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Joe Wood, Jr, whips ASCS Foes in Devil’s Bowl Summer Nationals

Joe Wood, Jr., padded his American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region points lead by topping Saturday’s main event at the Devil’s Bowl Summer Nationals that pitted the ASCS Sooner forces versus The Oil Medics ASCS Lone Star Region contenders.

The ASCS Sooner champion in 2009, Wood, Jr., assumed the point on lap 18 and went on to post his first win of the year and fifth of his career aboard the familiar No. 03 machine.

While Wood, Jr., started Saturday’s Summer Nationals finale inside the second row, it was front row outside starter Kevin Ramey gunning into the lead at the outset and pacing the initial 17 circuits until spinning exiting turn four with a broken left front shock tower.

Wood, Jr., still had to earn the win though, as ninth-starter Brady Bacon pulled alongside to challenge for the top spot in the final corner, only to have Wood, Jr., beat the Broken Arrow, OK, racer to the line for the $2,000 triumph.

Bacon settled for runner-up honors for the second night in a row, with New Mexico’s Joshua Hodges claiming the show position. Dustin Morgan climbed ten spots from 14th to fourth, with Andy Shouse rounding out the top five.

Defending ASCS Lone Star champion Eric Baldaccini was sixth, with Dale Wester, Brandon Corn, 19th-starter Justin Melton and Friday night winner Tony Bruce, Jr., completing the top ten.

Wood, Jr., Hodges and Wester won Saturday night’s heat races, with Melton winning the “B” Main.

The Oil Medics ASCS Lone Star Region versus American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Results from Devil’s Bowl Speedway:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 14-Michael Lang, 4. 11c-Matt Covington, 5. 99-Brady Bacon, 6. 2L-Logan Payne, 7. 74e-Claud Estes, 8. 45-Martin Edwards, 9. 77-Colt Treharn.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 2. 7-Michelle Decker, 3. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 30-Brandon Corn, 5. 2-Dustin Morgan, 6. 54-Evan Pardo, 7. 110-Cameron Hagin, 8. 11-Justin Melton, 9. 76-John Ricketts.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 12-Dale Wester, 2. 61-Danny Jennings, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 5-Kyle McCutcheon, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 14b-Robert Byrom, 7. 45x-J.P. Bailey, 8. 35-Rick Wright, Jr.

“B” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 11-Justin Melton, 2. 77-Colt Treharn, 3. 74e-Claud Estes, 4. 45-Martin Edwards, 5. 110-Cameron Hagin, 6. 35-Rick Wright, Jr., 7. 45x-J.P. Bailey, 8. 76-John Ricketts.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 4. 2-Dustin Morgan, 5. 27-Andy Shouse, 6. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 7. 12-Dale Wester, 8. 30-Brandon Corn, 9. 11-Justin Melton, 10. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 11. 74e-Claud Estes, 12. 54-Evan Pardo, 13. 45-Martin Edwards, 14. 5-Kyle McCutcheon, 15. 11c-Matt Covington, 16. 110-Cameron Hagin, 17. 35-Rick Wright, Jr., 18. 2L-Logan Payne, 19. 61-Danny Jennings, 20. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 21. 14-Michael Lang, 22. 7-Michelle Decker, 23. 77-Colt Treharn, 24. 14b-Robert Byrom.

The Oil Medics ASCS Lone Star Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Matt Covington 1,011, 2. Eric Baldaccini 971, 3. Claud Estes 962, 4. Justin Melton 925, 5. Martin Edwards 919, 6. Michael Lang 917, 7. Evan Pardo 877, 8. John Ricketts 808, 9. Robert Byrom 806, 10. Dale Wester 638.

American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Joe Wood, Jr. 915, 2. Michelle Decker 840, 3. Andy Shouse 839, 4. Matt Covington 833, 5. Claud Estes 614, 6. Tony Bruce, Jr. 566, 7. Brady Bacon 556, 8. Cameron Hagin 550, 9. Rick Wright, Jr. 545, 10. Koby Barksdale 541.

Channin Tankersley takes ASCS Gulf South Sprint Car win at Golden Triangle

Channin Tankersley picked off his second Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South main event win of the season by racing to victory lane in Friday night’s 25-lap feature at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

Tankersley took the lead away from current series points leader Paul White on the eleventh round and went on to post his second GTRP win of the year aboard the Harris-powered CVS/Griffith Truck & Equipment No. 71 Maxim after posting an early Beaumont win just over a month ago.

After starting fifth, Tankersley worked his way into second by the tenth round and then quickly disposed of White en route to his sixth career ASCS Gulf South score.

Tankersley was chased to the line by White, with defending champion Ray Allen Kulhanek, Travis Elliott and Scottie McDonald rounding out the top five. Aaron Reutzel was sixth, with Wes Miller, Beau Smith, Tommy Bryant and Chris Sweeney completing the top ten.

Tankersley, Bryant and Kulhanek topped heat race action, with Michael McNeil winning the “B” Main.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Golden Triangle Raceway Park:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 3-Gary Watson, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 35-Greg Rilat, 5. 93-Chris Sweeney, 6. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 7. 82-Mark Harris, 8. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 9. 31-Brandon Berryman.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 28-Tommy Bryant, 2. 15T-Travis Elliott, 3. 2-Wes Miller, 4. 19-Klint Angelette, 5. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 6. 69-Larry Howery, 7. 52-Roger Oakes, 8. 24-Brandie Jass.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 2. 88-Scottie McDonald, 3. 51s-Beau Smith, 4. 10-George White, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 25m-Michael McNeil, 7. 5c-Chris Coker, 8. B51-Johnny Brown.

“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 25m-Michael McNeil, 2. 5c-Chris Coker, 3. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 4. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 5. B51-Johnny Brown, 6. 31-Brandon Berryman, 7. 52-Roger Oakes. DNS: 69-Larry Howery, 82-Mark Harris, 51-Jimmy Brooks, 24-Brandie Jass.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 10-George White, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 88-Scottie McDonald, 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 7. 2-Wes Miller, 8. 51s-Beau Smith, 9. 28-Tommy Bryant, 10. 93-Chris Sweeney, 11. 3-Gary Watson, 12. 25m-Michhael McNeil, 13. 31-Brandon Berryman, 14. 35-Greg Rilat, 15. 5c-Chris Coker, 16. 19-Klint Angelette, 17. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 18. B51-Johnny Brown, 19. 9-Gary Wright, 20. 12b-Logan Bledsoe.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. George White 1,452, 2. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,388, 3. Tommy Bryant 1,378, 4. Brandon Berryman 1,299, 5. Chris Sweeney 1,296, 6. Channin Tankersley 1,264, 7. Travis Elliott 1,203, 8. Aaron Reutzel 1,202, 9. Greg Rilat 1,190, 10. Gary Watson 1,138.

by Lonnie Wheatley
ASCS Gulf South photo

Trey Votion Four-peats in Limited Late Models at I-37 Raceway at Newsome Motor Park

Trey Votion, the new hot shoe in the Limited Late Model class at I-37 Raceway at Newsome Motor Park in Pleasanton, Texas, grabbed his fourth victory in a row during the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature in a caution-filled race this past Satur

Votion assumed the point when Andrew Hesler spun from the top spot, then held off a late charge by multi-time track champion Gary Hunter, for the win. Finishing in the top five were Hunter, Robert Danielson, Harlin Covert and Matt Hodge.

The 14-car Limited Late Model feature was a rock ‘em, sock ‘em event from the start. Hesler jumped out front on green with Danielson, Hodge, Votion and Hunter in pursuit. Lap 1 saw the first yellow when Craig Crawley, Chris Jones and Dustin Tillman tangled in turn 2. On the restart Hesler got a good jump, with Hodge getting second from Danielson. In turn 4 Leland Waddell and Ron Sprayue got together for a lap 2 caution.

Back to green, Hesler and Hodge got away, while Votion got around Danielson for third. Jones brought out a yellow on lap 3 with a solo spin in turn 4. Hodge gave Hesler a look low as green waved again, and Hunter moved past Danielson for fourth. Hodge looped it in turn 4, with Hunter making slight contact and Danielson rubbing with Bartosh as they tried to avoid Hodge on lap 5.

Finally to some green flag racing with Votion putting the heat on Hesler for the lead. As they battled for the lead, Hunter closed in on both. While Votion gave Hesler a look low, Hunter edged past for second on lap 7, while Bartosh took fifth from Harlin Covert. As they top three fought it out nose to tail, Waddell shot out the pit exit to bring out a yellow on lap 9.

After a spin by Waddell on the ensuing restart, Hunter tried Hesler low for the lead. Votion moved up top retaking second on lap 10. Hesler found the track troll in turn 4 tonight, as he went around giving up the lead to Votion. Votion and Hunter pulled away from Danielson, Covert and Kevin Hayden. Hodge had just made his way back into the top five when Hayden spun on lap 16.

Votion got away on green as Danielson briefly snuck past Hunter for second. Hunter regained the position and began to chase down Votion. Behind them Hodge and Covert had a side by side fight for fourth. Hunter gave Votion one last charge but came up a bit short with Votion in the Northside Ford, Kelly Chassis taking the victory.

“It’s been real good for us here lately,” said Votion. “I’ve got no complaints. My brother and I have worked on this car week after week and finally got it to where I’m real happy with it. It’s doing what I want and I can run top or bottom. A couple guys were tough to get around, I may have to make some more changes.”

“It was tough tonight, quite a few were fast. It’s not easy to find your rhythm with all those cautions. It can be a little frustrating. You finally get a run on someone, caution comes out, and you have to start all over. I just kept searching around for the best line.”

“I was finally able to make some decent moves, and got away with some mistakes too. Luckily I didn’t make them at the end. I was on the bottom when Andrew(Hesler) went around so avoiding him wasn’t an issue. There were some cars torn up tonight. Hopefully next time we can get back to better racing without all the cautions.”

Limited Late Models results

99 Trey Votion, 14 Gary Hunter, 49 Robert Danielson, 60 Harlin Covert, 58 Matt Hodge, 1x Andrew Hesler, 94 Dustin Tillman, 08 Kevin Hayden, 69 Chris Jones, 7 Richard Bartosh, 28 Leland Waddell, 42 Ron Sprayue, 18 Shane Moore, 6 Craig Crawley

Limited Late Model heat winners; 58 Matt Hodge, 99 Trey Votion, 18 Shane Moore

Several other classes were racing at the IMCA sanctioned quarter-mile dirt track and their events are reported below.

