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Aaron Reutzel reels off first ASCS Gulf South win at Golden Triangle Raceway Park

Aaron Reutzel, the 19-year-old from Clute, TX, has been doing his part to earn the ASCS Gulf South championship by tearing off a Gulf South record 13 consecutive top-ten feature finishes.

On Friday night, he made it 14 top-tens in a row with an exclamation point by capturing his first career American Sprint Car Series feature win in the 25-lap Gulf South main event at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

Reutzel gunned into the lead from the pole position and fought off several challenge from Michael Dupuy to post the win aboard the Motor Mike-powered KCR Racing No. 87 Triple-X, extending his series points lead to 78 markers in the process.

Tommy Bryant, second to Reutzel in the points race, claimed runner-up honors, with Channin Tankersley, Greg Rilat and Gary Watson rounding out the top five.

Ray Allen Kulhanek picked up Hard Charger honors by racing from 13th to sixth, with Kent Lewis, Jr., Scottie McDonald, Travis Elliott and Travis Knighton completing the top ten.

Blake Roberts, Knighton, Lewis and Tankersley topped heat race action for the 28-car field, with Eric Baldaccini winning the “B” Main.

ASCS Gulf South Region Results from Golden Triangle Raceway Park:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 21-Blake Roberts, 2. 30-Scottie McDonald, 3. 35-Greg Rilat, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 5-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 6. 11m-Brandon Moseley, 7. 20-Terry Monroe.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 61-Travis Knighton, 2. 00-Michael Dupuy, 3. 10-George White, 4. 69-Larry Howery, 5. 93-Brandon Berryman, 6. 19-Klint Angelette, 7. 30x-Bean Elliott.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 1b-Kent Lewis, Jr., 2. 21T-Tommy Bryant, 3. 70-Anthony Reaves, 4. 16-Cody Adams, 5. 52-Roger Oakes, 6. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr. DNS: 12-Kent Lewis, Sr.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 3. 3-Gary Watson, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 40-Junior Jenkins, 6. 51-Jimmy Brooks. DNS: 23-Darryl Wills.

“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 40-Junior Jenkins, 3. 93-Brandon Berryman, 4. 20-Terry Monroe, 5. 30x-Bean Elliott, 6. 16-Cody Adams, 7. 19-Klint Angelette, 8. 11m-Brandon Moseley, 9. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 10. 52-Roger Oakes, 11. 69-Larry Howery, 12. 51-Jimmy Brooks. DNS: 12-Kent Lewis, Sr., 23-Darryl Wills.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 21T-Tommy Bryant, 3. 71-Channin Tankersley, 4. 35-Greg Rilat, 5. 3-Gary Watson, 6. 5-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 7. 1b-Kent Lewis, Jr., 8. 30-Scottie McDonald, 9. 15T-Travis Elliott, 10. 61-Travis Knighton, 11. 40-Junior Jenkins, 12. 30x-Bean Elliott, 13. 16-Cody Adams, 14. 00-Michael Dupuy, 15. 21-Blake Roberts, 16. 93-Brandon Berryman, 17. 10-George White, 18. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 19. 70-Anthony Reaves, 20. 20-Terry Monroe.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Aaron Reutzel 2,098, 2. Tommy Bryant 2,020, 3. Ray Allen Kulhanek 2,001, 4. Channin Tankersley 1,974, 5. Scottie McDonald 1,894, 6. Brandon Berryman 1,873, 7. Kent Lewis, Jr. 1,860, 8. Greg Rilat 1,793, 9. Gary Watson 1,638, 10. Jimmy Brooks 1,669.

by Lonnie Wheatley

ASCS Gulf South Sprint Cars set for another Golden Triangle Raceway Park-Houston Raceway Park double

After an off weekend to regroup, the American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region fires back to action with the third of four scheduled Golden Triangle Raceway Park – Houston Raceway Park weekend doubles this Friday and Saturday.

Friday’s stop at Beaumont’s Golden Triangle Raceway Park, the fifth of the year, offers up $2,000 to win, while Saturday’s third event of the year at Baytown’s Houston Raceway Park includes a $3,000 winner’s share.

Leading the way into the weekend is Clute, TX, teen Aaron Reutzel, who is riding a Gulf South record streak of 13 consecutive top-ten feature finishes. While looking for his first series win, Kulhanek has built up an advantage of 74 points over Conroe’s Tommy Bryant, who added his second win of the year in the series most recent outing at Texana Raceway Park on July 4.

