Gregg Satterlee
The huge week of racing continued on Friday at Eldora Speedway as competitors took to the track to contest the 26th annual Dirt Late Model Dream. Following a draw, drivers would be divided into two groups for the purpose of contesting two completely separate shows. As had been the case on Wednesday, the Group A and Group B preliminary events would be used to set the starting lineups for Saturday’s heat races.
At the end of the night at the Rossburg, Ohio track, it was Gregg Satterlee who used a mid-race restart to his advantage and ultimately scored the win in the Group B feature race. The Indian, Penn. driver known as ‘The Truth’ earned $10,000 for his efforts.
A total of 71 cars were signed in for competition.
Jimmy Owens led the way in Group B qualifying with a lap of 15.214 seconds around the half-mile clay oval topping Brandon Sheppard, Jonathan Davenport, Kyle Bronson, Gregg Satterlee, Bobby Pierce, Chris Ferguson, Mike Marlar, Jensen Ford, Josh Rice, Max Blair, and Shannon Babb. It would be those twelve drivers who were inverted for the purpose of determining the lineups for the Friday night heat races.
Gregg Satterlee was the victor in the first heat race for this group as he beat out Jensen Ford, Jimmy Owens, Jason Feger, and Zack Dohm while Bobby Pierce outran Brandon Sheppard, Josh Rice, Chris Madden, and Tyler Bruening in the second preliminary.
Jonathan Davenport bested Chris Ferguson, Max Blair, Johnny Scott, and Jacob Hawkins in heat three just before Shannon Babb was victorious over Kyle Bronson, Mike Marlar, Dale McDowell, and Chase Junghans.
It was Billy Moyer who earned entry into the feature out of the B-main along with Stormy Scott, Mason Zeigler, and Kody Evans.
When the green flag waved over the 25-lap feature it was Babb who took the race lead with Satterlee, Davenport, Ford, and Ferguson in tow. Bronson broke into the top-5 quickly then shot by Ford on lap 4 to grab the fourth position. Meanwhile, Babb began to pull away from the pack by lap 6.
Davenport and Bronson fought over the third spot yet managed to close in on second-running Satterlee. By lap 11 the top-4 of Babb, Satterlee, Davenport and Bronson ran in tight formation as they battled for position. On lap 12, Bronson took to the high side of the track to get by Davenport for third.
A lap 17 caution for Zeigler would prove to be a pivotal moment in the race.
On the ensuing restart, Babb slipped high through turns one and two allowing Satterlee to close in as the cars roared down the backstretch. Going into turn three the No. 22 car dropped to the inside and was able to complete the pass for the lead.
Further back, Bronson and Davenport continued to scrap for third while Ferguson returned to the top-5 with less than five laps remaining. Bronson closed in on Babb in hopes of capturing the runner-up spot but was unable to make the pass.
In the end, Gregg Satterlee sailed under the checkered flag to claim the win.
Feature Finish: 1. Gregg Satterlee, 2. Shannon Babb, 3. Kyle Bronson, 4. Jonathan Davenport, 5. Chris Ferguson, 6. Jensen Ford, 7. Jimmy Owens, 8. Brandon Sheppard, 9. Chris Madden, 10. Bobby Pierce, 11. Tyler Bruening, 12. Josh Rice, 13. Dale McDowell, 14. Max Blair, 15. Billy Moyer Sr., 16. Zack Dohm, 17. Jacob Hawkins, 18. Kody Evans, 19. Jason Feger, 20. Mason Zeigler, 21. Johnny Scott, 22. Mike Marlar, 23. Stormy Scott, 24. Chase Junghans
