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Bonebrake Captures Paul Johnson MemorialBy CHRIS CLARKThe Winchester StarDenny Bonebrake took the lead on lap 40 and didn’t look back on his way to capturing Saturday’s 72-lap Paul Johnson Memorial Late Model race at the Winchester Speedway.Bonebrake, who won the 1993 Late Model points championship, dueled with Rick Eckert throughout the race, but held on to gain his first win in three years.Bonebrake lives only minutes from the Hagerstown Speedway and has been competing there , ever since that track switched from Sunday to Saturday racing.A total of eight caution flags, including one to allow the drivers to stop and refuel, kept the pack relatively close throughout. Bonebrake wasted little time in moving past Roger Jenkins and pole-sitter Larry Donivan to take the lead on the second lap. He stayed there until lap 13, when Eckert pulled up next to him following a yellow flag.Eckert started 11th, but he was a strong second at the caution. He briskly moved past Bonebrake and cruised with the lead until the gas lap on lap 40. , *Just as the leaders entered turn two of lap 40, Eckert got caught up in slower traffic. That allowed Bonebrake to slip to the inside and pass him. The eventual winner held the advantage as the field stopped for the five-minute refueling period.A two-time winner this season, Rick Jones took over the third spot on lap 18 and stayed there the rest of the way.As the track’s premier division began its second leg of thefeature race, the focus was on Eckert’s attempts to catch Bonebrake. Eckert tried to accomplish this by taking the low side of the track, particularly in the corners. Each time around, however, Bonebrake had more speed coming out of the corners.When Eckert tried an outside line, he fell behind even further and Bonebrake maintained a constant line on the upper side. Caution flags brought the two together, but it was Bone-brake’s race to win.Eckert maintained a comfortable margin over Jones to take second place. With Jones in third, Bo Feathers made a strong run from the back of the pack and finished fourth, only a few feet from the third spot. Doug Jones, who is currently second in the points standings, charged into the fifth slot.“Rick got past me, but I gothim back just before the pit stop,” Bonebrake said. “I think my tires were better suited for this kind of racing because the track started to go away. I just stayed in the groove and held on.“It’s an honor to win the Johnson. I raced against him many times and he was a good person for this sport.”Bonebrake won the Memorial in 1993. Last year’s champion, Gary Stuhler, missed the race this year because of a broken foot.Despite the extended Late Model feature, the Pure Stocks and the 4-Cylinders were also in action. The most action of the night came on the first lap of the Pure Stock feature.As the cars rounded turn four and raced to the green flag, a logjam formed in the middle of the pack. WithoutSee Speedway Page All
Newspaper Details
Winchester Star
Winchester, Virginia, US
Mon, Aug 14, 1995
Page 9
Full Page
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Anonymous
MD, USA 09 Nov 2024
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