Campbell Cashes in Modified Main

Jamie Campbell picked up win number two in the IMCA Modifieds holding off a multi-time winner Greg Dinsmore. Campbell got the lead on a second start and never looked back going wire to wire for the win. Dinsmore chased Campbell throughout the 20-lap main event, but faded near the finish leaving Campbell unchallenged at the checkers. Dinsmore held second with Rick Green, Bill Pittaway and Darin Leonard filling out the top five.

Matt Fox led the 13-car IMCA Modified field into turn 1, but slid high in turn 2 giving the lead to Leonard. Billy Meyer, Tracy Fink, Gilbert Amezquita and Rick Green all got tangled in turn 2 for an early caution. On the restart Campbell got out ahead of Leonard followed by Dinsmore. Dinsmore was challenging Campbell when Amezquita stopped in turn 2.

On the restart Campbell and Dinsmore got away on top, while Leonard and Pittaway ran the bottom. Green got around Fink on lap five for fifth. Fox went around in turn 4 on lap 6 to bring out a caution. Campbell and Dinsmore again broke ahead coming to halfway with Campbell, Dinsmore, Leonard, Pittaway and Green in the top five.

As the lead duo checked out, Pittaway got by Leonard with Green joining in. They were three wide for the spot on lap 12 with Green following Pittaway by. Green then picked off third from Pittaway on lap 14. Up front Campbell was inching away from Dinsmore as the laps wound down. As the white flag waved Campbell had an 8-car length margin on Dinsmore going on to his second win in the aplusboatparts.com, Swenson Racing Shocks, VP Race Fuels, Hillen Automotive, Performance Machine Shop, Swenson Chassis.

I just tried to be smooth and take up as much track as I could.” commented Campbell. “It’s more gratifying beating Greg(Dinsmore) on the track. He’s always fast here. When I won three weeks ago I was a half lap behind when he wrecked, so I got a big break.”

“I figured one of those Harris cars was back there. I couldn’t hear anyone and I just tried to focus on my line. I just tried to keep my momentum up, and keep the tires under the car.”

“Jamie(Campbell) ran a good race and held the fast line,” added runner-up(and new daddy) Dinsmore. “My car just had no forward bite. I could get in the corner, but couldn’t get off. I think there’s still something bent and the rear end is a couple inches out.”

IMCA Modifieds
29 Jamie Campbell , 8g Greg Dinsmore, 82 Rick Green, 37 Bill Pittaway, 26 Darin Leonard, 24 Tracy Fink, 31 Marlin Samford, 99 Billy Meyer, 67 Robert Liese jr., 14 Joe O’Bryan, 53x Matt Fox, 13 Gilbert Amezquita, 44 Joe Spillman

IMCA Modified heats
Heat 1
37 Bill Pittaway, 29 Jamie Campbell, 24 Tracy Fink, 8g Greg Dinsmore, 53x Matt Fox, 99 Billy Meyer

Heat 2
67 Robert Liese jr., 26 Darin Leonard, 31 Marlin Samford, 82 Rick Green, 13 Gilbert Amezquita, 14 Joe O’Bryan, 44 Joe Spillman

Blaylock Back in Victory Lane

Brandon Blaylock(Cypress) made his first trip to I-37 Raceway this season a memorable one as he picked up another feature. Blaylock, who has won at the track in the past, got by early leader Tom Grothues after halfway and built a big lead. Points leader, Johnny Torres worked his way to second in the final laps but never got close enough to pressure Blaylock. Grothues, Brian Rye and Greg Rohmer completed the top five.

Grothues was first into turn 1 for the lead at the start of the 20-lap, 14-car IMCA Southern Sportmod feature. Behind him it was three wide for second with Moe VanKirk and Randy Yount going around in turn 4, but continuing without caution. With Grothues on the point, Rohmer, B. Rye, Travis Penny and Blaylock fell in behind.

Blaylock picked off fourth from Penny on lap 3. Torres began his move forward getting sixth from Kris Rye, while Blaylock got along side B. Rye for third. Blaylock took over third with Torres getting fifth from Penny on lap 6. Blaylock then got around Rohmer as they both closed on Grothues. It was nearly three wide for the lead on lap 8, with Grothues holding on.

At the crossed flags it was Grothues and Blaylock side by side, Rohmer, Torres and B. Rye in the top five. Grothues, a former pavement driver, held his own as he and Blaylock ran wheel to wheel for the lead until Blaylock finally secured the spot on lap 13. Torres made his way to third getting by Rohmer, with B. Rye following to fourth.

Torres got under Grothues on lap 17 for second but found himself well behind Blaylock. With the white flag in the air, Blaylock held a ½ straightaway advantage over Torres and cruised to the checkers in the Diamondback Transport, Bebo Race Designs, Boehle Signs, Valley Powder Coat, Rhino Racing Rear Ends, Blaylock Chassis.

“This track is one of my favorites,” replied Blaylock. “It’s been real good to us over the years. I’ve won the last four times we’ve made it out here. The track just seems to fit my driving style well.”

“I really have to give my wife a lot of thanks, she’s pretty much taken over as my mechanic since we’ve moved to the Houston area and farther away from my dad.”

IMCA Southern Sportmod
9B Brandon Blaylock, 66 Johnny Torres, 11 Tom Grothues, 184 Brian Rye, 51 Greg Rohmer, 4$ Kris Rye, 10 Travis Penny, 21 Jason Borlace, 58 Moe VanKirk, 99x Michael Hernandez, 60 Pat Lyon, 4 Robby Minten, 66y Randy Yount, 99 Anthony Malhorin

IMCA SSM heats
Heat 1
66 Johnny Torres, 58 Moe VanKirk, 10 Travis Penny, 184 Brian Rye, 99x Michael Hernandez, 21 Jason Borlace, 4 Robby Minten

Heat 2
9B Brandon Blaylock, 51 Greg Rohmer, 66y Randy Yount, 11 Tom Grothues, 4$ Kris Rye, 60 Pat Lyon, 99 Anthony Malhorin

In the Street Stock feature Wade Jones added another win to his career total, but it wasn’t easy. Jones got by AJ Wernette in the early stages of the 20-lapper and was chased by AJ Dancer after a mid-race caution. Jones, the two-time track champ, held off a challenge by Dancer, then inched out to a slight lead at the finish. Dancer, Robert Danielson, Mike Lyon and Joe Spillman rounded out the top five.

AJ Wernette got off turn 2 with the early lead in the 13-car Street Stock feature, but Dancer, Dennis Hilla, Rick Schroat and Nathan Robbins got tangled n turn 4. AJ Wernette led the restart into turn 1 with Jones, Robbins and Spillman three wide for second. As they shook out it was Spillman, Jones, Hilla and Lyon behind AJ Wernette.

Jones got by Spillman for second an along side AJ Wernette for the lead. Spillman gave a quick thought about three wide, but let discretion be the better part of valor. Jones got the top spot on lap 3, with Dancer getting fifth from Hilla and Robert Danielson. Dancer then snared fourth from Lyon when Robbins slapped the front stretch wall for a caution.

Once back to green, Danielson gave Lyon a run for fifth, but Lyon held him off. Spillman tried to duck under AJ Wernette for second but gave Dancer a chance on top to get third on lap 8. Dancer then got by AJ Wernette as Danielson finally grabbed fifth from Lyon. Dancer, who was a corner behind Jones got a break when R. Schroat spun in turn 4 on lap 12 for a caution, rebunching the field.

Dancer gave Jones a look low as green waved again, but Jones held firm. Behind them, Danielson went by both AJ Wernette and Spillman for third. As Spillman and AJ Wernette slugged it out for fourth, Lyon joined the battle. Jones took the white with a slight margin on Dancer and rolled on to the checkers in the Opiela Mechanical, Horelka Racing, Mission Auto Parts, SABFI, Mobil 1, Jeff’s Auto Rebuilders, 74 Ranch & Resort, Camaro.

“I really had to work for that one,” commented Jones. “The track was slick, slick, slick. I try to adjust my driving style on the dry slick and let the car drive itself instead of using the motor. We put some new tires on it tonight, and that helped a lot. We were still running tires from last year.”

“We came out here last Friday and got some practice, changed some things and that helped too. We also put in a new motor, the other one was worn out. I love racing against AJ(Dancer). He’s a good driver and he raced me clean.”

Street Stocks
41 Wade Jones, 52 AJ Dancer, 186 Robert Danielson, 40 Mike Lyon, 44 Joe Spillman, 37 AJ Wernette, 2x Dennis Hilla, 93 Aaron Leddy, 5 Rick Schroat, 7 Danny Schroat, 37w Wayne Wernette, 15 Tommy Casey, 04 Nathan Robbins

Street Stock heat winners; 52 AJ Dancer, 41 Wade Jones

The Pure stock feature saw Frank Okruhlik work his way to front and reel in Adam Torres, debuting a car recently purchased from two-time track champ Marc Roy. After a multi-lap door to door battle, Okruhlik got the lead with only a few laps to go. Torres tried to retake the top spot, but was slow to go on a late restart, leaving Okruhlik to grab the checkers. Torres held off Talon Minten for second with Jerry Jones fourth and Janel Hilla fifth.

Torres quickly jumped out front as the 20-lap, 14-car Pure Stock feature came to the green. James Watson, Minten, Jones and Cody Leonard fell in line behind Torres. Watson and Minten made contact giving Jones, Leonard and Brandy Ramzinski an opening to get by. While Ramzinski an Minten battled for fourth, Okruhlik got by Minten for fifth.

Yellow waved on lap 8 when Mereda Major had trouble in turn 2. On the restart Ramzinski got by Leonard for third but spun for a quick yellow. Okruhlik took advantage of Leonard on the restart getting third. Okruhlik then got past Jones for second while Leonard and Minten ran side by side for fourth. Yellow waved on lap 11 when Dustin Robin got into Major coming off turn 4.

With Okruhlik now on Torres’ bumper, the two took off with Torres on the bottom and Okruhlik looking high. The two were door to door for the lead on lap 13, and again on lap 15, while Minten got by Jones for third. Okruhlik got the top spot from Torres on lap 16. Torres tried to regain the point, with Ramzinski working her way back up to fourth.

Robin brought out a lap 18 caution when he spun on the front stretch, setting up a green, white, checker finish. When green waved Torres was slow to take off giving Okruhlik the chance to open up a lead. Torres had to fend off Minten as Okruhlik pulled away to snag the victory in the Odie Racing, Mo’s Racing Chassis, Chevy.

“These guys are really stepping up,” said Okruhlik. “I like it. I don’t like being out there by myself. I’m going to have get my game together even more now. He(Adam Torres) was breathing down my neck after I got around him.”

