap Street Stock feature will highlight Saturday night’s show. Gates will open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to drop at 6:30 p.m.

July 30, 2006

KNIGHT’S MIRACLE CONTINUES TO UNFOLD WITH
LATE MODEL VICTORY; STALNAKER DOMINANT IN SPORTSMAN
FITZGERALD, BRYANT AND MARTIN TAKE CHECKERS, TOO
AT NATURAL BRIDGE (Va.) SPEEDWAY SATURDAY NIGHT

One Late Model driver’s living miracle became even more miraculous last Saturday night at Natural Bridge Speedway as he made a most unlikely trip to Victory Lane.
Three veterans added to their season total of victories, and an Amherst rookie took over the points lead in the Any Car class with his third win of the season, out dueling a feisty and competitive 24-car field to grab the checkers.

In late May 2005, Late Model pilot Ricky Knight was involved in a devastating accident on his way home one Saturday night from the speedway in which another vehicle crossed the center lane and hit Knight’s truck head-on, sending the affable Gladstone veteran into months and months of painful hospital stays and grueling physical rehabilitation. Throughout this difficult time – a time when some questioned whether he would survive at all – Knight, buoyed by the prayers, cards and support of his NBS fans, insisted that not only would he visit the track before the end of the 2005 season, but he had every intention of walking and returning to the driver’s seat of his No. 39 Late Model machine during the 2006 campaign. 

He made his goal of visiting fans at the track in the fall of 2005, but most who saw him then gave him little chance of ever taking a green flag again. On June 17 he brought a smile to the face of the most hardened cynic among local race fans when he and his No. 39 returned to Late Model action at NBS. In his second race back, he ran a strong third and followed that up with a runner-up finish in his third outing. He added another second on July 23, but he absolutely brought the crowd to its feet with his victory last Saturday.

It was not just the victory that impressed folks, but it was the way he had to dig to get it that added to the response afforded him by NBS race fans and his fellow competitors. During Saturday’s qualifying, Knight spun out and, as a result, posted no time and was relegated to the rear of the 10-car field for the taking of the green. Covington’s David Bennett led the first six laps of the 35-lap feature before he suddenly slowed going down the backstretch. Joe Jenkins spurted by to take the lead and Concord’s Bobby Thompson to jump into second while class points leader Gerald Wolfe, Jr. bumped into Bennett’s rear deck and came away in third position.

Wolfe soon passed Thompson for second and seized the point when Jenkins spun out between turns one and two. Neil Murray, Thompson and Mike Ayers ran second, third and fourth, respectively with Knight sneaking into the top 5 for the first time. Just a couple of laps later, however, Knight spun out and was forced again to the rear of the field on the caution.

But the Gladstone veteran would not be denied as he began an inexorable move through the field and had moved into third place behind Wolfe and Bennett for a lap 27 restart. Knight passed Bennett out of the restart to grab second. A late caution set up a green/white/checkers finish. On the lap 34 restart, Wolfe drifted high in turn three of lap 34 and Knight bolted to the lead and maintained his sprint to the checkers. Bennett ran second followed to the finish by Wolfe, Murray and Ayers. Wolfe was the Late Model quick qualifier, ripping off a qualifying time of 16.575 seconds, which nosed out Bennett’s 16.634 lap.

Sportsman pilot Tim Stalnaker had the 16-car field covered from start to finish despite seeing his huge lead dwindle in the face of several late-lap restarts. Each time the field bunched up for a restart, Stalnaker drove away from the field again on his way to what can only be termed a dominating win as the Natural Bridge pilot led all 50 laps. Gladstone’s Ricky Well posted a strong second-place performance. Lexington’s Shad Cooper, who had missed the previous race due to vacation, finished third and chipped 10 points off of Chris Barger’s division points lead. Barger’s machine suffered overheating problems and was forced into early retirement. The defending class champion still maintains a 10-point lead over second-place Cooper and a 13-point lead over third-place Mike Bryant of Shipman in the points tussle. Finishing fourth and fifth in Saturday’s 50-lapper were Terry Dame and Mark Brown, respectively. Barger did earn the quick qualifying bonus by turning a qualifying lap of 17.845, barely eking past Stalnaker’s qualifying circuit of 17.868.

Lexington’s Troy Fitzgerald became the driver with the most wins in the 2006 NBS season when he sizzled around the dirt circuit to pick up his seventh Street Stock win of the season. Gary Argenbright, Jr. led the first half of the 25-lap feature before Fitzgerald was finally able to pass him for the lead, which he was able to protect to the checkers. Completing the top 5 were Tony Knicely, Amherst’s Stephen Campbell and points leader and three-time defending Street Stock champion David Brogan of Fincastle.
Ronnie Martin, Jr. returned well-rested from a week of vacation and totally dominated the 25-lap Pure Stock feature. Starting on the front row of the 14-car starting grid, martin powered to the lead at the drop of the green and maintained a comfortable working lead throughout the feature. There was much dicing and passing behind Martin, however, as the Pure Stock pilots put on quite a show for the large crowd. Points leader Ricky Mayberry of Spout Spring rolled home second and stands first in the points race by 37 tallies in defense of his 2005 Pure Stock crown. Buchanan’s Danny Bryant ran a strong third and was followed to the finish by Jennings Vest and Todd Garrett.
Mike E. Bryant emerged victorious in a wild Any Car feature marked by numerous cautions and colliding cars. Bryant seized the class points lead by a single tally over Derrick Ayers of Lexington, who was caught in a late wreck and finished 15th in the 24-car field. Lexington’s Chris Nicely racked up his second consecutive runner-up finish. Kenneth Sloan rolled home third followed by William Beavers and James Campbell of Roseland.

