Pete's Towing Night Race Results | August 31, 2019

Hampton, VA (8-31-19) Not to be fooled by the less humid weather but the race action around Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway remains hot all around, the evenings main feature has the Larry King Law Modifieds back in action for twin races. Though the Modified series championship may well be decided, the thousand dollar Balluzzo Bounty continues and word is on the street that a hired gun in the field has come to collect. More to come about that, also highlighting the exciting race card would be the always entertaining Parts Barn Enduros. Taking the track as well were the Riverside Pro Six, Old Skool Video Games Super Streets and to start the evening racing, the ERA Real Estate Champ Karts. Here’s a recap of the action and who collected the hardware in Victory Lane.

ERA Real Estate Champ Karts 20 Laps: Current series points leader Aaron Leach collected the pole by clocking off a 22.847 second lap. Matthew Leach picked up the two spot in the grid which made it an all Leach brother front row. Chris Bechtel, Hunter Waltrip and Jeffrey Johnson were solid in qualifying making up the five best. Green flag waved and getting the top spot on lap one was Matthew Leach. Pole sitter Aaron Leach would run second as Chris Bechtel, Jeffrey Johnson and Jeremiah Strandberg were the early top five. Laps later the leaders broke off into a four car tandem, then it quickly became three and hooked up tight in line. Halfway saw leaders Matthew Leach, Aaron Leach and Chris Bechtel putting distance from the rest of the field. Late stages of the feature were much more of the same as the anticipation of who would break out of the draft and go for the race win. Last lap, the wait continued but on the final turn, Aaron Leach turns down on the leader but could not gain. Matthew Leach wins and goes to Victory lane, margin of victory was 0.082 seconds. Matthew Leach with these words, “Thank God for brothers and good equipment to keep each other safe. Thanks to ERA Real Estate for sponsoring the division, we can’t do it all on our own so I gotta thank mom and dad, all my family. Specially got to thank my wife, I forgot to thank her the last time we were in Victory Lane and I heard nothing but a headache ever since. It’s a lot of hard work, a lot of late hours in the shop, the fruits of the labor gets to park it here in Victory Lane”.

Race Results:

1. #51 Matthew Leach; 20
2. #45 Aaron Leach; 20
3. #67 Chris Bechtel; 20
4. #30 Jeffrey Johnson; 20
5. #3 Jeremiah Strandberg; 20
6. #17 Hunter Waltrip; 20
7. #39 Mattisen Morrill; 20
8. #24 Vaughan Crittenden; 20
9. #80 Jacob Harberts; 20
10. #10 Danny Millard; 20
11. #16 Davey Millard; 19
12. #02 Jordon Wood; 19
13. #73 Harry Leach; 19
14. #97 Tim Waltrip; 19
15. #2 Mark Edwards; 18
16. #12 Adam Hopper; 18
17. #29 Scott Allen; 1
18. #28 Garry Osborne;
19. #01 Jesse Call;

 

 

Larry King Law Modifieds Twin 40’s: The winner of fourteen straight, Shawn Balluzzo was once again on pole posting his 16.356 second lap. Bounty Hunter Brandon Gdovic who was on break from the Lamborghini GT3 program got second on the grid. Jamie Sample, Danny Harrell and Rick Gdovic were the top five in the afternoon time trials. With the green waving, the thirteen car field came to life and leading lap one would be Shawn Balluzzo. But challenging for the top spot would be outside row one starter Brandon Gdovic who soon backed off to get in line with the leader. Bubba Johnston was on the move showing third as Danny Harrell and Rick Gdovic were the top five. But then a big wreck on the backstretch involving Rick Gdovic, Brad Adams, DJ Valente and Matt Morgan. Once clean up concluded, back to the green and Balluzzo maintained his lead. Brandon Gdovic stayed within a car length of the leader. Nice battle for third was going on as Danny Harrell was seen positioning himself for the pass. Back up front and just shy of the halfway, Gdovic seemed to be putting pressure on the race leader. Gdovic would tap the rear bumper of Balluzzo just to let him know he’s there. Meanwhile, Harrell completed the pass for third leaving Johnston in fourth. After the halfway, what looked to be pressure to the leader, Balluzzo worked up a two car length lead as Gdovic was getting loose off the corners. But back would come Gdovic and even getting to the rear quarter panel of race leader Shawn Balluzzo. Five laps left, Gdovic is there as slight contact ensues but Balluzzo continues to hold his line. Last lap, Gdovic cannot close as Shawn Balluzzo goes on to win his fifteenth straight. Margin of victory was 1.035 second, Balluzzo had this to say. “It was fun, Brandon did a great job as all these guys have got their game going on. Brandon and I have been bantering back and forth, it was just for fun and I really hope he realizes that. Yeah, it was great out there tonight and I want to tell all the fans that I appreciate them being out here”.

