Willard
Lawrence Makes It
Two In A Row .......4/19/08
Willard Lawrence is making a statement early in the
season at the Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas. After finishing second in
a last minute back-up car change on opening night, Lawrence has made it
clear that his partnership with Sam Beaty is the team to beat in 2008.
Lawrence picked up his second feature win in a row Saturday night at the
famed 3/8 mile oval, taking the lead with less than 20 laps to go and
breezing to the win in the 75 lap NASCAR / Whelen All-American Series Late
Model feature. After starting 6th in the 17 car field, Lawrence picked off
one competitor after another, and finally put his Foster’s Grille
Pontiac in the lead on lap 58, overtaking early leader Ray Terczak in his
Dulles Jet Center Chevy with a bold move going into turn one. After that,
he cruised to the win, beating Terczak to the stripe by .408 seconds. As
the newly named Late Model division grows each and every week, so does the
competition. Earlier in the day, Doug Liberman put his Larson Engineering
Chevy on the pole with a 16.190 lap. Once qualifying was completed, the
top 7 drivers were separated by less than 2 tenths of a second, with the
entire field being separated by just over a second and a half. Saturday
also marked the night that for the first time in the history of ODS, a
Korean born driver has competed at the historic facility. Kuong Jeoung
arrived in the US just a few short days ago, practiced the Sam Beaty
prepared machine, and started his first ever US oval track event. Jeoung
is extremely popular back in his homeland, competing in the KASCAR
circuit. He wound up finishing a respectable 12th in his first event, and
looks forward to competing in the remaining events at ODS. David Polenz
picked up his second feature win in a row as well, taking home the
checkers in the 30-lap Finish Line Towing / INEX feature. Polenz, who had
run in the second spot for most of the evening, took advantage of
electrical problems on the Roger Austin Jr. ride, and beat Ryan Ellis to
the stripe by .218 seconds. Sean Dawson, Dave Daniels, and defending
Legends track champ Jeff Hedrick rounded out the top five. With Austin’s
misfortune, Polenz now finds himself on top of the point standings ahead
of Ellis. In a wild Mini Modified 30-lap feature, Mike Carte survived and
picked up his first win in 2008. It seemed that any driver who had the
lead would develop problems. First it was veteran Al Dailey was walking
away from the field, but developed engine problems in his Ford. That
handed the lead to Scott Gore, who seemed to have things well in hand.
Then the motor in his Toyota went up in smoke. That handed the lead to
Carte, who led the final circuits to take the win. Keith Riley held on for
the second spot, followed by Steve Purks. Billy Ingle took home the win in
the 20-lap Victory Lane Graphix / Advanced Auto Care UCAR feature. Ingle
held off Jeff Beamer for his first win in 2008. Brian Fox wound up third,
followed by Bill McCabe, and Amber Abrams. Next Saturday night features a
75-lap event for the Late Models, along with a 30 lap feature for the Mini
Modifieds, 20 laps for the UCARS, and 30 laps for the Legends. Practice
begins at 2PM, qualifying starts at 5PM, with racing action taking the
green at 7PM.
Photos From 4/19/08:
ODS Late Model Winner
Willard Lawrence
Legends Winner
David Polenz
Mini Modified Winner
Mike Carte
UCAR Winner
Billy Ingle
