May 26, 2007

By Dolan Lannan

                                                 

 

Another late charge by Evan Margeson in the Harold & Verda Beal Beast/Ed Pink Ford nets him a win as he passes Ken Ferris in his Beast/Ed Pink Ford on lap 29 of the 35 lap WMRA feature.  Third place went to Brea Lopez in Grandad  Dan Press’s Beast/Esslinger.

 

Thirteen cars signed in at the pit gate, but misfortune befell the two rookies before qualifying as Eric Hector had motor issues and Cory Hehr brushed the turn three wall during hot laps.  Both were out for the night. 

 

Brad Curtis in the Joan Curtis Beast/Mopar had fast time.  In preliminary action, Tony Seidelman came from the back row to win the B dash and  the A dash was won by Margeson from his outside front row starting spot.  Snake Livernash in the family's Beast/Esslinger won the B heat over  Ken Muth in his Ultramotive/Nissan while Ferris won the A heat ahead of a rapidly closing Margeson.

 

The front row pole sitter  Ken Ferris and outside car Brea Lopez promised an exciting start.  Before the green flag, Tony Seidelman in the Manners Hawk/Esslinger retired from the field with ignition problems.  Out of turn four Ferris managed  to gain a slight edge as starter John Ball dropped the green flag.  Brea Lopez, in the high groove was passed by Stone and Margeson in turns one and two.  Ferris gradually opened up the lead to twenty or more car lengths as Stone and Margeson gained a half dozen car lengths on fourth place Lopez.   On lap 13, Margeson managed to get by a very strong running Matt Stone.  At this point he was about twenty car lengths behind Ferris.    The running order was, Ferris, Margeson, Stone, Lopez, Curtis, Melby, Flake, Livernash, and Muth, Chris Petersen retiring with motor problems.  The last four cars running were having a terrific battle for positions seven through ten.  As the leaders caught and started lapping, Margeson closed to within eight car lengths of Ferris, the first and second place cars enjoyed a lead of about 20 car lengths over third place Matt Stone, who in turn was about ten car lengths ahead of Lopez.  About 30 car lengths back were Curtis and Melby, who had been running bumper to bumper all night, and exchanging positions.  On lap 28 disaster overtook Skeeter Flake as a rod went through the side of the block  and spilled oil and debris, causing  Flake to spin,  bringing out a yellow flag.  On the restart Margeson was right on the rear bumper of the Ferris 28, while Ferris managed to hold him off for a little over a lap, the 50 car passed going into turn one, Ferris battled through turns one and two, but down the backstretch, Margeson gained enough of an edge to get into turn three ahead of Ferris,.  On lap 33 the brakes locked up on Matt Stone’s third running 10 car causing him to do a snap spin in turn one.  He was unable to restart.  The final two laps saw no change of positions.

 

 

 

“B” Dash – Tony Seidelman, Ken Ferris, Ken Muth, Skeeter Flake.

 

“A” Dash – Evan Margeson, Dallas Melby,  Brad Curtis, Matt Stone.

 

1^st Heat – Snake Livernash, Muth, Seidelman, Flake, Chris Petersen.

 

2^nd Heat – Ferris,  Margeson, Brea Lopez, Curtis, Stone, Melby.

 

Main – Margeson,  Ferris, Lopez, Curtis, Melby, Muth, Livernash, Stone, Flake, Petersen.

 

Qualifying – 1.  Curtis -  12:661;   2,   Melby – 12:680;  3.  Margeson – 12:682;  

4.  Stone – 12:724;  5.  Lopez – 12:813;  6.  Ferris – 12:873;  7.  Seidelman –

12:911;  8.  Flake – 12:911;  9.  Muth – 13:035;  10.  Petersen – 13:273;  11.  Livernash - 13;402

DNQ  Hector, Hehr

 

 

 

 

Margeson Dominates at South Sound

 

June16

by Dolan Lannan

 

After passing Tony Seidelman on lap five, Evan Margeson in Harold and Verda Beal’s Beast\Pink Ford drove away from the rest of the field to capture his third WMRA feature in a row.  A strong running Brea Lopez was second while Kenny Ferris garnered third at the second WMRA event of the year held at South Sound Speedway.

 

Margeson, the first car to qualify, set a new track record of 13.219 until just a few minutes later when Brad Curtis driving Joan Curtis’s Beast/Mopar eclipsed the mark with a dazzling 13.153.

 

Under threatening skies, the trophy dashes were cancelled.  The heat race was won by Chris Petersen in the Tom Maples Beast/Pink Ford, his first WMRA win.  He was followed across the line by Matt Stone in the Stone/Fleming Beast/Esslinger and Tony Seidelman in the Randy Manners Hawk/Sage Chevy.

 

Tony Seidelman led the field down for the start of the 35 lap feature, taking the lead over Snake Livernash in the family’s Beast/Esslinger and Margeson.   Kenny Ferris, in his Beast/Pink Ford slipped to fourth from his outside pole starting spot.  Next was Lopez in the Press Beast/Esslinger followed by Curtis, Petersen, and Cory Hehr in the Voss Ultramotive/Nissan. The second lap saw the Snake Livernash spin in turn four, causing the only yellow flag of the event.

