2001 Ohio Valley Classic Modifieds Results
Saturday, June 16, 2001
Shady Bowl Speedway
DeGraff, Ohio
Hostetler Tightens Points Race With Win
by Shawn Sell
After dropping into a tie for second place in the point standings following a broken oil line the previous time out, 2000 Ohio Valley Dwarf Car Association champion Bill Hostetler rebounded in a big way in the most recent event at Shady Bowl Speedway. The 68-year old West Liberty resident took advantage of the double points being offered to cut into 1998 champ and current leader Wayne Fitzpatrick's lead with his second feature win of the season. Hostetler was easily the class of the field on this night, putting his Midwest Distributor-sponsored car in victory lane in both heat and feature action, to shrink Fitzpatrick's lead to just six points.
Following a six-car invert after the heat races, Mount Vernon's Mike Rector and Marysville's Mark Bernard were paired on the front row to start. The first lap of the event produced some of the tightest and most exciting racing of the evening, regardless of class. Cars sliced and diced their way around the 3/10-mile oval, going three-wide at times, with Bernard emerging in the lead after one circuit. But his lead was short lived as Hostetler made his move to the front on the second lap.
From there, Hostetler was never really challenged as the caution free laps ticked away. Behind Hostetler, there was close racing all over the track, as the ten-car field battled it out. Up front, Fitzpatrick was fighting off Chesterland's Mike Weisberg for the number two spot. Behind that duo, Bernard had his hands full with Brad Coons of Bellefontaine in a battle for the fourth spot. The trio of Rector, Dave Williamson and Max Evans fought it out behind them for the number six position. Evans, forced to start on the tail after spinning in his heat race, worked his way around Williamson on lap four and settled into sixth in front of Rector on lap 10. Coons was finally able to wrestle fourth away from Bernard, but not until the event's fourteenth lap.
At the checkered, Hostetler had the win by well over a straightaway. Coming down to the finish line on the last lap, Weisberg made his move around Fitzpatrick, just edging him out for second. Coons took fourth ahead of Bernard, who finished fifth despite burning up a rear end for the second consecutive race. Evans was sixth ahead of Williamson in the Mark Jamison-owned car, who passed Rector for the spot on lap 13. Rounding out the field were a pair of West Liberty natives, Keith Bailey in ninth place and rookie Max Thomas in tenth.
The evening's two heat races also featured some close racing, with Hostetler and Weisberg picking up the wins. In the first heat, Hostetler and Coons swapped the lead in the early going, with Hostetler taking the lead for good on lap four. Coons hung on to Hostetler's bumper for second ahead of Rector, Thomas and Bailey. After picking up his first career heat win on May 19, Evans appeared primed to repeat in heat number two. It was not to be though as Weisberg made a pass for the lead and win on lap four. Evans was fighting off Fitzpatrick for second until he spun in turns three and four on the last lap. That gave second place to Fitzpatrick, with Bernard third, Williamson fourth and Evans with a hard-luck fifth place finish.
The aforementioned double points tightened things atop the Shady Bowl dwarf car point standings. Fitzpatrick's comfortable 16-point lead is now down to six after Hostetler's win. Coons now sits alone in third, with Weisberg just ten points behind. Rector remains in fifth, but Evans is hot on his heels, just two points behind. The dwarfs return to action with two races the week of the Fourth of July holiday. Shady Bowl has included the dwarfs in a special Tuesday night show on July 3, joining the $6,000 Firecracker 50 E-mod race and a regular Pro Stock show. On Saturday, July 7 the dwarfs are right back in action in a regular show joining the Late Models, Pro Stocks, Flying Stocks and Mini Stocks on the evening's card.
Heat 1: Hostetler, Coons, Rector, Thomas, Bailey.
Heat 2: Weisberg, Fitzpatrick, Bernard, Williamson, Evans.
Feature: Hostetler, Weisberg, Fitzpatrick, Coons, Bernard, Evans, Williamson, Rector, Bailey, Thomas.