Gobrecht hauls in $100,000 Historical Big One victory

By Larry Boos

ROSSBURG, OH (August 7, 1999) - Like a coy card player, Kevin Gobrecht didn't lay all of his cards on the table - at least not until the stakes were high enough. And Saturday's kitty of $100,000-to-win at Eldora Speedway's Historical Big One (HBO) for sprint cars was all it took for Gobrecht and his Kenny Woodruff-wrenched team to show their stuff enroute to a bizarre victory. Capturing the companion main event for the National Racing Alliance (NRA) 360 sprints during the rain-plagued maration was Kyle Sauder.

Passing late afternoon rain showers delayed the start of things nearly four hours for promoter Earl Baltes and turned the time trial session into a gambler's paradise. In fact, those two single-lap runs around the one-half mile clay oval were the tell-tale factors of what was to unfold throughout the evening.

The rain-soaked surface was lightning fast and the drivers knew it. A quick time trial run would place them mid-field in the qualifying heat race, a race that advanced only the first three finishers to the A-main - a not-so favorable place to be with only eight laps to determine their fate. But then, if able to make it into the coveted top three, drivers with the quicker time trials started nearer the front in the rich HBO 40-lap finale.

Joey Saldana paced the 44 cars with a single lap run of 13.120 seconds, but that was the extent of his joy for the evening, as he failed to advance into the HBO either through the heats or the B-main and had to settle for an allowed 'quick time' position in the main event, as did second quick qualifier Kenny Jacobs.

With the field narrowed down to the 24 starters, the winds picked up and the threat of rain returned. The weary drivers knew it and and when the green flag was dropped, a hectic chase developed. The race could be as short as 21 laps of the advertised 40 laps if rain interfered.

Rain did interfere, but at lap 16, short of the necessary distance needed to complete the race.

At that time, Sammy Swindell, who just two weeks earlier left Eldora $50,000 richer with his Kings Royal victory, was in command, having led the affair from the start with a jump over Jac Haudenschild. Swindell was not as dominant as he was in his July visit and the possessed Gobrecht knew it. As a light mist began to fall, Gobrecht inched forward and pulled up on to Swindell's tail, much to the delight of the large crowd.

During a red flag clean-up period for a collision between young Daryn Pittman and veteran Johnny Herrera, the rain drops increased and despite an effort to get the race back underway, the track became too slick and the mist turned into a full-fledged thunderstorm, sending fans and teams alike scurrying for cover.

Baltes refused to give in and with the sun about to rise, the track was finally back into shape for the $100,000-to-win run, albeit with a much reduced crowd in attendance.

Swindell got back into the swing of things when the green flag re-appeared and increased his lead to nearly a full staighaway. But Gobrecht wasn't fazed by that domination.

Lapped traffic came into play and Gobrecht pulled Swindell to within his site with ten laps to go. Even though the distance was reduced, Gobrecht needed some help from Lady Luck, and she obliged on lap 34 when Swindell's mount puffed an enormous amount of smoke. A failed rear-end dropped Swindell to the pit area and gave the lead to Gobrecht who drove the Amoco-sponsored machine into victory lane. It was the second consecutive year for that car to be in the Eldora HBO spotlight as Dale Blaney did the trick for the team last year.

Gobrecht was unchallenged for the win after Swindell's lap 34 misfortune, but behind him, things were a different story. Young James Chesson was driving the race of his life for second place, only to lose out to Randy Hannagan and Jac Haudenschild during the final two circuits. He did hang on for fourth, while a consistent Paul McMahan turned in one of his best Eldora runs to record a solid fifth place finish.

Sauder, who during the Kings Royal turned many heads with a flawless run enroute to his 360 Sprint win, did the same thing Saturday night. As the sun came up over the horizon, Sauder inched Mike Linder for the $2,000 victory.

Linder nearly pulled off the upset and actually pulled ahead of Sauder once in lapped traffic, but he was happy to settle for second. Billy Wilburn crossed the line in third spot while Jimmy Johnston and Dwain Leiber completed the top five.

