Bobby Wheeler led the Vintage Modified’s 25th year season point standings going into this hot August race. Mike Clother was doing all he could to catch up and take the Silver Anniversary championship.

Clother gained a bit by setting the fast time of the evening just 4 one hundredths of a second ahead of Wheeler.

John Mustered, aka Johnny Lightning, held the pole for the trophy dash, veteran driver Dave Trapp was on the outside. Wheeler and Clother waited behind them for the start. The four stayed in a tight pack for two laps until Trapp prevailed over Mustered and took home the trophy for this event.

Jeff Peterson and his dad Chuck had the front row for the 8-lap heat race. On the first lap Clother stuck his car’s nose between Mustered and Trapp only to see that gap close quickly. Wheeler took advantage to get ahead of Clother and work his way to the lead. Clother could stay with Wheeler but was not able to challenge him. They finished first and second followed by Jeff and Chuck Peterson, Trapp and Mustered.

As a result of their top finishes 2 weeks before at Yakima Speedway Bobby Wheeler and Jeff Peterson were required to start in the rear of the feature main. Chuck Peterson took the pole with Mustered on his right. Trapp and Clother made up the second row. The green flag flew and Mustered got a good jump from the outside. He was able to clear Peterson exiting turn two on the first lap. Clother and Wheeler followed suit and were soon running 2nd and 3rd respectively. In the lead Mustered was protecting the low groove so Clother had no choice but to attempt passing on the high side. After a couple of laps Clother’s efforts put him almost past Mustered entering turn 3 when gutsy Wheeler dove to Mustered’s left side putting the drivers 3 wide entering the turn. Ephrata is characterized as a “one groove” racetrack. To race two wide there is pretty amazing. To race 3 wide there is impossible. Never the less, Wheeler and Clother exited turn 4 side by side with Mustered close behind wondering how he had avoided being smashed between Clother and Wheeler in a “mustered” sandwich. WOW. That 3 wide pass was the talk of the pits after the race. Clother couldn’t believe Wheeler had pulled off such a ballsy pass and fell in behind him to wait for an opportunity that would not come. By the end of 25 laps Wheeler was a full straightaway ahead of 2nd place Clother and had lapped the rest of the field. Jeff Peterson worked his way up to 3rd followed by Trapp, Mustered and Chuck Peterson.

Wheeler maintained his season points advantage over Clother. With only two races left, one at Evergreen and the finale at South Sound, it seems this years championship will come down to the wire.

Even the lure of some extra money provided by the good folks at Westbay NAPA Auto Parts was not enough enticement to bring more than 6 Vintage Modified cars to Wenatchee Valley Super Oval for this event. What was lacking in numbers was made up for in excitement as those 6 drivers put on one heck of a show for a grandstand full of fans.

Season point leader Bobby Wheeler improved on his one point lead over Mike Clother by setting the fast qualifying lap at 14:668 seconds.

The dash was led most of the way by Jeff Peterson but he succumbed to an outside pass by Clother on the last of the 4 allotted laps.

Clother also won the heat race after starting in the back row. Clother’s first advance was made when Robert Rux and Peterson collided on the second lap causing both to spin into the infield grass at turn 3. No caution flag was thrown and the race for the lead was then between Dave Trapp and Wheeler. As Clother closed in on those two they bumped and both slid towards the wall at turn 2. After some confusion about who was where Clother inherited the lead and never gave it up.

