Vintage Modifieds brave stormy weather to shine at WVSO

It poured rain all the way to the home of Wenatchee Valley Super Oval. Even at the track the rains continued. The track staff did an excellent job of drying the track and the showers held off long enough for allow some of the best racing of this season.

Jeff Peterson showed his strength early by laying down a timed lap of 14:46, nearly 2/10ths faster than the rest of the competitors.

Peterson had to compete against 3 former champions in the trophy dash. Erik McClain sat on the pole with Mike Clother beside him and Bobby Wheeler Jr. was next to Peterson on the inside of the back row. Clother faded to the rear as McClain showed everyone why he is a champion, leading every lap and claiming the trophy.

After a disappointing time trial effort and because of a full inverted start Robert Rux started on pole for the heat race. John Mustered, also off his normal fast pace, started on the outside of the front row. Another former champion and founding club member Dave Trapp made up the second row with his long time friend McClain. The inside row got the benefit of a slow start by Mustered allowing for Clother to follow Rux and Trapp at the end of the first lap. Those three stayed nose to tail for all eight laps with Peterson, Wheeler, McClain and Mustered following behind. Rux, the reigning “hard luck” trophy winner, claimed his first checkered flag of the young season.

The 30-lap main line up was the same as the heat with the exception of McClain and Clother starting at the rear of the field as result of their 1st and 2nd place main event finishes at Evergreen Speedway the previous race. At the waving of the green flag Rux took off with Trapp close behind. They lead the field as Peterson and Wheeler battled for 3rd, Mustered fell to 4th , McClain began working his way to the front and Clother dropped to the last position. Peterson worked on Trapp while Wheeler tried to find a way past Peterson. McClain took several laps to work around the outside of Mustered as Clother watched the race from the back. McClain completed the pass on Mustered with 10 laps remaining. Clother decided it was time to go and was also able to complete the pass of Mustered also on the outside. The entire pack of cars behind Rux and Trapp was running in two rows at this point, each driver trying to find a way past those ahead. Trapp’s car began to slip a bit in the turns, at one point pinching Peterson as he tried to sneak by on the low side. McClain and Clother took the opportunity to move past both Peterson and Wheeler. Clother worked the low line while McClain stayed high as the two caught up with Trapp putting him in the middle of a 3 wide dive into turn 1. As the three negotiated the turn Trapp slid up the track taking McClain with him. Clother came out ahead of the other two, as did Wheeler and Peterson. With all the racing going on behind him Rux had pulled out to a formidable lead and with only two laps remaining the others were unable to make up the distance. Rux was excited to win the second race of the evening followed by Clother, Wheeler, Peterson and McClain. Mustered and Trapp rounded out the top seven finishers.

After the third race of the season Bobby Wheeler maintains the point lead with McClain and Clother not far behind. The next race is May 21 as South Sound Speedway and it should be a good one.

On a sunny day, April 23, 2011, Vintage Modified racing returned to the fast 3/8-mile track at Evergreen Speedway. No one could remember the last time the club raced there, even Dave Trapp and Chuck Peterson, founding members of the 25-year-old racing club, were at a loss to recall how many years it had been.

Defending champion Jim Jones had an advantage over the others due to his past experience and his two season championships at this venue in two separate classes of race-cars. Rightly he was introduced to the crowd as the “hometown hero”. Even so, Bobby Wheeler set the fast qualifying time to take the bonus points and add to his early lead in the 2011 championship race.

The trophy dash was won by former champion Mike Clother who held off a charging Jim Jones with Wheeler and Jeff Peterson close behind. Peterson was campaigning a brand new car after an incident two weeks before that totaled his former race-car. Kudos goes to Chuck and Jeff for hustling to finish their new car in time for this event.

