#9 - Top 10 Craziest Things...

Editor's Note - This blog is the second of a 10-part series that will appear over the course of the next several weeks.  This series counts down the "Top 10 Craziest Things I Have Ever Seen At A Race Track".

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#9  –  Lake Cumberland Speedway 7/22/06

What Happened:  In a truly bizarre final five laps, the top three cars took each other out on lap 36 (of 40).  16th-starting Scotty Earl then found himself on the point, despite having a broken control arm on the left front.  Meanwhile David Webb, who went to the tail of the field for bringing out a caution on lap 18, was charging his way back to the front of the field.

At Lake Cumberland Speedway in Burnside, KY on July 26, 2006, a stellar field of 36 O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass competitors was trimmed down to 24 cars with Chris Combs and Victor Lee on the front row of the “Rumble on the Lake 40” with Combs getting the early race advantage.  Lee wasted no time showing his strength as he stormed to point on lap 3 with Combs, David Webb, Timmy Yeager, and Justin Rattliff in tow.  Rattliff took fourth from Yeager on lap 4 as the caution flew one circuit later for a slowing Aaron Hatton.

Webb took advantage of the Delaware double-file restart and nabbed second spot away from Combs.  As Rattliff and Yeager continued to duel, that duo would surpass Combs shortly thereafter, dropping him to fifth.  With Webb hounding Lee for the lead, 7th-starting Mike Marlar became a factor moving himself into fourth on lap 10.  A lap 12 caution for Johnny Wheeler kept the field tight with Lee showing the way ahead of Webb, Rattliff, Marlar, and Yeager.

On the restart, Webb raced side-by-side with Lee for the top spot as Marlar moved to the outside of Rattliff and stole third momentarily as that pair ran door-to-door as well.  Behind them, 16th-starting Scotty Earl was quietly picking his way through the field as he grabbed the 6th position on lap 15.  On lap 18, Webb raced hard into turns one and two in a bid for the lead, but quickly stabbed the brakes and spun his car to a stop in an effort to keep from taking out race leader Victor Lee.

With fast qualifier Webb now at the tail of the field, Lee would have Rattliff, Marlar, Earl, and Combs in his rear view mirror for the lap 18 restart.  When racing resumed, Marlar shot the outside of Lee while Rattliff went to the inside.  The three-wide battle for the top spot would see Marlar credited with leading lap 19 and Rattliff at the helm one circuit later.  Lee would be shuffled back to fourth as early race leader Chris Combs found a new breath of life and roared into the third position just after the halfway point.  Just a few circuits later, Earl would power his mount into fourth as Lee faded to fifth.

Rattliff, who was showing left front suspension damage to his ride, somehow managed to stay on the point and maneuver his way through the back of the pack.  With 10 laps to go, Marlar and Combs closed the gap on race-leader Rattliff while Scotty Earl, who was also showing severe damage to his left front, held down the fourth spot with Dustin Neat now in fifth.  Behind them, 17th-starting Larry Gray used the ultra racey surface to move into 7th while both David Webb and Johnny Wheeler cracked the top 10 after their spins earlier in the race.

As the final 10 laps ticked away, Marlar and Combs swapped the bridesmaid honors back and fourth as they continued to close back in on Rattliff.  With just four laps remaining, 5th and 6th-running Dustin Neat and Bobby Carrier Jr. would be caught up in an accident eliminating both drivers from the race.  On the restart, Rattliff led Marlar, Combs, Earl, and Gray to the Delaware double-file restart with David Webb, Mike Jewell, Victor Lee, Johnny Wheeler, and Anthony Adams now rounding out the top 10.

When racing resumed on lap 36, Marlar went high in a bid for the lead with Combs applying the pressure on the bottom.  The complexion of the race would change one lap later when Marlar and Rattliff made contact coming off turn four and collected the third place car of Combs.  Marlar would be black flagged for working on his car outside the designated “hot pit” as Rattliff fell to the tail of the field and Combs retired from the event.

With his left front suspension damage, 16th-starting Scotty Earl suddenly found himself at the front of the pack.  David Webb had worked his way back through the field after his lap 18 spin to inherit second with Larry Gray now third, Victor Lee fourth, and Mike Jewell fifth.

Earl brought the field to the green and led the pack into one and two as Webb darted to the inside and Gray shot to the outside in a three-way bid for the lead.  With two laps to go, Webb motored ahead of Earl bringing Lee with him.  As teammates Earl and Wheeler contested in a fierce battle for third, Webb received the white flag with Lee glued to his rear decklid.  Lee would take a look inside of Webb on the final circuit, but Webb’s momentum carried him back in front of Lee and onto to the win.  In a wild dash to the finish, Lee would cross in second with Wheeler third, Jewell fourth, Earl fifth.

Looking Back:  Nothing that happened at “Hardgrove’s House of Hell” ever surprised me, but this race certainly threw me for a loop.  According to my notes, this race actually had three different leaders on lap 36 (due to cautions and restarts and whatnot).  The fact that Webb was able to pull off the win is somewhat amazing.  It’s also worth noting that this was the second race that my wife (then girlfriend) Jayme had ever been to.