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McGaha, Abbey, White, Roller win Southern Challenge Championships at Abilene

The 17th Annual Ryan Bard Memorial, Southern Challenge wrapped racing action for year at Abilene Speedway for 2011. With 20 drivers already secured in spots for Sundays Big A-Main and B-mains in the IMCA Modifieds, Southern Sportmods, Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks, the remaining group had one more shot to make the field for the big pay out at the end of the days racing.

Sundays afternoon racing always presents a ‘challenge’ to drivers and teams as track conditions change from Friday and Saturday night racing. The best dry, slick set ups and track position are key to finding the Winners Circle and championship pay day at the end of the day. Crews worked on the track right up until start time in an effort to keep a good track early.

Sunday’s races are always a day of remembrance for Ryan Bard who lost his life after a fiery crash early in the day several years ago. The memory of his loss was made even more emotional when word of Dan Weldon passing away during an Indy Car event in Las Vegas began to surface.

The Young Guns Jr. Mini Stock Shootout also finished up its racing season with heat races and feature to determine its champion.

McGaha ‘The Man’ in Modified main

Abilene’s Josh McGaha topped off a nearly perfect Southern Challenge weekend going wire to wire in the 30-lap IMCA Modified main event. McGaha got the lead from the pole and was chased early by national point’s runner-up Keith White. White’s run ended after an encounter with a lapped car sent him almost to the turn 1-2 wall. Gabe Tucker and Charles Brewer took up the charges after White fell out, but no one could touch McGaha even after a lap 25 caution rebunched the field. It was the biggest career win for the McGaha a former Abilene Speedway track champion.

The 20-car IMCA Modified field was pared down by two before the pack took the green. It was three wide in turn 4 as the race started, but Chris Dawson, Charles Brewer, Bo Newton and Tim Clonch got tangled in the melee ending the night for Clonch and Newton. Brewer would continue, Dawson would pit and return later in the race.

When green finally waved McGaha jumped out front with White getting a break from Hughes Chassis teammate Gabe Tucker to get the bottom. Tucker, Chris Elliott and Brewer lined up behind White. The top five were nose to tail and easing away from GW Egbert IV, Ben Ketteman, Philip Houston and Neal Flowers. As Brewer got by Elliott for fourth, Dawson returned, strolled around and fell in between McGaha and White.

McGaha was able to inch away as Dawson held up the pack. White tried to go outside and Dawson threw a block with Tucker trying to dive low. White again tried high on Dawson with Dawson running White up the track almost to the wall. Brewer snuck past the scramble for second, with Tucker third. White caught up to Dawson and gave him a shot on the bumper with Dawson going around and collecting Flowers.

As the race resumed and came to halfway it was McGaha, Tucker, Brewer, Elliott and Ketteman in the top five. Elliott tried the high side of Brewer for third but got freight-trained by Ketteman, Houston and Egbert. McGaha continued to hold his advantage over Tucker until Fred Wojtek clipped an infield tire in turn 3 with five to go. The field stayed in line on the restart with no one willing to chance the outside. McGaha ran unchallenged to the checkers in the A City Speed, Texas Roadhouse, Extreme Bodies, Lone Star Wind Farm, Five Star Powder Coating, Showtime Signs & Graphics, Fletchers Motorsports, Dirt Works Genesis Chassis.

“This is by far my biggest win,” replied McGaha. “We’ve had a real good year racing here and had a run for the championship with my buddy Charles (Brewer). We barely missed it, but I’ll take winning the Southern Challenge. We won the IMCA Modified championship here four or five years ago. We’ve kind of laid low on running for points and concentrate on feature wins.”

“On Sunday you never have to worry about someone trying to sneak by on top. It’s pretty much guaranteed no one will be out there. You just hope everyone is courteous behind you and they stay off your rear bumper. You just to keep it around the bottom. Rob (Poor) tried to give us a better track for racing on Sunday, but it didn’t happen. Friday and Saturday night is was good and there was lots of racing.”

“You know there’s going to be fast guys behind you. If you make the A-main for the Southern Challenge there will be some good cars. I knew there would be some on my heels. When you’re in the lead you don’t have anything to gauge your pace. I was conservative getting in and able to pull off the corners. I felt a couple taps, but they were good enough not to get me sideways.”

“I’m not much of a point’s racer. We had a real good second half of the season and got in the hunt. We made the feature at Boone(SuperNationals) and won this. We just hope next year will be as good or better, but we’ll just be running for wins. I’ve got to thank my pit man, Bubba, he’s been with since the Icebreaker last year. He puts a lot of hours in for little pay. I couldn’t be here without him.”