The 30-lap main was even more exciting than the heat race. Chuck and Jeff Peterson, father and son, started on the front row. Chuck’s car didn’t accelerate at the wave of the green flag allowing his son to take the early lead with Wheeler and Clother close behind him. Wheeler locked onto Peterson’s rear bumper for several laps eventually driving below him on the back stretch and completing the pass in turn 3. Clother followed Wheeler closely and Peterson was not able to close the door dropping him to 3rd behind the two season point leaders. It seemed Clother’s car was better in the turns but Wheeler would out accelerate him on every straightaway. This resulted in lap after lap of bumping and sliding as Clother worked from side to side trying to get far enough up on either side of Wheeler to have a chance for a pass. Wheeler used the entire track to his advantage while Peterson held back, watched the dicing of those two and waiting for the any situation that might allow him an opportunity for an easy pass. That opportunity came on lap 26. Contact in turn 2 between Clother’s front bumper and Wheeler’s right rear tire caused Wheeler’s car to lurch to the right. As Clother braked to allow Wheeler to regain control Peterson gladly passed them both. Wheeler was able to retain 2nd place with Clother still trying to pass on the outside. On the last lap Clother saw daylight between Wheeler and the concrete wall as they headed for the checkered flag and decided to go for it. Wheeler narrowed the gap and the two touched sending Wheeler’s car in a slide across the finish line and Clother’s car spinning into the infield grass. Only winner Peterson’s car remained uninjured as the he, 2nd place Wheeler with a flat tire and 3rd place Clother with a flat tire and a punctured radiator received trophies for their hard fought battle. Trapp, Rux and Chuck Peterson filled the remaining positions. WOW!! That was fun to watch.

Next stop is the half-mile Yakima Speedway on August 13th. It should be a good one.

It was a dark and stormy night. . . NO WAY!!! It was the start of a beautiful 4th of July weekend that the found the Vintage Modified racers towing to Idaho. It was hoped that Spokane area racers Arron and Len Clother, Robbie Caurtwright and Pat Banks would have their cars done in time to join the fun but none of them were able to make the event.

Dave Trapp set the pace for the evening with a fast timed lap of 14:961 seconds. Mike Clother and Bobby Wheeler were both just hundredths of seconds slower.

Jeff Peterson led off the trophy dash from the pole position flanked by Wheeler with Trapp and Clother making up the second row. Jeff took the lead with Clother close behind. Although Clother gave a good test to his new front bumper Peterson was able to hold on to claim the trophy.

Jeff’s dad Chuck Peterson had the pole for the heat race. John Mustered was on the outside followed by Robert Rux and Jeff Peterson. Chuck had a problem getting started and faded fast while Mustered jumped to the lead followed by Rux and the younger Peterson. Rux got just a bit loose off of turn 2 and with a slight bump from Peterson spun into the infield. Rux regained control and no caution flag was displayed. This allowed Clother to sneak by on the outside and take over second place. Even though Mustered is a good racer and difficult to pass, Clother was able to get by him and stretch out a comfortable lead while Wheeler battled with Mustered for second place honors. Clother was first to see the checkered flag fly and Wheeler was able to take the second spot followed by Mustered, Trapp, both Petersons and Rux.

Chuck Peterson opted to start in the rear of the main leaving Mustered to start on the pole. Robert Rux moved up to the front row followed by Jeff Peterson and Bobby Wheeler. Trapp and Clother started in the back row. At the start Clother locked onto the rear bumper of Wheeler and those two used only a couple of laps to work their to the front. Clother settled into second place patiently waiting for Wheeler to give him a chance for an easy pass. The yellow caution flag slowed the action as contact between Jeff Peterson and Rux sent the later spinning into the infield grass. On the restart Clother lagged back patiently watching Wheeler maintain the lead. Once again the caution flag flew as John Mustered became another victim of Jeff Peterson’s front bumper. As a result of his aggressive driving the track officials sent Jeff to the rear of the field for the ensuing restart. The restart happened just before the mid point of the race and Clother was no longer being patient. He was all over the bumper of Wheeler, at one point bumping him sideways before backing off to allow Wheeler to regain control and keep the lead. Since Wheeler was not going to give up the easy pass Clother moved to the outside and those two raced wheel to wheel for several exciting laps, bumping and rubbing, until Clother was finally able to take over sole possession of first place. Once the pass was complete Clother was able to drive away and easily claimed the victor’s flag with Wheeler in second place, several car lengths back While Clother and Wheeler were racing for the lead Peterson was on a mission to regain lost positions and worked his way back up to third at the finish; followed by Rux, Mustered, Chuck Peterson and Trapp.

Clother “sweeps” Vintage Mods at South Sound

Start in front and stay in front is what past Vintage Modified champion Mike Clother did at a hot June 4th race at South Sound Speedway.

The day was hot, in the high 70s, and the track was slick. Only 6 drivers were on hand for this event but that did not cool the excitement of competitive racing. Robert Rux broke his brand new engine during the second of two time trial laps. Kevin Rinkel eked out fast time honors again by being 7 one hundredths of a second faster than Paul Field.