 

On lap five, Margeson slipped under Seidelman going into the first turn and began to build a lead that grew to about a half lap by the checkered flag.  Seidelman remained in second until lap 20 when a flat left front tire brought out the black flag for him.  Ferris inherited the spot followed closely by Brea Lopez in the Press Beast/Esslinger and Curtis. On lap 31 Lopez went under Ferris for second.  At the line, it was Margeson followed by Lopez, Ferris, Curtis and Livernash who worked his way up to fifth place.  Stone and rookie Cory Hehr in his first ever midget race both were forced to retire with overheating problems during the event.

 

The WMRA returns to South Sound on June 30 for a Hi-Tech Collision sponsored event.

 

Qualifying:

1. Brad Curtis, 13:153    2. Evan Margeson, 13:219    3. Brea Lopez, 13:269    4. Snake Livernash, 13:291    5. Ken Ferris, 13:305    6. Tony Seidelman, 13:359    7. Matt Stone, 13:480    8. Chris Petersen, 13:881    9. Cory Hehr, 16:545

 

Heat 1:

1. Petersen   2. Stone   3. Seidelman   4. Livernash   5. Lopez   6. Curtis   7. Margeson 

8. Ferris   9. Hehr

 

Main Event:

1. Margeson   2. Lopez   3. Ferris   4. Curtis   5. Livernash    6. Petersen   7.  Hehr   8. Seidelman   9. Stone

 

 

Four in a Row for Margeson

 

June 30

By Dolan Lannan

 

            Evan Margeson continued his domination of the WMRA Saturday, coming from deep in the pack to win his fourth feature in a row in the Hi-Tech Collision sponsored event at South Sound Speedway.  He was followed to the line by Tony Seidelman and Brad Curtis. 

Dallas Melby in the family’s Blue Dot/Mopar started the evening with a 13.26 fast time effort.  Margeson, in the Harold and Verda Beal Beast/Pink Ford won the dash from the pole position.  The first heat race was won by 2006 WMRA champion, Spence Gatrell, in his first WMRA race of the 2007 season.  Darren Linder, in his TCR/Fontana took the lead on lap six only to have Gatrell retake the lead a lap later and go on for the win.  The second heat race went to Tony Seidelman in the Randy Manners Hawk/Sage Chevy followed closely by Margeson and Brad Curtis.

At the beginning of the Hi-Tech Collision feature, pole sitter Linder opted for the back, moving Ken Muth in his Ultramotive/Nissan to the pole.  On the start, both Muth and outside front row starter Chris Petersen slid high in turn one allowing Tony Seidelman to slip underneath and take the lead, followed by Margeson, Kenny Ferris, Curtis and Gatrell.  On lap four Curtis and Ferris made contact, sending Ferris spinning toward the turn four wall. 

 

        Seidelman continued to lead for many laps with Margeson right behind him looking for a way around.  Eventually Margeson was able to get under Seidelman going into turn three for the lead. At about the same time Dallas Melby retired for the evening with overheating problems.              Further back in the pack rookie Cory Hehr in the Voss Ultramotive/Nissan and Kenny Burns in the Jerry Burns Kenyon/Fontana were having a great battle for position.  By lap twenty the order was Margeson with about a twenty car advantage over Seidelman who was about ten lengths ahead of Curtis and Brea Lopez.  On lap twenty-four Petersen went to the pits with brake trouble.  On lap 27 Hehr spun in turn four, bringing out the final yellow flag and tightening up the pack.  On the restart Margeson once again drove away from the field leaving  Seidelman, Curtis and Lopez remained tightly bunched for the rest of the event. 

 

    Thanks to Hi-Tech Collision for contributing $500 to the winner.  In addition $100 was given to Kenny Ferris, Doug Kammerzell, Kenny Burns, Chris Petersen and Dallas Melby.

The WMRA will next travel to Wenatchee Valley Super Oval on Saturday, July 14.

 

Qualifying 

1.             Dallas Melby, Melby Blue Dot/Mopar # 9              13:26

2.             Brad Curtis, Curtis Beast/Mopar # 12                    13:43

3.             Brea Lopez, Press Beast/Esslinger # 25                  13:50

4.             Evan Margeson, Beal Beast/Ed Pink Ford #50     13:52

5.             Ken Ferris, Ferris Beast/Ed Pink Ford #28           13:53

6.             Tony Seidelman, Manners Hawk/Gaerte #44         13:76

7.             Doug Kammerzell, Seidelman Hawk/Esslinger#4 13:78

8.             Ken Muth, Muth Ultramotive/Nissan #14              13:92

9.             Chris Petersen, Maples Beast/Ed Pink Ford #98  13:94

10.           Darren Linder, Linder TCR/Fontana #6              14:01

11.           Spence Gatrell, Gatrell Hawk/Gaerte #8              14:27

12.           Kenny Burns, Burns Kenyon/Fontana #21          14:48

13.           Cory Hehr, Voss Ultramotive/Nissan #45             14:60

 

 

Trophy Dash 

Margeson, Curtis, Melby, Lopez

 

1^st Heat 

Gatrell, Linder, Kammerzell, Muth, Petersen, Hehr, Burns.

