DEBENEDETTI SWEEPS WEEKEND AT NORTHWEST MODIFIED NATIONALS

Source: Jack Fordyce
Date: 07/29/2007

ELMA, Washington -- Jon DeBenedetti of Medford, OR. made it a clean sweep at the eighth Ship Wreck Beads Northwest Modified Nationals as he won going away in the forty-lap feature race over Ryan McDaniel of Marysville, CA.

DeBenedetti made it perfect for the weekend as he won both of his qualifying heat races Friday night, had the top time, won the Pete Muller Logging/PMB Race of Champions in front of McDaniel and the A trophy dash Saturday night to put him on the pole for the feature race.

It was the third straight Northwest Modifieds Nationals win in a row, DeBenedetti also won in 2004 and 2005 and there was no winner in 2006 after the races were cancelled when Fred Brownfield was killed on Friday night.

DeBenedetti had the pole with McDaniel on the outside with Ron Wilson of Coburg, Or. and 2001 Northwest Modifieds Champion Brian Poppa also of Medford in the next row.

The race got off to a rough start when Duane Cleveland of Marysville, CA. toasted and engine and coasted into the infield and bailed out of his car with the engine on fire bringing out the red flag.

On the restart it was DeBenedetti, McDaniel, Wilson, Poppa and former Grays Harbor champion Craig Moore of Seabeck in the top five spots. Wilson dropped out of the lead pack when he spun out in turn four on lap-seven.

With DeBenedetti and McDaniel well out in front of the pack. Moore, Poppa and Gus Cooper of Creswell, OR. were battling for positions with Braedon Hand of Cottage Grove, OR. just out of the top looking for a chance to move up.

Hand got by Poppa on lap-thirteen and Moore at the mid point of the race to move into third place. It looked like the top five were pretty much set, but Poppa and Craig Hanson of Springfield, OR got tangled up in turn two with six laps to go and both were sent to the back of the pack.

On the restart it was DeBenedetti, McDaniel, Hand, Moore and Scott Miller of Shelton, WA. Jerry Severson also of Medford got by Miller on lap thirty-six and Moore a lap later. DeBenedetti took the checkered flag for the top prize money of $4,000.00, followed by McDaniel, Hand, Severson and Moore.

Hand made his way into the feature race by virtue of leading the twenty five-lap B Main from start to finish, while Lawrence O’Connor of Port Hardy, B. C. probably had the longest row to hoe as he had to win the C Trophy dash to start on the pole for the C Main, win the C Main to advance to the B Main, fell short in the B Main but earned his way into the feature race by placing second in the first of the two Last Chance Races for drivers to get into the feature, then moving his way through the field for a ninth place finish.

Defending Grays Harbor track champion Blair Shoemaker of Yakima also had to into the feature by winning the second of the Last Chance races, but wasn’t as lucky as O’Connor as he had to settle for eighteenth in the feature.

Although the weekend was dominated by out of state drivers, the local Grays Harbor Raceway drivers were not shut out. Four were locked into the feature race by virtue of their performances on Friday night. Moore, Miller, Josh Muller of Elma who finished eleventh and Jim Oien Jr. of McCleary nineteenth out of the twenty-four car field..

Regular races continue next Saturday night with point’s races for the “360 Sprints”, “Modifieds”, “Hobby Stocks” and “Cruisers”. Gates open at 5:00 P.M. with racing around 7:00 P.M.

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