Former series champion Ray Allen Kulhanek, who topped the series most recent outing at Houston Raceway Park on June 20, enters the weekend just eleven points behind Bryant in third, with 18-year-old Highlands shoe Channin Tankersley and New Caney’s Scottie McDonald rounding out the current top five in points.

The balance of the current top ten in points includes two-time and defending series champion Brandon Berryman (Missouri City), Kent Lewis, Jr. (Willis), Greg Rilat (Texas City), Jimmy Brooks (College Station) and Gary Watson (Beaumont).

With 14 ASCS Gulf South events in the books thus far in 2009, nine different drivers have reached victory lane.

Friday’s card at Golden Triangle Raceway Park is slated to get under way at 7:45 p.m., with Saturday’s action at Houston Raceway Park set to go green at 7:00 p.m.

Golden Triangle Raceway Park is located 9.5 miles west of I-10 on US 90 near Beaumont, TX. For more information, contact the track at 409-752-7200.

Houston Raceway Park is located east of Houston on I-10 to Exit 798, then three miles south on State Road 146, then 0.8 miles southeast on FM 1405, then 1.5 miles northeast on FM 565. For more information, contact the track at 281-383-7223.

The ASCS Gulf South Region is set for 27 nights of racing action at eleven different tracks throughout Texas in 2009.

The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.

Past ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners at Golden Triangle Raceway Park:
6/19/09 – Travis Rilat
5/16/09 - Gary Wright
5/16/09 - Tommy Bryant (4/24 Makeup Feature)
3/6/09 - Gary Wright
8/15/08 - Channin Tankersley
7/18/08 - Gary Watson
5/9/08 - Channin Tankersley
2/29/08 - Jason Johnson
9/28/07 - Jason Johnson
6/22/07 - Michael Dupuy
5/18/07 - Brandon Berryman
4/6/07 - Jason Johnson
9/29/06 - Kevin Ramey
8/18/06 - Jason Johnson
6/23/06 - Gary Watson
8/19/05 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
6/17/05 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
4/15/05 - Travis Rilat
9/18/04 - Kelly Angelette
7/9/04 - Stephen Chevallier
* 9/28/02 - Michael Dupuy
* 9/27/02 - Tim Crawley
7/5/02 - Buddy Bodden
5/24/02 - Jason Johnson
* 4/5/02 - Zach Chappell

Past ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners at Houston Raceway Park:
6/20/09 – Ray Allen Kulhanek
5/16/09 - Eric Baldaccini
9/27/08 - Jason Johnson
6/21/08 - Michael Dupuy
5/10/08 - Brandon Berryman
3/1/08 - Jack Dover
9/29/07 - Brandon Berryman
8/18/07 - Travis Rilat
5/19/07 - Johnny Miller
9/30/06 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
8/19/06 - Brad Best
6/24/06 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
4/8/06 - Travis Rilat
8/20/05 - Lane Whittington
6/18/05 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
7/10/04 - Kevin Ramey

* - Indicates events held in conjunction with ASCS National Tour.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Eric Baldaccini takes ASCS Lone Star feature at Kennedale Speedway Park

Eric Baldaccini put a halt to the Joe Wood, Jr. domination of Kennedale Speedway Park by winning Saturday night’s 25-lap ASCS Lone Star Region main event atop the ¼-mile dirt oval.

Baldaccini wrestled the lead away from Wood in the final handful of circuits to post his second Lone Star win of the season aboard his father’s Smiley’s Racing Products No. 4 Maxim.

Kolt Walker paced the opening nine laps of the feature before Wood, who topped both ASCS Regional events at Kennedale Speedway Park, took command. Wood led until slipping too high in turns one and two on the 21st lap to open the door for Baldaccini.

Baldaccini beat Wood to the stripe, with Brad Welborn, Walker and Marvin Lough rounding out the top five. Current ASCS Lone Star points leader Kevin Ramey was sixth, with Justin Melton, Scott Reneau, Michael Lang and Robert Sellers completing the top ten.

Melton, Wood and Ramey topped heat race action, with Chad Wilson winning the “B” Main.

