HESSTON – The PA Auto Locator 305 Sprints were added to the Hesston Speedway schedule at the last minute, and it was an addition Craig Robinson had to appreciate, taking his first win of the season at the Huntingdon oval.
Repeat winners included Mike Shoemaker in the limited late model special, Bill Henney in the street stocks and Joe Dearmitt in the Walters Auto Wrecking and Salvage Hobby Stocks.
In the limited late model special, John Hedge and Mike Duck led the field to the start, with Hedge taking the lead and Duck falling into second and Shoemaker a close third. As the top three were pulling away from the field no one was able to get the upper hand then on lap 22 the lapped car of Geoff Gill made contact with Hedge who collected Duck. Gill and Duck were out of the race, Hedge pitted and had to tail the field and Shoemaker assumed the lead.
On the restart, with eight laps remaining, Shoemaker was able to hold off the challenges from Randy Burkholder and Mike Altobelli to get his first point win of the season. The top five were: Shoemaker, Burkholder, Altobelli, Chase Billett and George Dixon Jr. Heat wins went to Mike Altobelli Jr. and Tim Smith Jr.
The sprints were added during the week and 25 drivers participated in the event with Craig Robinson and Joe Zap on the front row. At the initial waving of Gary Deem’s green flag Robinson took the lead and began to pull away from the field. Second was anyone’s race Zap, Rodge Irvine, Johnny Hagen, Ryan Lynn and Nathan Gramley all looking to advance their positions, but they weren’t able to catch Robinson until he caught lapped traffic and that tightened the field.
Robinson was able to work through the traffic, but second through sixth were closing in and still jockeying for the runner up spot, but when it was all done and said it was Robinson taking his first win of the season, holding off Irvine, Zap, Hagan and Lynn. Heat wins went to Mark Watkins, Nathan Gramley and Johnny Hagen.
The street stock feature saw Ken Singer and Bill Heffner on the front row with Singer leading the field into the first turn at the start. A quick red was thrown when Gary Morder went sailing off the first turn and into the weeds. He was not hurt and was able to drive the car back to the pits after being pulled from the area.
On the complete restart Singer again led the field into the first turn with Heffner was on his tail and hounding the leader who had to contend with Jarrett Walker. The top three were under the proverbial blanket when a slew of cautions began falling on laps two through five. Once the race got back to full song, Bill Henney was able to utilize the high side of the track to take the lead off from Singer and second place Heffner.
Henney brought Walker to second by lap ten and Heffner began to fade, but the scuffle for the top spot was close between Henney and Walker with Henney holding on for the win. Walker was second with Singer third, Mike Desch fourth and Heffner fifth. Cris Edwards Jr., Jarrett Walker and Bill Heffner split heat race wins.
Smokin’ Joe Hammers and Chris Chaney led the hobby field to the start with Hammers taking the lead and bringing Curtis Guyer to second. As the first lap was being completed, Curtis Heath moved into third but then dropped out with mechanical problems. Hammers continued to lead with Guyer second and Joe Dearmitt hounding both for the lead. On lap seven Dearmitt moved to second then took the lead on lap later. Charlie Walters then moved into second from his 10th starting spot and hampered Dearmitt’s attempts for another win, but Dearmitt held off the young charger for another win. The top five were Dearmitt, Walters, Hammers, Guyer and Lou Wayanns. Heat wins went to Joe Dearmitt, Brian Helsley and Curtis Guyer.
PIT NOTES: 88 cars were in the pits including 15 limited late models, 25 sprints, 25 street stocks and 23 hobby stocks… Coming up this week is the Wilma Gardner, Nancy Estep and Zack Kunsman Memorial Night Sponsored By LB Motorsports. The Pa 305 Sprints will be running a special with double points. The limited late models, street stocks and hobby stocks will also be in action with race time set for 7 p.m…Coming up on July 21 is the first annual Big Bob for the limited late models Special in memory of Bob Deem. The race will pay $1,500 to win…For more details and upcoming events check out the website at www.hesstonspeedway.com.
SUMMARY
Limited Late Models: 1. #8\” Mike Shoemaker; 2. #77B Randy Burkholder; 3. #79
Mike Altobelli; 4. #22 Chase Billet; 5. #77 George Dixon Jr.; 6. #66 Justin Kann;
#39 Tim Smith Jr.; 8. #19 Rance Garlock; 9. #39J Jeff Geake; 10. #37J Jim
Andrews; 11. #80E John Hedge; 12. #50 Jake Griffith; 13. #73 Mike Duck; 14. #55 Tom Barron; 15. #57G Geoff Gill
PA Auto Locator Sprints: 1. #16 Craig Robinson; 2. #12 Roger Irvine; 3. #33Z Joe Zap; 4. #3 John Hagen; 5. #21C Ryan Lynn; 6. #23 Nathan Gramley; 7. #4 Rodney Peters; 8. #11 Mike Freet; 9. #1 Brian Sweitzer; 10. #76 Andy Haus; 11. #99 George Riden; 12. #23J Dave Youtz; 13. #79 Mel Light; 14. #9 Ryan Hanson; 15. #55 Mike Wagner II; 16. #88 Jim Wentz; 17. #R6 Reed Thompson; 18. #17W Mark Watkins; 19. #6 Tim Kline; 20. #89 D.J. Holland; 21. #12J Bill Jones Jr.; 22. #68M Jim Moffett; 23. #22 Jim Marquette
Street Stocks: 1. #50 Bill Henney; 2. #65 Jarrett Walker; 3. #57 Ken Singer; ;4. #59 Mike Desch; 5. #64 Bill Heffner; 6. #66 Cris Edwards; 7. #8T Tom Williams; 8. #29 Mark Whitsel; 9. #13 Scott White; 10. #88 Khi Swanger; 11. #98 Terry Wyles; 12. #6M Matt Mellott; 13. #34 Chris Leonard; 14. #45 Tim Brindle; 15. #3 Chad Parks; 16. #7 Steve Thompson; 17 #21w Wes Miles; 18. #22 Jessie Snyder; 19. #24 Mike Dugay; 20. #15w Rob Wilkins; 21. #17s Mike Stiffler; 22. #5 Harry Smith; 23. #110 Dave Brown; 24. #87 Eric Irvin; 25. #151 Gary Morter
Walters Auto Wrecking And Salvage Hobby Stocks: 1. #21 Joe Dearmitt; 2. #42 Charlie Walters; 3. #29 Joe Hammers; 4. #8C Curtis Guyer; 5. #77 Lou Wyann; 6. #36K Chris Chaney; 7. #78 Brian Helsley; 8. #D16 Daren Desch; 9. #30 Russell Lightner; 10. #14 Bobby Witters; 11. #10 Jake Gongloff; 12. #8\” Jeff Shoemaker; 13. #32 Dale Claycomb; 14. #84D Damion Miller; 15. #81 Daren Lucas; 16. #73 Terry Norris; 17. #60 Bill Replogle; 18. #71 Curtis Heath