Washington Midget Racing Association
Spanaway Speedway, Tacoma, WA, July , 2003, by Ed Williams

WASHINGTON MIDGET RACING ASSOCIATION
SOUTH SOUND SPEEDWAY, ROCHESTER, WA 7/19/03

Ken Ferris put his MAC Towing/Murray Ferris Beast/Gaerte in the winner’s circle for the third time this year in Saturday night’s 35-lap feature at South Sound Speedway. Ferris held a ¼ lap led at checkered flag with rookie Brian Olson bringing his FPA/J&L Fabricating J&L/FPA Ford home in the runner up spot edging Brad Curtis’s Composite Laminate Specialities/Aldercrest Auto Rebuild Beast/Gaerte. Rick Moss opened the night with a new track record time of 13.464 at the wheel of Harold and Verta Beal’s Zakula-Beal Auctions Beast/Pink Ford before he was eliminated in an accident early in the 35-lap feature. 20 cars signed in on a warm evening with 18 starting the feature event.

Pole starter Doug Kammerzell led lap one with outside front row starter Olson taking over the following circuit. Ferris made his move early, moving from 7th starting to the runner up slot by the end of lap 3. Three wide racing was common around the track as Brad Curtis, Kammerzell, Mike Gardner, Rick Kraft, Matt Stone and Moss battled for position behind Ferris with Curtis solidifying his third spot by the end of lap 3.

The battle for fourth claimed it’s first victim on lap 5 when Kraft, Gardner, Stone and Moss were involved as they came up on a slower moving car on the backstretch. Kraft avoided a spin and kept moving but Moss was the guy with nowhere to go as he ran over Stone’s car narrowly avoiding a flip. Gardner also spun but restarted. Moss was the only front-runner to be eliminated.

Olson continued to lead on the restart over Ferris, Curtis, Kraft and Kammerzell with Nick Seidelman, Duane Westby, Rob Lindsey, Stone and Gardner forming the second five by lap 6. The top three began to pull away from the rest of the field while Ferris pressured Olson all around the track finally taking the lead on lap 9. The final yellow waved on lap 14 as damage from the earlier incident claimed Stone.

Ferris had control on the restart with lapped traffic his only challenge over the final 2/3 of the event. Olson was able to hold the second spot despite constant pressure from Curtis with Kraft holding a solid fourth place. Gardner, in his first start of the year, was moving quickly through the field after his restart and took over 5th by lap 16.

As final 10 laps wound down, Ferris worked traffic expertly and managed to keep a lapped car between himself and the Olson/Curtis battle for most of the final laps building a ¼ lap margin at the end. Ferris’s blistering pace left only Olson, Curtis, Kraft, Gardner and Nick Seidelman on the lead lap at the end.

In preliminary racing action, Rob Lindsey took both the B Dash over Duane Westby and 2nd heat from Stone and Westby; Jeff Bird went from last to first in the 1st heat over Bob Eldridge and Ken Muth; Moss won heat 3 from Olson and Ferris and Gardner took the A Dash with Moss following.

Summary: Fast Time: Rick Moss, 13.464 (NTR)

B Dash (4 laps): Rob Lindsey, Duane Westby, Bob Eldridge, Tony Seidelman

A Dash (4): Mike Gardner, Moss, Ken Ferris, Rick Kraft

1st Heat (6): Jeff Bird, Eldridge, Ken Muth, Skeeter Flake, Scott Morgan

2nd Heat (6): Lindsey, Matt Stone, Duane Westby, Doug Kammerzell, Nick Seidelman, T Seidelman

3rd Heat (6): Moss, Brian Olson, Ferris, Gardner, Brad Curtis, Kraft

Main (35): Ferris, Olson, Curtis, Kraft, Gardner, N Seidelman, Lindsey, Kammerzell, Morgan, Eldridge, Westby, Stone, Muth, J Bird, Moss, T Seidelman, Flake, Dave Hoene

DNS Main: Bobby Bird, Pete Bittrolf