Fans were treated to three days of racing over the July 4 weekend at Shady Bowl Speedway.
The race weekend kicked off Friday with the Must See Sprints hitting the track. Ohio driver Charlie Schultz won the 40-lap feature. Dylan Watson was the runner-up, Jason Rader took third, JJ Henes was fourth and Joey Wyckoff finished fifth. Heat wins went to Tim Henthorne and Watson, who also was the fast qualifier.
Also Friday, Rodney Roush of Sidney won the Steve Rickard Memorial for the street stocks. He was followed in the top five by Buck Purtee, Josh Smith, Jamie Sites and Rob Schaeff. Purtee won the heat race, Roush was the dash winner and Smith was the fast qualifier.
Saturday’s race card was highlighted by the 50-lap feature for the modified.
Bellefontaine’s Chris Parker continued to shine in the class with the win. Logan McPherson was second, Daniel McPherson took third, Gregg Jackson was fourth and Brad Yelton finished fifth. Mike Carroll won the heat, Buck Purtee took the dash and Parker was the fast qualifier.
Josh Myers won the 44-lap thunder cars feature. He received the $500 first-place prize presented by Diamond Construction. Finishing behind Myers in the top five were Frankie Oakes, Kevin Rabenstein, Scottie Marquis and Hunter Hicks. Alan Lambert was the heat winner and Oakes was the dash winner and fast qualifier.
The Midwest Champ Karts made their track debut Saturday, with Randy Nesbit winning the 25-lap feature. Cole Rhoton was second, Brock Anderson finished third, Chris Peters placed fourth and Scott Carson was fifth. Anderson and Nesbit won heat races and Rhoton was the fast qualifier.
Josh Smith of Quincy won the street stock feature. Filling out the top five were Chris Parker, Chad Small II, Buck Purtee and Robert Roush. Terry Purtee won the heat, Buck Purtee won the dash and Smith was the fast qualifier.
In Saturday’s compact feature, Dustin Hughes earned the checkered flag. Jordan Sage was the runner-up, Jimmy McElfresh was third, Charlie Hoepker took fourth and Tony Heath was fifth. Mike Winthrow won the B Main number one and McElfresh won the second B Main. Tony Heath won the dash and Sage was the fast qualifier.
Racing concluded Sunday, led by the Noble Armor Coating late models. Former track champion Matt Parsons put himself in the winner’s circle for the feature. He was followed in the top five by Josh Smith, Don Mahaffey Jr., Josh Sage and Ryan Fleming. Mahaffey won the dash, Caleb Reschar won the heat and Parsons was the fast qualifier. Chris Parker picked up another win in Sunday’s modified feature. Gregg Jackson was second, Mark Timmerman took third, Scott Jones was fourth and Rob Dutra took fifth. Parker was the fast qualifier.
The compact feature went to Austin Eaton. Jimmy McElfresh took second, Alec Young was third, Charlie Hoepker finished fourth and Bill McElfresh finished fifth. Heat wins went to Damien Weigel, Andrea Swink and Ronnie Constant. Nick Barrett won the dash and Jimmy McElfresh was the fast qualifier.
Buck Purtee crossed the finish line in first in the thunder car feature, but he failed the post race inspection and was disqualified. The win was awarded to Josh Myers. Scottie Marquis, Hunter Hicks, Kevin Rabenstein and Landen Jones filled out the rest of the top five.
The 100-lap enduro race went to Zach Beaty-Lakins. Tyler Mahaffey was second, Nick Barrett took third, Scottie Marquis was fourth and Bobby Terry finished fifth.
Racing is back at Shady Bowl this Saturday. It will be Piqua Harley Davidson Night, featuring several contests for Harley Davidson riders. The late models, compacts and street stocks will also be in action. Racing begins at 7 p.m.