In the Modified series second feature, race one winner Shawn Balluzzo decided to go to the rear to earn max national points as the NASCAR mandatory eight car invert was applied to the grid. Peyton Ferree would be the pole sitter but he too elected to go to the rear allowing Todd Whitesell the top spot when the green flag waved. Leading lap one though would be Rick Gdovic as Eric McPherson advanced to second. Then its Danny Harrell, Brandon Gdovic and Jamie Sample the early top five. Blistering through the field is Brandon Gdovic who would make his way to second in a hurry. Meanwhile, huge scare for Shawn Balluzzo when he would get loose and had to regroup. Meanwhile, Brandon Gdovic would take the race lead as Balluzzo worked his way through the field showing fourth but then, in a display of sparks from Balluzzo hot rod, the right front tire goes down to bring out the caution. After a series of cautions, green flag racing would resume and showing the way thus far was Brandon Gdovic. Benefitting from all those cautions using the restart cone to advance, Shawn Balluzzo made his way to third. Running well so far in the feature was Jamie Sample who was in second but back up front, the halfway leader was Brandon Gdovic. Battle for second soon took place as Balluzzo was all over Sample for the spot. Sample would do his best to hold up Balluzzo and keep him at bay but the pass for second soon came then Balluzzo looked for the race leader. But with a near full straight away length lead, not even Balluzzo could collapse such a lead with just ten laps left. Brandon Gdovic wins the second Modified feature by 4.926 seconds. Though the bounty can only be won in the first race, the win streak ends at fifteen for Shawn Balluzzo. Brandon Gdovic from Victory Lane, “It was relatively easy there, wish Shawn could have got up there so we could battle a bit more. Don’t know how the bounty thing works but it was fun to come back home and race. Glad my dad, get a little bit of race trim here and get it figured out. The PPM boys definitely built a great car so gotta thank them and my mom and dad”.

Race Results #1:

1. #48 Shawn Balluzzo; 40
2. #64G Brandon Gdovic; 40
3. #95 Danny Harrell; 40
4. #7 Grant Blasingame; 40
5. #16 Eric McPherson; 40
6. #49 Todd Whitesell; 39
7. #47 Rick Gdovic; 39
8. #23 Peyton Ferree; 39
9. #19J Bubba Johnston; 26
10. #28 Jamie Sample; 25
11. #98 Matt Morgan; 9
12. #3 Brad Adams; 9
13. #18 DJ Valente; 9

Race Results #2:

1. #64 Brandon Gdovic; 40
2. #48 Shawn Balluzzo; 40
3. #28 Jamie Sample; 40
4. #95 Danny Harrell; 40
5. #16 Eric McPherson; 40
6. #3 Brad Adams; 40
7. #47 Rick Gdovic; 40
8. #7 Grant Blasingame; 39
9. #23 Peyton Ferree; 39
10. #49 Todd Whitesell; 39
11. #98 Matt Morgan; 21

Riverside Paper Pro Six 30 Laps: Jared Clarke picked up the race pole in Pro Six division action. The quick lap was recorded at 17.127 seconds as Travis Wall took second. Also showing speed in qualifying was Eric Schaffer, Jason Michaud and JB Sipe as the five best. Green flag waved and coming out of turn two with the early lead was Travis Wall. But the side by side battle for the lead continued on lap two as Wall would lead that one too. The battle continued but on lap five, Jared Clarke would lead. Finally, after eight straight laps, just when we thought Clarke secured the point, back came Wall to retake the lead. But then trouble for the leaders when Eric Schaffer and Jared Clarke get together to bring out the races first caution. Back to the green, Travis Wall would show the way, joining the fray of fast pro Six’s would be Bobby Hall in second but Travis Wall was driving away. Halfway, the race lead was now a half a straightaway in length, it was then Hall, Clarke, Sipe and Allen the top five. Battle for second was shaping up as Clarke was running down Hall each lap. Then on the last lap, Bobby Hall, Jared Clarke and Debbie Biesecker wreck on the front stretch to bring out the caution. With a two lap shoot out ordered known as a green, white , checker, the green flag waves and right back to the caution when Eric Schaffer gets into Jason Michaud. Green flag was once again out and the battle for lead ensues, contact in turn four and its Bobby Hall getting the win. Margin of victory was 0.488 seconds, Hall in Victory Lane. “This is the hardest night we’ve ever gone through, we had so many issues in practice and we qualified last. To start last and to win the race on the last lap like that, I don’t even know what happened. To get black flagged for a lap car that was in the way, I thought I was done, I couldn’t believe it”.

