2001 Ohio Valley Classic Modifieds Results
Saturday, April 28, 2001
Shady Bowl Speedway
DeGraff, Ohio
Fitzpatrick Wins Number Two at Shady Bowl
by Shawn Sell
There is an old adage in racing that once a driver picks up that elusive first win, the victories start piling up in bunches. In dwarf car action at Shady Bowl Speedway, Marengo's Wayne Fitzpatrick is proving that point. Now in his seventh year of competition with the Ohio Valley Dwarf Car Association, Fitzpatrick reeled off career win number two in the most recent event at Shady Bowl. After taking top honors in the first event of the season two weeks ago, Fitzpatrick held off Brad Coons and Bill Hostetler to secure the checkered flag.
As a result of the six-car invert conducted by Shady Bowl officials, Mount Vernon's Mike Rector and Mike Weisberg of Chesterland brought the 13-car field to the green. Weisberg took early control with Rector second, Hostetler third and Coons fourth. The first yellow flag of the evening flew on lap two, as Urbana's Josh Sell spun in turn three, collecting Temperance, Michigan's Gordon Schwarz and ending the night early for last season's top two rookies.
On the restart, Hostetler and Fitzpatrick started their march to the front, taking over the second and third spots. Hostetler slipped back to fourth by lap four, with Fitzpatrick picking up the number two spot and Coons the number three. The entire complexion of the event turned on lap six when the second and final caution of the night flew. Weisberg, still in control and looking for his first career feature win, spun on the backstretch, handing the lead to Fitzpatrick.
Relegated to the tail for the restart, Weisberg put on a frantic drive through the pack, moving back into the fourth spot by lap eight. Also moving through the pack was Robbin Slaughter in the Jack Morgan-owned #12 car. Slaughter, who captured the 2000 ARCA Truck Championship was marching through the field after starting eleventh, up to sixth by lap 11. The veteran driver was eventually able to overtake Marysville's Mark Bernard for fifth on lap 16 to make his night in a dwarf car into a top five finish.
Up front, Fitzpatrick continued to pace the field ahead of Coons and Hostetler. The last four laps proved exciting as the trio began entering lapped traffic, with both Coons and Hostetler taking shots at the lead. By the checkered it was not enough, as Fitzpatrick had his second win of the 2001 campaign. Coons ended in the runner-up spot, with Hostetler third and Weisberg and Slaughter rounding out the top five. West Liberty's Max Evans rebounded from a tough crash two weeks ago to take sixth, with Bernard seventh and Rector eighth. Two drivers out for the first time in 2001, Jerry Davis of Toledo and Columbus' Mark Jamison rounded out the top ten finishers.
Fitzpatrick and Coons paced the evening's two heat races. Heat number one was all Fitzpatrick as he passed early leader Rector on lap two and took heat win number three of the season. Evans had a strong run for second, with Rector third and Davis fourth. In the second heat, Coons jumped into the lead from the pole position to stake his first checkered of the year. Hostetler passed Weisberg for second on lap five to grab runner-up honors, while Sell made an aggressive last-lap, last-turn pass on Bernard to take fourth.
With the win, Fitzpatrick remains in control in the quest for the first Shady Bowl dwarf car track championship. Hostetler is second, five points behind, with Coons moving up to third, Weisberg fourth and Rector in fifth. The next dwarf car action is scheduled for May 19 in a regular show with the E-Mods, Late Models, Pro Stocks and Flying Stocks.
Heat 1: Fitzpatrick, Evans, Rector, Davis, Jamison.
Heat 2: Coons, Hostetler, Weisberg, Sell, Bernard, Slaughter, Schwarz.
Feature: Fitzpatrick, Coons, Hostetler, Weisberg, Slaughter, Evans, Bernard, Rector, Davis, Jamison, Schwarz, Sell, King. DNS-Claypool.