ASCS Lone Star Region Results from Kennedale Speedway Park:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 11-Justin Melton, 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 4. 1r-Scott Reneau, 5. 25-Robert Sellers, 6. 5m-Glenn Martin, 7. 9-Brian Parker, 8. 14b-Robert Byrom, 9. 12-Shawn Mize.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 2. 65-Skip Wilson, 3. 39-Marvin Lough, 4. 76-John Ricketts, 5. 74e-Claud Estes, 6. 87x-Billy Melton, 7. 26-Dalton Steed, 8. 40-Junior Jenkins, 9. 88-Andy Rea.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 2. 17w-Brad Welborn, 3. 45k-Kolt Walker, 4. 14-Michael Lang, 5. 20-Chad Wilson, 6. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 7. 71T-Shane Thompson, 8. 5c-Chris Coker.

“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 20-Chad Wilson, 2. 87x-Billy Melton, 3. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 4. 40-Junior Jenkins, 5. 12-Shawn Mize, 6. 14b-Robert Byrom, 7. 5m-Glenn Martin, 8. 9-Brian Parker, 9. 71T-Shane Thompson, 10. 26-Dalton Steed, 11. 88-Andy Rea, 12. 5c-Chris Coker.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 3. 17w-Brad Welborn, 4. 45k-Kolt Walker, 5. 39-Marvin Lough, 6. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 7. 11-Justin Melton, 8. 1r-Scott Reneau, 9. 14-Michael Lang, 10. 25-Robert Sellers, 11. 74e-Claud Estes, 12. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 13. 20-Chad Wilson, 14. 40-Junior Jenkins, 15. 14b-Robert Byrom, 16. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 17. 12-Shawn Mize, 18. 65-Skip Wilson, 19. 87x-Billy Melton, 20. 76-John Ricketts.

ASCS Lone Star Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Kevin Ramey 1,282, 2. Brad Welborn 1,210, 3. (tie) Justin Melton and Matt Clevenger 1,140, 5. Claud Estes 1,097, 6. Michael Lang 1,091, 7. Eric Baldaccini 1,033, 8. Scott Reneau 994, 9. Robert Sellers 979, 10. Kolt Walker 967.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Texan Gary Wright finds Victory Lane in ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series

For the first time in 2009 championship points competition, Gary Wright reached Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters victory lane by topping Saturday night’s 30-lap feature event at I-90 Speedway.

Wright’s 125th National win didn’t come without a stiff challenge from local ace Chad Meyer though, with Tim Crawley then closing in on “The Texan’s” tailtank as the checkered flag flew on the fast-paced affair atop the high-banked, 3/8-mile dirt oval.

“For no bigger than this track is, this place is really fast,” Wright commented after the $6,000 triumph. “It was really good, both top and bottom and we had the right car for it.”

Meyer, who paced the opening ten rounds before surrendering the point to Wright, turned up the heat on the eventual winner after a lap 18 restart, briefly surging into the lead at one point as the final laps clicked off.

Wright edged back out front though, moved to the bottom and went on to secure the win aboard Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 9x Maxim. It was his sixth overall ASCS win of the year after four Regional scores and a Speedweek victory.

“I saw somebody down there and knew it was probably time to move to the bottom,” Wright explained. “Turned out the bottom was probably a little faster than the top had been.”

While Wright started the main event in sixth, it was polesitter Meyer outgunning Danny Wood for the lead at the drop of the green flag. Meyer set a strong pace up front, with Wright battling past fourth-starter Darren Long and then Wood by the fifth circuit to move into second.

As Meyer reached the tail of the 24-car feature field, Wright raced by on the high side of turns three and four to take command on the 11th circuit. But, Wright was never able to slip away, as Meyer kept pace while fending off seventh-starter Crawley at the same time for the runner-up slot.

Wright found clear track when the caution flew after 18 laps for Long’s turn two spin. The caution also offered new life to Meyer though, as he began pressuring Wright for the point when action resumed.

The pair battled for the lead in side-by-side fashion for several laps before Wright finally regained control of the lead on the 24th lap. As Meyer began to lose ground, Crawley moved in to try to make it three wins in a row after sweeping last weekend’s Riverside double.

But, as the checkered flag flew upon Wright, Crawley had to settle for runner-up honors aboard Mike Ward’s McCarver-powered Boater Sports No. 88 Maxim just a couple of car-lengths back.

Travis Rilat battled from eighth to take the show position aboard the Shark-powered F&J Construction No. 29 Triple-X, with defending series champion Jason Johnson also advancing a handful of positions to claim fourth in Lanny Row’s Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle.

Meyer rounded out the top five in the Weseman-powered No. 1w, with Tony Bruce, Jr., racing from 15th to sixth. Paul McMahan climbed from 19th to seventh, with Wood slipping to eighth at the stripe.

