Portsmouth Raceway Park
Dohm survives last lap for Portsmouth victory
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (Aug. 1) — Tim Dohm of Cross Lanes, W.Va., survived a last-lap skirmish at Portsmouth Raceway Park to capture the Pepsi 75. Dohm's first career Mid-Atlantic Championship Series victory paid $10,000 at the 3/8-mile oval on the Ohio River.
Dohm, who inherited the lead on the 56th lap when Bart Hartman of Zanesville, Ohio, retired with mechanical problems, appeared to have the 75-lapper in hand when he swept under the white flag ahead of Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va. But as the frontrunners approached turns three and four, the slower cars of Rod Conley and Joe Whitt tangled. Dohm checked up and turned right to avoid a collision while Carrier was coming with a full head of steam on the high-side cushion.
The frontrunners made contact with Dohm regaining control and Carrier ending up against the turn-four wall as the checkered flag waved. R.J. Conley of Wheelersburg, Ohio, who led the first 18 laps, moved up to second followed by Steve Shaver of Vienna, W.Va., 19th-starting Doug Horton of Bruceton Mills, W.Va., and John Mason of Millersburg, Ohio. Carrier ended up sixth.
R.J. Conley and Matt Lux started on the front row with Conley taking command early as four cautions slowed the first seven laps. Hartman was up to third after eight laps, took second from Jared Hawkins on lap 13 and moved in on Conley.
After a lap-17 caution, Hartman took the lead while Dohm moved into third, then grabbed second from Conley before the next yellow on lap 28. Hartman kept Dohm behind him through the middle stages of the race, surviving a lap-44 restart and holding the point when apparent engine component failure slowed Hartman's No. 75, which came to a gliding stop in turn four on the 55th lap.
Dohm took the lead while Carrier moved up to challenge, setting up the final dash to the checkers.
Notes: Dohm's Tracy Seymour-owned Rocket Chassis is sponsored by T&R Logging. ... Doug Horton got hard charger honors for his 19th-to-fifth run. ... Ben Adkins of West Portsmouth, Ohio, received $1,077 from the Bozo Bragdon family for setting fast time. ... Adkins needed a consolation race to make the feature lineup and drew the first of eight cautions on the second lap. .... Local favorite Jackie Boggs brought out a lap-three caution and was also part of a lap-seven incident drawing a yellow. ... Drivers failing to qualify for the main event: Wayne Chinn, John Melvin, Marty Huntley, Matt Pistol, Brian Eaton, Brandon Queen, Mike Ratliff, Billy Gullion, Carri Mason, Jerrry Mustain and Mark Queen. ... Next up on a short season for MACS competitors is an Aug. 7-8 weekend. On Friday, Potomac Speedway in Budds Creek, Md., pays $5,000 to the winner over the Bobby Allen Memorial; on Saturday, Virginia Motor Speedway hosts the $12,000-to-win Topless USA 100.
Pepsi 75: (1) Tim Dohm, (2) R.J. Conley, (3) Steve Shaver, (4) Doug Horton, (5) John Mason, (6) Eddie Carrier Jr), (7) Rod Conley, (8) Chris Wilson, (9) Joe Whitt, (10) Matt Lux, (11) Bart Hartman, (12) Audie Swartz, (13) Jared Hawkins, (14) Nick Bocook, (15) Delmas Conley, (16) Kenny Christy, (17) Josh Bocook, (18) Doug Drown, (19) Jason Montgomery (20) Jackie Boggs, (21) Ben Adkins, (22) David Smith, (23) Rick Combs, (24) Paul Davis. Fast qualifier (among 35 cars): Adkins, 14.455 seconds. Heat race winners: Boggs, Shaver, Hartman. Consolation winners: Adkins, Wilson.
Correction: Adds Jason Montgomery in 19th place.
