Skyline Speedway
McGuire collects $5,000 at Skyline's Harvest 50
By Scott Wolfe
DirtonDirt.com correspondentSTEWART, Ohio (Sept. 21) — Getting rolling on the high side midway through the race, Josh McGuire of Grayson, Ky., overtook Steve Shaver and then leader Robbie Blair and raced to a $5,000 victory in the 25th annual Harvest 50 at Skyline Speedway.
"We set the car up too loose and I was somehow hoping the track would get faster," said McGuire, who also won the event in 2006. "It was a good thing actually that those guys got by me. It allowed me to move around and I was able to find the rubber on the track first. The car got straighter and I got faster."
McGuire controlled the last half of the race, surviving wheel-banging contact with the slower car of Greg Oliver with three laps remaining to finishing off the unsanctioned 50-lapper. Shaver, of Vienna, W.Va., settled for second and missed out on a $3,000 bonus available if he could've swept the weekend. He earned $3,000 for Saturday's victory.
Tim Dohm of Cross Lanes, W.Va., rallied from his 22nd starting spot to finish third with Blair, of Titusville, Pa., finishing fourth. Chris Garnes of Evans, W.Va., rounded out the top five.
Notes: McGuire's C.J. Rayburn Race Car has a GCP Racing Engine and sponsorship from D.J.'s Kitchen Corner, Tri-State Flooring, Baby Cat Trucking, Budda Bert Transmissions, Long Architectural Sales and D&C Salyers. ... Third-finishing Tim Dohm wasn't the only driver to pass lots of cars. Rick Aukland started 21st and finished seventh while Mike Balzano started 24th and finished eighth. All three advance to the feature through consolation races. ... Steve Shaver won Saturday's prelim over Chris Garnes and Corey Conley. ... Next up at Skyline is the Jack O'Lantern Twin 30s paying $2,500-to-win for Super Late Models and outlaw sprint cars on Oct. 11. Limited Late Models will also run a $1,000-to-win event.
Harvest 50: (1) Josh McGuire, (2) Steve Shaver, (3) Tim Dohm, (4) Robbie Blair, (5) Chris Garnes, (6) Corey Conley, (7) Rick Aukland, (8) Mike Balzano, (9) Larry Bond, (10) Doug Drown, (11) Jason Montgomery, (12) Chris Carpenter, (13) Chris Stotts, (14) Greg Oliver, (15) Zack Dohm, (16) Ralph Withem, (17) Tony Roush, (18) Kyle Bates, (19) Freddie Carpenter, (20) Rick Williams, (21) Tyler Carpenter, (22) Donnie Moran, (23) Tim Senic, (24) Jeremy Jarvis. Fast qualifier (among 39 cars): Blair, 15.59 seconds. Heat race winners: Blair, McGuire, Conley, Williams. Consolation winners: Moran, Balzano.