Adams Co. Speedway Hall of Fame grows

CORNING — Four new members were inducted into the Adams County Speedway Hall of Fame Saturday: Driver Larry Fudge, track contributor Bill Hayter, fan Marvin Lockwood, and track stalwart Ray Houck.

Family members from each honoree were on hand to accept the award is this second year of the Hall’s existence.

On track it was Jesse Dennis with win number nine and Jon Plowman right behind him picking up his eighth trophy of the year. Jason O’Brien opened up a slim seven-point margin over Chris Spieker by garnering his fourth win of the year while Kurt Hansen and Clay Mercer also made trips to Miller Lite Victory Lane on a hot August night. And Southwest Valley High School senior Buck Schafroth captured the Chat Mobility hobby stock King of the Hill.

Hobby Stocks

We all knew it was just a matter of time before Walnut, Iowa’s Kurt Hansen took his blue No. 75 Chat Mobility hobby stock to Miller Lite victory lane, and a hot August night set the stage as he moved from outside row four to pass Glenwood’s Tom Myers for the lead with five laps left in the feature. The top of the track was the fastest way around ACS on this particular evening and Hansen had it mastered.

Following Hansen was Myers finishing in second, Clarinda’s Andy Davison third, newcomer Chad LeGere from the east side of Des Moines in fourth, and Dusty Van Horn, Atlantic, in fifth. Point leader Jeremy Purdy finished sixth, giving up six of his 32 point lead over Davison Less than six-tenths of a second separated the top three finishers in a very close finish.

B-mods

With his eyes firmly set on the ACS track championship and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division 4 national title, winning is the Jon Plowman’s goal every time he straps into his race car. This week it was a stubborn, and very fast Darrin Hardisty who made Plowman work for the win.

Hardisty moved to the lead on the first lap of the feature race and stayed there for 11 of the 15 laps. On a lap 12 restart Cody Werner motored from third to lead the lap, but Plowman managed to finally take the lead for the last three laps of the thriller. Behind Plowman at the checkers was Werner, Hardisty, Dave Schafroth and Blain Petersen.

The win extended Plowman’s track point lead to 79 points and should leave him with a healthy lead in the national point race.

Pro-stocks

Last week Corning’s Clay Mercer battled mechanical problems and completed only six laps before retiring to the infield. This week was a change of fortune as Mercer lead all but the first lap in the feature event. But don’t be misled to think that a race without a pass for the lead was boring.

Veteran drivers Brad Derry and Greg Miller both visited Mercer’s side during the race, with two wide entries into the corners a regular event. Less than half a second separated the three cars at the finish, with last week’s winner, Joe Zadina close behind in fourth and Tony Hardisty fifth.

Brad Derry managed to nibble just two points off of Greg Miller’s point lead as they battle for the track championship. With just five weeks left only 17 points separate the two at the top of the pro-stock standings.

Modifieds

Thirteen. This week it was 13.

For many the only question when the modifieds take to the track for their eighteen lap feature is “How many laps till Jesse leads?” With nine wins in 13 starts Jesse Dennis is in the midst of one of the most dominating seasons any driver has had at Adams County Speedway.

Jeff Wiggins led the field for the first 12 laps as Jesse Dennis worked his way from starting ninth, but he watched the lead slip away as Dennis’ black and orange number 70 moved to the lead with five laps to go. Nearly three seconds separated the two at the checkers with Russell Stewart finishing third, Todd Van Eaton fourth, and Jeff James in fifth.

Essex driver Brian Foote, previously second in points behind Dennis, sat the night out with a hand injury that prevented him from driving. Foote’s absence let Todd Van Eaton and Jeff James move by him in the point race as only two points separate those two.

Late models

Sixteen late models took the green flag for their 25-lap battle as the evening’s last feature race. Jason O’Brien and Chris Spieker came into the race tied for the point lead with O’Brien starting eighth and Spieker ninth. By lap five O’Brien was in the lead and one lap later Spieker moved to second.

For the second week in a row those two drivers gave the fans in the grandstands their money’s worth as the Massena driver tried to wrest the lead away from the Atlantic hot-shoe. Coming out of turn two on the white flag lap Spieker drifted too high, dropping him off onto the dry back-side. He came back onto the track midway down the back stretch, but not until Omaha’s Justin Zeitner had claimed second.

At the checkers it was O’Brien, Zeitner, Spieker, Paul Glendenning, and Josh Krug. On a side note the 16-car field included two father-son duos, Mike and Colton Leal and Tom and Sterling Perkins, and one grandfather-grandson duo in Fred Miller and Daulton Maassen.

King of Hill

Just a few weeks from starting his senior year in high-school, Corning’s Buck Schafroth wears the 2014 Hobby Stock King of the Hill crown by besting Jeremy Purdy, Kurt Hansen, and Andy Davison in their two-lap showdowns. This week the B-Mods will battle to crown their king at ACS.