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| Press Release |
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CHARLES DAVIS SWEEPS "FAN
APPRECIATION NIGHT" AT MANZY |
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Phoenix, AZ (September 9) Charles Davis, Jr. made another start with
the Arizona Sprint Car Association and this time he brought a broom with him
and scored a clean sweep in Saturday night's 25 lap feature on Manzanita
Speedway's half mile track.
Jeremy Reagles picked up his 12th mini sprint car victory of the year and Denny Dowty, a season veteran, finally got that elusive first win in the Desert Dwarf Car main event. Davis had hoped to have two nights in the potent Fred Bryan Maxim but Fan Appreciation night was rained out on September 2 and was moved to Saturday night's race. "Chargin' Charlie' gave an indication of things to come as he flirted with the four lap record in winning the Arizona Race Mart trophy dash. Then he went wire to wire in his eight lap heat race and was again close to the track record. When it came time for the feature, Davis had the F&E Development sprinter lined up fifth row with some tough competitors starting ahead of him. "I was real proud of Charlie" said Bryan. "He really showed some patience as he came through the field". Bryan was right as Davis methodically worked his way forward as Jay Ervine and Mike Bonneau fought for the lead. Ervine led the first eight laps before giving way to Bonneau. Mike was hoping to celebrate his birthday with a good outing and was quick and pulled away from Ervine. However, Davis slipped into second and Bonneau was about two seconds out front. Like an experienced fisherman, Charles reeled him in with a nifty move on the 18th lap. A yellow flag slowed the field after Davis led a lap and the rest of the field closed in. No matter, the Bryan car was flying and Davis pulled away. Brandon Lane and Mike Colegrove both got by Bonneau but they had nothing left for the leader. When Davis took the checkered flag he was 2.54 seconds ahead of Lane. Bonneau's fourth place finish marked his second straight fourth place drive. Bernie Smith turned in a good drive as he started 12th and finished fifth, his third top five of the year. Rounding out the top ten were Josh Pelkey, Jeremy Sherman, Chad Boat, Andy Reinbold and Ervine. Sherman's seventh place finish was his worst since the season opener when he finished 12th. Sherman's hopes of breaking the record for most wins in a season also went by the boards. He set the record at 16 last year but only five races remain on the schedule and the best he can hope for is to tie his record. He presently has eleven wins. The drivers handled the half mile track very well as the only yellow flags came as a result of stalled cars. The heat races were caution free but the semi had problems. It required a couple of restarts and then a yellow waved after one lap had been completed. One of the yellows came when the cars ran out of room in the second turn and Dana Fite got hit sending his J.R. Tuttle car into the wall. All the cars still running were in the feature so the checkered flag was dropped with only that lone lap in the books. Falling victim to Davis in the first heat were Pelkey, Jeff Henry, Bobby Ream and Chris Bonneau who made the feature. Matthew Rossi, Sherman, Seainn Hendricsen and Ronnie Clark were relegated to the semi. Davis' time of 2:38.50 was just a tick of the clock slower than the record of 2:38.06 set by Jeff Henry in June. Andy Reinbold went wire to wire in the second eight lapper. Also transferring to the feature were Mike Bonneau, Ervine, Boat and Fite. Bugs Norbury was subbing for Nathan High and he led the cars that had to run the semi. Mike Martin was quick in the final heat as he went wire to wire and held off Colegrove for the win. Behind the leaders were Lane, Smith, Mike Leslie, Shon Deskins, Darrin Bolton and Stevie Sussex. The running times for the second and third heats were almost a second a lap slower than the time posted by Davis. Davis started his clean sweep with a hard run in the trophy dash to beat Henry, Pelkey and Rossi. He was also near the four lap record of 1:18.16 set by Eric Wilkins March 6, 2004. Davis tripped the clock at 1:19.50. The ASCA sprint cars will be on the one third mile track next Saturday night in a doubleheader that has the Barnett dirt modifieds on the half mile track. SUMMARY--FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT ASCA SPRINT CARS--1/2 MILE TRACK Main Event: 1. Charles Davis, Jr. 2. Brandon Lane 3. Mike Colegrove 4. Mike Bonneau 5. Bernie Smith 6. Josh Pelkey 7. Jeremy Sherman 8. Chad Boat 9. Andy Reinbold 10. Jay Ervine 11. Mike Leslie 12. Matthew Rossi 13. Mike Martin 14. Bugs Norbury 15. Ronnie Clark 16. Jeff Henry 17. Darrin Bolton 18. Seainn Hendricsen 19. Stevie Sussex 20. Shon Deskins 21. Chris Bonneau 22. Steve Sandrolini 23. Bob Ream, Jr. 24. R.J. Johnson Lap leaders: laps 1-8 Ervine, laps 9-17 Mike Bonneau, laps 18-25 Davis 1st Heat: 1. Charles Davis, Jr. 2. Josh Pelkey 3. Jeff Henry 4. Bob Ream, Jr. 5. Chris Bonneau 6. Matthew Rossi 7. Jeremy Sherman 8. Seainn Hendricsen 9. Ronnie Clark (8 laps, time: 2:38.50) 2nd Heat: 1. Andy Reinbold 2. Mike Bonneau 3. Jay Ervine 4. Chad Boat 5. Dana Fite 6. R.J. Johnson 7. Bugs Norbury 8. Steve Sandrolini (8 laps, time: 2:44.10) 3rd Heat: 1. Mike Martin 2. Mike Colegrove 3. Brandon Lane 4. Bernie Smith 5. Mike Leslie 6. Shon Deskins 7. Darrin Bolton 8. Stevie Sussex (8 laps, time: 2:43.94) Semi Main: 1. Matthew Rossi 2. Shon Deskins 3. Mike Leslie 4. Bugs Norbury 5. R.J. Johnson 6. Jeremy Sherman 7. Seainn Hendricsen 8. Ronnie Clark 9. Chris Bonneau 10. Darrin Bolton 11. Stevie Sussex 12. Steve Sandrolini 13. Dana Fite Arizona Race Mart Trophy Dash: 1. Charles Davis, Jr. 2. Jeff Henry 3. Josh Pelkey 4. Matthew Rossi (4 laps, time:1:19.50) |
