The 2nd Annual Jack Hewitt Classic presented by Aesthetic Finishers in in the books and the one word that can best the describe the night is "WOW". A great crowd was on hand to see Jonathan Hendrick pick up the $4000 to win Lee's Hydraulics Non Wing Sprints/Lane Automotive Michigan Traditional Sprints A Main. It was "Fat" Matt Twining winning the A Main in Miracle Motorsports Tuff Truck action. Beau Stewart grabbed the win in the Fowler and Hadding 1000cc Mini Sprint A Main. Mike Sawmiller and Ethan Pope picked up the wins in the double features for the JR and Sons Service Center Compacts. Rick Rorabaugh of Williamsburg, Ohio won the "Ride of a Lifetime" and started the Jack Hewitt Classic A Main in the back seat of Jack's 2 seater sprint car.
First was the makeup feature for the JR and Sons Service Center Compacts from the rain shortened July 24th racing program. 4 laps were in the books when the rains fell that night leaving 11 laps to be completed. Mike Sawmiller held the point as the field came down to take the green flag to restart the A Main with #31 Jeff Kimes, #76E Brandon Frazier, #17 Justin Durflinger, and #25s Nick Frazier in tow. Kimes, Durflinger and Frazier would start battling early for the 2nd spot, allowing Sawmiller to check out on the field. Meanwhile, #7 Ethan Pope from Springhills, Ohio began to make his way towards the front from his 6th place restarting spot. The battles for 2nd through 4th stayed hot and heavy, often 3 and even 4 wide on a couple of occasions, allowing Sawmiller to get away and grab his first A Main victory in Compact action at Waynesfield. Pope would grab the 2nd spot, with Nick Frazier, Kimes, and Durflinger rounding out the top 5.
After preliminary action was completed, the Miracle Motorsports Tuff Trucks hit the track for their A Main. After the trucks all came out on the speedway, it was announced that Curt Frazier, from Frazier's Garage in Ridgeway Ohio had donated $50 to one of the drivers in the Tuff Truck A Main based upon a spin of the inversion wheel, which came up '8', meaning the 8th place finisher would grab a $50 bill. It was then revealed that some anonymous donors came up with an additional $50 to be given to the driver who finished in the spot that was double the spin of the wheel, so the 16th finisher would also receive a $50 bonus. As the trucks fell into line to take the green, the lineup would ironically find the #71 of Chris Hicks on the pole. Hicks was docked 2 spots in his heat race due to jumping on a restart, but after the inversion wheel was spun, it played into the hands of "The Juggernaut" giving him the pole for the A Main. As the green flew, Hicks jumped out front immediately, showing that the Snake Thunder Engines #71 "Juggarocket" was ready to set sail. The brothers Twining, #25g "Bee-Badd" Gabe Twining, and #1w "Fat" Matt Twining, didn't receive that message as they grabbed the 2nd and 3rd spots and began to stalk the "Juggernaut". As the race neared lap 8, Matt Twining had passed his brother Gabe and began to battle with the leader, Hicks. The #71 and #1w would run side by side for several laps until the handle started to go away for Hicks. As the #71 got loose exiting turn 4, the #25g of Gabe Twining was able to slip by and grab the 2nd spot and try to run down his brother Matt, but laps would run out. Matt Twining would win in the Village Cafe sponsored #1w, with brother Gabe coming home 2nd in the #25g. #71 Chris Hicks would finish 3rd, with Jerry Butler finishing 4th and #CO1 Jerry Sawmiller completing the top 5. The $50 from Frazier’s Garage for 8th place went to #37 "Racin" Roy Miller, and the anonymous $50 went to #89 Keith Shockency. Heat races were won by #1x Jerry Butler, and #CO1 Jerry Sawmiller.
Next up were the JR and Sons Service Center Compacts for their 2nd A Main of the evening. #31 Jeff Kimes and #25s Nick Frazier would lead the field to green with Kimes in a team car of Durflinger racing. Kimes own ride is sidelined with engine problems, but hopes to have it ready for racing action next Saturday. Kimes wasn't the only driver sporting different paint however, as the #76E of Brandon Frazier was pretty in pink this week, as the Frazier team was supporting the "Race For The Cure". Brandon's grandmother is a survivor of breast cancer, making the cause that much more special for Brandon and family as they sported the special colors and brought lots of goodies for the fans courtesy of their sponsors. As the green fell, the racing action was just as heated as the 1st A Main was earlier in the evening. Kimes and Frazier would race briefly before Kimes would slip into the clutches of #17 Justin Durflinger and #7 Ethan Pope, his teammates for the evening. Pope made his move around the leaders at the halfway point and would grab the win. #17 Justin Durflinger would come home in the runner up spot, with #1 Mike Sawmiller racing his way up to 3rd from his ninth place starting spot, #31 Jeff Kimes was 4th, and #25s Nick Frazier would come home 5th. Heat races were won by #7 Ethan Pope, and #17 Justin Durflinger.