After utilizing his first provisional of the year, Jesse Hockett charged from 23rd to ninth, while 18th-starter Shane Stewart rebounded from a cut right rear tire two laps into the main to complete the top ten.

Chad Corken, Crawley, Johnson, Meyer, Butch Hanssen and Randy Droescher topped heat race action for the 52-car field, with McMahan, Stewart and Gary Taylor winning the “B” Mains.

Johnn Cressman flipped in turn two in the night’s opening heat race. Cressman walked away uninjured but done for the night.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
I-90 Speedway – Hartford, SD

Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points to “A” Main; Balance to 3 “B” Mains):

Heat One (10 Laps): 1. 11-Chad Corken, 2. 2d-Dusty Ballenger, 3. 81au-Gavin Punch, 4. 22-Matt Heinzerling, 5. 2k-Kevin Ingle, 6. 2-Kenneth Walker, 7. 19-John Lambertz, 8. 85-Justin Saathoff, 9. 56-Johnn Cressman.

Heat Two (10 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 82-Jason Danley, 3. 11m-Troy Meyer, 4. 3d-Paul McMahan, 5. 10a-Ricky Logan, 6. 5-Eric Lutz, 7. X-Chuck Swenson, 8. 28-Mitch Runge, 9. 91a-Aaron Wendt.

Heat Three (10 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 75c-Casey Heser, 3. 27-Jody Rosenboom, 4. 7-Darren Long, 5. 1a-Robby Wolfgang, 6. 25-Dylan Peterson, 7. 1x-Justin Glaser, 8. 32-Greg Valentine, 9. 5x-Dave Glennon.

Heat Four (10 Laps): 1. 1w-Chad Meyer, 2. 94-Danny Wood, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 57-Shane Stewart, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 53-Jack Dover, 7. 10-Justin Jacobsma, 8. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 9. 5w-Dusty Wasmund.

Heat Five (10 Laps): 1. 8k-Butch Hanssen, 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 13-Jesse Hockett, 4. 1-Sean McClelland, 5. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 6. 101-Chuck McGillivray, 7. 23-Seth Bergman, 8. 8-Lane Brenden.

Heat Six (10 Laps): 1. 24-Randy Droescher, 2. 13jm-Jordan Martens, 3. 91-Gary Taylor, 4. 05-Bill Boles, 5. 71-R.J. Johnson, 6. 3-Donovan Peterson, 7. 15x-Joe Riedel, 8. 0x-Jess Beckett.

“B” Mains (Top 2 From Each Advance to “A” Main):

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 3d-Paul McMahan, 2. 11m-Troy Meyer, 3. 13-Jesse Hockett, 4. 10a-Ricky Logan, 5. X-Chuck Swenson, 6. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 7. 2-Kenneth Walker, 8. 8-Lane Brenden, 9. 25-Dylan Peterson, 10. 23-Seth Bergman, 11. 17b-Ryan Bickett. DNS: 56-Johnn Cressman.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 53-Jack Dover, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 1a-Robby Wolfgang, 5. 19-John Lambertz, 6. 28-Mitch Runge, 7. 1x-Justin Glaser, 8. 5x-Dave Glennon, 9. 2k-Kevin Ingle, 10. 91a-Aaron Wendt, 11. 85-Justin Saathoff, 12. 27-Jody Rosenboom.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 91-Gary Taylor, 2. 5-Eric Lutz, 3. 71-R.J. Johnson, 4. 3-Donovan Peterson, 5. 05-Bill Boles, 6. 101-Chuck McGillivray, 7. 22-Matt Heinzerling, 8. 0x-Jess Beckett, 9. 10-Justin Jacobsma, 10. 15x-Joe Riedel, 11. 32-Greg Valentine, 12. 5w-Dusty Wasmund.

“A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 88-Tim Crawley, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 1w-Chad Meyer, 6. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 7. 3d-Paul McMahan, 8. 94-Danny Wood, 9. 13-Jesse Hockett, 10. 57-Shane Stewart, 11. 81au-Gavin Punch, 12. 5-Eric Lutz, 13. 7-Darren Long, 14. 1-Sean McClelland, 15. 91-Gary Taylor, 16. 11m-Troy Meyer, 17. 11-Chad Corken, 18. 8k-Butch Hanssen, 19. 82-Jason Danley, 20. 2d-Dusty Ballenger, 21. 75c-Casey Heser, 22. 24-Randy Droescher, 23. 53-Jack Dover, 24. 13jm-Jordan Martens.