Thanks to inverted line-ups Clother’s fourth fastest time landed him on the pole for the trophy dash. Bobby Wheeler was on his outside with Field and Rinkel in the second row. Clother got the lead right from the start and was never challenged before he took the checkers and claimed the trophy.

There was only one heat race at this event and Jeff Peterson started it from the pole. Clother was on his right and those two stayed side by side for the first 3 laps until Clother slipped and Peterson took sole possession of the lead. That lasted only one lap before Clother was able to take advantage of an opening on the low side, making the pass and taking over the lead for the remainder of the race. Rinkel was also able to get around Peterson finishing second followed by Peterson, Wheeler and Field.

Clother inherited the pole position for the main when Peterson was moved to the rear of the field by rule. With Wheeler again to his right the race start for Clother was a replay of the earlier trophy dash. Wheeler’s car still didn’t like the high groove and he fell behind Clother on the first lap. Clother built a big lead while Field and Rinkel tried to get around Wheeler. On lap 15, the halfway point of this main, Wheeler had fallen to fourth and Rinkel was dogging Field to take over the second place spot. Clother still held a commanding lead over those them. Field spun in turn one bringing out the first caution flag and erasing Clother’s big lead. On the restart Rinkel tried to dive to the inside but Clother was having none of that and slammed the door entering the first turn. With 13 laps remaining it was Clother’s race to loose. He had to make no errors and protect the bottom allowing Rinkel the high groove if he could make the pass up there. Even though Rinkel seemed to have the better car in mid turn he was not able to take advantage of the high side pass and Clother made no major errors that would allow for any easy pass. Clother held on to the lead to complete the “sweep” while Rinkel finished an extremely close second followed by Wheeler, Peterson and Field.

Bobby Wheeler retains the season point lead but the gap back to second place Clother was closed significantly at this event. It is clear these two past champions are in it to win it.

The next stop for the Vintage Modifieds is State Line Speedway in Post Falls, Idaho. There are some new cars coming out of Spokane that should be on hand for that race on July 2nd. That should make for some fun fireworks on that Fourth of July weekend.

Rain threatened to keep the race-cars on their trailers and even though the showers did happen the South Sound Speedway crew dried the track and racing was as exciting as always on May 21. Fast guy Bob Fulmer was on hand with his broken race-car. Sorry Bob, no points for cars in the trailer.

Kevin Rinkel made his first appearance of 2011 and laid down the fastest qualifying time, 14:93 seconds.

The heat race was led off by Todd McCartney, also making his first showing this year. After a few false starts the race began with Dave Trapp and Robert Rux dueling for the lead. Dave prevailed and led Mike Clother at the halfway point. Clother would not be denied and took over the lead with Paul Field close behind him. Clother was able to hold off Field for the win while Bobby Wheeler advanced to third place followed by Rinkel, Trapp and Rux.

Dave Trapp sat on the pole for the main, to his right was Jeff Peterson, followed by Field and Wheeler. On the first turn of the first lap rookie Mike Moum spun his car from the rear of the line up and made contact with the turn one wall. That resulted in minor damage to the car’s from suspension and Moum was unable to continue his premier race. Hopefully he will be able to make repairs in time for the next event in two weeks. Some confusion on the line up of the complete restart resulted in the field being spread out quite a bit at the waving of the green flag. Trapp took the lead at the surprise start with Peterson right behind while the rest of the cars scrambled to catch up with them. Rinkel began passing cars on the outside with Clother staying right behind. Those two worked their way to the rear bumper of Peterson who had taken the lead from Trapp. Peterson made a slight slip allowing Rinkel to pass him exiting turn 4. Clother was unable to take advantage but dogged Peterson for several laps as the three separated themselves from the rest of the pack of racers. With one lap remaining Wheeler blew a tire bringing out the caution/checkers to end the race with Rinkel in the winners circle. Peterson was able to keep Clother behind him for 2nd and 3rd respectively. Further back Paul Field led Trapp, Rux and Wheeler to the finish. The next race is at South Sound Speedway on June 4. With past champion Bobby Wheeler holding only a 20-point lead over Mike Clother in the season point chase, as the weather warms up so will the action on the speedway.