It felt more like a Sunday afternoon in August for the second of three 200-lap/2 hour enduro races this fall at Oakshade Raceway with bright sunny skies and temperatures soaring to near 90 degrees.
The heat did not stop the action on the track as the field took the green flag shortly after 3pm. Craig Dippman had to be an early favorite driving the car that Dan Dippman had dominated in a week ago. But Craig was not as fortunate, suffering mechanical problems with a broken rear end finally ending his afternoon before he could complete 75 laps.
Brad Baklund on the other hand had a good run early in last week’s enduro until he had to make several lengthy pit stops that took him out of contention. This week, Baklund had the 39 car looking stout, taking the lead early and running the entire distance without making a stop.
Baklund had a few close calls. The first one happened when he got hooked together with a lapped car coming off turn four and both cars spun. They got unhooked and both drivers continued on. There were a couple other incidents where Baklund had contact with other cars, but not enough to keep him from taking the checkered flag well ahead of his nearest competitor.
Ryan Desgrange had a strong run in second most of the afternoon and seemed to be the only competition for Baklund though he was several laps down. Desgrange’s luck ran out shortly after the 150 lap mark as a lapped car shot out from the inside and directly into his path. Desgrange could not get slowed up in time and plowed into the car and broke the steering on his vehicle ending his day.
That allowed Jacob Dick to overtake second before the end of the race. Dick finished over 30 laps behind Baklund. Desgrange completed enough laps to hand on to a third place finish with Nate Goodman’s car holding together just enough to finish fourth. Jacob Lazier survived to finish fifth.
The final race of the season happens on Saturday, October 20 with another 200-lap/2 hour enduro race starting at 3pm. The Oakshade Raceway Swap Meet takes place that morning. Also, the haunted hay rides continue every Friday and Saturday night throughout the month of October at the track. Check out www.oakshaderaceway.info for more information.