Don't tell Cody Aumen that Hornets can't sting twice particularly in the winter months. For the second consecutive race, in the Steve Copp Construction sponsored winter Hornet Series event, Aumen found his way to the chequered flag in the second event of the season.On a very cold day, and snow falling in the early stages, seventeen cars entered the two hour or two hundred lap Enduro race at Western Speedway. Rhett Smith and Glenn Rand shared the front row for the start of today's race with Rand getting the edge with the drop of the green flag. Doug Hopwood quickly took over the second spot followed by Kevin Knight and Heath Cooper, the 2010 Demo Truck Champion.
Drivers seemed to be a bit tentative in the early going as the track was wet and on lap six, the caution flag dropped for the first time as Smith nailed one of the big tires that form the front stretch chicane head on and crews had to rearrange the tire. Smith was able to continue racing as very little damage was done to his car in this instance. With the drop of the green flag, Rand again led the field with Darrell Midgley now running fifth. On lap fifteen, Midgley took over the fourth spot but before the lap was complete he entered the pits with a flat tire leaving Steve Copp in that position. On lap twenty-one, Cooper moved up to run third dropping Knight back to fourth and Copp dropped him back a spot four laps later. Cody Aumen very quietly moved from starting fifteenth to run in the fifth position on lap thirty-nine and had his sights set on the front runners. On lap forty-five he passed Copp and took over the fourth spot as by now the track was getting dryer and speeds were picking up. On lap fifty-three, Cooper took over the second spot and Aumen also moved up to run third and over the next few laps traded positionsback and forth with Copp . Hopwood, one of the early front runners, entered the pits on lap fifty-seven while on the track Aumen took over the second spot by lap sixty-three and taking the lead two laps later passing Rand going down the backstretch. His lead only lasted two laps as he spun out going through the back corners on turn three handing the lead to Cooper with Rand, Copp, and Knight running the top four positions. Aumen got his car going in the right direction and did so only dropping back to the fifth position.
On lap eighty-four, Copp took over the second spot followed by Knight with Rand still with the front runners and Aumen gaining ground. On lap ninety-six, Aumen passed Rand and took over the third spot and at the half way marker ran second. The previous four or five laps saw the top five drivers running in a very close pack amking things interesting. Aumen continued his strong running and took over the second spot on lap one sixteen dropping Rand back to third with Copp running fourth and Midgley getting back into the top five as well. Over the next few laps positions four, five, and six changed almost every lap between Copp, Rand, Knight, and Midgley On lap one twenty-six Copp entered the pits with a broken rad hose and Knight had a tie rod give up putting him out for the rest of the event. Copp had repairs done and would continue racing while up front Aumen caught Cooper and went by for the lead on lap one twenty-nine. Over the next several laps the field stayed pretty well intact until Midgley took over the fourth spot on lap one fifty-six dropping Rand back one position. On lap one sixty-five Blair Davis moved up to run in the fifth place as Hopwood entered the pits with problems. On lap one seventy-nine, Midgley drove by Rand for the third spot still chasing Aumen and Cooper as they ran one-two.
Over the remainder of the event no one could get by Aumen as he took the chequered flag followed by Cooper, Midgley, Rand, and Davis. As is the custom, Midgley handed the third place trophy to Rand as he has done so many times in the past content to just race. The next event for the winter schedule is on December 12th rain, snow, or shine.
No comments:
Post a Comment