 

2^nd Heat 

Seidelman, Margeson, Curtis, Ferris, Lopez, Melby.

 

Main Event  

Margeson, Seidelman, Curtis, Lopez, Ferris, Gatrell, Kammerzell, Linder, Muth, Burns, Hehr, Petersen, Melby.

 

 

Five Straight Wins for Margeson!

 

July 14

By Dolan Lannan

 

Evan Margeson wheeled the HVB Beast/Ed Pink Ford to his fifth straight win of the 2007 WMRA season on a 100 degree plus evening at Wenatchee Valley Super Oval last Saturday.  Starting from the eighth starting position Margeson passed a quick Dallas Melby on lap 23  to take a lead which he never relinquished.  Dallas Melby in the Melby Blue Dot/Mopar was a strong second followed by visiting BCRA driver, John Sarale in Glen Seidelman’s Hawk/Esslinger.

 

Earlier, Brad Curtis in the Joan Curtis Beast/Mopar set fast time of 12.510 on the high banked quarter mile track.  John Sarale, 2005 and 2006 BCRA Champion, traveled north from his Stockton, California home and won the B dash from the pole, over Chris Petersen.  Kenny Ferris in his Beast/Pink Ford  won the A dash from his outside front row starting position, beating Tony Seidelman to the line.

 

The first eight lap heat was won by Sarale.  He was followed by Brea Lopez and Eric Hector.  Dallas Melby was victorious in the A heat, followed by Tony Seidelman and a hard charging Evan Margeson.

 

In the main event, John Sarale brought the fully inverted field to starter John Ball’s green flag.  After one false start, John Sarale jumped out to lead the early stages of the race.  Chris Petersen was a close second until pitting on lap two with overheating issues.   On lap nine, Dallas Melby was able to get under Sarale going into turn one, with Margeson nabbing second on turn three of the same circuit.  Following the leading duo were, Sarale, Curtis, Seidelman, Ferris, Lopez, and Eric Hector in the Alan Dixon owned Gaerte.

 

On lap 22 Brad Curtis bumped Sarale between turns three and four moving him up just enough for Curtis and Tony Seidelman to slip under him.  In the melee, Sarale’s car came back down to the bottom of the track punting Seidelman who in turn hit Curtis, with Curtis spinning in turn four.  The restart saw the cars lined up as follows, Melby, Margeson,  Sarale, Ferris, Lopez, Hector, Curtis, and Seidelman. 

On the restart Margeson and Melby made contact going into turn one, with Margeson entering the backstretch with the lead. On  lap 25 fourth running Kenny Ferris pulled off the track with drive line problems, followed shortly by Brad Curtis, who had inherited fourth, but started overheating.   By the end of the race, Margeson stretched out to about a twenty car length lead over Melby who enjoyed about the same lead over third running John Sarale.  Fifteen car lengths back was Brea Lopez who was eight car lengths ahead of Tony Seidelman,  followed by a strong running Eric Hector. Cory Hehr in the Dick Voss Ultramotive/Nissan was unable to start the main due to some major engine problems.

 

Qualifying:

1.         Brad Curtis, Curtis Beast/Mopar # 12                             12:510

2.         Evan Margeson, HVB Beast Ed Pink Ford  #50            12:551

3.         Ken Ferris, Ferris Beast/Ed Pink Ford  # 28                 12:570

4.         Tony Seidelman, Manners Hawk?Gaerte  # 44              12:687

5.         Dallas Melby, Melby Blue Dot/Mopar  # 9                     12:689

6.         Brea Lopez, Press Beast/Esslinger        # 25                  12:709

7.         Eric Hector, Dixon Autoreasearch/Gaerte  # 92           12:909

8.         Chris Petersen, Maples Beast/Ed Pink Ford  # 98        12:923

9.         John Sarale, Seidelman Hawk/Esslinger  # 4               12:953

10.       Cory hehr, Voss Ultramotive/Nissan  # 45                    14:312

 

“B” Dash         

Sarale, Petersen, Lopez, Hector

 

“A” dash         

Ferris, Seidelman, Curtis, Margeson

 

First Heat        

Sarale, Lopez, Hector, Petersen, Hehr  dns.

 

Second Heat   

Melby, Seidelman, Margeson, Ferris, Curtis

 

Main Event      

Margeson, Melby, Sarale, Lopez, Seidelman, Hector, Curtis, Ferris, Petersen.

 

 

 

It’s Margeson Again at South Sound!

 

By Dolan Lannan

July 28

 

Coming from his outside second row starting spot, Evan Margeson, in the Harold and Verda Beal Beast/Pink Ford took over the lead from pole sitter Snake Livernash on lap two and never looked back in the 35 lap WMRA main event Saturday.

2006 WMRA Champion Spence Gatrell set fast time at the fast South Sound Speedway with a 13.233 in the Profab Hawk/Gaerte.  Matt Stone broke a steering box and was out for the evening, continuing his streak of bad luck this season.

At the request of the promoter, no trophy dashes were held.  In the first heat race, Ken Muth in his own designed Ultramotive/Nissan ran away from his pole position starting spot and was never challenged for the win.  He was followed by Chris Petersen and Brea Lopez The second heat saw Snake Livernash in the family Beast/Esslinger defend the lead from repeated challenges by Margeson for a well earned victory with Brad Curtis getting third.

