Cleveland Speedway
Weaver captures Spring Nat'ls at Cleveland
By Richard Allen
Tennesseeracer.com
Randy Weaver salutes the crowd from atop his car. (Chad Wells)
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (April 20) — Randy Weaver hasn’t put Cleveland Speedway atop his favorite tracks list most of his career, but that might be changing in 2013.
The 43-year-old driver from Crossville, Tenn., won Saturday’s Spring Nationals event at the third-mile oval, adding another $5,000 to the five-figure paycheck he picked up in March at Cleveland. | Slideshow
“This place used to kill me. Every time I’d come here, I’d go home scratching my head, wondering what I’d done and if I needed to come back,” Weaver said. “But (this success) tells you what a crew I’ve got and what a super race team I’m driving for, and sometimes they can make it look easy.”
Weaver stalked early leading Skip Arp of Georgetown, Tenn., through the race’s early stages, then took command when Arp pulled his smoking machine off the track on the 18th lap. Weaver cruised the rest of the way for the victory while Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., and Billy Ogle Jr., of Knoxville, Tenn., chased Weaver to the checkers for the second time this season.
Derek Ellis of Chatsworth, Ga., was fourth and Riley Hickman of Ooltewah, Tenn., rounded out the top five. Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind., was seventh and held onto his points lead in the Ray Cook-promoter tour that wraps up the second weekend in May.
Weaver’s biggest worry was Arp’s smoking machine early in the race, but he was confident in his No. 116.
“I was so afraid (Arp) was going to break a motor right in front of me, and I’ve done that before and got in their oil — and it’ll put you in the wall, or at least mess you up,” said Weaver, the night’s fast qualifier. “I was kind of riding, giving him room just in case that happened. I didn’t want to run the line he was running — although that was the the right line, I kept trying to dodge. We finally decided, ‘All right, it ain’t going to blow up, I’ve gotta go.’ Then right when I got to him it smoked probably worse than it ever did. I couldn’t even see, so I started hunting around again. He finally had to pull off. There was something definitely wrong.
“We was saving our stuff. We ain't usually the one that burns our stuff up the first half. We try to leave something for the end, and we did, and it ended up being a good night again.”
Weaver never looked back the rest of the way while his his closest pursuers staged a hot battle for the runner-up position. Marlar eventually took the spot away from Ellis on lap 40 with Ogle dropping Ellis to fourth three laps later.
Notes: Weaver’s GRT Race Cars is powered by a Cornett-built Ford powerplant and sponsored by Outlaw Race Parts, A.F. Stone Professional Medical Services, Stone Land Clearing and Excavating, Ohlins Shocks, Hoosier Tire and VP Racing Fuel. ... David Payne drove Sammie Russell’s car in the feature after breaking a rear end in his own car during prelims. ... In Cleveland’s regular divisions, Rick Hixson won the night’s Limited Late Model feature and Lamar Scoggins took the Crate Late Model feature. ... Spring Nationals drivers take two weekends off before wrapping up the minitour May 9-11 with events at Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel, Tenn., Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, Ga., and Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga.
Spring Nationals @ Cleveland: (1) Randy Weaver, (2) Mike Marlar, (3) Billy Ogle Jr., (4) Derek Ellis, (5) Riley Hickman, (6) Mark Vineyard, (7) Steve Casebolt, (8) Stacy Boles, (9) Johnny Pursley, (10) Michael Chilton, (11) Michael Asberry, (12) Josh Collins, (13) Johnny Chastain, (14) David Payne, (15) George Mashburn, (16) Jason Welshan, (17) Ryan King, (18) Shawn Chastain, (19) Skip Arp, (20) Hunter Peacock, (21) Jeff Franklin, (22) Bryan Hendrix. Fast qualifier (among 25 cars): Weaver, 13.546 seconds. Consolation race winners: Casebolt, S. Chastain. Provisional starters: Payne, Mashburn.