IMCA Modifieds
911 Josh McGaha, Abilene, 28 Gabe Tucker, Carbon, 72 Charles Brewer, Abilene, 37 Ben Ketteman, Pflugerville, 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, 717 GW Egbert IV, Belton, 66 Lance Shaw, Sweetwater, 7 Randy Martin, Springtown, 69 Danny Hogue, Abilene, 44 Fred Wojtek, Abilene, 23 Chris Elliott, Eastland, 1 Keith White, Academy, 85 Neal Flowers, Hobbs, NM, 711 Chris Dawson, Post, 19 BJ Baze, Sherman, 16 Bob Sikes. Eunice, NM, 117 Toby Herring, Hobbs, NM, 90 Tommy Fain, Abilene, 89 Bo Newton, Bangs, 18 Tim Clonch, Quinlan

IMCA Modified B-Main(Top 10 to back of Big A-Main)
37 Ben Ketteman, Pflugerville, 69 Danny Hogue, Abilene, 90 Tommy Fain, Abilene, 71 Philip Houston. Odessa, 117 Toby Herring, Hobbs, NM, 16 Bob Sikes, Eunice NM, 44 Fred Wojtek, Abilene, 89 Bo Newton, Bangs, 66 Lance Shaw, Sweetwater, 7 Randy Martin, Springtown, 318 Scotty Cook, Abilene, 17 Jimmy Tidwell, Round Rock, 29 Jamie Campbell, Adkins, 49 Vince Ogle, Lubbock, 24 Tony Wink, Abilene, 34 Brendon Medcalf, Tolar, 83 Chad Estes, Troy, 63 Hardy Henderson, Taylor, 43 Robby Edwards, Eastland, 141 Monte Bolton, Lubbock—DNS

IMCA Modified Last Chance Qualifiers(Top 5 to back of B-main)
LCQ #1 16 Bob Sikes, 44 Fred Wojtek, 66 Lance Shaw, 34 Brendon Medcalf, 49 Vince Ogle
LCQ #2 83 Chad Estes, 89 Bo Newton, 318 Scotty Cook, 17 Jimmy Tidwell, 24 Tony Wink

IMCA Modified Heats(Top 6 to Last Chance Qualifier)
Heat 1 16 Bob Sikes, 44 Fred Wojtek, 34 Brendon Medcalf, 302 Bo Briley, 03 Mike Hathcock, 116 Mikel Powers
Heat 2 66 Lance Shaw, 49 Vince Ogle, 104 Kevin Switzer, 13 Jim Thorp, 82 Donald Thatch, 61 Bobby Sikes jr.
Heat 3 *3 Chad Estes, 17 Jimmy Tidwell, 51 Larry Floyd jr., 24 Tony Wink, 318 Scotty Cook, 611 Caleb Stone
Heat 4 89 Bo Newton, 59 Kelly Allen, 102 David Davis, 171 Chad Melton, 144 Joe Spillman, 12 Toby Hubbard

All Abbey in Sportmod Sweep

The 2011 IMCA Southern Sportmod, Dean Abbey (Haslet) showed everyone why he was this year’s titlist. Abbey led from start to finish in the 30-lapper for the Sportmods. Abbey was trailed early by JC Howell until track favorite, Bradley Poor took up the challenges. Poor pressured Abbey throughout the last three quarters of the race waiting for a mistake that Abbey never would make. The final laps saw the top four running nose to tail trading a few bumper taps all the way to the checkers.

It took several attempts to get the 20-car IMCA Southern Sportmod feature started under green. When they finally got a lap in the books, Abbey as out front followed by Howell, Poor, Steve Hayes and Matt Mueller. Doug Easterling brought out a yellow on lap 1 to slow the action again. The top eight stayed in line back under green while Shane Priddy got by Justin Shaw for ninth.

Johnny Torres followed Priddy through to tenth, then got by Priddy for ninth. As Abbey built a good lead, Poor got around Howell for second. Priddy brought out a yellow on lap 5 when he went around in turn 3. Back under green Abbey and Poor broke free from Hayes and Mueller. Torres picked up another spot getting by Gary Underwood, bringing Kelly Cross and Michael Tennison.

Tennison got past Torres for seventh and as Torres slid high, Cross and Underwood got past for eighth and ninth. Coming the crossed flags it was Abbey, Poor, Hayes, Mueller and Mark Patterson getting by George Egbert III for fifth. Yellow waved on lap 15 for a get together between Torres, Shane Wojtek, David Elliott and Underwood in turns 1-2.
Once back to green the top four got away as Patterson slowed from fifth splitting the pack.

With ten to go Poor was all over Abbey’s bumper as the two put some distance on Hayes and Mueller. As they battled up front, Hayes and Mueller closed back in with five to go. A game of bumper tag broke out among the lead group with two laps left. The game was clean and Abbey held off the charges in the BG Motorsports, JL Racing, Smileys, Rhino Racing Rearends, Braka Operating, E&E Kustoms, Tumbleweed BBQ, Chase Me Race Engines, Abbey Racing Chassis.

“The car was really, really good all weekend,” commented Abbey. “I can’t complain about anything. We drew good on Friday and ran up front. I couldn’t do this by myself though. All the props go to Brad Gaines and JL Racing for all they do. Without his set up we’d never be where we were.”

“You know that guys will be coming, but you have to run every lap like it’s the first lap and do your thing. You can’t worry about who’s behind and just focus on what you have to do and not make any mistakes.”

“Winning the IMCA Southern Sportmod Championship and winning this race are big accomplishments. We’ve won some titles in Bandeleros and Legend cars and runner up for rookie of year in Sportmods in 2009. This is a really big race for me because it’s the first time I’ve ever made the feature in three years of trying.”

“I’ve run dirt and pavement and while dirt is more fun, I can’t take away from what I learned racing pavement. I learned all the fundamentals running asphalt, the dirt’s just made me better.”