“I made a few changes for the track between the heat and feature. They really helped me out. I just tried to run my own line and try not to mess up.”

Pure Stocks
99 Frank Okruhlik, 24(94) Adam Torres, 89 Talon Minten, 95 Jerry Jones, 7x Janel Hilla, 44 James Watson, 15 William Cavender, 2 Patricia Lucas, 14 Trey Heald, 8 Dustin Robin, 33 Mereda Major, 88 Brandy Ramzinski, 26 Cody Leonard, 9 Jarrett Payton

Pure Stock heat winners; 7x Janel Hilla, 99 Frank Okruhlik, 89 Talon Minten

Cody Earnhardt was awarded the victory in the Front Runner feature even though he wasn’t first across the line. Earnhardt, who lead the majority of the 15-lap race, was run down by Roy Easler jr. in the latter stages. The two made contact on the final lap sending Earnhardt up the track, and Easler by for the checkers. Officials penalized Easler for the contact giving the victory to Earnhardt. Cody Smith, Brandon Sowder, Jimmy Carroll and Hailee Marcx trailed the leader to the line.

As the 12-car Front Runner feature took the green, Cindy Snider broke out to the early lead followed by Earnhardt, Sowder, Kursten Blevins and Joshua Mares. Earnhardt got by Snyder for the lead on lap 3, while Easler charged past Mares and Cody Smith for fourth. Sowder drifted up too high in turn 4 giving up spots to Easler, Smith and Mares.

Mares’ top five run ended on lap 9 when he lost the right front wheel and bought out a caution. On the restart Earnhardt and Easler checked out on the field to settle it among themselves. On the final lap in turn 4 the two got together sending Earnhardt high into the marbles. Easler was first across the line, but black flagged giving Earnhardt, in the Earnhardt & Sons Automotive, Big Lou’s Pizza, Rushmore Plumbing, Mazda, the victory.

Front Runners
33c Cody Earnhardt, 13 Cody Smith, 08 Brandon Sowder, 67 Jimmy Carrol, 113 Hailee Marcx, 12 Roy Easler jr, 17 Kursten Blevins, 98 Hayden Anderson, 98E Marie Gonzales, 9 Dillon Gaither, 66R Cindy Snider, 3 Joshua Mares

Front Runners heat winners; 33c Cody Earnhardt, 12 Roy Easler jr.

By J M Hallas
Photo by Jamie Brabson

Jason Johnson is an ASCS Gulf South “Spoiler” at Speedarama

Reigning Lucas Oil ASCS National champion Jason Johnson put an end to Gary Wright’s bid for a perfect Regional weekend by taking the $2,000 triumph in Sunday night’s 25-lap Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South main event at the Speedarama Raceway.

With Wright vying for a $1,000 bonus for topping all three nights of the Gulf South’s “Memorial Day Classic”, Johnson played the role of spoiler by picking off his fifth overall ASCS feature win of the season aboard the Don Ott-powered Haynes No. 41 Maxim.

Wright still picked up a $500 bonus for winning two of the weekend’s three feature events.

Pole starter Brandon Berryman paced the initial pair of rounds before fifth-starter Johnson raced into a lead he would never relinquish. Johnson went on to the checkered flag ahead of Michael Dupuy, with Berryman settling for the show position.

Wright crossed the stripe fourth, with reigning series champion Ray Allen Kulhanek in fifth. Kevin Ramey was sixth, with Chris Sweeney, George White, Wes Miller and Brandon Corn completing the top ten.

Kulhanek, Wright, Beau Smith and Berryman won Sunday night’s heat races, with Eric Baldaccini winning the “B” Main.

George White reclaimed the series points lead with his eighth place finish, as Tommy Bryant missed the feature cut for the first time in eleven events this season after entering the night with a slim 6-point advantage.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Speedarama Raceway:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 2. 2-Wes Miller, 3. 35-Greg Rilat, 4. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 5. 88-Scottie McDonald, 6. 25m-Michael McNeil, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 7w-Dustin Welch.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 3-Gary Watson, 4. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 5. 71-Channin Tankersley, 6. 5-Nathan Hamberg, 7. 19-Klint Angelette, 8. 45-Martin Edwards.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 51s-Beau Smith, 2. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 3. 15T-Travis Elliott, 4. 30-Brandon Corn, 5. 52-Roger Oakes, 6. 24-Brandie Jass. DNS: 69-Larry Howery.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 31-Brandon Berryman, 2. 93-Chris Sweeney, 3. 10-George White, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 7. 5c-Chris Coker.

“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 88-Scottie McDonald, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 5. 25m-Michael McNeil, 6. 52-Roger Oakes, 7. 45-Martin Edwards, 8. 19-Klint Angelette, 9. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 10. 24-Brandie Jass, 11. 71-Channin Tankersley, 12. 5-Nathan Hamberg, 13. 5c-Chris Coker, 14. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 15. 7w-Dustin Welch. DNS: 69-Larry Howery.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 3. 31-Brandon Berryman, 4. 9-Gary Wright, 5. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 6. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 7. 93-Chris Sweeney, 8. 10-George White, 9. 2-Wes Miller, 10. 30-Brandon Corn, 11. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12. 88-Scottie McDonald, 13. 25m-Michael McNeil, 14. 15T-Travis Elliott, 15. 35-Greg Rilat, 16. 51s-Beau Smith, 17. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 18. 3-Gary Watson, 19. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 20. 52-Roger Oakes.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. George White 1,310, 2. Tommy Bryant 1,265, 3. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,253, 4. Brandon Berryman 1,195, 5. Chris Sweeney 1,186, 6. Channin Tankersley 1,114, 7. (tie) Greg Rilat and Jason Johnson 1,088, 9. Aaron Reutzel 1,080, 10. Travis Elliott 1,073.

by Lonnie Wheatley
ASCS Gulf South photos

Gary Wright snares second ASCS Gulf South win in-a-row, this time at Gator

A return to his familiar No. 9 Maxim was apparently just the tonic that Gary Wright needed, as “The Texan” reeled off another win in Saturday night’s 25-lap Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South main event at the Gator Motorplex.

It was Wright’s second win of the weekend in the three-race ASCS Gulf South “Memorial Day Classic” and his fifth in just seven starts aboard his own entry thus far in 2011 after just three Regional wins over the course of the entire 2010 season.

With his second $2,000 triumph in as many nights, Wright has already clinched a $500 bonus for the weekend. Another $2,000 triumph in Sunday’s card at Lufkin’s Speedarama Raceway would net Wright $7,000 for the weekend including a $1,000 bonus for a weekend sweep.

In Saturday’s feature, Wright redrew the pole position after a runner-up finish in his heat race and wired the field for his first ASCS win atop Gator Motorplex clay.

Wright was chased to the line by third-starter Jason Johnson, while Friday night absentee Kevin Ramey dropped in to claim a podium finish by taking the show position. Aaron Reutzel was fourth, with Channin Tankersley rounding out the top five.

Scottie McDonald picked up Hard Charger honors by racing from 15th to sixth, with Brandon Corn, Eric Baldaccini, Brandon Berryman and Chris Sweeney completing the top ten.

Heat races for the 30-car field were won by Brandon Corn, Johnson, Reutzel and Tankersley, with McDonald and Baldaccini winning the “B” Mains.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Gator Motorplex:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 30-Brandon Corn, 2. 9-Gary Wright, 3. 88-Scottie McDonald, 4. 19-Klint Angelette, 5. 10-George White, 6. 25m-Michael McNeil, 7. 3-Gary Watson, 8. 22L-Kent Lewis, Jr., 9. 69-Larry Howery.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 51s-Beau Smith, 3. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 6. 45-Martin Edwards, 7. 36-John Pate, 8. 2-Wes Miller, 9. 40-Junior Jenkins.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 35-Greg Rilat, 3. 93-Chris Sweeney, 4. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 5. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 6. 5c-Chris Coker, 7. 66-J.J. Simmons, 8. 23-Darryl Wills.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 31-Brandon Berryman, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 74e-Claud Estes, 6. 5-Nathan Hamberg, 7. 52-Roger Oakes, 8. 76-John Ricketts.

First “B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 88-Scottie McDonald, 2. 74e-Claud Estes, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 25m-Michael McNeil, 6. 36-John Pate, 7. 22L-Kent Lewis, Jr., 8. 2-Wes Miller, 9. 66-J.J. Simmons. DNS: 76-John Ricketts.

Second “B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 19-Klint Angelette, 3. 45-Martin Edwards, 4. 3-Gary Watson, 5. 69-Larry Howery, 6. 5c-Chris Coker, 7. 5-Nathan Hamberg, 8. 52-Roger Oakes, 9. 23-Darryl Wills. DNS: 40-Junior Jenkins.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 5. 71-Channin Tankersley, 6. 88-Scottie McDonald, 7. 30-Brandon Corn, 8. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 9. 31-Brandon Berryman, 10. 93-Chris Sweeney, 11. 10-George White, 12. 35-Greg Rilat, 13. 74e-Claud Estes, 14. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 15. 51s-Beau Smith, 16. 45-Martin Edwards, 17. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 18. 19-Klint Angelette, 19. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 20. 3x-Michael Dupuy.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Tommy Bryant 1,200, 2. George White 1,194, 3. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,128, 4. Chris Sweeney 1,067, 5. Brandon Berryman 1,060, 6. Channin Tankersley 1,049, 7. Greg Rilat 988, 8. Aaron Reutzel 972, 9. Travis Elliott 971, 10. Jason Johnson 938.

by Lonnie Wheatley, ASCS PR
ASCS Gulf South photo

“The Texan” is Tops in ASCS Gulf South Golden Triangle go

Just because he’s being inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame next weekend doesn’t mean that Gary Wright is done winning races. “The Texan” made that evident on Friday night by topping the opening leg of the Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South three-night “Memorial Day Classic” at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

Wright added his 18th overall ASCS Regional win to 127 previous ASCS National triumphs by driving his No. 9 Maxim to victory lane for the fourth in just six 2011 outings aboard his own entry, becoming the first repeat ASCS Gulf South winner of the season through nine events.

While Wright started the feature from the front row outside, it was pole starter Gary Watson leading the opening circuit before Wright took command.

Wright paced the field the rest of the way, taking the checkered flag ahead of fifth-starter Jason Johnson, defending series champion Ray Allen Kulhanek, current Gulf South points leader Tommy Bryant and Michael Dupuy, who earned Hard Charger honors by racing from 15th to round out the top five.

Watson was sixth, with Michael McNeil, John Pate, Wes Miller and George White completing the top ten.

