By CHUCK GREENSLATE

Portsmouth Raceway Park

PORTSMOUTH — Saturday was Crider’s Lawn Care Night at Portsmouth Raceway Park.  Brandon Fouts, Brian Skaggs, Ben Adkins, Reed Bishop, and Brandon Carver all picked up wins in their respective divisions.

   For Fouts, Saturday marked the first A-Main victory of the season for the two-time defending Giovanni’s Pizza Wholesale Late Model track champ from Kite, KY.

   Skaggs had another evening of dominance in The Gampp’s Power Equipment Modifieds.  The Pedro driver set fast time, led every lap of his heat, and paced the field the entire feature.

   Adkins was again the class of the field in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Lates, as the West Portsmouth native won for the second time in three tries.  Bishop scored his first-ever PRP Feature win in The BluePrint Event Tent & Inflatables Rentals Sport Mods, and Carver made history by winning the very first Crown Vic Feature in PRP’s 33-year history.

   Early on in The Late Model A-Main, it appeared as if Wheelersburg’s Justin Cooper was poised to win his first PRP Feature.  He led the first four laps before Fouts got by.  Once Fouts moved to the front, he never looked back.  Cooper placed second with Dave Hornikel, Kenny Christy, Audie Swartz, Shane Bailey, Joe Brewer, Charlie Jude, Jackie Burdette, and Austin Mullett rounding out the top 10.

   Skaggs was the driver to beat in the Modifieds.  Driving the Jody Puckett-owned Stealth House Car, which Ervin Vance won in earlier in the season, Skaggs was virtually untouchable, however, the racing behind him was outstanding.  Throughout the field for the entire race, there was two and three-wide action.  Jeremy Rayburn placed second.  Brandon Hutchinson finished third.  Vance charged from 11th to fourth.  Brian Sammons Jr rounded out the top five.  Adam Colley was sixth.  Garet McCloud advanced seven positions to finish seventh.  Craig Christian, Anthony Slusher, and Greg Bentley completed the top 10.

   Ben Adkins was again in control of the Limited Late Model Division.  In just three races competing in the class, he has a second-place finish and two wins.  He led every lap of the A-Main.  Jesse Lyons Jr, Evyian Terry, Kevin Terry, and Jimmy Adams rounded out the top five.

   Bidwell’s Reed Bishop took the checkers in The Sport Mods.  He held off Scott LeMaster to the finish.  Luke Jordan, Jeromy Brady, Jason Spillman, Adam Jordan, Stevie D. Thornsberry, Rob Lemaster, David Dunn, and John Brady Jr made up the rest of the top 10.  Adam Jordan advanced 10 positions.  Dunn moved up nine spots.

   The Crown Vics made their PRP debut.  Their portion of Crider’s Lawn Care Night was presented by Roots Child Care Center, E&E Towing, and Call’s Auto Sales.

   The racing was entertaining to say the least.  West Portsmouth’s Kyle Call and Brandon Carver started on the front row.  Call, the pole sitter, spun down into the infield off of turn 2 on the first lap and went a lap down as the field came around.  He merged back onto the track and fought to get his lap back.

   Call passed Carver to get back onto the lead lap and when doing so, they got together and Carver spun to bring out the yellow.  That sent him to the tail and handed the lead over to 19-year-old Josh Kleinke from Otway.

   Carver and Call would restart in the back, and both would begin a rapid ascent.  Carver would charge to the front of the field in a hurry and in just one lap would once again be in the lead.  He would hold on to the finish.

   Call appeared to be in the process of marching to the front as well, however, he was sidelined due to mechanical issues.  Finishing behind Carver were Jeff Cable, Kleinke, Chris Richmond, and Mike Ratliff.

   PRP will race its season finale this coming Saturday at On The Esplanade Laser Center & Medical Spa will present “Meet The Drivers” Night.  On the schedule will be Late Models, Modifieds, Limited Lates, and Sport Mods.  Gates will open at 4 p.m. with racing at approximately 7:30.

   None of the track championships are clinched, but RJ Conley is sitting pretty in the Late Models as he has an 85-point lead.  Ervin Vance has a 95-point edge over Anthony Slusher in the Modifieds.  Things are a little tighter in the Limited Lates, where Evyian Terry has a 50-point advantage over twin-brother Kevin.  The tightest points battle is in the Sport Mods where Jeromy Brady is up 25 points over Stevie D. Thornsberry.

