6/2/2024
Birch Run Speedway
Berry gets second in a row on full moon night!
Race two of the 2024 season for the oval tracks at Birch Run Speedway saw bluebird skies give way to a full moon that made for a wild night at the track! Fast qualifier honors went to::
Showcase Auto Sales Street Stocks/ Adam Rowe 17.510
Wheeler Trucking Modifieds/ Kyle Hayden 16.205
Finish Line Seamless Gutters Pure Stocks/ Hunter Doutre 17.198
Limited Late Models/ Ed Muckenthaler 17.113,
Front Wheel Drives/ Randy Moore 16.571.
Heat race winners on the night were:
Showcase Auto Sales Street Stocks
Heat one/ Michael Allemon for his first win at Birch Run!
Heat two/ Kevin Harder
Wheeler Trucking Modifieds
Heat one/ Rick Wiecorek
Heat two/ Donny Matteson Jr.
Heat three/ David McManus
Finish Line Seamless Gutters Pure Stocks
Heat one/ Tim Kirby
Heat two/ Jim Miller Jr.
Limited Late Models
Josh Hahn
Front Wheel Drives
Heat one/ Emily Clayton her first at Birch Run Speedway!
Heat two/ Randy Moore
The Showcase Auto Sales Street Stocks 20-lap feature saw Kevin Harder start on the pole and take the early lead. Harder built up a commanding lead while John Leonard, Johnny Hayden, and Kyle Callahan battled farther back. a few cautions didn't deter Harder as he opened up his lead each time. Late in the race, something broke on Harder's #44, sending him hard into the turn one wall. Hatder got out of the car under his own power. That gave the lead to Johnny Hayden and he would eventually go on to score his first win of 2024 on his Showcase Auto Sales/Rock Solid Insulation #64! Kyle Callahan finished second ahead of Duane Damon, while Harder was credited with fourth ahead of Bob Hiney.
Nick Lechota beat Scott Lamp II to turn one to grab the lead at the start of the Wheeler Trucking Modifeds feature. Several cautions slowed the event, but Lechota seemed up to the challenge. Trevor Berry and fast qualifier, Kyle Hayden, were picking their way through from their sixth and seventh-place starting spots. Berry pounced on Lechota when he slipped up slightly to get by and score his second win in a row! The pilot of the DG Performance/ Extreme Indoor Kart Racing #37 finished ahead of Lechota, Hayden, Nick Clemens, and David McManus.
The Finish Line Seamless Gutters Pure Stocks suffered through multiple cautions in their feature. The most interesting was when leader Andrew Burton was sent spinning off turn four as he, Jim Miller Jr., and Hunter Doutre were all nose-to-tail battling. The eventual call, since no one was "tapping out", was that all three drivers would have to go to the tail. Tim Kirby and Bruce Dunton would be near the front for a bit after that, but Miller Jr and his Performance Auto/Top Speed Motorsports #9 would charge back through the field and take the win! Duane Damon, Dunton Jr, Kirby, and Brandon Miller completed the top five.
The Limited Late Models were the only class that survived the "full moon madness". Josh Hahn and Brian Bero paced the field and Bero got the advantage at the start. Joe Hodgeson, who attempted qualifying, had a transponder issue and then left to attend his daughter's soccer game, started fifth and was soon challenging Bero. The 2023 Champion at Birch Run got by Bero and opened up a nearly seven-second advantage to put his Conquest Scents/Tony Brabbs Racing Engines 84 in victory lane. Bero finished second ahead of Ed Muckenthaler, and Alex Fullerton.
Dan Hassard made a three-wide move to the inside of Daegan Clayton and Emily Clayton to take the lead in the Front Wheel Drive feature. Two and three-wide racing was the norm as the faster qualifiers sliced their way to the front. Nicholas Murdock and Randy Moore challenged Hassard to the inside of turn one when the 6x slid up the track Moore challenged Murdock for several laps as they started to navigate slower traffic. With two laps to go, Moore went to go to the outside of the car of Emily Clayton when there was contact. Clayton's car launched over the front of Moore's #69 causing significant damage to both vehicles. Murdock and Watters would race door-to-door for the last two laps with Murdock prevailing in his Hemlock Auto&Alignment/The Shed BarGrille machine in victory lane. Finishing behind Watters were Corbin Kelley, Cody Luark, and Daegan Clayton.
A Special thank you goes out to Top Speed Motorsports and TSM Graphics for awarding all feature winners a custom checkered flag!!
The Birch Run Speedway is back in action this Friday with the return of the National Compact Touring Series for US Speedo Night. The NCTS series will tackle the fast 4/10 mile for a $1,000-to-win and $150-to-start feature! Also on the card are the Wheeler Trucking Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Finish Line Seamless Gutters Pure Stocks, American Trucks, Figure 8's, and Top Speed Motorsports Spectator Drags!
All photos are courtesy of Race Photos by Mike
Article Credit: Chuck Darling
Submitted By: Charles Darling
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