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Roberts & Hoffman Pick Up Big Wins In the Race for the Kids

Night 1 of the 2013 5th Annual Race for the Kids

It all comes down to tonight, the final race of the 2013 season, the grand finale, the 5th Annual Race for the Kids!! With 24 Ultimate Super Late Models signed in and 45 Open Wheel Modifieds registered, everyone was more than ready to get things started.

On the schedule for night one, the ARCO Restoration Thunder & Lightning division lined up with Cy Nelms, Jr. picking up the $100 Denton Truck Repair Fast Qualifier Award. At the drop of the green flag these guys were on the gas! As they came to the start finish line, they were 3 wide! Matthew Bissette would come out of turn 2 in the lead followed by Cy Nelms, Jr. Mark Boykin, Brad Hamm & Skeeter Liles. The caution would come out early as David Royal spun coming out of turn 4 on lap 3. Back green with no change in the top 5, but plenty of hard racing from 6th back as Luke Owens held off Joey Cascell and started putting pressure on Liles for 5th. Caution again on lap 4 when Mark Canup spun on the back straightaway. Back green with Matthew Bissette trying to pull away from Cy Nelms, Jr. Mark Boykin held on to 3rd spot as Brad Hamm inched closer and closer to Boykin’s bumper. Up front, Nelms, Jr. was challenging Bissette for the lead when Willie Schwann would spin, causing Nelms, Jr. to spin to avoid hitting him. The caution flag would fly briefly, but we were quickly back green. Bissette continued to lead Nelms, Jr., Boykin, Hamm & Liles. Lap 10 would see yet another caution as JP Cascell would spin over in turn 2. Green flag, but only for 1 lap as the caution would come out again for the 17 of Mark Canup and the 07 of Jimmy Gray. Matthew Bissette would lead Cy Nelms, Jr., Mark Boykin, Brad Hamm and Skeeter Liles to the green flag. Luke Owens was putting pressure on Liles for the 5th spot as we came to the half way mark. Matthew Bissette was catching the tail of the field, as Cy Nelms, Jr. was closing in as the laps continued to wind down. Nelms, Jr. was on the leader’s bumper as they weaved through the lap traffic. Lap 22 would see the caution yet again as Joe Taylor spun over in turn 1. With 3 to go, Matthew Bissette leads Cy Nelms, Jr., Mark Boykin, Brad Hamm and Skeeter Liles to the green flag. Matthew Bissette would bring home the win followed by leads Cy Nelms, Jr., Mark Boykin, Brad Hamm and Skeeter Liles. Congratulations Matthew Bissette on the $1000 paycheck! Lane Proctor picked up the Richie Ballance Flooring Hard Charger Award for gaining the most spots.

After 2 laps of qualifying and 4 heat races sponsored by Owens Construction, the DRU Inc. Open Wheel Modifieds, 18 of the 45 were locked in. Russell Erwin & Kyle Strickler took the front row, with Erwin picking up the $200 2 Brothers Motorsports Fast Qualifier Award. Winners of the 4 heats included Nick Hoffman, Chris Parker, Andy Floyd & Hank Edwards.

The Ultimate Super Late Models would see the 87 of Walker Arthur setting fast time & picking up the $200 Batten Seamless Gutters fast qualifier award. Setting the stage for 3 heat races, taking the top 6, we would see Casey Roberts, Chris Ferguson & Jonathan Davenport.

Night 2 of the 2013 5th Annual Race for the Kids

After an exciting night of racing on Friday night, everyone was ready for the grand finale tonight. With Walking Tall the monster out of Tappahannock, Virginia made the trip down to put on a show for the folks later on, along with a demo derby, but the main event, the Ultimate Super Late Model Series racing for $10,000 to win & the Open Wheel Modifieds racing for $5,000. Casey Roberts, the 2013 Ultimate Series Points Champion and Chris Ferguson would lead the field to green from the front row for this 50 lap feature. Starting on the front row for the Open Wheel Modified 40 lap event Russell Erwin and Kyle Strickler. With a big payout available in both of these classes, the US Legends Dirt Modifieds, the Walking Tall Monster Truck & a demo derby, the stage was set for an exciting night of racing!

Up first, the US Legends Dirt Modifieds would line up for their feature with John Taylor and Gary Dillon on the front row. Damien Bryant would bring out the first caution on lap 3 when he spun over in turn 1 on lap 2, but after a short caution period we were back green. John Taylor stretched his lead over Dillon by several car lengths followed by Ryan Shattuck and Damien Bryant. The final laps would see Dillon slip back to 3rd as Shattuck took over 2nd. Coming to the checkers it would be John Taylor, Ryan Shattuck and Gary Dillon.

