Oakshade Raceway hosted some of the best racing action of the year Saturday night with an ecstatic Dusty Moore winning his first UMP Late Model Feature at Oakshade in his 14 years of racing there.

B&P Wrecking sponsored the nights events with over 50 UMP Late Models checked in to the pits by race time.

Moore, started on the pole of the 25-lap feature but Duane Chamberlain got the lead by the completion of lap number one after starting right behind the 75 car of Dusty Moore.

Chamberlain continued to run the inside groove through the turns while Moore stayed up high and eventually had enough momentum to pass Chamberlain for the lead on lap six. Kris Patterson followed Moore on the outside into second as Chamberlain slipped back through the top five continuing to hug the inside.

Oakshade Raceway Late Model points leader, Rusty Schlenk, suffered serious mechanical problems one lap later when fire erupted underneath the 91 car bringing out the red flag so that track personnel could extinguish the flames. Schlenk did not return.

Then, coming off turn four on the restart, Ronnie Perrine, Jr. lost a wheel and all heck broke loose behind him as Bill Hahn slammed the front stretch wall and Dean Anderson stuffed his car into the back and under Hahn right in front of the flag stand. The red flag flew once again so the track crew could get the cars separated with the assistance of a fork lift.

Things finally settled down with Moore continuing to lead Patterson until lap 15 when Justin Paxton, who is second in Oakshade Late Model points, got by Patterson for second on the track and then began to hound Moore for the lead.

Paxton made a good run to the inside of Moore with three laps remaining, but Moore fended off the challenge. Paxton regrouped and as the two leaders got into some slower traffic on the final lap, Paxton darted to the inside in the final set of corners.

Dusty Moore was able to barely hang on to pick up his first feature win ever at Oakshade Raceway.

Moore said after the race and after jumping jubilantly up and down on the roof of his car that he has won at tracks across the country, but his win at Oakshade was the most satisfying because of the number of competitors and the level of competition.

The B&P Wrecking sponsored Justin Paxton finished second and came to congratulate Moore in victory lane.

Patterson held on to finish third with Chamberlain taking fourth. Brian Ruhlman posted a top five finish as well followed by Hillard Miller who transferred into the feature through one of the two consolation races and had to start near the tail end of the feature line up.

There wasn’t much time to catch your breath before the UMP Sportsman Feature took to the track with Josh Steinacker looking for his seventh consecutive feature win.

Chris Smith who used to dominate the Oakshade Sportsman division a few years back, started on the pole and led the first four laps until Steinacker and Rusty Schlenk went by on the outside to take over the top two positions.

With Steinacker leading, Schlenk got to the inside to challenge, but a yellow flag for Brian Fisher who was running in the top five put the field back single file.

Steinacker continued to lead with Schlenk in pursuit as they closed in on a pack of slower cars on the final lap which set up a spectacular finish. Schlenk dove to the inside and was ahead as they came off turn four coming to the checkered flag. Steinacker squeezed between Schlenk on the inside and a slower car on the outside. Contact was made and Steinacker’s car flew in the air and landed on the back of Amy Bernard’s vehicle as they crossed the finish line with the nose of Steinacker’s car up in the air and just about a foot ahead of Schlenk.

After the race, Steinacker was a bit sore and apologized for the contact at the crazy finish of the UMP Sportsman Feature.

With Schlenk’s second place finish, Steinacker did not gain much ground in the Oakshade Sportsman point chase which still has a few weeks to go.

Ray Klawitter got by Chris Smith to finish third and Tim Fisher finished behind Smith in fifth.

Tom Ordway added to his Bomber points lead by picking up the victory in the Bomber A Main after starting on the outside of the front row.

Ordway won a three-wide battle for the lead on the first lap and went on to lead all the way to the finish with Dan Dippman running second most of the race.

Jim Scout got by Dippman on the final lap to finish second forcing Dippman to settle for third. Kevin Hanford held on to finish fourth ahead of Jake Rendel.

The win was Ordway’s fifth of the year.

Garry Domoe started at the tail of the Bomber B Main and worked his way to the front to set up an exciting photo finish with Karl Spoores.

Chris Dotson led early, but Spoores took command on lap two.

A series of caution flags kept the field tight and allowed Domoe to move into second by lap six.

Domoe actually got by Spoores for the lead near the conclusion of the race, but Jeff Geis lost a tire on the backstretch that brought out the yellow flag and saved Spoores lead.

That yellow set up a one-lap shootout to the finish. Domoe got to the inside and battled side by side with Spoores all the way to the checkered flag with Domoe getting the victory by just inches over Spoores.

Dotson held on to finish third followed by Cody Tredway and B.J. Gregory.

The exciting finishes continued all the way through the final event of the night, the Bomber C Main.

Jeff Foks led most of the race with Bob Rendel second and lapped traffic once again played a part in the outcome on the final lap. Going into the final set of corners, Foks had the lead and went to the outside of a slower car while Rendel shot to the inside. Foks got forced way up the race track and had to back off allowing Rendel to come off turn four with the lead and the win.

Foks settled for second with Rob Anderzack finishing third after starting deep in the field. Gary Feldkamp and Corrina Belcher rounded out the rest of the top five.

Saturday, August 26 will be Season Championship night for the UMP Late Model division at Oakshade Raceway with Rusty Schlenk leading the points. UMP Sportsmen and Bombers will be back in action as well with gates opening at 4pm and racing at 7pm.

