CLEARFIELD, Pa. — Michael Lake finally found Hidden Valley Speedway’s Carns Equipment Winners Circle in the Shawn “Sheetz” McGarvey Memorial race Saturday night in what was the first of two visits by the super late models this season.
The late models did a four wide parade lap to honor McGarvey, a former standout late model driver who started his racing career at the bull ring but died unexpectedly in a work related accident in 2009.
Michael Lake and Denny Fenton led the field to the start of the seventh annual event, with Fenton making contact with the wall on the front stretch, causing his car to shoot into the field, resulting in a red flag.
The complete restart, minus a few cars, saw Lake take the lead and set the pace. He had opened up a comfortable lead over Joey Petyak and Phillips when the caution waved on lap 13 for a spinning Rich Runyan Jr.
The restart saw Lake still in the lead and Petyak running second and Phillips was maintaining third, but Petyak’s tires were starting to work, as he was reeling in Lake. Petyak was nipping away at Lake’s lead and pulling along and drawing closer to making a pass each lap. They were side-by-side several times, when Jon Shipley had to throw the caution with four laps to go for a spun Cody Lucas. During the caution, Petyak’s tires cooled down, which is what Lake needed. The final four laps it was Lake leading and taking his first ever HVS win over Petyak, Jeremy Ohl, Phillips and Dylan Fenton.
Other winners were Ryan Jacoby in the semi lates, Jim Bloom in the street stocks, Tim Steis in the pure stocks and Shawn Hadden in four cylinders.