2008 Natural Bridge Speedway

May 18, 2008

Natural Bridge Speedway

Results For May 16, 2008

Late Model Rookie Barger Surprises Large Late Model Field; Wells Makes It 4-for-4 In Sportsman; Mayberry, Argenbright, Ayers Also Win At Natural Bridge (Virginia) Speedway

In the 2004 season, Chris Barger and Ricky Wells experienced fits and starts in the Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman division at Natural Bridge Speedway. Barger was replacing his father, longtime NBS stalwart Joe Barger in the No. 32 car while Wells struggled to keep his No. 67 machine from breaking before the checkers flew.

Times – and circumstances – have changed for both affable wheelmen. Barger moved up to the Spencer Home Center Late Model division this season after winning back-to-back-to-back Sportsman point titles, capped off with 12 feature wins in the 2007 campaign. Wells returned to Sportsman competition this year, but he brought a new ride with the No. 12-ride supplanting the blue-and-orange No. 67 machine.

Even the most veteran of Natural Bridge Speedway dirt-track observers would have been hard-pressed to predict that Barger would pick up his initial Late Model win without paying substantial dues. He had made those payments of inexperience during the first three weeks of the season, finishing 18th, third and sixth, respectively, in his first forays into such high-speed company.

It only took a few weeks for Barger to earn the lone victory of his 2004 Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman campaign. It took him but four weeks to record his initial Late Model journey to Winner’s Circle. And it came against a large field of 24 high-powered thunder-makers in the first of six 50-lap features that comprise this season’s Two Track Challenge involving three Late Model 50-lappers at NBS and three 50-lappers at Eastside Speedway in Waynesboro, with 24 hours separating the two Late Model races.

While no one has ever questioned Wells’s driving prowess, it was always the old racing rhyme “it’s fast, but will it last?” Poetry has changed in Sportsman ovals this year as Wells has rewritten the script to “it’s quick whether tacky or slick.” Though he started 11th in Friday’s 14-car starting grid, the result was the same as it had been in each of the first three races of the season.

Wells overtook the pack, seized the lead and roared away to grab the checkers, making it four wins in four starts for the veteran.

Defending Pure Stock champion Ricky Mayberry built on his current points lead by snaring his second win in four starts in the 20-lap Pure Stock feature. All-American driver Derrick Ayers of Lexington rolled to a second consecutive triumph in the 20-lap BB&T All-American feature and seized the current division point lead by a narrow one-point margin over previous point leader Howard Hall.

A large crowd gathered Friday for the first of six 50-lap Late Model features that comprise the first Two Track Challenge Twenty-five high-horsepower machines rolled into the pits, and 24 took the green in the main event.
Walker Arthur and Joe Leavell finished one-two, respectively, in the quick lap qualifying. The pair – the only drivers to run their qualifying laps in less than 16 seconds, were joined in the 6-lap Dash for Cash by Mark Parks, Barger, Bobby Thompson and current Spencer Home Center Late Model point leader Ricky Knight. The six had posted the six quickest qualifying laps and earned the right to draw pills for the starting order in the dash, which would also determine the starting order for the six in the 50-lapper.

Barger drew No. 1 for the pole followed in the starting grid, respectively, by Knight, Parks, Leavell, Thompson and Arthur. The way they started was the way they finished, earning Barger the pole for the night’s big event. The young Buena Vistan never looked back, blasting off from the drop of the green flag, notching effective restarts after each caution and producing a flag-to-flag win. It was the Barger’s 25th victory in the past four seasons, but his first in Spencer Home Center Late Model action.

Thompson battled from his fifth starting slot to move into second on lap 26, a position he held until he followed Barger by less than a second to the finish. Arthur snared third for good on the same lap and held the position to the finish. Leavell, who won the first Spencer Home Center feature this season though he runs primarily at Eastside, finished fourth. Greg Roberson finished fifth after starting 13th.

Leavell snapped back to win Saturday night’s 50-lapper in Waynesboro. Thompson took the overall lead in the Two Track Challenge by also finishing second Saturday. Barger ran seventh at Eastside.

Speedway officials must be wondering what to do about Wells’s early-season domination. More weight? Start at the rear? Post a bounty? Certainly nothing has been decided except that Wells’s new ride runs well. It took the Gladstone vet 10 laps to move to the point, and he never looked back. He has already won as many races this season as he did in the combined 2006 and 2007 seasons. Shipman’s Mike Bryant bounced back from some bad luck that kept him out of the previous Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman feature with a runner-up finish. Wells now leads point runner-up Norman Dudley, who finished fifth Friday, by 20 markers. Steve Landrum and Eric Groah ran third and fourth, respectively.

