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Harris/Leicht Collects Late Model Wins at TCMS

By Pat Simmons

Hudson, NC (May 13, 2005) - Rock Harris and Kevin Leicht shared the spotlight at Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson NC, Friday night by taking the wins in the Twin 50-lap races for the Late Models.   Monty Cox, Doug Setzer, Jason Eldern, Jeff Banks and Jack Bowman also earned trophies and the chance to celebrate in victory lane.

In the first race Harris had qualified for the pole and the roll of the dice sent him to the sixth starting spot in the invert.  This moved Jimmy Doyle to the point with Josh Goble sharing the front row.

As the 16 car field came to the green Harris had mechanical problems and by lap seven was in the pits.  Doyle grabbed the lead early but the first caution flew for a spin by Stan Robinson on the first lap.  Junior Franks also had problems on the first lap and slowed on the speedway, but after a brief pitstop would stay on the lead lap.

On the restart, with Doyle in the lead, Goble second, Nick Waycaster third and Leicht fourth the field once again came under green flag conditions and Doyle was able to stay out front.

The second caution was for a spin on the backstretch by Toby Hopkins and then Jason Grant and Robinson took another spin in turn three.  Grant had cut down a tire and had to pit.  Leicht came up to challenge Doyle and the pair ran side-by-side for several laps before the caution came out again when Robinson and Kyle Broadbent collided in turn one.  Doyle was still the leader of record and on lap 16 Waycaster tagged the wall in turn 2, while Bill Cassavaugh cut down a tire and had to pit.  On the restart Franks came to challenge Goble for third on lap 18 and the Franks gave Goble a tap on the rear bumper while they were battling with Andy Petree, who also wanted the same real estate.

When the pushing and shoving calmed for a few minutes Petree would make his way past Franks and take over fourth with Goble third. The three would swap back and forth several times for third before the night was over.

After a caution on lap 36 for a spin by Cassavaugh, the restart would give Leicht an opportunity to reel in and challenge Doyle for the lead with the two making door-to-door contact on lap 40 and three laps later Leicht would take the point for the win.

The final caution of the race came out when Matt Leicht collected the wall in turn two and then Goble and Franks would again make hard contact in turn four.

While Kevin Leicht was able to hold off Doyle for the win and Doyle would claim second, Goble held on for third, with Petree fourth and Cassavaugh came back for fifth.

In the second event Harris was out of the first race early, which meant he started at the rear of the field.  He methodically picked off cars one by one after the G&G Motorsports team made repairs to his racer and the reigning track champion appeared to have the right set-up dialed in as he weaved his way though the field.  By lap 11 Harris, Leicht and Petree were up for some 3-wide racing coming out of turn four, while Jason Grant was fighting to hold the lead after starting the race from the pole.  Grant had his hands full of John Reynolds, Jr., who had launched a charge to challenge Grant, while Cassavaugh was knocking on Reynolds back door for second.  The three battled until lap 18, when Harris would work his way past Grant to take the lead. Harris started 13^th on Friday the 13^th.  His luck held out.

At the halfway point Petree, Goble and Robinson spun in turn two for the first caution of the event and then Robinson spun again on the front straight.

Harris took the win with Grant posting a strong second place and Kevin Leicht crossed the line in third.  Goble held on for fourth and Doyle was fifth.

In the Pepsi Super Stock 30 lap Challenge, John Waterhouse started from the point and grabbed an early lead, while Brian Stahl mounted a fierce challenge to take the top spot after starting beside Waterhouse on the front row.

Mark Livingston was quick to chase after Stahl for second, which he claimed by lap 10,  with Monty Cox charging his way through the field, after starting on the back row. Marshall Sutton was also on the move toward front of the pack.  By lap 15 Cox had moved into the point and went on for the win.  Waterhouse posted second in his best finish after a rough start the first of the season.  Sutton took home third place money with Livingston fourth and Scott Franklin fifth.

In the Hudson Superette Street Stocks 20-lap feature, Mike Hatton was on the pole with rookie Jim Ledden sharing the front row.  At the drop of the green Ledden would lead his first race ever while cars behind him made a dash to got three-wide racing on the second lap.  Ledden and Kevin Hensley tangled in turn two for the first caution.  On the restart Ledden and Hensley again were in a fight for the point and Hensley was able to slip past Ledden and then Hensley and Josh Burchette spun in turn four but were able to continue without a caution.

On lap eight Bobby Sutton cruised past Hensley to take the lead and Hensley apparently had something go wrong and slowed and as he was moving slowly toward pit road was tagged by Jonathon Smith.  On lap 19 David Smith took a spin on the back straight while Sutton would go on for his first win of the season.  Kevin Eby would work his way to take second and Smith held on for third.  Burchette came back for fourth with Gary Ledbetter, Jr. claiming fifth in his first race of the season.

Doug Setzer proved to be one tough customer in the Mini Stock 20-lap feature as he took his second win in a row.  Setzer and teammate Arnold Propst battled for the lead early with Propst holding down the lead and caution flying on the first lap for a crash in turn one involving Jon Setzer, Greg Butcher and Hank Hefner.  After the restart Doug Setzer whipped past Propst to go on for the win, with  A. J. Sanders following in second and  Propst third.  Mike Walls was fourth and Randy Canipe fifth.

In the Fast and Furious 10-lap shootout, Jon Ebeling was the first casualty of the night as he hit the turn one wall hard on the first lap.  The race was up for grabs as several of cars were contenders for the win, but Jason Eldern took the point and let the rest of the field battle behind him.  Jeff Poston took home second with David Hasson third, Stephen Clippard fourth and Adam Hatton fifth.

Jeff Banks collected his second trophy in the Tri-County Minis with Andrew Bagwell second and Ryan Carson third.

In the debut of the new Road Rage division Jack Bowman was successful in making three laps in the rolling demolition derby and brought his battered car across the line first.  Fans were on their feet as the drivers were beating and banging their way around the 4/10^th mile oval.  No cars were left undamaged and several drivers vowed to return to try again.

Next raing action will be next Friday night at Tri-County Motor Speedway.  Call 828-726-6600 for more information.

Official Results for Tri-County Motor Speedway - May 13, 2005  

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