1999 OVDCA/Ohio Caverns Touring Series Results
Friday, July 16, 1999
Jackson Speedway
Jackson, Ohio
Eddy Victorious at Jackson
by Shawn Sell
Current Ohio Valley Dwarf Association/Ohio Caverns Touring Series points leader and rookie sensation Jason Eddy claimed feature win number four of the season at Jackson Speedway on July 16. Eddy was able to avoid the bad luck that struck many of the front runners and held off the hard fighting duo of Wayne Fitzpatrick and Greg Watson to pick up the victory.
The ninth event of the 1999 dwarf car season started with longtime friends and West Liberty residents Max Evans and Bill Hostetler bringing the eleven-car field to the green. Evans took control and led the first lap before giving way to Eddy on lap 2. Misfortune struck Evans on the same lap, however, as he and Jason Glick collided coming out of turn 2. The damage caused to Evans� left front brought out the first caution of the evening and sent Evans to the pits, ending his night.
The damage from the earlier collision finally overcame Glick on lap 6 as his car slowed tremendously and brought out caution number two. On the same lap, West Liberty�s Keith Bailey headed for the pits after his left rear tire slipped off the wheel and lost air, causing him to miss the next 11 laps.
Racing resumed with Eddy in the lead, followed by Fitzpatrick, Bernard, and Watson. Bernard found his way around Fitzpatrick on lap 8 before losing the position on lap 10. On the same lap Watson collided with the back end of his cousin Bernard�s car, dropping Bernard off of the track and ending an otherwise strong run. The battle for second picked up from there, with Fitzpatrick and Watson swapping positions and running side by side and bumper to bumper until the checkered flag. The final caution of the evening brought the field back together after a lap 16 spin by Mike Rector. Following the spin, Rector retired to the pits with an overheating radiator.
At the finish, Eddy was out in front followed by Fitzpatrick, Watson, Hostetler, rookie Tom Rannoee and Mike Sell, who rebounded from last week�s misfortune at Shady Bowl to score his best finish of the year. Rector took home 7th place money followed by Bernard, Bailey who returned on lap 17 but was unable to pick up any more positions, Glick and Evans.
The evening�s heat races turned out to be full of hard, caution-free racing with Glick and Bernard picking up the victories. In the first heat, Watson and Sell brought the field to the green with Watson taking the early lead. By the finish, Jackson regular Glick had moved past Watson for the win with third place going to Eddy. Heat number two produced the first career win for Bernard. Bernard took advantage of his outside pole starting position leading all 8 laps to hold off Evans for the victory. Third place in the heat went to Hostetler.
With the win, Eddy increased his lead in the OVDCA point standing to 116 over Watson who retains a two-point lead over third-place Fitzpatrick. Hostetler and Bernard round out the top 5 and are followed by Evans and Bailey. Based on strong runs at Jackson, Sell and Rector were able to move into the eighth and ninth spots heading into the next race at Shady Bowl Speedway on July 24.
Heat 1: Glick, Watson, Eddy, Sell, Rector, Rannoee.
Heat 2: Bernard, Evans, Hostetler, Fitzpatrick, Bailey.
Feature: Eddy, Fitzpatrick, Watson, Hostetler, Rannoee, Sell, Rector, Bernard, Bailey, Glick, Evans.