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Racing still on the local schedule

With Elkins Raceway idle, the dirt action moved to Tyler County Speedway for the Hillbilly 100! There were three action-packed nights of racing.

I was able to get some information from fans that were at the preliminary nights events. Jacob Hawkins captured the Modified portion on Saturday evening, along with the Steel Block Late Model Hillbilly 50 race. Local champion Brent Trimble had a strong run going but fell out of the race while running around seventh place. Randy Bohan, Dave Defibaugh and Nick Corbitt all attempted to make the feature but fell short in their modifieds.

The Lucas Oil Super Late Models came to the bullring to crown the Hillbilly 100 Champion, and when the dust settled Scott Bloomquist took home the $25,000 first prize. He held of a hard-charging Jonathan Davenport in second. Brandon Sheppard ran third.Regional West Virginia racers Mike Benedum and Tim Dohm rounded out the top five.

Several other area/regional racers made the 26-car starting field from the 48 cars present. Michael Lake was ninth, Kyle Thomas 14th, Jared Hawkins 18th, Mason Zeigler 20th, Jacob Hawkins 21st, Shane Hitt 22nd, Derick Doll 24th and Daniel Hill finished 26th.

The Hillbilly has long been a crown jewel in dirt late model racing. This race has moved around the region after its beginnings at the historic Pennsboro Speedway. There was a standing-room only crowd at Tyler County showing support for this great event.

NASCAR action ran at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmansville, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday for the Camping World truck series race. There was quite a finish.

Cole Custer, driving a truck for Jr. Motorsports, had the lead as they entered the last few turns of the last lap. John Hunter Nemechek was charging to the front. He caught Cole with two turns to go. He bumped him from behind and caused Cole to be offline for the final turn. John Hunter then slammed into Cole and drove him into the outside wall.

The two trucks stayed together against the wall as both drivers accelerated down the grassy apron toward the finish line. John Hunter edged him out at the line and NASCAR gave him the victory. This was not a popular win by any means! Most drivers and fans alike called this dirty driving.

Cole’s anger boiled over and he ran and tackled Nemechek as he was attempting to get the checkered flag for a victory celebration. Cole felt like he had been robbed of a chance to get into the chase for the points title. He held on to finish second.

Daniel Hemric, who was temporarily flagged as the winner, finished third. Matt Crafton and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five.

This road course has seen several controversial finishes through the years and this was no exception. I feel sure this move will come back to haunt Mr. Nemechek later in the year. Time will tell! The Truck series is off until Chicagoland on Sept.16.

The Xfinity Series and the Sprint Cup teams moved into the Historic Darlington Raceway in Darlington S.C. This was called a” Throw Back” weekend, with many of the teams paying tribute to some of the past champions and drivers with special paint schemes and crew uniforms. I love this race because it brings back memories of my time in Winston Cup racing.

The Xfinity cars ran Saturday afternoon and Elliott Sadler won for the first time in 20 years of racing at the “Lady in Black.” He was overjoyed in victory lane and dedicated the win to his car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. had announced earlier that he will not compete as a driver until the Daytona 500 in 2017 due to his medical issues. Elliott held off a hard-charging Denny Hamlin at the finish. Daniel Suarez came home third. Kyle Larson recovered from a spin entering the pit area late to run fourth. Rookie Brennan Poole continued to impress with another solid top five

The Sprint Cup guys took to the track under the lights Sunday night. The Bojangles Southern 500 brings this tradition back to this small South Carolina town for Labor Day weekend. First run in September of 1950, this is the longest-running event at the oldest superspeedway on the circuit.

Kevin Harvick appeared to have the car to beat but once again, his pit crew failed to keep up their part and cost him the race. Martin Truex Jr capitalized on the Harvick problems and drove to victory. Harvick held onto second. Kyle Larson ran well, finishing third. Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano rounded out the top five. Both of these series move to the Richmond International Raceway this coming weekend.

As for local racing, Roaring Knob Motorsports Park is still running in Markleysburg, Pennsylvania. Check their website for coming events. Ohio Valley Speedway has a few events left; check their website also.

Elkins Raceway still plans to run its final race for 2016 on Sept. 24. Even though racing is winding down, remember at the end of the straight there’s Another Left Turn!

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