The Salem Speedway Fueled by the Hoosier Lottery couldn’t be stopped by two rain delays and a late-night track lighting failure on Saturday night, Aug. 17. It was “Classic Cars Cruise in on the High Banks”.
Several owners took advantage to ride the banks with their vintage cars in between races. The high banks held all the action.
First out the was the growing Salem Super car division. Eight high-powered stock cars took to the track, each powered by a crate 602 engine.
The Kimmel Cars started out with trouble as Scott Melton kept spinning on laps one and three due to a defective differential.
Brian Rose, the fastest qualifier in this group, suffered a jammed front suspension and a rear flat tire. He stayed on the lead lap and came charging from back to a second-place finish.
The new winner was Shayne Slider and third Todd Kempf.
The next race was the Ford Crown Vic 50-lapper. Early leaders were James Mikesell and Chase Adams. Adams, always a challenger, dropped out on lap seven with front end damage and felt he was not competitive. On lap 13 Bradley Moore and Mark Barrett collided ending their day. On lap 15 Ronnie Basham took over. He is fondly referred to as RB3. C.J. Grider blew a tire on lap 46 creating a four-lap shootout.
Basham charged to the front for the win in the Jeff Roberts-prepared Ford. Second was Dillion Kaelin, and third Kyle LaFever. Early leader James Mikesell captured fourth. There were 11 cars on the lead lap.
The CRA group took to the track and Will Kimmel, fastest qualifier, took over for a flag-to-flag win. Third place was the battle for position with Jon Beach, Jeff Myers, and Joe Cooksey dancing on the banks. The finish ended in that order with Beach, Myers, and Cooksey finishing 2-3-4.
The main event of the night was the Great American Stocks 50. Heath Helton set a new track record for that division. He cruised the .555-mile track at 19.248 seconds. His starting position was sixth due to the invert start. Helton was second by lap 12, but a caution flag caused a restart, and Helton had a bad restart. Brian Bayer took the lead.
It wasn’t until lap 34 after close racing with Bayer that the black Sweet 16 car driven by Helton recaptured the lead. Second at the end of 50 was Brian Bayer and third Jeff Smith. Fourth was Conner Popplewell with his pass at lap 40 over Alex Ware. This fifth place was Ware’s best finish to date in this division. Nine cars were on the lead lap.
In victory lane, when asked who he would like to thank, he said, “First the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that made this possible.” He then continued to mention his sponsors.
The next race will be the return of the 65th running of the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial Race on Saturday, Sept. 7. Joining the program will be the Kenyon Midgets and the Legends. Kenyon Midgets are the creation of the legendary Kenyon brothers, Mel and Don.
Shayne Slider was the winner of the Salem Super Car race Aug. 17.
Ronnie Basham was the winner of the Ford Crown Vic 50-lap race.
Will Kimmel enjoyed a flag-to-flag win in the CRA race.
Heath Helton won the Great American Stocks 50-lap race, the main event on Aug. 17.