DAGER’S GUITAR

CURRY CHAMP

 10.20.07…Nashville TN…Indiana’s Tony Dager won this years “Fall Brawl 125” “North/South Shootout”, held at the Historic, Music City Motorplex, Nashville, Tennessee. Tony was not only battling the South’s Bill Melvin in the famed Black and Red #145, but Bob Curry for the “07 O’Reilly USA Modified Championship. It was a night of great racing in which Dager did all that he could to come home with the Guitar and a Championship, but Curry would not be denied his second title in two years.

    Things got started on Saturday morning as thirty Mods showed up to do battle on the 5/8 mile oval. Avon, Indiana’s Scotty Tomasik looked fast in practice, but as qualifications rolled around the “South” would shoot first and Trussville, Alabama’s Bill Melvin, with a 19.759, would edge out the “North’s” Joe Axsom’s time of 19.821 to take fast time for the event. After the Top Ten qualifiers re-drawed for feature starting, Bill Melvin would find himself starting tenth, with Michigan’s veteran Chris Orr on the pole, Scotty Tomasik would start second, followed by Joe Axsom, Tim Burkett, Bob Curry, Brad Springer, Tony  Dager, Mike Hadley Jr., and ’07 Lincoln Rookie of the Year Jon Beach

    At the drop of the green from USA starter Steve “Chicken” Little, Tomasik would roar into the lead, followed by Orr and Joe Axsom. By lap two Axsom had passed Orr and was starting to pressure Tomasik when the yellow would fly for Tim Burkett. Burkett had cut down a tire and slammed the turn two wall, ending his day. On the re-start Tomasik would settle in followed by Axsom, Curry, and Hadley as Billy Melvin and Tony Dager started making their way to the front. At lap 45, Mike Hadley’s car would come to rest on the high side of turn four, the result of a broken flywheel and ruining his chance of stealing the “Champions Guitar”. Bill Melvin by now had taken the lead from Dager and seemed to have everything in control. John Mamula appeared to come out of no where, as he worked the high grove to his advantage and was running sixth, when on lap 60 the yellow would fly for the mandatory “Tune and Fuel” ten minute break. Most crews took advantage of it and worked feverishly on their race cars to try and improve them. Dager’s crew worked extra hard to try and give Tony the edge he needed to over take Melvin in his quest for a “Champion’s Guitar” and the USA Championship.

    With half of the race in the books and the other half looking to just as wild as the first, the Mods took to the track once again with Bill Melvin on the point. His lead would be short as Tony Dager quickly over took him for the lead. Melvin would ride a few car lengths behind for now, as action for third, fourth, and fifth was heating up fast. Curry had given up fourth to a hard charging John Mamula, who was now giving Tomasik fits on his high side run to the front. With Tomasik having his hands full with Mamula on the high side, Curry looked to the low side as they came off of turn four. As all three screamed down the front stretch, there would be contact, with Mamula going hard into the outside wall of turn one. When the smoke cleared, Curry and Tomasik had survived with Mamula was on the hook.

    Now with twenty five laps to go….Could Dager hold on? Did Melvin have anything left? Could Tomasik, Curry or even Axsom pull an upset? The green dropped, Dager and Melvin pulled away, with Melvin right on Dager’s tail. Had Melvin been just riding, waiting for a chance? It looked now like he was ready to lead again, but Dager would have no part of it, as the two battled for the lead. With ten laps to go Melvin had started to fade, but still there, Tomasik was third, Curry fourth; close enough to Dager to clinch another Championship, and Axsom fifth. With just three laps to go, disaster would ruin Bill Melvin’s last effort to get around Dager and a great run. There was debris on the front stretch, Dager swerved left to miss it, when Bill Melvin saw it, there was no where to go but right and right into the wall the Red and Black #145 went, ending a great run for Melvin and his team.

     With now a green, white, checker ending, Dager went on to claim the win in the “Fall Brawl 125” North/South Shootout and the “Historic” Champion’s Guitar. Scott Tomasik would come home second, followed by 2007 O’Reilly USA Modified Champion, Bob Curry, by less than 5 points, and Indy’s Joe Axsom fourth. For more info on the O’Reilly USA Modified Series and the 2008 season go to www.usamodifieds.com