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PELKEY GETS FIRST WIN OF THE YEAR IN THE 360 MAIN by Windy McDonald |
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Phoenix, AZ (November 11) Damion Gardner and Josh Pelkey won feature races in the second round of the Checker Auto Parts/Budweiser Western World Championships at Manzanita Speedway. Even though he finished second in the Arizona Sprint Car Association points Josh Pelkey felt he had something to prove to those who claimed he was not capable of winning. The 1997 champion started in the fourth row and was forced to use the high groove in moving to the front as most of the cars were running low. He moved to third on the eighth lap and then watched as Brian Hacker and Jeremy Sherman swapped the lead through every turn. Sherman was running high, Hacker low and Pelkey decided to follow Sherman.
Sherman finally claimed the lead on the ninth lap but Hacker was back in front on the 12th lap. Pelkey dropped Sherman to third and then drove to the lead with an outside pass on the 15th lap.
Josh pulled away and Sherman, who reported broke a watts linkage, dropped all the way to seventh.
Mike Martin drove from 11th to finish third, Nathan High was fourth, R.J. Johnson fifth and Ricky Hood sixth. Those drivers qualified for Saturday night’s 30 lap feature. Rounding out the top ten were Sherman, A.J. Anderson, Jerry Coons, Jr. and Matt Rossi.
The red flag flew on the second lap when trouble developed at the front of the pack. Damion Gardner, Mat Rossi, R.J. Johnson and Tony Everhart were involved but only Gardner was unable to continue.
J.T. Imperial was running near the front when he and Martin’s cars made contact sending the youngster on a wild series of end over end flips. Imperial quickly headed to Martin’s car and vented his anger but he was restrained as cooler heads prevailed.
A.J.Anderson held Ricky Hood at bay to capture the 12 lap “B” main which placed eight drivers in the main. Behind the two leaders were Jason Tanner, Jay Ervine, Tom Ogle, Mike Bonneau, Ronnie Clark and Chad Boat.
Tanner scratched from the main giving the 20th starting berth to Scott Pasmore who finished ninth in the semi.
All four heat races were won from the front row. Imperial beat Sherman, Chris McArther and Hood in the first heat. The second heat went to Rossi over Johnson, High and Anderson. Gardner drove the Keith Bryan car to the win in the third heat with Pelkey Martin and Ervine trailing. The final heat went to Hacker over Coons, Jr., Brian Swinehart and Tanner.
360 Sprints Western World Summary
Main Event: 1. Josh Pelkey 2. Brian Hacker 2. Mike Martin 3. Nathan High 5. R.J. Johnson 6. Ricky Hood 7. Jeremy Sherman 8. A.J. Anderson 9. Jerry Coons, Jr. 10. Matt Rossi 11. Jay Ervine 12. Chad Boat 13. Scott Pasmore 14. Tony Everhart 15. Tom Ogle 16. Brian Swinehart 17. Mike Bonneau 18. Ronnie Clark 19. J.T. Imperial 20. Damion Gardner Lap leaders: laps 1-2 Imperial, laps 3-6 Hacker, lap 7 Sherman, lap 8 Hacker, laps 9-11 Sherman, laps 12-14 Hacker, laps 15-20 Pelkey
1ST Heat: 1. J.T. Imperial 2. Jeremy Sherman 3. Tony Everhart 4. Ricky Hood 5. Chris McArthur 6. Lealand Fuller 7. Scott Pasmore 8. Jon Taylor
2nd Heat: 1. Matt Rossi 2. R.J. Johnson 3. Nathan High 4. A.J. Anderson 5. Ronnie Clark 6. Mike Boneau 7. Shon Deskins 8. Derek DeMartino
3rd Heat: 1. Damion Gardner 2. Josh Pelkey 3. Mike Martin 4. Jay Ervine 5. Ronnie Case 6. Bernie Smith 7. Johnny Williams
4th Heat: 1. Brian Hacker 2. Jerry Coons, Jr. 3. Brian Swinehart 4. Jason Tanner 5. Tom Ogle 6. Chad Boat 7. Rick Hill
“B” Main: 1. A.J. Anderson 2. Ricky Hood 3. Jason Tanner 4. Jay Ervine 5. Tom Ogle 6. Mike Bonneau 7. Ronnie Clark 8. Chad Boat 9. Scott Pasmore 10. Chris McArthur 11. Shon Deskins 12. Bernie Smith 13. Johnny Williams 14. Lealand Fuller 15. Jon Taylor 16. Derek DeMartino 17. Ronnie Case 18. Rick Hill |