Race Results:

1. #26 Bobby Hall; 31
2. #44 Travis Wall; 31
3. #29 Scott Allen; 31
4. #21 Dashe McLaughlin; 31
5. #46 Jason Michaud; 31
6. #14 JB Sipe; 30
7. #22 Eric Schaffer; 30
8. #72 Josh Taylor; 30
9. #28 Jared Clarke; 28
10. #4 Debbie Beisecker; 27

Old Skool Video Games Super Streets 40 Laps: Gordon Weeks took the Super Street pole with a lap set at 18.661 seconds. Renno Marchetti just missed the pole by only twelve thousandths of a second but easily secured his place on the front row. Dale Parro, Nick Sample and Sean Calway were the series five fastest in qualifying. Green flag waved and after a brief battle for the lead, Gordon Weeks secures the point. Renno Marchetti quickly tucks behind the race leader and soon searched for a spot on the track to try the race leader. Right there with Marchetti was Sean Calway in third as was Dale Parro in fourth and Nick Sample fifth. Laps later, race leader Weeks had built an three car length lead but then Marchetti reels him in and makes the pass for the lead on lap fourteen. Sean Calway also had thoughts in passing Weeks for second but as for now, Weeks maintains the spot. Just before the halfway, the caution flag flew when Bill Eaker came to a stop on the backstretch. With the green waving once again and like a shot from a canon, Renno Marchetti pulls away from the field. Gordon Weeks in second has to deal with Sean Calway but is able to hold off the advances for now. Laps later, Calway is there but so is Dale Parro who then makes it three wide and went from fourth to second in just one turn. Marchetti the race leader obviously didn’t mind as his race lead was now near a full straightaway in length. Then came Sean Calway underneath of Parro as the battle for second goes down but then contact negates Calway to fourth. Just as the fans catch their breath from the fierce racing, Chris Spangler goes around in turn two to bring out the caution. Seven laps to go and the green once again waves, Marchetti nails down another restart. Sean Calway would give chase but Marchetti was just too much and would go on to win the Super Street feature by 1.970 seconds. Marchetti from Victory Lane, “Patience is a virtue, definitely helped me on that one. Wait it out and sometimes it will come right back to you, gotta thank my dad, fought this thing all day after a two month break. It took both practices and qualifying to get this thing right and we swung at it for the race, it looks like we hit right on”.

Race Results;

1. #01 Renno Marchetti; 40
2. #12 Sean Calway; 40
3. #15 Dale Parro; 40
4. #95 Danny Harrell; 40
5. #21 Randy Akers; 40
6. #28 Thomas Gildea; 40
7. #14 Tillman Heuer; 40
8. #20 Gordon Weeks; 40
9. #23 Richard Haymond; 39
10. #33 Chris Spangler; 33
11. #25 Nick Sample; 33
12. #22 Bill Eaker; 20

Parts Barn Enduros 30 Laps: Based on a pill draw, pulling out the one pill to start on the pole was Kenvir Teeter. Joining him on the front row would be Robert Dezero as the green was shown to the field. From the fourth starting spot, Richard Ellis leads lap one as Colby Vance from the sixteenth starting spot in two laps finds himself in second. But just as soon as the grid starts to settle out, the red flag waves when Charles Roberts comes to a stop on the back stretch. Back to the green, the beaten and banging ensues as a new race leader emerges, Colby Vance on point. After a series of red flags, Vance continued to lead as Richard Ellis continued to chase. Chris Kane would run third, Phil Nelson fourth and Robert Dezero fifth. Halfway in the race and all the participants were single file, Vance’s race lead was well over ten lengths. Alex Floroff would make his way into the top five as lap traffic collapsed Vance’s comfortable race lead but no need to panic just yet. Floroff continued his march in chasing down Chris Kane for third which was also the best battle on the track. But back up front and driving away from the rest of the field, Colby Vance was back in Victory Lane by a 1.477 second victory. Vance had this to say about his race, “Yeah, gotta thank all my guys and everything, we got a lot of time wrapped up in these cars trying to get them faster. Richard has definitely gotten faster over the last couple of races and being more competitive. So, I can be boastful about the comments he said last week, I can say something tonight but I’m not going to be like that. So I’m gonna thank all these guys who work on these cars and thank all my sponsors”.

Race Results:

1. #44 Colby Vance; 30
2. #41 Richard Ellis; 30
3. #17 Alex Floroff; 30
4. #48 Chris Kane; 30
5. #11 Phil Nelson; 30
6. #99K Hunter Kane; 29
7. #3 Mikey Chinn; 29
8. #7 Dwight Nikles;29
9. #24 Tim Vinson; 29
10. #13 Hayden Sheldon; 29
11. #00 Robert Dezero; 29
12. #71 Brad Morningstar; 29
13. #25 Ryan Vinson; 29
14. #32 Vicky Connor; 29
15. #12 Zach Herdlein; 28
16. #03D Nicholas Deans; 28
17. #64 Thomas Fontaine; 28
18. #90 Nick Martin; 28
19. #19 Courtney Schubert; 28
20. #4B Jake Bage; 27
21. #16 Mel Vermillion; 27
22. #21P Karl Park; 9
23. #74 Kenvir Teeter; 5
24. #88 Charlie Bryant; 4
25. #28 William Robinson; 4
26. #49 Randy Constable; 4
27. #31 Richard Ellis; 2
28. #54 Ricky Barbrey; 2
29. #51 Charles Roberts; 1
30. #99 Zach Kane; 1
31. #93 Andy Brennecke; 1