Ohio Outlaw Motorsports rock Holmes County fairgrounds
Competitors from throughout the state turned out to support Ohio Outlaw Motorsports inaugural flat track race at the Holmes County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Sept. 5.OOM promoted two TT scrambles races at the facility earlier in the season, but Saturday’s event was the first attempt at a small oval short track race for quads and motorcycles. Quad riders were very excited about the paper-clip shaped, clay race course, and turned countless practice laps to help groom the track for racing under the lights.
Two heats set the field for the 12-lap Pro Quad feature, with Millersburg’s Trent Kandel and Derek Davis of Dresden winning the first and second heat, respectively. Kandel rocketed off the line on his Thomas Concrete-sponsored Honda to lead the opening lap, with Davis and Joel Jacobs on his heels. Although Jacobs and Davis were side-by-side coming out of turn two, they were within striking distance of Kandel, who got out of shape in turn four, and dropped to third. Davis edged a wheel ahead of Jacobs at the line on lap two and took the lead, while Kandel was a close third followed by Marvin Troyer and Craig Shoup.
Derek Davis ran a strong low line, riding his SC Racing Apparel and Parts-sponsored Yamaha, leaving only the high side for Joel Jacobs to challenge with his Extreme Tec ATV-sponsored Honda. Coming in on lap four, Jacobs looped-out exiting turn four, surrendering second spot back to Kandel. Davis would not be denied, turning flawless laps for the remainder of the feature.
Further back, Craig Shoup began to edge ahead on his Exodus Cycles-sponsored Suzuki, and with four laps to go, Shoup made a spectacular pass taking third spot from Marvin Troyer.
The Pro Quad victory went to Davis, with Kandel second, Shoup third, Troyer fourth and Jacobs rounding out the top five. The Pro Quad crown was just one of two feature wins for Davis, as Derek rode the SC Racing Yamaha in flawless dominant fashion, leading all 10 laps of the Sportsman Quad division feature.
Kandel put his Thomas Concrete Honda in victory lane for the Big Bore Smooth Tire Quad division, leading all 10 laps, but Big Bore Knobby Tire Quad was a bit more contested. Heat winner Todd Raber of Millersburg had an abysmal start, as Paul Allison led lap one, followed by Josh Jacobs and Raber, who salvaged the first lap, going from the tail to third. Raber edged around Jacobs on lap three, and took the lead from Allison at the halfway mark, winning the feature on his Tarrat Motorsports-sponsored Suzuki.
However, Raber couldn’t duplicate his success in the Senior Quad division, managing second place behind Bellville’s Dan Swank who sailed around the oval on his Polaris, while Raber struggled with traction on the ever changing flat surface. Jesse Jacobs of Mount Vernon won the Open Am Quad feature on the Central Ohio Fabrications sponsored Honda.
As for motorcycle action, St. Louisville’s Jeffery Lowery won both the 250cc Bike and Open Am Bike divisions on a Grey Hogs sponsored Honda, with Jarod VanDerkooi of Mt. Gilead and Hunter Edwards of Mansfield running one and two respectively. Columbia Station’s Joe Baker took the Open Bike victory on his One Eye Customs sponsored Yamaha, with Joe Pittman of Creston second and Billy Smith third on the Dave’s Cycle-sponsored Yamaha.
The next Ohio Outlaw Motorsports event will be flat track racing at Lakeville Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 12, featuring the Inaugural Tim “Smoothy” Rutherford Memorial Pro Quad feature that pays a $2,000 purse and $1,000-to-win. OOM will return to the Holmes County Fairgrounds for a two-day event, with a flat track race on Saturday, Oct. 3, and TT scrambles on Sunday, Oct. 4. Additional information is available on the Web site www.ohiooutlawmotorsports.com.