Argenbright started on the Street Stock pole and led flag-to-flag to earn his first win of the year. Fincastle’s David Brogan was less than a half second behind the winner in finishing second. Earl Brooks ran third and took the point lead by one over Brogan. Skye Reynolds finished fourth while Lester Lyons finished fifth.

Mayberry started sixth in the 18-car Pure Stock field. He patiently worked his way through traffic and took the lead for good by passing eventual runner-up Justin Williams on lap 14 in the 20-lap race. Mike Brogan had a strong run, starting and finishing third, Joey Coleman and Toby Stalnaker completed the top 5. All but one of the 18 cars that started the race finished on the lead lap.

Ayers started sixth in the 11-car BB&T All-American field. He worked his way to the lead, completing the progression by passing pole-sitter Robbie Barger on the inside in turn 2 on lap 10. Hall finished fourth. Jimmie Cunningham and Jeff Mays finished third and fifth, respectively.

Saturday a regular racing show returns to NBS. The gates will open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag expected to drop at 6:30 p.m.

Natural Bridge (Va.) Speedway results for Friday, May 16, 2008:

Two Track Challenge Spencer Home Center Late Model 50-lap feature No. 1 of 6 (full rundown) – 1) Chris Barger; 2) Bobby Thompson; 3) Walker Arthur; 4) Joe Leavell; 5) Greg Roberson; 6) Mark Parks; 7) Kristian Looney; 8) Danny Brown; 9) Ricky Knight; 10) Gerald Davis; 11) David Bennett; 12) Mike Ayers; 13) David Sibold; 14) Petie Coffey; 15) Tim Stalnaker; 16) Mark brown; 17) Jeff Nelson; 18) Jared Almarode; 19) David Keith; 20) David Watts; 21) Ricky Almond; 22) Andy White; 23) Jon Painter; 24) Lewis Hudson

Two Track Challenge Spencer Home Center Late Model 6-lap Dash For Cash – 1) Chris Barger; 2) Ricky Knight; 3) Mark Parks; 4) Joe Leavell; 5) Bobby Thompson; 6) Walker Arthur

Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman 20-lap feature – 1) Ricky Wells; 2) Mike Bryant; 3) Steve Landrum; 4) Eric Groah; 5) Norman Dudley

Street Stock 20-lap feature – 1)Gary Argenbright; 2) David Brogan; 3) Earl Brooks; 4) Skye Reynolds; 5) Lester Lyons
Pure Stock 20-lap feature – 1) Ricky Mayberry; 2) Justin Williams; 3) Mike Brogan; 4) Joey Coleman; 5) Toby Stalnaker
BB&T All-American 20-lap feature – 1)Derrick Ayers; 2) Robbie Barger; 3) Jimmie Cunningham; 4) Howard Hall; 5) Jeff Mays

May 10, 2008

Sportsman Veteran Wells Makes It 3-For-3; Thompson Wins 35-Lap Late Model Feature; Fitzgerald, Martin And Ayers Grab Checkers, Too

Four of the five winning drivers at Natural Bridge Speedway last Saturday night were making their first visits of the young season to Victory Circle. The fifth, Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman winner Ricky Wells, had been there before this campaign. The Gladstone veteran made it three wins in three starts with his victory last Saturday.

Some races saw domination by a car or two, while others saw drivers winding their way to the front after starting deep in the grid.

David Bennett posted the quick qualifying time in the Spencer Home Center Late Model division, but not by much. Bennett bested Mike Ayers by three one-thousandths of a second to cop the qualifying honor. Joy was short-lived, however, as Bennett drew a No. 5 inversion pill, which bumped him back to the fifth starting slot alongside current division points leader Ricky Knight of Gladstone.

Mark Parks of Forest started on the pole and was dominant throughout the first 26 laps in the 35-lap feature, as Concord’s Bobby Thompson, who started on the outside pole in the 14-car starting grid, stayed in Parks’ tracks, but was unable to execute a pass to the point. On lap 27, however, Parks’ car expired for the night, and Thompson surged to the lead and maintained his lead until passing the waving checkers for his first win of the young season. Knight finished second to maintain the Spencer Home Center Late Model division points lead. Winchester’s Doug Hardy rolled home third, followed by quick qualifier Bennett and Walker Arthur, who finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

If the racing season ended today, one might be tempted to rename the Sportsman division from the Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman division to the Lee’s Auto Repair Ricky Wells No. 12 Sportsman division as the Gladstone pilot has rolled his new No. 12 machine to Winner’s Circle after each of the campaign’s first three 25-lap Sportsman features.
Wells was relegated to the sixth slot in the starting grid as the previous race’s winner. He moved into fourth on lap 2, nudged to third on lap 4, assumed the runner-up slot in the 12-car field on lap 6 and took the lead for good by passing Norman Dudley on lap 13. Dudley continued to chase, but was forced to settle for second behind three-time 2008 winner Wells. Ken Nelson, Jr. ran third with Keith Nelson coming home fourth. Steve Landrum completed the Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman division top 5.

