It was fan appreciation night at Airport Speedway. This is one night out of the season that we show our appreciation for the fans that come out to the racetrack every Saturday night and watch the races. The drivers not only love the competition, but they enjoy putting on a good show for the fans. So, we just want to say “thank you” to all of the fans at Airport Speedway. Along with many, many door prizes, there was a full slate of points racing on tap tonight.
We started the evening with the Junior class. Because of the six car invert for the 25 lap features, heat race winner Angelo Bianco in the 86 would start from the outside of row three. After a miscue on the start, the Juniors ran off 16 laps before the yellow was shown. Zoe Ford in the 11 had led all sixteen laps and looked to be within reach of her first feature win. On the restart though, Bianco got a great jump and took the lead. He would put the 86 on cruise control and take his ninth checkered flag of the season. Zoe Ford in the 11 held on for a second place finish, while Felisha Kirlin in the 2 had a great run for third.
The 125’s were next for their feature race of 25 laps. Things did not start out pretty as there was a six car pile-up going into turn two on the start. After that was sorted out, they still had trouble getting started as another caution flew before a lap had been completed. So to the single file start we go. TJ Colbert was out front on this third try for a start and he would never give up that spot. He cruised on to his second feature win of the year with Kyle Newkirk in the 20 finishing second and Brett Estep in the 55 finishing third.
The 250 stock class came out next for their 25 lap feature. After a caution on lap 1 Jake Allen in the 48 went to the front. Brett Estep in the 18 was awful quick and got past him on lap 4. Estep had things well under control until a caution on lap 24 bunched the field back up. He survived the restart and green-white-checker finish to record the feature win. Jake Allen chased him but finished in second driving the 48 with Phil Durham in the 32 finishing third.
The 600 class came out next. Their 25 lap features are always an adventure. The green flag dropped with Drew Richmond on the pole and he held that spot as they ripped off 16 laps before the caution flew. Richmond in the 81 car was the toast of the field as he made his way through lap traffic and seemed to have things in control. Rich Mellor in the 02 was chasing, but didn’t seem to be able to do anything with Richmond. On the restart at lap 16 Mellor got a great jump and got around Richmond for the lead. He survived a restart after a caution on lap 23 to take the feature win. Drew Richmond in the 81 did hang on for second with Tyler Tank in the 11 finishing third.
The night ended with the 270 open class with the race itself ending kind of weird. Nick Walton in the 02 took off like a rocket at the drop of the green. No one was even close to having anything for him. The 270 bunch reeled off 16 laps before a caution. This erased a big lead that Walton had over Ken Andreas in the 90 and Angelo Mercado in the 3. These two were having a very good battle for second as it seemed like with the way Walton was driving, second was the best they could hope for. As Walton was coming out of turn 4 to take the checkered flag, he got tangled up with a lapped car and spun out. The confusion came as the yellow came out and then the checkered flag came out. Drivers and fans were not sure if the race was over or if there was going to be another two laps. It was determined the race was over and Ken Andreas was back in the winner’s circle after a two month absence. Alex Swift in the 11 got around Mercado in the 3 for those two to finish second and third.
We hope everyone enjoyed fan appreciation night at Airport Speedway. Join us next week for a regular points show at the greatest little dirt track around. See you at the races.
Complete finishes:
Juniors: 86 Angelo Bianco, 11 Zoe Ford, 2 Felisha Kirlin, 47 Will Federowic, 59 Randy Burns, 4 Greg Seiverd, 27 Erin DeLong. DNF: 11X Matt Andrews. DNS: 8 PJ Williams.
125: 66 TJ Colbert, 20 Kyle Newkirk, 55 Brett Estep, 10 Evan Krautwald, 86 Ralph Parks, 72 Vincent Nipe, 12 Dana Watkins, 15 Jacob Walker, 95K Kylie Winkler. DNF: 77 Brittany Whitesall, 08 Hannah Schrom, 32 Phil Durham, 02 Zoe Mattis. DNS: 67 Heather Colbert.
250 stock: 18 Brett Estep, 48 Jake Allen, 32 Phil Durham, 56 Marco Michetti, 69 Andy Taccard, 3 Ava Mercado, 28L Justin Layton, 12 Collin Milroy, 4X Craig Martin, 12R John Reuter, 52 Joe Stewart, 8 Heather LaMothe. DNF: 28X Adam Brown, 5 Lew Schwander.
600: 02 Rich Mellor, 81 Drew Richmond, 11 Tyler Tank, 87 Jimmy Carpenter, 89 Kelli Matherly, 69K Stephen Kemery, 30 John Williams, 9 Stewart Carmichael, 85 Ricky DiEva, 12 Jerry Allen, 97 Sam Locuson, 66 Gregg Cable. DNF: 65 Stephanie Jones, 6 Cameron Bellinger
270 open: 90 Ken Andreas, 11 Alex Swift, 3 Angelo Mercado, 15 Ryan Wozunk, 7 Roland Saxton, 19 Luke Fogg, 23R Rebecca LaMothe, 55 Hank Stellar IV, 28X Matt Schwander. DNF: 02 Nick Walton, 06 Kayla Dare, 10 Evan Krautwald. DNS: 747 Nandi Palmai.