IMCA Southern Sportmods
26 Dean Abbey, Haslet, 48 Bradley Poor, Abilene, 38 Matt Mueller, Stamford, 95 Steve Hayes, Eastland, 63 Michael Tennison, Baird, 70 George Egbert, Salado, 103 JC Howell, Mabank, 00 Kelly Cross, Amarillo, 7 Stephen Robison, Abilene, 25 Terry Owen, Merkel, 45 Shane Wojtek, Robert Lee, 88 Doug Easterling, Rule, 172 Mark Patterson, Abilene, 99 Gary Underwood, Abilene, 71 Johnny Torres, San Antonio, 19 David Elliott, Eastland, 55 Justin Shaw, Sweetwater, 766 Shane Priddy, Abilene, 77 Tyler Fain, Tuscola, 17 Scotty Wallace, Lorenzo

IMCA SSM B-Main(Top 10 to back of Big A-Main)
99 Gary Underwood, Abilene, 71 Johnny Torres, San Antonio, 766 Shane Priddy, Abilene, 63 Michael Tennison, Baird, 7 Stephen Robison, Abilene, 17 Scotty Wallace. Lorenzo, 00 Kelly Cross, Amarillo, 45 Shane Wojtek, Robert Lee, 88 Doug Easterling, Rule, 25 Terry Owen, Merkel, 118 Robert Crabtree jr., Clyde, 311 Danny Patterson, Abilene, 97 Julie Boettler, Farmington, NM, 917 Kyle Wisdom, Abilene , 80 Mike Easterwood, Sundown, 144 Tim Ridgeway, Midland, 18 Douglas Gillespie, Amarillo, 511 Cory Williams, Slaton, 31 Brian Heard, Hobbs, NM, 59 Chad Hertel, Shallowater—DNS

IMCA SSM Last Chance Qualifiers(Top 5 to back of B-main)
LCQ #1 00 Kelly Cross, 80 Mike Easterwood, 25 Terry Owen, 31 Brian Heard, 917 Kyle Wisdom
LCQ #2 118 Robert Crabtree jr., 88 Doug Easterling, 18 Douglas Gillespie, 45 Shane Wojtek, 97 Julie Boettler

IMCA SSM Heats(Top 6 to Last Chance Qualifier)
Heat 1 00 Kelly Cross, 11 Michael Therwhanger, 25 Terry Owen, 91 Mitchell Wachsmann, 01 Charlie Underwood, 33 Bobby Bentle
Heat 2 80 Mike Easterwood, 31 Brian Heard, 4 Kenneth Graves, 22 Joey Klemish, 917 Kyle Wisdom, 227 Forrest Wemken
Heat 3 45 Shane Wojtek, 18 Douglas Gillespie, 97 Julie Boettler, 32 Rodger Pierce, 166 Brian Carey, 117 JP Vasquez jr.
Heat 4 118 Robert Crabtree jr., 88 Doug Easterling, 690 Todd Bartlett, 122 Brandon Brown, 14 Cody Brosh, 1 Michael Galan

White Wins as Phillips Fails

As if Keith White needed any help, racelong leader David Phillips saw a transmission failure hand the win to White, the 2011 IMCA Stock Car National Champion. Phillips led at green with friend and track rival, Shane Priddy on his tail. Priddy had problems and pulled off leaving White far behind Phillips. White methodically cut into Phillips lead catching him near halfway. A late restart was Phillips downfall as high gear broke on the restart giving White the opening he needed to get by with five to. White then eased away from JC Howell, who gave up spots on the final laps leaving White unchallenged at the checkers.

It was a good start for Phillips in the IMCA Stock Car feature as he jumped out, trailed by Priddy, White, JC Howell and Duain Pritchett. Priddy had trouble and slowed on lap 2 dropping from second and leaving Phillips with a gap back to White. White methodically cut into Phillips’ lead catching him at halfway, with Howell, Pritchett and Chad Estes rounding out the top five.

Trey Melton brought out the races’ first caution with a spin in turn 4. On green the top three stayed nose to tail and eased away from Pritchett and Estes. Pritchett gave up fourth when he slowed and pulled off on lap 18, with Joe Colyer getting by Bo Briley for fifth. Colyer then lost fluid on track and stopped for a lap 24 caution that would prove to be Phillips downfall.

On the restart Phillips couldn’t get the car in high gear with White and the rest of the field diving low to avoid Phillips. White lead coming back to the line for lap 25, with Howell, Estes, Billy Wade and Tim Clonch now in the top five. An infield tire slowed the action on lap 25 briefly, but White would power away on the restart and pull away for the victory in the Tracys Auto Sales, Braka Operating, Triple T Trucking, Stacys Farms, Tubbs Paint & Body, TCI, Craftmasters Powder Coating, Extreme Graphics, BSB Manufacturing, KS Engineering, Bill Whites Auto Sales, Belton Iron & Steel, racinwithneal.com, Kempner Iron & Steel, Stephenville Starter, CenTex Motorsports, Medieval Chassis.

“I hate to win one this way,” said White. “But we’ll spend the money just the same. I thought maybe he lost the clutch, but he lost high gear. We’ve had our share of the same issues in the twenty plus years we’ve been doing this. It doesn’t make it feel any better. They’re good people and I feel for them.

“He pretty much had me covered. I laid back a little but there’s not much you can do with the track that’s one lane. That might breed some of this racing that happens here on Sunday. I wish they’d go to a Thursday. Friday and Saturday night race. We need a night show to be the marquee event for the Southern Challenge”

“You’d like to say that winning one that you might not have and losing one that you might have won equals out, but it doesn’t. When you lose one because of someone that isn’t worth it and lose one to a good person like David Phillips just because of a parts failure. No it doesn’t work out.”