The Fowler and Hadding 1000cc Mini Sprints A Main was next on the track. Defending track champion #47 Garry Loney and #8f Scott Fasse would lead the field to the green flag. The racing was fast and fierce as Fasse tried to get away with the lead, but there were several drivers hot on his heels, including Loney #24L Lee Underwood, #27 Beau Stewart and #55 Rob Winks. You could throw a blanket over the top 5 until the red flag waved on lap 8 for the upside down machine of #80 Trey Gustin. When the field restarted, Fasse would still be in the front with Underwood in 2nd. #27 Beau Stewart went to the high side and began to stalk the #8f trying to find a way to get by Fasse. Caution waved 2 more times for spinning machines. and the final restart with just 4 laps remaining was the opening that Beau Stewart was looking for. As the field took the green and headed for turn one, Stewart went way up high on the cushion and powered by Fasse. Beau Stewart would capture the checkered flag in his Foz Racing #27, redeeming himself for his last visit to WRP which saw him leaving in an ambulance after a wild flip at the start of the feature earlier in 2010. Coming home 2nd was #8f Scott Fasse, with #22 Ryan Broughton, #47 Garry Loney, and #24L Lee Underwood wrapping up the top 5. Heat races were won by #27 Beau Stewart, #1H Nick Daugherty, and #24L Lee Underwood.
The 2nd Annual Jack Hewitt Classic was the final feature of the evening. You could cut the tension with a knife as the 22 drivers saluted the fans with a wave lap before getting down to business. As #68 Jonathan Hendrick and #78L Kirk Jeffries led the field to green, it was obvious that the crowd was going to be in for something special. After a brief caution on lap 2 for a spinning #78L of Jeffries the field restarted with Hendrick in the lead and 20 snarling machines looking to get around him. #57 Thomas Meseraull of San Jose, CA would head up to the cushion and begin to close on Hendrick on lap 7. On lap 15, the 18k of Todd Keen began to show his hand working the bottom of the speedway to perfection and closing on the leader. Meanwhile, T-Mez and Hendrick began to trade slide jobs as "The Flyin Buckeye" #54 Matt Westfall kept things interesting as the 4 leaders raced 2 and 3 wide for the next several laps. Caution flew one more time on lap 26 for a spinning car, setting up a 4 lap dash to the finish, which would see Matt Westfall making a valiant charge on the final lap as he pulled along side Hendrick on the bottom, but Hendrick held the momentum on the high side, grabbing the win and $4000 payday. Jack Hewitt was in victory lane to congratulate Hendrick on his win, and told the crowd "If you didn't like what you saw here tonight, you just ain't a race fan" #54 Matt Westfall would come home 2nd, #57 Thomas Meseraull 3rd, #18k Todd Keen, and #8b Mike Brecht would race his way to 5th after starting 21st. Heat races were won by #54 Matt Westfall, #57 Thomas Meseraull, #78L Kirk Jeffries, and #68 Jonathan Hendrick. The B Main was won by #23 Mitch Wissmiller.
Congratulations to the top 5 in points for the “Road to the Hewitt Classic” Mini-Series presented by Hoosier Tire. Teh winner was #57 Thomas Meseraull, 2nd was #54 Matt Westfall, #41 Steve Ott was 3rd, #0 Steve Irwin 4th, and #24 Landon Simon 5th. Thank you to all of the drivers and teams who competed in the series, thank you to all of the tracks and promoters for allowing this to happen at your facilities, and a big thank you goes out to Hoosier Tire for putting this series on.
Waynesfield Raceway Park track promoter Dean Miracle would like to thank all of the teams and drivers who supported the 2nd Annual Jack Hewitt Classic. All of you did a tremendous job last night and put on one of the best shows ever at Waynesfield. A Huge thank you to the fans who came out and supported us last night as well. Without you there is no reason to put on the great racing that you have come to expect at WRP. We will continue to strive to present you with the very best value for your entertainment dollar for the remainder of 2010 and beyond!
Waynesfield Raceway Park is back in action next Saturday night August 14th whenwill be "Racing for Kids With Cancer". Everyone who brings a new toy to donate to Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Columbus, Ohio will receive a free hot dog or soda from our concession stand and will also be entered into one of several drawings for gift baskets donated by several local businesses. Also a raffle for a brand new Bell racing helmet signed by several open wheel superstars is underway. The Lee's Hydraulics Non Wing Sprints will compete in double features as we make up the feature event from Saturday July 24th. Also in action will be the AMSA Mini Sprints, Miracle Motorsports Tuff Trucks and JR and Sons Service Center Compacts. Visit
http://www.waynesfieldracewaypark for more info