107 cars race in Dewitt Memorial

The Sault Area Racing Association capped off an extremely successful first season at the Kinross Speedpark with the 4th Annual Randy Dewitt Memorial Invitational.

One hundred seven cars made the trip to the park for the biggest stock car race in the history of Kinross. The second largest crowd of the season saw close to six hours of racing with drivers competing in four classes for the prestigious win in a feature event at this race.

The fastest four qualifiers in each division received an automatic spot in the feature. Four car dashes were run with bragging rights on the line in each class.

The "Steel City Outlaw" George Wilson had his car go up in a cloud of smoke when the engine blew during the warm up laps for the Late Model dash. Todd Jackson replaced Wilson in the dash and the racing began. Jamie Iverson, a regular at the Norway Speedway, got a great jump at the start and held off the field for the first checkered flag of the afternoon.

Dan Shumbarger made his season debut at the Speedpark in grand fashion by taking a win with his Pure Stock in the dash. Shumbarger spent the entire season flagging at Kinross, but got a chance to race in the final race of the season.

Todd Jackson made a great three wide pass on the backstretch on the first lap of the Factory Stock dash. He held on to take the win.

The 4 Cylinder dash had some great racing action. Melvin Hottois, from Whittemore Speedway, made a great last lap pass for the lead for his first checkered flag of the day.

The Late Models were the first class to run heats and they all were very exciting. The first heat saw David Hartung from Onaway Motor Speedway and Scott Degnan from the Norway track racing door to door for many laps. Hartung eventually got the lead and survived a last lap charge by Degnan in taking the win. Puch Bently, who races at both Norway Speedway and Thunder Valley, finished third.

The second heat of Late Models had Tom Lindquist from Norway Speedway getting a great start and pulling away from the pack. A caution for a spin in turn four by Bernie Murphy from Dixie bunched up the field for a restart. Lindquist again held on to the lead and went on to the win. Robert Hiiemaa, a regular at both Kinross and Laird finished second, with Jamie Iverson third.

The third and final heat saw several cautions and many restarts. Red Adair from Norway Speedway led all the laps and took the win. Cale Wiltse from Dixie and Whittemore overcame an early mishap to finish second. Todd Jackson, who has many wins at the Speedpark, finished a close third.

Curtis Anderson from Onaway Speedway showed he had a very strong car by running away from the field in the first Pure Stock heat. Larry Young Jr. and Todd Nyberg., both from Kinross Speedpark, finished second and third respectfully.

The next Pure Stock heat was much like the first when Mike Babcock pulled away from the field and took the win. The field was stretched around the track with John Clawson and Larry Young Sr. finishing in second and third. All three drivers are from Kinross Speedpark.

The third Pure Stock heat had another strong showing by Kinross regulars. Ray Golladay Sr. was very fast and won by a big margin. Ray Golladay Jr, who blew a tire on the first lap, came back to finish second, and Ken VanLuven third.

The first of three Factory Stock heats was very close with the top four cars finishing almost touching each other. Randy Wolfgram from Onaway was the winner, with another Onaway driver Kris Riley second, and Ron Jenshak from Norway third.

The second heat also was very exciting with Dave Sanicki taking the victory. He held off a late charge by Mike Fox from Kinross Speedpark who finished second, and Rick Romanini from Flat Rock and Toledo race tracks in third.

Kary Saddison from Elmira looked very strong in the third and last Factory Stock heat race. He led a large part of the race. Todd Jackson worked his way through the field and took the lead from Saddison and raced on to the win, with Saddison finishing second. Shawn Diamond, also from Elmira, finished third.

Three heat races were also run in the 4 Cylinder class. Dean Eggert, the 2006 track champion at Kinross, was dominate in taking the win in the first heat. Danny Valent from Whittemore finished second, and Tony Rankin from Kinross third.

The second heat had a few cautions and Trey Beauchamp from Norway survived them all in taking the victory. Jason Harrington from Laird finished second, and John Mayer from Kinross third.

The third 4 Cylinder heat had some of the best racing yet. The race was run caution free with Adam Gardner from Kinross Speedpark taking the victory. Kyle Jarrett, from Laird International Raceway was second, and Boyd Widdis, from Thunder Valley third.

A B-Main race was run in the Late Model division with the top two finishers getting spots in the feature event. George Wilson, jumped in the car normally driven by Sam Bohling, and went from the front to the back in dominating fashion. Wilson finished first, and Bernie Murphy from Dixie second.

The 4 Cylinder class also ran a B-Main giving many drivers one last chance to make the feature race. Both Tim Beauchamp and Tim Wilcox from Norway, raced their way into the feature.

With the lineups set, everyone was very anxious for the feature events. The 75 lap Late Model feature had the top 20 cars all vying for the win. Jamie Iverson and Tim Aho had the field covered. It was a two car race with both cars navigating thru lap traffic running nose to tail. Iverson led many restarts after cautions, and each time held off Aho who was right on his back bumper. Jamie Iverson was the eventual winner with Tim Aho second, and Scott Degnan third.

The Pure Stock feature again was very exciting. Cars ran three wide for many laps with everyone fighting for positions. Mike Babcock, Dan Shumbarger, and John Clawson worked their way to the front and looked very strong in this race. Curtis Anderson blew a tire early, and had to work his way from the back of the pack towards the front.

After a few cautions, Anderson was a contender amongst the five strongest cars and it appeared the winner would come from this pack. A caution with eight laps to go set the stage for a great finish. There was great racing and the cars of John Clawson, Curtis Anderson, and Dan Shumbarger crossing the line in that order.

Unfortunately, Clawson and Shumbarger did not pass post race inspection and were disqualified from the race. Anderson was awarded the win, with Mike Babcock moving to second, and Ray Golladay Jr. third.

The Factory Stock feature had several accidents with one involving five cars and another four cars. Todd Jackson, worked his way to the front with Mike Fox running a close second. Jackson went on to his third straight victory at this memorial race. Fox finished second, and Rick Romanini third.

The final race of the evening was the 4 Cylinder feature. Melvin Hottois was in a class by himself as he raced his way to the victory. He drove a great race and took a much deserved victory. Brandy Clawson from the Kinross Speedpark finished second, and Brett Brey from Thunder Valley and Norway third.

For more information please log on to www.kinrossspeedpark.com.

(Submitted by Steve Lawson)