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Late Models 13 Entries

A Feature 1 25 Laps | 00:15:47.825

1. 81-Brandon Fouts[2]; 2. 00-Justin Cooper[1]; 3. 71D-Dave Hornikel[3]; 4. C7-Kenny Christy[4]; 5. 7-Audie Swartz[8]; 6. 1-Shane Bailey[7]; 7. 33B-Joe Brewer[9]; 8. CJ1-Charlie Jude[13]; 9. 32J-Jackie Burdette[10]; 10. 73B-Austin Mullett[6]; 11. 11W-Danny Wilson[12]; 12. 702-Kent Keyser[11]; 13. B1-Josh Bocook[5]

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:05:05.862

1. 00-Justin Cooper[1]; 2. 71D-Dave Hornikel[3]; 3. B1-Josh Bocook[2]; 4. 1-Shane Bailey[5]; 5. 33B-Joe Brewer[6]; 6. 702-Kent Keyser[7]; 7. CJ1-Charlie Jude[4]

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:02:51.947

1. 81-Brandon Fouts[1]; 2. C7-Kenny Christy[3]; 3. 73B-Austin Mullett[2]; 4. 7-Audie Swartz[4]; 5. 32J-Jackie Burdette[5]; 6. 11W-Danny Wilson[6]

Qualifying 1 | 00:07:19.335

1. 00-Justin Cooper, 00:14.728[9]; 2. 81-Brandon Fouts, 00:14.978[4]; 3. B1-Josh Bocook, 00:15.032[2]; 4. 73B-Austin Mullett, 00:15.215[6]; 5. 71D-Dave Hornikel, 00:15.225[8]; 6. C7-Kenny Christy, 00:15.317[1]; 7. CJ1-Charlie Jude, 00:15.411[13]; 8. 7-Audie Swartz, 00:15.569[11]; 9. 1-Shane Bailey, 00:15.674[10]; 10. 32J-Jackie Burdette, 00:16.016[12]; 11. 33B-Joe Brewer, 00:16.075[3]; 12. 11W-Danny Wilson, 00:16.110[7]; 13. 702-Kent Keyser, 00:16.563[5]

Modifieds 19 Entries

A Feature 1 20 Laps | 00:18:35.083

1. J3-Brian Skaggs[1]; 2. 11-Jeremy Rayburn[2]; 3. A85-Brandon Hutchinson[4]; 4. P20-Ervin Vance[11]; 5. 1S-Brian Sammons Jr[5]; 6. 11C-Adam Colley[7]; 7. G5-Garet McCloud[14]; 8. 35C-Craig Christian[6]; 9. 2-Anthony Slusher[12]; 10. 32-Greg Bentley[15]; 11. 16-Travis Dickson[3]; 12. CR12-Danny Ferguson[9]; 13. 660-Cody Hunley[10]; 14. 82A-Brian Akers[18]; 15. 1M-Byron Mays[19]; 16. 73A-Alisha Hammond[17]; 17. B32-Brandon Russell[16]; 18. 83-Briana Robinson[8]; 19. (DNS) 29-Danny Moore

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:03:45.078

1. J3-Brian Skaggs[1]; 2. 16-Travis Dickson[2]; 3. 1S-Brian Sammons Jr[3]; 4. 11C-Adam Colley[6]; 5. CR12-Danny Ferguson[7]; 6. P20-Ervin Vance[4]; 7. 29-Danny Moore[5]; 8. 32-Greg Bentley[8]; 9. 73A-Alisha Hammond[9]; 10. 1M-Byron Mays[10]

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:02:53.767

1. 11-Jeremy Rayburn[1]; 2. A85-Brandon Hutchinson[4]; 3. 35C-Craig Christian[2]; 4. 83-Briana Robinson[3]; 5. 660-Cody Hunley[5]; 6. 2-Anthony Slusher[6]; 7. G5-Garet McCloud[7]; 8. B32-Brandon Russell[9]; 9. 82A-Brian Akers[8]

Qualifying 1 | 00:02:16.342

1. J3-Brian Skaggs, 00:16.149[6]; 2. 11-Jeremy Rayburn, 00:16.318[14]; 3. 16-Travis Dickson, 00:16.493[3]; 4. 35C-Craig Christian, 00:16.514[12]; 5. 1S-Brian Sammons Jr, 00:16.606[15]; 6. 83-Briana Robinson, 00:16.653[9]; 7. P20-Ervin Vance, 00:16.665[1]; 8. A85-Brandon Hutchinson, 00:16.778[10]; 9. 29-Danny Moore, 00:16.810[5]; 10. 660-Cody Hunley, 00:16.946[2]; 11. 11C-Adam Colley, 00:16.954[18]; 12. 2-Anthony Slusher, 00:16.955[19]; 13. CR12-Danny Ferguson, 00:17.298[7]; 14. G5-Garet McCloud, 00:17.304[16]; 15. 32-Greg Bentley, 00:17.498[13]; 16. 82A-Brian Akers, 00:18.313[11]; 17. 73A-Alisha Hammond, 00:19.107[8]; 18. B32-Brandon Russell, 00:19.845[4]; 19. 1M-Byron Mays, 00:20.015[17]

Limited Late Models 9 Entries

A Feature 1 15 Laps | 00:09:25.949

1. B7-Ben Adkins[1]; 2. 17R-Jesse Lyons Jr[3]; 3. 58-Evyian Terry[2]; 4. 97C-Kevin Terry[4]; 5. 32J-Jimmy Adams[8]; 6. A17-Alan Salisbury[5]; 7. K73-Kevin Mullett[6]; 8. (DNS) 73-Lee Cornell; 9. (DNS) 7-Carl Dillow

