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STEVE SHAVER SNARES SKYLINE
SPEEDWAY'S TOPLESS 50 The Late Models' Topless 50 saw John Brown and Steve Shaver bring the field down to the green flag with Shaver nabbing the top spot with Brown and Mike Balzano tucking in line in second and third. A first lap caution for Delmas Conley would slow the pace as would a lap two yellow credited to Rod Gibson. The restart saw the battle for second intensify as Blazo clipped Brown sending him into a spin-cycle in turns one and two. Balzano would fall to the tail of the field and the restart saw Shaver lead Brown, Dan Morrison, fast qualifier Greggie Oliver, and Mitch Gillian. Gillian scorched by Oliver on lap four to move into fourth as Shaver slowly distanced himself from the rest of the field. Gillian slipped by Morrison to grab third on lap 9 and gave chase to Brown. Meanwhile, Shaver was blistering the track at the head of the field and began working through the back of the pack on lap 14 putting Delmas Conley and last year's winner Larry Bond each a lap down. Despite the heavy traffic, Shaver sliced in and out of the backmarkers like a hot knife through butter. As the crossed flags were shown to the field, Showtime had nearly a half-track lead on Brown and Gilian who battled side-by-side for second through the lapped traffic. On lap 28, Gillian completed the pass to take sole possession of the runner-up spot. A lap 34 yellow for Mike McDaniel tightened the field back up and gave Gillian the break he needed. With just eight cars on the lead lap, Shaver led Gillian, Brown, Montgomery, and Greg Mitchell back to the green. As Gillian's tires began to fade, Brown reeled the Coolville, OH native back in and, with six laps remaining, regained control of the bridesmaid position. Montgomery followed suit and took over third spot with just four laps to go. Even so, neither Brown nor Montgomery had anything for the race leader as Vienna, WV's Steve Shaver put the Bland's Towing/Richard Construction/The Farm Used Auto/Chippy's Transmission, Bill Bland-owned #0 in victory lane. Brown held on to second with Montgomery, Gillian, and Mitchell rounding out the top five. Last week's winner Mike Long started on the pole and quickly assumed the point on lap one of the AMRA Modified feature with Doug Adkins, Andy Bond, Mark Dickson, and Rodney Keefer in tow. Adkins moved along side Long on lap two and Andy Bond joined lead duo one circuit later and the front three cars raced door handle to door handle for several laps in the early stages of the race. Behind the front three, Dickson, Keefer, and Anthony Huber kept the crowd on their feet with their own two and three-wide racing. At the halfway point of the caution-free event, Adkins had the lead all to himself but also had both Long and Bond glued to his rear bumper. With five laps to go, Bond worked by Long to slip into second, but didn't have enough steam to get by Adkins as the West Portsmouth, Ohio native put his 239 Auto Group/A-1 Auto Glass sponsored #7 in victory lane. Bond, Long, Dickson, and Keefer completed the top five finishers. For the second week in a row, the Street Stock feature was arguably the best race of the night. Heat winners Bub Crum and Mike Martin set the pace with Martin taking the early race lead. Crum continuously looked underneath Martin in the corners with Martin having more momentum on coming off the turns. While this was going on, 7th-starting Steve Bigley and 9th-starting Ronnie Mayle was charging through the field engaged in a fierce battle for third, fourth, and beyond as they raced side-by-side with the likes of Glen Underwood, John Powell Jr., and Barry Fairbanks. Bigley moved into third on lap six and, with a caution on lap seven, used the ensuing restart to jump to the high side in a bid for second. Both Fairbanks and Mayle looked to follow suit as Crum was still looking for a pass on Martin. With four laps to go, Fairbanks shot by Bigley for third and looked to take second from Crum. When the checkered flag fell, Mike Martin (Fleming, OH) was the first to cross the stripe in his Sugar's Lounge/Riverside 181/Mike's Auto Body/Best One Mobile/103.1 "The Bear"/Snap-On Tools sponsored #55. Crum held on to second with Fairbanks third, Mayle fourth, and Bigley fifth. Frankie Hall took the lead at the drop of the green in the Pure Stock feature and never looked back. Hall fended off the challenges of Tom Murphy throughout the entire event and claimed the win in his Last Lap Performance Parts/Little Tike's Academy/Grandpa's Market/Osterly Glass and Paint sponsored #8H. Murphy, 13th-starting Jeremy Blake, Mike Lauer, and Eric Francis rounded out the top five. The fans who stuck around for the FWD 4-Cylinder feature were treated to some nonstop action that started on lap one when Matt Oxyer rolled in turns three and four. Oxyer was able to walk away uninjured. When both front row started fell pitside, Shawn McClain and Jeff Stull set the pace with McClain leading lap one and Stull moving up front on the next circuit. At the halfway point McClain, Stull, and Joe Schuler raced three-wide for the lead with Schuler eventually taking the point. Schuler held on for the win with McClain second followed by Charlie Heiss, Dennis Adkins, and Barry Kitts. Bradley Ullman won the Kid's Mini-Wedge feature over Tyler Moore, Anastasia Jones, Eric Perdue, and Jordan Hallowell. Next Friday, April 22nd, is the Cyclone 20 for the FWD 4-Cylinders paying
$200 to win and $50 to start. A regular race will be run for all other classes.
