East Bay Raceway Park – March 17, 2018
The luck of the Irish was no match for the skill and talent of drivers in the field at East Bay Raceway Park as the 2018 regular season opened on St. Patrick’s Day.
Hayden Campbell kept his 2018 Top Gun Sprint feature win streak intact with his fourth straight win and third at East Bay in 2018. Campbell, who picked up a pair of victories during the 42nd annual Winternationals, captured the lead at the end of the first lap of the 25-lap feature. From there, Campbell eased away from the pack while those behind him were locked in continuous battles. Justin Webster, East Bay’s 2017 Sprint champion, was lurking in second as the frontrunners hit lapped traffic on lap 5. Campbell was forced from his comfortable racing line on several occasions, but the car was working wherever it would go. Webster would face a challenge from heat winner A, J, Maddox, who swept by into second on lap 7. Webster would have an issue on lap 16 while running third, bringing out the caution flag. Campbell was able to power away on restart and roll to the win and add to his 2018 points lead.
Bryan Bernhardt put in a wire-to-wire performance in the Gagel’s Open Wheel Modifieds to back up an earlier preliminary victory. A series of early race cautions forced numerous restarts before the green would come out to stay. While Bernhardt was hitting his marks and maintaining a fast pace, position battles were drawing plenty of attention. Austin Sanders pushed past Roger Crouse after the two had gone wheel-to-wheel for a number of laps.
Collin Kruse raced from the front row to snag the opening feature in V8 Warriors. Kruse, who had won his heat race, avoided the pressure from the pack en route to the popular win.
Jamie Tinkham earned success in his bid to defend his 2017 East Bay Raceway Park Mini Sprint championship. Tinkham moved to the top of the point standings in the early going with a dominant run, winning by more than a straightaway.
Roger Herbach won the Florida Old Time Modifieds main, ending a yearlong victory drought.
East Bay Raceway Park will return to action on Saturday March 24. Pro Late Models will make their season debut with Gagel’s Open Wheel Modifieds returning. Gladiators, Micro Spints and Outlaw 4s will join the card. The intermission ceremony will honor champions and top finishers from 2017 in Pro Late Models, Outlaw 4s and Gladiators.
Feature finishes
Top Gun Sprints – Hayden Campbell, A.J. Maddox, Matt Kurtz, Anthony D’Alessio
Gagel’s Open Wheel Modifieds – Bryan Bernhardt, Austin Sanders, Roger Crouse, Travis Varnadore, Don Crandall
V8 Warriors – Collin Kruse, Jason Burnside, Raymond Vann, Tommy Hill, Nick Brown
Mini Sprints – Jamie Tinkham, Robby Hoffman, Austin Craddock, Kenny Brewer
Florida Old Time Modifieds – Roger Herbach
Robert Wing Photos