Feature Winners From June 21, 2003:
Mark McFarland, Chris Donnelly, Mike Carte
The skid marks tell the story........
Tom Hall's night ended on lap 28 after contact with Jimmy Hardin, sending Hall
hard into the front stretch guardrail - Hall was uninjured
McFarland Takes Home Win # 4 AT ODS……………….June 21, 2003
Other than last Saturday night, Mark McFarland’s record
has been perfect at the Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Va. Once again, after 200
grueling laps, and an hour 45-minute race stoppage, McFarland was the victor in the
Popeye’s 200 lap feature for the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Late Model Stock Cars.
The win marked the 4th time this season McFarland has visited victory lane in 5
events. Combined with his 2nd place finish last week, he still holds a
commanding lead in the Atlantic Seaboard Regional standings, and is very much in the hunt
for a possible National Championship. But with only 5 races under his belt, there are
still a lot of laps left in the long season.
McFarland led qualifying in his Dodge with a 15.475 lap around the 3/8 mile oval (87.237
MPH). Mike Colabucci, making his first appearance at ODS in over a year, qualified his
Dodge second quickest with a 15.712 lap. Andreas Kesterman was third quickest with a
15.717 lap, followed by last week’s feature winner Dustin Storm and Jack Bailey.
The field strung out quickly on the initial start, with just about everyone pacing
themselves for the long 200 lapper. But on lap 28, Jimmy Hardin slammed Tom Hall coming
out of turn 4, sending both cars on a long slide down the front straight and into the
inside fence just past the start / finish line. The aftermath was devastating, as
Hall’s car was totaled, taking out 2 complete sections of guardrail and 7 fence posts
in the process. The red was displayed for about and hour and 45 minutes for repairs. Once
the green was displayed, it didn’t take McFarland long to overtake early leader
Dustin Storm. Kesterman followed McFarland past Storm to take the second spot. The race
stabilized at that point, with McFarland showing the strength of his ride on each lap. At
the end, McFarland had lapped all but 5 of the original 24 starters. Kestermann held on
for the second spot, several seconds behind McFarland at the end. Colabucci ran a
respectable third, followed by Bailey, and Richard Boswell II.
Chris Donnelly led flag to flag, taking home his first win of 2003 in the 50 lap Redman
Fleet Service Grand Stock feature. The win marks the fourth different winner in four races
thus far in the division. Teammate Jim Todd Jr. followed Donnelly throughout the event,
and finished less than a car length in arrears at the checkered flag. Jerry Black came
home third, while quick qualifier Ron Jardine finished fourth. Dave Zech, by virtue of his
fifth place finish, moved into the point lead in the division over Willard Lawrence, who
finished sixth.
Mike Carte took home win number two in the shortened 30 lap feature for the Mini Stocks.
Carte took over the lead early in the event after leader Tom Beckman had transmission
troubles. Carte held off Sean Ballantine, point leader Colt White, and Vince Langan until
just past halfway when a power outage caused the lights on half of the speedway to shut
down. Finishing second was Ballantine, followed by Johnny Lowery, White, and Scott Roux.
Ric McMillion picked up his first ever feature win in the 25 lap Gaston Automotive
Speedway Sportsman feature. McMillion muscled his way past early leader Les Miranda down
the backstraight, and led the remaining laps to take the win. Miranda held on for second,
followed by James Lucas and Jamie DeMattio.
Next Saturday night, June 28th, the Legends return to ODS for a 30 lap feature.
Also on the busy schedule that night are twin 50 lap Late Model features, twin 50 lap
Grand Stock features, a 30 lap feature for the Mini Stocks, 25 laps for the Speedway
Sportsman, along with the BDE Racing Series Champ Karts and Mini Cups. Racing starts at a
special time of 6:30 PM.