Wilcox, Hemphill, Wonderling and Mitchell all score wins in the Old Bradford Speedway Season Opener!
By: Jeff Gardner and Tiffany Gardner
August 2nd, 2015
It was a beautiful night for the season opener at the Old Bradford Speedway. Tonight was a long awaited and highly anticipated night on top of the hill. The grandstands were full, and the racing did not disappoint the crowd. The night saw veterans who had raced at the “Thrill on the Hill” several times to racers who were new to Old Bradford Speedway, which made for an exciting mix, but the veterans came out on top at the end of the night. All 4 feature winners have previously won at Bradford at some point during their racing career. Josh Wilcox, “Critter” Hemphill, Jeremy Wonderling, and Larry Mitchell, Jr. were all excited to return to Victory Lane at the Old Bradford Speedway.
The 4 of Cliff Easton and the 34 of Mike Parmenter led the English’s Duke Center Superette Pure Stocks to the green flag for their 12 lap feature to begin the feature events for the evening. Mike Parmenter grabbed the lead of the first lap and the 1W of Josh Wilcox moved up to 2nd and Easton dropped back to third. The caution flag waved on the first lap for the 57x of Moose Reed. The caution flag waved for the 2nd time on lap 3 for the 57x of Moose Reed. Parmenter continued to hold the lead with Wilcox in 2nd and the 75 of Jason Dobson moving up to 3rd. The field was slowed yet again on lap 4 for a caution involving the 4 of Cliff Easton. After the restart, Wilcox took the lead and was the first to cross the line on the 5th lap. On lap 6, Dobson took 2nd from Parmenter. Wilcox, Dobson, and Parmenter remained the top 3 for the remainder of the event. The top 5 finishers were Wilcox, Dobson, Parmenter, Roy Gearhart (35), and Tim Burkett (21).
The Highway Auto Street Stocks were paced by the 1 of Dennis Asel and the 22w of Rich “Wojo” Wojtowicz for their 15 lap feature event. Lap 1 saw Wojo take the lead and the caution come out for Asel. The 31 of Rich “Critter” Hemphill took 2nd and the 75x of Joe Layfield moved up to 3rd. On lap 2, the 99F of Gary Fischer jumped up to third, and, on lap 3, Fisher took the lead with Wojo in 2nd and Critter in 3rd. The field was slowed again on lap 3 for the 8ball of Butch Jackson. Fisher, Wojo, and Critter remained the top 3 racers. The 1 of Asel brought out another caution on lap 8, but the top 3 three remained the same. On lap 9, Fisher brought out the caution, and Wojo inherited the lead with Critter in 2nd and Layfield back up to 3rd. On lap 13, Bob Connor moved up to 3rd place. On lap 14, Critter took the lead from Wojo with a great racing move. Critter crossed the finish line first with Wojo in 2nd and Connor finishing in 3rd. The top 5 finishers were Critter, Wojo, Connor, Layfield, and Eddie Coast (43).
The Valvalos Bar and Restaurant Rush Crate Late Models had the most cars of any class, and their racing did not disappoint! Before the feature event began, there was a tribute to the late Ron Baker. Ron was a long time racer in the area and he passed this past year. Old Bradford Speedway was not the same without Baker in the pits. One of Ron’s former cars has been restored by his best friend, Dick Demick, and features pictures of Ron’s racing career throughout the years. The tribute car, the 74 of Mikey Wonderling, which was formerly Ron Bakers crate, and the S4of Ward Schell took several parade laps in memory of Ron Baker. Ward Schell had piloted Ron’s 74 crate for the last several years. After the tribute, the rest of the cars came onto the track and lined up for the 20 lap feature event. It was an all Wonderling front row as the 74 of Mikey Wonderling and the 3J of Jeremy Wonderling paced the 16 car feature event. The caution flag waved for the F4 of Matt Harvey and the 28C of Chad Showers after the first lap. Jeremy was leading his brother Mikey with the 24B of Brad Mesler in 3rd. The field was slowed again on lap 4 when the F4 of Harvey and the 32 of Mike Robinson got tangled on the backstretch. The top 3 remained the same: Jeremy, Mikey, and Mesler. During the caution the 4s of Randy Hall who was running 5th went to the pits, but he returned to the track before racing had resumed. Damian Bidwell was up to 4th from his 6th starting position. On lap 5, Mesler took 2nd from Mikey, and on lap 6 Mikey brought out the caution. Jeremy was still leading with Bidwell up to 2nd and Mesler in 3rd. When racing resumed, an exciting battle between Bidwell and Jeremy ensued. The front two went back and forth for several laps. Bidwell claimed the lead on lap 9. On lap 10, the s4 of Ward Schell moved up to 3rd and Jeremy remained close to Bidwell. On lap 12, the 28C of Showers brought out the caution and the 24B of Mesler retired to the pits. Hall had made it up to 5th after restarting at the tail of the field on lap 4. Racing resumed and Jeremy reclaimed the lead with Bidwell right behind him. The field was slowed again on lap 13 for the 26 (Zach Wiech), 32 (Robinson) and the 28C (Showers). Racing resumed and so did the battle between Bidwell and Jeremy. Bidwell stalked Jeremy was unable to catch him. On lap 17, the 14 of Dusty Waters brought out the caution. The last the 3 laps continued to bring exciting racing, but Bidwell was unable to pass Jeremy for the win. The top 5 finishers were Jeremy Wonderling, Bidwell, Schell, Andy Michael (17x), and Randy Hall.