Polesitter Livernash led the first round of the feature over Margeson, Curtis and Tony Seidelman.   Margeson got around Livernash on the second lap and Curtis was able to sneak by for second on lap four.  Following Margeson, Curtis and Livernash at that point were Tony Seidelman, Spence Gatrell, Dallas Melby, Kenny Ferris, Brea Lopez, Doug Kammerzell, Chris Petersen, Ken Muth and Kenny Burns.  Positions remained the same until lap thirteen when Ken Muth was able to get around Chris Petersen for tenth.  On the next lap Dallas Melby slipped under Spence Gatrell for fifth spot.    Lap eighteen had both Melby get by Seidelman and Lopez get under Ferris.  Curtis was mounting a serious challenge for the lead when, on lap nineteen, the engine let go on the Seidelman Hawk/Esslinger with Kammerzell at the wheel, laying a strip of oil in turn three and four.  Ken Muth, following close behind, slid in the oil and hit the wall, ending his evening with a bent front axle.  At this point both Gatrell and Petersen pitted with brake problems, with Gatrell returning before the racing resumed.

Racing resumed after the clean up until lap twenty-one, when Kenny Burns spun in the still slippery turn three.  Margeson continued at a very quick pace with Brad Curtis close behind.  Snake Livernash was running a strong third, followed by Melby, Seidelman and Lopez.  Seidelman began to fade with a blistered tire, losing positions to Lopez, Gatrell and Ferris by the end of the race.

With one lap to go, Margeson touched wheels while lapping Kenny Burns but recovered to continue to the win, followed closely by Curtis and Livernash.  Melby and Lopez rounded out the top five.

 

 

 

Qualifying:

 

1.             Spence Gatrell, Gatrell Hawk/Gaerte                     13:23

2.             Dallas Melby, Melby Blue Dot/Mopar                     13:27

3.             Evan Margeson, Beal Beast/Ed Pink Ford             13:31

4.             Tony Seidelman, Manners Hawk/Gaerte                13:36

5.             Brad Curtis, Curtis Beast/Mopar                            13:42

6.             Snake Livernash, Livernash Beast/Esslinger         13:45

7.             Ken Ferris, Ferris Beast/Ed Pink Ford                  13:48

8.             Brea Lopez, Press Beast/Esslinger                          13:48

9.             Doug Kammerzell, Seidelman Hawk/Esslinger      13:60     

10.           Chris Petersen, Maples Beast/Ed Pink Ford          13:63

11.           Matt Stone, Stone Beast/Esslinger                          13:67

12.           Kenny Burns, Burns Kenyon/Fontana                   14:22

13.           Ken Muth ,  Muth Ultramotive/Nissan                   14:40

 

NO TROPHY DASHES.

 

First Heat:  14, Muth; 98, Petersen; 25, Lopez; 4, Kammerzell; 28, Ferris; 21, Burns.

 

Second Heat:  55, Livernash; 50, Margeson; 12, Curtis; 8, Gatrell; 9, Melby; 44, Seidelman.

 

Main Event:  Margeson, Curtis, Livernash, Melby, Lopez, Gatrell, Ferris, Seidelman, Burns,

                   Kammerzell, Muth, Petersen                                           

 

 

                                         Gatrell holds off Lopez to score Tenino victory
Andrew Kunas

August 11

TENINO, Wash. – The champ is back.

Reigning champion Spence Gatrell of Aurora, Ore. scored his first feature victory of the season in Saturday’s Washington Midget Racing Association event at South Sound Speedway. It’ll be his only win with the WMRA this season also, as he is leaving on Wednesday for school in Ohio.

Running only a partial schedule this season, Gatrell had struggled in his handful of appearances before getting things on track Saturday in the Steve Gatrell No. 8 Gaerte-powered Hawk. Gatrell started the 35-lap main event outside the second row and found himself in second after the start behind early leader Tony Seidelman.

Gatrell followed Seidelman for six laps before overtaking Seidelman for the lead on the back stretch during the seventh circuit. Gatrell would lead the rest of the way, but had to deal with a blistered right rear tire and hold off Brea Lopez of Vader, Wash. in the closing laps.

“I noticed it a lot getting towards the last caution (lap 28),” Gatrell said about his handling difficulties.

“Just as long as I win. I don’t care,” Gatrell said frankly. “It feels good to win, especially when I’m leaving for school on Wednesday. This is my last race here for seven or eight months.”

That last caution, the second of the race, was for Portland’s Chris Petersen, the outside pole-sitter who came to a stop on the exit road off the track. While it may have put Lopez right behind Gatrell, it probably hurt Lopez more. Lopez was closing on Gatrell, but during the yellow flag laps Lopez’s tires cooled down and for the first few laps after the restart she struggled to keep pace with Gatrell.

By lap 34 Lopez caught back up to Gatrell and made a serious challenge for the lead position as the two made minor contact in turns one and two. Lopez backed off after they touched but moved up to Gatrell again, only to run out of time.

“It had a pretty good push, so we were kind of slow on the restarts. I had to muscle it,” Lopez said about the first laps following the restart. “I probably need a couple more laps. We were trying.”

