Skyline Speedway
Zack Dohm earns $5,000 at Skyline's Harvest 50
By Scott Wolfe
Skyline SpeedwaySTEWART, Ohio (Sept. 19) — Zack Dohm of Cross Lanes, W.Va., pulled away from Rick Aukland on a lap-40 restart Sunday at Skyline Speedway and completed a flag-to-flag victory in the Audie Swartz Memorial Harvest 50. Dohm earned $5,000 in the unsanctioned event which capped three days of racing at the 3/8-mile oval in southeastern Ohio.
Dohm credited a hard-compound tire choice with helping him stave off the challenges of Aukland and win his first-ever feature at Skyline.
"Actually we have struggled on dry-slick tracks, and we've got outrun here several times," said Dohm, who drove a Tracy Seymour-owned car. "We just kept working at it and when we got here we were close (on the setup). I am just really happy to get this win here tonight. It means a lot to all of us."
Aukland was hot and heavy on Dohm amid traffic with 10 laps remaining, but Dohm got clear racetrack after Tyler Carpenter hooked a tire barrier and slammed the backstretch wall for the final yellow flag.
"We needed a little luck and some help in traffic," said Aukland, of Zanesville, Ohio. "Maybe a little different compound on tires. Zack was just tough tonight and hard to catch. We're happy with our run from seventh to second."
Outside front-row starter Jeff Burdette of Parkersburg, W.Va., settled for third while Michael P. Howard of West Liberty, Ky., and Dan Morrison of Newport, Ohio rounded out the top five. Former track champion Audie Swartz, grandson of the race's namesake, was 10th.
Several cautions slowed the action, including for Rod Conley's lap-11 spin and a lap-23 scrambling involving Conley, Larry Bond and Chris Carpenter that left Conley's car atop Carpenter's machine.
In Saturday's tuneup feature, Eddie Carrier Jr. earned $3,000 for outrunning Dohm and Josh McGuire.
Notes: Dohm's Wolfpack Racing Rocket Chassis is powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine and sponsored by Seymour Logging. ... The weekend's Late Model racing was sanctioned by AMRA. ... In honor of racing legend and the Swartz family patriarch, his son Charlie Swartz and grandson Jimmy Stinson paced the field in a memorial parade lap for the Ohio Valley Sprint Car Association sprint cars. ... Cole Duncan won the 410 sprint feature while Rob Stambaugh won the modified feature. ... Among Late Model drivers failing to make Sunday's feature: Delmas Conley, Corey Conley, Josh McGuire, Ralph Withem and Greg Mitchell.
Audie Swartz Memorial Harvest 50: (1) Zack Dohm, (2) Rick Aukland, (3) Jeff Burdette, (4) Michael Howard, (5) Dan Morrison, (6) Eddie Carrier Jr., (7) Doug Drown, (8) Wayne Maffett Jr., (9) Chris Carpenter, (10) Audie Swartz, (11) Freddy Carpenter, (12) Tyler Carpenter, (13) Larry Bond, (14) Colten Burdette, (15) Greg Oliver, (16) Tim Dohm, (17) Rod Conley, (18) Andy Bond. Fast qualifier: Z. Dohm, 13.30 seconds. Heat race winners: Z. Dohm, J. Burdette, C. Burdette, Drown. Consolation winners: T. Carpenter, L. Bond.
