Claxton Goes To The Bank, Davis Goes To The Win Column Again and So Does Tim Shields
by Larry Lowrey

KANSAS CITY, KS (July 14, 2006) - Thompkins Industry Night at the races worried some of the Lakeside faithfully. Would the track dry out? Would the drivers be able to handle a dry track? Was it just too hot to be at the races? No the track didn't dry out, the racers put on a helluva show and it was hot but the racing was well worth the time in the heat.

The Grand National feature boasted a bonus purse with a $1,000 going to the winner. Chad Lyle came into the race with a winning streak. Could anyone other than Lyle lay claim to a feature win? Gene Claxton could.

Starting the feature inside row number 5, Claxton would have a little ways to go before he could get to the front of the field. It would not take him long, by lap 3 he had moved into 3rd place and was looking for more.

At lap number 6 there was a yellow flag, bunching the cars back up for a restart. On the restart Claxton made his move and went to the front on the restart. Officially he would take the lead at lap 7 and then not give it away the rest of the night.

A picture is said to be worth a thousand words. Claxton's demeanor and smile showed just how excited he was to be back in victory lane. Claxton made his way through the fans enjoying the moment he ad grown accustomed to.

Chad Lyle came into the night as a pre-race favorite, but left the race with a malfunction.

Tim Billings finished a strong 2nd, youngster, Dustin Gilbert, had one of his best finished of the year in 3rd, Chad Clancy came home 4th while Nic Bidinger rounded out the top 5.

Three drivers have made a pretty large impact on Modified racing at Lakeside Speedway. Kerry Davis, Tim Karrick and John Allen are all looking for a NDWS track, regional and national money.

With his win last week, Tim Karrick, jumped to the front of the NASCAR standings in div. 1. He also claimed a tie with Kerry Davis for the track points lead. After Friday night, there was no tie anymore.

Kerry Davis came into the night stuck on 200 Feature wins. To his standards, Davis felt that he let his team down.

"We were in the hunt for 200 and got stuck in a rut," said Davis,"I am tickled with the win. Dad tried some stuff with it and he hit her right!"

As Davis gathered another victory he took back sole possession of the points lead at Lakeside. He also put himself back into the running for regional point money from NASCAR.

The race did carry an element of excitement. John Allen had taken the lead on an early restart. Using lapped traffic to gain positions is tough to do. For those who can master it, they generally succeed as a driver. Others who don't have it simply give up on the dream of racing. While making his way through lapped traffic, Allen gave way to Kerry Davis as a lapped car checked up in front of Allen while Davis was making a move on the low side. As the lapped car checked up, Allen got into the rear of the lapper and broke something in the front end causing him to pull off and end his night.

The silver lining in the cloud for Allen would be that Tim Karrick didn't win and Davis did. As this happened it would take Karrick out of the Div. 1 race and should have moved Allen back up to the top spot.

Karrick did put his attempt in for the win. He made solid runs at times. On the last restart it looked as if his handling was going away. Karrick would finish 3rd on the night as one driver Tim Powell would get by Karrick late and move into second spot at the finish.

Karrick would finish in the 3rd spot, Jeff Herbers had one of the most impressive races at Lakeside Speedway, 4th and Rodney Sigg rounded out the top 5.

Tim Shields motored his way back to victory lane Friday night. The Factory Stock driver put some distance on the rest of the field early in the race and never looked back. Shields has been hit and miss this season, but if new sponsorship indicates anything, he might be coming around.

The race in this class was from 2nd through 18th. Each of these cars all had a chance of making it through the field. Competition breeds more competition.

Lynn Nelson Sr. used another good finish to come home 2nd. Though it's not a win, Nelson will be happy adding to his point lead in the class.

Working his way through the B Feature to the front of the A Feature was Buz Kaster. Kaster, an exciting racer, put on a show for the fans as he marched his way from the back to the front. He would run out of steam while getting to the 3rd spot.

A couple of young drivers would complete the top 5, Rusty Trimble and Jake Newman.

The racing action at Lakeside Speedway continues next week. Don't miss any of the action.

Feature Top 10 Results

Factory Stock 1. Tim Shields 2. Lynn Nelson 3. Buz Kaster 4. Rusty Trimble 5. Jake Newamn 6. Mike Taylor 7. Shaun Foster 8. Terry Schmidt 9. Joe Smith Jr. 10. Jake Conelly

Modifieds 1. Kerry Davis 2. Tim Powell 3. Tim Karrick 4. Jeff Herbers 5. Rodney Sigg 6. Tom Charles 7. Scott Crystal 8. Bubba Harvey 9. Duane Walker 10. Derek Nadler

Grand Nationals 1. Gene Claxton 2. Tim Billings 3. Dustin Gilbert 4. Chad Clancy 5. Nic Bidinger 6. Keith Cobb Jr. 7. Allan Lawrence 8. Steve McDowell 9. Travis Tenpenny 10. Jason Park