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A large crowd was on hand this past Saturday night at East Lincoln Speedway to witness the running of the 6^th Annual Dave Watts Memorial Race. Extra money was on the line in all 6 divisions and the Limited Sportsman division featured a special all star race format. It was another great night of racing action as three feature races were decided on the final lap, two of which featured passes for the win in the final corner and one that was decided at the line in a photo finish.

The green flag for the Stock Four division signaled the start of the evening of racing. While Jeff Crump jumped out to an early lead after starting on the outside pole. However, Lee Oiler would take that lead from him on the exit of turn two on lap number two. Caution fell on the race track for an incident involving Calen Holden and Kenny Willet in turn three. Oiler remained the leader on the restart as last week’s winner Hank Kiefer and Jeff Crump battled for second. Meanwhile, Logan Sparks and Jennings Herman raced door to door for fourth. The two drivers had made contact earlier in the race and were racing hard for the spot. In the end it was 19 year old Lee Oiler taking home his 6^th win of the year. Kiefer had a strong run but was unable to pull off the back to back victories as he finished second. Jeff Crump beat out Blake Walker for third. Iron Station’s Collin Farar rounded out the top five.

Sixteen Micro Sprints lined up to take the green flag for the evening’s feature race. The #111 of Terry Peters started on the outside pole and looked to take the early lead. However, Peters was penalized for jumping the start twice and was sent to the rear of the 16 car field. The Peters penalty put points leader Darren Hasty and Virginian, Robert Clements on the front row. Hasty took the lead on the high side as Peters looked to make up lost ground. Slight contact was made between Brian Roseman and Ben Quinones, but both drivers managed to maintain control of their cars and the race stayed green. 2 laps after restarting last, Peters had now made his way up to the fifth position. A caution fell over the racetrack for a George Blaney spin. Hasty would restart first, but had severe damage on his wing. The damage to Hasty’s car ended his run at the win and allowed Clements to take the lead on the inside. Bryce Spence hit the wall on the frontstretch coming across the start finish line, but the race would stay green. The final restart of the night provided Peters, who had made his way back to second to restart on the bumper of Clements. However, Clements would have a great restart and take the win. Behind him, an incident occurred in turn 3 that involved Jackie Ziegler, Shawn McElroy and Robert Elms. Peters made up every spot he lost as he finished second. Brian Roseman beat out Darren Hasty for third. It was an impressive run for Nick Witt, who came from last to finish fifth. Witt, at 14 years young, was able to put together another solid run against arguably the strongest field the division has had this season.

Nine cars lined up for the start of the Open Wheel Modified division race. An early caution for a spin by Ryan Ayers would only be the start to a rough night for him. Kyle Strickler took the lead from polesitter Danny Bohn early in the race. Bohn attempted to pass Strickler on several late race restarts, but once Strickler was able to stake his claim on the sought after low line, he was able to show the strength his car had on long runs. “The High Side Tickler” Kyle Strickler would not look back as he would find victory lane yet again this season. In victory lane, Strickler thanked Bohn for racing him clean for the lead. Derrick Ramey had a solid run as he went on to finish third. Greg Brown and Ryan Ayers managed to overcome the damage on their cars to finish fourth and fifth respectively.

Jennings Herman and Randy Powell who are involved in a close battle for the Super Stock Four division points championship led the field to the green flag for the night’s race. It looked as if it would be a chance for Powell to build his lead over Herman as Herman went for a spin in turn four early on while racing for the lead. A caution fell as Josh Cook experienced a tough break as he found the wall. Later in the race, Arnold Propst and Swain Morris battled door to door for the race lead. Meanwhile, Herman found himself back in contention as he was racing three wide for third with Pechi Fiormanti and Randy Powell. As the white flag fell, Herman was racing side by side for the race lead with Arnold Propst when the two cars made contact sending both into the wall on the outside of turn two. The misfortune of the two leaders opened the door for fan favorite Gary “Pechi” Fioramanti and his three passengers to take the #2P Party Wagon to Victory Lane. Randy Powell finished second. Dylan O’Daniel overcame a duo of spins to finish third. Pechi’s son Angelo finished fourth. And Tony Palladino rounded out the top five.

The Renegade feature was the last event to precede the 6^th Annual Dave Watts Memorial race. Points leader and fan favorite Steve “Steve-O” Newsome started on the pole and took the early lead. Ronnie White was attempting to pull off the double as he ran the #08 Renegade this week in addition to his usual #87 Limited Sportsman division entry. Scottie Holden gave Mickey “Wee” Anderson all he could handle as the two raced hard inside the top five late in the race. A late race caution set up a green-white-checkered finish. Newsome led White to the green flag. White got a great restart, but Newsome was able to hold onto the lead. Taking the white flag, it was Newsome running first with a three car length lead over White. However, Newsome went in to the final corner a little too high and washed up the track. The two cars were door to door, beating and banging across the line with White winning the race by inches. The finish is captured on video and can be seen on the ELSvideo YouTube page. This was perhaps one of the closest finishes in track history. Coming from last to finish 3^rd was Jamie Major. Scottie Holden and Jason Boyd finished fourth and fifth respectively.

A special all star race format was in effect for the Limited Sportsman feature as the 6^th Annual Dave Watts Memorial race got underway. Earlier in the night Trace Childers won the Open Race to qualify into the main event. Segment one started with Jeff Graves on the pole. Graves won the pole earlier via setting the fastest lap in qualifying. Ronnie White, who won just minutes ago in the Renegade division’s photo finish, started second and pulled a textbook crossover move on White to take the lead. On the move was the #27 of Blane Huffman who had made his way up to fourth and was racing for third. Later in the race, Huffman suffered a flat tire and was forced to pit. Brandon White suffered a hard hit with the inside frontstretch wall after contact with last week’s winner Scott Freeman. Also having problems was the #44 of Jeff Graves who was forced to take his car pitside while running second. Jeff Mundwiler moved under White for the race lead on the final restart and went on to win segment one.

Brandon White made his way back on the track for segment two. All cars were put back on the lead lap for the final segment of the all star event. Due to a field inversion, Scott Freeman started outside Ronnie White on the front row. It was a rough night for Trace Childers, who was involved in several cautions after winning the Open Race. Late in the race, Brandon White had made his way to the inside of Scott Freeman as the two raced for 3^rd. The two got sideways and both cars made hard contact with the outside wall of turn two. It is probably safe to say the segment one incident played a role in how much room these two drivers decided to give one another as the race winded down. Ronnie White took the White flag and was looking for his second win of the night. White led going into the final turn. However, Jeff Mundwiler, who had run a relatively quiet race was waiting patiently behind White. This time White would be on the other end of the final corner pass for the lead. Mundwiler would go on to take the victory. Fans seemed to enjoy the upset victory as Mundwiler took home his first trophy of the year. And a big trophy that was as he and his team celebrated in victory lane. Finishing second was a disappointed Ronnie White. Tim Sigmon finished third. Blane Huffman and Keith Bowman both overcame earlier problems to finish fourth and fifth respectively.

It was a cool and crisp autumn evening of last lap passes and great racing action at East Lincoln Speedway. Fans witnessed great racing action. Mundwiler played the role of underdog and was the unsung hero as he took home the trophy of one of the most prestigious events of the year. Next week marks the return of the Legend Cars to East Lincoln Speedway & the Anthony Ritter Memorial race. Six divisions will take to the track for another weekend of “Lighting at the Lake.”

This article posted by East Lincoln Speedway. Click here for more track information.