“Even with all my wins in my career it’s still fun to come up here and do good. The people I associate with are all good people and that’s why I come and hang out with them here. We want to win for our sponsors, our family and friends. I really have to thank Gabe Tucker for the use of his Modified this weekend after mine was torn up at Boone.”

“It wasn’t that easy jumping into an I-stock and winning the National Championship. I don’t think of it as a step down either. This is whole different feel, style of driving and there’s good, hard drivers that you can run door to door with. It’s fun to race like that. The Stock Car breed that type of racing. That’s the kind of racing we need to have.”

“Losing the Modified points by just a few again this year kind of bums you out. But that’s the way the points racing is. It’s what got us the Stock Car title. So you win by it and lose by it. So close, but so far away. I feel we gave away a few wins this year and I can count them. Come February of next year we’ll be loaded for bear again.”

IMCA Stock Cars
11 Keith White, Academy, 83 Chad Estes, Troy, 22 Billy Wade, San Angelo, 125 Tim Clonch, Quinlan, 103 JC Howell, Mabank, 08 Levi Hodges, Ft Worth, 26 Marc Egbert, Lubbock, 77 Allen Bradley, Farmington, NM, 28 Cory Davis, Eunice, NM, 18 David Phillips, Abilene, 117 Joe Colyer, Abilene, 07 Dennis Bissonnette, Stephenville, 302 Bo Briley, Miles, 221 Duain Pritchett, Combine, 47 Trey Melton, Lubbock, 01 Chris Hale, Ringling, OK, 201 Cody Kays, Hobbs, NM, 10 Mike McCarthy, Round Rock, 771 Shane Priddy, Abilene

IMCA Stock Car B-Main(Top 10 to back of Big A-Main)
22 Billy Wade, San Angelo, 77 Allen Bradley, Farmington, NM, 08 Levi Hodges, Ft Worth, 10 Mike McCarthy, Round Rock, 117 Joe Colyer, Abilene, 156 Jason Adcock, San Angelo, 201 Cody Kays, Hobbs, NM, 47 Trey Melton, Lubbock, 07 Dennis Bissonnette, Stephenville, 26 Marc Egert, Lubbock, 113 Jim Thorp, Mertzon, 12 Dustin White, Lamesa, 3 Steffan Carey, Bloomfield, NM, 88 Robert Barnett sr. Abilene, 02 Wayne Stremmel, Stamford, 55 Mart Wampler, Snyder, 4 Kelly Brown, Abilene, 69 Lewis Hammond, Midland, 50 Terry Wojtek, Sterling City, 59 Travis Sutherlin, Aztec, NM

IMCA Stock Car Last Chance Qualifiers(Top 5 to back of B-main)
LCQ #1 47 Trey Melton, 26 Marc Egert, 113 Jim Thorp, 55 Mart Wampler, 02 Wayne Stremmel
LCQ #2 156 Jason Adcock, 07 Dennis Bissonnette, 69 Lewis Hammond, 50 Terry Wojtek, 12 Dustin White

IMCA Stock Car Heats(Top 6 to Last Chance Qualifier)
Heat 1 02 Wayne Stremmel, 113 Jim Thorp, 47 Trey Melton, 7 Walter Freeman, 21 Scott Kristinik, 8 Dustin Locke
Heat 2 15 Corbie McLaren, 26 Marc Egert, 131 Mark Lord, 25 Donald Baker, 55 Mart Wampler, 14 Kenneth Graves
Heat 3 07 Dennis Bissonnette, 12 Dustin White, 1 Willie Free, 69 Lewis Hammond, 971 JD White, 992 Karah Ward
Heat 4 156 Jason Adcock, 99 Tim Pfalgraf, 122 Bill Brzezinski, 50 Terry Wojtek, 43 Scotty Cook, 81 Hunter Russell

Rockin’ Roller for Hobby Honors

Scoring the biggest win of his life, Waco’s Andy Roller lead every lap in the feature and nearly every lap on the weekend. Roller only trailed for a single lap during Friday night’s heat race. Roller was pursued throughout the 30-lap event by Billy Briley II who could only get close under yellow. After a mid-race caution, Roller stretched out his advantage over Briley as the top eight spread out. Roller was able to put it on cruise control as he powered his way to the victory.

Roller eased away as green flew on the IMCA Hobby Stock feature with three wide racing in the pack. Billy Briley, Jeremy Carter, Tobie Talk and Allen Montgomery sorted themselves out behind Roller. Terry Comer II went for spin in turn 4 to bring out a lap 1 caution. Roller again jumped out on green leaving Carter pressuring Briley for second. Carter left an opening for Talk to get by for third, but closed the door before Montgomery could get through.

Jerry West and Jordan Lathram tangled in turn 3 to bring out a yellow on lap 9. Back under green, Carter was able to retake third from Talk, but gave the spot up as the two swapped positions. Amanda Brewer brought oit a caution on lap 12 when she spun in turn 1. Roller pulled ahead on green coming to the midway point trailed by Briley, Talk, Montgomery and Carter.

The final half of the race saw the top eight separate out between each other, with only small skirmishes breaking out farther back in the pack. This left Roller all alone out front with no pressure other than making a mistake. At the checkers it was Roller by a comfortable margin in the Howard’s Automatic Transmissions, Hammack Racing, Mach-1, Demon Decals, Southwest Maintenance, A&J Custom Paint, J&J Race Engines, Charger Chassis.

