COAL GROVE — The sixth season of racing got underway on Friday with the annual Opening Night races featuring a total of 51 cars in the pits.

In the Late Model A-Main, R. J. Conley and Kenny Christy battled side-by-side for the lead until Christy cut a tire coming off of turn four. When the race resumed, Conley led with Jackie Boggs running second.

On lap four, Conley had problems negotiating turn four as that allowed Boggs to get underneath him and take the lead. Boggs continued to lead until he broke something in turn three on lap 12, causing him to spin.

Boggs continued on and made his way back up to second, but didn’t have enough to take the lead as Conley came across the checkers to win Opening Night for the third time in four years. This was the fourth year in a row that a member of the Conley Motorsports, Inc. team has won Opening Night at RTR.

Boggs finished second with Brett Kennard third, Larry Ferrell fourth, and Glynn Booth fifth. Boggs and Christy won Engines Inc. heat races.

Coal Grove driver Shawn Holliday took the lead at the start of the 20-lap Modified A-Main. Holliday and Adam Colley battled side-by-side for the lead in the races opening laps with Colley taking the lead on lap five.

While Colley pulled away up front, the racing through the field was furious with side-by-side racing each lap. Nobody had anything for Colley though as he took his first RTR feature event win since the 2004 season.

Craig Christian finished second with Holliday third, Roger Wireman fourth, and Adam Jordan fifth. Joey Back won the dash while Jordan and Wireman won Engines Inc. heat races.

The Bomber A-Main saw a great battle early on between David Dunn and Wayne Hughes. The two battled side-by-side, nobody giving an inch, until Hughes was able to clear Dunn on lap eight. Hughes never looked back from there and went on to claim his second RTR Opening Night win in a row.

Dunn finished second with Chris Maynard third, Phil Rice fourth, and Jason Aldridge fifth. Dunn and Hughes won Engines Inc. heat races.

In the Mod Lite A-Main, Chris Stone took the lead at the start and pulled out to a big lead. Stone looked destined for victory until the unthinkable happened in turn three when he hooked a rut and flipped three times.

Thankfully, Stone was OK but that left Tony Sites with the lead as he led the remaining four laps to take the Opening Night win. J. C. Wurts finished second with Randy Armes third, Rodney Snodgrass fourth, and Stone fifth. Stone and Sites won Engines Inc. heat races.

Racing continues this Friday as RTR hosts the Buckeye Nationals, one of the biggest events in the history of the track. Many of the regions top drivers are expected to be in attendance as the Late Models will run a 40-lap feature paying $4,000 to win and $240 to start.

The Mod Lite portion of the Buckeye Nationals will feature a 30-lap, $1,000 to win show in one of the biggest races in the country for that class.

Bombers will also be on the card with a regular, $350 to win show. If racing gets rained out, the race will be ran on Saturday.

General Admission is $18 with kids (ages 7-12) general admission $5. Pit Admission is $30. Gates open at 4:00 pm with Hot Laps at 7:30 pm. For more information visit www.rockytopraceway.net.