Bush cruises to win

The past 5 Late Model races have been won by Kevin Bush or points leader Brian Purdham and Saturday night was no exception as Bush picked up his 4th win since August 8th. 

After qualifying on the pole earlier in the evening Bush was relegated to a #6 starting position due to an invert. That put veteran driver Johnny Lowery on the front row with Jeff Abbott, Jason Adkins, Purdham and Mark Cook lined up close behind.

 Lowery held the early lead, but on lap 17 Bush was knocking on the door and when the Lowery machine got a little loose coming out of turn 2, Bush slid by on the inside to claim the top spot. 

Abbott had a solo spin bringing out the caution flag on lap 27 which allowed the field to close back up until lap 32 when Abbott again went around and decided to park the ill-handling race car for the evening. As this was going on, the #77 Purdham machine finally got by Lowery and set his sights on the leader, but on lap 40 the 01 car of Jason Adkins was punted by the #44 of Wes Branner, bringing out the 4th caution of the event,  and one lap later John Skelley spun to bring out the fifth and final caution. 

For the remainder of the 75-lap feature, Bush maintained a comfortable lead over Purdham with the real battle going on between Lowery, Mark Cook, Adkins and 16-year-old driver Sam Hunt as they battled door to door for the next 30 laps. As the checkers dropped, it was Bush for the win followed by Purdham, Lowery, Adkins and first-time track visitor Sam Hunt rounding out the top 5.

Kevin Bush was a two-time race and pole winner as he drove the #38 car of Roger Freeze to victory lane on Saturday night in the INEX Legends 25 lap feature. 

Patrick Lyden started on the pole after the 4-car invert with Michael Edwards and Dusty Summers lined up to do battle. Lyden, of Erie, Pa.,  was making his first visit to Shenandoah Speedway but it didn't take him long to find his groove as he jumped out to lead with Summers actually on his bumper for several laps. 

Bush passed Lyden and Summers a few laps later while using the outside groove to do so and take the lead. 

Again the battle was behind the leader as Summers loosened the bumper of Lyden and a few laps later Lyden spun and was never a factor after that. Summers, Michael and Scotty Edwards battled for the remaining15 laps and as Bush picked up the win, Summers came across in second with Michael Edwards passing his father on the last lap for third.

UCARS had "rookie" driver Phillip Morris on the pole after the full field invert with Ronnie Cubbage on the outside. But the drivers to watch in this race would be the 6th and 7th place cars of Chris Grogg and Randy Good as they picked their way through the field to take over the top two spots. 

Over the last 10 laps, the first year driver (Grogg) did his best to block the veteran Good from taking the lead. Time after time the #21 car had the opportunity to turn the #71 machine or bump him to get him loose, but that never happened as they raced bumper to bumper or side by side, and when it was over Grogg had his first ever "official" UCAR win with Good finishing in an unfamiliar second place and Aaron Bell rounding out the top three.

In Street Stock action, the Grogg family had winning on their mind as "rookie" Jeremy Grogg picked up his first ever win with Keith Griffith and R.J. Judd rounding out the field.

In Sportsman racing action, Sam Hunt picked up his first ever win at Shenandoah Speedway as he over took Donald Hensley (another first timer) on the final few laps of the 35 lap event. Earlier in the evening Jr Wright had the quick time in qualifying and started up front with Hensley alongside, but when the green dropped it was all Hensley.

For several laps and numerous caution periods, Hensley held a comfortable lead but with just a handful of laps remaining, Hunt, who had battled his way through the field after starting back in 8th position, was on the bumper of Hensley and when Hensley got a little loose, Hunt sped by to take the win. Hensley picked up second with Jr Wright in third and points leader Deryle Lawson and Tommy Adams rounding out the top five.

VMCRA (Virginia Mini Cup Racing Association) were on deck for their 50-lap feature with a first-time pole sitter in Quinn Houff of Weyers Cave in the Cusson Racing Impala. 

Starting alongside Houff would be the #77 Ryan Adams machine, and it wouldn't take long for Adams to show his muscle as he took the lead early on with Justin LaDuke in the #27 moving around Houff into the second spot. 

On lap 8, the #34 of David Williams and the #19 of Kevin Berkstresser got tangled up coming out of turn 2, sending the Berkstresser machine into a barrel roll down the back straightaway. Fast-responding fire, rescue and track personnel were on the scene in a matter of seconds to remove Berkstresser, who luckily had only suffered a few bumps and bruises. The race would resume and as the checkered flag would drop, Adams would pick up the win followed by LaDuke and Hunter Koschara in third.

Racing action will continue next Saturday, Sept. 26,  with racing action in 6 classes featuring the Late Models, Sportsman, Street Stock, INEX Legends,  UCARS and SVSRL Mini Cups, along with bicycle races for the kids 12 and under. For more info,  contact the speedway office at 540-652-1108 or check out the Web at  www.shenandoahspeedway.com