Vallette makes it two in a row at Shady Bowl
Saturday, September 12th, 1998
Shadybowl Speedway
September 12 - Ed Vallette made it two in a row at Shady Bowl Speedway, as the 1997 Ohio Caverns/OVDCA Touring
Series points champion scored victories in both the heat and feature races to backup his Labor Day feature win last week.
Mike Sell continues to run strong at the DeGraff oval, with a second position finish, ahead of Shawn Stevens, Bill Hostetler,
and Gary Denis. Heat one was all Bob Miller, as it appears he has worked the bugs out of the newly purchased, Larry Janney
owned Jaxports car, leading all eight laps of the heat. Miller was followed by polesitter Rick Brown, with Sell taking the third
spot. Stevens was fourth and Wayne Fitzpatrick was fifth. Heat two featured a battle between Vallette and Hostetler.
Hostetler took the early lead but was passed on lap three after contact with Vallette unsettled his car. Vallette went on to lead
to the checkered, followed by Hostetler, Gary Denis, Miek Weisberg, and Ike Carter. Sell and Brown lead the field to the
green, with Sell taking the early lead, but Miller got the advantage on the field on the third lap, followed closely by Vallette. Sell
hung on for third place, while Stevens worked his way into fourth from his seventh starting position. The lead pack also
included Brown, Hostetler, Fitzpatrick and Weisberg. The leaders approached lapped traffic on lap 14 with Miller still in
control, as he and Vallette had put some distance on the rest of the field. This advantage disappeared on lap 16, as Rick
Brown spun and John Miller's engine blew simultaneously, bringing out the yellow. Vallette got the jump on Miller on the
restart, as Stevens, Hostetler and Denis kept pace with the leaders. For the second consecutive week Miller was poised for a
last lap dash for the win, but it was not to be, as his exhaust collector/muffler came off the car on the fourth corner within sight
of the finish line, and lodged under the left rear tire, causing the car to spin. Vallette went on for his third Ohio
Caverns/OVDCA feature victory of the year, while Sell inherited the second spot, followed closely by Stevens, Hostetler, and
Denis. Weisberg was sixth, followed by the Touring Series points leader Fitzpatrick in seventh, Brown recovering for eighth,
Miller being scored ninth as the last car on the lead lap, and Ike Carter tenth. As a result of the cancellation of the KC
Speedway race on Sept. 26th by track officials, the final Ohio Caverns/OVDCA Touring Series race will be held on Friday
Sept. 18th at Midway Speedway. The race will pay $500 to the feature winner, with trophies to the top finishers provided by
Paula Pizza. Dwarf racers from Ohio and West Virginia are expected to participate. OVDCA members will be joined by the
Dwarf racers from across the US on October 3rd and 4th, as the United Dwarf Car Racing Association (UDRA) will hold its
Dwarf Pavement Nationals at Shady Bowl. Over sixty racers were on hand for a similar UDRA event at Eldora Speedway this
past June. One final schedule announcement is the cancellation of the Columbus Charity Midget Races, previously announced
for October 9th and 10th at Columbus Motor Speedway. OVDCA racers are expected to attend the UDRA event scheduled
at Challenger Speedway in Pennsylvania as an alternative.
Heat 1: B. Miller, Brown, Sell, Stevens, Fitzpatrick, Evans, Bernard, S. Miller, Watson.
Heat 2: Vallette, Hostetler, Denis, Weisburg, Carter, J. Miller, Bailey, N. Glick.
Feature: Vallette, Sell, Stevens, Hostetler, Denis, Weisburg, Fitzpatrick, Brown, B. Miller, Carter, Evans, S. Miller, Bernard, Bailey, Watson, N. Glick, J. Miller.