It's
Lawrence, Southard and Lawrence, Southard In Twin 35's.......8/2/08
Willard Lawrence from Haymarket Va. virtually assured
himself the 2008 track championship Saturday night, taking both ends of
the twin 35 lap features at the Old Dominion Speedway Saturday night.
Picking up his 8th and 9th wins of the season, Lawrence stretched his
point lead to nearly 100 points, with just 7 races remaining in the 2008
season. His Foster's Grille Pontiac was flawless in both events, as he
battled the Try-It-Racing Chevy of Mike Southard for the win in both
events. Lawrence led all qualifiers for the 8th time this season with a
quick lap of 16.260 around the famed 3/8 mile oval. In the first event,
Adam Brenner, piloting the Moe's Southwest Grille Ford, led the first 6
circuits before Southard took over the top spot. Southard would lead up
until lap 15 until Lawrence would take over the top spot after a
side-by-side battle that lasted for several laps. Once Lawrence got the
lead, he eased his way to the checkers, and beat Southard to the stripe by
1.238 seconds. The second event played out pretty much the same way as
Brenner would lead in the early going, holding on to the top spot for 16
laps, before being passed by Southard on lap 17. Lawrence would battle his
way to the front from his 6th starting spot, and take the lead from
Southard on lap 26 after yet another fierce side-by-side battle. This time
Lawrence would hit the checkers just .355 seconds ahead of Southard. In
both events, Brenner would hold on for the third finishing spot. Lawrence
now leads the points chase by 93 points over Brenner, and 125 points over
Southard. Scotty Gore picked up his 2nd win of the season, battling point
leader Bobby Able to the stripe for the win in the 30 lap Mini Modified
feature. Starting from the third spot, Gore battled his way around
polesitter Keith Riley, and ran down Able just past the halfway point. The
2 drivers battled side-by-side before Gore took over the top spot with
just a handful of laps remaining. Able held on to finish second, while
Mike Carte, who had broken a camshaft on practice, finished third. Sean
Dawson, a former track champion at ODS, picked up his first feature win of
the season in the 30 lap Finish Line Towing / INEX Legends feature event.
Dawson took advantage of an altercation involving the leaders on lap 15,
and held off all challenges for the win. Matt Cannon, who had led from the
second lap, Roger Austin Jr., and point leader David Polenz were all
battling hard for the lead throughout the event. But on lap 22, the
leaders tangled as John Jansen Jr. and Dawson slid by. Cannon, Austin Jr.,
and Polenz were all sent to the rear of the field. This handed Jansen the
lead, who then was passed by Dawson on lap 23. Dawson then held off
Jansen, and crossed the stripe less than a second ahead of Jansen. George
Cushman and Polenz would round out the top 4. Bryan Fox picked up the win
and the point lead, as he took home win number 6 in the 20 lap Victory
Lane Graphix / Advanced Auto Care UCAR feature. Billy Ingle, who entered
the event as the point leader, had to pit early for a fuel leakage issue,
and was sent to the rear of the field. He had to battle back, and finished
4th at the end. But with Fox's win, Fox now holds a 2 point lead in the
division. Next Saturday night, the Late Models compete in a 75 lap event.
Also on the schedule is a 30 lap feature for the Legends, 20 laps for the
UCARS's, and a special twin feature event for the Mini Modifieds. Practice
is set for 2PM, with qualifying starting at 5PM. Racing action takes the
green at 7PM.
Photos From 8/2/06:
Top Row:
Sean Dawson - Legends Feature Winner
Willard Lawrence - Late Model Feature Winner
Scott Gore - Mini Modified Winner
Bottom Row:
Bryan Fox - UCAR Feature Winner
Jaime Holcomb Leads A Pack Of Legends
Veteran Keith Riley Ready To Hit The Track
