Submitted by Lamar McClellan
During hot laps last night the skies unloaded on EAMS resulting in an almost 3 hour delay while track officials waited out the ran and then got the track back in shape for racing. Here is a recap of the racing events of the evening:
602 Late Model Sportsman - 25 Laps - $1,000 to Win:
#50 Steven Gaines started on the pole with a 17.26, but broke a rear-end in turn 3 of the 1st lap and finishing last.
1 - #21 Ricky Culpepper - started 4th and was up to 2nd by lap 8. From that point he dogged #01 Blant Duke for the lead until powering by on the high side on lap 13. After Duke saw the groove Culpepper was running he challenged him, but could never get back ahead.
2 - #01 Blant Duke - made a rare appearance at EAMS and appeared to be well on the way to victory until the high line came in for Culpepper mid way in the race. Had Duke seen that the top was working for Ricky he could have moved up and the race would have been his.
3 - #05 Blaise Rutherford - started 15th, was immediately in the top 10, 5th by lap 10, and 3rd by lap 12 where he ran the remainder of the race.
4 - #17 Jason Price - started 10th and was in and out of trouble all race long, but survived for a top 5 finish.
5 - #1 Brandon McDaniel - started outside pole but slid off the topside of the track entering turn 3 on lap 3 and spent the remainder of the race recovering from that early miscue.
9th place finishing #8G Bubba Gorman expanded his points lead over #14 Dustin Ducker.
Hobby - 15 Laps:
1 - #99 Randy Renfroe - started 5th, moved up to 4th on lap 4, 3rd on lap 5, and into the lead on lap 6 - man on a mission!!
2 - #294 John Michael - led the 1st 5 laps before the hard-charging Renfroe blitzed him on lap 6 - expanded his points lead over #57 Jonathan Morris.
3 - #30 Tim Bosley - spun on lap 1 but recovered without bringing out a caution, back into the top 5 by lap 6 and took 3rd on lap 8.
4 - #01 Larry Hodnett - survived his way to this finish.
5 - #31 Richie Granthem - was part of the high rate of attrition.
NeSmith Street Stock - 15 Laps:
1 - #07 Steven Pate - from the outside pole led every lap in a true show of strength.
2 - #3 Larry Faulk - challenged Pate on occasion, but could never muster a good enough run to get by him.
3 - #X2 Dustin Hughes - from the pole struggled early, spun on lap 4 and took 3rd on the final lap.
4 - #24 Allen McConnell - points leader fought his way to yet another top 5 finish, his 9th in 10 races.
5 - #52 Daniel Morrell - endured 2 spins, but still came back for a top 5 finish.
Road Warrior - 15 Laps:
1 - #29 Chris Barfield - had a race long battle for the lead with #16 Robert Price finally retaking the lead on the last lap
2 #16 Robert Price - led the first 9 laps, retook the lead on the 14th lap only to lose it again on the last lap - his third 2nd place finish in a row.
3 - #17 Brian Robinson - early on was a part of the 3 way battle for the lead, but dropped back to 4th on lap 8, then retook 3rd on the last lap.
4 - #1 Rickey Harrelson - battled his way up from 5th to 3rd before dropping back to 4th on the last lap.
5 - #226 Ben Butterworth - top 5 in his 1st run at EAMS this season.
Points leader #101 Brooks Shelley dropped out, but still maintains a comfortable lead over Harrelson.
Hot Shots - 15 Laps - $500 to win!!
1 - #51 Robert Hutchinson - lead them all from his outside pole starting position - claims the 3rd win for this car this season, the other 2 wins were with his brother Lee Hutchinson in the driver's seat.
2 - #05 Fred Woodrum - from the pole claims his third 2nd place finish of the season.
3 - #21 Lee Hutchinson - drove Mac Watson's car from the back of the pack to a strong 3rd place finish.
4 - #J38 Jayce Swint - 8th top 5 in 11 races keeps the points leader more than 100 points ahead of #13 Dave Bruce.
5 - #21 Christopher Bosley - started 8th and steadily moved up into the top 5 by lap 9.
See you next Saturday night for the next event at EAMS!
