June 12th and 13th Racing Update

Darren had a rough start to the weekend at Limaland with a last place finish in the A Main after getting stacked up with some cars in turn 1. He followed up that performance with a solid showing at Waynesfield with a 3rd place finish in which he started at 15th.

Limaland.com Race Summary:
Engine Pro NRA Sprints Run for the Rabbit: 1) Rob Chaney 2) Ron Blair 3) Tim Hunter 4) Brock Mayes 5) JR Stewart 6) Kent Wolters 7) Tim Allison 8) Neil Sheppard 9) Butch Schroeder 10) Luke Hall 11) Sheldon Haudenschild 12) Jared Horstman 13) Mike Miller 14) Tim Viles 15) Mike Dunlap 16) Aaron Smith 17) Dennis Yoakam 18) Caleb Helms 19) Jeff Williams 20) Darren Long

Rob Chaney notched another Engine Pro NRA Sprint Invaders victory by winning Limaland Motorsports Park’s prestigious Run for the Rabbit memorial race. Limaland, in conjunction with the Lima AutoMall, holds this event every year to remember Travis “The Rabbit” Miller who thrilled fans on the famous high-banked quarter-mile in his sprint car. The 10th Annual Run for the Rabbit got off to a tough start for last week’s feature winner, Darren Long, and Jeff Williams. Several cars stacked up in turns one and two with the end result being parked cars for both drivers. Neil Sheppard succumbed to the relentless pressure of Rob Chaney by the fifth lap and Chaney went on to claim his first victory of the year at Limaland. Chaney’s victory also earned him a spot in this year’s King of the Quarter-Mile. Ron Blair ran a solid second and Tim Hunter charged from ninth to finish third.

Waynesfield Motor Sports Park Race Summary:
The winged warriors of the 360 sprint cars were the next feature to take over the track. When the race started, the cars didn't make it back to the flagstand before the red flag brought the race to a halt. Tim Hunter and Mike Dunlap both ended up flipping and coming to rest on their sides in turn two. The drivers were not injured but their pride must have been. As the safety crew worked to clean up the mess, Hunter and Dunlap had a heated exchange of words as to who hit who and caused the wreck. The track officials were able to keep the drivers far enough apart to avoid a physical confrontation but they sure had a diffence of opinion as to who caused the mishap. The remaining sprint cars were lined back up for a complete restart. Tim Allison shot out into the lead as the green flag waved and his only challenge would come after a late race restart with just 2 laps to go to the finish. Neil Shepherd took one shot at passing Allison for the lead on the bottom of the track but Allison quickly slammed the door on him. Tim Allison went on to win his 2nd sprint race of the season at Waynesfield Raceway Park. This was Allison's 96th career sprint car win. He says his goal is to win over 100 races before he retires from driving and at this rate he may very well get to that point during this 2009 season. Shepherd went on to finish 2nd in the sprint car feature event. The most impressive run of the night goes to Darren Long by finishing 3rd after starting in the 15th position. The sprint car heat winners were Mike Dussel, Mike Dunlap, and Neil Shepherd.

Ohio Cycleworx 360 Sprints
Heat #1: 6D-Mike Dussel, 2TH-Tim Hunter, 55-Scott Carter, 17-Jared Horstman, 1W-Kent Wolters, 47-Caleb Helms, 27J-Chris Jones

Heat #2: 7C-Neil Shepherd, 2DH-Dallas Hewitt, 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 28- Shawn Valenti, 4J-Bob Gehr Sr., 2-Brent Gehr

Heat #3: 57J-Mike Dunlap, 11-Tim Allison, 6s-JR Stewart, 1-Nate Dussel, 7L-Darren Long, 3G Bob Gehr Jr.

A-Main: 11-Tim Allison, 7C-Neil Shepherd, 7L-Darren Long, 6D-Mike Dussel, 6s-Jr Stewart, 1W-Kent Wolters, 2DH-Dallas Hewitt, 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 28-Shawn Valenti, 1-Nate Dussel, 47-Caleb Helms, 2-Brent Gehr, 4J-Bob Gehr Sr., 27-Chris Jones, 3G-Bob Gehr Jr., 55-Scott Carter, 2TH-Tim Hunter, 57J-Mike Dunlap, 17- Jared Horstman