Already a winner in BCRA competition, Lopez’s runner-up on Saturday was her best showing of the year with the WMRA in the Dan Press No. 25 Esslinger-powered Beast. Lopez had run fourth at the start of the event before passing Petersen for third and later Seidelman for second.

Dallas Melby of Ravensdale, Wash. finished third in the Chris Melby No. 9 Mopar-Blue Dot. Melby won the WMRA season opener at South Sound Speedway on April 28 and also has a BCRA win to his credit. Twenty-five year veteran Ken Ferris of DuPont, Wash. finished fourth in his own No. 28 Ford-powered Beast.

WMRA point leader Evan Margeson of Tacoma saw his astounding six-race win streak end on Saturday with a fifth place finish in the Harold Beald No. 50 Ford-powered Beast. Ethan “Snake” Livernash of Spanaway, Wash. finished sixth in the Scott Livernash No. 55 Esslinger-powered Beast. Troy Globe, the lone Canadian visitor from Abbotsford, Brit. Col. finished seventh in his family’s No. 19 Blue Dot that had a Ford Focus motor under the hood.

Petersen, Seidelman and Brad Curtis were eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively.

Curtis set a new track record for midget cars in qualifying with a time of 13.028 seconds around the 3/8-mile, high-banked asphalt oval. All but one car timed in the 13-second range.

Gatrell bested Seidelman and Lopez in the B Heat while Margeson beat Curtis and Ferris in the A Heat, which featured the five fastest qualifiers.

The Washington Midget Racing Association also worked with the Special Olympics tonight. Between donations made in the pit area and the passing of helmets by the drivers in the grandstands, nearly $800 was raised by the WMRA for the Special Olympics.

The WMRA continues its season this Saturday with its final appearance of the season at the Wenatchee Valley Super Oval in East Wenatchee. Margeson has won both WMRA events at that facility this season. The series will also visit Ephrata Raceway Park in eastern Washington on September 1 before closing its season September 15 at South Sound.

- - -

Washington Midget Racing Association
South Sound Speedway
Tenino, WA
August 11, 2007

RESULTS

Qualifying: (Car no., driver, hometown, owner, chassis/motor, time)
1. 12 Brad Curtis – Edmonds, WA; Joan Curtis, Beast/Mopar, 13.028 seconds (New Track Record)
2. 9 Dallas Melby – Ravensdale, WA; Chris Melby, Blue Dot/Mopar, 13.14
3. 50 Evan Margeson – Tacoma, WA; Harold Beald, Beast/Ford, 13.24
4. 28 Ken Ferris – DuPont, WA; same, Beast/Ford, 13.25
5. 55 Ethan “Snake” Livernash – Spanaway, WA; Scott Livernash, Beast/Esslinger, 13.30
6. 25 Brea Lopez – Vader, WA; Dan Press, Beats/Esslinger, 13.33
7. 8 Spence Gatrell – Aurora, OR; Steve Gatrell, Hawk/Gaerte, 13.34
8. 81 Doug Kammerzell – Arlington, WA; Carl Peter, Spoors/Gaerte, 13.46
9. 98 Chris Petersen – Portland, OR; Tom & Judy Maples, Beast/Ford, 13.49
10. 44 Tony Seidelman – Spanaway, WA; Randy Manners, Hawk/Sage, 13.52
11. 19 Troy Globe – Abbotsford, BC; Brian Globe, Blue Dot/Ford Focus, 14.53

B Heat (8 laps): 1. 8 Spence Gatrell, 2. 44 Tony Seidelman, 3. 25 Brea Lopez, 4. 98 Chris Petersen, 5. 19 Troy Globe, 6. 81 Doug Kammerzell.

A Heat (8 laps): 1. 50 Evan Margeson, 2. 12 Brad Curtis, 3. 28 Ken Ferris, 4. 9 Dallas Melby, 5. 55 Snake Livernash.

Feature (35 laps): 1. 8 Spence Gatrell, 2. 25 Brea Lopez, 3. 9 Dallas Melby, 4. 28 Ken Ferris, 5. 50 Evan Margeson, 6. 55 Snake Livernash, 7. 19 Troy Globe, 8. 98 Chris Petersen, 9. 44 Tony Seidelman, 10. 12 Brad Curtis, DNS – 81 Doug Kammerzell.

Lap leaders: 1-6 Tony Seidelman, 7-35 Spence Gatrell

Margeson scores seventh WMRA win at Wenatchee 

 

By Andrew Kunas 
 
EAST WENATCHEE, Wash. – Evan Margeson’s run towards his first Washington Midget Racing Association championship continued Saturday when he completed a three-race season sweep of main events at the Wenatchee Valley Super Oval. 
 
Carrying a strong 162-point lead over Brea Lopez going into the event, Margeson solidified it further with his seventh win in nine races this year. Only two events remain for the WMRA this season. 
 
Margeson, out of Tacoma, started the 35-lap event inside the fifth row aboard the Harold Beal No. 50 Ed Pink Ford-powered Beast and slowly worked his way to the front, taking the lead from Ken Ferris on lap 16 and leading the final 20 laps. Margeson was never threatened and had little traffic to deal with. 
 
