|
Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| Press Release |
|
|
|
Sherman wins Tribute To Wayne Weiler
at Manzanita Speedway |
|
Phoenix, AZ (May 27) "Show me the money" proved to be the
inspiration for the Arizona Sprint Car Association drivers in Saturday nights
Salute to Indy, a Tribute to Wayne Weiler at Manzanita Speedway.
The purse was by far the largest ever for an ASCA points race and 31 sprint cars were on hand with the fastest 24 racing in the 50 lap main event on Manzy's half mile track. With a $2200 payday waiting for the first car across the finish line there was more dicing than usual but in the end it was once again Jeremy Sherman who found his way to the winner's circle for the fifth time this year. Sherman worked harder for this win than for any of his others. He started the long grind in the sixth row, worked his way to second by the 20th lap but dropped to third when Bruce St. James, the early reclaimed the spot from him. Josh Pelkey, winner of the 2002 Salute to Indy, appeared poised to get his first ASCA points race win since May 31, 2003. However Sherman switched to the low side of the track, went back by St. James and then wrested the lead from Pelkey on the 39th lap. A couple of late yellow flags kept the field close and Sherman had only a 0.91 second advantage at the checkered flag. Super rookie Mike Colegrove had his best ever night in a sprint car with a strong third place finish. R.J. Johnson lost a lap early, made it up when he was able to get by the leader on the 25th lap and then came through the field to finish fourth ahead of Ricky Hood. Rounding out the top ten were Nathan High, Bobby Boone, St. James, Chad Boat and Mike Mundy. St. James had the pole and led the first two laps before yielding to Boone who started on the outside of the front row. Boone built a substantial lead by encountered heavy traffic and was held up by the back markers. St. James took advantage to close the gap and regained the lead on lap 19. He stayed in front until Pelkey, up from eighth slipped past on the 34th circuit. St. James earned an extra $100 as the leader at the half way point. However Sherman took the Carl Sourant to the botton and was out front for the final 11 trips around the one third mile track. High's drive from 20th to sixth gave him the hard charger award and an extra $100 from AME Electrical Contractor. High, winner of th May 13th race that paid him $1000 made that same amount with his sixth place finish. As a result of a consistent high wind the track maintenance crew kept the track very wet and the show ran late but the wait for the feature was worth it. Jeff Henry, one of the last cars to qualify, broke the one lap record with a time of 14.692, a speed of 81.677 mph. A multicar crash sent Henry's Robbie Allen owned sprint upside down in the first heat race. The car was repaired in time for the semi and Henry transferred to the main where he finished 12th. His fast time run was worth $250 from the $20,000 plus purse. A few laps after Henry's crash Josh Foster ran over the right rear on Chad Boat's car and did a series of end over end flips. He was conscious but was taken to a local hospital for observation. Shon Deskins started third but made a slick pass that carried him to the front on the first lap of the first heat. He stayed in front as he beat Shon Henricsen, Boat, Mike Mundy and Chris Bonneau. Sherman came out of the second row to win the second heat ahead of Pelkey, Boone, Mike Martin and Marty Miller. The third heat belonged to St. James who beat Matthew Rossi, Ryan Linder, Dana Fite and Brandon Lane. The final heat was a wire to wire win for Mike Leslie. Bob Ream, Jr., Hood, Colegrove and Bernie Smith. The top eight cars in the 12 lap semi transferred to the feature. Marty Miller led all 12 laps in the caution free semi with Johnson, Bonneau, High, Andy Reinbold, Lane, Henry and Smith getting the other main event berths. John Williams just missed making the feature but collected $100 for being the first driver in the semi that failed to transfer. He had earlier received another $100 bill for being the first car on the track to wheel pack. SUMMARY-ASCA SPRINT CAR SALUTE TO INDY, A TRIBUTE TO WAYNE WEILER Main Event (50 laps) 1. Jeremy Sherman 2. Josh Pelkey 3. Mike Colegrove 4. R.J. Johnson 5. Ricky Hood 6. Nathan High 7. Bobby Boone 8. Bruce St. James 9. Chad Boat 10. Mike Mundy 11. Ryan Linder 12. Jeff Henry 13. Shon Deskins 14. Seainn Hendricsen 15. Bernie Smith 16. Bob Ream, Jr. 17. Marty Miller 18. Mike Martin 19. Mike Leslie 20. Dana Fite 21. Chris Bonneau 22. Andy Reinbold 23. Matthew Rossi 24. Brandon Lane Lap leaders: laps 1-2 St. James, laps 3-18 Boone, laps 19-33 St. James, laps 34-38 Pelkey, laps 39-50 Sherman 1st Heat: (8 laps) 1. Shon Deskins 2. Seainn Hendricsen 3. Chad Boat 4. Mike Mundy 5. Chris Bonneau 6. Josh Foster 7. Leland Fuller 8. Jeff Henry 2nd Heat: (8 laps) 1. Jeremy Sherman 2. Josh Pelkey 3. Bobby Boone 4. Mike Martin 5. Marty Miller 6. R.J. Johnson 7. Nathan High 3rd Heat: ( 8 laps) 1. Bruce St. James 2. Matthew Rossi 3. Ryan Linder 4. Dana Fite 5. Brandon Lane 6. Andy Reinbold 7. Murray Harrison (Time: 2:04.44) 4th Heat: (8 laps) 1. Mike Leslie 2. Bob Ream, Jr. 3. Ricky Hood 4. Mike Colegrove 5. Bernie Smith 6. John Williams 7. Chuck Buckman Semi Main: (12 laps) 1. Marty Miller 2. R.J. Johnson 3. Chris Bonneau 4. Nathan High 5. Andy Reinbold 6. Brandon Lane 7. Jeff Henry 8. Bernie Smith 9. John Williams 10. Murray Harrison 11. Leland Fuller Fast Time: Jeff Henry-14.692, new one lap record |
