Ashton continues streak at 85 Speedway
(4/16/2012)
by Dave A. Vance
The threat of unpredictable weather threatened races at 85 Speedway last Saturday, but track owner Roger Archer decided to press on and made the right choice. As the night went on, the threat of thunderstorms diminished and the high winds left drivers with a very fast track.
Johnny Ashton, an eight year race veteran, celebrated two wins in a row in the Cruiser division. His win Saturday marks his third A-Main win of the season with only four races into the 2012 season. After winning his heat race, Ashton started fourth in the A-Main and quickly moved into first place by the second lap. Jackie Sterling trailed Ashton until lap eight, but experienced transmission problems and dropped his driveshaft on the track. Dave Vance took over second and kept pressure on Ashton the remaining seven laps. Vance finished second and Dylan Forbes finished third.
Ashton leads 13 points over Dylan Fagan for the season.
Jack Sartain also celebrated two wins in a row in the IMCA Modified division. Sartain won his heat race and started fourth in the A-Main. By lap six, Sartain took over the lead from Matt Deaver and never looked back. Windle Gaston finished second and Jason Sartain finished third.
Hathcock maintains his season lead with only seven points over Gaston.
Kyle Bell was running strong and led the IMCA Southern Sportmod A-Main until lap eight when something let loose in his motor sending smoke down the track. A catastrophic engine failure put Bell out and Keith Nolen took over the lead after running second since lap four. Because each race is given a 20-minute time limit and a number of cautions used a lot of time, the race was called after lap 10. Nolen was declared the winner, Rickey Haney finished second and Jordan Boyd finished third.
With Nolen finishing ahead of Haney, Nolen closed the season point gap one less point. Haney leads the season with three points over Nolen.
Will Garrison won the Street Stock A-Main after finishing second the previous weekend. Garrison moved from second to take over first place from Chuck Flanery on lap six. Garrison led the remainder of the race. Jackie Hefti and Wes Milliorn finished second and third.
Garrison's win brought him one point closer to Hefti. Hefti leads the season five points over Garrison.
Kenny Garrett won the A-Main in his first Bomber division race of the season at 85 Speedway. Garrett passed Patrick Powers on lap seven to take the lead, but had to endure heavy pressure from Jake Culver by lap 10. Despite charging hard behind Garrett, Culver blew a right rear tire immediately after completing lap 12. Roger Huff finished second and Patrick Powers finished third.
Season point leader, Tim Brewer, blew his engine and placed 14th, but he continues to maintain the lead with 15 points over Drew Garcia.
Thomas Lunsford led the Jr. Mini Stock A-Main from start to finish. Mathew Lunsford was on his bumper most of the race and finished second. Twister driver Austin Woodcock was included in the race and trailed shortly behind Mathew until encountering problems on lap five. Troy Garrison crossed the finish line in third.
Thomas' win broke the season point tie between him and Mathew. Thomas leads by one point.
In addition to all regular race divisions, 85 Speedway will be featuring the Lone Star Dwarf Car Club and $1.00 hotdogs this Saturday. Gates open at 6:00 p.m. and racing begins at 8:00 p.m. Call 972-875-8500 or visit ennis85speedway.com for more information.
This article posted by Big O Speedway (FKA 85 Speedway). Click here for more track information.