Skyline Speedway
Record-breaking McGuire cruises at Skyline
By Scott Wolfe
Skyline SpeedwaySTEWART, Ohio (July 20) — On a night when heavy, damp air and early drizzle had Skyline Speedway blazing faster, Josh McGuire of Grayson, Ky., blistered the track record and raced to a half-track victory in the Jack Shutts Memorial.
McGuire won the 35-lap feature over Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va., and Zack Dohm of Cross Lanes, W.Va., in rolling around the 3/8-mile oval.
"The key tonight was us making a little harder tire selection," McGuire said in victory lane. "I thought once the tire kicked in and we got some laps under our belts that we would have a good chance. We were a little loose at first, but once we went green flag racing and ran consecutive fast laps the car just took off.”
Listening to McGuire, Carrier knew it was an understatement.
"Take off? Josh was just downright fast tonight,” Carrier added. "I had a pretty good car. The track roughed up a little in the middle, so I just wanted to run a straight line and not tear anything up.
"The track got a little rough, but we were very fortunate to get to race tonight considering most every place else got rained out. You have to give (promoter) Billy (Jarrell) and the track crew credit. I just tried to take care of my equipment, 'cause I got to race tomorrow night.”
Dohm was worn out after his third-place finish.
"I admit I'm beat,” he said. "I chose a little too soft of tire and it hooked up too good and made me tight. The car would hardly turn left, so I had to go higher to get the car to turn. We were so tight that we were up on two wheels most of the time and right now I am really beat. Congrats to Josh and Eddie on good runs.
"I'd have liked to started first and finished first, but this is a good run against a great field.”
Dohm powered into the lead at the outset with McGuire and Carrier in tow. Carrier shuffled McGuire back to third as that trio survived a several early cautions.
Each time Dohm emerged the leader and pulled out to a quarter-track lead by the time McGuire took second from Carrier on the 11th lap. Dohm's mount appeared to slow as the laps ticked off, and on lap 14. McGuire blew by to take the point.
McGuire never let up, lapping all but five cars in building a half-track advantage over Carrier. Besides Carrier and Dohm, the only other victims finishing on the lead lap were Rod Conley and Ralph Withem. Conley blasted by Withem on the final lap to take fourth.
Notes: McGuire’s 12.04-second time trial eclipsed the 8-year old mark of 12:18 set by John Brown in 2004. ... McGuire has won all but four career visits to Skyline; twice he broke and two other times suffered close defeats. ... The event drew 87 race cars in four divisions including 31 Late Models. ... Zack Dohm won the Sarah Bond Tribute dash, held in memory of the wife of long-time Ohio Valley racing legend Ronnie Bond and mother of current racers Larry and Andy Bond, multitime Late Model and modified champions. ... Late Model pilot Tyler Carpenter won the modified feature.
Jack Shutts Memorial: (1) Josh McGuire, (2) Eddie Carrier Jr., (3) Zack Dohm, (4) Rod Conley, (5) Ralph Withem, (6) Chris Garnes, (7) Freddie Carpenter, (8) Harold Redman Jr. (9) Kevin Wagner, (10) Nelson Freshour, (11) Andy Bond, (12) Tyler Carpenter, (13) Jeff Burdette, (14) Tony Roush, (15) Ronnie Mayle, (16) Dan Morrison, (17) K.C. Burdette, (18) Mike McPherson.