Lap Leaders: Chad Meyer 1-10, Gary Wright 11-21, Chad Meyer 22, Gary Wright 23-30.

Note: Jesse Hockett and Sean McClelland utilized Lucas Oil ASCS provisionals to start the “A” Main. It was the first of the year for Hockett and the second of the year for McClelland.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 20): 1. Gary Wright 1,146, 2. Jason Johnson 1,132, 3. Shane Stewart 1,120, 4. Travis Rilat 1,043, 5. Tim Crawley 1,027, 6. Paul McMahan 1,018, 7. Tony Bruce, Jr. 1,007, 8. Danny Wood 1,006, 9. Jack Dover 975, 10. Jesse Hockett 917, 11. Nick Smith 870, 12. Sean McClelland 830, 13. Gary Taylor 786, 14. Brady Bacon 752, 15. Darren Long 731, 16. Gavin Punch 727, 17. Kenneth Walker 719, 18. Chad Corken 701, 19. Seth Bergman 649, 20. Ricky Logan 639.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Dillon Spreen, 15, wins his first Texas Super Racing Series Late Model race at Thunderhill

Fifteen year-old Dillon Spreen of Boerne, Texas, won his first-ever Texas Super Racing Series (TSRS) Late Models feature race Saturday night at Thunderhil Raceway in the “Rebecca Cooper CPA 75.”

Spreen held off 19-year-old Cody Smith of La Vernia, Texas, at the line for the victory. Eleven cars finished on the lead lap; points leader Jake Kruger (Bastrop, TX) finished 11th.

Finishing behind Spreen and Smith were Brian Moczygemba (San Antonio), Robert Barker (fast qualifier award; Boerne, TX) and Lloyd Alexander (San Antonio) rounded out the top five. Cary Stapp (San Marcos) was the top-finishing rookie, claiming a 6th-place finish.

TSRS Late Models - Official Results of the “Rebecca Cooper CPA 75″ at Thunderhill Raceway

Pos. Car# Driver, Hometown (TX) Laps

1. 81 Dillon Spreen, Boerne, 75
2. 05 Cody Smith, La Vernia, 75
3. 50 Brian Moczygemba, San Antonio, 75
4. 17 +Robert Barker, Boerne, 75
5. 1 Lloyd Alexander, San Antonio, 75
6. 99 *Cary Stapp, San Marcos, 75
7. 2 Bobby Teer, Jr., Comfort, 75
8. 33 Mike Williams, Hockley, 75
9. 12 Adam Haugh, Round Rock, 75
10. 02 Ugo Bevione, Austin, 75
11. 14 Jake Kruger, Bastrop, 75
12. 28 *Jeff O’Neill, Round Rock, 74
13. 7 Chris Schild, Leander, 67
14. 49 Robert Walton, Round Rock, 63
15. 79 Joe Aramendia, San Antonio, 61
16. 4 *Levi Krauss, Schertz, 38
17. 72 *Kendall Bumbera, Sealy, 11

* — denotes TSRS LM series rookie
+ — denotes Fast Qualifier

by Chuck Licata
Photo by Tory Christopher

Live Updates from Thunderhill Raceway, 7/11/09 @ 5:00 p.m.

Kevin Ramey rules ASCS Lone Star debut at RPM Speedway

Kevin Ramey extended his American Sprint Car Series Lone Star Region points lead by wiring the field in Friday night’s series debut atop the cozy confines the tight, ¼-mile RPM Speedway.

Starting from the front row, Ramey gunned into the lead at the outset aboard the Wells-powered City Vending/Melray Oil & Gas No. 7m and led all the way in the 25-lapper to secure his third series triumph of the season.

The two-time ASCS Sooner Region champion vying for the inaugural Lone Star title took the checkered flag in front of Skip Wilson, with Marvin Lough, Justin Melton and Claud Estes rounding out the top five.

Brad Welborn was sixth, with 16th-starter Matt Clevenger, Martin Edwards, Glenn Martin and Robert Sellers completing the top ten.

Chad Wilson, Melton and Sellers topped heat race action, with Martin winning the “B” Main.

