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GUSS PUTS BAD LUCK BEHIND HIM IN WEST LIBERTYWest Liberty Raceway Putting the final mark on a theme that seemed to be prevalent throughout the evening, Ray Guss Jr overcame a recent run of bad luck to capture the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Late Model feature at the West Liberty Raceway on Saturday June 23rd. Starting the 25-lap feature event from the pole position due to a recent streak of mechanical failures and misfortune, Guss led every lap on his way to his first victory of the season at the ultra-competitive racetrack. Two early caution periods kept Guss away from lapped traffic until the fifteenth circuit, after which he had built up a 15-car length lead over Rick Wendling. Wendling kept the pressure on by constantly searching for the fastest line, settling in the middle and bottom of the racetrack while Guss continued to flat foot around the top of the track. Closing in late, Wendling gave Guss his only challenge with two laps to go by pulling underneath the leader as the cars negotiated the first corner. With lapped traffic in the way, Wendling backed off, repeating the maneuver each of the final five corners of the race to no avail. Gary Webb finished a distant third after starting eighteenth advancing through the pack under green flag conditions as the final 22 laps of the race were spent without a caution flag to bunch the field. Points leader Denny Eckrich turned in another solid run to capture the fourth position ahead of Kevin Kile. Rick Hixson also overcame recent misfortune to capture the Miller Time Modified top honors. Recent bad luck has kept Hixson out of the top twenty on three of his last four races at West Liberty. Taking the lead at the drop of the green, Hixson was never seriously challenged, although two restarts kept Scott Megonigle and Dan Chapman close. Megonigle overtook Chapman for second following a late race restart with Gus Hughes and Darrell Brick rounding out the top five. Pro Stocks started the evening’s theme with Jody Metzger breaking out of a recent spate of accidents to capture his first victory of the season. Metzger inherited the lead after one lap was complete when pole sitter Bruce Miller retired to the pits. Metzger kept his foot to the floor as Andy Eckrich and Norman Bean battled for the second spot. Eckrich was able to break free on several occasions to pressure Metzger, but a restart with two laps to go hampered his efforts by allowing Bean to pull alongside for the restart. Eckrich was able to shake Bean on the final lap but came up short on a final corner dive for the lead. Rusty Daufeldt and Darrin Plett rounded out the top five. CJ Ormsby pulled off his first Hobby Stock win of the season after parlaying his pole position into an easy win over Matt Fulton, Jeremy Thompson, Stan O’Brien and Derrin Voss. Racing action will continue at the West Liberty Raceway located on the Muscatine Co Fairgrounds this Saturday, June 29th. Four divisions of NASCAR Stock Cars will once again do battle on the flat half-mile, hot laps scheduled for 6:30 with racing to follow. For more information, please contact Simmons Promotions at 563-744-3620 or on the internet at www.SimmonsPromotionsInc.com. For raceday updates and instant results upon completion please call your local McLeod USA InTouch directory category #3740 or #3741. Late Models DNQ MILLER TIME MODIFIEDS DNQ PRO STOCKS DNS HOBBY STOCK DNS |
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