Lolkus braves heat wave, sweeps at Ephrata Raceway
EPHRATA — An intense heat wave settled on the Columbia Basin Saturday, raising temperatures to the mid-90s, but Ephrata's Todd Lolkus beat the heat and his competition to take the feature event in the CROW sprint car division at Ephrata Raceway Park.
Jeremy Lodi had to work hard for a victory in the adult hornets. Joseph Smith of Moses Lake was awarded the top spot in the mini stock division after Charles Larr was disqualified for being too light on the scales during post-race inspections. Billy Smith led from start to finish in the hobby stock main event, earning his first victory of the year.
Tom Beierman and Lolkus, both of Ephrata, sat on the front row to lead the All State Electrical Inc. CROW sprint cars to the green flag for the 25-lap feature. Lolkus beat Beierman off turn two to take the lead. Paul Dart of Soap Lake was gaining positions and poised to challenge Lolkus. However, Dart's fuel system faltered, hampering Dart's dash to the front.
Mike Fought of Othello proved he had a lightning-fast car by setting a new track record for the CROW sprints. With less than 10 laps remaining, Fought pulled alongside of Lolkus coming out of turn four. Fought's sprinter wobbled out of the corner and down the front stretch. The first caution flag of the season for the sprints occurred after an untimely problem in the rear suspension of Fought's ride caused him to slide to a stop in a giant plume of dust after coming out of turn two, ending his night.
Lolkus led the field to the restart. Kurt Myers of Wilson Creek and Whitney Nolan of Wenatchee followed Lolkus closely, but were not able to get by for the lead. Leading from start to finish, Lolkus took the win and a sweep in the dash, heat, and main event. Myers and Nolan finished in second and third. Kevin Hill had his best finish since getting behind the wheel of the No. 96 sprinter, with a fourth-place finish. Soap Lake's Robbie Patterson rounded out the top five.
Jeremy Block sat on the pole for the Pioneer Muffler II adult hornets with Nathan Schell on the outside. After taking the green flag, Block led the first five laps of the 15-lap race. On lap six, Ephrata's Chris McCart moved into the lead. With two laps to go, point leader Jeremy Lodi ducked under McCart to take over as the race leader.
Lodi extended his point lead by taking the victory. Schell had a great finish, coming in second. McCart had to settle for third after coming close to earning the win. Fourth place went to Rod Julian.
The Columbia Glass mini stocks put on a good show. Chad Moore and Glen Hector paced the four-bangers to the line for the 20-lap main event. Moore was able to squeak by to lead lap one. Soap Lake's Robert Henderson got by Moore and led for two laps before Fred E. Moore of Ephrata took the lead on lap four.
Ephrata's Charles Larr passed Moore to take the lead on lap 15. Larr crossed the finish line first with Joseph Smith in tow for the second spot. Nick Gardner of Soap Lake crossed the line in third with Henderson and Fred E. Moore rounding out the top five positions.
During post-race inspections, Larr's mini stock was too light. The infraction cost him the victory. The disqualification gave Smith the win and all other drivers moved up one position in the official finishing order.
Billy Smith led the Jerry's Auto Supply hobby stocks from start to finish in a 15-lap main event. Derrick Kapalo was not able to get by Smith, taking the second spot. Stuart Barger and Patrick Canady rounded out the top four positions.
In a special event, local teachers faced off against each other in the Kamstra Construction Fastest Teacher race. Representing the Soap Lake School District, John Turner took the early lead and began pulling away from the field. On the last lap, Turner's big lead vanished after he got stuck behind a very slow car in turns three and four.
Jay Mills, representing Ephrata High School, caught Turner coming out of turn four. With a trio of cars coming out of turn four, Turner went to the low groove with the accelerator to the floor and Mills did the same in the high groove. A photo finish was set, but not needed after Mills kissed the front-stretch wall. Turner took the win with Mills limping across the line in second.
All State Electrical Inc.
Columbia River Sprint Cars (CROW)
Fast Time: Mike Fought: 12.62 seconds (new CROW track record)
B Dash: 1. Todd Lolkus
A Dash: 1. Robbie Patterson
B Heat: 1. Todd Lolkus 2. Whitney Nolan 3. Kevin Hill 4. Tom Beierman
A Heat: 1. Robbie Patterson 2. Kurt Myers 3. Paul Dart 4. Mike Fought
Main Event: 1. Todd Lolkus 2. Kurt Myers 3. Whitney Nolan 4. Kevin Hill 5. Paul Dart 6. Mike Fought 7. Robbie Patterson 8. Tom Beierman
Jerry's Auto Supply
Hobby Stocks
Fast Time: Stuart Barger, 16.54 seconds
Dash: 1. Stuart Barger
Heat: 1. Stuart Barger 2. Billy Smith 3. Patrick Canady 4. Derrick Kapalo
Main Event: 1. Billy Smith 2. Derrick Kapalo 3. Stuart Barger 4. Patrick Canady
Columbia Glass
Mini Stocks
Fast Time: Charles Larr, 16.90 seconds
B Dash: 1. Chad Moore
A Dash: 1. Joseph Smith
B Heat: 1. Glen Hector 2. Robert Henderson 3. Josh Hector 4. Dustin Kapalo
A Heat: Joseph Smith 2. Fred E. Moore 3. Charles Larr 4. Nick Gardner
Main Event: 1. Joseph Smith 2. Nick Gardner 3. Robert Henderson 4. Fred E. Moore 5. Josh Hector 6. Chad Moore 7. Glen Hector 8. Charles Larr
Ephrata Pioneer II
Muffler Hornets
Dash 1: 1. Chris McCart
Dash 2: 1. Dustin Kapalo
Heat 1: 1. Jeremy Block 2. John Olsick 3. David Wallace 4. Levi Runnion
Heat 2: 1. Jeremy Lodi 2. Chris McCart 3. Dustin Kapalo 4. Rod Julian
Main Event 1: 1. Jeremy Lodi 2. Nathan Schell 3. Chris McCart 4. Rod Julian 5. #96 6. John Olsick 7. Levi Runnion 8. Evan Evans 9. Fred A. Moore 10. Vern Hector 11. Eddie Razey 12. Jeremy Block 13. David Wallace
Kamstra Construction Fastest Teacher Race
1. John Turner 2. Jay Mills 3. Dawn Flannigan 4. P.J. Anderson 5. Larry Laughlin 6. Sally Nicolas 7. Samantha Myers 8. Lisa Bergman