Zack Olger from St. Johns, Michigan set a blistering pace in front of the UMP Late Model Feature at Oakshade Raceway on his way to posting his first feature win of the year.

Multiple incidents involving, Dusty Moore, Kris Patterson, Josh Steinacker, Greg Martin, Aaron Scott and Jeff Clapp early on in the race resulted in a series of complete restarts.

Olger took command after starting on the outside of the front row and began to pull away once some green flag laps were run. A few more cautions kept Olger from getting too far away from Rick Delong and Hillard Miller in the first half of the race.

Duane Chamberlain worked his way up to second and began to close on the race leader. Chamberlain’s progress was halted on lap 19 when he slammed into the backstretch wall after coming off turn two a little two high. Chamberlain limped his way back to the pits relinquishing second back to Delong.

Another caution on lap 20 for debris tightened up the field for a final time with Delong and Rusty Schlenk behind Olger. Schlenk took second place away from Delong on the restart, but Delong battled back to the inside. The battle for second continued all the way to the checkered flag with Olger leading the entire distance.

Schlenk edged out Delong for a second place finish. Casey Noonan was fourth and Hillard Miller finished fifth. Kris Patterson who was involved in an early caution and went to the pits, came all the way back through the field to finish sixth.

After trouble for the second week in a row in the UMP Late Model division, Josh Steinacker hopped into his UMP Sportsman and continued his dominance of the past few weeks in that division.

Steinacker started on the outside of the second row and passed Matt Dornan on lap two to take the lead for good. Ray Klawitter hung with the 83 car of Steinacker for most of the race, but could not get close enough to put much pressure on the race leader.

Steinacker went on to capture his sixth consecutive UMP Sportsman Feature win and continued to whittle away at Rusty Schlenk’s points lead.

Schlenk started in the middle of the pack and got by Klawitter to finish second. Steve Mills had a solid top five run finishing in fourth with Rob Liaeff fifth.

Jake Rendel elected to take the Racer’s Connection Tail Start Challenge and started at the rear of the 20-lap Bomber A Main in an effort to try to win an extra $615 if he could manage to get through the entire field and pick up the victory.

Meanwhile, Dan Dippman and Garry Domoe put on a heated battle for the lead for most of the event with Dippman leading in the early stages.

Dippman pulled away from Domoe a little bit after Domoe had a bit of difficulty navigating around a lapped car. Once Domoe got by the lapped car, he quickly closed back in on Dippman’s rear bumper.

Around lap 16, Domoe got to the inside of Dippman in turn two and as the two driver’s exited the corner, Domoe slid up into the 17 car of Dippman forcing Dippman into the backstretch wall. Both drivers continued on with Domoe taking the lead and receiving a warning from the flagman.

A late caution set up one last chance for Dippman to try to reclaim the lead from Domoe, but Domoe held him off and began to pull away on his way to the checkered flag. Dippman hung on to finish second ahead of last week’s A Main winner, Keven Hanford.

Harold Reiger finished fourth with Tom Ordway, the Bomber points leader, finishing fifth. Tail Start Challenger contender Jake Rendel ended up eighth.

Scot Mills led the early running of a crash filled Bomber B Main with Chris Williams closing in.

Williams was third on a lap five restart and dove past Bob Rendel for second and then put the pressure on Mills for the lead.

Mills was able to hold off the challenge, but another caution on lap eight allowed Williams to get another good restart to the inside of Mills.

The two drivers battled all the way to the finish with Williams taking the victory by the nose of his car. Bob Rendel finished third behind Mills with Rich Ruff and Wade Rick rounding out the rest of the top five finishers.

Not to be outdone, the Bomber C Main produced another exciting finish on a great night of racing action at Oakshade Raceway.

Jeff Krotzer and Ron Leonard put on quite a show at the front of the pack for much of the race with side by side racing for the lead. A couple of caution flags helped Krotzer keep the 16 car of Leonard behind him, but Kyle Light who started at the back of the field was working his way into contention.

Light was up to fourth by lap four and shortly after that was battling with Leonard for the lead. The two drivers continued that battle with Leonard up high and Light to his inside all the way until the final corners. Light drove it in deep in turn three on the final lap and slid up in front of Leonard in turn four. Leonard dove back to the inside making it a drag race to the finish line.

Kyle Light managed to hang on those final few yards to pick up the victory in another side by side finish with Leonard settling for a very close second. Krotzer held on to finish third with Trevar Buter and Gary Fledkamp finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

Exciting racing action continues on Saturday, August 19 at Oakshade Raceway on B&P Wrecking Night with UMP Late Models, UMP Sportsmen and Bombers. Gates open at 4pm with racing starting at 7pm.

Oakshade Raceway braved threatening skies in a futile attempt to get through the UMP Late Model Season Championship Night.

All of the UMP Late Model heat events were completed with Devin Shiels, Brad Eitniear, Rusty Schlenk and Kris Patterson each picking up a win.

Schlenk also won his UMP Sportsman heat which proved to be the final event of the night.

Many racers joined the track crew in an effort to run the track back in after the first downpour. After a little over an hour, the track began to look like it might be raceable after a little more work, but then the skies opened up once again canceling the rest of the program.

In addition to the scheduled American Late Model Series program paying $2,000 to win on Saturday, September 2, Oakshade Raceway will also host double features for the UMP Late Model Division. The UMP Sportsmen and Bombers will have their races made up the following week on September 9, with double features in both divisions. As always, gates will open at 4pm with racing at 7pm.