5.12.18 East Bay Raceway Results

A five-division program ushered in Mother’s Day weekend at East Bay Raceway Park with a visit by the Florida Late Model Series providing some exciting action.
The 25-lap Late Model feature brought a field of 19 cars to the green flag. Forrest Gough paced the field from the start before Nevin Gainey made a strong move to grab the early lead. Gainey’s time at the front was temporary as Steve Mathis Jr., winner of last week’s East Bay Late Model main event, swept through to gain the top spot. Gainey would continue his assault on the top spot while Phillip Cobb kept pace on the outside of the tracks. A series of lap 10 cautions forced several restarts with Cobb grabbing the lead on more than one occasion, only to lose it when the field was called back for another restart. When the action resumed, Cobb was able to make the pass count. As he attempted to distance himself from the field, Cobb found a new contender lurking in second. David Whitener had charged into the runner-up spot and was gaining ground with only five laps remaining. The lead duo carefully selected an appropriate racing lane with the laps winding down. Whitener would make a last ditch effort, but Cobb’s smooth outside line would send him to Victory Lane. Cobb, Mathis and Gainey claimed heat wins.
Nick Brown muscled his way past Jeremy Simpson to claim his second feature in the V8 Warrior class. Simpson had led the race from the start while Brown was second for most of the contest. Gary Lucas was able to slip past Brown to briefly challenge Simpson, but Brown was able to regain the spot in short order. Lucas and George Handy were winners of the heat races.
The Gagel’s Open Wheel Modifieds saw current point leader Bryan Bernhardt back in Victory Lane at the end of the 15-lap main. Bernhardt had to overcome an early race spin to take charge from 2017 division point champion Austin Sanders, who ran a strong race from start to finish. Phillip Cobb, doing double duty, won the Modified heat.
Robby Hoffman shot to the race lead and ran wire-to-wire to claim the Mini Sprint feature. Dusty Cates steadily worked his way into second, but could not catch Hoffman by the race end. Hoffman also scored the win in the heat race.
Billy Dukes repeated for a third win in the Outlaw 4 class.
East Bay Raceway Park returns to action on May 19 with Top Gun Sprints headlining the racing action. They will be joined by the Late Model Sportsman, Florida Old Time Modifieds, Street Stocks, Gladiators and Micro Sprints.
Features
Outlaw 4s
Billy Dukes (15), Cecil Martin (15)
Mini Sprints
Robby Hoffman (66), Dusty Cates (12), Dirk Miller (68), David Hall (67), Brad Sutton (13), Jamie Jewell (6), Joe Bartow (3), Dallas Casey (87). DNS – Joe Askew
Open Wheel Modifieds
Bryan Bernhardt (B69), Austin Sanders (64), Phillip Cobb (03), Bobby Dixon (205), Roger Crouse (15), Keven Devrieze (99), Dale Kelley (22)
V8 Warriors
Nick Brown (12), Gary Lucas (23), Jason Burnside (12J), George Handy (105), Raymond Vann (32), Jessica Robbins (09x), DJ Taylor (0), Michael Hart (99), Bill Whitney (9), Jeff Weaver (26), Bo Anderson (95), Robert Grant (36). DQ – Jeremy Simpson (7x)
Florida Late Models
Phillip Cobb (03), David Whitener (5), Steve Mathis Jr. (95), Nevin Gainey (17G), Shan Smith (17SS), Trevor Taylor (7T), Andrew Hopkins (13H), Scotty Williams (27W), Brian Smith (B54), Forrest Gough (21), Adam Bennett (40), Buck Woodhouse (55), TJ LaFlamboy (44), Don Sniff (10), Chuck Jackson (45), Arthur Conquest (78), Donnie Padgett (21P), Roger Thomas (23), Daniel Woody (29)