Margeson, Fought, White win at Ephrata Raceway Park

EPHRATA - WMRA point leader Evan Margeson won the 35-lap feature at Ephrata Raceway Park during the Sage 'N Sun Festival annual race. Also picking up wins were Dallas White in the Kim Janke State Farm Agent Youth Hornet divsion and Mike Fought in the 360 Sprint Cars.

The Midget race went green to checkers with no yellow flags while the 360 Sprints had one yellow flag. Also on the schedule were the Golden Wheels and a huge field of the West Coast Vintage Racers. One of the best crowds of the year soaked up the warm sunshine and great show.

Starting off the evening was the Youth Hornets and once again setting fast time was Jesse Hector with a lap of 17.59 seconds around the high banked asphalt quarter mile. Trophy dash wins went to Taylor Blackburn and Dallas White.

White also won the A heat race with Stephnie Patty taking home the B heat. In the Youth Hornet main event, White used the same move he had in the dash and heat to rocket through the field and pick up the lead early. Once free of traffic, White dominated and no one was able to catch up. Jesse Hector was second and Bart Hector, Jr. finished third.

The Ephrata Raceway Park 360 Sprints saw nine cars at the track. Donnie Kudrna of Othello was fast time in 12.87 seconds, the first sub 13-second lap of the season for the Sprint cars. Winning the trophy dashes were Rich Fast of Mesa and Kudrna. Mike Fought of Othello won the heat race and the main event.

The main saw only one yellow flag as Rod Stump spun in turn two and as the yellow was out Doug Peter lost either a motor or some fluid in turn one. Tom Beierman led the first three laps before Fought powered past down the back stretch and took off for the win.

Visiting on Sage 'N Sun Festival weekend was the West Coast Vintage Racers and the Golden Wheels. The race fans enjoyed intermission, when the old cars - many or most of them showroom quality - parked on the front stretch and the fans were allowed to walk among them and talk to the drivers.

Race Director Michael Hunter took the wireless microphone and talked to many of the car owners and drivers and gave the fans some interesting insight into the history displayed trackside. There were two divisions, midgets which had four cars and sprints which had 14.

Seventy-four year old George Todd from Camano Island, Wash., won the Vintage Midget trophy dash and Bob Farwell from Salem, Ore., won the Vintage Midget heat. Taking wins in the Vintage Sprint heat races were Marv Price and sixty-five year old Frankie Volz, Sr. from Mead, Wash. Volz won the 12 lap main event over sixty-eight year old Jerry Day from Renton and sixty-two year old Alan Lane from Caldwell, Idaho.

As the WMRA Midget main was pushed out, the Vintage Sprint cars stayed on the track and took pace laps, on the final parade laps the WMRA Midgets went high and low and a single file procession of Vintage Sprints rolled through the middle of the pack bringing the cheering crowd to it's feet. Going three-wide around the race track for two laps everyone was treated to a display of classic and modern racing machinery that brought goosebumps.

Margeson almost knocked down a new track record in qualifying. The Tacoma, Wash., driver went around the quarter mile in 13.106 seconds very close to Brian Olson's mark of 12.937 set in 2003.

Ephrata driver Paul Dart won a very popular B trophy dash and the A dash was won by Brea Lopez of Vader, Wash. The heat race winners were Darren Linder of Tacoma and Tony Seidelman of Spanaway, Wash.

Bothell, Wash., driver Kerstin Smutny led the first three laps of the main, before Margeson found the opening and cruised past, never seriously challenged and leading the final 32 laps of the 35-lap main. Margeson lapped all but the top five, with fifth place finisher Logan Forler of Orting, Wash., holding Margeson at bay the final four laps.

There was a spirited battle behind Margeson however as Mark Atkinson and Brea Lopez went rear nerf bar to nose nerf bar for 20 laps darting in and out of lapped traffic. Atkinson went under the white line and onto the rumble strips, for a daring maneuver to overtake Lopez for second on the 23rd lap. At the finish it was Margeson, Atkinson, Lopez, Seidelman and Forler the top five on the lead lap.

Fast time: 08 Jesse Hector 17.59

B dash: 16 Taylor Blackburn, 67 Riley Gates, 11 Jatender Veenstra, 00 Dylan Adamson

A dash: 09 Dallas White, 68 Bart Hector Jr., 43 Damon Claibourn, 08 Jesse Hector

B heat: 58 Stephnie Patty, 16 Blackburn, 76 Cody Berry, 00 Adamson, 66 Glenn Knutson

A heat: 09 White, 43 Claibourn, 67 Gates, 68 Bart Hector Jr., 08 Jesse Hector

Main: 09 Dallas White, 08 Jesse Hector, 68 Bart Hector Jr., 6 Michael Olsick, 58 Patty, 00 Adamson, 11 Veenstra, 16 Blackburn, 76 Berry, 66 Knutson, 64 Sami Todd, 67 Gates, 43 Claibourn

Lap leaders: 6 Olsick 1-2, 09 White 3-20

Fast time: 55 Donnie Kudrna 12.87

B dash: 6 Rich Fast, 96 Kevin Witte, 44 Rod Stump

A dash: 55 Kudrna, 78 Mike Fought, 28 Tom Beierman, 42 Doug Peter

Heat: 78 Fought, 55 Kudrna, 32 Kurt Myers, 44 Stump, 42 Peter

Main: 78 Fought, 55 Kudrna, 32 Myers, 28 Beierman, 50 Rich Hill, 96 Witte, 6 Fast, 42 Peter, 44 Stump

Lap leaders: 28 Beierman 1-3, 78 Fought 4-25

Fast time: 50 Evan Margeson 13.106

B dash: 29 Paul Dart, 11 Troy Globe, 6 Darren Linder, 9 Kerstin Smutny

A dash: 25 Brea Lopez, 44 Tony Seidelman, 23 Mark Atkinson, 50 Margeson

B heat: 6 Linder, 11 Globe, 45 Dan Fisher, 9 Smutny

A heat: 44 Seidelman, 50 Margeson, 23 Atkinson, 25 Lopez, 98 Rick Brown

Main: 50 Evan Margeson, 23 Atkinson, 25 Lopez, 44 Seidelman, 22 Logan Forler, 98 Brown, 9 Smutny, 29 Dart, 45 Fisher, 6 Linder, 11 Globe

Lap leaders: 9 Smutny 1-3, 50 Margeson 4-35

Midget dash: 2 George Todd, 16 Chuck Harring, 30 Bob Farwell, 35 Janis Day

Midget heat: 30 Farwell, 2 Todd, 16 Harring, 35 Day

Sprint heat 1: 21 Marv Price, 49 Dan Robinson, 9 Al Slinker, 8 Hal Schlegel, 1a Alan Frame

Sprint heat 2: 96 Frankie Volz Sr., 76 Jerry Day, 72 Steve Lorance, 45 Butch Duren, 7 Alan Lane

Main: 96 Frankie Volz Sr., 76 Day, 7 Lane, 9 Slinker, 21 Price, 49 Robinson, 20 Eldon Sailor, 71 Don Newman, 8 Schlegel, 1a Frame, 45 Duren, 72 Lorance, 7 Don Shervey

Lap leaders: 72 Lorance 1-3, 71 Newman 4-6, 7 Lane 7, 96 Volz Sr. 8-12