Story by Denny Adams
The 2014 racing season ended with a bang Saturday evening at Anderson Speedway as fans enjoyed the EDCO Welding & Hydraulics fireworks show to mark the conclusion to the season and the end of the Stoops Freightliner Night of Thrills.
The Front Wheel Drive Oval division opened the Night of Thrills with Jeff Williams grabbing the lead from Ron Phipps on lap two and never looking back. Phipps held on to second with Kevin Harmon, Marshall Clark and Nick Warner rounding out the top five.
The Mattress Race came next where competitors had to reach out their windows and hold an unrestrained mattress on top of their car as they “raced”. Jedi Cluxton out foxed the field as he was able to capture the checkers by lap five.
One of the fan favorites, the Cork Screw race, was next on the card. The racers had about 1/2 track to use, also involving the crossover, where they had to circle three large tractor tires and then come back onto the oval again…quite tricky! Jeff Williams was the early leader before Nick Warner made a slick inside move at the Cork Screw to take the lead on lap three. The two battled to the checkers with Warner the victor by a length over Williams. They were trailed by Ron Phipps, David Powell and the Mystery Driver to round out the top five.
The all new hour glass race was next up using the corners and the crossover to form the hourglass. It was a very competitive race. It had a complete restart for contact and a spin on lap one. Nick Warner led the first four laps with Jeff Williams rubbing fenders to take the lead on lap five. The two exchanged a lot of paint all the way to the checkers with Williams prevailing over David Powell, Warner, Eric Wiley and Ron Phipps in the top 5.
It was roll over time next and the five competitors certainly did not disappoint the fans as they had their cars rolling and standing on end throughout the competition. When the dust had cleared it was Kenny Boykin taking the crown with 17 points followed by Cris “Bozo” Farley with 11, the Mystery Driver with 5, Jon Carnahan 5 and Jesse Thomas with 2.
The fan favorite, the Tom Raper RV’s Trailer Race concluded the racing program with total destruction in the crossover! The race suffered a yellow on the start when Nick Warner stalled when he ran over a trailer and was in a dangerous position toward traffic. The second stoppage came with a red flag on lap 6 when Darby Brown’s car burst into flames. He was ok. Jim Warner led lap one before Nick warner took over and led to lap 5. Bruce McFall made the outside pass on 6 on Warner when Warner got hung up on debris again and went on for his first win in this event. Rounding out the top five were Jedi Cluxton, Jim Warner, Nick Warner and Darby Brown.
Racing action returns on Saturday, November 29 with the Turkey Bash featuring Street Stocks, NASH FM ThunderCars, Front Wheel Drives Oval & Figure 8’s along with Mini Cups.
