By Brenda Starkey
Chronicle correspondent

     Mike Roberts racing the No. 52 street stock proved to be uncatchable as he led the 80-lap all-class main event Sunday, Aug. 26 in the Buck Strauch Dash for Cash at Eagle Track Raceway in Republic.
     The race, which was added after the regular racing season ended, was a memorial race for Strauch, a longtime race driver and Eagle Track organizer who lost his battle with cancer Aug. 17.
     Victory laps Sunday were driven backward on the track, a traditional way for racers to honor a fallen comrade.
     Twelve cars showed up to race in the dash for cash, a race that organizers say will be worked into the regular schedule in future years to honor Strauch.
     The No. 52 car led from the first lap in the main event, which proved to be a test of endurance.
     Levi Picard was the first man out when his No. 79 modified car lost its transmission after the B dash.
     Toby Epperson, driving the No. 39 modified car with a wing mounted to the roof, made a dramatic exit when he had a flat tire and careened into the guard rail at the start of the 11th lap.
     The wing had been a gift from Strauch and was painted with orange flames and the words “No. 11 R.I.P. We love you.”
     Strauch drove the No. 11 modified racer before he became the race organizer.
     The red flag came out, the No. 39 car was pulled into the infield so the wing could be read from the pit area, track volunteers brought out a front loader to repair the guardrail and the 11th lap was restarted.
     Randy Hotchkiss in the No. 64 street stock car moved into second place with Randy Sattler in the modified No. 99 running in third place.
     Sattler went to the pits with radiator problems that kept him making pit stops for the remainder of the race and Cody Simons in the No. 23 street stock car moved into the third place slot.
     Bill Hallam in the No. 88 street stock car passed Simons in the 53rd lap. In lap No. 59 Hotchkiss lost his brakes and coasted to a stop in the infield.
     In the final laps Greg Fisher in the No. 66 street stock car battled it out with Hallam and Simons.
     Fisher clung to second place while the battle continued between Simons and Hallam with the No. 88 car passing No. 23 for the final time in the 75th lap.
     Four cars completed all 80 laps: No. 52 in first place, No. 66 finished second, No. 88 captured third and No. 23 fourth.
     Rob Cochran, who completed 77 laps in the No. 1 street stock car, placed fifth; John Alexander in modified No. 00 took sixth and in seventh was the only fever four car, No. .08.
     All drivers took home cash prize prizes.
     Earlier in the day, Epperson won both the A dash and A heat. Fisher finished second in the A dash while Cochran took second in the A heat.
     Hotchkiss took first in the B dash and second in the B heat. Roberts won the B heat with Jason Hanks in the No. 21 modified car finishing second, reported race officials.