The VMCRA visited Shenandoah Speedway on 9-11-2011 for our last race there this year. It would be our only Sunday race this year (I hope), and it would produce another new face in Victory Lane this year as Jason Watkins comes away with the win. First things first. This racing year is just about over. Our end of the year banquet is scheduled for Nov. 26th. Make plans now. We are selling tickets for our new car body raffle, with proceeds helping our point fund. Also, don’t forget our weekly 50-50 drawing. Also helps with point money. On to the race. We only had one practice this week with their daytime race. Jason Watkins was in the #15 and would spin off turn two. Unfortunately, Corey Berkstresser got caught up in the incident as he spun the #19 to miss the #15. He made hard contact with the outside wall and would be unable to race. No other incidents. In qualifying, Jason would come back from his spin and grab the pole in the Lee-Hi #15. Randy Yarbrough was a close second in his #14. Remainder of the top five was Wayne Falls in the #11, the #77 of Ryan Adams, and Travis Roach in fifth in his #2. Sixth through thirteenth were the #21, #70, #17, #00, #7, #07, #01, and the #95 who also was flagging other races. So, Jason led us to the green. Randy Yarbrough ran side by side with the #15 for three laps before the caution appeared. Sierra Cusson and Jennifer Chitwood came together and spun off turn two. Both cars ended up with bent axles and were done for the day. Back to green with the 15 in front. Wayne would make it a good race and kept the pressure on, getting to Jason’s bumper with three to go. But Jason would hold on and take the win in the R and W Siding #15. Congrats Jason and Landon. The GK Lipscomb #11 of Wayne Falls would finish second and retain the point lead. A strong third was Ryan Adams in his red  #77, with fourth going to Doug Watts in the Carlton Scales #01, up from a twelvth starting spot. Rounding out the top five after several weeks of rotten luck was Jeff Stump in the Stumpy #70. Sixth goes to Scotty Roach in his #21, with seventh being Joey Botkin in his #95. Randy Yarbrough brings the LW Building Supply #14 home eighth, with ninth place belonging to a returning Tyler Roach in a very good-looking #00. Brother Travis Roach brings the Wayne’s Electrice #2 across the line tenth, with Tim Brown, Jr. eleventh in the #7. Sierra Cusson is scored twelvth in the BRP Photography #17, and the #07 Stumpy Motorsports of Jennifer Chitwood is thirteenth. Corey Berkstresser gets credit for fourteenth in the Lee-Hi #19 per our rulebook. So, that’s our last race this year at Shenandoah. Fuel chip pulled. All cars weighed. Everything ok.

Next up is Ace Speedway Sept. 17th. Pits open at 2 pm. See ya there.

 

Till next time……………..DW

Two races in one night meant twice the excitement and two different winners as the VMCRA visited Shenandoah Speedway once again on September 3rd. Wayne Falls and Kevin Berkstresser shared the wins after two hard races.

 

First things first. We had fourteen cars show up for our double-header, our smallest car count of the year. But it was still the largest field of cars there. We had our regular two practices, with several spins. The #07 of Jennifer Chitwood spun in turn two, as did the #17 of Sierra Cusson. Not to be outdone, Kevin Berkstresser managed to spin three times without hitting anything. In the second practice, the #07 spun in turn two. No damage to any cars. In qualifying, Corey Berkstresser would lead the way in the Lee-Hi #19. Remainder of top five were the #11, #15, #14, and the #01 with a good run. So, Corey leads us to the green and takes the early lead. On lap two, several cars made contact on the straight, with Travis Roach retiring the #2 with a broken chain. No caution till lap six when the #07 loops in turn two. Wayne Falls grabs the lead with Corey right behind. Ryan Adams goes behind the wall on lap ten with brake problems related to the lap two tangle. Lap 17 found the #07 spinning in turn two, bringing out another caution. Wayne still leads, with the #15 getting by the #19 on lap 21. Ben Roudabush spins an ill-handling #6 on lap 22. Green-white checkered finds Wayne Falls getting the win in his G.K. Lipscomb #11. Congrats, Wayne. Kevin Berkstresser grabs second in the Lee-Hi #15, followed closely by brother Corey in his #19 White’s Truck Stop car. Fourth goes to Randy Yarbrough in the LW Building Supply #14 with Doug Watts rounding out the top five in Carlton Scale #01. Sixth after several weeks of bad luck was Jeff Stump in the Stumpy #70, with a returning Joey Botkin grabbing seventh in his #95. Jennifer Chitwood fights back for eighth in her Stumpy #07, and C. J. Hite gets ninth in his Valley Honda #88. Rounding out the top ten was Scotty Roach in his #21, still getting the bugs out after Langley. Eleventh goes to the BRP Photography #17 of Sierra Cusson, with Ben Roudabush getting twelvth in his damaged #6. Thirteenth after going behind the wall was Ryan Adams in the Adam’s Racing #77, and rounding out the field was Travis Roach in the Wayne’s Electric #2. So, that was race one. After adjustments and plenty of fluid, we lined up for our second race.The top six would draw for position, with the remainder according to their finish in race one.

