Delaware International Speedway
Deese triumphs at Delaware, earns $3,000
By Charlie Brown
Delaware International SpeedwayDELMAR, Del. (Nov. 3-4) — Roy Deese Jr. of Laurel, Md. captured the 50-lap Late Model Delaware State Dirt Track Championship at Delaware International Speedway. Deese took the lead after a strange set of circumstances on lap 18 saw leader Kenny Pettyjohn being sent to the rear for having the car worked on under the caution.
Pettyjohn started on the pole with Chuck Shutz in second and Jamie Lathroum third. Barry Lear spun off the fourth turn to bring out the yellow on lap four. Pettyjohn continued to set the pace on the restart with Jere Wierman running in fourth and Roy Deese in fifth. The most serious incident of the race occurred on lap eight when Bob Geiger, who was running in sixth, hit the backstretch wall and flipped. Geiger was not injured, but the car was badly damaged.
On the restart, David Hill moved into the fifth spot. One lap later Lathroum and Shutz tangled while battling for second with both cars going to the pits under the yellow. Deese was now running in second with Hill third, Wierman fourth and Rob Schirmer in fifth.
Schirmer moved into the fourth spot on lap 16 with David Pettyjohn following into fifth. Coming off the second turn on lap 18, Kenny Pettyjohn got a little loose and Deese made contact with his left-rear quarterpanel. The yellow was out for a flat tire on Donald Lingo’s car and spins by Keith Jackson and Ross Robinson.
During the caution period, the leader pulled to the edge of the frontstretch to allow his rear sheet metal to be pulled out. Under track rules, no work is allowed to be done on the speedway, and Kenny Pettyjohn was sent to the rear. He elected to pull out of the race, instead.
Deese was the new leader and at the halfway sign was followed by Hill, Schirmer, Wierman and Gary Simpson. Hill had a tire go flat going into the second turn and spun the car bringing out the yellow once again. Deese now faced the challenge from Schirmer, who was able to stick with the leader.
David Pettyjohn climbed to third with Dave Hertz and Randy Stoudt now in the top five. With three laps remaining, Deese came up on lapped traffic. Deese refused to go to the outside as Schirmer tried everything to make the pass.
Deese’s patience paid off as he was able to hold off Schirmer to the checkered in the Jeff Foy Contracting-sponsored Rocket Chassis.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve won here,” said Deese, who pocketed $3,000. “It’s been a long time since I’ve won period. The lapped car wasn’t holding me up that bad and I’ve learned from the past so I didn’t take any chances.”
Schirmer was second followed by last year's winner, David Pettyjohn. Hertz and Stoudt rounded out the top five.
Delaware State Championship: (1) Roy Deese Jr. (2) Rob Schirmer, (3) David Pettyjohn, (4) Dave Hertz, (5) Randy Stoudt, (6) Jere Wierman, (7) Ray Kable Jr., (8) Luke Hoffner, (9) Darryl Hills, (10) Tyler Hershey, (11) Kerry King, (12) Gary Simpson, (13) Chris Cromer, (14) Richard Jarvis Jr., (15) Barry Lear, (16) Al Chaney, (57, Jim Miller, (18) Chuck Schutz, (19) Ross Robinson, (20) Keith Jackson, (21) David Hill, (22) Daniel Fiedler, (23) Kenny Pettyjohn, (24) Donald Lingo Jr., (25) Jamie Lathroum, (26) Kyle Lear, (27) Ray Davis Jr., (28) Bob Geiger, (29) Trent Collins, (30) Kyle Merkel.