“The car was hooked up. Everyone was hugging the inside so I tried the outside, and it worked,” Margeson said following the race. “I really want to thank Harold Beal and Mac Towing for their help.” 
 
Skeeter Flake of Woodinville, Wash. started on the pole as the result of a ten-car inversion and led the first two laps aboard the Dick Voss No. 45 Nissan-powered entry before yielding the position to Ferris on a lap three restart. Ferris, driving his own No. 28 Ford-powered Beast, led the race until Margeson caught him. 
 
Margeson had passed Ethan “Snake” Livernash on the high side exiting turn two of the ¼-mile, high-banked asphalt oval during a lap seven restart. Margeson followed Ferris for nine laps before passing him in the same manner on the same part of the race track. 
 
“I didn’t know just how close he was, but I knew on the restart he was second up on the scoreboard,” said Ferris, whose runner-up finish tied the best. 
 
“It was a good car. We were fast, and I felt we were consistent. I just don’t know how to go faster than the 50 car,” Ferris quipped. 
 
Margeson only had one close call, making minor contact with the slower car of Eric Hector in turn one on lap 28. 
 
“I was coming up to lap him and I thought I was inside enough that he’d see me,” Margeson said. “We bumped a little bit, but we were fine. It was light so I wasn’t worried.” 
 
Livernash, last year’s WMRA Rookie of the Year out of Spanaway, Wash. tied his best finish of the season with a third place run aboard father Scott’s No. 55 Esslinger-powered Beast. After being passed by Margeson, Livernash ran in the third position for 29 laps despite the best efforts of Lopez, who made repeated attempts to pass Livernash on the inside. 
 
“I knew (Brea) was behind me. She was all over me, but she ran a good race. A couple of times I thought she had me,” said Livernash, who also won the B Dash and B Heats. I was starting to get loose at the end, but the car was good. (Margeson and Ferris) had better cars than I did and just pulled away. It was a good night. I came back with all four wheels and I finished on the podium in all three races.” 
 
Lopez finished fourth in the Dan Press No. 25 Esslinger-powered Beast, a week after finishing second at South Sound Speedway. Brad Curtis of Edmonds, Wash. finished fifth aboard the Joan Curtis No. 12 Mopar-powered Beast. 
 
Dallas Melby of Ravensdale, Wash. had earlier pulled into the pit area during a caution to change a rear tire that was going down. He came back out and tagged the tail end of the field for the restart. Melby, who won the season opening event at South Sound in April, worked his way back to the fifth position behind Lopez. 
 
Livernash, Lopez, Melby and Curtis were running single file, tightly on lap 33. Melby made contact with Lopez and lost the fifth position to Curtis as a result. Melby then pulled off the track, having suffered a damaged right front wheel after contact with the back of Lopez’s car. Melby was credited with eighth place. 
 
Tony Seidelman finished sixth and Hector seventh. Portland’s Chris Petersen and Flake rounded out the top ten. Kenny Burns, also out of Portland, crashed out of the event on lap three when he struck the front stretch wall and nearly rolled his machine over on the pavement. 
 
Melby set fast time in qualifying with a time of 12.361 seconds around the track. Margeson was second quick with a time of 12.720 seconds. 
 
Livernash was followed in the B-Dash by Ferris, Hector and Lopez. Seidelman bested Melby, Petersen and Margeson in the A-Dash, which featured the four fastest qualifiers. Eight lap heat races were won by Livernash and Margeson. 
 
The WMRA next event is at Ephrata Raceway Park in eastern Washington on Saturday, September 1. The WMRA’s June 9 event at Ephrata was rained out. The series closes its season September 15 at South Sound. 
 
- - - 
 
Washington Midget Racing Association 
Wenatchee Valley Super Oval 
East Wenatchee, WA 
August 18, 2007 
 
RESULTS 
 
Qualifying: (Car number, driver, hometown, owner, chassis/motor, time) 
1. 9 Dallas Melby; Ravensdale, WA – Chris Melby, Blue Dot / Stanton Mopar: 12.361 seconds 
2. 50 Evan Margeson; Tacoma, WA – Harold Beal, Beast / Ed Pink Ford: 12.720 
3. 98 Chris Petersen; Portland, OR – Tom & Judy Maples, Beast / Ford: 12.723 
4. 44 Tony Seidelman; Spanaway, WA – Randy Manners, Hawk / Sage Chevy: 12.733 
5. 12 Brad Curtis; Edmonds, WA – Joan Curtis, Beast / Mopar: 12.736 
6. 25 Brea Lopez; Vader, WA – Dan Press, Beast / Esslinger: 12.756 
7. 28 Ken Ferris; DuPont, WA – same, Beast / Ed Pink Ford: 12.832 
8. 55 Ethan “Snake” Livernash; Spanaway, WA – Scott Livernash, Beast / Esslinger: 12.885 
9. 92 Eric Hector; Ephrata, WA – Allan Dixon, Edmonds / Gaerte: 13.153 
10. 45 Skeeter Flake; Woodinville, WA – Dick Voss, Moss / Nissan: 13.188 
11. 21 Kenny Burns; Portland, OR – Jerry Burns, Kenyon / Fontana: 13.258 
 
B-Dash (4 laps): 1. 55 Snake Livernash, 2. 28 Ken Ferris, 3. 92 Eric Hector, 4. 25 Brea Lopez. 
 