Nancy Pollard rolled to her second consecutive Powder Puff victory of the season.
This week’s schedule will highlight a 35-lap Street Stock feature. Kids 12-and-under will be allowed to visit in the pits between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. if they are accompanied by an adult. Gates open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to drop at 6:30 p.m.

July 1, 2006       

HOST OF VETERANS CLAIM CHECKERS AT NATURAL BRIDGE (Va.) SPEEDWAY

 

None of the five winners during Saturday night’s holiday weekend show at Natural Bridge Speedway had any difficulty finding Victory Circle – they had all been there before.

Natural Bridge veteran Tim Stalnaker made it two in a row as he demonstrated the value of his experience, winding his way through traffic on his way to grabbing the checkers in the Lee’s Auto Repair 40-lap special feature. Street Stock pilot Troy Fitzgerald also made it back-to-back wins with a convincing victory in his class’s 25-lap feature. Lexington’s Coray Brown picked up his third win of the campaign in the Pure Stock class. In a classic battle with division points leader Gerald Wolfe, Jr., Late Model driver Larry Ramsey, who has multiple victories over his years at NBS, picked up his first Spencer Home Center Late Model win of the 2006 season in his fourth start of the year. Any car class points leader Derrick Ayers drove right through the middle of two spinning cars on the last turn of the last lap of the any car race to claim his second win and solidify his hold on the points lead.

Buena Vista’s Chris Barger entered Saturday night’s 40-lap Sportsman showdown with a narrow one-point lead over Lexington’s Shad Cooper. Barger picked up a $50 bonus by recording the fastest qualifying time, touring the oval in 17.93 seconds, nosing out Gladstone’s Ricky Wells and Stalnaker, who clocked qualifying laps of 17.96 and 17.99, respectively. Barger drew a No. 3 pill for the inversion, so he started third. Wells started on the front row along with Terry Dame, the fourth quickest qualifier. Stalnaker was assigned to the sixth starting slot as he had won the previous feature in the class.

Dame led the 13-car pack for the first 29 laps. Barger ran second until Stalnaker, who had worked his way steadily toward the front, passed him. Stalnaker finally ran down Dame and passed him on the high side out of turn 4 on lap 30. Disaster struck Barger on lap 38 when a huge puff of smoke billowed from beneath his machine, sending it to the pits for an early exit from competition and a 10th place finish. Cooper rolled home sixth and now holds a three-point lead over Barger in the points race. Dame, who finished second, remains third in the points. Wells finished third Saturday night. Shipman’s Mike Bryant finished fourth and stands fourth in the points. Stalnaker solidified his grip on fifth in the points with his third win of the season. Waynesboro’s Mark Brown completed Saturday’s top 5.

Street Stock points leader and three-time defending division points champion David Brogan of Fincastle was in control of his race until the midway point when a broken control arm sent him to the pits for the night. Fitzgerald, who had started sixth and moved quickly through the field to second behind Brogan, assumed the point when Brogan left the track. Lynchburg’s Tom Guthrie, who celebrated his 66th birthday on Monday, put pressure on Fitzgerald, but was unable to deny the Lexington driver his fourth win of the year. Guthrie’s runner-up finish coupled with Brogan’s misfortune, pulled the Lynchburg veteran within 17 markers of Brogan’s points lead. Rounding out Saturday’s Street Stock top 5 were Ricky Higgins, Scottie Hostetter and Skye Reynolds, respectively.

Perhaps it was a daring move early in the race that proved most beneficial to Coray Brown on his way to a Pure Stock win. On lap 2 Brown made a slick high-to-low move into and out of turn 4 that moved the Lexington driver from fifth to second. By lap 6 Brown had passed Sandy Sale for the lead and was never seriously challenged thereafter. Jennings Vest had his strongest run of the season, rolling home with a second-place finish. Points leader and defending Pure Stock champion Ricky Mayberry of Spout Spring overcame having to start 15th in the 15-car field to finish third. Lexington’s Fred Clark made it two consecutive top 5 finishes with his fourth-place run. Evergreen’s steady Todd Garrett finished fifth, which moved him into second place in the points heap behind Mayberry.

In his first three Late Model starts of the NBS season, Larry Ramsey had battled all manner of mechanical difficulty. Saturday night the Lexington veteran and his crew got it right, and the orange-and-blue No. 90 machine hooked up in a thrilling back-and-forth battle with the familiar blue-and-white No. 23 ride of Gerald Wolfe, Jr. The two started side-by-side on the front row and spent a great deal of the race’s 35 laps pretty close to that same side-by-side position. The two veterans swapped the lead on four different occasions before Ramsey finally wrested the point for good with a breathtaking pass between turns 3 and 4 on lap 24 of the 35-lap feature. Wolfe stretched his points lead over defending Late Model champion David Bennett, who finished fourth Saturday night, to seven points. Gladstone’s Ricky Knight continued his miraculous comeback from his near-fatal vehicular accident of a year ago with a stout third-place run. Fincastle’s Mike Ayers completed the Late Model top 5.

Though the 20-lap any car race was slowed by several cautions, the ending was spectacular. Roaring into the final two turns of the race, Kenny Shafer and Michael Demers battled for the lead with class points leader Derrick Ayers running third. Exiting turn 4 of lap 20, the machines of Shafer and Demers got together hard and spun wildly. As they parted momentarily, Ayers put the pedal to the metal and his car surged into the small space between the spinning cars, and the Lexington driver sprinted to the checkers for his second win of the year. Joe Bryant also got through the metal carnage to finish second.

A 30-lap any car feature and a Powder Puff feature will highlight this Saturday’s show. Gates open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to drop at 6:30 p.m.

