Pendleton again at Shady Bowl
Saturday, June 20th, 1998
Shadybowl Speedway
June 20 - The second night of a two show weekend saw the OVDCA/Ohio Caverns Touring Series visit Shady Bowl in DeGraff. The switch from dirt to asphalt led to a lot of activity in the pits before hot laps as tires, shocks, springs and setups were adjusted. Several crews pitched in to get the #11M of Greg Watson back in action, after losing a clutch the night before. The attrition from the Attica race led to a low car count, but the drivers once again created some exciting racing action on the unique asphalt track.
Given the car count and the large number of E-mods in the night's race program, the dwarf field ran one heat. Mike Weisberg drew the pole, paired with Wayne Fitzpatrick on the front row. The heat featured a special appearance by Robin Pendleton, Chads father, subbing for Bill Hostetler as Bill was detained in a business meeting and was late arriving. Robin competed for many years in the sportsman division at Ohio area asphalt tracks.
Weisberg jumped to the early lead at the green, followed by Fitzpatrick, R. Pendleton and Watson. Chad Pendleton drew the 10th starting spot, but quickly made his way through the field, passing Weisberg for the lead on lap five of the eight lap race. Fitzpatrick also found his way past Weisberg to move into second. Keith Bailey moved up to the sixth spot, only to have mechanical problems drop him to eleventh on the last lap. At the checkered Chad Pendleton was the winner, followed by Fitzpatrick, Weisberg, Robin Pendleton, Watson and Mike Sell.
Sell and Mark Bernard drew the front row for the feature, with Pendleton and Hostetler taking the last row. Sell took control at the green, with Fitzpatrick second and Bernard third. Fitzpatrick moved along side Sell to take a shot at the lead on lap three, while Bernard and Weisberg ran two wide behind the leaders. Pendleton had worked his way to fifth, inside Watson, but his progress was stalled by the side-by-side action ahead of him. Bill McDonough and Scott Riddle got together on lap five, with Riddle getting into the wall hard and bringing out the caution. The wreck ended the night for both drivers. Pendleton took advantage of the restart to move to the front of the pack, and as things settled out, Pendleton had the lead followed by Weisberg, Fitzpatrick, Sell, and Bernard. As Pendleton drew ahead, Fitzpatrick continued to be hounded by Weisberg for the second spot, while Sell, Bernard, and Watson ran bumper to bumper behind the leaders. Hostetler was on the move from his back-of-the-pack starting spot, up to fourth by lap 10. A late race spin by Hostetler as the leaders entered lapped traffic gave the pack a chance to regroup, but Pendleton drew away again at the green to take the win. Weisberg held onto to second, with Fitzpatrick third, followed by Hostetler who made a frantic drive in the closing laps to recover his pre-spin position. Sell was fifth, followed by Bernard, Watson, Keith Bailey, Mike Rector and Max Evans.
Weisberg, in the Rolling Steel #73, continues to run impressively, dominating the OVDCA rookie of the year standings and moving into the seventh spot in the OVDCA/Ohio Caverns Touring Series points race. Bailey, who is running only at Shady Bowl, is second in the rookie standings. Bernard's consistent performances have brought him into the fourth spot, closing in on Watson in third, while Hostetler has moved to sixth behind Staggers.
Heat: C. Pendleton, Fitzpatrick, Weisburg, R. Pendleton, Watson, Sell, Bernard, Evans, Rector, McDonough, Bailey, Riddle.
Feature: C. Pendleton, Weisburg, Fitzpatrick, Hostetler, Sell, Bernard, Watson, Bailey, Rector, Evans, McDonough, Riddle.