A-Dash (4 laps): 1. 44 Tony Seidelman, 2. 9 Dallas Melby, 3. 98 Chris Petersen, 4. 50 Evan Margeson. 
 
B Heat (8 laps): 1. 55 Snake Livernash, 2. 28 Ken Ferris, 3. 25 Brea Lopez, 4. 21 Kenny Burns, 5. 92 Eric Hector, 6. 45 Skeeter Flake. 
 
A Heat (8 laps): 1. 50 Evan Margeson, 2. 9 Dallas Melby, 3. 44 Tony Seidelman, 4. 98 Chris Petersen, DNS – 12 Brad Curtis. 
 
Feature (35 laps): 1. 50 Evan Margeson, 2. 28 Ken Ferris, 3. 55 Snake Livernash, 4. 25 Brea Lopez, 5. 12 Brad Curtis, 6. 44 Tony Seidelman, 7. 92 Eric Hector, 8. 9 Dallas Melby, 9. 98 Chris Petersen, 10. 45 Skeeter Flake, 11. 21 Kenny Burns. 
 
Lap leaders: Skeeter Flake 1-2, Ken Ferris 3-15, Evan Margeson 16-35 

 

Margeson Continues His Dominance in Ephrata

 

By Dolan Lannan

Ephrata Raceway Park

September 1

 

In an evening with some unusual events, the eleventh race of a twelve race season was run at  Ephrata Raceway Park.  In the end though, the result was not at all unusual for this season, with Evan Margeson, in the Harold and Verda Beal Beast/Ford emerging as the winner of the feature race.

 

Fourteen cars made the trek to Ephrata, but only thirteen were present for qualifying, as the Dick Voss owned #45 car suffered a broken real axle at a Friday practice session with Skeeter Flake at the wheel. Fast time was set by Tony Seidelman in the Randy Manners #44 Hawk/Sage Chevy.

 

The B dash was won by Brad Curtis in the Joan Curtis Beast/Mopar followed across the line by Chris Petersen in the Maples Beast/Pink Ford.  Evan Margeson  took the A dash from the pole position followed by Matt Stone, returning to the WMRA after a break of a few weeks. 

 

Ephrata’s own Eric Hector in the Allan Dixon owned #92 won the first heat race in front of the home town crowd beating Petersen, Curtis and Stuart Birkinbine, making his first appearance of the year in the brand new Dave Birkinbine Stealth/Ford.  Kenny Ferris used the pole position to his advantage taking the second heat race followed by Margeson, Dallas Melby in the family Blue Dot/Mopar and Brea Lopez in her Beast/Esslinger.

 

The “A” main was green flagged with Kenny Ferris on the pole getting the jump on Dallas Melby who had his #9 Beast/Mopar stumble as he punched the throttle.  The yellow flag flew as the cars roared down the backstretch, as the field started to slow. Margeson jumped the left rear wheel of Ferris, sending both cars sliding to a halt going into turn three.  Ken Ferris was sent to the rear and Evan Margeson was put on the pole for the complete restart of the main event.

 

As the green flag flew again, Margeson jumped to a lead over Melby, Lopez, Stone, Seidelman, Curtis, Birkinbine, Petersen, and Hector. Port Coquitlam BC’s Bobby Bird, making his 2007 debut,  fellow Canadian, Troy Globe in dad Brian’s Focus powered car, Lindsey and Ferris.  As Ferris started picking his way through traffic, the yellow was displayed for Rob Lindsey who saw the motor in the Glen Seidelman/SCAT V-4 expire in a cloud of steam and smoke.  On the restart, coming out of turn 4 for the green flag, Curtis, Stone, and Birkinbine were involved in a melee which ended with Brad Curtis into the front stretch wall, and out for the evening.

 

As the thirty-five lap race progressed, Margeson was able to maintain a lead of several car lengths over Melby, who was leading Lopez by about the same distance. For many laps Tony Seidelman pressured the #25 car of Lopez until his brakes started failing, casing him to drop back ten or twelve car lengths and stayed there for the remainder of the race.  At about mid point of the race, Petersen who had been running a strong race slowed dramatically, also with brake problems, running high and out of the groove for the remainder of the race, but seeing the checkered flag which had eluded him almost all year long due to various mechanical problems.

 

At the checkered, the top three were Margeson, Melby and Lopez, followed by Seidelman, Ferris, Hector and Globe.  Matt Stone retired near the end of the race, another victim of brake problems.