“I’ve never won a race from the pole,” exclaimed Roller. “The car was perfect this weekend, I think we led every lap but one in the heat race. We bought two new tires for today figuring we’d chew them up, and they probably are. This is the biggest win of my career. I won a $500 to win race in Killeen and got to shoot the cannon, but the extra $500 is bigger than that.”

“It’s hard to go outside here on Sunday so I wasn’t too worried about that. They don’t use a line up board here so I didn’t know who was behind me. I saw the 123 car(Billy Briley II) behind me once, but I just started counting down the laps. I tried counting double so they’d go quicker. I was so happy when I saw that white flag. I just tried to hug the tires. That’s the way to run here on Sunday. If you don’t mess up you’ve got a good chance of winning.”

IMCA Hobby Stocks
63 Andy Roller, Waco, 123 Billy Briley II, Midland, 77 Tobie Talk, Abilene, 38 Allen Montgomery, Ft. Worth, 25 Jeremy Carter, Joshua, 56 Justin Cass, Abilene, 85 David Bissonnette, Stephenville, 237 Jordan Lathram, Hobbs, NM, 3 Amanda Brewer, Hillsboro, 23 Alec Smith, Hobbs, NM, 17 Jon Grindstaff, Venus, 37 Lynn Gibson, Rhome, 721 Jaron Shahon, China Spring, 21 Aaron Elliott, Hawley, 818 Dustin Mims, Dublin, 9 Jerry West, Ft. Worth, 72 Tommy Phillips, Abilene, 27 Chase Parsons, Abilene, 15 Terry Comer II, Hawley, 86 Brian Flowers, Hobbs, NM

IMCA Hobby Stock B-Main(Top 10 to back of Big A-Main)
86 Brian Flowers, Hobbs, NM, 72 Tommy Phillips, Abilene, 27 Chase Parsons, Abilene, 237 Jordan Lathram, Hobbs, NM, 15 Terry Comer II, Hawley, 721 Jaron Shahon, China Spring, 3 Amanda Brewer, Hillsboro, 23 Alec Smith, Hobbs, NM, 17 Jon Grindstaff, Venus, 37 Lynn Gibson, Rhome, 55 Wendall Kurts, Hamlin, 122 George Locke, Eunice, NM, 46 Billy Taylor, Gatesville, 827 Chris Mims, Dublin, 117 Derek Sparks, Stephenville, 24 Gordon Pippin, McCaulley

Roberts Rockets to Young Guns Shootout

Jarrett Roberts jumped out front at the start of the 15 lap Young Guns, Jr. Mini Stock feature with Trinten Turley, Tyler Webb, Austin Wanderschied and Bryce Pritchett on his tail. As B. Pritchett moved up to fourth, John Freeman worked his way into the top five. Jarred Marquez spun on lap 5 for the first yellow. Once back under green, Roberts, Turley and Webb broke away.

Turley and Webb made contact battling for second with Webb going into the back stretch wall for a lap 6 yellow. Roberts pulled away from B. Pritchett back under green with Wanderschied and Brook Cooper side by side. Copper was then able to get around B. Pritchett for second when Casey Carnes spun in turn 4 for a yellow on lap 12.

On the restart Cooper tried to dive under Roberts for the lead but ended up spinning in turn 2 for another yellow on lap 13. Officials cut the race to a green, white, checker finish that saw Roberts get away clean from B. Pritchett and go the final two laps without any pressure.

Young Guns Jr. Mini Stock Shootout
6 Jarrett Roberts, 21 Bryce Pritchett, 7d Austin Thiess, Ksp1 Jarred Marquez, 155 Austin Wunderschied, 21x John Freeman, 5k Kelsey Baggett, 94 Brook Cooper, 86 Casey Carnes, 17 Trinten Turley, 56 Tyler Webb, 77 Jeremy Hamlin, 22 Calton Pritchett, 74 Emily Phillips, 00 Jesney Reagan

By J M Hallas

Abilene Speedway to host ASCS Lone Star Sprint Cars this weekend

Abilene Speedway in Abilene, Texas, is gearing up for its first dose of big-time Sprint Car racing as the ASCS Lone Star Region invades the ¼-mile semi-banked clay oval this Saturday night.

Saturday’s stop at Abilene marks the fifth round in the ASCS Lone Star championship points chase after the series most recent pair of events were washed out on May 15-16.

Fort Worth’s Kevin Ramey, a two-time ASCS Sooner Region champion, is out to the early lead as he vies for the inaugural Lone Star title. After a runner-up run in the inaugural Lone Star feature at Waco’s Heart O’ Texas Speedway on April 3, Ramey rallied from eight rows deep the next night at Cowtown Speedway to snare the win.

Then, broken leg and all, Ramey added a pair of top-ten feature runs during the ASCS Red River Shootout that pitted the Lone Star Region against the ASCS Sooner Region to extend his points lead 68 markers over Princeton, TX, shoe Brad Welborn.

Two-time and defending Sooner Region champion Brian McClelland of Tulsa, OK, enters Saturday’s action third in points, just eight markers behind Welborn, with Flower Mound’s Matt Clevenger and Fort Worth’s J.P. Bailey rounding out the current top five.

The balance of the top ten in ASCS Lone Star points entering Saturday’s action includes Kolt Walker (Graham, TX), Justin Melton (Flower Mound, TX), Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), Claud Estes (Godley, TX) and Michael Lang (Mesquite, TX).