June 19, 2006

CAMPBELL, FITZGERALD, MARTIN THOMPSON, STALNAKER GRAB WINS AT NATURAL BRIDGE (Va.) SPEEDWAY
 

By Doug Chase

A classic any car feature that saw a five-car train battle it out in a race to the checkers highlighted last Saturday’s show at Natural Bridge Speedway on a night that saw the winners of all five features work their way through their respective fields to victory.

Often the any car feature is marked by multiple metal-mashing cautions and domination by a car or two, but last Saturday’s 20-lap nightcap provided NBS fans with competition that had them buzzing with excitement as they headed for the exits.

Lexington’s Jamie Wright started on the outside of the front row and broke to the lead on the opening lap. Giving the fans a view of things to come, Roseland’s James Campbell started 12th in the 15-car field, but worked his way to the fifth position after the initial circuit. By the end of lap 5, four of the five cars that would provide the thrills had moved into a bumper-to-bumper train with Wright leading the way followed by points leader Derrick Ayers of Lexington, Campbell, Brent Baker and Francis Robinson. Campbell passed Ayers and then passed a slower car high down the backstretch to pass Wright, who was passing the slower car on the low side, to take the lead. Campbell maintained the lead to the checkers, but not without holding off a stout challenge from Wright in the waning laps. Ayers was also a car length behind Wright at the finish to take third. Baker was a car length back in fourth with Roy Reaves of Coleman Falls making a late rush to claim fifth. Campbell moved into second place in the points behind Ayers with his victory.

Gary Argenbright’s lap of 19.75 seconds just nosed out Lexington’s Troy Fitzgerald’s 19.81 circuit for the $50 bonus for the Street Stock quick qualifying time, but Fitzgerald took the big prize as he exploded from his sixth-place starting position and rolled to his second consecutive win by grabbing the checkers in the 40-lap Street Stock feature. Fitzgerald moved into fourth place on lap 2, third place on lap 5, second place on lap 7 and took the lead for good on lap 11. Stephen Campbell of Amherst led the first 10 laps and ran second for the final 30. Fincastle’s David Brogan ran third and regained the division points lead in his quest for a fourth consecutive points title. Argenbright finished fourth and Ted Miller rolled home fifth.

Bobby Thompson powered to his second win in three Spencer Home Center Late Model outings. The Concord driver had also claimed four earlier victories in Street Stock competition, giving him a track-leading six victories for the 2006 campaign. Thompson started on the second row and made a great start, moving quickly to the point. Fincastle’s Mike Ayers ran a strong second. Covington’s Gerald Wolfe, Jr. started sixth and finished third, extending his class points lead to five over 2005 Late Model champion David Bennett, who finished fifth Saturday night. Millboro’s Timmy Simmons fashioned a strong fourth-place run. Gladstone pilot Ricky Knight received a roaring ovation from the crowd as he made his first Late Model start in over a year after recovering from a horrendous accident that occurred over a year ago as he was returning home from the speedway.

After experiencing several weeks of bad luck, Natural Bridge’s Tim Stalnaker finally saw things go his way in the 25-lap Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman feature as he roared his way through the field after starting 8th in the 10-car starting grid to earn his second feature win of the season, which moved him into the fifth position in the division points battle. Gladstone’s Ricky Wells, who started beside Stalnaker in the fourth row, zoomed to the front and grabbed the lead on lap 4 and held it through lap 8 with Terry Dame running second. Stalnaker passed Chris Barger for fourth on lap 7 and squeezed past Shad Cooper for third on the following lap. After trouble sent Wells to the pits, Stalnaker passed Dame on the backstretch for the lead at the race’s midpoint and then held him off in the battle to the checkers. Cooper finished third with Barger coming home fourth. Mark Brown of Waynesboro ran a strong fifth. Barger’s points lead over Cooper dwindled to a single marker.

Just when it looked as though Ricky Mayberry would run away and hide in defense of his 2005 Pure Stock championship, bad luck has bit the Spout Spring veteran two weeks in a row. After contact with other machines derailed his efforts the previous weeks, a broken rear end incurred in practice this past Saturday relegated Mayberry to just rolling around trying to get as many points as possible. Buena Vista’s Ronnie Martin, Jr. took advantage of Mayberry’s misfortune and wheeled his No. 15 to its second win of the season, which allowed him to cut Mayberry’s division points lead from 20 to 11 as Mayberry finished ninth in the 13-car field. Will Slagle led the first seven laps before Martin, who started seventh, took the lead down the backstretch of lap 8. Evergreen’s Todd Garrett made a late pass of Slagle to finish second, cementing his hold on third place in the points standings. Fred Clark and Seth Whorley finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

This Saturday night will feature a 40-lap Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman race and the second of the season’s Powder Puff events. Gates will open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to drop at 6:30 p.m.

June 12, 2006

WOLFE, FITZGERALD, BARGER REPEAT; BRYANT, WHORLEY WIN FIRST THIS YEAR
AT NATURAL BRIDGE (Va.) SPEEDWAY

A heavy, tacky, fast track greeted the large field of drivers who competed at Natural Bridge Speedway last Saturday night, and the pilots in the various classes took advantage of the dirt’s sure grip to provide the enthusiastic throng with a series of highly competitive races.

Changes occurred at the top of the points battles in three of NBS’s five classes. Two drivers won for the first time this season while three others have now grabbed multiple checkers after their wins last Saturday night.

Larry Ramsey posted the quick qualifying time in the Spencer Home Center Late Model class. The veteran Lexington driver circled the 3/8-mile dirt oval in 16.14 seconds to edge out Gerald Wolfe, Jr. and Mike Ayers, who ran qualifying laps of 16.40 and 16.42, respectively, for the quick time. Ramsey drew a three pill for the inversion, which put Ayers on the pole and Wolfe on the outside of the front row and Ramsey on the second row of the starting grid for the 35-lap feature.