ASCS Lone Star Region Results from RPM Speedway:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 20-Chad Wilson, 2. 39-Marvin Lough, 3. 65-Skip Wilson, 4. 9-Brian Parker, 5. 45-Martin Edwards, 6. 5c-Chris Coker, 7. 79-Ryan Hall, 8. 14b-Robert Byrom, 9. 76-John Ricketts.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 11-Justin Melton, 2. 14-Michael Lang, 3. 26-Dalton Steed, 4. 1r-Scott Reneau, 5. 87x-Billy Melton, 6. 5m-Glenn Martin, 7. 40-Junior Jenkins, 8. 71t-Shane Thompson.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 25-Robert Sellers, 2. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 3. 74e-Claud Estes, 4. 17w-Brad Welborn, 5. 67-Jeff Day, 6. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 31m-Matt Clevenger.

“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 5m-Glenn Martin, 2. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 3. 67-Jeff Day, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 40-Junior Jenkins, 6. 79-Ryan Hall, 7. 71T-Shane Thompson, 8. 14b-Robert Byrom, 9. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 10. 87x-Billy Melton, 11. 76-John Ricketts.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 2. 65-Skip Wilson, 3. 39-Marvin Lough, 4. 11-Justin Melton, 5. 74e-Claud Estes, 6. 17w-Brad Welborn, 7. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 8. 45-Martin Edwards, 9. 5m-Glenn Martin, 10. 25-Robert Sellers, 11. 40-Junior Jenkins, 12. 20-Chad Wilson, 13. 1r-Scott Reneau, 14. 26-Dalton Steed, 15. 67-Jeff Day, 16. 5c-Chris Coker, 17. 79-Ryan Hall, 18. 9-Brian Parker, 19. 14-Michael Lang, 20. 4-Eric Baldaccini.

ASCS Lone Star Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Kevin Ramey 1,144, 2. Brad Welborn 1,066, 3. Matt Clevenger 1,014, 4. Justin Melton 1,004, 5. Claud Estes 969, 6. Michael Lang 959, 7. Brian McClelland 896, 8. Eric Baldaccini 883, 9. Glenn Martin 878, 10. Scott Reneau 860.

by Lonnie Wheatley

TSRS Late Model ‘Young Guns’ grabbing headlines heading into Saturday’s “Rebecca Cooper CPA 75″ at Thunderhill Raceway

The “Young Guns” are dominating the trip to the Texas Super Racing Series (TSRS) Late Model Victory Lane in 2009.

Jake Kruger (Bastrop, TX) is 16 years old. Cody Smith (La Vernia, TX) is 19 years old. Their combined age (35) is one year younger than Robert Barker (Boerne, TX), the 36-year-old TSRS veteran who’s the only driver to get between Kruger, Smith and complete domination of the last seven TSRS series races.

Starting with the 2008 season-ending race (the Texas Stock Car Spectacular), Kruger, who turned 16 on June 25, has won four of the last seven TSRS races. Kruger won the ’08 Spectacular and has won three more races this season. Kruger is the reigning series Rookie of the Year.

Smith, who turns 20 on Aug. 17, has won two races this season, including the March 28th and May 23rd feature races at Thunder Hill Raceway (THR) in Kyle, TX. Smith, who’s also running in ASA and other late-model series, was the 2007 TSRS LM Rookie of the Year and runnerup champion.

Barker, meantime, won the ’09 series opener – the AllState Texas Thunder 50 at THR. Barker, who sits fourth in the ’09 points standings, is joined by fellow racing “veteran” Bobby Teer, Jr. (who turned 32 on April 2) in the Top-5. Kruger leads the pack with 994 points, followed be Teer, Jr. (27 points back), Smith (70 points back) and Barker (73 points back). Dillon Spreen, another TSRS LM “Young Gun,” holds down fifth place in the points, 88 points behind Kruger.

Spreen could be considered the “wildcard” factor for TSRS. The Boerne, TX resident, who turned all of 15 on May 29, is in his second season with TSRS and is well overdue to win his first series race at any time. In fact, Spreen – a seven-time champion Quarter Midget champion – is good enough to reel off a couple wins in a row once he reaches Victory Lane the first time.

Still, Barker and Teer, Jr. are ready to knock their younger counterparts from their perch.

“We’re making adjustments all the time but I think we’re going back to the basics,” Barker stated. “We were trying to make some small adjustments but now we’re going back to what worked for us at the beginning of the year. “

“We’re ready to win a race,” said Teer (Comfort, TX). “We keep getting close and I thought we had the car to do it (at the race) in Houston. We want to win the championship but we’re working to win races.”