 

RESULTS

 

Fast Time: Tony Seidelman

 

B Dash: 1. Brad Curtis, 2. Chris Petersen, 3. Eric Hector, 4. Stuart Birkinbine

 

A Dash:  1. Evan Margeson, 2. Matt Stone, 3. Brea Lopez, 4. Seidelman

 

First Heat:  1. Hector, 2. Petersen, 3. Curtis, 4. Birkinbine, 5. Bobby Bird, 6. Rob Lindsey, 7. Troy Globe

 

Second Heat: 1. Kenny Ferris, 2. Margeson, 3. Dallas Melby, 4. Lopez, 5. Seidelman, 6. Stone

 

Feature: 1. Evan Margeson #50, 2. Dallas Melby #9, 3. Brea Lopez #25, 4. Tony Seidelman #44, 5. Ken Ferris #28, 6. Eric Hector, 7. Troy Globe, 8. Chris Petersen #98, 9. Bobby Bird 10. Matt Stone #10, 11. Stuart Birkinbine 02, 12. Brad Curtis #12, 13. Rob Lindsey #4

Ferris wins WMRA Finale

By Dolan Lannan

 

It took until the final turn of the final lap for Kenny Ferris in his familiar Mac Towing sponsored Beast/Pink Ford to retake the lead over Brad Curtis for his first win of the 2007 season, Saturday at South Sound Speedway in the championship race of the 2007 WMRA season.

 

Earlier in the day, Chris Petersen in the Maples owned beast/Pink Ford ended his year with a broken motor, continuing the bad luck that plagued the team all year.  During qualifying, Curtis, in the Joan Curtis Beast/Mopar broke his own track record, with a blazing 13.016 lap.  Curtis went on to win the A dash from his outside second row starting position. 

In heat race action, Skeeter Flake, in the Dick Voss Ultramotive/Nissan collected a spinning Brea Lopez sending him to the pits with a bent shock on the first lap of the first heat. After the restart, Kenny Burns in the family Kenyon/Fontana pulled away to win by a few car lengths over Brea Lopez in the Press Beast/Esslinger and Tyler Tanner in his first ever midget start, driving the Steve Gatrell owned Hawk/Profab Chevy.  In the second heat, Ferris barely held off 2007 WMRA Champion, Evan Margeson in the Harold and Verda Beal owned Beast/Pink Ford.  They were followed by Doug Kammerzell in the Carl Peter Spoor/Gaerte.

 

Before the main event began outside front row starter, Skeeter Flake experienced a flat tire, moving the entire outside line up a row and putting Ferris outside of pole sitter, Rob Lindsey, running his Beast/Esslinger for the first time this year. 

 

At the drop of the green flag, Ferris led the pack into the first turn followed by Tony Seidelman, piloting the Manners Hawk/Sage Chevy, Lindsey, Lopez, Margeson and Curtis. Dallas Melby in the Blue Dot/Mopar retired on lap four, after struggling with motor problems all day and Kammerzell followed him to the pits one lap later with steering problems.  Contact was made on lap seven between Lopez and Margeson resulting in a yellow flag and both cars retiring to the pits.  After the restart the order was Ferris,  Seidelman, Lindsey, Curtis, Tanner, Burns, and Dave Hoene, making his first start of the year in his Hawk/VW.  Seidelman tried everything to get around Ferris as the two pulled away slightly from the rest of the field.  On lap thirteen Curtis was able to slip by Lindsey for third spot and begin closing in on the leaders.  Soon after, Curtis got by Seidelman and immediately began putting pressure on Ferris for the lead.  Curtis continued to hound Ferris until lap twenty-three when he took the lead, getting under Ferris in turn one.  Curtis then began to stretch his lead by about a car length a lap.  On lap thirty-one Hoene pulls into the pits and about this time Curtis begins slowing slightly, with an overheating engine and some hot oil in the cockpit.  The Seidelman mount pulled to a stopped on lap thirty-three with a flat tire, causing the final yellow flag of the event and setting up a two lap dash to the finish.  Brea Lopez was also able to rejoin the chase at this point.  On the restart Ferris was able to stay close to Curtis.  Going into turn three on the last lap, Ferris got under Curtis, with Curtis getting back under Ferris in turn four.  After slight contact, Ferris won the drag race to the line for the win.  Immediately after the race, Curtis stopped on the track, suffering minor oil burns.

 

Results:

 

1.  Brad Curtis:                    13:016 NEW TRACK RECORD

2.  Dallas Melby:                  13:03 

3.  Evan Margeson:              13:08

4.  Tony Seidelman:             13:14

5.  Doug Kammerzell:         13:27

6.  Kenny Ferris:                 13:40

7.  Brea Lopez:                    13:43

8.  Travis Tan  r:                 13:49

9.  Skeeter Flake:               13:85

10.  Rob Lindsey:                13:90

11.  Kenny Burns:              14:46

12.  Dave Hoene:                DNQ

13.  Chris Petersen:            DNQ           

 

A dash: 12, Brad Curtis; 44, Tony Seidelman; 50, Evan Margeson; 81, Doug Kammerzell

 

B heat: 21, Kenny Burns; 25, Brea Lopez; 8, Tyler Tanner; 23, Rob Lindsey; 45, Skeet Flake

 

A heat: 28, Kenny Ferris; 50, Evan Margeson; 81, Doug Kammerzell; 12, Brad Curtis; 44, Tony Seidelman; 9, Dallas Melby

 

Main: 28, Ferris; 12, Curtis, 23, Lindsey; 8, Tanner; 21, Burns; 44, Seidelman; 24, Hoene; 25, Lopez; 50, Margeson; 81, Kammerzell; 9, Melby; 45, Flake