The heat race was led off by John Mustered whose car sported a huge band aide over the roof top injury incurred in the opening race of the season two weeks prior when Peterson literally ran over Mustered passing for the lead. To Mustered’s right was Mike Clother who inherited that starting spot when Robert Rux in his newly painted hot rod, complete with checkered flag design, opted to start in the back row due to mechanical uncertainties. Many time champion Dave Trapp and Jim Jones made up the second row followed by Peterson and Wheeler. Mustered got a good start and Clother dropped in behind him as the two lead the first lap easily. Jones worked up a head of steam on the back straightaway but was unable to whoa down without the help of the rear bumper of Clother. That sent Clother’s car sliding up the racetrack where he was able to regain control but not before the entire field had passed him and drove off leaving him far behind. Turn one is very tricky at this 3/8-mile speedway. Many cars took a spin on the flat entry. Peterson was one of those and brought out a caution flag that allowed Clother to catch up. After a couple more spins and caution flags Jones had made his way to the front where he finished and won the race followed by Mustered, Wheeler and Trapp.

Robert Rux sat on the pole for the main event. To his right sat Dave Trapp. Mike Clother and Jeff Peterson filled the second row. Jones, Wheeler and Mustered took the remaining positions. On the green flag lap both Trapp and Peterson slipped a bit in turn one allowing Rux and Clother to establish a gap between themselves and third place. Clother worked the outside of Rux and was able to complete the pass to take the lead from him. Mustered had attached himself to the rear bumper of Jones and those two freight trained past Wheeler, Peterson, Trapp and Rux moving into second and third. It didn’t take long for those two to catch Clother. Try as he might Clother was unable to hold off Jones who made the pass taking over the lead on lap 4. Those two built a considerable lead ahead of Mustered and Wheeler who continued battling for third. Peterson was still having trouble negotiating turn one and spun bringing out the caution again. On the restart Jones and Clother continued pulling away from the rest of the field. Jones was able to keep just ahead of Clother who tried everything to force Jones into making an unlikely mistake. The transmission in Trapp’s car expired without warning in front of the crowded grandstands but Dave was able to coast out of harm’s way and the race continued. Wheeler was dogging Mustered but could not get around him until Mustered was lapping Peterson and incidental contact between those two caused a flat tire that sent Mustered to the pits with only a few laps remaining. Clother was on the hunt for Jones but could only catch up and never make the pass. The “hometown hero” saw the checkers first followed by Clother and Wheeler. Rux, Mustered, Peterson and Trapp filled the remaining finishing positions.

After the first two races of the 2011 season Bobby Wheeler leads the point chase with Jim Jones only 8 points behind.

Because the weather for March and early April had been easy for the weatherman to forecast, everybody thought the first race for the 2011 season would be a rain out. Surprisingly, that was not the case. It was an exciting season opener, for the drivers that braved the chilly night.

Lap times were a bit slow due to the cold tires and track, but that didn’t stop Bobby Wheeler from laying down a lap of 15.26 seconds; taking the fast-time-honors for the evening. Bobby was a full 3/10th of a second faster than the rest of the group.

Due to the threat of rain, trophy dashes were not ran. The forecasters were correct in predicting a mid-evening shower, which started just after the last main event of the evening was run.

The heat race was crazy for the Modifieds’. Nine cars lined up, with Robert Rux on the pole. John Mustered started to the right of Rux; with Dave Trapp and Jeff Peterson following. Mustered and Peterson took off and easily led the first lap. Trapp got a nose under Rux in turn 3 of the second lap; but, Rux closed the door suddenly sending both cars spinning, with Rux stopping in the muddy infield. The first yellow caution of the young season moved Mike Clother into 3rd, followed by Bob Fulmer. After Rux’s freshly painted car was pulled from the mud, the field was given the “one-to-go” signal by track officials. Peterson was close on Mustered’s bumper approaching the restart, but the flagman displayed the yellow flag instead of the green flag. When Mustered slowed slightly, Peterson with a full head of steam drove over the left side of Mustered’s car leaving rubber from the spinning tires on the roof and landing him in the lead. Unfortunately, the damaged front suspension would not steer and Peterson’s car made violent contact with the concrete retaining wall. Behind this action Clother had slowed suddenly and was nudged by Fulmer, sending those two cars spinning into the muddy infield between turns one and two. After the red flag, of the four, Clother was the only one able to remain in the race and inherited the lead just ahead of Jim Jones driving the car of Erik McClain. Peterson was okay but his poor car suffered severe damage with only one lap completed for 2011. Owner, Chuck Peterson, thought it would be a total loss. Mustered and Fulmer had repairs to make but would be ready for the evening’s main. On the restart, Clother lead for a couple laps before water from his car’s radiator overflow got on his tires causing a bad handling problem. Jones was stuck behind the slip-sliding Clother and Wheeler took advantage of the situation to pass for the lead and eventually the win followed by Jones, Trapp and Paul Field.

