CORNING – A record total 145 cars showed up at the Adams County Speedway on Saturday night to end the 2017 season with the 20th running of the NAPA Auto Parts Tradition.
Five classes ran on Saturday night: the Midwest Fire Service B-Modifieds, Petersen Tire Compacts, TS Bank Modifieds, AgriVision Equipment Group Hobby Stocks and the Custom Diesel Drivers Training Stock Cars.
B-Modifieds, Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Stock Cars were all competing for lap bonus money that was awarded to the leaders of the halfway lap and lap 20 of their respective features. The Modifieds and Stock Cars paid $250 for lap bonuses. Hobby Stocks and B-Modifieds paid $150.
Ramsey Grinding also contributed to two bonuses. A hard luck award, in which drivers of all classes were eligible to receive, and a $100 mystery bonus that went to a hobby stock driver who finished in a pre-determined position.
B-Mods
Action began Saturday night with the Midwest Fire Service B-Modifieds, who were racing for $1,000 to win. Thirty-three drivers were in attendance. Josh Cooper, Jerod Weston, Jake McBirnie and Matt Webb picked up heat race wins. Kody Kline and Shawn Kralik won the B-Features to advance to the A.
Jerry Hinton and Kody Havens started on the front row. Hinton led the early laps of the race, holding off a charge from Josh Cooper. Defending Tradition champion Josh Sink quickly raced up from his ninth-place starting position up toward the front. Sink took the lead from Hinton around the halfway, bringing Matt Webb with him. Webb gave Sink all he could handle, but the Red Oak native held his line to collect the $1,000 payday. Webb finished in second, Johnathan Logue rallied from his 18th place starting position to finish third. Gunnar Pike and Jerry Hinton rounded out the top five.
Sink was the halfway leader and the lap 20 leader.
Compacts
Thirty Petersen Tire Compacts hit the dirt Saturday night with $600 at stake for the feature winner.
Bobby Key, Denny Berghahn Jr., Joe Baker and Tim Hovick won heat races. Dean Richards and Jonathan Kinser won the B-Features.
Berghahn quickly raced up to the front, bringing Key with him. Berghahn took the white flag twice only to have a caution come out before he could see the checkered flag. The third time was the charm for Berghahn, as he held off a hard charging Key to win his second consecutive tradition. Key finished second, Joe Baker, Chris Vannausdle and Curtis Miller rounded out the top five.
Modifieds
Thirty-one TS Bank Modifieds showed up Saturday night to race for $1,500 to win. Nick Roberts, Jake Hobscheidt, Trenton Jackson and Brian Foote won the heat races. Tyler Gross and Ryan Jenkins won the B-Features.
Tim Ward started on the front row for the A-Feature and quickly jumped out to over a 3-second lead over Hobscheidt. Hobscheidt managed to erase Ward’s lead. Hobscheidt appeared to make a pass for the lead with eight laps to go, but a caution came out and per rules, scoring reverted back to the last completed lap, making Ward the leader.
Ward hit his marks on the restart and picked up the win. Hobscheidt, despite his valiant effort crossed the line in second, but came across the scales 8 pounds light and was disqualified. Jeff James was officially scored in second place. Tim Karrick came home in third. Todd Van Eaton and Jeff Wiggins rounded out the top five.
Tim Ward was the halfway leader and the lap 20 leader.
Hobby stocks
Twenty-five AgriVision Equipment Group Hobby Stocks were in attendance to race for $1,000 to win. Luke Ramsey, Zach Olmstead and Ryan Vicker won the heat races, while all drivers made the A-Feature.
Jerid Lund and Jason Fusselman started on the front row, but Ramsey quickly jumped out to the lead. Ramsey took the lead into the halfway pit stop. His crew made the proper adjustments, allowing the Bedford native to hold off a hard charging Jeff Anderson despite a late-race caution to pick up his first ever Tradition victory. Fusselman, Chris Bates and Olmstead rounded out the top five.
Ramsey was the halfway leader and the lap 20 leader, while Jeff Anderson won the $100 Ramsey Grinding Mystery Bonus award.
Stock cars
Twenty-six Custom Diesels Drivers Training Stock Cars were in attendance for the 30-lap, $1,500 to win feature that consisted of a mandatory pit stop at lap 15. Dustin Reeh, Mike Nichols and Cody Clark won the heat races, while all cars made the A-Feature.
Tony Hardisty and Buck Schafroth started on the front row. Cautions plagued the early stages of the race as the yellow flag flew twice before a single lap was completed. Hardisty and Schafroth battled for the lead throughout the first half of the feature, while defending tradition champion Mike Nichols rallied from the 11th starting position up into the top three, overpowering Schafroth for second place at the halfway break.
Nichols quickly took the lead from Hardisty after the halfway stop, while bad luck plagued Schafroth as his night ended early due to mechanical trouble. While Hardisty and Nichols battled for the lead, Brad Derry rallied from his 20th starting position up into the top three. Derry then passed Hardisty and found himself all over the back bumper of Nichols, but Derry was unable to find a way around Nichols as the Harlan native held on for his second straight Tradition championship. Derry finished in second followed by Tony Hardisty in third; Dusty Van Horn in fourth and Dustin Reeh in fifth.
Hardisty was the halfway leader and Nichols was the lap 20 leader, while Schafroth won the $100 Ramsey Grinding Hard Luck award.