Saturday’s card is slated to go green at 8:00 p.m.

Abilene Speedway is located in Abilene, TX, off westbound I-20 Exit 278, then south over I-20, then back east on I-20 to Exit 279, then 1.1 mile east on Business I-20. For more information, contact the track at 325-692-8800 or 325-537-4494.

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.

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

Keith White wraps up “Ice Breaker” weekend at Abilene Speedway with third win

The final night of Abilene Speedway’s Ice Breaker special saw Keith White collect his third win of the weekend, while Vince Ogle won for the second time and Billy Wade and Jeff Kinnaird both collected their first checkers.

The opening night IMCA Modified winner, White had his work cut out in duplicating Saturday’s Southern SportMod triumph as he had to chase down early leader and defending track champion Josh McGaha.

White stayed glued to McGaha’s bumper throughout several restarts, then in a bold move on a tricky track, jumped to the high side taking the lead on lap 12. From there White put it on cruise control as he inched away from McGaha on his way to the checkers.

Ogle, the Saturday IMCA Sunoco Stock Car winner, topped Sunday’s Modified final.

A two-time track champion at Abilene in the division, Ogle led from start to finish after passing pole starter Chris Elliott on the opening circuit. The front pair pulled away from the rest of the field, with Ogle stretching his advantage over the last two circuits.

Wade got around early Stock Car leader Tony Ritterbush after a restart, held off Ritterbush after another caution and built his lead on the way to the finish.

Eric Jones took one last shot at Wade and Ritterbush on the final lap but came up short and settled for third.

After following Allen Montgomery across the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock stripe both Friday and Saturday, Kinnaird took it upon himself to spoil Montgomery’s bid for the weekend sweep.

Kinnaird used track position to get out front early and build a good lead, while Montgomery was forced to make his way through the front of the pack. Montgomery used lapped traffic to close in at one point, but Kinnaird again ran away once clear and grabbed the win.

Feature Results
Modifieds – 1. Vince Ogle, Lubbock; 2. Chris Elliott, Eastland; 3. Richard McDaniel, Edgewood; 4. Chris Dawson, Post; 5. Monte Bolton, Lubbock; 6. Tommy Fain, Abilene; 7. Chad Maurer, Eaton Rapids, Mich.; 8. Keith White, Academy; 9. Jason Schoenberger, Gorham, Kan.; 10. Jeff Emerson, Sherman; 11. Fred Wojtek, Robert Lee; 12. Bob Sikes, Eunice, N.M.; 13. Charles Brewer, Abilene; 14. Gabe Tucker, Carbon; 15. Kelly Allen, Lubbock; 16. Joe Colyer, Abilene; 17. Neal Debord, Amarillo; 18. Levi Ely, Abilene; 19. Mark Patterson, Abilene; 20. Kenneth Graves, Tahoka.

Southern SportMods – 1. Keith White, Academy; 2. Josh McGaha, Brownwood; 3. Bill Pittaway, Corpus Christi; 4. David Riley, Wolforth; 5. Brandon Stewart, Academy; 6. Ronnie Welborn, Princeton; 7. Matt Mueller, Stamford; 8. Mark Patterson, Abilene; 9. Jeff Whitehead, Slaton; 10. Gabe Tucker, Abilene; 11. Tyler Fain, Tuscola; 12. Shane Wojtek, Robert Lee; 13. James Myers, Corpus Christi; 14. Jonathon Campbell, Abilene; 15. Justin Shaw, Sweetwater; 16. Danny Hogue, Abilene; 17. Dean Abbey, Comanche; 18. Bradley Poor, Abilene; 19. Chris Meyers, Eunice, N.M.; 20. Scotty Wallace, Lorenzo.

Stock Cars – 1. Billy Wade, San Angelo; 2. Tony Ritterbush, Dunlap, Iowa; 3. Eric Jones, Killeen; 4. Terry Wojtek, Sterling City; 5. Willie Free, Snyder; 6. Mike Van Genderen, Newton, Iowa; 7. Mart Wampler, Snyder; 8. Kevin Opheim, Mason City, Iowa; 9. Matt Guillaume, Tomball; 10. Jeremy Gettler, Adair, Iowa; 11. Wayne Stremmel, Stamford; 12. Cory Davis, Eunice, N.M.; 13. Bill Brzezinski Sr., Roby; 14. Dustin Locke, Eunice, N.M.; 15. Duain Pritchett, Combine; 16. Vince Ogle, Lubbock; 17. Jason Batt, Killeen; 18. John Armstrong, Merkel.

Hobby Stocks – 1. Jeff Kinnaird, Mansfield; 2. Allen Montgomery, Fort Worth; 3. Charles Cosper, Belton; 4. Matt Drottz, Ankeny, Iowa; 5. Tobie Talk, Abilene; 6. Nyle Godwin, Redfield, Iowa; 7. Tommy Phillips, Abilene; 8. Billy Taylor, Gatesville; 9. Will Poston, Midland; 10. Dustin Mims, Dublin; 11. Jaron Shahan, China Springs; 12. Robert Barnett, Sweetwater; 13. Terry Comer II, Hawley; 14. Melvin Burrows, Gatesville; 15. Dale Roys, Merkel; 16. Edward Johnson, Odessa; 17. Cody Brosh, Robert Lee; 18. Rodney Sparks, Abilene; 19. Adam Reeves, Sweetwater; 20. Evan Davis, Mineral Wells.

