4/17/2023
Tri-County Speedway
April 15th Night at the races
It was a spectacular night in every aspect at Tri County Speedway's last event. The weather was spectacular as well as the crowd. This combination led to plenty of action throughout the night. The 83 race cars in the infield gave a testament to what a wonderful venue Tri County is for local and national racing action.
The first race of the night was the Grand National Super Series. Former Cup star, Jeremy Mayfield, headlined the list of competitors that took the track. Jason Kitzmiller (#97) sped to the pole of the 50 lap race with a lap time of 16.248. The first 6 were inverted for the start of the race. This allowed Mike Kurkowski (#54S) to bring the field to green. The race ran without incident with the exception of Jason McDowell (#30) being black flagged for smoking heavily on lap 30. When the checkers fell, Jeremy Mayfield (#51) claimed the win. He was followed across the line by AJ Henriksen (#79) in second and Joe Wilder (#42) in third.
The next race on the docket was the first of 2 Front Wheel Drive Races. It featured a field of 15 cars. John Fox (#0) sped to the pole with a lap time of 19,162. No inversion was implemented for this race. This race ran without caution with the exception of Henry Webb (#43) spinning off turn 4 on lap 2. Fox held the point for the entire race. He was followed across the line by James Powell (#27) in second and Scotty Gosnell (#42) nailing down the third spot of the night’s second race.
Renegades were running for a $500 winners purse in the night’s third event. Dalton Ledbedder (#32) was fastest in qualifying with a lap time of 19.216. The first 5 were inverted for the start of the race. This placed Jordan Cook (#55) on the inside of the front row for the start. Lap 17 saw the cars of Klint Townsend (#9), Steve Smart (#16), and Wynn Haslem (#21) all having issues in turn 2. Dalton Ledbedder (#32) overcame the invert and won the Renegades race. Gary Ledbedder (#28) followed him across the line in second and Steve Smart (#16) came home third.
The Outlaw Division was the fourth race of the night. This relatively new division continued gaining momentum with 7 cars taking the green this week. Martin Nesbitt (#92) had the fast time in qualifying at 15.533. The first four were inverted for the night’s event. This placed Austin Simmons (#7) the first to see the green flag. Simmons also brought out the event’s only caution with a spin in turn 2 on lap 35. Martin Nesbitt (#92) won the event. Tim Dale (#5) came home second. JR Courage (#33) brought his racer home in third.
The Vintage Division was the fifth race to take the green. Eddie Gilbert (#95) had a hot lap of 17.062. He led the caution free race from start to finish to claim the win. Bob Wallace (#35) followed him across the line in second. Mark Whitten (#39) came home third.
The Front Wheel Drives returned to the track for their second race of the night. Since John Fox (#0) won the first race, he was required to start in the rear. The race ran caution free and a familiar face was in victory lane. James Powell (#27) claimed the win. Donny Holland (#10) placed second and Jason Garwood (#46) was third.
Limited Late Model division boasted a field of 14 cars. Charles Watson’s crew (#9) provided him with a quick car as he raced to a lap time of 16.037. However, when the green flag fell the inversion saw Watson start 7th. This placed Taylor Nesbitt (#92) on the pole. The night’s first caution came out on lap 6 when Austin Harris (#59) slowed to a stop on the track. On lap 24 the second caution flew when Ricky Parker (#25) and Coleman Chapman (#33) got together in turn 2. Due to the debris on the track, the restart saw the yellow wave for the final time. Taylor Nesbitt (#92) claimed the win. She moved into victory lane that her father occupied in an earlier race on the night. This was the first time that the father daughter team had both won their featured event of the night. Charles Watson (#9) was second and Ryan Joiner (#15) came home third.
Street Stocks were the 8th race of the night. Marlin Yoder (#08) turned a lap time of 16.887 to claim the pole. As in earlier races, an inversion was the order of the day. In this case, the top 5 were inverted. This placed Johnny Reynolds (#55) in the p1 position. Four cautions flew throughout the race. The first was on lap 5 when Coleman Chapman (#12) spun and hit the front stretch wall. Caution 2 came on lap 7 when Chapman slowed to a stop on the backstretch. Lap 23 saw the car (#99) of Blake Walker come to a stop on the race track. The event’s final caution was on lap 30 when Davey Smart (#14) spun off the 4th turn. Marlin Yoder claimed the win since Jesse Clark (#5) was involved in a post race altercation causing Clark to be disqualified. Johnny Reynolds (#55R) moved up to the #2 spot and Tyler Woodring (#4) in third.
The night’s final event saw the Grand National Super Series return to the track for their second race. The finishing order inverted the first 7 from race 1. This placed Donnie Doster (#57) on the pole. The race ran caution free with Jeremy Mayfield (#51)claiming his second win of the night. AJ Henriksen (#79) placed second once again and Jason Kitzmiller (#97) came home third.
We hope everyone enjoyed the night’s events and will come back for our next race on April 29th.
Article Credit: Debbie Setzer
Submitted By: Rhonda Higgins
