Sanders wins amid controversy at Beech Bend Raceway Park

Photo Courtesy of PBO Media Productions

By Rob Spires/ Ken Ten PR

Bowling Green, Ken. (July 2)-The fireworks came a couple nights early as the Ken Ten Pro Late Model series invaded Beech Bend Speedway in Bowling Green, Ken., on Friday for the Independence Day Twin 50s. Sammy Sanders has been a fixture in the winner’s circle at Beech Bend in recent years, and Friday’s races were no exception. The Mt. Juliet, Tenn., driver made easy work of the field en route to capturing both checkered flags on the night.

Sanders began his night by winning the AR Bodies fast time award in qualifying. Due to the redraw for starting positions, Sanders found himself on the inside of the second row as the cars came to the green flag to start the first feature. From there, it only took Sanders until the third lap to work his way around pole sitter Chris Harmon.

The first feature was only slowed by two brief cautions. The first was for a Danny Smith spin in turn 3 on lap 13, while the second occurred on lap 17 when Mason Mingus and Davey Coble made contact in turn 4. Both drivers were sent to the rear of the field for their part in the incident.

Sanders, unfazed by the cautions, or ensuing double file restarts, won the first feature by almost a full straightaway over second place Chris Harmon and third place Brian Cherry.

“I had to do some hard racing with Harmon on the restarts, but we were fortunate enough to stay ahead of him and keep the lead,” Sanders said.

If the first feature was somewhat docile, the second was anything but. All lead lap cars from the first 50 lapper were inverted for the second, putting Coble on the pole, and Sanders in the 11th position as the cars came to the green flag. Coble was able to stretch a bit of a lead at the start, but the action was intense behind him.

While Coble was fighting off contenders on restarts following minor spins, Sanders was carving his way through the field. By lap 25, he had worked his way up to the third position. A spin by Jay Parrish on lap 29 tightened the field up once again. As the cars entered turn 1 on the restart, Sanders made contact with second place driver Mason Mingus, sending Mingus for a spin. Under Ken Ten rules, if two cars make contact bringing out a caution, both cars are sent to the rear of the field. However, Beech Bend officials determined that since the incident had occurred on a restart and the cars had not made a full lap, both drivers would be allowed to keep their original positions.

After being put back into the third position, Sanders was able to make easy work of Coble and Mingus to take his familiar position at the top of the leader board. Mingus and Coble, along with Brian Cherry battled behind Sanders. On the 43rd lap, Cherry made contact with Mingus sending him spinning. Both drivers were sent to the rear of the field; however, Mingus refused to comply with the ruling. Track officials pulled Mingus’ scorecard and the Brentwood, Tenn., driver pulled his car off the track and into the garage area.

The rest of the race was easy sailing for Sanders and he made it a clean sweep of the night by setting the quick time in qualifying and taking both ends of the twin 50 lap features. Coble was able to cross the line in second, and Harmon finished third.

“That was an exciting race,” Sanders said of the second feature. “This is a bottom groove track for most of the guys, so we were able to make some passes on the outside. I hate that I got into [Mingus]. I thought I had a line, and he thought he was clear. I circled to the rear, but they sent me back to the front. That wasn’t my call,” Sanders said.

“[Sanders] spun [Mingus], he should have been sent to the rear,” said a frustrated Coble after the race. “I’m not mad at Sammy, but the track didn’t make the right call,” he added.

Controversy aside, it was an exciting way for fans to kick off their Fourth of July weekend. The next race, at Nashville’s Fairgrounds Speedway, is sure to be equally exciting. Sanders is a former champion at the historic 5/8 mile track, and Coble is coming off a strong run in an independent race at the track earlier this month.  Be sure to catch all the action on July 17.

Race 1 Final Results:
1. Sammy Sanders
2. Chris Harmon
3. Brian Cherry
4. Danny Smith
5. Roger Parker
6. Hunter Willis
7. Tom Schuette
8. Brian Royalty
9. Mason Mingus
10. Jay Parrish
11. Davey Coble
12. Tim Hollis
13. Chris Workman
14. Keith Montgomery
15. Dennis White
16. Mark Oliver
17. Mark Day
18. Jason Jones
19. Chad Willis
20. Wayne Jones

Race 2 Final Results:
1. Sammy Sanders
2. Davey Coble
3. Chris Harmon
4. Chad Willis
5. Tim Hollis
6. Hunter Willis
7. Brian Cherry
8. Jay Parrish
9. Keith Montgomery
10. Chris Workman
11. Mason Mingus
12. Brian Royalty
13. Danny Smith
14. Ton Schuette
15. Mark Oliver
16. Roger Parker
17. Dennis White
18. Jason Jones
19. Wayne Jones
20. Mark Day

Point Standings:
1. Tim Hollis- 292
2. Brian Royalty- 252
3. Davey Coble- 210
4. Mason Mingus- 204
5. Roger Parker- 202
6. Hunter Willis- 170
7. Jason Jones- 164
8. Chad Willis- 142
9. Sammy Sanders- 124
 10. Josh Weston- 116
10. Robbie Brown- 116
12. Chris Harmon- 114
13. Damon Ecoff- 112
13. Jason Jones- 112
15. Dr. Jeff Berg- 108
16. Wayne Jones- 106
17. Tony Conway- 104
18. Brian Cherry- 102
19. Marty Taylor- 100
20. Gregg Carby- 96
20. Will Kimmel- 96
20. Martin Belcher- 96
23. Blake Hillard-92
24. Danny Smith- 90
25. Chris Workman- 88
25. Mike Masters- 88
25. Jared Smith- 88
28. Jay Parrish- 86
29. Tom Schuette- 82
30. Steve Brock- 80
30. Ryan Isaacs- 80
32. Keith Montgomery- 76
32. Jerrod Foley- 76
32. Kevin Willis- 76
35. Jason Fuller- 72
36. Mike Bargo- 68
37, Mark Oliver- 62
38. Dennis White- 60
39. Mark Day- 50