Wolfe, who started the night in a tie for the class points lead with fellow Covingtonian David Bennett, jumped to the lead shortly after the green flag waved. Ramsey had motored into the second slot behind Wolfe while Ayers ran third with Concord’s Bobby Thompson rolling in the fourth position and Millboro’s Timmy Simmons completing the top 5 after 10 laps. However, Ramsey’s machine locked up in turn four of lap 11 and was forced to retire to the pits for the night. Wolfe continued to lead with Ayers running second. Buchanan’s Neil Murray was running a strong third until a late caution ended his good fortune. For the second consecutive week, Bennett recovered from a poor qualifying effort and worked his way from his ninth-place starting position to a third-place finish. Thompson nosed out Spout Spring’s Joe Jenkins for fourth. Wolfe now leads Bennett by three points.

Buena Vista’s Chris Barger picked up his fourth win of the 2006 campaign with a sterling performance in the Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman class 25-lap feature. The defending class champion started ninth in the 12-car starting grid, but had moved into the top five after seven laps. Gladstone’s Ricky Wells started on the pole and led the first 20 laps while Lexington’s Shad Cooper, who entered the race with the class points lead, battled with Barger, who entered the race second in the points tussle, for the runner-up slot. On lap 20, Tim Stalnaker caught and passed Cooper for third place. On lap 21 Wells spun out between turns three and four and Barger grabbed the lead as Tim Stalnaker ran second and Cooper third. The trio crossed the finish line in that order with Terry Dame of Natural Bridge finishing fourth and Ken Nelson, Jr. completing the top 5.

Pure Stock pilot Seth Whorley of Amherst returned to action from a short layoff in exemplary fashion by rolling to a flag-to-flag win in a strong 17-car, 25-lap feature. In the early going Lexington’s Fred Clark was all over Whorley’s bumper before being forced to retire with mechanical problems. By lap 13, class points leader and defending champion Rick Mayberry had wheeled his black-and-white No. 11 to the rear deck of Whorley’s No.00 ride. At the end of lap 14, Mayberry and Buchanan’s Danny Bryant got together at the line and were forced to the rear of the field as a result of the caution. This allowed Lexington’s Coray Brown, who had started sixth, to move into second place behind Whorley. Brown, who was in pursuit of his second consecutive win, put tremendous pressure on Whorley, but was unable to pass the Amherst driver. Buchanan’s Gerald Hostetter had a tremendous third-place run after starting 12th. Mayberry battled back to a fourth-place finish, and Evergreen’s Todd Garrett finished fifth.

After battling engine problems throughout the early weeks of the season, Troy Fitzgerald returned to form and claimed his second win of the season in the 25-lap Street Stock feature. The Lexington veteran started on the front row and led all 25 circuits, though the venerable Lynchburg pilot, Tom Guthrie, put a late-race rush on Fitzgerald, pulling alongside a couple of times in the last two laps before falling back and finishing second. Guthrie, however, did regain the class points lead by a single marker over Fincastle’s David Brogan, the class’ three-time defending champion, who finished fourth after having to go to the rear after spinning out and bringing out the caution. Skye Reynolds finished third Saturday night, and Amherst’s Stephen Campbell came home fifth.

Michael E. Bryant of Amherst celebrated his 26th wedding anniversary by presenting his wife with his first win and trophy as the victor in the 20-lap any car feature. Bryant took the lead on lap 7 and was dominant for the final 13 laps as the rest of the field battled furiously in his wake. Lexington’s Derrick Ayers expanded his class points lead by rolling home second. Gary Argenbright finished third. Daniel Peery and James Campbell finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Ashland’s Mike Tolley led the 22-car field in the Virginia Sprint Car Series to the checkers to earn his first career VSCS victory in the second of five appearances this season by the open-wheel cars at NBS. The sprint cars will return to the speedway on July 22.

This week there will be a special 40-lap Street Stock feature at NBS. Gates will open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to drop at 6:30 p.m.

June 5, 2006

Natural Bridge Speedway release for June 2, 2006 action

POINTS BATTLES SEE ALMOST AS MUCH PASSING AS RACES AT NATURAL BRIDGE (Va.) SPEEDWAY

Passing not only occurred on the 3/8-mile dirt oval at Natural Bridge Speedway last Saturday night; it also occurred at the top of the points race in four of the speedway’s five classes.

Evergreen’s Todd Garrett won the $50 bonus from Short Hills Mechanical Heating & Air Conditioning by wheeling his No. 24 machine to the quickest Pure Stock qualifying lap, circling the track in 20.22 seconds, barely edging out class points leader and defending points champion Ricky Mayberry of Spout Spring, who ran his qualifying lap in 20.25. Garrett also drew a No. 1 pill for the inversion, so he started on the pole, too, with Mayberry starting beside him on the front row for the evening’s special 30-lap Pure Stock feature.

Mayberry took the lead on the first lap and ran strong as the field swapped and switched places behind him. By lap 9, Lexington’s Coray Brown, looking to make it two Pure Stock feature wins in a row, had wheeled his red-and-white No. 9 to second place. Garrett continued to run a strong third and on a couple of occasions pulled alongside Brown, but was never able to get by him into second again.

By the end of lap 20, Mayberry and Brown had settled into a two-car shootout with Brown looking to pass high and low, and Mayberry making his black-and-white No. 11 as wide as he could. Buchanan’s Danny Bryant had moved into third by that time with Garrett running fourth and Toby Stalnaker cruising in the fifth slot. As the laps wound down, Brown continued to try to get past Mayberry, and Mayberry continued to shut the door.