Johnson, Chris Sweeney, Watson and Wright topped heat race action, with Dupuy winning the “B” Main.

The Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South “Memorial Day Classic” continues on Saturday night at the Gator Motorplex in Willis, TX, before finishing up at Lufkin’s Speedarama Raceway on Sunday.

With his $2,000 triumph in Friday’s feature, Wright is eligible for a $1,000 bonus if he can pull down wins over each of the next two nights as well.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Golden Triangle Raceway Park:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 10-George White, 3. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 4. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 6. 2-Wes Miller, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 19-Klint Angelette.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 93-Chris Sweeney, 2. 36-John Pate, 3. 40-Junior Jenkins, 4. 24j-Brandie Jass, 5. 76-John Ricketts, 6. 31-Brandon Berryman, 7. 30-Brandon Corn.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 3-Gary Watson, 2. 25m-Michael McNeil, 3. 15T-Travis Elliott, 4. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 5. 71-Channin Tankersley, 6. 66-J.J. Simmons, 7. 5c-Chris Coker.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 35-Greg Rilat, 5. 51s-Beau Smith, 6. 69-Larry Howery, 7. 52-Roger Oakes.

“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 2. 2-Wes Miller, 3. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 4. 71-Channin Tankersley, 5. 69-Larry Howery, 6. 35-Greg Rilat, 7. 31-Brandon Berryman, 8. 66-J.J. Simmons, 9. 51s-Beau Smith, 10. 19-Klint Angelette, 11. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 12. 52-Roger Oakes, 13. 76-John Ricketts, 14. 30-Brandon Corn, 15. 5c-Chris Coker.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 5. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 6. 3-Gary Watson, 7. 25m-Michael McNeil, 8. 36-John Pate, 9. 2-Wes Miller, 10. 10-George White, 11. 93-Chris Sweeney, 12. 35-Greg Rilat, 13. 40-Junior Jenkins, 14. 69-Larry Howery, 15. 24j-Brandie Jass, 16. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 17. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 18. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 19. 15T-Travis Elliott, 20. 71-Channin Tankersley.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Tommy Bryant 1,108, 2. George White 1,086, 3. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,026, 4. Chris Sweeney 957, 5. Brandon Berryman 947, 6. Channin Tankersley 924, 7. Travis Elliott 906, 8. Greg Rilat 882, 9. Gary Watson 871, 10. Aaron Reutzel 842.

by Lonnie Wheatley, ASCS PR
ASCS Gulf South photo

Austin Self doubles up with twin wins at Thunderhill Raceway

Austin Wayne Self came from the back to win Saturday night at Thunderhill Raceway - not once but twice. The 15 year-old claimed a piece of NASCAR history when he took the checkered flag in front of a rowdy Texas crowd in both the NASCAR A-Line Modified and the Texas Super Racing Series Late Model Divisions at the 3/8-mile, D-shaped oval in Kyle, Texas.

“The past four races have been very frustrating for our team and fans, and it feels so good to finally get that next big win and it’s almost unreal to think we just pulled off a double. My crew, family and fans deserve this win more than anything. The guys always work their butts off, to give me great cars, we qualify pole, lead a bunch of laps, our fans get excited and then we get taken out on a restart. That kind of thing just kills us all. But this week, by the grace of God, we came up big, really big. You can’t imagine how cool it feels to deliver a huge night for my fans, family and team,” said Self.

“Terry James (Crew Chief) and I had a little chat about the last four races and then he told the team that we were going to race hard but we had to stay away from some of the more aggressive drivers. So that’s what we tried to do and it worked out real well in the Modified race. But we had some problems in the Late Model Race.”

Self qualified off pole in the Pro Modified race after being edged out by Heath Stewart by 0.030 seconds with HE Naumann, Zac Hausler and Ryan Englehardt rounding out the top five. But a full inversion of the qualifying order put Self and Stewart at the rear of the field for the race start. Self and Stewart eventually made their way to the front by taking advantage of the double file restarts and the developing outside groove that just got better as the night went on. Self made it to the front first and the two drivers proceeded to check out on the field. Self kept his car on the bottom to protect the inside and forced Stewart to use the high line. Stewart could not make it work good enough to get a run on Self out of the turns. It was a dash for the finish with Self holding his position for the win.

“Heath (Stewart) is a great driver and he races clean so I wasn’t worried about getting clipped. But he has a great motor so I was a little worried that he might be able to drag race me out of 2 or 4 if he could get the upper groove working for him and keep me pinned down on exit. I give a lot of credit to Heath for keeping the race clean,” says Self.

Less than 10 minutes later, Self was climbing into the 07 TSRS Late Model and starting 3rd row outside. Self had to dive to the bottom of the track and lock it up to avoid contact when the front two cars on the front row collided on lap 1. Because he left the racing surface during the maneuver, race control would send him to the back.

Unfortunately, Self suffered damage to the front of his Late Model when he could not avoid another spin that involved the two cars in front of him. Self would eventually head to the pits to fix some of the damage and start in the back again.

With no hood, a damaged front end and a set of Goodyear Tires that had been locked up twice, Self began his amazing march to the front. He brought the crowd to a roar by choosing the outside line on every subsequent restart. That strategy paid off when he got by the 96 (Robert Barker) and then passed the 92 (Taylor Brandes) car for the lead. Self would go on to lead the balance of the race and take his second win of the night the hard way.

“The crew made all the right calls in this race. We knew our car had lost a little speed with the crash damage and we had some fast cars in front of us running the low line. We figured we couldn’t get under them so we would try to go around them. This has pretty much been a one groove track so I don’t think the 96 and the 92 thought we could get by on the outside,” says Self

Evidently neither did the crowd that went crazy when Austin pinned the 92 car down coming out of 4 and won the drag race down the front stretch.

Self would go on to thank all the right people and give all the glory to God in the ensuing post race interviews. He spent the rest of the night hanging out with his fans and giving out autographs.

NASCAR recently lowered the age limit for drivers in the Whelen All-American Series to fifteen. Austin’s fifteenth birthday was on March 5, which was opening day for the racing series. As a result of that change, Austin joined the Pro Modified class and earned his first win on May 21. By winning both the Pro Modified and Late Model class, Self becomes the first 15-year-old NASCAR driver to win two premiere Divisions on the same night.

About Austin Wayne Self

Austin Wayne Self is a 15-year-old NASCAR driver racing in both the Pro Modified and Late Model Divisions of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series at Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle, Texas. Self is also an international Karting champion, having competed since age 4, and is currently KartSport teammates with Sprint Cup driver A.J. Allmendinger. Self’s career goal is to race NASCAR Sprint Cup and do one-off IndyCar races at the Indianapolis 500. Learn more at http://www.austinwayneself.com

by Terri Hartley
Photos by Jeff Garvin

Wiley Travis Rilat wins wild ASCS Gulf South war at Texana Raceway Park

Texan Travis Rilat used lapped traffic to reel in two-time ASCS National Champion Jason Johnson in Saturday night’s 25-lap Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South main event at Texana Raceway Park - not once, but twice.

Coming to take the checkers it was nearly four-wide coming of turn 4 in the race to the flag. Both cars made contact with slower traffic and had two wheels off the ground as Rilat eked out the victory, by maybe 3 feet, followed by a celebratory “wing dance.

After missing last year due to Mother Nature the ASCS Gulf South Region Sprint Car stars made the trip to Edna’s Texana Raceway Park on the tight, ¼ mile, paper-clip-shaped gumbo oval. Always a crowd favorite, these winged warriors put on an exciting, high speed show to the delight of the crowd. Tonight would be no exception with one of the wildest finishes this reporter has seen in my 40 years of being involved in racing.

Running in support of the Sprints were the local ‘Outlaw’ Modifieds, Limited Modifieds, Late Models Street Stocks and Hot Stock Trucks.

Wiley Rilat Wins Wild One

As green waved on the 20-car starting field, Johnson jumped out front from the outside pole. In the pack Beau Smith flipped on the back stretch with points leader Tommy Bryant getting a piece of the action and pitting for repairs. On the second try as they dove into turn 1 Evan Pardo jumped wheels sending him airborne in a cork-screw flip into turn 2. Both drivers were able to climb out and walk away.

Finally, the third time was a charm as Johnson again broke out front, followed by T. Rilat and Aaron Reutzel making a big charge from sixth to third. It wasn’t long until the high-flying Johnson caught the back of the field on lap 4. This gave T. Rilat the chance to close. T. Rilat was on Johnson’s rear nerf bar on lap 7 as they duo diced through slower cars. Reutzel used the battle and slower cars to reel in both the leaders.

T. Rilat ducked low on Johnson, who got ‘picked’ up top, to get the point on lap 10. At the crossed flags it was T. Rilat, Johnson, Reutzel, previous night’s winner, Channin Tankersley and George White in the top five. The top two were still nose to tail until Johnson put a classic slide job on T. Rilat going into turn 1 to regain the top spot on lap 18.

Johnson looked to be a runaway winner until he again caught a large pack of slower cars in the final laps. With five to go the lead battle was shaping up again as slower cars became rolling obstacles in the waning laps. As the flagman showed the lead duo two to go, Johnson had a five car length margin on T. Rilat. With the white flag in the air that margin had shrunk to only about a car length as the near capacity crowd rose to its feet.

Johnson, running the top, held the advantage going into turn 3 with two slower cars side by side ahead. T. Rilat took the low road getting along side Johnson in the middle of the corner. T. Rilat made it three wide coming off turn 4 on the bottom, while Johnson carried the momentum up top. T. Rilat jumped a tire sending him bicycling towards the infield as Johnson ran out of room and into the back of Gary Watson.

T. Rilat regained control landing it back on all fours just short of the finish line while Johnson was climbing the tail tank of Watson. At the line it was T. Rilat in the F&J Construction, shoptheboss.com, Murray & Son Enterprises, Shark Racing Engines, Triple X Chassis getting the win by a couple feet as Johnson, with only the rear wheels on the ground, was being carried piggy-back by Watson across the line.

The crowd was going crazy after witnessing what I’d call the biggest OMG racing finish in my lifetime. T. Rilat did a couple do-nuts before climbing out and giving the fans a wing dance.

Several other drivers found themselves looking at the wrong side of the track with Dustin Welch going over in the B-main, while Roger Oakes and Chris Coker flipped in heat race action.

“That was pretty spectacular,” replied Rilat. “It was kind of like a movie script, like Stroker Ace who crossed(the line) upside down. That’s about what this was. I thought for sure I was going to go over there. I knew I had to make a move on the last lap, but those lapped cars were there and I had to get through them. It was pretty exciting and we got it done.”

