Race of Champions Presented By Dodge Thrills Record Crowd at Lake Erie Speedway : Raceway Media

North East, PA (August 14, 2004) - The 9,209 fans in attendance at Lake Erie Speedway Saturday night for the Race of Champions presented by Dodge were not disappointed. The record crowd at LES on Saturday saw Kasey Kahne, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, and Mark Martin in the third annual Race of Champions presented by Dodge; fans also enjoyed an autograph session with the drivers, and the Quality Markets Bandoleros, Pepsi Legends and School Bus Figure 8's.

The Race of Champions presented by Dodge was the first feature race of the night, and it didn't disappoint fans. The four drivers lined up for the first 10 lap segment of the race, and fans were on their feet the whole time. All four drivers were equally matched, as none could gain a clear advantage over the others. Kasey Kahne was driving the Plyler Overhead Door Late Model #32 Snow King of Glenn Gault, Jr., Mark Martin was piloting the #91 Cellular One machine of Greg Hoover, Bill Elliott was in the #10 Dale Francis machine, and Dale Jarrett was piloting the #33 of Jay Sommers. When the checkered flag fell on the first segment, Mark Martin was the winner, but for the second segment, the field was inverted. This put Martin in the back, and allowed Jarrett and Kahne to duke it out in the final 10 lap segment. Both Kahne and Jarrett raced side by side for the entire ten laps, and every time they came by the Lake Erie Speedway grandstands, fans could be heard shouting that their guy was in the lead. As the final lap ended, it was Kasey Kahne who beat Jarrett to the finish line by just five hundredths of a second, becoming the youngest Race of Champions winner in LES history. Kahne climbed out to the roar of the record crowd, accepting his winning trophy from LES owner Joe Prischak.

The Quality Markets Bandolero feature was also a tight one, featuring a two car showdown between the #98 of Grant Kirik and the #17 of Chris Bailey, Jr. Kirik started from the middle of the pack and made his way to the front quickly, and Bailey was right behind him the whole way. As opposed to most every Friday night race however, Bailey could not make the pass for the lead, as Kirik did a great job of holding him off to step out a winner in Gatorade Victory Lane.

The Pepsi Legends feature race was taken by a familiar face to Lake Erie Speedway regulars, the #94 of Jason Miller. He fought tooth and nail with the #36 of James Rader and the #98 of Rick Riffle all race long; each man had the lead at one point, and none could run away with it. With only a few laps remaining, Miller took command of the lead and held off Rader and Riffle for the win. The #73 of James Trenary was fourth, and the #23 of Tom Hall came home fifth.

The Jensen's Target Collision School Bus Figure 8's finished off the night with an exhibition race, but apparently nobody told the drivers it was an exhibition. The buses were routinely going three wide into the hair-pin turns, and bumped eachother several times; these same buses will be in action at Lake Erie Speedway on September 11 for the last Thrill-A-Rama event of the year. When the checkered flag dropped, Dan Prischak was the winner.

This coming weekend is going to be a monster of a weekend at Lake Erie Speedway. Friday night is Ladies Night, with FREE admission for ALL ladies; plus they can register for a $250 Millcreek Mall gift certificate, and a tanning package courtesy of Electric Rays. And since its NASCAR Day on August 20, the first 500 fans get a NASCAR driver hero card. In racing action, the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series is back in action, with a 100 lap Plyler Overhead Door Late Model Feature race on tap, plus the Dodge Trucks, Texas Brand Sauce Street Stocks, Pepsi Legends and Jensen`s Target Collision Figure 8`s will be in action as well. Gates open at 6:00 and racing Starts at 7:00.

Then on Saturday and Sunday, the Monster Trucks invade LES. Don't miss Gravedigger and all his monsterous cohorts, as they destroy everything in their path. Tickets are available at the Lake Erie Speedway box office, and all local Ticketmaster locations.

Race of Champions Results
1. 32 Kasey Kahne
2. 33 Dale Jarrett
3. 91 Mark Martin
4. 10 Bill Elliott

Quality Markets Bandolero Results
1. 98 Grant Kirik
2. 17 Chris Bailey, Jr.
3. 18 Eric Redmond
4. 34x Zach Downes
5. 8 Justin Hines
6. 42 Nathan Rogers
7. 71 J.P. Weisser
8. 32x Michaela Downes
9. 3 Jesse Helsley
10. 12 Pat Lyden
11. 7 Michael Earley
12. 2

Pepsi Legends Results
1. 94 Jason Miller
2. 36 James Rader
3. 98 Rick Riffle
4. 73 James Trenary
5. 23 Tom Hall
6. 14x Eric Hammill
7. 66 Rodney Harrower
8. 38 Jake Francis
9. 9 Larry Occhibone
10. 35 Ken Jackson
11. 19 Tim Hoegel
12. 17
13. 63 Jeff Johnson
14. 50 Russ Garrison
15. 76 Dennis Shilling
16. 37
17. 81 John Walker
18. 22 Bill Lyden
19. 46 Steve Kunz
20. 49 Bob Russell

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