We started the evening with the Junior class. Because of the six car invert for the 25 lap features, heat race winner Angelo Bianco in the 86 would start from the outside of row three. After a miscue on the start, the Juniors ran off 16 laps before the yellow was shown. Zoe Ford in the 11 had led all sixteen laps and looked to be within reach of her first feature win. On the restart though, Bianco got a great jump and took the lead. He would put the 86 on cruise control and take his ninth checkered flag of the season. Zoe Ford in the 11 held on for a second place finish, while Felisha Kirlin in the 2 had a great run for third.
The 125’s were next for their feature race of 25 laps. Things did not start out pretty as there was a six car pile-up going into turn two on the start. After that was sorted out, they still had trouble getting started as another caution flew before a lap had been completed. So to the single file start we go. TJ Colbert was out front on this third try for a start and he would never give up that spot. He cruised on to his second feature win of the year with Kyle Newkirk in the 20 finishing second and Brett Estep in the 55 finishing third.
The 250 stock class came out next for their 25 lap feature. After a caution on lap 1 Jake Allen in the 48 went to the front. Brett Estep in the 18 was awful quick and got past him on lap 4. Estep had things well under control until a caution on lap 24 bunched the field back up. He survived the restart and green-white-checker finish to record the feature win. Jake Allen chased him but finished in second driving the 48 with Phil Durham in the 32 finishing third.
The 600 class came out next. Their 25 lap features are always an adventure. The green flag dropped with Drew Richmond on the pole and he held that spot as they ripped off 16 laps before the caution flew. Richmond in the 81 car was the toast of the field as he made his way through lap traffic and seemed to have things in control. Rich Mellor in the 02 was chasing, but didn’t seem to be able to do anything with Richmond. On the restart at lap 16 Mellor got a great jump and got around Richmond for the lead. He survived a restart after a caution on lap 23 to take the feature win. Drew Richmond in the 81 did hang on for second with Tyler Tank in the 11 finishing third.
The night ended with the 270 open class with the race itself ending kind of weird. Nick Walton in the 02 took off like a rocket at the drop of the green. No one was even close to having anything for him. The 270 bunch reeled off 16 laps before a caution. This erased a big lead that Walton had over Ken Andreas in the 90 and Angelo Mercado in the 3. These two were having a very good battle for second as it seemed like with the way Walton was driving, second was the best they could hope for. As Walton was coming out of turn 4 to take the checkered flag, he got tangled up with a lapped car and spun out. The confusion came as the yellow came out and then the checkered flag came out. Drivers and fans were not sure if the race was over or if there was going to be another two laps. It was determined the race was over and Ken Andreas was back in the winner’s circle after a two month absence. Alex Swift in the 11 got around Mercado in the 3 for those two to finish second and third.
We hope everyone enjoyed fan appreciation night at Airport Speedway. Join us next week for a regular points show at the greatest little dirt track around. See you at the races.
Complete finishes:
Juniors: 86 Angelo Bianco, 11 Zoe Ford, 2 Felisha Kirlin, 47 Will Federowic, 59 Randy Burns, 4 Greg Seiverd, 27 Erin DeLong. DNF: 11X Matt Andrews. DNS: 8 PJ Williams.
125: 66 TJ Colbert, 20 Kyle Newkirk, 55 Brett Estep, 10 Evan Krautwald, 86 Ralph Parks, 72 Vincent Nipe, 12 Dana Watkins, 15 Jacob Walker, 95K Kylie Winkler. DNF: 77 Brittany Whitesall, 08 Hannah Schrom, 32 Phil Durham, 02 Zoe Mattis. DNS: 67 Heather Colbert.
250 stock: 18 Brett Estep, 48 Jake Allen, 32 Phil Durham, 56 Marco Michetti, 69 Andy Taccard, 3 Ava Mercado, 28L Justin Layton, 12 Collin Milroy, 4X Craig Martin, 12R John Reuter, 52 Joe Stewart, 8 Heather LaMothe. DNF: 28X Adam Brown, 5 Lew Schwander.
600: 02 Rich Mellor, 81 Drew Richmond, 11 Tyler Tank, 87 Jimmy Carpenter, 89 Kelli Matherly, 69K Stephen Kemery, 30 John Williams, 9 Stewart Carmichael, 85 Ricky DiEva, 12 Jerry Allen, 97 Sam Locuson, 66 Gregg Cable. DNF: 65 Stephanie Jones, 6 Cameron Bellinger
270 open: 90 Ken Andreas, 11 Alex Swift, 3 Angelo Mercado, 15 Ryan Wozunk, 7 Roland Saxton, 19 Luke Fogg, 23R Rebecca LaMothe, 55 Hank Stellar IV, 28X Matt Schwander. DNF: 02 Nick Walton, 06 Kayla Dare, 10 Evan Krautwald. DNS: 747 Nandi Palmai.