“I don’t think I could have run Jason(Johnson) down. The lapped cars helped out a lot. Our cars were pretty equal. I passed him him earlier the same way in lapped traffic, on these short tracks it always comes into play.”

“Running these regional shows is a little different than the national shows. There are always some good cars that show up, like Jason and some others. You still have to go all out and be heads up. You can never back down whether it’s a regional or national show.”

“I’m back in good health and everything is coming along good. We’re wining races so it can’t be to bad. We’re just going race here and there the rest of the year and give a shot at the championships next year.”

ASCS Sprint Cars, 25 laps

29 Travis Rilat, 41 Jason Johnson, 87 Aaron Reutzel, 71 Channin Tankersley, 21t Ray Allen Kulhanek, 31 Brandon Berryman, 15T Travis Elliott, 10 George White, 93 Chris Sweeney, 69 Larry Howery, 14E Tommy Bryant, 3 Gary Watson, 51 Jimmy Brooks, 5c Chris Coker, 19 Klint Angelette, 35 Greg Rilat, 12b Logan Bledsoe, 1(52) Roger Oakes, 54 Evan Pardo, 51s Beau Smith

ASCS B-main(Top 6 to A-main)

93 Chris Sweeney, 31 Brandon Berryman, 69 Larry Howery, 51 Jimmy Brooks, 5c Chris Coker, 52 Roger Oakes, 17 Bruce Griffith, 15 Andy VanBlarcum, 7w Dustin Welch

ASCS heats(Top 14 passing points to A-main)

Heat 1

29 Travis Rilat, 54 Evan Pardo, 3 Gary Watson, 14c Tommy Bryant, 12B Logan Bledsoe, 69 Larry Howery, 7w Dustin Welch 5c Chris Coker

Heat 2

87 Aaron Reutzel, 51 Beau Smith, 35 Greg Rilat, 21t Ray Allen Kulhanek,15t Travis Elliott, 31 Brandon Berryman, 17 Bruce Griffith, 15 Andy VanBlarcum

Heat 3

71 Channin Tankersley, 41 Jason Johnson, 10 George White, 19 Klint Angelette, 93 Chris Sweeney, 51 Jimmy Brooks, 52 Roger Oakes

Manning Masters Modified Main

Brazoria’s Jesse Manning bested a short, but stout field in the Outlaw Modified 20-lapper. Manning, running a part-time USMTS schedule, got past another USMTS contender, Rory Jordan early then pulled away throughout the race to take the checkers with a good advantage.

Jordan beat Dustin Brandl off turn 2 to get the early lead with Manning up to second followed by Brandl, Tanner Whitmire and Jason Borlace. Manning got inside Jordan coming off turn 2 on lap 1 with a brief side by side battle down the back stretch. Manning got the best run into turn 3 coming out with the lead on lap 2. Coming to halfway it was Manning, Jordan, Whitmire Brandl and Nick Hardcastle getting by Borlace for fifth.

Stew Savage slowed the action on lap 11 with the races only caution for his spin in turn 4. On the restart, Manning quickly broke out front, while Hardcastle slipped giving up spots to Borlace, Terry Woodall and Brandl. As Manning eased away, Whitmire got by Jordan for second. Hardcastle was able to retake a top five position in the waning laps. Up front it was Manning, with a huge lead, putting the JTC Motors, Auto Repair Unlimited, Jays Equipment, 105 Machine, Evolution Chassis in Victory Lane.

“We’ve been working hard on the set up on this new Evolution Chassis,” commented Manning. “We’ve been struggling for a while, but working with Howard Willis and Russell Moore it’s coming around now. We’ve got on top of it and it’s working out. We’ve got a couple wins under our belt this year and hope to have more.”

“When you get into a new chassis it’s driver preference mostly. It’s the feel and everyone has a different set up they like. What works for one(driver) doesn’t always work for another. So you take a little bit of what they are doing and your own ideas and go for it.”

“It’s a short but stout field here. These guys have come a long way. We all get along well and travel for some of the USMTS Southern Series shows. I wish there more cars around here, but with the economy it’s just the way it goes right now.”

Modified

76 Jesse Manning, 101 Tanner Whitmire, 7x Rory Jordan, 21 Jason Borlace, 94 Nick Hardcastle, 3w Terry Woodall, 00x Dustin Brandl, 77 Jason Lewis, 4 Stew Savage

Modified heat

00x Dustin Brandl, 7x Rory Jordan, 21 Jason Borlace. 76 Jesse Manning, 101 Tanner Whitmire, 94 Nick Hardcastle, 4* Stew Savage, 77 Jason Lewis, 3w Terry Woodall

White Wins Another One

The past few years Texana Raceway has been kind to the former USAC Silver Crown and NASCAR Sunbelt Region champion Paul White(Temple) driving as a hired gun. Tonight would be no different as he battled with GW Hessong and Wade Moyer early in the 20-lap feature. White took over near halfway and then left Moyer, Jensen Prey and Mickey Helms battling for second as he was snagging another checkers.

Seventeen Limited Modified took the green with Hessong getting the run off turn 2, but a tangle back in the pack brought out the caution. Hessong and Moyer stayed side by side on the next start until Hessong got the advantage coming off turn 4 to lead lap 1. Moyer fell in line second trailed by White, Prey and Helms running wheel to wheel with Vince Kacir.

Moyer moved in the give Hessong a look for the lead on lap 2. This gave White an opening to sneak past Moyer for second on lap 3. White then got beside Hessong for the lead but yellow waved for a spin by Bo Beckner on lap 4. On the restart White gave Hessong a look low, but Hessong held on, as the top three got away.

White got a run on Hessong to grab the top spot on lap 8 followed by Moyer to second. Coming to halfway it was White, Moyer, Hessong, Helms and Shane Hoefling getting by Prey for fifth. Helms then picked off Hessong for third on lap 10. Yellow waved on lap 11 for Hoefling who spun in turn 3 and got T-boned by Kacir, ending both their nights.

Back under green, White got away clean with Moyer and Helms fighting for second. Tim Heatherly brought out a yellow on lap 12 when stopped in turn 1. On the restart, Art Rodriguez went around on the front stretch causing Chase Sanchez and Allgayer to spin as they tried to dodge him. Back under green White got a big jump when Helms slipped and fell back to fourth.

Helms and Prey then battled for third swapping the spot on lap 16. Both Helms and Prey caught Moyer with two to go in the scramble for second. Up front it was White, on cruise control and easing away. At the checkers it as White in the B&D, Craftmasters Powdercoating, Westside Performance powered, Big Chief Chassis adding another TRP win to his total.

“We really diced around pretty good,” said White. “The track got tricky enough that it made it a lot of fun. I was trying to take advantage where my car was better they were messing up. One of them was slipping a bit in the middle of the turns and mine was actually a little tight. I just tried to keep myself in the right position and keep working at it until I could get there.”

“This (Bruce Tesch car) is a new one for me after being in the Bridwell car for so long. We’re still trying to get all we can get out of it. We were happy with the other car and knew what we needed to do on it. The things we used to do don’t work on this car like the other one. We had to go another direction to make it all work.”

Limited Modifieds

2w Paul White, 23 Wade Moyer, 57 Jensen Prey, 174 Mickey Helms, 147 GW Hessong, 6 Vince Louden, 22 Art Rodriguez, 24 John Lieta, 26 David McBride, J1 Tim Heatherly, 24x Mike Lieta, 75 Bo Beckner, 11 Jeff Allgayer, 4 Chase Sanchez, 63 Shane Hoefling, 155 Vince Kacir, 21c Barry Codling

Limited Modified heats

Heat 1

23 Wade Moyer, 2w Paul White, 155 Vince Kacir, 174 Mickey Helms, 22 Art Rodriguez, 4 Chase Sanchez, 63 Shane Hoefling, 24 John Lieta

Heat 2

147 GW Hessong, 57 Jensen Prey, 6 Vince Louden, 75 Bo Beckner, J1 Tim Heatherly, 24x Mike Lieta, 11 Jeff Allgayer, 26 David McBride, 21c Barry Codling

In the 12-lap Late Model feature it was Eric Neal going wire to wire for the win. Neal was chased throughout the race by Michael Wagner, who was never able to mount a serious challenge. The races only yellow flew when David Kulhanek spun while battling with Randy Kacir for third.

Late Models

97 Eric Neal, 18 Michael Wagner, 36 Randy Kacir, 9 Mitch Wagner, 37 David Kulhanek

Late Model heat winner, 97 Eric Neal

Justin Bloom took advantage of the misfortune of Jason Bloom to get the lead early in the 12-lap Hot Stock Truck feature. Ja. Bloom got out front on green, but spun off to the turn 4 mud puddle and lost the clutch trying to get out. This gave the lead to Ju. Bloom who pulled away from the field as it spread out, for the victory.

Hot Stock Trucks

84 Justin Bloom, 76 Justin Airhardt, 15 KC Jimmerson, 43 Bob Ort, 88 Mikey Harvel, 62 Scott Symonds, 44 Billy Ragsdale, 49 Jason Bloom

Hot Stock Truck heat winner, 84 Justin Bloom

Chris Shafer jumped out front at the start of the 12-car, 20-lap Street Stock feature with Tony Blankenship second and Mike Moseley, AJ Solis and Jason Fox going three wide for third. Fox and Solis tangled on lap 1 for an early caution that saw Fox pit with a flat tire. On the restart Shafer and Blankenship eased away as Lauren Chamberlain moved past Solis for fourth.

Brian King started his march to the front getting by Fox for fifth on lap 2 and along side Chamberlain. After putting her back a spot, King got by Moseley for third on lap 3 as Kasey Garvin got sixth from Solis. Up front Blankenship ducked under Shafer to get the lead on lap 6, then held off Shafer who tried to retake the spot.

As Blankenship eased away, Moseley slipped and went backwards giving up several positions. Brad Hayes and Solis then began a lap by lap battle for fifth. Shafer was able to chase down Blankenship in traffic with five to go, while Hayes and Solis continued to swap fifth. At the checkers it was Blankenship able to hold the lead and grab the victory over Shafer.

