Elkins Raceway
Wilmoth wins Skidmore Memorial, earns $10,000
By Tommy Michaels
DirtonDirt.com correspondent
Paul Wilmoth Jr. in victory lane at Elkins. (Tommy Michaels)
KERENS, W.Va. (July 20) — Polesitter Paul Wilmoth Jr. of Clarksburg, W.Va., tied his career-richest victory Saturday at Elkins Raceway in capturing the third annual Richard Skidmore Memorial.
Wilmoth’s American Dirt Racing Association-sanctioned victory paid $10,000, matching his payday in the Chuck Gear Memorial at Elkins 11 years earlier. | Slideshow
Jared Hawkins of Fairmont, W.Va., Friday’s $5,000 winner of the Jim Hitt Memorial, finished second while Mike Benedum of Bristol, W.Va., was third. Fast qualifier Mason Zeigler of Chalk Hill, Pa., was fourth and the smoking car of Davey Johnson of Latrobe, Pa., rounded out the top five.
Jacob Hawkins of Fairmont, the runner-up’s younger brother, took the lead at the outset and set a ferocious pace at the 3/8-mile oval nestled in the West Virginia hills. But when he tangled with the lapped car of Skip Hare on the 15th lap, he was forced to restart on the tail after both drivers spun and triggered a caution.
Wilmoth inherited the lead and led the rest of the way while Jared Hawkins took the second spot from Benedum late in the race but ran out of laps catching the leader. Jacob Hawkins rallied back to finish eighth.
Notes: Wilmoth drives a Barry Wright Race Car with sponsorship from Midcap Land & Timber, NAPA Auto & Truck Parts and Quick Time Suspension. ... In total, the feature was slowed by three cautions. ... Along with the Hawkins and Hare tangle, Billy Brown slowed on the backstretch on lap 22 and David Watts slipped over the turn-four banking on the 37th lap to bring out yellows. ... Track points leader Tim Senic of Elkins, W.Va., was sixth in the feature. ... Wilmoth placed 13th in Friday's Jim Hitt Memorial. ... Weekly racing resumes at Elkins on July 26.
Richard Skidmore Memorial: (1) Paul Wilmoth Jr., (2) Jared Hawkins, (3) Mike Benedum, (4) Mason Zeigler, (5) Davey Johnson, (6) Tim Senic, (7) Chris Ferguson, (8) Jacob Hawkins, (9) Zack Dohm, (10) Butch McGill, (11) Dusty Hamrick, (12) Bryan Casey, (13) Steve Weigel, (14) David Watts, (15) Jamie McCloud, (16) Charlie George, (17) Billy Hobert, (18) Ricky Williams, (19) Skip Hare, (20) Billy Brown, (21) Shaun Poling, (22) Wayne Hughes, (23) Austin Hubbard, (24) Shane Hitt, (25) Chuck Harper, (26) Nathan Parker. Fast qualifier (among 26 cars): Zeigler, 14.13 seconds. Dash winner: Wilmoth. Consolation race winners: Hawkins, Senic, Johnson.