The main would be a bit less exciting, thankfully. The line up was the same as the heat, except for the absence of the Peterson’s badly wrecked car. Rux once again started from the pole and, once again, Mustered jumped into the lead, this time followed by Clother and Trapp. Mustered built a slight lead during the opening laps while Clother held off Trapp. Surprisingly, Trapp did a solo spin to bring out the caution flag and allow Fulmer to move into third followed by defending champion Jim Jones. After the restart, Jones dogged Clother several laps before he was able to take the high side entering turn 3 and got beside Clother. In mid turn Clother slipped a bit making contact with Jones’ left rear tire and sending both of them spinning. Track officials requested Clother restart the race from the rear of the field. Mustered was still holding onto the lead after the restart. It seems Mustered’s car handled better with the roof caved in from the drive-over earlier in the evening. Paul Field was running well until his engine began overheating sending him to the trailer late in the race. Wheeler was still fast and worked his way past Jones and began filling Mustered’s mirror. With two laps remaining Mustered left a gap on the low side and Wheeler filled it, passing for the lead and staying in front for the win. Mustered finished a disappointing second with Jones and Trapp following. Clother, Rux, Fulmer and Field brought up the rear. Honors go to Bobby Wheeler for sweeping the event, setting the fast qualifying time and winning both races.

Fall like weather prevailed as the Vintage Modified drivers gathered once again at South Sound Speedway. Some new faces were on hand as well as some visiting drivers. Jeff Peterson was driving President Leonard Schmidt’s car, Tony Carabello was test driving Chuck Peterson’s car, Pete Tice Jr. made it back after almost a full season absence and Tom Smitham was filling the seat for the vacationing Robert Rux.

Just off his win at Yakima two weeks ago Paul Field set the fast time of the night at 15:00 seconds.

The A dash line up had Tony Carabello on the pole, point leader Bobby Wheeler on his right. Bob Fulmer and Field started behind them. Carabello led the first 3 laps but was overtaken by Fulmer on the last lap and barely avoided crashing when Field spun out trying to win it all in the last turn. Fulmer got the trophy.

There was only one heat race at this event, a big one. Smitham took the pole with Peterson beside him. John Mustered and Mike Clother were in the second row followed by defending champion Jim Jones and Kevin Rinkel. The pack stayed tight side by side for the first two laps before Peterson moved around Smitham to take the lead. Peterson held the lead for the remaining laps and was followed to the checkered flag by Mustered, Fulmer, Jones and Wheeler.

The 30 lap main event lined up exactly like the heat race. Once again Peterson took the lead early and put some distance between him and the rest of the field of cars. Mustered took over second as Clother faded to the rear on the outside. Mustered did a masterful job of holding on to second place. Meanwhile, Fulmer, Field, Rinkel and Jones were battling to see who would move up to take try to take that position form Mustered. It was Field that prevailed in that battle and with only a hand full of laps left in the race he moved Mustered out of his way to take over second. Field closed quickly on Peterson who had led from the start. With two laps to go Field once again made his presence known by use of his front bumper. That resulted in Peterson spinning from the lead into the dusty infield between turns 1 and 2. This did not please driver Peterson who kept his foot and the gas. The ensuing dust cloud covered the track with dirt and blinded anyone following. Even so no caution flag flew and the group received the white flag, one lap to go. Jones had fallen behind Clother in the dust storm but saw some daylight entering turn one. Clother closed the door but unfortunately Jones didn’t slow enough to prevent spinning both he and Clother into the still dusty infield. More clouds of dust covered the track, several drivers were not too happy, but Paul Field took the trophy. Kevin Rinkel was second followed by Mustered, Fulmer and Wheeler. Carabello moved up to 6th in the dust storm with Jones, Clother, Peterson and Smitham making up the rest of the top ten.