Street Stocks

35 Tony Blankenship, 77 Chris Shafer, 31 Brian King, 55 Lauren Chamberlain, 9* Brad Hayes, 21 AJ Solis, 36 Lucky Gilbert, 19 Kasey Garvin, 58 James Hess, 3 Mike Moseley, 88 Johnny Hess, 21x Jason Fox
Street Stock heat winners, 77 Chris Shafer, 3 Mike Moseley

By JM Hallas
ASCS Gulf South photo in story
Joe Orth photo on front page

Greg Dinsmore tops IMCA Modifieds at I-37 Raceway

Kerrville’s Greg Dinsmore showed off his new graphics wrap by putting it out front and landing in the Winners Circle for the sixth straight race at I-37 Raceway at Newsome Motor Park Saturday.

Dinsmore jumped out front early taking the lead from Darin Leonard who was driving Dinsmore’s old car. From there it was a slew of cautions and red flags with Dinsmore breaking away from Leonard. Bill Pittaway, Dennis Taylor and Jamie Campbell rounded out the top five.

One might have thought it was full moon with the IMCA Modified feature having more yellow than a school district bus parking lot. Two drivers - Bob Leinweber and Carlton Leverette - ended up on their lids.

During intermission of the special Mother’s Day event, all moms were honored and given roses by drivers who then broke into a dance contest, of sorts. Rene Mares was determined the winner with some contestants probably taking a trip to the chiropractor on Monday.

Two new drivers found their way to the Winners Circle, Stephan Danielson (Street Stock) and Landon Sowder (Front Runner) while the other four classes saw the usual suspects running out front.

Dinsmore Dialed In Again.

Rumors circulated in the pits of a bounty being placed Dinsmore, but they better hurry as his wife, Candace, who is a big part of the crew, is due soon and will shelve him for some of the season.

As green waved for the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature Leonard made a quick move from row two to the lead with Dinsmore, from row three on his tail. Behind them Gilbert Amezquita spun in turn 2, while Carlton Leverette clipped the turn 4 tire barrier and rolled onto his roof. The second start was similar as Leonard and Dinsmore broke out quickly only to have Taylor and Marlin Samford spin in turn 4.

Leonard and Dinsmore got away clean on the restart with Dinsmore getting by to lead lap 2 and Pittaway getting along side Leonard for second. Matt Fox brought out a yellow on lap 3 with a solo spin in turns 1-2. As Dinsmore took off on green it was only a lap until Amezquita stopped in turn 2 for a lap 4 yellow. Dinsmore eased away again on green while Jon Holmstrom slowed from fifth. Pittaway and Campbell were battling for third on lap 5 while Taylor got past Samford for fifth.

Fox and Samford then tangled in turn 1 for a caution on lap 7. Pittaway began to challenge Leonard for second as green flew again, but Campbell spun in turn 4 for a lap 8 caution. Back under green again with Dinsmore edging away until Bob Leinweber got sideway and collected by Samford sending Leinweber over in turn 2 for a red flag.

After the clean up and fuel burn off, racing finally resumed with Dinsmore leading coming to halfway followed by Leonard, Pittaway, Taylor and Fox. Fox saw his night end with a second solo spin on lap 13 sending him to the pits. As Dinsmore took off, Campbell and Taylor began a battle for fourth. Campbell tried high in turn 3, then crossed over to duck under Taylor for the spot.

Campbell then slipped too high in turn 1 giving the position back to Taylor. Up front it was Dinsmore pulling away to a full straightaway advantage on Leonard as the white flag waved. Dinsmore cruised the final lap to pick up the victory in the racetechinfo.com, Sundowner RV Repair, Ryan Bard Safety Foundation, JBHotshots, Wells Designs, Good ol’ Days Garage, Cen-Tex Motorsports, Harris Chassis.

“The track was real slick tonight, but it had a couple fast spots,” explained Dinsmore. “Some guys were set up for a fast track and hit the slick spots and be all over the place. They’d get loose, get tight and get wild. The track got looser going in, but faster on the top. I tried the bottom, but the right rear was rocking hard and couldn’t get off (the corner) down there. The car was faster on top.”

“I wanted to try some new things that Bob (Harris) told me, but I may have gotten a little gun shy with the track, and went back to way I’ve run it all year here. I’d still like to try it. Talking to some of the north guys like Josh Carpenter and JJ Wise, we’ve been walking through some things and sharing information. But you hate to lose trying something new, when you know what has been winning”

“With all the cautions you burn off a lot of fuel and the car starts to lose some forward bite and get loose going in. The rear percentage goes away, the forward bite goes away, it’s one thing after another. You try to adjust it with some brake bias to compensate for the weight coming off the rear of the car.”

“After the next race, and a couple scheduled weekends off, I’ll probably be taking some time off for our new baby. We hoping to have a happy, healthy baby and everything works out fine. I may come out to watch, but I can’t come race without my wife. She’s a big part of my team and I wouldn’t do it without her.”

IMCA Modifieds

8g Greg Dinsmore, 26 Darin Leonard, 37 Bill Pittaway, 38 Dennis Taylor, 29 Jamie Campbell, 67j Jon Holmstrom, 53x Matt Fox, 12 Bob Leinweber, 31c Marlin Samford, 13 Gilbert Amezquita, 67 Robert Liese jr., 3 Carlton Leverette, 99 Billy Meyer—DNS

IMCA Modified heats

Heat 1
37 Bill Pittaway, 67 Robert Liese jr., 29 Jamie Campbell, 67j Jon Holmstrom, 31c Marlin Samford, 53x Matt Fox, 13 Gilbert Amezquita
Heat 2
38 Dennis Taylor, 26 Darin Leonard, 12 Bob Leinweber, 8g Greg Dinsmore, 3 Carlton Leverette, 99 Billy Meyer

Torres Topples Sportmod Field Again

Like his friend and Modified counterpart, San Antonio’s Johnny Torres remains undefeated during the 2011 racing season at I-37 Raceway. Torres moved up to the lead near halfway then battled with rookie Michael Hernandez throughout out the remainder of the 20-lap event. Hernandez, coming out of the Mini-Sprint ranks, continues to gain experience and looks to be a winner soon.

At the start of the 16-car feature Hernandez and Larry Jernigan stayed wheel to wheel in turn 1-2 with Hernandez getting the advantage trailed by Greg Rohmer, Anthony Gordon and Moe VanKirk. Torres wasted little time trying to move forward going three wide with Brian Rye and Dustin Butcher for sixth on lap 1. Torres then picked off fifth from VanKirk and got along side Gordon for fourth. Once clear, Torres and Rohmer were side by side for third, as Butcher got fifth from Gordon.

Butcher then got past Gordon for fifth when Travis Penny expired a motor a stopped at the same time Gordon was spinning in turn 2. On the restart Torres looked under Hernandez in turn 2 and again in turn 3 getting by for the lead on lap 9. At the crossed flags it was Torres, Hernandez, Jernigan, Rohmer and Butcher in the top five.

Butcher then took fourth from Rohmer and was on Jernigan for third. Butcher got the position on lap 11 but slid too high in turn 4 giving the spot back to Jernigan. Up front Hernandez, running the top, was getting runs on Torres who was hugging the bottom. As Butcher and Jernigan continued the fight for third, Butcher went around in turn 4 for a lap 15 yellow.

As green waved again, Torres went to the bottom, Hernandez to the top only to have yellow wave for debris in turn 3. Torres got a good jump on the restart with B. Rye and VanKirk side by side for sixth. Kris Rye, Rohmer and Jernigan were three wide for third on lap 17, a positions 3-10 changed nearly every corner as the race wound down.

Hernandez, using the momentum up top was still giving Torres a run for th lead, but Torres would hold him off getting a better run off on the low side. Mickey Helms made a late charge racing into the top five with two to go. The Torres, Hernandez battle continued to the checkers with Torres in the 24/7 Towing, Tator Plumbing, Screen Pro Graphics, Spreen Racing Engines, Driveline Chassis holding off the young Hernandez for his sixth win of the year.

“That 99 car(Hernandez) was giving me a good run on the top.” replied Torres. “I passed a couple cars on top early, but the bottom has always been my line so I stuck with it. I think the top might have been better, but since I passed him on the bottom I figured that he couldn’t get back by me.”

“I knew tonight I wasn’t going to be patient. I did that last weekend it almost bit me. I knew there were fast cars behind me too, so I had to go right away.”

“i saw how bad the Modified race was but figured it(the track) would be different since there were two races between them and us. I knew the track as going to slick up. I want to thank Greg(Dinsmore) for all the help he’s given me.”

IMCA Southern Sportmods

66 Johnny Torres, 99x Michael Hernandez, 4$ Kris Rye, 18 Larry Jernigan, 174 Mickey Helms, 51 Greg Rohmer, 184 Brian Rye, 58 Moe VanKirk, 66y Randy Yount, 118 Anthony Gordon, 75 Bo Beckner, 90 Dustin Butcher, 11 Tom Grothues, 60 Pat Kelly, 57 Jason Kelly, 10 Travis Penny, 89 Steve Whiteaker jr—DNTG, 99 Anthony Malhorin—DNS, 4 Robby Minten—DNS

IMCA SSM heats

Heat 1
89 Steve Whiteaker jr., 58 Moe VanKirk, 51 Greg Rohmer, 184 Brian Rye, 57 Jason Kelly, 4 Robby Minten
Heat 2
66 Johnny Torres, 118 Anthony Gordon, 4$ Kris Rye, 60 Pat Lyon, 99 Anthony Malhorin, 11 Tom Grothues
Heat 3
90 Dustin Butcher, 18 Larry Jernigan, 99x Michael Hernandez, 66y Randy Yount, 174 Mickey Helms, 75 Bo Beckner, 10 Travis Penny

Victory for Votion in Limited Late Models.

After picking off a big win last weekend, Trey Votion backed that up with another victory in the Limited Late Model 20-lap feature. Votion caught early leader Matthew Hodge and after a side by side battle got the top spot on lap 5. Votion then inched away in the waning laps while Hodge and defending champ, Richard Bartosh battled for second.

Hodge jumped out to the early advantage with Votion on his tail and Chris Jones running door to door with Shane Moore for third. Moore would spin in turn 4 to bring out the yellow on lap 2. Hodge and Votion broke ahead on green with Votion giving a look low. They were side by side on lap 4 with Hodge holding the spot through turns 1-2, but giving up the lead to Votion in turn 4.

Behind the lead duo, Bartosh and Andrew Hesler were able to get by Robert Danielson for fourth and fifth. Jones brought the yellow on lap 7 when looped it in turn 2. Hodge tried to duck low on Votion as green waved again, but gave up some ground. Hesler and Bartosh were side by side for third on lap 8, with Danielson and Gary Hunter running door to door for fifth.