By J M Hallas

Peebles, Bolton, White, Ogle, Montgomery score in Saturday’s racing at the “Ice Breaker”

Here is J M Hallas’ summary of the Saturday night racing action at Abilene Speedway’s “Ice Breaker”

305 Sprint Cars

The 305 Sprint Cars were a mix of the West Texas Sprint Series (WTSS) and Sprint Series of Texas (SST). A good field of 17 winged warriors added to the total car count along with excitement for the fans who were huddled together as temperatures began to dip below the freezing mark.

Lubbock’s Preston Peebles wasted little time getting to the front of the 305 Sprint Car main event. Peebles grabbed the lead from Josh Hawkins on lap 2 and proceeded to put the rest of the field in his wake, going unchallenged to the checkers in a race cut to 15 laps after a slew of of early cautions.

At the drop of the green, Hawkins was first into turn 1 for the early lead followed by Peebles, Gary Floyd and Brandon Howle. Lap one saw lots of action starting when Dennis Smith got into the back stretch wall. On the restart, the middle of the pack stacked up leaving Marty Stanford stopped in turn two. On the next try Howle and Kolt Walker tangled collecting Tim Ridgeway. The third attempt had Walker and Brian Holland get hooked together in turn one for another yellow.

Finally under green, Peebles jumped up to the high side and sailed past Hawkins for the lead on lap two. The top four of Peebles, Hawkins, Floyd and Curt Barnett separated themselves out leaving Jerry Graves, Leighton Crouch and Josh Baughman battling for fifth. Peebles was quickly into traffic on lap six nearly getting clipped on the front straight.

In traffic Floyd was able to reel in Hawkins near the halfway point, with Peebles holding nearly a half track lead and with Barnett and Crouch rounding out the top five. Floyd used lapped cars to work his way around Hawkins for second on lap 12, but Peebles was nowhere in sight. Peebles cruised on to the victory in the Allstar Conversions, Allstar Automotive & Tire, Dick Sweat ASI Race Engines, Maxim Chassis.

305 Sprint Cars
1. 11 Preston Peebles, Lubbock (WTSS)
2. 58 Gary Floyd, San Angelo (WTSS)
3. 80 Josh Hawkins, Whitehouse (SST)
4. 43 Curt Barnett, El Paso (WTSS)
5. 0 Leighton Crouch, Lubbock (WTSS)
6. 12 Jerry Graves, Lubbock (WTSS)
7. 17 Josh Baughman, Odessa (WTSS)
8. 85 Brad Hawkins, Whitehouse (SST)
9. 30 Shane Gloeckler
10. 21 Brian Holland, Humble (SST)
11. 47 Kolt Walker, Graham (SST)
12. 41 Tim Ridgeway, Midland (WTSS)
13. 77 Brandon Howle, Odessa (WTSS)
14. 9 Marty Stanford, McKinney (SST)
15. 24 Dennis Smith, Zephyr (SST)
113 Gary Taylor, Sapulpa, Okla—DNS
13 Matt Brooks, Hewitt—DNS

305 Sprint Car heats;
Heat 1, 43 Curt Barnett, El Paso, 12 Jerry Graves, Lubbock, 58 Gary Floyd, San Angelo, 80 Josh Hawkins, Whitehouse
Heat 2, 9 Marty Stanford, McKinney, 47 Kolt Walker, Graham, 11 Preston Peebles, Lubbock, 0 Leighton Crouch, Lubbock(113 Gary Taylor, Sapulpa, OK–DQ motor seal was second)

IMCA Modifieds

Racing in memory of his son Justin, Lubbock’s Monte Bolton led all 20 laps of the IMCA Modified A-main. Bolton’s flag to flag run wasn’t easy as veteran Bob Sikes kept the pressure on throughout the race. Sikes tried high, low and on the bumper of Bolton but to no avail as Bolton held steady as a rock for the win.

When green waved on the 20-lap event, Bolton quickly jumped out front with Sikes second and Steve Hayes moving up to third. In the pack it was three wide in the scramble for seventh before things sorted out. Sikes took his first look for the lead on lap 2 trying the bottom side. By lap two the top three has eased away from David Davis, Brian Flowers and Chris Dawson battling for fourth, while Robbie Edwards and Josh McGaha were side-by-side for seventh.

Davis and Flowers were wheel-to-wheel for fourth on lap six, while Edwards was still alongside McGaha. Dawson saw his top five run end on lap eight when he slowed and was unable to exit the track.

Once back under green, Bolton, Sikes and Hayes stayed nose to tail, with McGaha and Flowers side by side for fifth and last night’s winner, Keith White moving up to eighth.

Sikes was continuing to look for a way around Bolton, but at the same time trying to fend off Hayes. Edwards picked off another spot getting by Flowers for sixth. At the crossed flags it was Bolton, Sikes, Hayes, Davis and McGaha in the top five spots. McGaha lost fifth to Edwards on lap 10, who then began to look under Davis on lap 11. Flowers and McGaha made contact fighting for the spot that caused Flowers to spin with a flat, collecting Jeff Emerson on lap 13.

On the restart, Edwards continued his charge getting by Davis for fourth and looking under Hayes. Sikes took a peek inside Bolton on lap 15 while Dillon Smith got back by White. Edwards got by Hayes for third on lap 16 while McGaha took fifth from Davis. Sikes got the bumper of Bolton on lap 17 as Edwards now put the heat on for second.