 

The lineup read like this: #14, #19, #15, #11, #01, #70, #95, #07, #88, #21, #17, #77, and #2. So, Randy Yarbrough leads us to the green, with Corey Berkstresser grabbing the early lead. This race was much calmer than race one. After trailing the #19 for several laps, Kevin Berkstresser would work his way into the lead in the #15. The race would go green till lap 17 when the #07 spun in turn four. After a quick caution, green again with Kevin still leading. Wayne had the #11 in second with pressure from the #19. Kevin Berkstresser would hold on and grab his second win of the year in the Lee-Hi #15. Getting second was point leader Wayne Falls in his #11. The Lee-Hi #19 of Corey Berkstresser gets his second third place trophy of the night, with fourth going to Randy Yarbrough’s #14, also his second of the night. Travis Roach comes from deadlast to grab fifth in his #2, with sixth going to Ryan Adams in the #77. Doug Watts crosses the line seventh in the #01, while eighth was the Stumpy #70 of Jeff Stump. C.J. Hite grabs his second ninth place finish of the night in his #88, with Joey Botkin rounding out the top ten in his #95. Eleventh for the second time tonight was Sierra Cusson in dad Chuck’s #17, with twelvth the Roach racing #21 of Scotty Roach. Rounding out the field was Jennifer Chitwood in the #07. All cars finished. Per our rules, Ben Roudabush gets credit for fourteenth after not being able to start due to a bent axle from the first race. Safety chip pulled and all cars weighed. All ok. Oh yeah, we had our first 50-50 drawing. Mike Watkins won the $35. So, $35 goes into our point fund. Don’t forget to get your tickets each week. Randy’s wife takes care of that. So, two more races down. Next race is this Sunday, Sept. 11 at Shenandoah, our last trip there this year. Pits open at 2pm, races start at 5. Daytime race.

Thanks to all that help our group be successful.It’s a group effort. Oh yeah, Kevin’s little boy has been having some problems. Our prayers are with Jackson.

Till next time…..DW

 

 

