Kamp
Motor Speedway Opens in Grand Fashion!!
By
Jeffrey A. Bayless
(April 19th Boswell, IN) At long last racing returned to this small Benton County community in west central Indiana.. After a season of inactivity in which new owners Bob and Gayle Kamp refurbished the facility formerly known as Benton County Speedway the long awaited grand opening was well worth the wait. With four classes and well over 100 of the areas finest drivers in the pits the grand opening was grand indeed.
With 36 UMP Late Models in the pits, just to make the $1500 to win show had to be considered an accomplishment on this night. When the green flag fell on the feature event Corey Turner edged out fast qualifier and pole sitter Eddie Leviner to lead the first lap ahead of Roger Long, Michael Bradley, and Chris Carlson. But as the field made its second circuit a mishap in turn 2 ended the night for 5 drivers Ted Loomis, Ryan Dauber, Wes Steindinger, Joe Harlan, and Juan Grino. After several minutes of caution to remove the wrecked machines from the track Turner sped away once again when the green was unfurled as Bradley made a challenge on Long for third and Brett Seivert made a move on Carlson for fifth. The wily veteran Roger Long quickly shook of the challenge presented by Bradley and set his sights on Leviner and the second position overtaking him on the fifth circuit, after a lap of wheel to wheel racing. Back up front Corey Turner was spreading the gap between himself and the field until he ran into lapped traffic on the ninth lap. It took no time for Long to close in for the kill as he pulled along side Turner on the eleventh lap. With several slow cars racing in front of the hard charging leaders something was bound to happen, and it did on the twelfth circuit. Long was able to use the lapped cars to his advantage leaving Turner tangled with the slower car of Mike Matafagas not only allowing Long to shoot by but also allowing Leviner to grab second and Bradley to close in to challenge for third. This was just the beginning of Turner’s troubles though as on the fifteenth lap he spun to a halt while still battling for third in the first turn bringing out the second caution and ending his night. With a clean track in front of him at the restart Long wasted no time putting distance between himself and the rest of the field, roaring away to a sizable lead. Leviner was also able to separate somewhat from the field as well as Bradley and Seivert battled door to door for the third spot late in the event. As the checkers flew to end this 25-lap event it was Long followed by Leviner and then Seivert who bested Bradley in their personal dual. The rest of the top ten were Carlson, Mark Stetler, Jim Laws, Lil’ John Provenzano, Chuck Haga, and Dan Walden.
The action was also fast and furious in the UMP Modified division with 42 competitors challenging for the $600 winner’s purse. The first two rows circuited the track on the first lap just as they had taken the green, side by side. Pole sitter Tommy Kroll battled with Bob Pohlman as second row starters Dale Hayes and Bub Patrick had their own dual going ahead of fast qualifier Dan Hamstra. By the third lap the field began to stabilize as Pohlman settled into the lead with Hayes sitting in third and Hamstra moving around Patrick for 4th. Jesse Cramer made his move into the top five on the 6th lap as he bypassed Patrick after a 2-lap dual. Back up front, Pohlman was pulling away as Hayes challenged Kroll for second with Hamstra close in tow. When David Hurst spun to bring out the caution on the 9th lap the top five were Pohlman, Hayes, Kroll, Hamstra, and Cramer. On the restart the top four pulled away as Hayes was giving Pohlman all he could handle for the lead. Hayes would edge ahead of Pohlman in the turns as he used the inside groove but Pohlman would shoot back ahead down the straights using the second groove. This battle continued until the 12th circuit when Hurst once again spun to bring out the caution. Pohlman got a better start this time and was able to keep Hayes behind him all away around the track as Hamstra put the moves on Kroll taking third. As the race roared to it’s 20 lap distance the top three pulled away with Hayes making a late race effort but was unable to overhaul Pohlman for the win. Behind Hamstra, Kroll came home 4th followed by a late race charging Dave Rudisill who came home 5th
In other racing action it was Butch Meeker claiming the Super Street opener with Joe Bunyo winning the Bomber feature. Also earlier in the night, local modified favorite Ryan Bowman took a violent end over end ride down the backstretch during a heat race. At last word he had been transported to the hospital for further tests and observations but was expected to be all right.
FEATURE RESULTS
LATE MODELS
1. 36 Roger Long, 2. 21 Eddie Leviner, 3. 5 Brett Seivert, 4. 7M Michael Bradley, 5. c12 Chris Carlson
6. 17 Mark Stetler, 7. 15 Jim Laws, 8. 7 John Provenzano, 9. 1 Chuck Haga, 10. 25 Dan Walden,
11. 51J Jason Beier, 12. 1M Mike Matafagas, 13. 91 Rusty Schenle, 4. 17 Corey Turner, 15. 0 Richie Hendricks
16. 23 Ted Loomis, 17. 64 Ryan Dauber, 18. 45 Juan Grino, ,19. Z Joe Harlan, 20. S9 Wes Steidinger
MODIFIEDS
1. 1 Bob Pohlman, 2. o2 Dale Hayes, 3. 23H Dan Hamstra, 4. 1K Tommy Kroll, 5. 96 Dave Rudisill,
6. 12T Jesse Cramer, 7. 25 Bub Patrick, 8. 16 Larry Matillo, 9. 3 JR Coyner, 10. 93 Jason Potts,
11. 35 Bob Robinson, 12. 68 Matt Bachman, 13. J16 Jason Lakey, 14. 27G RJ Gall, 15. 95 Aaron Ricketts
16. 2H David Hurst, 17. 8 Kevin Davis, 18. 36 Kevin Hastings, 19. 40 Tim Reynolds, 20. 83 Scott Ball