Steele, Davidson take Clarksville wins

Steele, of Sturgis, Ky., was modest about his performance in the Weaver Motorsports No. W4 1947 Chevy, shaking his head and saying he felt "like a fish floppin' around on the deck," but he drove a flawless race and stayed just in front a fierce battle for second. Dennis English got the runner-up spot over Chad Fritsche.

A rash of accidents in the preliminaries trimmed the 16-car field to 12 starters for the feature. Among the casualties was Davidson, who won his second feature of the young season in the make-up feature earlier in the evening.

In the finale, Davidson worked his way from seventh starting spot to challenge Fritsche for third on the eighth lap, but the two cars tangled as they raced through Turns 1-2 and Davidson's No. 16 1933 Plymouth stopped, its suspension damaged, in Turn 3. Davidson finished 11^th.

Richard Hall and Jason Schmidt rounded out the top five. Fritsche and Steele were the heat race winners.

In the make-up feature, pole starter Joe Beard led the first three laps, but his No. 38 1938 Chevy slid into the Turn 3 wall and he was out for the night. Davidson took command and led the rest of the way, winning with a five-length edge over Fritsche.

Pat Halvorson was third, Jason Schmidt fourth and Jamie Hilton fifth in the make-up.

Halvorson later had a spectacular crash during the first Vintage heat, in which his car vaulted the retaining wall in Turns 3-4 and struck a power pole, temporarily knocking out the lights on the backstretch side of the track.

Halvorson was able to repair the damages and he finished seventh in the feature.

Rex Rutter, a KVRA competitor who won in the series' last visit to Clarksville, missed the race because of an accident during the week that left him in an Evansville, Ind., hospital with back and leg injuries. Josh Throgmorton substituted for Rutter in the No. W3 1947 Chevrolet, but was sideline with engine failure.

SUMMARY

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Results of Saturday night's Kentucky Vintage Racing Association event at Clarksville Speedway, with car number in parentheses, driver and hometown, car, laps completed and reason out:

MAKE-UP OF FEATURE #3 RAINED OUT APRIL 18:

1.      (16) Dave Davidson, Henderson, Ky., 1933 Plymouth, 12, running.

2.      (40) Chad Fritsche, Puryear, Tenn., 1940 Chevrolet, 12, running.

3.      (61) Pat Halvorson, Paducah, Ky., 1941 Ford, 12, running.

4.      (19) Jason Schmidt, Tennessee Ridge, Tenn., 1938 Plymouth, 12, running.

5.      (C9) Jamie Hilton, Benton, Ky., 1932 Chevy, 12, running.

6.      (88) Kenny Brannon, Paducah, Ky., 1939 Pontiac, 12, running.

7.      (C8) Richard Cook, Paducah, Ky., 1941 Buick.

8.      (37) Matt Moore, Murray, Ky., 1937 Pontiac, 8, contact.

9.      (3) James Scott, Murray, Ky., 1936 Chevrolet, 3, ignition.

10.  (38) Joe Beard, Newburgh, Ind., 1938 Chevy, 3, contact.

11.  (35) Jerry Johnson, Boonville, Ind., 1935 Plymouth, 2, stalled.

12.  (33) Mark Moore, Murray, Ky., 1934 Chevy, handling.

FEATURE #4:

1.      (W4) Brian Steele, Sturgis, Ky., 1947 Chevrolet, 12, running.

2.      (42) Dennis English, Palma, Ky., 1936 Ford, 12, running.

3.      (40) Chad Fritsche, Puryear, Tenn., 1940 Chevrolet, 12, running.

4.      (55) Richard Hall, Murray, Ky., 1947 Chevrolet, 12, running.

5.      (19) Jason Schmidt, Tennessee Ridge, Tenn., 1938 Plymouth.

6.      (3) James Scott, Murray, Ky., 1936 Chevrolet, 12, running.

7.      (61) Pat Halvorson, Paducah, Ky., 1941 Ford, 12, running.

8.      (88) Kenny Brannon, Paducah, Ky., 1939 Pontiac, 12, running.

9.      (C8) Richard Cook, Paducah, Ky., 1941 Buick, 11, running.

10.  (35) Matt Moore, Murray, Ky., 1935 Plymouth, 11, running.

11.  (16) Dave Davidson, Henderson, Ky., 1933 Plymouth, 6, contact.

12.  (33) Mark Moore, Murray, Ky., 1934 Chevy, 2, handling.

FIRST HEAT: 1. Chad Fritsche; 2. Richard Hall; 3. Kenny Brannon; 4. Richard Cook; 5. Pat Halvorson; 6. Jamie Hilton; DNS - Matt Moore, Jerry Johnson, James Scott.

SECOND HEAT: 1. Brian Steele; 2. Dennis English; 3. Jason Schmidt; 4. Josh Throgmorton; 5. Dave Davidson; DNS: Joe Beard, Mark Moore.