August 20th found the VMCRA at Shenandoah Speedway for A 50 lapper. Sixteen cars would show, and in the end Kevin Berkstresser would find victory lane for the first time this year. First things first. Jock’s Computer was fried during a recent storm, hence race reports were late. He does a great job with the website, but Mother Nature prevailed. Also, the association is now doing a 50-50 drawing at each race. Proceeds will go into the point fund at the end of the year. On to the race. In our first practice, the 07 of Jennifer Chitwood would spin with no damage. Sierra Cusson would loop the #17 twice, making slight contact with the inside turn two wall on the second spin. In the second practice, the #07 would go around twice, again no damage. C. J. Hite tried the spin cycle in turn two, no damage. In our qualifying session, the 07 would loop again and the 88 also spun. Thankfully, no damage to either. Kevin Berkstresser would grab the pole in the #15, followed closely by brother Corey in his #19. Corey said it was a first time for both being on the front row together. Filling out the vtop five were Wayne Fall’s #11, Ryan Adams back in his #77, and Langely co-winner Ben Roudabush in the #6. On to the race. Kevin would lead us to the green and take the lead. Wayne Falls was trying hard to get the #11 to the front and got a little loose in turn four early, falling back several positions. Racing was hard, with Jeff Stump going behind the wall on lap 17 with a flat tire. Sierra Cusson spun off turn two on lap 26, bringing out our only caution flag and bunching up the field. A light sprinkle had started, but the rain would hold off. Kevin led us to the restart and held the lead. Jennifer Chitwood would get the black flag for a dragging exhaust pipe. The chain eventually came off and she retired the #07. The #15 led all 50 laps and Kevin Berkstresser would get his first win this year in the Lee-Hi car. Ryan Adams made it a race and came up just short in his #77. Grabbing third and holding on to his point lead was Wayne Falls in his G.K. Lipscomb #11, with fourth going to Corey Berkstresser in the #19 Lee-Hi Special. Randy Yarbrough rounds out the top five in his #14, broken exhaust pipe and all. Sixth goes to the #6, Ben Roudabush. (Shoulda had some good video, Ben) Doug Watts brings the Stumpy Motorsports #01 across the line in seventh (He said the top six cars were illegal) with eighth going to Travis Roach in the Wayne’s Electric #2. Grabbing ninth was C.J. Hite in the Valley Honda #88 and rounding out the top ten was the #7 of Tim Brown, Jr. Casey Cupp gets good track time and finishes eleventh in his #29 while Tommy Livengood grabs twelvth in his #57. Out of the race in thirteenth was the #07 of Jennifer Chitwood. Fourteenth was Sierra Cusson in the BRP Photography #17, with Stumpy Motorsports driver Jeff Stump fifteenth in his #70. Not starting but getting credit for sixteenth per our rule book was Scotty Roach in his #21. Scotty was still fighting problems with his car after his Langely flip. So, that,s another one. My personal thanks to Corey and Kevin and crew for repairing chassis damage to the #15 after Langely. Next up are TWIN 25 lappers at Shenandoah on September 3rd. Because of scheduling conflicts, we will only have one 25 lapper on Sep. 11th. The season is going by quickly. Thanks to all who help. The chassis chip was pulled. All cars ok. Till next time……………………DW

 

We only had about fifteen minutes before our second race, so everybody was busy. Thirteen cars would line up for our second race. Race winner Ben drew for our inverted start, and would draw lucky 6. so, the first six from our first race would invert. Scotty Roach leads us to the line in the #21. Jennifer Chitwood spins the #07 on lap 3 in turn 2, bringing out the caution. Racing resumes till lap 6, when Ryan Adams loops the #15 in turn four. Scotty Roach makes hard contact, and flips the #21, sliding on his roof along the frront straight. Thankfully, no one hit him, and he was ok. Joey Botkin spun to miss the mess, and had rear damage to his #95. Ryan actually was able to drive away, and ran a couple more laps before pulling in with chassis and body damage. Wayne Falls would lead the rest of the way, taking the victory and extending his point lead. Congrats, Wayne for a great win. Finishing second was Randy Yarbrough in his L & W Supply #14, with Ben Roudabush getting another good run, grabbing third in his #6. Fourth was Corey Berkstresser in the Lee-Hi #19, and rounding out the top five was Doug Watts with a good run in the Stumpy #01. C. J. Hite grabs sixth in his #88, with Joshua Johnson seventh in the Better Barbers #5. Eighth at the finish was Jaleel Johnson in the N.Y. Times Co. #51, with ninth going to the #12 of Shawn Schreiber. Rounding out the top ten was Jennifer Chitwood in the Stumpy #07. Getting credit for eleventh was Ryan Adams in the R&W Siding #15, with twelvth going to Scotty Roach in the Roach Racing #21. Joey Botkins is scored thirteenth in his #95 after the big one. So, that’s Langley A LONG drive for some of us. Safety chipped pulled, all ok. Next up is Shenandoah on August 20th for a 50 lapper. Pits open at 2 pm. One last thing. If I report something wrong or don’t mention something that happend, I apologize. I am busy working on our car or spotting during the race. Sometimes I miss something and rely on someone else to find out. Sorry.            Till next time……………………….DW