Finally, on lap 28, Brown’s machine gave Mayberry’s ride a nose-to-tail nudge in between turns one and two that caused Mayberry’s machine to slide high on the dry track as Brown stormed by with the race-deciding pass on his way to grabbing his second consecutive checkers.

Mayberry, Bryant, Garrett and Stalnaker followed Brown to the finish. Mayberry continues to hold a commanding points lead as he continues defense of his 2005 Pure Stock championship crown.

A flag-to-flag victory allowed three-time defending Street Stock champion David Brogan of Fincastle to return to the top of the class points standings after running second to Lynchburg’s Tom Guthrie in Street Stock points for the past couple of weeks. Brogan jumped to the lead from the drop of the green and never looked back in earning his second feature win of the campaign and first since opening night. Amherst’s Stephen Campbell had an impressive second-place run and pressured Brogan out of a couple of late-race restarts before Brogan was able to reestablish his strength and pull away. Guthrie finished third and now stands one point behind Brogan in the points race. Skye Reynolds and Chris Staton finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Bobby Thompson debuted his brand-new No. 7 Black Horse Racing Late Model machine Saturday night, and the Concord driver made it a coming-out party to remember by grabbing the lead from his front row start on the first lap and never letting go, leading every lap on his way to claiming the checkers in the Spencer Home Center Late Model 35-lap feature. Almost as impressive was Covington driver David Bennett’s powerful ride that saw him move through the 12-car field from his 11th starting position to finish second behind Thompson. Gerald Wolfe, Jr. finished third, giving Bennett a one-point edge for the night on Wolfe and moving the two veteran Covington pilots into a dead heat atop the Late Model points list. Fincastle’s Mike Ayers finished fourth, and Waynesboro’s R.E. Cubbage ran fifth.

The yo-yo activity atop the various class points battles extended to the Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman class, too. After starting on the front row of the 25-lap feature, Terry Dame of Natural Bridge led the first 12 laps before Lexington’s Shad Cooper grabbed the lead for a lap. Dame then regained the lead for a lap before Cooper nipped Dame at the flag stand for the lead just prior to a caution after lap 19. Following the restart, Cooper was able to hold off Dame, who was passed for second by Buena Vista’s Chris Barger right at the finish. Tim Stalnaker of Natural Bridge ran fourth, and Shipman’s Mike Bryant finished fifth. Cooper retook the points lead by a single point over Barger.

A week ago, Gary Argenbright finished first in the any car feature, but was disqualified for weight violations in his first appearance of the season. The Amherst driver got the weight problems straightened out and came back Saturday night and roared to a victory he can keep in the 20-lap any car feature. Lexington’s Derrick Ayers finished second and took over first place in the any car points race. Michael E. Bryant ran third, followed by Brandon Link and James Campbell.

The Virginia Sprint Car Series will make its second appearance of the 2006 season at Natural Bridge Speedway this Saturday night. Gates open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to drop at 6:30 p.m.


 

BROWN, CAMPBELL NET 1st 2006 CHECKERS; BENNETT, THOMPSON, BARGER REPEAT
AT NATURAL BRIDGE (Virginia) SPEEDWAY

Last Saturday night’s Memorial Day weekend show at Natural Bridge Speedway saw two drivers finding their way to Victory Lane for the first time in the 2006 racing season. Familiar faces raced to victory in the other three features on an evening marked by multiple cautions and metal-mashing action.

Roseland’s James Campbell persevered mightily in earning the checkers in the 30-lap $100-to-win any car feature. He survived a 360-degree spin in turn one of lap 1 and battled his way into second place after 16 laps, only to be forced to the rear on the next lap for his involvement in a caution-causing incident. Campbell roared back to the third position, following Gary Argenbright and Francis Robinson to the finish. However, both Argenbright and Robinson’s vehicles were disqualified for weight violations, and Campbell was declared the winner. Class points leader Jamie Wright extended his points lead with his runner-up finish. Amherst’s Michael E. Bryant ran third followed by Brandon Link and Brian Newton.

Lexington’s Coray Brown roared to his first Pure Stock victory of the 2006 campaign after finishing second twice earlier in the season. Brown passed Fred Giles, who had led the first six laps, on lap 7 and held off strong challenges from Giles, who finished third, and Buchanan’s Danny Bryant, who finished second. Buena Vista’s Ronnie Martin, Jr. finished fourth. Troy Fitzgerald, who normally drives in the Street Stock class, finished fifth behind the wheel of James Fitzgerald’s machine.

With his 90-year-old grandmother in the stands cheering him on, Buena Vista’s Chris Barger scored a flag-to-flag victory in the Lee’s Auto Repair 25-lap Sportsman feature. Barger held off a stout challenge in the last few laps of the feature from Tim Stalnaker, who rolled home second, to claim his third feature win of the year. Barger moved back into the class points lead with his win. He now leads Shad Cooper, who finished third Saturday, by a single marker. Natural Bridge’s Terry Dame and Galdstone’s Ricky Wells finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Sportsman feature.

Defending Spencer Home Center Late Model class champion David Bennett rolled to his third checkers of the year, pulling him back within a single point of class points leader Gerald Wolfe, Jr., who finished third Saturday. Fincastle’s Mike Ayers finished between the two Covington drivers. Spout Spring’s Joe Jenkins had a strong fourth-place showing, and Millboro’s Timmy Simmons finished fifth. Ayers and Wolfe battled mightily for second and third throughout most of the race, allowing Bennett to extend his lead.

