Champions Crowned on Final Night of Season at LES : Raceway Media

North East, PA (September 25, 2004) - The final night of the season at Lake Erie Speedway saw some great racing action and a very nice tribute to the track champions at the conclusion of the evening. Six out of the seven divisions were on display for the Calvalcade night sponsored by K-Mart.

The Quality Market Bandoleros started off the night of feature racing. The front row saw Grant Kirik in the 98 and the 8 of Jusin Hines. Hines and Kirik would run side by side for the first 3 laps of the race before Hines put his car in the front. Eric Redmond, driving the 18 car, was able to move past Kirik and settle into second. The two front runners would make contact on lap 4 sending Hines spinning. Redmond was able to continue on but was sent to the rear for his part in the incident. The restart saw National Bandolero champion Chris Bailey Jr. move past Kirik and into the lead. The two would race hard for the remainder of the race but Kirik was never able to put Bailey back behind him for good. Bailey would eventually cross the finish line 3 car lengths ahead Kirik, who was followed by the 42 of Nathan Rogers. Redmond and Hines were able to salvage 4th and 5th place finishes, respectively. The win was Bailey's 9th of the season at LES and 22nd overall.

The second feature of the evening was the Health America Legacy Cars. The race got started with the 69 of Ray Baseli and the 85 of Chad Hemphill racing side by side for the lead until Hemphill was able to secure it on lap 2. Hemphill lost the lead on the following lap, however, when he spun out coming off of turn 4. Jayme Bolkovac spun her number 24 car to miss Hemphill so she had to go to the back as well. The restart saw the 88 of Ryan Hall jump into the lead and begin to pull away from the field as a battle for second was staged between the 40 of Scott Bayle, the 69 of Ray Baseli, and Bolkovac. That battle was put to a hault on lap 10 when Baseli and the 45 of John Malone got together coming off turn 2. The contact sent Baseli spinning and Malone into the outside wall. Both drivers were okay, but Malone was done for the night. Just a lap after the race had resumed, Hall lost the handle on his car coming off turn four and spun, handing the lead to Bolkovac. Another caution came out with 7 laps to go when Bayle and Baseli, racing for second, spun coming off turn four. The two collected the 85 and 88, who made hard contact with each other. Only Baseli was able to return to action. Bolkovac would eventually go on to win the caution filled event by a half a car length over Baseli. Bill Miller brought his number 37 across the line third followed by the 4 of Tait Washburn. Only four cars were running at the conclusion of the race.

The Pepsi Legends car feature saw track champion James Rader take his second checkered flag of the year in very convincing fashion. Rader, who started third, drove under Rodney Harrower's #66 car on lap 5 and he never looked back as he cruised to victory in the caution free race. There was some great racing for second position as Harrower, the 14x of Eric Hammill, the 23 of Tom Hall, and James Trenary in the number 73 car raced hard and clean for the entire race. Hall would eventually cross the line second, followed by Harrower, Hammill, and the 38 of Jake Francis.

The fourth feature of the night saw Eric Hadley cross the finish line first to take the victory. He moved under the 31 of Jason Dieter on lap 13 to take the lead and he never looked back. He was able to hold off a late race challenge by the 1 of Terry Akerly, who came on real strong at the end. Hadley's 71 crossed the finish line a car length ahead of Akerly when it was all said and done. Paul Thrasher came home in third, followed by Dieter and the 9R of Tom Zdunczk.

The Dodge Pro-Trucks feature was won, again, by track champion Gary Eicher. Eicher looked strong from the outset of the race as he moved around the trucks of John Coughlin and Robert Baker on the outside on lap 4. Dale Peterman made his prescence felt when he drove his number 53 car under Tim Card's 5 truck going into turn 1 on lap 9. Eicher made a similiar move on lap 11 to move into second. Eicher made his winning move on lap 16, as he moved under the 53 going into turn 3. Eicher would go on to win by 3 car lengths. Peterman held on for second, followed by Baker, Coughlin, and Card.

The final event of the season at Lake Erie Speedway was a 50 lap Plyler Overhead Door Late Model race that paid $2,000 to the winner. The race got started with pole sitter Greg Hoover taking the lead going into the first corner, followed by the 32 of Glenn Gault Jr. Gault made great move to get under Hoover early in lap 3 to take the lead and he began to pull away. Although the field was slowed times for cautions, Gault was never seriously challenged and would cross the finish line 5 car lengths ahead of Hoover. Jay Sommers challenged Hoover on multiple occasions, but was never able to finish him off, so he had to settle for second. Newcomer to Lake Erie Speedway,Chris Ross, had a very solid night as his number 22 crossed the finish line fourth, followed by the 8 of Jeff Dunfee.

FEATURE RESULTS - 9/25/04

Quality Market Bandolero
1. 17 Chris Bailey Jr.
2. 98 Grant Kirik
3. 42 Nathan Rogers
4. 18 Eric Redmond
5. 8 Jusin Hines
6. 71 James Paul Weisser
7. 3 Jesse Helsey
8. 32x Michaela Downes
9. 12 Patrick Lyden

Health America Legacy Cars
1. 24 Jayme Bolkovac
2. 69 Ray Baseli
3. 37 Bill Miller
4. 4 Tait Washburn
5. 40 Scott Bayle
6. 88 Ryan Hall
7. 85 Chad Hemphill
8. 45 John Malone

Pepsi Legends
1. 36 James Rader
2. 23 Tom Hall
3. 66 Rodney Harrower
4. 14x Eric Hammill
5. 38 Jake Francis
6. 35 Ken Jackson
7. 1 Steve Fabin
8. 2 Bob Godfrey
9. 7 Eric Johnston
10. 19 Tim Hoegel
11. 85 Eddy Hoegel
12. 49 Bob Russell
13. 50 Russ Garrison
14. 76 Dennis Shilling
15. 22 Bill Lyden
16. 73 James Trenary

Texas Brand Sauce Street Stocks
1. 71 Eric Hadley
2. 1 Terry Akerly
3. 38 Paul Thrasher
4. 31 Jason Dieter
5. 9R Tom Zdunczk
6. 21 Dave Wilson
7. 20 Ken Moore
8. 32 Tim Welshaus
9. 70 Doug Hadley
10. 2 Dean Craig
11. 01 Jeff Campbell
12. 83 Russ Conti
13. 94 Steve Boling

Dodge Trucks
1. 14 Gary Eicher
2. 53 Dale Peterman
3. 51 Robert Baker
4. 43 John Coughlin
5. 5 Tim Card
6. 7 Alan Fisher
7. 96 Dana Nova
8. 31x Bryanne Downes
9. 81 Rob Senn
10. 88 Pat Otteni
11. 4 Chris Brockway

Plyler Overhead Door Late Models
1. 32 Glenn Gault Jr.
2. 91 Greg Hoover
3. 33 Jay Sommers
4. 22 Chris Ross
5. 8 Jeff Dunfee
6. 4 Don Foor
7. 10 Chris Francis
8. 5 Joe Arkklin
9. 17 Rich Higley
10. 26 Joe Schneider
11. 10x Mike Nowak
12. 21 Steve Hennessey
13. 07 Nick Crassi
14. 14 Gary Eicher
15. 01 Todd Goble
16. 23 Paul Goff

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