By: Scott Hammer
WAUSEON, OH — The 2020 Oakshade Raceway Late Model Track Champion Steve Kester led Saturday night’s 25-lap feature event from start to finish to pick up his first win of the season.
Kester, out of Holland, Ohio, started on the pole and rocketed to the lead at the drop of the green flag. Colin Shipley took second and closed in on Kester early in the race.
He began to put pressure on Kester just as the leaders caught the tail end of the field. At about the same time Jake Rendel slowed on the backstretch to bring out the first caution flag on lap 10.
Kester darted out to a big lead after the restart and once again Shipley closed back in after the leaders started working lapped traffic. Unfortunately, another caution with three laps remaining would reset the field for a single-file restart.
Kester would once again pull away to take the checkered flag with Shipley settling for second. Devin Shiels, who won the last feature event at Oakshade, finished third with Rusty Smith and Casey Noonan the rest of the top five.
Chris Williams and Dylan Hough battled early in a caution-filled Speedy Graphics Sportsman feature. Multiple cautions kept the pace slow the first part of the race with Willams leading. Hough would get up too high into the loose stuff on lap seven and fade back.
Shortly after, Josh Robertson would battle Williams for the lead after starting sixth. Finally, at the halfway point of the 20-lap main event, Robertson would take command and check out on the rest of the field.
The Defiance, Ohio, driver would earn his first checkered flag of the year with Williams hanging on to second. Jessen, who earned the Speedy Graphics Sportsman feature win two weeks ago, ended up third followed by Mike Jessen and Matt Ringger.
Adam Noonan made a bold move to the low side to get by both front-row starters Alex Krall and Mason Luttrell to take the lead on the first lap of the Dominator Super Stock A Main.
The lead was short-lived as Luttrell would throw it back to the inside of Noonan to lead lap two. The Metamora, Ohio, driver then opened a bit of a lead over Noonan.
Luttrell continued to lead the majority of the race, but an incident involving Donovan Paskan, Chane Stuckey and J.R. Gooden would bring out the red flag to give track crews room to clean up the accident scene.
That would set up a one-lap shootout to the checkered flag. Luttrell was able to get some separation on the restart and went on to take the checkered flag over Noonan and Jeff Foks Jr. who had started 12th. Scott Hammer and Alex Krall were the rest of the top five finishers.
An exciting Compact feature would wrap up the evening’s racing program. Jason Deshler took the lead early after starting on the outside of the front row. The top three would run in a tight pack at the front with Holgate, Ohio’s Ryan Okuley knocking on the door for the lead.
A couple of front-runners would have some bad luck. Ken Wells, who was the last feature winner, would slow off the pace while battling near the front.
Deshler would relinquish the lead just a couple laps from the finish to Okuley, but he would continue to battle for the lead until the final corner when it appeared something broke in the front end and sent Deshler’s 406 car hard into one of the Angry Duck Start Zone markers.
That allowed Gage Rushlow to finish second behind Okuley. James Stamper, Sam Mcguire and Wesley Belkofer were the rest of the top five finishers.
Next Saturday, June 6, is the $1,200 to win Sportsman Mods events pitting Speedy Graphics Sportsman and UMP Modifieds against each other in one combined class. Dominator Super Stocks and Compacts will also be in action.
Gates will open at 4pm with hot laps/qualifying at 6pm and racing at 7:15pm. Adult general admission is just $15, ages 6-11 are $5 and kids 5 and under are FREE! Pit passes are $30.