Both “older guys” expressed respect for the younger guys. “I’m still racing old late-model equipment,” Barker remarked. “I am working hard with what I have but I think those guys have better equipment, they have great help and their crew chiefs have a ton of experience. They also test a lot – hey, they probably have run more laps at Thunder Hill than I have. I’m not making excuses at all – those guys are very good drivers. But we’re going out to win again this weekend.”

Teer, Jr. added, “They (Kruger and Smith) have really good cars and equipment. You have to hand it to them – they’re doing what they need to do. They have great crew chiefs helping them out as well. And they’re both really good drivers. But I’m learning on the fly as I work on my car – we’ll have something for them.”

For more information about TSRS Late Models, please visit www.manracingpromotions.com. For information about Thunder Hill Raceway, visit www.thunderhillraceway.com.

TSRS All-Time Feature Races Win List

Driver # of feature wins
Tommy Gural 8
*Chris Schild 8
Bobby Joe New 6
Jeff Pollard 5
*Cody Smith 5
*Jake Kruger 5

*-denotes active driver

by Chuck Licata
Photo by Jeff Garvin

Two more in Texas - RPM Speedway and Kennedale Speedway Park - for ASCS Lone Star Region this weekend

The North Texas Sprint Car racing scene fires back to life this weekend as the American Sprint Car Series Lone Star Region takes to a pair of DFW Metroplex ovals.

On Friday night, the series breaks new ground at Crandall’s RPM Speedway. Then, on Saturday night, the series travels west to Kennedale Speedway Park near Fort Worth.

Friday’s card atop the cozy confines of RPM Speedway marks the series debut atop the newly-built oval in its first year of operation. The series’ originally scheduled RPM debut on May 15 was rained out.

Saturday’s event at Kennedale Speedway Park marks the first of two events at the track just across the parking lot from series fixture Cowtown Speedway. Oklahoma City’s Joe Wood, Jr., topped both Regional events at Kennedale Speedway Park last year.

In the inaugural season of ASCS Lone Star competition, Fort Worth’s Kevin Ramey is out to the lead in championship points chase with a 66-point advantage over Princeton’s Brad Welborn. Two-time and reigning Sooner Region champion Brian McClelland of Tulsa, OK, is third in points, with the Flower Mound duo of Matt Clevenger and Justin Melton rounding out the current top five.

The balance of the current top ten in ASCS Lone Star points includes Michael Lang (Mesquite), Claud Estes (Godley), Kolt Walker (Graham), J.P. Bailey (Fort Worth) and Eric Baldaccini (Keller).

With the initial seven events of the season in the books, Ramey is the series only repeat winner by topping both events at Cowtown. Other event winners include Skip Wilson, Nick Smith, Gary Wright, Jerry Bell and Baldaccini.

Friday’s racing action at RPM Speedway is slated to go green at 8:30 p.m., with Saturday’s card at Kennedale Speedway Park firing off at 7:00 p.m.

The semi-banked, ¼-mile RPM Speedway dirt oval is located southeast of Crandall, TX, on US 175 to CR 4106 (Bud Story Road exit) to the intersection of CR 4104. For more information, contact the track at 972-427-6822.

The semi-banked, ¼-mile Kennedale Speedway Park dirt oval is located in Kennedale, TX, just east of Fort Worth off I-20 Exit 442-A, then 1.7 miles southeast on Mansfield Highway, then 1.6 miles southwest on New Hope Road, then 0.3 miles east on Hudson Village Creek Road. For more information, contact the track at 817-478-7223 or 817-229-0287.

The inaugural slate of ASCS Lone Star Region competition consists of 18 events at nine different tracks throughout North Texas in addition to one venture north of the Red River to Oklahoma City’s State Fair Speedway.

Past ASCS Regional Feature Winners at RPM Speedway:
None – First Sprint Car event in track history

Past ASCS Regional Feature Winners at Kennedale Speedway Park:
7/25/08 – Joe Wood, Jr.
6/27/08 – Joe Wood, Jr.

The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Jake Kruger’s recent success in TSRS Late Models had a rough start

The date – April 19, 2008. It was the Texas Super Racing Series (TSRS) Late Models’ season-opening race at Thunder Hill Raceway, a 3/8-mile asphalt oval in Kyle, TX.

As one would expect at the first race of the season, there were a lot of good-looking race cars lined up for driver introductions. Except for then-14-year-old Jake Kruger, a series rookie – he and his team were standing out on the front straightaway without a car. They were there to be recognized, but reality hit when the race started and the Krugers – with their car sitting without a working engine – were watching the race from the stands.

