Margeson overtakes Seidelman at Stateline

by Andrew Kunas

POST FALLS, Idaho - Tony Seidelman led every lap except one, and that one lap was the one that counted in the end.

Seidelman got loose on the final lap and Tacoma’s Evan Margeson took advantage, making the pass for the win in the Washington Midget Racing Association event at Stateline Speedway in northern Idaho.
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Seidelman, out of Spanaway, Wash., had led from the start while Margeson steadily moved his way forward from his tenth starting position. After passing Ravensdale, Wash. driver Dallas Melby for second on lap 26 of the 35-lap event, Margeson closed in on Seidelman as time was running out. Seidelman, driving the Randy Manners-owned Hawk with a Sage Chevy motor, got squirrelly coming out of turn two of the high-banked, ¼-mile asphalt oval, which allowed Margeson to get inside Seidelman on the backstretch, then shooting ahead going through the third turn to win it.

“It could’ve been better,” said Seidelman, who said he didn’t know Margeson was coming, “to lead every lap but one. It’s slightly disappointing, but it was a good point night.”

The victory was Margeson’s third career WMRA triumph and his first in the young season. Margeson’s win came aboard Harold Beald’s Beast, powered by an Ed Pink Ford motor.

“The car was good. It was hooked up big time,” Margeson said. “We kinda lost it in the dash and heat races, but we were able to bring it back for the feature.”

Margeson, who set fast time in qualifying with a time of 12.722 seconds, struggled and finished fourth in the A Dash and fifth in the A Heat before getting the car back in form for the feature.

“Once I got by (Melby), I knew there couldn’t be too many laps left, so I tried hard to run down (Seidelman),” said Margeson, who said he had no problem with oil dry that was put down after Skeeter Flake dropped fluid on the track.

After Portland’s Chris Petersen spun around in turn three on lap 14, Flake was discovered to be leaking fluid and was forced to exit the track. The only other stop to racing came on lap 21 when 2006 Rookie of the Year Ethan “Snake” Livernash of Spanaway spun his car around between turns three and four when he was running in the fifth position, Livernash would recover to finish seventh.

Everett’s Matt Stone, who won last year’s WMRA event at Stateline, was running as high as third aboard his own Beast with an Esslinger motor until he lost his brakes on lap 25. After making a save in turn four, Stone struggled and slid backwards, eventually finishing eighth.

Melby, driving father Chris’s Blue Dot with a Stanton Mopar, finished third ahead of DuPont, Wash.’s Ken Ferris in his own Beast with an Ed Pink Ford motor and Edmonds, Wash. driver Brad Curtis aboard the Joan Curtis Beast with a Mopar.

Vader, Wash.’s Brea Lopez finished sixth, followed by Livernash, Stone, Petersen, and rookie Eric Hector.

A four-lap B Dash and four-lap A Dash were run. Seidelman won the B Dash and Lopez was victorious in the A Dash, which featured the four fastest qualifier. Picking up wins in the two eight-lap heat races were Melby and Stone.

The WMRA next races at the Wenatchee Valley Super Oval in East Wenatchee, Wash. on Saturday, May 26. They then race at Ephrata Raceway Park in eastern Washington on June 9.

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Washington Midget Racing Association
Stateline Speedway
Post Falls, ID
May 5, 2007

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

11 cars

Qualifying:
No. Name Hometown, Owner, Time
1. 50 Evan Margeson, Tacoma, WA; Harold Beald, 12.722 seconds
2. 12 Brad Curtis, Edmonds, WA; Joan Curtis, 12.853
3. 28 Ken Ferris, DuPont, WA; Ken Ferris, 12.883
4. 25 Brea Lopez, Vader, WA; Dan Press, 12.903
5. 10 Matt Stone, Everett, WA; Matt Stone, 12.905
6. 55 Ethan “Snake” Livernash, Spanaway, WA; Scott Livernash, 12.920
7. 98 Chris Petersen, Portland, OR; Tom & Judy Maples, 13.002
8. 9 Dallas Melby, Ravensdale, WA; Chris Melby, 13.013
9. 44 Tony Seidelman, Spanaway, WA; Randy Manners, 13.055
10. 17 Skeeter Flake, Woodinville, WA; Skeeter Flake, 13.253
11. 92 Eric Hector, Ephrata, WA; Allen Dixon, 13.464

B Dash (4 laps): 1. 44 Tony Seidelman, 2. 9 Dallas Melby, 3. 17 Skeeter
Flake, 4. 98 Chris Petersen

A Dash (4 laps): 1. 25 Brea Lopez, 2. 12 Brad Curtis, 3. 28 Ken Ferris, 4.
50 Evan Margeson.

B Heat (8 laps): 1.  9 Dallas Melby, 2. 44 Tony Seidelman, 3. 98 Chris
Petersen, 4. 92 Eric Hector, 5. 17 Skeeter Flake.

A Heat (8 laps): 1. 10 Matt Stone, 2. 55 Ethan “Snake” Livernash, 3. 28 Ken
Ferris, 4. 25 Brea Lopez, 5. 50 Evan Margeson, 6. 12 Brad Curtis.

Feature (35 laps): 1. 50 Evan Margeson, 2. 44 Tony Seidelman, 3. 9 Dallas
Melby, 4. 28 Ken Ferris, 5. 12 Brad Curtis, 6. 25 Brea Lopez, 7. 55 Ethan
“Snake” Livernash, 8. 10 Matt Stone, 9. 98 Chris Petersen, 10. 92 Eric
Hector, 11. 17 Skeeter Flake.

Lap leaders: 1-34: Seidelman, 35: Margeson.

WMRA: Washington Midget Racing Association
www.wmraracing.com