For more information, please call (740)-989-0567 or (740)-662-4111 on race day. UPCOMING EVENTS SKYLINE SPEEDWAY -- STEWART, OHIO 2005 Topless 50: (finish, start, car #, driver) AMRA MODIFIEDS STREET STOCKS PURE STOCKS FWD 4-CYLINDERS Kid's Mini-Wedge Feature: Bradley Ullman, Tyler Moore, Anastasia Jones, Eric
Perdue, Jordan Hallowell, Austin Long, Brant Haybron, Kaitlyn Davis, Riley
Houser; (DNS - Amber Moodispaugh)
SKYLINE SPEEDWAY GEARING UP FOR TOPLESS 50 ON FRIDAY, APRIL 15th STEWART, OHIO -- An annual event that packs the house with both cars and fans is less than two weeks away as the Topless 50 is set for Friday, April 15th at the Skyline Speedway. The Topless 50 is a unique event in which all roofs and window supports are removed from the Late Models to provide the fans with a "birds-eye" view of the drivers as they work their way around the high-banked, 3/8-mile speedway. Paying $2,000 to win and $200 to start for the Late Models, it's one of Skyline's most successful and highly-anticipated events filling both the grandstands and pit area with spectators and competitors alike. "We always get a ton of positive feedback from drivers and fans on this one," stated Skyline Speedway owner Lou Hubbard. "The drivers seem to like the 'change of pace' and the fans certainly enjoy seeing the cars without their roofs. It's just something a little different that we all look forward to." If the unique look and feel of the roofless Late Models isn't enough, the Topless 50 has a reputation for being an event in which the winner isn't determined until the closing laps. In 2004, young gun Nick Bocook used a late race caution to slip by race-long leader Larry Bond on the restart. Bocook's fame was short-lived, however, as the veteran Bond was able to motor ahead on the next circuit and hold off all challengers the final six laps to lock up the win. The 2003 version of Skyline's Topless 50 also had the fans on their feet until checkered flag was waved. Steve Lucas led the majority of the event only to have Ralph Withem grab the point with five circuits remaining. A caution with just three laps remaining gave Lucas the break he needed as he used the restart to pull even with Withem and eventually take sole possession of the lead with less tham two laps to go. Aside from the usual strong contingent of Skyline Speedway regulars, a host of "outsiders" will more than likely take their shot at the $2,000 first-place paycheck. As of April 4th, RJ, Rod, and Delmas Conley plan to be in attendance for the race. And with the Lucas Oil NARA DirtCar Series in action the following night at Brownstown (IN) Speedway, the possibility lies for several other outside contenders to make the trip to southeast Ohio as well. In addition to the Late Models, Skyline Speedway will also be running the AMRA Modifieds, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, and FWD 4-Cylidners. Tickets are just $15 for General Admission and $30 for a pit pass. Skyline Speedway is located between Athens, OH and Belpre, OH, 4.4 miles off
US 50 on County Road 53 (Bethany Ridge Road). For more infomation, please visit
our website at www.skylinespeedway.com or call (740) 662-4111 on race day.
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