Concord’s Bobby Thompson quickly wheeled his high-powered machine to the front of the Street Stock field and very nearly lapped the rest of the field in recording a dominating win – his fourth of the season. Three-time defending class points champion David Brogan of Fincastle came home second and pulled within two points of class points leader Tom Guthrie, who finished fourth Saturday night. Stephen Campbell of Amherst ran third, finishing between Brogan and Guthrie. Skye Reynolds finished fifth.

Tasha Johnson, who is the sister of Coray Brown, made it two wins on the night for their family as she claimed the checkers in the first 10-lap Powder Puff feature of the season.

A 30-lap Pure Stock feature will highlight this Saturday’s show. Gates will open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to drop at 6:30 p.m.

May 22, 2006

BROGAN’S TOP 5 STREAK ENDS; GUTHRIE VICTORIOUS WOLFE, JR., MAYBERRY, WRIGHT TAKE CHECKERS AGAIN ON DIRT AT NATURAL BRIDGE (Virginia) SPEEDWAY

Mechanical problems brought a remarkable streak of consistency to an end at Natural Bridge Speedway last Saturday night. Double disqualifications in one class coupled with those mechanical problems allowed the Bridge’s most venerable driver to both grab the checkers and move to the top of the points of the points just four days after saying good-by to his long-time racing partner.

Logjams atop the points heap in two other classes were broken while two other veteran drivers extended their points leads by racing to victory in their respective classes on a track that rolled in tacky and fast.

For 27 straight Street Stock races, 2003, 2004 and 2005 Street Stock champion David Brogan had finished in the top 5 of the weekly Street Stock feature. Early mechanical problems Saturday night forced the Fincastle driver to the pits for the good and ended a streak of amazing consistency that began on Sept. 4, 2004 and extended through every 2005 feature and through the first five 2006 Street Stock features.

With Brogan sidelined, Lexington’s Troy Fitzgerald and Concord’s Bobby Thompson put on a blazing display of bumper-to-bumper racing that saw Fitzgerald grab the checkers. For the second straight week, however, Fitzgerald’s machine failed to pass post-race inspection and was disqualified. This week, Thompson’s ride also failed to pass post-race muster and was also disqualified.

The double disqualification made 65-year-old Tom Guthrie the Street stock winner and the points he gained with his win moved him into first place in the Street Stock points battle by a slim margin over Brogan. Guthrie’s win was bittersweet as his longtime Lynchburg racing partner, Ray McIntosh, had died on the previous Tuesday after a lengthy illness.

After the Street Stock finishing positions were adjusted, Madison Heights drivers Keith Nelson, Skye Reynolds and Earl Brooks Jr. finished second, third and fourth, respectively. Amherst’s Stephen Campbell completed the top 5.

Covington’s Gerald Wolfe Jr. continued to display the mechanical prowess packed into his machine by his brother and crew chief, John, by moving quickly and decisively from his sixth starting slot to the lead on his way to victory in the Spencer Home Center 50-lap Late Model special feature. The win was Wolfe’s fourth in six outings this season and extended his points lead over defending class champion David Bennett to four.

Bennett won the $100 bonus put up by Short Hills Mechanical Heating & Air Conditioning by clicking off a sizzling qualifying lap of 15.66 seconds, less than one-tenth of a second off the track qualifying record, but ended up starting fourth after the subsequent inversion. Timmy Simmons of Millboro was the lucky pole-sitter after Bennett’s pill pull and took full advantage of starting up front as he held the point for the first 32 laps.

Finally, Wolfe ran him down and took the lead with a nifty pass between turns 3 and 4 on lap 33. Wolfe pulled away from the pack for the rest of the feature, but an interesting battle continued between Simmons and Bennett for second place with each passing the other a couple of times before Simmons rolled home second in front of third-place Bennett. Fincastle’s Mike Ayers finished fourth followed to the stripe by Ricky Almond of Madison Heights.

Seven cars ran nose-to-tail for much of the 25-lap Pure Stock feature, but defending class champion and point leader Ricky Mayberry of Spout Spring, who started sixth in the 17-car grid, moved to the front of the line on lap 14 and withstood challenges from a host of Pure Stock pilots to record his third win of the campaign, which he dedicated to McIntosh. Fred Giles of Stonewall ran a strong second for much of the feature before getting caught in some traffic late as Ronnie Martin Jr. surged by to take second place. Giles came home third, his best finish of the season. Evergreen’s Todd Garrett racked up his third consecutive top 5 finish by crossing the line fourth. Toby Stalnaker completed the top 5.

Gladstone’s Ricky Wells finally had some breaks go his way as he led flag-to-flag in claiming the checkers in the Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman 25-lap feature. Wells started on the pole and never looked back, surviving several restarts in claiming his first win of the season. Terry Dame of Natural Bridge also had a strong run, finishing second in front of Tim Stalnaker of Natural Bridge. Lexington’s Shad Cooper finished fourth, and Mike Bryant of Shipman recorded his fourth straight top 5 finish by coming home fifth. Buena Vista’s Chris Barger encountered problems in pursuit of his third consecutive victory. Cooper finished ahead of Barger, thus breaking their points tie and moving back into first place in the points race.

Lexington’s Jamie Wright broke a tie for first place in the any car points pyramid by rocketing to his fourth victory of the season in the 20-car any car feature. Wright now leads Derrick Ayers, who finished fourth, by four points in the points battle. Roseland’s James Campbell finished second Saturday night, and any car veteran Fred Clark returned to action with a third-place finish. Amherst’s Michael E. Bryant placed fifth.

Saturday night will feature the first Powder Puff feature of the season as well as a $100 to win 30-lap any car feature. Gates will open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to drop at 6:30 p.m.

