Speedway featured 'Run What Your Brung race

By Bruce C. Walls
Special to the Coastal Point

	Coastal Point • BRUCE C. WALLS Jordan Watson, 30, Mike Hough, 61, and Chris Hitchens, 1a, race for position in the Crate Modified division at the Georgetown Speedway .

The Friday-night feature races at Georgetown Speedway in Georgetown on Sept. 8 were highlighted by a “Run What You Brung” race sponsored by I.G. Burton. Combined Super Late Models and Modifieds brought a variety of mostly winged cars.

The wing aero package planted cars to the track — especially in the corners. Lap times were consistently in the 15-second bracket on the half-mile dirt oval — 5 seconds faster than the 20-second bracket they run without wings.

Ocean Pines pilot Richard Jarvis Jr. earned the pole. He led the 17-racer field into Turn 4, steadily picking up speed as they headed for the green flag waving ahead of him. Jarvis reached Turn 1 first and dove low, exiting Turn 2 with a comfortable lead. Scott Haus hung on to Jarvis’ back bumper. Behind them, Seaford standout Ricky Elliott was working his way to the lead pack.

Caution flags would return two more times before mid-race. Jarvis led the restarts. In the final laps Elliott reached second. Haus quickly recaptured second and followed Jarvis across the stripe.

“You find yourself coming up on slower cars so fast,” said Haus, of Pennsylvania, who finished second. “This track is a little dark and I’m not use to it. We had good tires and it’s fun to ride these things like this,” he added referring to the permitted additional wings and other rule modifications. “The car was pretty good, better then in the heats. We worked on it a little bit and got it better, and it was a good second-place car.

“It’s hard to pass because the cars are so fast,” Elliott described. “I could close in on him (Jarvis) but then I’d lose him again. He did a good job.

“The car was excellent tonight. It handled real good and I want to thank my crew for that,” said the Ocean Pines, Md.-based winner, who pocketed $3,000 for his win. “They worked hard getting the wings built and getting the car to stick like it did tonight.”

Race sponsor I.G. Burton Auto of Milford donated the purses.

“The difference in speed between these cars with wings is unbelievable,” Jarvis said. “We usually turn lap times in the 20-second range and tonight we were in the low 15-seconds bracket. That’s incredible! It’s a total different feeling the car works on you. You have to be fit to drive one of these.”

Don Hallowell and Jamie Mills completed the top five. Rounding out the top 10 were Donnie Radd, Dale Hawkins, Steve Barnes, Darren Rust and David Pettyjohn.

Morris Tucker was the lucky winner of the new Crate Motor donated by I.G. Burton. During the season, each crate team received credit for each night’s run at Georgetown Speedway, with a ticket being added to the pot. On Friday evening, the I.G. Burton sponsors drew one lucky name from 60-plus teams who have participated in either Crate Modified or Crate Late Model racing at Georgetown.

Tucker has participated in every racing event at Georgetown this season. He has become known to the track employees as the usually the first tow vehicle in line at the pit gate on Friday afternoon and usually the first car on track for hot laps. The very surprised Tucker said after the drawing that he was just pleased Georgetown Speedway had reopened. He thanked track management for all their efforts this season and, finally, he thanked I.G. Burton for donating the crate motor.

To start Crate Modified, 24 cars lined up behind Tim Trimble. It took three tries to get them started, but once they did start, there was no stopping Milford native Joseph “JoJo” Watson from getting to the front. After the third restart, Watson broke into the early lead. Watson continued building up steam and gaining distance between himself and his brother Jordan Watson, who was piloting a similarly prepared machine.

Ryan Walls finished third.

“We had a lot of cautions early, but none when I needed them,” described Walls, of Laurel. “Then we had a lot of green flag laps at the end. I don’t know if I would have had anything for him or not. We worked our way from 23rd. I wish we had another caution to see if we had something for them or not. Unfortunately, breaks didn’t come to us tonight.”

“It took a little while to get up to the front,” described Watson, who collected $500 for the win. “It was hard to handle that last lap. I was worried I’d get into somebody or something. They were so thick out there I just weaved my way through them to the front. The car handled perfect. Once I got out front I couldn’t tell if they were close behind me or not. I think we did a pretty good job tonight.”

Chris Hitchens and John Curtis completed the top five. The next five to cross the stripe were Mike Hough, Chad Clark, Tom Curtis, Justin Griffith and John Wynn.

Later that night Elliott added another first to his record book. It was both his first ride in a Crate Late Model and his first Crate Late Model win. Bobby Watkins earned the pole, looking for his fifth straight win. Watkins roared away from the pole when they got the green flag. Several laps later caution waved. Watkins left the track, headed for his pit. Several more laps later, he emerged from the grid.

Meanwhile, Elliott showed them around again — this time with Ross Robinson right behind him. Caution waved again after two more laps were booked. Robinson and Dale Bounds were the restart’s top three. The green flag waved. Elliott got back to business and finished the job, with Robinson and Bounds still behind him.

“He’s one of the best in the business,” Robinson said of Elliott. “I gave it all I had, but it just wasn’t enough. Running second to Ricky Elliott is good in my book. He can run with the best of them and that’s good for me. I’m proud of it.”

“It was pretty fun my first time in a crate car. I like racing. I’d race a kart here if they had them too,” said Elliott, who pocketed $500. “It was good race. The car was excellent. We made a little adjustment after the heat race. Ross ran around me there a little in the heat race and we knew we had to adjust it a little to get it a little more momentum. So that’s what we did. We didn’t get it quite where we needed it, but it was good enough.”

Big Block Modifieds will be featured in this Friday’s show, on Sept. 15, at Georgetown Speedway. Crate Modifieds and Crate Late Models also compete that night.

Fans should mark Sept. 22 on their calendar. In celebration of Dover Downs weekend, Georgetown Speedway will be running the 1st Annual Melvin Joseph Memorial Race. The headliner of that show will be a 49-lap Super Late Model feature show paying $4,900 to win.

The late Melvin Joseph built Georgetown Speedway in the late 1940’s and went on the be very involved in the construction and operation of Dover Downs. Joseph owned race car #49. Gates open at 5 p.m. Warm-ups start at 7 p.m. For more information, call the Speedway office at (320) 856-7415 or visit the track Web site at www.georgetownspeedway.com.