Hesler had just made the pass on Bartosh when Moore and Jones got together in turn 4 for a lap 10 caution. As the lead duo pulled away, Hesler was still trying Bartosh for third. Hesler spun himself from that battle giving up the fourth spot, but kept the power on to avoid a yellow. Hodge slipped in turn 2 giving Bartosh an opening to stick the nose inside, but Kevin Hayden spun in turn 2 for a lap 15 yellow

As Votion got a good restart, Bartosh was side by side with Hodge for second. Bartosh took the spot on lap 16 and got a break when Hayden spun again on lap 18 putting him on Votion’s bumper. On the restart Hesler went around in turn 2 as he went troll hunting. Once back to green Bartosh was unable to mount a challenge on Votion as he was fighting to hold off Hodge. At the checkers it was Votion in the Northside Ford, Kelly Chassis grabbing the win.

“I was just trying to keep the car in groove on the bottom,” said Votion. “I was searching around for any moisture and there was a little left on the bottom. I just tried not to overdrive the car and keep it in the wet stuff.”

“The bottom of turn 4 was about he only place with any moisture. Turns 1-2 were real tricky. I felt like I was going to loop it a couple going into turn 3. I thought it was going to stay tacky and was going to change a tire. I kind of regretted not changing it, but the car still worked good and I was able to get by Matt(Hodge) and keep it out front.”

“I want to add Happy Mothers Day to my mom and wife, this was the first race that my mom has watched.”

Limited Late Models

99 Trey Votion, 7 Richard Bartosh, 58 Matthew Hodge, 14 Gary Hunter, 49 Robert Danielson, 6 Craig Crawley, 69 Chris Jones, 1x Andrew Hesler, 08 Kevin Hayden, 86 Andy Anderson, 18 Shane Moore

Limited Late Model heat winners, 7 Richard Bartosh, 18 Shane Moore

Danielson Out-duels Dancer and Jones for First Ever I-37 Win

In only the second race in a completely reworked car, Stephan Danielson was able to put it into the Winners Circle. Danielson gave up the lead early to Wade Jones but retook the spot near halfway. Danielson was chased late by AJ Dancer but out distanced him for the victory.

Danielson beat AJ Wernette into turn 1 to grab the early of the 20-lap Street Stock feature. Tommy Casey, Dennis Hilla and Jones ran three wide for third with Jones getting the spot. Jones then put Wernette back a spot and began closing on Danielson. In the pack Dancer and Greg Dinsmore, testing the Aaron Leddy machine, made contact cutting down a tire on Dinsmore who slowed and brought out a yellow on lap 3.

On the restart Jones dove inside Danielson to take the lead on lap 4 with Dancer and Danielson side by side for second and Casey getting by Wernette for fourth. Danielson moved up top and found a faster line retaking the point from Jones on lap 8. Dancer was able to get past Jones on lap 11 for second. As Danielson inched away Casey closed the gap on Jones and Dancer.

With five to go Jones began to fade giving up spots to Casey and Mike Lyon. Dancer drifted too high in turn 4, got it corrected only to door slam Casey who pulled off to the infield. Out front Danielson now had a comfortable margin in the Paul Swoyer Septic, , Hill Country Fireplaces, Texas Hill Country Renovations, TD Landscape, First Choice Storage, Treasure Island Fantasy Sports, Spreen Racing Engines, Swenson Racing car going on to the victory.

“This is my first feature win at this track,” commented Danielson. “We got several last year at Shady Oaks. This is only my third race here ever. The track was real slick tonight. Wade(Jones) passed me on the bottom and I had to try another groove so I went up top and that was the way to go. I couldn’t do anything on the bottom.”

“It was a big surprise that the top worked so good. I used the bottom in the heat race and everything was perfect so I expected it to be similar. It wasn’t. I didn’t do my homework and wasn’t expecting my car to hook up on top. Thank God it did, that was the fast way around. This car ran and worked the best it ever has.”

“We missed the first couple weeks because we wanted to have the car right. We knew coming here to run against Wade we had to have our stuff together. I want to finish races first and foremost. I’ve been looking forward to racing him and we’ve been talking back and forth. Tonight was a nice win for us.”

Street Stocks

149 Stephan Danielson, 52 AJ Dancer, 40 Mike Lyon, 41 Wade Jones, 2x Dennis Hilla, 2 Scott Stubbs, 7 Danny Schroat, 31 Joseph Batot, 37w Wayne Wernette, 15 Tommy Casey, 93 Greg Dinsmore, 37 AJ Wernette, 53 Ben Blanford

Street Stock heat winners, 2x Dennis Hilla, 149 Stephan Danielson

Okruhlik Outruns Henley for Pure Stock Payday

After being sidelined early last week with motor woes, Frank Okruhlik rebounded to find himself in a place he’s become very familiar with, the Winners Circle. It wasn’t easy as Okruhlik had to work his way up to battle with last weeks winner, Jarrett Payton. Okruhlik got the spot with two to go and was chased by Justin Henley to the finish line.

Caroline Campbell was first out of turn 2 with the lead of the 20-lap, 19-car Pure Stock feature. Tim Watson, Cody Leonard, Payton and Eric Watson fell in line behind the leader. Payton quickly moved past Leonard and T. Watson for second leaving T. Watson and Leonard side by side for third, while Brandy Ramzinski pulled along side E. Watson.

Payton got inside Campbell to grab the lead on lap 4 with Ramzinski moving up to third and Janel Hilla to fifth. Okruhlik broke into the top five on lap 5 getting past Hilla for the spot. Ramzinski found herself stopped at the bottom of turn 4 on lap 6 giving up her top five spot. Once back to green Leonard got by Campbell for second while Okruhlik moved in on both.

It was three wide for second on lap 8 with the fight for the spot continuing on lap 9 giving Hilla a chance to join. When things finally shook out it was Campbell still holding second and Okruhlik third. Okruhlik then got around Campbell for second, while Henley, on the high side got by Hilla and Leonard for fourth. Trey Heald broke and stopped in turn 1 to bring out a yellow and erase Payton’s big lead.

Payton got a good jump on Okruhlik, while Henley got past Campbell for third. It didn’t take Okruhlik long to close back in on Payton, and the fight was on. Okruhlik ducked inside Payton on the back stretch, but Payton, up top, held on. As they fought it out up front, Henley closed in. After a couple laps of door to door action, Okruhlik got the lead on lap 18 with Henley following to second. Okruhlik in the Tanner Services LLC, Odie Racing, Jackson Construction, Yours & Mine Crafts, Mo’s Chassis held off Henley for the victory.

“Man, the competition is really stepping up,” exclaimed Okruhlik. “They’re doing a good job. Patience paid off tonight. I followed Jarrett around for a while and waited for him to slip up. I don’t go out there with any plans. You just have to play it as it happens. You never know. I just kind of goes as it goes.”

“The track seemed to change during the Modified race. It was tacky for our race and was pretty good.”

Pure Stocks

99 Frank Okruhlik, 96 Justin Henley, 9s Jarrett Payton, 7x Janel Hilla, 43 Eric Watson, 88 Brandy Ramzinski, 26c Cody Leonard, 95 Jerry Jones, 98 William Saunders, 15 William Cavender, 33 Nerida Major, 71 Mike Harrison, 10c Caroline Campbell, 58 Leland Frautschi, 14 Trey Heald, 1 Tim Watson, 66c Rick Snyder, 94 Allen Torres, 44 James Watson, 89 Talon Minten—DNS

Pure Stock heat winners, 99 Frank Okruhlik, 44 James Watson, 7x Janel Hilla

Sowder Sneaks Into Front Runner Win

Landon Sowder found himself in the right spot at the right time after trouble befell both of Earnhardt boys cars. Sowder led only one lap but it was the most important as he picked up his first ever Front Runner checkers.

Sowder and Kirsten Blevins stayed side by side through turns 1-2 with Charlie Earnhardt III going three wide to grab the early lead. Cody Earnhardt, Hailee Marcx and Jimmy Carroll were three wide for fourth on lap 2. Co. Earnhardt got the spot then picked off third from Sowder. As Co. Earnhardt challenged Blevins for second, his brother Ch. Earnhardt slowed and pulled off.

This left Co. Earnhardt out front on lap 7. Hailee Marcx broke and stopped in turn 4 to bring out the races only yellow on lap 8. On the restart Sowder and Carroll got by Blevins for second and third as Co. Earnhardt held the point. With two to go Co. Earnhardt’s car began to sputter and slow. Sowder reeled him in and got the lead as the white was shown. Sowder held off Carroll the final lap for his inaugural win.

Front Runners

08 Landon Sowder, 67 Jimmy Carroll, 33c Cody Earnhardt, 17 Kirstin Blevins, 911 Raynez Akers, 98 Jim Knudtson, 66c Cindy Snider, 98E Lillian Gonzales, 33 Charlie Earnhardt III, 113 Hailee Marcx, 57 Trevor Bettis—DNS

Front Runner heat winners, 67 Jimmy Carroll, 33c Cody Earnhardt

by J M Hallas

Ryan Gustin goes home with USMTS hardware at Heart O’ Texas Speedway

After rain wiped out plans for the inaugural USMTS event at the Heart O’ Texas Speedway each of the last two seasons, the third time was the charm as Mother Nature delivered a picture-perfect day for racing Thursday.

Forty-three of the nation’s fastest and most furious Modified drivers descended on Gene Adamcik’s quarter-mile clay oval near Waco, Texas, and delivered an exciting night of racing for the throng of fans who had waited patiently for three years.

The event was first rained-out on May 3, 2009, and at that time Ryan Gustin was just 18 years old and had just won his first and only USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour powered by Swan Energy a few months earlier.

Gustin found his way back to victory lane again Thursday night, but this time for his sixth win of the season and 30th USMTS triumph in his young career.

After five heat races that clicked off without a single caution flag, Sean Jones was the AFCO Pole Award winner by earning the most passing points and then redrew the pole position for the start of the 40-lap WIX Filters “A” Main.

Jones jumped out to a four-car-length bulge in just one lap and paced the field of 26 starters through the first seven laps. Meanwhile, Rodney Sanders worked his way into second before Gustin grabbed the second spot away just before the race’s first caution.

On the restart, Jones again maintained the top spot with Gustin and Sanders giving chase, but after just one more lap Jones’ crate-powered machine veered off the track in turn 1 and came to a halt atop the embankment in turn 2, bringing out the second yellow flag.

With Jones dropping from first to last for the next restart, Gustin was in control but Sanders, 21, kept the 20-year-old Gustin within striking distance. The leaders encountered lapped traffic on lap 27 and Sanders closed in on Gustin.

