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Opening Night 2008 presented by Taco Bell |
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(North East, PA-May 24, 2008) Lake Erie Speedway opened the 2008 season with more than 3,500 fans in attendance who witnessed immediate excitement and thrill highlighted by a car count of 109. The night started out with the Advance Auto Parts Street Stocks, which made it through twenty-five laps with only two cautions. On the first lap #55 Ken Moore, Jr. blew a motor leaking oil on to the track causing #37 Drew Case and #5 Jay Queen to spin out bringing a caution. Leading the field for laps one through five was # 21 Dave Wilson, but on lap six #1 Terry Akerly took over the lead and held off all competitors to take the checkered flag with #17 Eric Bohrer finishing second, and Wilson finishing third. Next on the track were the Boyer RV Bandoleros. Twelve bandoleros were slated to take the green flag, but #69 Brody Wood had engine problems early in the race night. The eleven bandoleros that took the green flag made it through their twelve lap feature event with only one caution caused on lap seven by a cone on the track off turn three. Finishing the race in the first position was #742 Nathan Carlson, second #97z Zac Dunsmore, and third #3 Zac Carter. The next feature event showcased the newly added Dodge Sportmods, and they quickly proved why they will entertain fans all season with a 25 lap feature. Leading the race early was #22 Ken Moore, but on lap four #28 Dale Murdock took over the head position. Two laps later, Eric McCray passed on the outside to take the lead. On lap six, Dale Murdock and #112 Jack Dudkiewicz got tangled together. Dudkiewicz ended up in the wall with race ending damage. On the restart, McCray took the lead for a lap and then was quickly passed on the inside by #21 Scott Bayle. Bayle continued to lead until lap 15, when #00 Craig Daniels and #1 Terry Akerly collided, rupturing Daniels fuel cell causing a huge fire in which both cars became invisible and engulfed in flames. The race was red flagged and safety officials quickly responded to put out the fire and get Daniels out safely. Neither driver was injured in the wreck. Daniels was done for the night, but Akerly made it back out on the track to try to finish the race. After a lengthy caution, Bayle was able to hold the number one position and take the checkered flag with McCray finishing second and #43 Lonnie Waldron finishing third. The Jensens Target Collision Compacts came through their twenty-five laps with no cautions. Leading the field for the first two laps was #83 Matt Davis. While Davis lead the first two laps, #95 Jonathan Breads passed Davis on lap three to lead the rest of the race and finish first. Second place went to #76 Julie McAvoy and third place went to #14 Carter Mook. Next on the schedule were the Career Concepts Legends. The race started off clean with #33 David Simile leading laps one through three. The lead quickly changed as #39 Jeremy Haudicourt passed on lap four and remained the leader for only one lap when he was passed by #25 Steve Sunday. Sunday led for laps five through thirteen with a caution in the middle of that stretch caused by #39m John Myers. On lap fourteen, #8 Justin Hines passed Sunday on the inside and dominated the rest of the twenty five lap feature to earn the win. Sunday finished second and Haudicourt finished third. The night ended with the forty lap Plyler Overhead Door Late Model feature event and twenty six cars took the green flag. The race started with #52 Joe Bizzaro on the pole and number #59 Bryce Scott on the outside. On the very first lap, #27 Mike Hennessy, starting from the third position, took the lead and never looked back. Hennessy had to fight for his lead on laps twenty eight through thirty six as #32 Glenn Gault, Jr. attempted to take the top spot. On lap thirty six, #45 Rick Boyer brought out the eight caution flag of the race. Hennessy easily led the last four laps to earn his first victory of 2008. Gault finished second and #65 George Skora III finished in third place. Just as impressive as Hennessy leading all forty laps, #3 Jeff Brown was the “hard charger” of the feature and moved up fourteen positions during the race. Plyler Overhead Door Late Models
(DNS – Tyler Brown Rear End Problems) Advance Auto Parts Street Stocks
(DQ – Russ Conti Illegal Spacer Plate) (DNS – Dennis Kszos Practice Wreck)
Jensens Target Collision Compacts
(DNS – Jim Hoffman, Ricky Wright, Sean Siira, Amber Belson all had pre-race problems) Dodge Sportmods
Boyer RV Bandoleros
(DNS - Brody Wood engine problems)
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