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By: SMS correspondent, Michelle Sprague
“Rowdy” Edson Rowley III took another bow in the Corrigan Oil Winner’s
Circle. Humbly, he thanked the fans who show up every week to cheer the
competitors on and thanked the owner of Springport Motor Speedway, along with
the track employees, for keeping Springport a safe and fun place to race each
and every Saturday night. Rowley exemplifies a top class racer and showed why
he’s at the top of the points charts. Rowley took the Boss Snow Equipment Pony
Stock win, notching win number six out of six. Always gracious, you’d think each
and every win was his first. Lansing’s Brad Harbenski and Matt Vainner brought
the field down for the green, but by lap three, it was all Rowley, as he drove
up through the middle of the field from his 12th place starting position. James
Hammond, of Toledo, and Steve Wrenn, of Charlotte, gave chase, but Bill McBride,
of Lansing, made his way around the duo, and tried to reel in Rowley. Jerry
LaFontaine, of Gregory, and Todd Metz Sr., of Charlotte, were duking it out for
the third spot, as Hammond tried to hold off Eaton Rapid’s J.T. Leach and
Lansing’s Lex Jarecki. With a 9.8 second margin of victory, it was Rowley,
McBride, LaFontaine, Metz, and Hammond. Wrenn and Rowley tallied heat wins for
the evening.
The Pure Stock feature was slightly reminiscent of an Enduro, as eleven
cars started the feature, but only five remained, after 20 laps. Mt. Clemen’s
Jimmy Tucker went to the point after the drop of the green, battling with Larry
Surber Jr., of Jackson, and Charlotte’s Pastor Randy Royston. With four laps in,
Jackson’s Jeremy Lutz was sent caroming into the turn one wall, retired to pit,
and returned, in the shotgun position, for the restart. Lutz worked his way up
through the field, to sit in third behind, Dimondale’s Kyle Drake and Spring
Arbor’s Jonathan Smith. The big 3/8-mile track just wasn’t big enough for Drake
and Smith, as they got together, going into turn one, and both drove up to the
wall in turn two. Smith continued on while Drake went out on the hook. Smith
tacked on to the rear of the field, handing the lead over to Lutz who had been
riding in third. Lansing’s Ian Schafer and Tucker jockeyed for the second spot,
as Smith made his way around Royston, Tucker, and Schafer to take one last run
at Lutz. Lutz out ran Smith to the line, with Schafer, Tucker, and Royston
rounding out the top five. Tucker was the highest finishing front wheel drive
competitor.
The Performance Automotive NW Sportsmans division saw Leslie’s Ron Heeney
take the heat and feature win for the division. Mason’s Scott Sigman was going
for his fifth win out of six, and gave Heeney a run for his money. Running the
majority of the race tacked on to Heeney’s bumper, Sigman made one last attempt
to duck under Heeney on lap eighteen, but couldn’t quite get it done. Okemos’
Steve Oberst ran a solid third, while Charlotte’s Matt Kirchen and Leslie’s Dave
Thorburn rounded out the top five.
The Valvoline Instant Oil Change Modified division was sixteen strong at
the Springport Motor Speedway. Missouri’s Shawn Lee and Charlotte’s Dan Loughan
scored heat wins early in the program, while Horton’s Darel Woolsey led from
wire-to-wire for the 25-lap feature win. Charlotte’s Wayne Haughton gave chase
at the drop of the green, with Deubel challenging for the second spot. Deubel
got around Haughton and went after Woolsey, who had opened up a pretty good
lead, reeling him in by lap 10. The battle for third was hard fought as
Haughton, Jackson’s Earl Miles, and Eaton Rapids’ Jason Parish ran nose-to-tail,
with Miles and Parish trying to find a way around Haughton. At the line, it was
Woolsey, who dedicated the win to the memory of his father, Deubel, Haughton,
Miles, and Parish.
Please join us each and every Saturday night for family-friendly,
exciting racing action. The scheduled June 21st Superpro show has been postponed
and the Valvoline Instant Oil Change Modifieds will step into their slot, also
on the docket are the Performance Automotive NW Sportsmans, Pure Stocks, and
Pony Stocks. Saturday, June 28th, is Charlotte Auto Dealers Customer Night,
sponsored by the Charlotte Area Auto Dealers, featuring Performance Automotive
NW Sportsmans, Pure Stocks, Boss Snow Equipment Pony Stocks, and the VROA. As
always, we’ll see you at the races!
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