The Tasta Pizza of Bradford and Limestone Mini Stocks were the final class of the evening. The 24J of Jacob Dunn and the 33 of Larry Mitchell, Jr. paced the 12 car field for their 15 lap feature event. All 15 laps were run without any cautions. Dunn grabbed the lead with Mitchell in 2nd and the 98JR of Dana Haner in 3rd. On lap 5, Haner took the lead with Mitchell in 2nd and Dunn dropping to 3rd. On lap 6, Mitchell took the lead with Haner in 2nd and the 04s of Chris Shelly up to 3rd. On Lap 9, Haner retired to the pits which moved Shelly up to 2nd and Dunn back up to 3rd, and Mitchell continued to lead the field. On the final lap, Mitchell crossed first, followed by Shelly and Dunn. The top 5 finishers were Mitchell, Shelly, Dunn, Eric Canfield (33C), and Patrick Mitchell, Jr. (47).
English’s Duke Center Superette Pure Stocks
Heat 1: Josh Wilcox, Mike Parmenter, Jim Challingsworth, Steve Houben, Moose Reed, Roy Gearheart, Dustin Bowen
Heat 2: RJ Pisner, Cliff Easton, Jason Dobson, Ryan Snyder, Dustin Challingsworth, Daniel Ott, Tim Burkett
Feature: Josh Wilcox, Jason Dobson, Mike Parmenter, Ray Gearhart, Tim Burkett, Dustin Bowen, Daniel Ott, Ryan Snyder, RJ Pisner, Dustin Challingsworth, Jim Challingsworth, Cliff Easton, Moose Reed, Steve Houben (DNS)
Highway Auto Street Stocks
Heat 1: Gary Fisher, Bob Connor, Dennis Asel, Butch Jackson, Scott Tubbs
Heat 2: “Critter” Hemphill, “Wojo” Wojtowicz, Joe Layfield, Eddie Coast
Feature: “Critter” Hemphill, “Wojo” Wojtowicz, Bob Connor, Joe Layfield, Eddie Coast, Dillon McLeod, Butch Jackson, Gary Fisher, Scott Tubbs, Dennis Asel
Valvalos Bar and Restaurant Rush Crate Late Models
Heat 1: Randy Hall, Jeremy Wonderling, Matt Harvey, Andy Michael, Adam Sixt, John Hagerty
Heat 2: Ward Schell, Mikey Wonderling, Garrett Mott, Dustin Waters, Scott Fitch, Zach Wiech
Heat 3: Brad Mesler, Damian Bidwell, Bob Kish, Chad Showers, Mike Robinson
Feature: Jeremy Wonderling, Damian Bidwell, Ward Schell, Andy Michael, Randy Hall, Garrett Mott, John Hagerty, Bob Kish, Chad Showers, Zach Wiech, Dustin Waters, Scott Fitch, Brad Mesler, Mikey Wonderling, Matt Harvey, Mike Robinson, Adam Sixt (DNS)
Tasta Pizza of Bradford and Limestone Mini Stocks
Heat 1: Chris Shelly, Dana Hamer, Jacob Dunn, Travis Babcock, Eric Canfield, Katie Perry
Heat 2: Kurt Goodell, Larry Mitchell, Jr., Matt Putt, Patrick Mitchell, Jr., Anthony Schoonover, Dave Lowe, Jr.
Feature: Larry Mitchell, Jr., Chris Shelly, Jacob Dunn, Eric Canfield, Patrick Mitchell, Jr., Kurt Goodell, Matt Putt, 16s, Travis Babcock, Katie Perry, Dave Lowe, Jr., Dana Haner, Anthony Schoonover