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:14:30.590

1. B7-Ben Adkins[4]; 2. 58-Evyian Terry[7]; 3. 17R-Jesse Lyons Jr[9]; 4. 97C-Kevin Terry[5]; 5. A17-Alan Salisbury[6]; 6. K73-Kevin Mullett[8]; 7. 73-Lee Cornell[2]; 8. 32J-Jimmy Adams[3]; 9. (DNS) 7-Carl Dillow

Sport Mods 20 Entries

A Feature 1 15 Laps | 00:12:55.227

1. RC10-Reed Bishop[1]; 2. 10K-Scott LeMaster[2]; 3. 13J-Luke Jordan[4]; 4. B9-Jeromy Brady[9]; 5. 16-Jason Spillman[5]; 6. 7J-Adam Jordan[16]; 7. 8D-Stevie Thornsberry[6]; 8. 740-Rob Lemaster[11]; 9. X-David Dunn[18]; 10. 9-John Brady Jr[15]; 11. H5-Hunter McCloud[14]; 12. 26-Conner McKenzie[17]; 13. 20L-Johnathon Lane[19]; 14. E1-Elliot Eschmann[10]; 15. 11C-Kyle Call[3]; 16. 11B-Branden Colley[7]; 17. 4J-Jimmy Cox[12]; 18. 4B-Mitchell Berry[13]; 19. (DNS) 11-Dallas Pickelheimer; 20. (DNS) 77-Corey Payton

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:08:03.377

1. RC10-Reed Bishop[1]; 2. 11C-Kyle Call[2]; 3. 16-Jason Spillman[5]; 4. 11B-Branden Colley[3]; 5. B9-Jeromy Brady[6]; 6. 740-Rob Lemaster[4]; 7. 4B-Mitchell Berry[7]; 8. 9-John Brady Jr[8]; 9. 26-Conner McKenzie[10]; 10. 20L-Johnathon Lane[9]

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:16:22.064

1. 10K-Scott LeMaster[1]; 2. 13J-Luke Jordan[3]; 3. 8D-Stevie Thornsberry[5]; 4. 11-Dallas Pickelheimer[4]; 5. E1-Elliot Eschmann[8]; 6. 4J-Jimmy Cox[9]; 7. H5-Hunter McCloud[6]; 8. 7J-Adam Jordan[2]; 9. X-David Dunn[7]; 10. 77-Corey Payton[10]

Qualifying 1 | 00:00:39.697

1. RC10-Reed Bishop, 00:17.144[15]; 2. 10K-Scott LeMaster, 00:17.334[19]; 3. 11C-Kyle Call, 00:17.441[5]; 4. 7J-Adam Jordan, 00:17.475[6]; 5. 11B-Branden Colley, 00:17.514[3]; 6. 13J-Luke Jordan, 00:17.553[20]; 7. 740-Rob Lemaster, 00:17.703[10]; 8. 11-Dallas Pickelheimer, 00:17.705[7]; 9. 16-Jason Spillman, 00:17.707[8]; 10. 8D-Stevie Thornsberry, 00:17.709[11]; 11. B9-Jeromy Brady, 00:17.907[4]; 12. H5-Hunter McCloud, 00:18.036[2]; 13. 4B-Mitchell Berry, 00:18.077[12]; 14. X-David Dunn, 00:18.112[14]; 15. 9-John Brady Jr, 00:18.421[18]; 16. E1-Elliot Eschmann, 00:18.471[17]; 17. 20L-Johnathon Lane, 00:18.696[9]; 18. 4J-Jimmy Cox, 00:18.814[16]; 19. 26-Conner McKenzie, 00:25.065[13]; 20. 77-Corey Payton, 00:25.065[1]

Crown Vic 10 Entries

A Feature 1 | 00:18:01.434

1. 2E-Brandon Carver[2]; 2. 1-Jeff Cable[7]; 3. 22-Josh Kleinke[6]; 4. 43-Chris Richmond[9]; 5. 77-Mike Ratliff[5]; 6. 11C-Kyle Call[1]; 7. 0-Kendall Purdy[3]; 8. B9-Jeromy Brady[10]; 9. 71-Mark Hall[4]; 10. (DNS) 15-Bryan Woodruff

Heat 1 | 00:18:21.728

1. 11C-Kyle Call[2]; 2. 2E-Brandon Carver[4]; 3. 0-Kendall Purdy[1]; 4. 71-Mark Hall[5]; 5. 77-Mike Ratliff[6]; 6. 22-Josh Kleinke[10]; 7. 1-Jeff Cable[8]; 8. 15-Bryan Woodruff[9]; 9. 43-Chris Richmond[7]; 10. B9-Jeromy Brady[3]

Qualifying 1 | 00:00:47.000

1. 0-Kendall Purdy, 00:21.434[10]; 2. 11C-Kyle Call, 00:21.454[9]; 3. B9-Jeromy Brady, 00:21.497[3]; 4. 2E-Brandon Carver, 00:21.721[7]; 5. 71-Mark Hall, 00:21.902[1]; 6. 77-Mike Ratliff, 00:22.307[8]; 7. 43-Chris Richmond, 00:23.037[4]; 8. 1-Jeff Cable, 00:23.074[6]; 9. 15-Bryan Woodruff, 00:23.636[5]; 10. 22-Josh Kleinke[2]