After four years of steady growth, the OVDCA was faced with several challenges for the ’98 season. Once predominately a dirt series, the Ohio Caverns Touring Series was fortunate to secure 12 asphalt events between Shady Bowl and Columbus Motor Speedway in ‘98. Running both dirt and asphalt resulted in many rules issues that had to be resolved. Unfortunately, due to track closures and commitments that were not honored, the touring series was also seriously lacking in dirt events for the season. This reduced some of the incentive for those competitors who preferred dirt tracks in seeking the series championship. The series also felt the loss of regular competitors Bo Wiley, Ray Leslie, Todd Barstow and Steve Rahal’s team, and saw only limited appearances by ’97 Series champion Ed Vallette, Jeff Staggers, ’96 Rookie of the Year Shawn Stevens, ’94 champion Buddy McBride, Spence Stearns, Jason Glick and Doug Eagle.
Despite car counts under 20 at some events, the OVDCA was pleased to pay the full purse at all races ($300 to win, $50 to start) and often paid tow money ($25) to those who did not run the feature. The series also received a vote of confidence from promoters Charlie Stapleton (Shady Bowl Speedway) and the Nuckles‘ family (Columbus Motor Speedway) who were rewarded when car counts grew throughout the year at the asphalt events. The largest car count of the season was at the dirt 3/8 -mile Midway Speedway in September, with over 30 Dwarfs competing for a special $500 to win purse, including competitors from West Virginia, Deerfield Speedway and 35 Raceway along with the OVDCA regulars.
New OVDCA competitors for ’98 included Mike Weisberg, who finished a strong fourth in points and won Rookie of the year in the ex-Buddy McBride Pro Chassis car with a stock GSXR engine. Keith Bailey was a regular competitor at Shady Bowl, with five top 10 finishes in ten starts in a Dwarf Car Company car. Gary Denis won a Shady Bowl feature in his first year in the Dwarfs driving for Chuck Engler, also in a Dwarf Car Company car. Other newcomers included Shilo Miller, Ed Barok, John Miller, and Reed Rutter.
Chad Pendleton was the man to beat before moving to a Late Model Sportsman car at Columbus in July. Chad won seven of the first ten races, both in his own Torgerson car and in Bill Hostetler’s Pro car. Chad’s success followed him in the Sportsman division, with several heat race and a feature win in this highly competitive class. After Chad’s departure, the series saw five different winners in the next six races, with only Ed Vallette repeating. Other feature winners during ’98 included Terry Hall, Jeff Staggers, Jason Glick, Tracy Fritter and Randy Tripplett.
Wayne Fitzpatrick established himself as the ’98 Series champion by virtue of ten top 5 finishes for the season. Although he prefers asphalt, Wayne’s hard work and constant efforts to improve netted him two 3rd place finishes at Attica Raceway Park on dirt. Wayne ran a Dwarf Car Company car sponsored by Accurate Fabrication, Hall’s Electronics, and Maximum Street Performance. A threat to win on any given night, Wayne’s best chance for a feature victory slipped away when electrical problems while leading ended a strong run at Shady Bowl in August. Others falling just short of feature victories included Mike Sell, who improved dramatically over the course of his second season, Weisberg, Bill Hostetler, Bob Miller and Rick Brown.
