1999 OVDCA/Ohio Caverns Touring Series Results
Saturday, August 28, 1999
Jackson Speedway
Jackson, Ohio
Jackson Win Goes to Fritter
by Shawn Sell
Jackson Speedway served as the 14th stop on the 1999 Ohio Valley Dwarf Car Association/Ohio Caverns Touring Series schedule and by nights end Zanesville's Tracy Fritter once again was the man to beat, capturing his second OVDCA win of 1999. Fritter's victory was far from easy, as he had to contend with strong runs from rookie Jason Eddy, West Virginia frontrunner Terry Hall and Bill Hostetler of West Liberty.
Bringing the 19-car field to the green were Hall and Hostetler and it was Hostetler grabbing the early lead. The pack was slowed early though, as Tom Rannoee in the #58 car spun collecting 15-year old Tyler Hall, son of Terry, and ending the night early for both drivers. On the restart, the caution flew again this time for a turn four spin by Jason Glick which also collected the cars of Steve Mason and Greg Watson. All three cars were able to continue, however, and after the line-up was reset, the action went back to green with Hostetler still leading Hall in second, Fritter third and Eddy fourth.
The evening's third yellow flew on lap 7 as Mike Rector spun in turn one before retiring to the pits with a recurring radiator problem. A lap after the caution, Fritter and Eddy were able to find their way around Hall to take over the second and third positions. The whole complexion of the evening's event changed on lap 11, when Hostetler, still in the lead in his Midwest Distributor sponsored #9H car, spun in turn one. The ensuing pile-up collected the cars of Hall, Mason and John Cogar, with Cogar the only car having to retire to the pits. A lengthy delay followed as Cogar was treated for a cut on his left hand before racing resumed.
From there Fritter inherited the lead with Eddy right behind. On the move through the first 10 laps of the race was Watson, forced to start on the tail after missing the heat race with mechanical problems. Watson was able to work through the field and take over 11th by lap 5 before moving to 8th just three laps later. Following the caution, Watson was able to take over fourth, a position he would retain for the duration of the race. Also on the move was Glick who recovered from his early spin to take over the 8th position on lap 11 before finally coming home in 6th place.
By the time the checker fell on the 15-lap affair, Fritter was out in front of Eddy, who held off the charge of Hall to take second. Watson was 4th and followed by Mason, who survived two pile-ups to come home 5th. After Mason was Glick and Mark Jamison, who came up to 7th after starting 13th. Chasing Jamison in 8th place was Mike Sell who continues to make great improvements on dirt, rookie Pete Stackhouse and Hostetler, who recovered from his spin to take another top 10 finish.
Heat race action earlier in the evening saw two drivers win by large margins while another had to work just a little bit harder. Heat number one was all Terry Hall as he led all 8 laps to take the win. Quite possibly the best race on the track was for the two, three and four positions as Sell, Eddy and Mark Bernard battled tooth and nail. Eddy was able to squeeze by Sell on lap 5 after contact in turn one that enabled Bernard to come up and join the battle. By the finish, Eddy took second followed by Sell and Bernard. Fritter captured the second heat of the evening, but not without a battle from Glick. Fritter took the lead on lap 1 before Glick made his way around the #59 car and led the next four laps. Fritter took control again on lap 6 and held on for the win over Glick with Cogar in third. Heat number three saw pole sitter Hostetler take off and lead all 8 laps for his second heat win of the year. Mason came home in the runner-up spot with Stackhouse holding down third.
Another top 5 run by Eddy keeps him firmly atop the OVDCA point standings. Hostetler takes over second after Watson missed his heat race. The rest of the top 5 remains the same with Bernard in fourth, despite a disappointing 14th place finish after a flat right rear tire and Evans still in the 5th position. Sell takes over 6thfrom Wayne Fitzpatrick; out indefinitely after the broken wrist he suffered last week at KC. Eighth place still belongs to Keith Bailey, who is trailed by Fritter who moves past Rector with the win. The dwarfs return to action on Sunday night, September 5 in the $500 to win Ohio Caverns Cup at Shady Bowl Speedway.
Heat 1: Te. Hall, Eddy, Sell, Bernard, Jamison, Hubbard.
Heat 2: Fritter, Glick, Cogar, Ty. Hall, Rannoee, Holley.
Heat 3: Hostetler, Mason, Stackhouse, Rector, Evans, Bailey. dns-Watson
Feature: Fritter, Eddy, Te. Hall, Watson, Mason, Glick, Jamison, Sell, Stackhouse, Hostetler, Evans, Hubbard, Bailey, Bernard, Holley, Cogar, Rector, Ty. Hall, Rannoee.