RESULTS

410 SPRINTS

Fast Time: Joey Saldana, 13.120

Heat 1: Donny Schatz, Paul McMahan, Frankie Kerr, Tyler Walker, Joey Saldana, Chad Kemenah, Danny Smith

Heat 2: Kyle Sauder, Johnny Herrera, Kevin Gobrecht, Tim Shaffer, Danny Lasoski, Kenny Jacobs, Steve Suever

Heat 3: Rocky Hodges, Jeff Swindell, Randy Hannagan, Dale Blaney, Greg Hodnett, Mark Kinser, Brian Carlson

Heat 4: Jac Haudenschild, Sammy Swindell, Steve Kinser, Brooke Tatnell, Jeff Sheppard, Dean Jacobs, Dave Freed

Heat 5: Larry Neighbors, James Chesson, Daryn Pittman, Jim Nier, Lance DeWease, Jim Carr, Butch Schroeder

Heat 6: Travis Whitney, P. J. Chesson, Ed Lynch Jr., Andy Hillenburg, Stevie Smith, Kasey Kahne, Brian Paulus, Kent Wolters

C-Main: Danny Smith, Steve Suever, Brian Paulus, Dave Freed, Kent Wolters, Brian Carlson

B-Main: Jeff Sheppard, Greg Hodnett, Stevie Smith, Tyler Walker, Andy Hillenburg, Tim Shaffer, Joey Saldana, Dean Jacobs, Brooke Tatnell, Lance DeWease, Kenny Jacobs, Steve Suever, Dave Freed, Brian Paulus, Dale Blaney, Chad Kemenah, Danny Smith

Historical Big One (40 laps): 1) Kevin Gobrecht, 2) Randy Hannagan, 3) Jac Haudenschild, 4) James Chesson, 5) Paul McMahan, 6) Jeff Swindell, 7) Stevie Smith, 8) Ed Lynch Jr., 9) Frankie Kerr, 10) P. J. Chesson, 11) Donny Schatz, 12) Travis Whitney, 13) Greg Hodnett, 14) Sammy Swindell, 15) Larry Neighbors, 16) Daryn Pittman, 17) Johnny Herrera, 18) Rocky Hodges, 19) Steve Kinser, 20) Tyler Walker, 21) Kyle Sauder, 22) Jeff Sheppard, 23) Joey Saldana, 24) Kenny Jacobs

NRA 360 SPRINT INVADERS

Heat 1: Mark Long, Mike Linder, Jim Johnston, Billy Wilburn, Steve Kreig, J. R. Stewart, Dennis Ward Jr., Brad Powley, Lee Powers, Roger Spieth

Heat 2: Bobby Clark, Greg Wilson, Darren Long, Richard Cox, Dwain Leiber, Tom Rhoades, Trent Walter, Ron Cochran, Mark Graybill

Heat 3: Kyle Sauder, Tim Allison, Mike Miller, Kent Wolters, Rick Branham, Jeff Williams, Jerry Bowersock, Jim Dayton, Jeff Hoying

B-Main: Tom Rhoades, J. R. Stewart, Jeff Williams, Jerry Bowersock, Jim Dayton, Dennis Ward, Trent Walter, Jeff Hoying, Ron Cochran, Brad Powley, Lee Powers, Mark Graybill

A-Main (20 laps): 1) Kyle Sauder, 2) Mike Linder, 3) Billy Wilburn, 4) Jimmy Johnston, 5) Dwain Leiber, 6) Steve Kreig, 7) Greg Wilson, 8) Jerry Bowersock, 9) Kent Wolters, 10) Tom Rhoades Jr., 11) Mark Long, 12) Rick Branham, 13) Darren Long, 14) Richard Cox, 15) Tim Allison, 16) Jeff Williams, 17) Dennis Ward Jr., 18) Mike Miller, 19) J. R. Stewart, 20) Bobby Clark