A six-division program greeted fans of East Bay Raceway Park on Father’s Day weekend with car count topping 80 cars for the second straight week.
The highlight of the night was the 50-lap Precision Wallboard 50, which brought 21 cars through the pit car with 20 able to start the feature. The night started with heat race wins for second generation racer Tanner Cobb, Jeff Mathews and Travis Varnadore. The inversion ended up as a two, giving the heat winners their respective starting spots in the second third rows.
At the green flag, Steve Mathis Jr. wasted no time getting out in front of the field with Phillip Cobb tucked right behind him. The lead duo maintained a toriid pace, catching the tail of the 20-car field on lap 7. Two laps later, the caution came out for the first time as Forrest Gough exited with a flat tire.
The tire situation would rear its head throughout the night. The field settled in for a long green flag run, getting all the way to lap 32 before the next caution appeared. On lap 26, Mathews slipped ahead of Kenny Monahan for third. Up front, Cobb had been held up in lapped traffic, which allowed Mathis to gain some breathing room before the caution. As the field was settling for a restart, Tanner Cobb stopped with a flat, forfeiting his fifth place on the restart. The caution quickly returned as Varnadore pulled up while running fifth with tire issues. On the lap 37 restart, Cobb regained second as Mathews began to slip back with a tire issue. Monahan regained third and Mathews finally came to a stop on lap 40.
The quick work of his crew got Mathews back into the action without the loss of a lap, posting him at the back of the seven cars on the lead lap and just ahead of Phillip Cobb, who was in the same predicament. Mathews immediately began to charge forward, working his way to third and getting past Monahan for second in hot pursuit of the leader. With three laps remaining, Mathis entered the backstretch and felt the right rear tire give way, spinning from the lead and putting Mathews in position to win. He kept Monahan back through the late stages and took home the $2,000 victory.
William Pugh took the early lead in the 15-lap Street Stock main event, but could not hold back the challenge of Mike Wilson, who moved by on lap two. Caution showed for a lap four spin by defending class champion Matt Bozeman, which set up a restart. When the green returned, Richard Livernois Jr. vaulted up front, but track officials determined he had jumped the restart and faced a two-position penalty. A restart on lap 8 allowed Livernois to fall back those two spots and give Wilson the point at the halfway mark. Livernois had to deal with Bozeman, who was now second and wasn’t able to get by until late in the race. It gave Wilson the advantage and the win. The feature winner pointed it that it took 10 months to get a win last year and he was relieved to get one earlier, especially since he gets to pick where the crew eats the post-race meal.
Nick Hebrank backed up a heat race win with a victory in the Outlaw 4s, sliding past Stephen Hohlbaugh who stayed right with Hebrank to the end. Eric Knight claimed the division’s other heat race.
The impactful role of a father and its effect on children who follow in the racing footsteps has been well chronicled, but it manifested itself in a couple of ways tonight.
In the Q Auto & Injury Medical Malpractice Attorneys Mini-Sprints, Don R. Quinn earned his first feature win of 2020 in dramatic fashion, outduelling former track champion Jamie Tinkham throughout the 15-lapper. Quinn started the contest on the outside of the front row, joined in the formation by his father, Donnie Quinn. Don Quinn led the first lap, only to see Tinkham take it on lap two. Quinn came back out front just before the halfway mark, but Tinkham was the leader two laps. Quinn got the lead for good on lap 10 and endured a lap 13 caution to grab the checkered flag. Tinkham won the heat race.
The remaining two divisions showed the father-son relationship in a grand way. After Danny Bowman won the Florida Old Time Modifieds feature, he was joined by his son Kyle in Victory Lane. Not to be outdone, Daniel Bowman put himself in Victory Lane by taking the 15-lap Gladiator main event. The former track champion grabbed the lead from Rodney Martin, who set the early pace. Bowman went to the bottom of the track to make the pass and head to victory. Last week’s feature winner Patrick Tabb started 20th and finished second. Daniel Bowman, Tracy Maynard and Kyle Bowman claimed the heat races.
The final race of the month of June will take place next Saturday (June 27) with Gagel’s Open Wheel Modifieds, Late Model Sportsman, V-8 Warriors, Gladiators and Q Auto & Injury Medical Malpractice Attorneys Micro Sprints. East Bay will be idle for the month of July with the schedule picking up again in August.
PRO LATE MODELS
Precision Wallboard 50 – Jeff Mathews (33), Kenny Monahan (311), Phillip Cobb (03), Waylon Haynes (11), Tim Dowling (12D), Steve Mathis Jr. (95), Dustin Perez (8), Wesley Livernois (44), Daniel Woody (29), Rich Pratt (1A), Megan Meyer (11M), Travis Varnadore (41), Tanner Cobb (c03), Steve Brendle (141), Raymond Rogers Sr. (48), Thomas Burnside (13), Wallace Peacock (P1), Forrest Gough (21), John Norris (87), Jimmy Waldrop (9). DNS – Mavrick Varnadore (95M). Results pending tire samples.
STREET STOCKS
Feature: Mike Wilson (68), Richard Livernois Jr. (71), Matt Bozeman (58), Ken Lawrence (38), Billy Barstow (756), William Pugh (15), Doug Johnson (09), PeeWee Dowling (55). DNS – Derek Gray
OUTLAW 4S
Feature: Nick Hebrank (7H), Stephen Hohlbaugh (23s), Eric Knight (7), David Tullis (38), Cecil Martin (15), Candice Kealy (D4R), Thomas Braswell Jr. (88), Mark Moniz (41e), Vernon Hart Jr. (48). DNS – Michael Leo (57), Terry Burke (73)
Q AUTO & INJURY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ATTORNEYS MINI SPRINTS
Feature: Don R. Quinn (33), Bruce Comer (21), Jamie Tinkham (51), Donnie T. Quinn (33D), Dallas Casey (87), Mike Meyers (6), Ryan Meeks (12)
GLADIATORS
Feature: Daniel Bowman (46), Patrick Tabb (03), Rodney Martin (21), Wayne Kissam (07), Nick McAllister (97M), Kyle Bowman (46K), Tyler Davis (1), Patrick Fiore (88), Bailey Purcell (14), Derrick Edwards (17), Ricky Rutledge Sr. (4), Alyssa Grant (46A), David Wood (21W), Robert Kissam (911), David Zeman (13), Callie Gubich (513), Nicholas Sperbeck (34), Tracy Maynard (62), Johnathan Wood (56B), Ricky Rutledge Jr. (124). DNS – Hunter Lovelady (68), Davey Martin (55).