| Race: Points Race #07 Date: 7-11-2004 Location: Richmond, Va. Track: 360 West Shopping Center Temperature: 92°F & Humid |
The seventh points race of the year was very hot and humid. The forecast for the day was threatening due to fronts moving thru with the distinct possibility of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
![]() Again John Laster continued his dominance of qualifying by TQing in two classes. He out-classed the field in 1/8th Scale as well as Nitro Touring Pro to take the top starting spots. With the weather threatening no time was wasted getting the mains setup and under way. 1/8th Scale was first on the track and the drivers wasted no time getting warmed up, fueled up, & to the line for the start. with the sound of the tone ringing in the air, all eight cars came to life and so did the competition between them. John Laster quickly showed why he was on the pole, moving away from the line with Mark Poore, Mike Bowman and Stan Medlin in close pursuit. Sean Tabor had troubles at the start but joined the field just seven seconds behind. Sean showed he would still be a contender by quickly moving around the cars of Terrance Brown, Ben Wallace, and Tim Aberg then set sail for the front pack. Within a few laps he would pass Mike Bowman who had a ill handling car and would retire soon there after. The next obstacle in Seans path was the cars of Stan and Mark. With just a wiggle of the wheel he quickly out maneuvered them and moved up into second. From there the race was on between John and Sean. After a thrilling few minutes of very close racing and some pit strategy being played out Sean would come up close but no cigar. John would secure his second win of the year while the rest of the field finished like this. Sean, Mark, Ben, Stan, Tim, Mike, and Terrance. Next up, Electric Touring. Ben Wallace took this race from start to finish. John Laster raced hard the whole four minutes but was unable to pull up along side the car of Wallace's. John was faster through the turns but Ben's had quite a few more ponies under the hood and pulled away from John's car out and away from the turns. When the dust settled Ben would secure his first victory of the year with John a close second, Joe Harler third, and Tommy and Angie Ingram rounded out the field in fourth and fifth. Next up was Nitro Truck. Stan Medlin would continue the trend of winning from the pole but not without some close racing. Spencer Atkinson, and Tommy Ingram made him work very hard by pressuring him from the start. two laps back Earl Ingram and David Basl would have their own race within the race as both drivers were very equal and would trade positions often within the ten minutes of racing. When all was said and done, Stan would earn his second victory of the year by one lap over Spencer who edged Tommy for second as Earl edged David for fourth. Moving to the next class, Nitro Touring Sport, the trend of TQ's winning tier events would be broken. Pole sitter Chris Booberg started off strong but ran into mechanical problems early and would be forced to retire. That left the other seven starters to battle for victory. The driver that quickly filled the spot vacated by Chris was that of Les Shields. He out paced the rest of the field to finish some ten laps ahead of second place, David Basl. Drivers finishing behind Les and David were Ashley Stringer, Paul Knab, Joe Harler, Chris Booberg, Josh Wallace, Victor Boger, Justin Jacobson, and Craig Jones in that order. Next Up, Nitro Touring Pro. The TQ, John Laster would have to work hard to try and win his second event of the day as Mike Bowman set sail from the opening tone and checked out. John was able to keep Mike in sights but would gradually lose ground lap after lap. Behind these guys, Kevin Randolph and Terrance Brown raced hard trying to out position the other driver lap after lap. Back up front John had started to close on Mike as the laps started to wind down. Mikes car started to get very loose. What does this mean on a touring car? The rear wheel is getting ready to come off! And come off it did, causing Mike to fall from the lead to fourth place. When all was said and done, the John won his second race of the day with Terrance, Kevin, Tim Aberg, Mike, Ben Wallace, and Stan Medlin in that order. Nitro Monster Trucks had the asphalt next, and the TQ, Larenzo Allen, was unable to start. This left Victor Boger and Mac Scott to duel it out. After just eight minutes of racing both drivers decided to call it quits after multiple flameouts and other assorted troubles. Victor would take the checkered flag while Mac closed out the field.
After racing was concluded many drivers stuck around and helped with take down. This did not go unnoticed and was greatly appreciated. I'd like to personally thank all those who stayed around and helped with track tear down. People like you are life savers. ---Mark Poore |