After sitting out the previous week’s Street Stock feature, Lexington’s Troy Fitzgerald returned in fine form Saturday and seized his first victory of the season by outrunning a 12-car Street Stock field. Fitzgerald started on the outside pole and had taken the lead by the end of lap 1 and maintained his advantage for the rest of the 25-lap feature. Venerable Tom Guthrie started on the pole and lost the point to eventual victor Fitzgerald on the first circuit, but the Lynchburg driver gave no more and finished second. Lester Lyons, David Brogan and Earl Brooks, finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Ronnie Martin, Jr. started 11th in Saturday’s Pure Stock field, then weaved his way through the 16-car field on his way to his first win of the season. It took the Buena Vista driver just three laps to sprint into the 25-lapper’s top 5. He rolled into third on lap 7, then seized second on lap 9, running in the shadow of Joey Coleman, who started second and led the first 16 laps. Martin zipped past Coleman on lap 17 to grab a lead he would not lose. Coleman hung on to finish second. Amherst’s Michael Bryant started eighth and finished third. Defending division points champion Ricky Mayberry maintained his current hold on the Pure Stock points lead. The Spout Spring veteran started 10th and finished fourth. Michael Taylor started 13th and finished fifth.

BB&T All-American driver Howard Hall was short-circuited by Lexington’s Derrick Ayers in his effort to join Wells in grabbing the checkers in each of the season’s first three features. Ayers started fourth and moved into second behind pole-sitter Mike Lawhorne on the first lap. Ayers took the lead on lap 4 and led the remainder of the 20-lap feature. Hall started sixth and moved through the field, finishing second behind Ayers and holding his current BB&T All-American points lead.
This week’s Natural Bridge Speedway racing show will take place on Friday night and will feature the first of six, 50-lap, $1,000-to-win Two Track Challenge Late Model features involving drivers from Eastside and Natural Bridge Speedways. Saturday night Eastside will play host to the second of the six special Two Track Challenge Late Model 50-lap events. Regular racing will take place in the other four classes at NBS Friday night. Gates will open at 5 p.m. with the first green flag scheduled to drop at 7 p.m.

Further details about the Two Track Challenge and the remainder of Natural Bridge Speedway’s 2008 racing schedule are available at www.nbspeedway.com

Natural Bridge Speedway – Top 5 finishers on Saturday, May 10, 2008

Spencer Home Center Late Model 35-lap results – 1) Bobby Thompson; 2) Ricky Knight; 3) Doug Hardy; 4) David Bennett; 5) Walker Arthur.

Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman 25-lap results – 1) Ricky Wells; 2) Norman Dudley; 3) Ken Nelson, Jr; 4) Keith Nelson; 5) Steve Landrum.

Street Stock 25-lap results – 1) Troy Fitzgerald; 2) Tom Guthrie; 3) Lester Lyons 4) David Brogan; 5) Earl Brooks.
Pure Stock 25-lap results – 1) Ronnie Martin, Jr.; 2) Joey Coleman; 3) Michael Bryant; 4) Ricky Mayberry; 5) Michael Taylor.

BB&T All-American 20-lap results – 1) Derrick Ayers; 2) Howard Hall; 3) Robbie Barger; 4) Mike Lawhorne; 5) CJ Goad.

Natural Bridge Speedway – Top 5 points standings through May 10, 2008

Spencer Home Center Late Model division – 1) Ricky Knight, 85 points; 2) Walker Arthur, 79; 3) Bobby Thompson, 72; 4) (tie) Mike Ayers, Mark Parks and Chris Barger, 63 each.

Lee’s Auto Repair Sportsman division – 1) Ricky Wells, 90 points; 2) Norman Dudley, 75; 3) Robert Steen, 68; 4) Ernie Deel, 63; 5) Mike Bryant, 54.

Street Stock division – 1) (tie) Earl Brooks and JR Overstreet, 81 points each; 3) David Brogan, 79; 4) Tom Guthrie, 72 points; 5) Bobby Ayers, 61.

Pure Stock division – 1) Ricky Mayberry, 83 points; 2) (tie) Justin Williams and Joey Coleman, 76 each; 4) Gerald Hostetter, 75; 5) Michael Bryant, 74.

BB&T All-American division – 1) Howard Hall, 88 points; 2) Derrick Ayers, 85; 3) Robbie Barger, 75; 4) Mike Lawhorne, 68; 5) CJ Thomas, 66.