| WMRA News |
| Ken Starks
Sweeps Stateline Washington Midget Racing Association Stateline, Idaho, July 14, 2001, by John Hunter John Starks of Puyallup, Washington, driving the Starks Bros Logging, Wholesale Truck Parts, Beast-Gaerte, captured his first feature of the season on the fast quarter-mile Stateline Speedway oval in route to a clean sweep of the program. Starks, the defending WMRA champion, used an inside pass of Rick Kraft, aboard the Normet USA, Callahan-Fontana, on lap twenty-six and led the final nine laps with a fast charging Brad Curtis driving the Sage Induction Beast-Gaerte and Darren Linder driving the family TCR-Fontana close behind. Glen Guiles and Mel Kemper paced the field for the thirty-five lap feature with Kemper getting the jump entering turn one. The outside groove appeared to be a little quicker at the start as the field raced side by side. Linder jumped to the outside groove and followed Kemper to the front with the order after the first lap being Kemper, Linder, Jeff Bird, Guiles, and Duane Westby. Kraft began his move to the front and was able to take third from Bird using the high line on lap five while Starks was stuck in eighth as the field raced side by side. On lap six, Kraft got around Linder for second exiting turn four and two laps later both Kraft and Linder passed Kemper. The order after lap eight was Kraft, Linder, Kemper, Ken Ferris and Curtis. On lap nine, Kemper slid a little high and allowed Ferris, Curtis and Starks to make the pass. Linder was using the low groove and Kraft the high as the pair diced side by side until J. Bird stalled in turn three on lap fourteen, bringing out the only yellow of the race. Duane Westby exited under the yellow with mechanical problems. For the restart the order was Kraft, Linder, Curtis, Starks and Ferris. At the green, Kraft and Curtis ran high with Linder and Starks using the low line. The top four raced nose to tail and side by side with Curtis getting around Linder on lap sixteen and Starks taking third the following lap. For the next six laps, Starks would dive under Curtis entering the turns but Curtis would keep the momentum and position, with Kraft only a car length ahead. On lap twenty-four, Starks was able to exit turn four ahead of Curtis and take the position. The next two laps saw Starks work over Kraft for the lead with slight contact being made as the pair entered turn one. Both cars slowed slightly after the contact with Starks being able to make the pass for the lead coming out of the fourth turn on lap twenty-six. Kraft's right rear was going away and Curtis was able to get under Kraft a lap later with Linder taking third on lap twenty-nine. For the final six laps, Curtis and Linder stayed right on Starks tail but neither could find a way around Starks. Starks began the night setting fast time and wining the fast dash over Ken Ferris. In the slow dash, Nick Seidelman appeared to have the race won as he exited turn four, heading for the checkered, when his car jumped out of gear. Second running Kemper made contact with Seidelman's right rear allowing Guiles to capture the dash. In the first heat, Seidelman took the lead at the start and held it until the last lap when Kemper was able to get under the second year driver entering turn one. In the fast heat, Kraft led until lap six when Starks made the pass for the lead exiting turn four. In that race, Bobby Bird continued his streak of bad luck when his motor seized up on lap three, ending his evening. Results: Fast Qualifier: John Starks 13.371 B Dash: Glen Guiles, Nick Seidelman, Duane Westby, Mel Kemper. A Dash: John Starks, Ken Ferris, Brad Curtis, Jeff Bird. Heat 1: Kemper, Seidelman, Darren Linder, Guiles, Dave Hoene, Westby, Don Kane. Heat 2: Starks, Rick Kraft, Ferris, Curtis, Bobby Bird, Jeff Bird. Main: Starks, Curtis, Linder, Kraft, Ferris, Kemper, Seidelman, Guiles, Hoene, Kane, Westby, J. Bird. Points Standings: Rick Kraft 490
|