May 14, 2006

Wolfe, Barger, Thompson, Mayberry And Wright All Take Repeat Visits To Victory Lane At
Virginia’s Natural Bridge Speedway

It was not necessary to provide directions to Victory Lane to any of last Saturday night’s five winners at Natural Bridge Speedway; they had all been there before.

Gerald Wolfe Jr. won his third Spencer Home Center Late Model feature of the young campaign; Bobby Thompson took the checkers in the Street Stock class for the third time this season, and Jamie Wright drove his No. 08 Any Car to its third victory of the year.

Two 2005 track champions picked up their second victories of the year in pursuit of defending their titles. Ricky Mayberry won his second Pure Stock feature of the season, and Chris Barger made it two consecutive feature wins in the Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman class.

Waynesboro’s Tom Humphries roared first to the checkers in the first of five appearances that the Virginia Sprint Car Series will make at NBS this season.

Wolfe started on the outside row, but quickly overtook pole-sitter Mike Ayers of Fincastle for the lead. Wolfe pulled away from the rest of the pack throughout, leaving the fiercest of battles for the second position. 2005 Late Model champ David Bennett started sixth, but had moved to third after passing Millsboro’s Timmy Simmons out of turn 2 on lap 13. Bennett chased Ayers for several laps before finally overtaking Ayers with a strong move out of turn 4 on lap 18. Bennett did his best to try to close the gap on his fellow Covington Late Model pilot, Wolfe, but the blue-and-white No. 23 displayed plenty of power in maintaining its lead and taking the checkers. Ayers finished third followed by David Sibold and Simmons, respectively.

Thompson and Lexington’s Troy Fitzgerald locked up in a breath-taking Street Stock battle that saw the two veteran drivers run side-by-side for 20 laps as the crowd roared its appreciation. Fitzgerald won a sprint to the checkers on lap 25, but was subsequently disqualified when the stroke measurement in his machine’s engine was found to be too long in post-race inspection, awarding the victory to Thompson.

Finishing second to the Concord driver was Fincastle’s David Brogan. Skye Reynolds of Madison Heights rolled home third followed by Lynchburg’s Tom Guthrie and Lexington’s Scott Hostetter, respectively.

Wright made it two wins in a row and three for the season in winning a highly competitive any car feature. Kenny Shafer and Michael E. Bryant started on the front row and held the top two positions for the first six laps of the 20-lap event as Wright worked his way toward the front from his sixth starting slot. By lap 6, Wright was on the rear deck of Shafer’s car and seized the lead coming out of turn 4 on lap 7, taking advantage of Shafer’s slight slide in turn 3. Wright kept the lead the remainder of the race. Bryant chalked up his second consecutive top 5 finish, following Wright to the flag. Roseland’s James Campbell ran third followed by Roy Reaves of Coleman Falls and Shafer.

Defending Pure Stock champion Mayberry usually has drawn starting positions far back in the starting grid, but last Saturday night saw him start on the pole. And the Spout Spring driver took full advantage of his good fortune, steering his black-and-white No. 11 to a flag-to-flag victory in the 25-lap feature. Though Mayberry was never seriously challenged for the point, there were plenty of thrills behind him among a host of drivers battling to round out the top 5. Lexington’s Coray Brown started 13th, but made a fine run through the field to finish second. Evergreen’s Todd Garrett notched his best finish of the campaign, placing third after starting from the 12th position. Toby Stalnaker of Natural Bridge Station completed the trio of drivers making long hauls to the top 5, finishing fourth after starting 14th. Buchanan’s Gerald Hostetter completed the Pure Stock top 5.

Saturday was certainly a memorable day for Buena Vista Sportsman driver Chris Barger, who graduated from Virginia Tech in the morning and celebrated his second consecutive NBS Sportsman win that night. Pole-sitter Michael Bryant of Amherst led the first several laps with Natural Bridge’s Terry Dame in close pursuit followed by Shipman’s Mike Bryant and Barger. On lap 13, Tim Stalnaker’s machine tapped the rear of Barger’s and then collided with Lee Brooks’ ride, putting the machines of Stalnaker and Brooks in the pits for remainder of the night. Dame passed Bryant for the lead out of turn 2 on lap 15. On lap 17, Bryant’s No. 20 machine slid high in turn 2, and the cars of Barger, Shipman’s Bryant and Shad Cooper sped by as Amherst’s Bryant regained control. With less than five laps remaining, Barger passed Dame for the lead out of turn 2, but the excitement was far from over. On lap 23, Dame passed Barger high in turn 3 for the lead, but Barger charged low to take the lead back in turn 4 – a lead he maintained to the checkers. Dame rolled home second followed by Shipman’s Mike Bryant, Cooper and Gladstone’s Ricky Wells, respectively.

The Virginia Sprint Car Series 10-lap qualifying heats were won by Dayton’s Jerald Harris and Franklin’s Charlie Ware, respectively. Humphries prevailed in the 25-lap sprint car feature after starting 13th in the 21-car field.

This Saturday’ show will feature the Spencer Home Center Late Model 50-lap feature and a practice session for the ladies planning to participate in the Powder Puff race on May 27. Gates open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to fall at 6:30 p.m.

May 6, 2006

BARGER TAKES 50-LAP SPORTSMAN THRILLER; LATE-LAP PASSES MARK OTHER FEATURES AT NATURAL BRIDGE (Va.) SPEEDWAY

Maybe there was something magic in the air last Saturday night at Natural Bridge Speedway.

Deep breaths and long exhales were the rule as three of the night’s six features offered fans leader changes during the race’s final two laps. Two other features provided fans with daring passes to the lead late in the race with hard challenges to the front-running machine continuing to the checkers.

