(Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem, NC) BY JAY SPIVEY
She’s back.
Amber Lynn, who hasn’t raced at Bowman Gray since the first race of the season on April 20, returned Saturday night for the 100-lap race in the Law Offices of John Barrow Sportsman Series.
Lynn not only came back, but she won what turned out to be 116 laps after the race went overtime. It was redemption after finishing 16th in April.
“If you want to call that first attempt a race,” she said. “I ran four whole laps and two of those were off the pace. So, I guess I’ve run two races, but I’m happy enough in first place.”
But for Lynn to have won, she took advantage of previous leader Michael Adams slipping on some fluid dropped on the track by T. Dawson on lap 99 of what was scheduled to be 100 laps. Dawson spun out around turns 1 and 2. Adams slipped on the fluid and ran into the fence, damaging the rear of his car.
The piece hanging off Adams’ car wouldn’t come off despite his many attempts to knock it off. He was black-flagged for the part hanging off his car, sending him to the pits on double-points night.
Lynn was in second place at the time. At first, Adams was placed in the lead because technically his spin happened after the caution had come out.
“They were going to let Michael run. I was going to run him as clean as I could, but I didn’t want us to get tangled up with all those bars and everything in the back of his car,” Lynn said. “But, you know, I was going to run him as clean as I could and still try for the win no matter what.
“But I hate it for Michael, love it for myself. I love Michael to death. He’s a great driver.”
The wreck and the black flag was crushing to Adams.
“It’s one of them things, man. You win some, you lose some,” he said. “I saw the oil. I tried to woah up. It started coming around and I just gassed it up. I tried to spin all the way around, clipped the outside wall, took the spoiler off. It’s one of them deals, man.”
It’s not the first time something like the incident has happened to Adams, who opened the night with the points lead. That took a major hit on double-points night.
“We lost the first 100-lapper the past two years on the last lap, so it’s hard to swallow,” he said.
Lynn saw what happened to Adams.
“I saw Michael go in the corner and get loose,” Lynn said. “And I saw the 15 (Dawson) spin around. I said he blew up because he blew up right in front of me in morning practice this morning. I about wadded up my car in morning practice first thing this morning at 10 o’clock…So, I said the safest thing for me to do was go through that grass.”
Lynn was awarded first place with Adams pitting, with Zack Ore in second place.
When the race resumed after the caution, there was a single-file restart on lap 114 with a green-white checkered finish. Ore was poised behind Lynn to try to take the lead.
“It was crazy,” Ore said. “I went down, I thought it was the end of the race and I guess (Dawson) messed up or something and blew up water all over the track. And then Michael got in the wall and we all were sliding.”
On the last lap, Ore had a chance because Lynn slipped a couple times.
“I know I had a shot at Amber, but I’m points racing. She’s not. And I know she’s here to win,” Ore said. “I could’ve got her, roughed her up a little bit, and got under her.”
Lynn was able to maintain her composure and fended off Ore for the win.
“By the seat of my pants,” she said about holding her position. “I have no explanation for that. I drove it with every last skill in my body.”
Lee Jeffreys picked up his second win of the season in the first 25-lap race in the Brad’s Golf Cars Series.
Jeffreys had the fastest qualifying lap and led wire-to-wire, holding off runner-up Tim Brown.
Jeffreys has now won 27 times, breaking the tie he had with Curtis Turner. Jeffreys is now by himself in 17th place, just one win behind Pee Wee Jones for 16th.
“Well, you run as long as I have, you pick up a win here or there, you’re going to win a few,” Jeffreys said. “But we’re just grateful for every one that we can get.”
Chris Fleming was third, Burt Myers was fourth, and Mike Speeney was fifth.
Brandon Ward picked up his second win of the season by taking the checkered in the second 25-lap Modified race.
Ward, who won last year’s points championship, sat on the pole for the second race after Jeffreys drew 10 in the “Madhouse Scramble” following the first 25-lap Modified race, which inverted the field for the second race there.
“All you can do really is try to do the best you can every time you go out,” Ward said. “You can’t count points, especially this early in the season. Man, I think last year this time we were fourth or fifth in the points. So, long ways to go. You’ve just got to take it week by week, race by race and try to let it fall how it falls.”
Kyle Southern finished runner-up, followed by Jason Myers, Randy Butner, and Burt Myers.
“So far, we’ve got some areas we can improve on. We know that,” Ward said “But feel like we’ve got a better race car than we had last year. So, that’s something we’re excited by as well. All in all, good night.”
Chuck Wall collected his fourth win of the season Saturday night by winning the Midway Music Hall and Event Center Stadium Stock 50 in the Q104.1 Stadium Stock Series. Wall defended the win he had in the same race last year.
“Randy Butner built me a (heck) of a motor. I tell you what, that’s what pulled us through tonight. The car handled pretty good. This crew worked their butt off all week long to help me put it back together after leaving on the hook like we did. Man, I can’t thank him enough.”
Wall also made a sacrifice to run in Saturday’s 50-lapper in picking up his 34th career win.
“We weren’t even going to bring this car back,” Wall said. “We went home, and we unloaded Saturday night. We go to looking at it and I said I’ll take it out Sunday morning. My wife was going to the beach. I gave up going to the beach with my grandkids, so I kind of sacrificed…I want to kick myself for not going. I pretty much got done with it Wednesday night, Thursday morning.
“I probably could’ve went, but I don’t know. I’ll have to take them to the beach again.”
A.J. Sanders finished runner-up behind Wall, followed by Connor Keaton, Grayson Keaton, and Tyler McDonald.
Christian Joyce continued his winning ways Saturday night by winning the 20-lap race in the QRC HVAC & Refrigeration Street Stock Series.
It was Joyce’s third win of the season and 11th of his career, expanding his points lead on double-points night. There were four cautions during the race.
Brad Lewis finished runner-up, followed by Craig Hartless, Nick Wall, and Zack Staley.
“This right here, this is what happens when you let somebody like Dylan Ward work on it for six years,” Joyce said. “That’s all it is. I’ve got to thank Brad for running me clean. I knew he would, and I know he always will.”
Next week’s racing action will be as hot as a mid-June night with the featured Thunder Road Bar & Grill Twin Modified 50s presented by News Talk 94.5 WPTI in the Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series.
In other racing next week, there will be twin 20-lap races in the Law Offices of John Barrow Sportsman Series, the QRC HVAC & Refrigeration Street Stock Series will have a 20-lap race, and the Q104.1 Stadium Stock Series will have either one or two 15-lap races.
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