Speedway reaches mid-season

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Shelby County Speedway handed out a large number of shiny trophies during intermission Saturday night as the track awarded the top five drivers in points from each division.

Midseason point leaders in each division are: John Pierce, Limited Late Model; Sandy Dawson, Thunder and Lightning; Chris Revis, Hobby; Eddie Pickett, Modified Pony; Frank Johnson, Pure Pony; Larry Hatchett, Pure Stock; and Terry Bradshaw, Hogg.

The Hobby division began the feature events of the night with Bob Sapp (No. 18) on the pole position. The race featured four restarts due to cautions before the first lap was completed. Sapp kept a strong lead until lap four when he experienced engine problems and had to leave the track. The incident put Ronnie Revis (No. 07) in the lead. The race ended in a green/white/checkered finish after Jerry Jarvis (No. 8) spun coming out of turn four. Revis went on to take the win with Jeremy Edwards (No. 57) in second, Ricky Cain (No. 71) in third, Don Thompson (No. 29) in fourth and Jerry Jarvis (No. 8) in fifth.

Larry Hatchett (No. 01) and David Davis (No. 00) kept fans watching closely in the Pure Stock feature as they battled for the lead. Midway through the race, Davis was sent to the rear of the field after causing a caution. After the green flag dropped, Davis began making his way to the front and took the lead with two laps to go. Davis finished first with Hatchett in second, Jimmy Hatchett (No. 11) in third, Buster Avery (No. 4) in fourth and Tommy Payton (No. 2) in fifth.

The Pure Pony division was the next class featured with Steven Foster (No. 2), running a new Dodge, starting first.

Foster kept far ahead of the field the entire race.

He managed finish under the checkered flag first with Jeremy Wells (No. 81) in second, Dave Harbison (No. 1) in third, Shane Roberson (No. 23) in fourth, and James Gansy (No. 8) in fifth.

Jimmy Dean (No. 45) took the pole in the Limited Late Model division with a qualifying time of 16.56 seconds. Paul Allred (No. 77) started behind Dean in second. The two drivers managed to fill the first two positions the entire race, giving the fans a clean and quick show.

The Thunder and Lightning division took the track next with Johnny Dawson (No. 42) starting first, and his brother Sandy Dawson (No. 88) outside of him in second. It didn’t take long for Sandy Dawson to take the lead, and Josh Ingram (No. 16) to move to second. Ingram spun midway through the race, but managed to come back to second for the finish. The race ended with an incident on the front stretch between Johnny Dawson and Andy Gulledge (No. 66). Sandy Dawson finished first with Ingram in second, Gulledge in third, Johnny Dawson (No. 42) in fourth, and Charles Davenport (No. 33) in fifth.

The Modified Pony division was the fastest feature of the night. The race began with Eddie Pickett (No. 44) starting first. But Pickett didn’t keep the lead long after the green flag dropped. Alan Gilreath (No. 42) took the lead, and Cody Dean (No. 54) moved from fourth to third only a few laps into the race. Gilreath managed to keep the lead for the finish with Pickett in second, Dean in third, Dale McGill (No. 91) in fourth and Mike Romenger (No. 22) in fifth.

The Hogg division ended the nights’ events with Harold Hannah (No. 23) on the pole.

Joe Dobbs (No. 21) started outside of Hannah, but gained a position shortly after the race began. He quickly moved ahead of Hannah into the lead. Gary Woods (No. 77), Ferrell Spradlin (No. 14), Erin Vick (No. 11) and Hannah stayed behind Dobbs for the remainder of the race to make the top five at the finish.

Racing continues next Saturday, July 30 at Shelby County Speedway. For more information visit www.shelbycountyspeedway.net, or call 669-6509