Chris Barger, Danny Bryant and Jamie Wright, grabbed the checkers in the Sportsman, Pure Stock and Any Car features, respectively, by taking or regaining the lead in the final two laps of their respective races. Covington’s David Bennett started on the Spencer Home Center Late Model pole, but chased Buchanan’s Neil Murray for the first 20 laps of their 35-lap battle. Bennett then had to hold off Gerald Wolfe Jr. during the race’s last laps to grab the checkers to match Wolfe’s two wins in the young campaign. After starting ninth in the 16-car Any Car grid, Wright finally reeled in the leaders and took the lead for good on lap 24 on his way to his second win of the year.

Buchanan’s Danny Bryant staged a memorable pass of Lynchburg’s Sandy Sale, who had started on the pole and led from the green, shortly after a restart on lap 24 of the 25-lap Pure Stock event. After taking the green flag 10th in a 13-car Street Stock field, Concord’s Bobby Thompson moved steadily through the pack before he took the lead on lap 17 on his way to his second win of the season. Waynesboro’s Stephen Andes went flag-to-flag in the U-Car 15-lapper, which marked the first appearance for the front-wheel
At NBS.

In a taut battle between two second-generation Natural Bridge Speedway pilots, Buena Vista’s Chris Barger held off Lee Brooks of Madison Heights, who had grabbed the lead from Barger on a lap 49 restart, only to see Barger snatch the point back with a daring pass high in turn 2, setting up his sprint to the checkers for his first win of the campaign.

Barger, the reigning Sportsman champion at NBS, had won a $100 bonus for being the quick qualifier. Terry Dame of Natural Bridge, qualifying fourth in a field of 16 hopefuls, set the early qualifying standard, ripping off a 17.38-second circuit of the 3/8-mile oval. Taking the track as the 15th qualifier, Barger knocked Dame from the top of the qualifier list with a sizzling 17.28 lap. Barger then drew pill No. 3, which inverted the top 3 qualifiers, putting Brooks and Dame on the front row with Barger starting third in the 16-car grid.

With his qualifying victory, Barger became eligible for the additional $100 bonus made available by David Ruley of Lee’s Auto Repair, the sponsor of both the division and last Saturday night’s 50-lap Sportsman special feature.

Brooks led the Sportsman field for the first 20 laps before Barger charged to the lead, offering foreshadowing of what was to come by overtaking Brooks on the high side in turn 2 of lap 21. Barger ran at the point followed by Brooks, Shipman’s Mike Bryant, Lexington’s Shad Cooper and Lynchburg’s Walker Arthur Jr. With Barger threatening to run away and hide, a caution late in the race brought the cars together for a green-white-checkers restart. Brooks got a tremendous run and passed Barger low into turn 1 to take the lead by a nose, but Barger floored his machine and took the lead back in the next turn and then pulled away on lap 50 to grab the checkers and all the available bonus money.

Murray took advantage of his front row Late Model start and seized the lead early and held it through the first 19 laps of the feature, though Bennett, who had qualified on the pole with an extremely quick 15.85 trip, ran second in hot pursuit. Finally Murray slid a tad and drifted high between turns 1 and 2 on lap 20, and Bennett shot to the low side to take the lead. Wolfe Jr., who had started sixth, followed Bennett through the opening to grab second place and push Murray back to third. Wolfe was all over Bennett’s rear deck for the final 10 laps of the feature, but was unable to get past his fellow Covington driver. Fincastle’s Mike Ayers and Millboro’s Timmy Simmons completed the Late Model top 5.

For the second consecutive week, the Pure Stock competitors had the fans on their feet as they provided non-stop flag-to-flag action. Sale held the lead for the first 23 laps, which help him to stay clear of the car-spinning cautions behind him. Bryant ran second for the first 20 trips round the oval in the 25-lap feature before Spout Spring’s Ricky Mayberry, who started 10th in the 17-car field and adroitly drove through an early-lap metal melee, took the position behind Sale. Bryant, however, whizzed past Mayberry on the next lap.

A late caution set up another green-white-checkers restart, and Bryant made his daring move past Sale for the lead shortly after the green dropped. Sale finished second behind the victorious Bryant while Mayberry, Lynchburg’s Tom Guthrie and Amherst’s Stephen Campbell rounded out the Pure Stock top 5.

Before the large crowd had much of an opportunity to regain its collective breath following the Pure Stock feature, the Any Car field added some more thrills. Pole-sitter Michael E. Bryant of Amherst appeared poised to take his first career checkers as he led the first 18 of the race’s 20 laps. As it had all night, turn 2 was the site of the feature’s decisive lead change as Wright, who started ninth, took the lead from Bryant. Lexington’s Derrick Ayers followed Wright and finished second. Bryant finished third followed by Roy Reaves and James Campbell, respectively.

Guthrie started third in the Street Stock grid and took the lead early. Skye Reynolds of Madison Heights passed Guthrie for the lead. Meanwhile, Thompson was on the verge of completing his full move through the field, which he finally did on lap 17, surging past Reynolds out of turn 4 with the conclusive pass. Three-time defending division champion David Brogan of Fincastle finished third after having been relegated to the 12th starting position. Guthrie ran fourth and Amherst’s Stephen Campbell rolled home fifth.

Andes led flag-to-flag in grabbing the checkers in the first appearance of the U-Cars at NBS. Stuarts Draft drivers’ Steve Campbell and Jeff Henderson finished second and third, respectively.

The Virginia Sprint Car series will make its first appearance of the season Saturday night at The Bridge. There will also be racing in five regular NBS classes. The bicycle races for youths 11-and-under will continue, too. Gates open at 4 p.m. with cars scheduled to hit the track at 6:30 p.m.