“It was a very sick feeling,” recalled Deb Kruger, Jake’s mom and co-owner of Kruger Motorsports along with her husband Bill. “We went through five motors trying to get ready for the first race. The last one blew up in practice. It was just a bunch of bad luck.”

The Krugers, smarting from that experience, went with a different engine builder, Lozano Brothers of San Antonio, an outfit that still provides engines for team.

Obviously, Jake and his parents, along with sister Nikki and the rest of the team, had no where to go but “up” from that first race.

Fast forward just four weeks later – TSRS had its first race at Houston Motorsports Park (HMP). On May 17, 2008, Kruger – just two races from not having a car to run – went out and beat the field (which included future 2008 series champ Heath Stewart) for his first-ever TSRS victory.

As the ’08 summer got hotter so did Kruger, who reeled off seven more top-10 finishes before the season’s last race, the Sept. 27th Texas Stock Car Spectacular at THR. Kruger capped off a fantastic “comeback” season by grabbing the checkers in that race, clinching the TSRS Rookie of the Year award with his second win of the season. He also claimed fifth place in the overall ’08 drivers’ points standings.

Fast forward once more, now to this coming Saturday (July 11, 2009). As Kruger and the rest of the TSRS Late Model drivers are getting ready for the seventh race of the ’09 season – the Rebecca Cooper CPA 75 at THR – the Bastrop, TX resident (now 16 years old) is setting the pace for the series.

Thus Kruger, who didn’t have a car to hit the track just 15 months ago, has won three of the last four races and four of seven since taking the ’08 Texas Stock Car Spectacular feature. Kruger (994 points) leads racing veteran Bobby Teer, Jr. by 27 points going into Saturday’s race at Thunder Hill.

“This season is a continuation of the last race of last season,” stated Kruger, who’s sponsored by Kruger Motorsports, Turner Motorsports, BMF Shocks, Gen-Tech Generators and Oval Components. “Knowing we’ve won half the races this year makes us feel pretty good. I definitely have more experience from last year to this year and I believe I’ve learned from that.”

Noting that he’s got five total wins and trails TSRS all-time win leaders Chris Schild and Tommy Gural (eight wins apiece), Kruger added, “We’re just three races off the all-time win list – it’d be great to tie Chris and Tommy. Still, our season-long goal is to win the championship although right now we’re just out to win races.”

Among the many reasons for the team’s success is the crew - Lance Gaither, Brandon and Dillon Gaither and TJ Hopper – along the crew chief, John Heil.

“I personally want to thank all the crew members for their dedication,” Deb Kruger stated. “They work their butts off to make good things happen for Jake. And we wouldn’t be where we’re at right now without folks like Turner Motorsports and BMF Shocks (owned by Heil) – plus we’ve had a lot of help from Oval Components.”

Bill Kruger, a former racer himself, added, “Having good people to work with us and work around us has been a huge plus for this team. A lot of times we have people step up and just do things. This crew doesn’t have to be told what to do; usually everyone jumps in and does it. Everyone does their job and we all get along.”

Jake points to the great relationship with his crew chief as the big reason for his personal success on the track.

“With John Heil as our crew chief, we’ve won four of the six races we’ve been working together,” stated the ’09 TSRS LM points leader. “John is very easy to talk to – he can explain everything to me so I understand it. I can talk to him about the car – he makes a recommendation and so I’m learning how to talk about making adjustments to the car.

“You’re not going to win if you don’t have a great relationship with someone who works on your car. We spend a lot of time together; we have a special bond between us. I can talk to him about anything; we don’t always talk about racing. My mom once said John said I’m like the son he’s always wanted to have. That means a lot to me.”

Jake’s father concurred. “John is very meticulous about a lot of things. He makes me that way and both of us working together helps make sure we keep everything in line. If I don’t think of something he does and if I don’t think of it he does.”

While the team chases the ’09 TSRS LM championship, Bill Kruger admits the team is also looking towards the near future.

“We hope to run a few Pro Late Models races this year,” stated the elder Kruger. “We’re in communications to get some seat time, both locally (in Houston) and on the East Coast. We hope to make a trip out east to see how and where we stack up against that competition. We want to get our feet wet and want to make sure we keep moving up the ladder.”

The elder Kruger concluded, “We’re looking to get our name out there and see where we stack up. We’re only going to get one chance to make a first impression; we’re talking to a lot of folks to make deals happen.”

by Chuck Licata
Photo by Jeff Garvin

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