It's Lawrence Taking Win Number 3; Extends Point Lead.......
5/24/08
Willard Lawrence from Haymarket Va., driving the Foster's
Grille Pontiac, took home win number 3 in 2008, leading the final 90
circuits in the 100 lap feature for the NASCAR / Whelen All-American
Series Old Dominion Speedway Late Models. The win, coupled with the
misfortune of the second place driver in the point standings and two-time
feature winner Adam Brenner, extended his point lead to 47 points over
Brenner. Brenner failed to finish the event due to a blown engine in his
Moe's Southwest Grille Ford. Brenner was the fastest in time trials,
circling the 3/8 mile oval in 16.135 (83.669 mph), an impressive run since
the inception of the new 8 inch tire rule for the ODS Late Models.
Lawrence was second quickest in qualifying with a 16.136 (83.664 mph). But
with the inversion, both drivers would start back in the field. Michael
Arnold, who had qualified 6th in his Danny's Auto Service Pontiac with a
16.317 (82.736 mph) lap, started on the front row and led the first 9
laps. Lawrence battled his way to the front quickly and took over the top
spot on lap 10. From then on it was a battle for second between Arnold and
veteran Dave Moon in his Famous Dave's Ford. But on lap 68, Moon made
contact with Arnold exiting turn two, spinning Arnold into the grass. Both
cars were put to the rear of the field. This put Robert Bruce in the
J&J Music-to-Go Chevy in the second spot. But he would develop some
handling problems with his machine which allowed the Try-It-Racing Chevy
of Mike Southard to take over the second spot on lap 85. The race
stabilized from that point, with Lawrence crossing the stripe over
Southard by .206 seconds. Finishing third was Bear Delaware's Doug
Liberman in his Larson Engineering Chevy, followed by the Dulles Jet
Center Chevy of Ray Terczak. Moon would battle back to finish fifth. Al
Dailey, who has raced at the Old Dominion Speedway for about as long as
anyone and has raced pretty much everything on wheels in his illustrious
career, took the win in the 30-lap Mini Modified feature. Dailey started
on the pole and had a full straightaway lead on Bobby Able until a late
race caution for oil on the track bunched the field up for a final 9 lap
dash. Able tried everything he could to pass the wiley veteran, but came
up less than a car length short at the end. Mike Carte came home third,
while Steve Purks and Keith Riley rounded out the top five. Timmy Tyrell
decided he wanted to go racing on a Saturday night. So less than one hour
before race time, he arrived at the track with his Convenience Car Care
UCAR on a flatbed. Starting way back in the filed, he scratched and clawed
his way to the front, and took home the win in the Victory Lane Graphix /
Advanced Auto Care UCAR 20-lap feature. It looked as if he would come up
short, but with just 3 laps remaining, early leader Billy Ingle broke an
axle, handing the lead to Tyrell. He was then able to hold off a tough
Albert Anderson for the win. Finishing third was Steve Brady, followed by
point leader Brian Fox. Greg Sites held on to finish fifth. In the SRL
Mini Cup feature, Steven Teter dominated the event, taking the win in the
30-lap feature for the Honda powered machines. Tim Brown would finish a
distant second, followed by 12-year old Tyler Staton Next Saturday night
features the ODS Late Models in a 75 lap event. Also on tap is a 30-lap
Mini Modified feature, a 20-lap feature for the UCAR's, 30 laps for the
Legends, and a special event for the open-wheeled sprint cars. Practice is
set for 2PM, followed by qualifying at 5PM. Racing action takes the green
at 7PM.
Photos From 5/24:
First Row:
Willard Lawrence - Late Model Feature Winner
David Polenz - Legends Winner
Second Row:
Al Dailey - Mini Modified Winner
Timmy Tyrell - UCAR Winner
Third Row:
Steven Teter - Mini Cup Winner
