Veterans Outshine the Youngsters
MARYSVILLE RACEWAY
(May 22, 2021) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Veterans Outshine the Youngsters
Saturday night we all learned that Jerry Bartlett still remembered how to get to victory lane. The popular and at times, controversial driver had been on a two-year dry streak. With his hammer down and his elbows, that all changed tonight. Bartlett led all 20-laps to win a thrilling and competitive Hobby Stock main event. Jacob Johnson stalked Bartlett like fresh celery but was never able to find the right spot or time to make a pass. Give Bartlett credit as he hung tough, hit his marks, and showed his true championship form tonight. The always exciting Howard Law started eighth and by lap 14 had raced his way into third. Johnson and Law battled it out the final few laps for the second spot. Zach Lindgren continues to impress with his steady driving style and finished fourth. Fifth place went to tenth place starting Kyle Cheney. It was a nice and tight 20-minute race tonight that only featured four cautions. Through it all, Bartlett was leader on and off the track tonight.
Jacob Bright won the 12-lap B main event. Eddie Simmons, Mario Davis, and Cy Cooper all transferred into the A feature with Bright. Cooper made a great pass on Trevor Abella on the final lap to secure the fourth and final transfer spot. Jesse Van Roekel won the first eight lap heat. Zach Lindgren scored the win in heat two. Howard Law picked up the heat three win. Maurice Merrill took home top honors in heat four. Once again, a staggering number of cars, 27, raced tonight.
Speaking of championship drivers who had not visited victory lane in a while, how about Korey Lovell winning the 25-lap winged 360 sprint car final. Our records indicate it has been almost 10 years since the famed No. 71L parked it in victory lane at Marysville. Lovell started fourth and methodically passed cars on the way into the lead on lap 19. The track was dry-slick and seemed to suit Lovell’s car and driving style to perfection. Lovell led the final six laps with ease to secure the popular win. Fast-time qualifier Tyler Thompson led the first 18 laps. He was impressive all night and ultimately fell back to a third-place finish.
The hard charger on the night was Dylan Bloomfield. In only his second career start at Marysville, he charged from 16th to second. It was such an impressive charge towards the front. In fact, many of the fans were glued to his ability to pass cars on the top of the track. Brad Bumgarner, last Saturday nights winner, finished fourth. Bobby Butler rounded out the top five. Bumgarner won the first heat. William Fielding scored the popular win in heat two. Colby Wiesz won the third heat race. Youngster Koa Crane won the fourth and final heat. We were all impressed by Jayce Steinberg winning the 12-lap B main. Kevin Lovell finished second.
Twelve Crate Sprints lined up for their 20-lap main event. Before the first lap was completed, a yellow was needed for Doug Froehlich. The next restart saw Kelly Hicks jump out to the lead. Unfortunately for Hicks, he went on to spin out of the lead on lap two. A few laps later he spun in turn one and with his second yellow was done for the night. On the lap four restart, Mike Ballentine and Wyatt Van Lare crashed in turn one. Up front it was Brett Youngman leading the way. Third place driver Jason Ballentine spun in turn one on the restart. Youngman led the next eight laps until Chad Thompson spun around in turn one. Cameron Haney Jr. was doing a solid job in second. David Simms held down the third spot. With the yellow, this gave Haney Jr. and Simms a late race chance to pass Youngman. However, the driver who benefitted the most was Jason Ballentine as he went from fourth to second by lap 14. On lap 15, Simms spun out in turn three. On the next lap, Ballentine got sideways coming out of turn four, spun around and kept it going. Simms spun in turn one and this would give Ballentine back his second spot. Yet, two laps later, Jason Ballentine spun in turn four area. Yellow was needed and he was sent off the track for his second yellow. The race was about to finish when second place Haney Jr. spun in turn one. Youngman cruised thru the final few laps and won the elongated feature event. He also picked up an extra $100 from Paul Olmsted Plastering for the win.
Dan Brown Jr. led the opening laps of the Limited Late Model feature. Eddie Gardner spun in turn four on lap two. On the restart, George Magenheimer stopped in turn three. The race resumed with Brown Jr. up front and in complete control. On lap seven Eddie Gardner spun again. On the restart, Brown Jr. came to an unexpected stop with a motor issue. Rod Oliver was now the new leader. At this point, three cars remained on the track. Lap 11 Oliver did a half spin in turn one and relinquished the lead to Jay Norton. Norton would go on to lead the final three laps and hold off a hard charging Ray Trimble to get the win. Brown Jr. won the lone heat race of the night for this division.
Full results available at https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/1861845
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