Kirk Way, Gib Gibbons rack up Sumter Speedway wins

Donna Solesbee/Clarendon Citizen

SUMTER - Saturday night’s racing action at Sumter Speedway included hard crashes, hard racing, hard luck, and flaring tempers. And fans saw all of these in just the heat races.

In the Bomber Six heat race L. E. Mooneyham hit the rear of Daniel Morris’ car at the end of the heat race. Morris then drove along side Mooneyham to show his disapproval. Mooneyham retaliated by hitting Morris again. Mooneyham’s momentum caused his Chevrolet to go flying off the back stretch after hitting Morris. Mooneyham’s post-race actions combined with speeding through the pit area earned him a DQ from race officials.

With the drama settled, the field took the green for the main with Grant Hill starting from the pole and Manning’s  Kirk Way starting on the outside of the front row. Way wrestled the lead from Hill on the opening lap fighting off challenges from Hill and Morris to hold on for the win. Morris took home second, Hill third, Justin Hurst  was fourth, and Angie Logan was fifth.

Billy Collum and Garry Taff both had a tough night in the Street Stock heat race. Collum hit the front stretch wall, breaking an axle and suffered heavy sheet metal damage to his Nova. Taff slapped the turn one wall and ended up landing his Camaro on top of an earthen berm located some 75 feet from the track’s edge.

Collum was unable to make repairs in time for the main event. Taff was able to make the race but his drive shaft broke on the first lap of the race. Mark Bartlette repeated his performance of last week with his Monte Carlo taking a runaway victory. Mark Mancini fell victim to a bone jarring crash into the front stretch wall just a lap after moving into second place. Mancini was taken to Tuomey Regional Medical Center for further evaluation and was admitted to the hospital with broken ribs and internal bleeding. He was to be transferred to a Columbia hospital Sunday.

Stock Four started off having a strong field but after Manning driver Cody McAllister, who was subbing for Kiri Way and Sissy Duke, who both blew engines during the hot lap sessions pared the field down to a three car show. McAllister was able to borrow Wallace Hodge’s car for the event. The field took the green with Nissan team mates Jody Truett and Rickie Dennis starting on the front row with McAllister in tow. On lap six McAllister’s car slowed and came to a stop bringing out the caution. Mcallister was able to get his car refired for the restart. While Dennis was content to remain behind Truett, Mcallister moved to the outside for the double file restart on lap seven. McAllister was able to hold off Dennis for the rest of the race as Truett drove to an easy win and, a visit to the Rourk Plumbing Winners Circle, with McAllister’s strategy paying off with a second place finish and third place going to Dennis.

Mark Horne and Johnnie O’Neal carried the battle they waged in the Ridge Runner heat race into the main as O’Neal, who won the heat race, and Mark Horne dueled door to door with both cars dead even at the start-finish line on the first lap. O’Neal took the lead over Horne on the second lap but made a very costly mistake on lap three. O’Neal’s Camaro slipped high in turn three giving Horne the chance he needed to make the pass for the lead. Horne was able to pull away for the win as O’Neal never could get enough momentum off the corners to catch Horne to mount any sort of challenge and had to settle for second. Charles Ridgeway took third, and Joey Ayers fourth.

Heather Welch was able to take the lead from Mikey Driggers on lap eight to win the Young Guns event. Driggers grabbed the lead from pole sitter Welch on lap one but Welch never let up on the pressure she was applying to Driggers to regain the lead. Welch was able to get around Driggers for the win on lap eight. Unlike last week when Welch earned a DQ for not making the minimum weight at the scales, Welch made the minimum weight requirement at the scales during the post race inspection and was able to retain this victory. Driggers took second place honors along with a Danny’s Trophy Shop Hard Charger Award. Last week’s winner Allen Ridgeway was third.

Gib Gibbons of Manning held off David Rourk for his second win of the year in the GM Crate Late Model class. Gibbons posted a fast lap of 17.175 seconds to edge out David Rourk’s time of 17.526 seconds to claim the pole position for the event. Gibbons sprinted out to a modest lead with Rourk in striking distance. Gibbons slid high exiting turn three late in the race but the interval between Gibbons and Rourk was too much for Rourk to make a run for the lead. Gibbons took the win over a fast improving Rourke with Tommy Bell bringing a very ill handling racecar home third. It was the second win of the year for the third generation Manning driver.

Adam Hill, winner of the last three Bomber four races, found himself at the rear of the main event per track rules. With Hill starting at the back and a very strong field ahead of him the race had all the ingredients needed to make a long night for Hill. When the green dropped Andy Driggers of Manning, S. C. sprinted past pole sitter Chris Scott to lead the first lap of the event. The race had five cautions in the first five laps for minor spins with Driggers being able to hold the lead on each restart. Behind Driggers a nose to tail field of cars were jockeying for position each lap. Scott was able to retake the lead from Driggers on lap 10 but his time at the front was short lived as he was involved in a multi-car incident handing the lead back to Driggers. The race restarted with four laps to go and Hill had made his way through the pack to restart second outside of Driggers.

Driggers was able to lead Hill through the first turn but could not shake a determined Hill. The two fought for the top spot in the closing laps. Hill made a last lap pass coming off turn four edging out Driggers at the line for the win. Buzzie Johnson brought a very fast racecar home to a third place finish, Landon Jefferies was  fourth, and Wallace Hodge fifth. Ashley Driggers, Daniel Welch, John Ledwell, Brian Woodryck, Ace Casten, Chris Scott, and Marty Horne rounded out the field. Welch and Manning’s Ace Casten both won Danny’s Trophy Shop Hard Charger Awards for their efforts.

Bicycle races will be held during intermission at the track next. All riders will be required to have a bicycle helmet in order to participate. Active duty military with a valid ID are admitted free and fans 65 and older with proof of age receive grandstand admission for $5. Gates open Saturday at 5 p.m. with racing action starting at 7:30.