Only two races remain in the 2010 season for the Vintage Modifieds. Bobby Wheeler currently is the point leader but Jim Jones is close behind. John Mustered and Mike Clother are hotly contesting the next point position. There should be some good racing at Wenatchee Valley Super Oval September 11th and at the championship race at South Sound on September 25th.

Saturday, July 3rd, was the annual open wheel extravaganza at PA Speedway. There would be a fireworks show at the end of the evening and fireworks as well during the fourth race of the Vintage Modified 2010 season.

Jim Jones set the pace with a blistering fast qualifying time of 15:98 seconds.

Chuck Peterson won the B Dash from the pole. He held off hard charging Mike Clother and Josh Peters to take a well-deserved trophy.

The A dash was won by Bobby Wheeler who started on the front row to the right of pole sitter Tom Smitham who was driving for Leonard Schmidt. Defending champion Jim Jones was a very close second.

Peterson also started on the pole for the 10-lap heat race. On his right was Josh Peters driving for Robert Rux who had taken the night off. Clother started behind them and brought out the first yellow flag when his air cleaner went airborne and, after bouncing off the windshield of Wheeler’s car, landed in pieces on the track. Unfazed Clother used the restart to make a successfully aggressive outside pass on Peterson for the lead. One lap later the engine in Peterson’s car expired trailing a large cloud of white smoke. That brought a waving red flag and the field was stopped on the back straightaway. Before the restart Clother was shown the mechanical flag due to a flat tire and was allowed to quickly change it going from first to worst as he restarted in the rear of the field. Wheeler inherited the lead and spent the remaining laps once again holding off Jones for a photo finish win.

The feature main was a 50-lap event. With Peterson’s car absent Josh Peters took over the pole position beside Tom Smitham. Wheeler and John Mustered made up the second row followed by Jones and Clother. At the green flag Jones began his customary drive to the lead, seemingly passing cars at will. Most of the other drivers knew that Jones’ car was suffering from a growling differential and couldn’t possibly last the entire 50 laps. As Jones went forward Mustered fell to the rear of the pack, a good thing as it turned out because something let loose in the rear axle of Mustered’s car causing it to spin exiting turn 4. He brushed the concrete wall with his front bumper but was able to drive the car back to the pits and onto the trailer. After the ensuing restart Jones remained in the lead ahead of Peters, Wheeler, Smitham and Clother. Around the half way point in the race Clother decided it was time to go. He worked on the outside of Smitham for several laps before he was able to complete the pass exiting turn two. Wheeler’s car was experiencing a rear wheel hop and that allowed Clother to move by him and gain another position towards the front. By this time Jones’ car was showing signs of slowing. Peters was closing in on him as Clother continued to reel in Peters. Everybody thought the ailing differential was beginning to fail. With 10 laps to go it looked like it would be a 3 way race for the win. In reality Jones’ car was just fine and he drove away leaving Clother and Peters to battle for second place. As Jones was lapping cars and racing to victory Clother eventually prevailed over Peters. Wheeler and Smitham rounded out the top 5. It was an exciting race for the participants and the fans. Jim Jones continues to lead the points race seeking his third consecutive championship.

The next race for the V Mods is at Ephrata Raceway. It should be a great night of racing marking the half way point of the 2010 season and bragging rights for the coveted mid-season champion ship trophy.