Thundering out of turn 4, the Ultimate Super Late Models rolled onto the track for their 50 lap main event feature. Casey Roberts & Chris Ferguson lead this massive field to the green flag and as the powered down into turn 1, they were 3 wide! Casey Roberts would take the lead followed by Ferguson, Jonathan Davenport, Chris Garnes & Jeff Smith. Timmy Blackwell would bring out the caution when he slowed on the backstretch. After a push from track officials, we were back green with Roberts out front. Stretching his lead over Davenport by about 5 or 6 car lengths, Roberts started to catch the tail of the field quick. Jeff Smith worked his way around Ferguson for 3rd spot as Booper Bare held off Scott Bloomquist for 5th. Joe Cox, about to be put a lap down, would spin over in turn 2 just as the leader was on his bumper. MIchael Batten & Dave Pettyjohn would bring out the caution out of turn 2 just as we went back green. On the restart, 3 cars would get tangled up with Booper Bare, Ray Tucker, Brett Miller all getting mixed up, with Bare spinning in front of the field.This would move Scott Bloomquist up into the 5th position. Back green, Roberts leading Davenport, Smith, Ferguson and Bloomquist with 11 laps in the books. Scott Bloomquist started working on Chris Ferguson for the 4th spot, as the leader was catching the tail of the field just as they crossed the stripe with 19 complete. As Roberts put a lap on Roger Lucas, Jonathan Davenport gained a little ground to close the gap. Spencer Liggon would go up in flames on lap 22, bringing out the caution again. After clearing the track, we were back green with Roberts continuing to lead Davenport, Smith, Ferguson & Bloomquist. Roberts & Davenport put some distance on the 3rd place car as we approached lap 34. Davenport was inching closer and closer with each lap, gaining ground on Roberts as they worked lap traffic. Davenport started working the outside line, trying to get around Roberts for the lead but couldn't complete the pass. Chris Ferguson was working the inside of Jeff Smith trying to take back the 3rd spot as we came to 5 to go, but up front it was Roberts & Davenport. Ferguson would make it around Smith as they took the 2 to go. Caution out! Brett Miller would slow on the backstretch before exiting the track, setting up a green, white, checker. Can Roberts hold off Davenport? We'll know in 3 laps folks! Green flag. Roberts, Davenport, Ferguson, Smith & Bloomquist your top 5. Ferguson would slip up beside Davenport, 2 wide all the way around the track finally clearing Davenport for 2nd spot!! Casey Roberts, pole sitter, lead flag to flag, is your winner! Chris Ferguson, Jonathan Davenport, Jeff Smith & Scott Bloomquist would round out the top 5.

Our final feature of the night, the Open Wheel Modifieds lined up on the backstretch with Russell Erwin & Kyle Strickler on the front row. $5,000 to win, 40 laps, 26 cars! As the green flag fell, Kyle Strickler jumped out front followed by Russell Erwin, Nick Hoffman, Chris Parker & Andy Floyd. Erwin would work the high side, getting around Strickler to take the lead. Taylor Cooke would bring out the caution on lap 4 with a spin over in turn 2. Back green with Erwin leading Strickler, Hoffman, Parker and Floyd. 2 wide from 6th back to 10th spot, and even at the tail of the field! Hoffman up beside Strickler for 2nd spot but Hoffman could not complete the pass. Lap 14 would see the caution come out for Tyler Evans. Back green with Erwin leading the field. Hoffman continued to work on Strickler, finally get by him on the high side going down the backstretch. Hoffman worked his way around Erwin to take the lead as we approached the half way mark. Kyle Strickler worked his way to the inside of Erwin trying to get around him to take over 2nd spot but couldn't complete the pass as Hoffman caught the tail of the field. David Stremme was trying to get around Andy Floyd to take over 5th spot, but Floyd was having none of it. Lap 28 would see Strickler & Erwin, battling hard for the 2nd spot, make contact causing Erwin to have a tire go down. This would shift the top 5 as Hoffman lead the field to the green flag followed by Kyle Strickler, David Stremme, Joe Meadows & Andy Floyd. Caution again, lap 34, for Brian Anderson and a solo spin over in turn 4. Quick caution because we are back green with 6 to go. Hoffman leads Strickler, Meadows, Stremme & Floyd. Joe Meadows found a line on the outside that just shot him to the rear of Strickler, almost giving him the momentum to pass for 2nd! Joe Meadows would break as they took the white flag!! Nick Hoffman would take the checkers for the 2nd year in a row! He was followed by Kyle Strickler, David Stremme, Andy Floyd & "Hurricane" Hank Edwards.

Thank you all so much for your support and dedication this year. County Line Raceway would be nothing without the drivers & fans. For 25 years, you have joined us each racing season for great racing action & we thank you from the bottom of hearts. As we enjoy our off-season, please have a Happy Thanksgiving & a very Merry Christmas! We'll see you in 2014 at County Line Raceway!

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