With 10 laps to go, Gustin went to the high side while Sanders dove to the bottom as the two attempted to split the lapped car of Rory Jordan. As they exited turn 4, Gustin completed the pass but Jordan and Sanders made contact which sent Sanders head-on into an inside tire barrier.

The incident brought out the final caution of the race with Jimmy Ray, 13th-starting Jason Hughes and 19th-starting Johnny Scott sitting second, third and fourth behind Gustin for the restart.

Despite owning nine wins in the sixteen previous feature races so far this season, Hughes and Scott were unable to mount a challenge for the lead. However, Ray pressured Gustin in every turn for the remainder of the contest but had to settle for the runner-up paycheck at the finish line.

Hughes and Scott held on for third and fourth, respectively, while Shane Hebert climbed all the way to fifth after starting 25th and earned the Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger Award.

Brad Doherty finished sixth, Jason Grimes grabbed the seventh spot, Keith Green was eighth, Jones rebounded to finish ninth and Heart O’ Texas Speedway track points leader Chase Jupe rounded out the top-10.

The win, worth $2,000, moved Gustin into the points lead in the Day Motor Sports Southwest Region after four completed events. Scott is second, followed by Hughes, Sanders, Kelly Shryock, Bobby Malchus, Hebert, Bryan Rowland, Ray and Dereck Ramirez.

Shryock struggled in the USMTS main event, but still took home a trophy as he drove Shannon “Slider” Young’s SLY1 to victory in the 20-lap HotMod feature race.

Action moves to the Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale, Texas on Friday night for another $2,000-to-win contest. Hughes finished fourth in the last USMTS event at “The Fastest Little Dirt Track in Texas” in 2008 while three Cowtown locals – George White, Bryan Sugg and Glenn Leuschner – successfully defended their home turf and claimed the top three spots.

Pit gates will open at 4 p.m., grandstands open at 5, hot laps are at 6:30 and the green flag waves at 7 p.m. Also on the racing card will be Limited Mods and Bombers/Hobby Stocks.

The Cowtown Speedway is a quarter-mile high-banked clay oval located off of I-20 at exit 442-A, then 1.7 miles southeast on Mansfield Hwy., then 1.4 miles southwest on New Hope Rd. For day-of-race information, call 817-478-9952 or check out www.cowtownspeedway.com on the World Wide Web.

On Saturday night, May 7, the scene will be Virgil Page’s Lake Country Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., with racing slated for 8 p.m. The Lake Country Speedway is a 3/8-mile semi-banked clay oval located just off of I-35 at exit 29, then 0.7 mile east on US 70, then 1.8 miles south on US 77. For race day information, call 580-220-7565 or visit www.lakecountryspeedwayok.com online.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also follow the USMTS on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour powered by Swan Energy
Inaugural Event
Heart O’ Texas Speedway, Elm Mott, Texas
Thursday, May 5, 2011

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed, reason out (if any) and money won. The top 12 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (2) 2 Kenny Gaddis, Hallsville, Texas.
2. (3) 303 Chase Jupe, Waco, Texas.
3. (4) 707 P.J. Egbert ®, Copperas Cove, Texas.
4. (6) 2 Paul White, Temple, Texas.
5. (1) 71h Philip Houston ®, Odessa, Texas.
6. (8) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
7. (5) 156 Steve Pugh ®, Anderson, Texas.
8. (7) 78 Trevor Egbert ®, Salado, Texas.
9. (9) 14t Tristan Dycus, Midlothian, Texas.

NEW VISION GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (3) 41m Steve McMackin, Greenville, Texas.
2. (1) 410 Brad Doherty ®, Ennis, Texas.
3. (2) 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla.
4. (7) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
5. (4) 87 John Webb ®, Pauls Valley, Okla.
6. (6) 11 Wesley Hamilton ®, Killeen, Texas.
7. (5) 87 Justin McCoy ®, Ovilla, Texas.
8. (9) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr. ®, Sunnyville, Texas.
9. (8) 60 William Gould, Calera, Okla.

EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (6) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas.
2. (2) 99 Jason Grimes ®, Jamestown, N.D.
3. (1) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (4) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
5. (3) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas.
6. (8) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
7. (5) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla.
8. (7) 88xx Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 5g Keith Green, Waco, Texas.
2. (4) 9 Jimmy Ray ®, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (3) 76 Jesse Manning ®, Brazoria, Texas.
4. (7) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La.
5. (1) 76 Jeff Rowland ®, Pauls Valley, Okla.
6. (6) 82 Brandon Houk ®, Venus, Texas.
7. (5) 94 Nick Hardcastle, Corpus Christi, Texas.
8. (8) 51 Tracy Denby Jr., Vidor, Texas.

HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (2) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (4) 717 George Egbert IV ®, Salado, Texas.
3. (8) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
4. (3) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas.
5. (1) 12g Jeremy Green ®, Enid, Okla.
6. (7) 8 Steve Miller, Georgetown, Texas.
7. (6) 45t Eric Tomlinson ®, Robinson, Texas.
8. (5) 12 Scooter Bates, Killeen, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 7 advance):1. (2) 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla.
2. (1) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
3. (4) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (3) 76 Jesse Manning ®, Brazoria, Texas.
5. (6) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas.
6. (8) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
7. (13) 78 Trevor Egbert ®, Salado, Texas.
8. (5) 71h Philip Houston ®, Odessa, Texas, SRP/JR, $80.
9. (14) 51 Tracy Denby Jr., Vidor, Texas, Skyrocket/Harris, $80.
10. (12) 45t Eric Tomlinson ®, Robinson, Texas, Hughes/Outlaw, $80.
11. (10) 156 Steve Pugh ®, Anderson, Texas, Skyrocket/ProPower, $80.
12. (9) 11 Wesley Hamilton ®, Killeen, Texas, Pierce/Centex, $80.
13. (15) 14t Tristan Dycus, Midlothian, Texas, Kraft/Wells, $80.
14. (11) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, $80.
15. (7) 12g Jeremy Green ®, Enid, Okla., Ramirez/Janes, $80.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 7 advance):1. (2) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (4) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas.
3. (5) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla.
4. (7) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
5. (3) 2 Paul White, Temple, Texas.
6. (13) 88xx Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas.
7. (1) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La.
8. (11) 94 Nick Hardcastle, Corpus Christi, Texas, Skyrocket/Hardcastle, $60.
9. (6) 76 Jeff Rowland ®, Pauls Valley, Okla., Hughes/Boyd’s, $80.
10. (9) 82 Brandon Houk ®, Venus, Texas, Harris/Lenmar, $80.
11. (10) 87 Justin McCoy ®, Ovilla, Texas, Skyrocket/KSP, $80.
12. (15) 60 William Gould, Calera, Okla., Shaw/BMS, $60.
13. (8) 8 Steve Miller, Georgetown, Texas, Hughes/Cantrell, $80.
14. (12) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyville, Texas.
15. (14) 12 Scooter Bates, Killeen, Texas, Pierce/Brooks, $60.

WIX FILTERS “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (5) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $2000.
2. (7) 9 Jimmy Ray ®, Las Cruces, N.M., AOS/GMPP, 40, $1500.
3. (13) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $1000.
4. (19) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ASI, 40, $800.
5. (25) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La., Hughes/ASI, 40, $800.
6. (9) 410 Brad Doherty ®, Ennis, Texas, GRT/Craft, 40, $600.
7. (10) 99 Jason Grimes ®, Jamestown, N.D., Hughes/Dakota, 40, $550.
8. (2) 5g Keith Green, Waco, Texas, Hughes/, 40, $300.
9. (1) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas, PCR/GMPP, 40, $450.
10. (8) 303 Chase Jupe, Waco, Texas, Hughes/Centex, 40, $250.
11. (23) 88xx Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas, Hughes/Wells, 40, $400.
12. (16) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Ramirez/ProPower, 40, $375.
13. (17) 87 John Webb ®, Pauls Valley, Okla., Hughes/Shoulders, 40, $350.
14. (22) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/ProPower, 40, $400.
15. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, 40, $400.
16. (24) 78 Trevor Egbert ®, Salado, Texas, Hughes/Centex, 40, $300.
17. (20) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $250.
18. (18) 76 Jesse Manning ®, Brazoria, Texas, Evolution/Hall, 40, $300.
19. (11) 707 P.J. Egbert ®, Copperas Cove, Texas, Hughes/Lingo, 18, radiator, $300.
20. (12) 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 18, A-frame, $300.
21. (14) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas, Hughes/Chase, 17, crash, $300.
22. (26) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr. ®, Sunnyville, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 17, crash, $300.
23. (21) 2 Paul White, Temple, Texas, Hughes/Centex, 17, suspension, $300.
24. (3) 717 George Egbert IV ®, Salado, Texas, DirtWorks/Centex, 14, radiator, $300.
25. (4) 2 Kenny Gaddis, Hallsville, Texas, Hughes/Gaddis, 13, suspension, $300.
26. (15) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas, CAM/Allard, 6, steering, $300.
27. (27) 41m Steve McMackin, Greenville, Texas, DirtWorks/Cotton, did not start, 0, $100.

® = Rookie of the Year contender.

Integra Lap Leaders: Jones 1-8, Gustin 9-40.
Total Laps Led: Gustin 32, Jones 8.
Margin of Victory: 1.017 seconds.
AFCO Pole Winner: Jones.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Hebert (started 25th, finished 5th).
Provisional Starter: Dunn.
Next Race: Friday, May 6, Cowtown Speedway, Kennedale, Texas.
Day Motor Sports Southwest Region Points: Gustin 364, Scott 353, Hughes 351, Sanders 309, Shryock 305, Malchus 302, Hebert 273, B. Rowland 255, Ray 247, Ramirez 233.
Rookie of the Year Points: Dunn 727, Ray 707, P. Egbert 661, J. Rowland 638, Webb 591.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 159, ProPower 117, ASI 114, Sput’s 76, Geddes 69.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Hughes 167, Skyrocket 128, GRT 101, Ramirez 68, TRE 67.

Contingency Awards:American Racer – Shryock.
CPD Racing Tools – not awarded.
Eibach Springs – Jones.
Forty9Designs.com – Scott, Jones.
Hooker Harness – Ramirez.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Gustin.
ISKY Racing Cams – Gaddis.
KSE Racing Products – not awarded.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Allen.
New Vision Graphics – not awarded.
Nitroquest – J. Green, Dunn.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Hebert.
PBM Performance Products – not awarded.
Real Racing Wheels – Houston, J. Rowland.
Ruter Farms – not awarded.
WIX Filters – Gustin.

by Jeff Nunn, USMTS PR

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