For many years, the Camp Barnes Benefit Stock Car race has been a highlight of the area’s motor-sports shows.
This year’s 34th running, at Delaware International Speedway in Delmar, was shortened by Mother Nature’s soggy red flag. A full field of Modified Lights waited on the grid, ready to battle for a $1,000 purse, when a steady drizzle became a steady downpour, forcing raceway officials to call the event. Only three features raced.
Racers in the three rained-out classes will get a chance to compete in their scheduled order. One per week, they will be inserted into Saturday’s regular show on the half-mile clay oval, starting last Saturday, July 15. A total purse of $37,000 will be awarded.
Before a standing-room-only crowd of Delmarva race fans, a full field of Late Models left the grid for the night’s first feature race. Donald Lingo Jr. of Millsboro earned the pole; veteran Ricky “The Rocket” Elliott of Seaford shared front row.
With the crowd on their feet, screaming for their favorites, Lingo and Elliott led the field out of Turn 4, headed for the waving green flag ahead. Darryl Hills hit the throttle and hustled into second from third, threatening at every corner. Lingo went low, Hills high and into the lead. He pulled away from Lingo and the rest of the field, only to have his huge lap-three lead cut by the first of six cautions.
Hills hustled back into the lead, leaving Elliott and Lingo scrapping over second behind him. Elliott worked by Lingo and began threatening Hills. Elliott got a nose on Hills in Turn 3, after a drag race down the back straight. Hills shut the door, entering the corner as close to the bottom as he could get, to block Elliott’s charge.
“The bottom became the best place to run,” said Elliott, adding, “He (Hills) was running on the bottom.”
As they passed the stripe for the 12th of 25 times, caution waved again — as it would the next two laps. Elliott grabbed the lead after the third caution and showed them through two more before beating Lingo at the end. With just two laps remaining, the final caution waved. Elliott won the two-lap shoot-out with Lingo close behind.
According to Elliott, “It was a tough race, especially in this heat. Darryl (Hills) is a tough competitor.”
Hills hung onto third, with Anthony Rushing and Ray Kable Jr. trailing in the top five.
A full field of Big Block Modifieds rolled off the grid, led by pole-winner H.J. Bunting. Bunting blasted into the early lead. Just as he reached Turn 3, the tail pack was coming through Turns 1 and 2. Behind him, racers tangle in Turn 1, bringing out the caution. When racing resumed, Bunting blasted away again with Milford racer Beau Wilkins glued to his rear bumper.
“We’ve been struggling, but we found something in our setup that made the car awesome,” said Wilkins. “He (Bunting) was making the same mistakes every lap.”
Wilkins made his move and took the lead. After 22 uninterrupted laps, the caution flag waved again. Wilkins led the final restart. He ran away with it from there. Behind him, Jimmy Horton and Billy Pauch scrapped over second.
“The car was flawless. Everything was perfect,” said the 23-year-old winner. “The track was awesome, best it’s been all year. You could go anywhere. The track was racy.”
Horton won the battle for second. Billy Pauch was third; Richie Pratt Jr. followed in fourth; and Wilkins’s father, Bobby Wilkins, completed the top five.
Bill Brittingham bagged the Little Lincoln Vintage car division with perfection. Outside-pole-winner Tim Chambers chased him for 20 laps. Ron Wilson crossed third; Jim Miller III in fourth; and Donald Robinson Jr. closed out the top five.
Delaware International Speedway hosts races every Saturday night through November. Gates open at 5 p.m.; practice starts at 7 p.m., with heat and mains to follow.