By Jerry Curry, Staff Writer

The “Fall Brawl” at Salem Speedway happened Saturday night, Sept. 21, complete with boxings gloves and trophy.

The first race started at 6 p.m. with Crown Vics on the small inner ¼ mile track.

John Lister held off several challenges. Driver Doug Wicker was hot on his tail, but had to settle for second place in this 25-lap race. Third place went to Kaden Cook. There were nine cars on the lead lap out 15 Ford Crown Vics.

Next up were the Legends, with race cars that are small reproductions of body styles for cars of days gone by. There is just enough room for the driver.

Leading at the half-way point was Johnny Weaver, and Max Olmsted was second. Olmsted made a late-race pass to win, making up for last race out when he misjudged the finish line, causing him a victory. Second was Johnny Weaver, and bringing home third was John Robbins.

The last race on the ¼ mile were the Scrappers. They ran a kidney pattern. It was pure mayhem as almost anything goes. It was no surprise when Justin Fiedler took the checkered flag for the win. Second was Tony Kelly, and third, Donnie Elrod.

Next up were the Salem Super Cars. This division uses retired ARCA car bodies with crate engines. It was 25 laps of all-out speed. Jamie Mosley, the second fastest qualifier, won. He was overtaken by heat and transported off the track in an air-conditioned ambulance at the end of the race. Second place went to Joe Cooksey, and third, Brian Rose.

The Ford Crown Vics took to the track for 50 laps of very competitive racing. Because there were lots of yellow flags, race control in a new format cut the race to 40 laps. The time limit on this race was 50 minutes. The yellows allowed Ronnie Basham to pit and fix his car without going a lap down.

There were several NASCAR type wrecks where several cars caught up in spins were collected.

The last laps were door-to-door racing with Basham and Noah Allison battling it out for the win. Basham held off the charging competitor and took first place, and Allision, second place. Third was Roger Vincent. There were 15 cars on the lead lap.

The main event was the 75-lap G.A.S. race. There were several lead changes.

At one point, Chuck Barnes Sr. looked like the car to beat, but he dropped out on lap 57.

Heath Helton, the fastest qualifier, took the lead and could not be caught. He also broke his own track record in qualifications.

This race lasted the whole 75 laps, and the win belonged to Helton. Chuck Barnes Jr. was the only one who could have caught Helton. Barnes held down second, and third was Jeff Stith.

Austin Baum was crowned the Great American Stock division champion. Baum is a very consistent racer, and that’s what it takes to win a championship.

Photos courtesy of Jason Greene