Edward’s run to the front ended in a shower of sparks when he pounded the back stretch wall trying the high side of Sikes.

Once back to green McGaha got around Hayes for third, while Bolton got a little breathing room on Sikes. On the final lap Bolton was able to finally shake off Sikes running on to the checkers in the Braka Operating , Sidebiter Chassis powered with a Cottle Race Engine.

“This one is for Justin,” said Bolton as he donned his son’s ski cap in Victory Lane. “To get the win for him is always special. After every race if we didn’t win he’d ask me what the problem was. ‘Can you fix it? Can you win?’ So any time we win I know he’s smiling at us with his arm raised up in the air. That was his sign for a win. Every time we win something, it’s very special. Our whole race deal is a family thing. We just try to have a good time and enjoy ourselves.”

“My starting position was one key. If you start up front it’s hard for them to pass. On the second race day, the track usually gets slick all over. The Sprint Cars all pretty much ran one groove around the bottom so it rubbered it up. It was a good racy track though.”

“I have to thank the guys behind me for not roughing me up too much trying to get by. In the back of your mind you know who’s behind you, but you just try to focus on hitting your marks. Just be as consistent as you can. I had some car issues of my own, so I had my hands full all night.”

IMCA Modifieds
1. 41 Monte Bolton, Lubbock
2. 16 Bob Sikes, Eunice, N.M.
3. 911 Josh McGaha, Brown wood
4. 12 Steve Hayes, Eastland
5. 02 David Davis Sweetwater
6. 1 Keith White, Academy
7. 03 Dillon Smith, China Spring
8. 24 Chris Bragg, Springtown
9. 6 Jason Schoenberger, Gorham. Kan.
10. 90 Tommy Fain, Abilene
11. 72 Charles Brewer, Abilene
12. 44 Fred Wojtek, Robert Lee
13. 28 Gabe Tucker, Carbon
14. 104 Kevin Switzer, Millsap
15. 43 Robbie Edwards, Eastland
16. 69 Danny Hogue, Abilene
17. 35 Jeff Emerson, Sherman
18. 86 Brian Flowers, Hobbs, N.M.
19 26 Darin Leonard, Corpus Christi
20. 7 Chris Dawson, Post

IMCA Modified heats (Top 2 to A-main)
Heat 1; 90 Tommy Fain, Abilene, 03 Dillon Smith, China Grove
2; 911 Josh McGaha, Brownwood, 7 Chris Dawson, Post
3; 16 Bob Sikes, Eunice, N.M., 72 Charles Brewer, Abilene
4; 02 David Davis, Sweetwater, 86 Brian Flowers, Hobbs, N.M.
5; 12 Steve Hayes, Eastland, 35 Jeff Emerson, Sherman
6; 43 Robbie Edwards, Eastland, 41 Monte Bolton, Lubbock

IMCA Modified B-mains (Top 4 o A-main)
B-main 1; 1 Keith White, Academy, 44 Fred Wojtek, Robert Lee, 6 Jason Schoenberger, Gorham, Kan., 28 Gabe Tucker, Carbon
B-main 2; 24 Chris Bragg, Springtown, 104 Kevin Switzer, Millsap, 26 Darin Leonard, Corpus Christi, 69 Danny Hogue, Abilene

IMCA Southern Sportmods

Looking to defend his 2008 IMCA Southern Sportmod title, three-time champ Keith White took the first of the IMCA Sportmod Regional races. White tracked early leader Danny Hogue and made a high side move to get the top spot on lap 15. From there White inched away from Hogue and the rest of the field to take the checkers.

Hogue jumped out front on green, but Jeff Turner and Tommy Fain got tangled in mid-pack to bring out the caution. Hogue repeated the move on the second start, with White getting by Chris Meyers for second. The top five quickly sorted out single file, with Turner and Bill Pittaway side by side for seventh. Pittaway finally secured the spot on lap five with White now turning up the heat on Hogue.

White tried the high side on lap 7, but Hogue slammed the door. Turner took sixth from Pittaway on lap eight after Josh McGaha began to fade. At halfway the top five were Hogue, White, Myers, Justin Shaw and Gabe Tucker. White again looked high on lap 11, but backed off when the back stretch wall came up.

White regrouped for another charge on lap 14 and shot by Hogue coming out of turn 2 to take the lead on lap 15.

Just as Tucker was making a move on Shaw for fourth, Tyler Fain spun to bring out a yellow on lap 16.

Everyone got away clean on the restart with White easing away from Hogue. At the checkers it was White by a comfortable margin in the Traceys Auto Sales, Braka Operating, All Tex Cabling, Tubbs Paint & Body, TCI, Belton Metals, Carroll’s Race Engines, Big Chief Chassis.

“This made up for Friday night,” stated White. “It definitely paid more. I don’t think the track owed us one, flats happen. It was a good race. Danny Hogue and I had a good hard fought race. It was fun. We talked about it again this morning and they had as good of time as I did. You can’t beat that.”

“I picked the only spot you could really pass on. I knew it was tight up there. I smacked the wall in the same spot with my Modified. We hung bumpers a couple times and I had to drive it to the right to get off him. I thought the Sprint Cars would tighten up the track more. I ran the B-main in the Modified and it was tighter than the Sportmod feature.”

“A double on Sunday would be good. It would be nice with two (wins) in each class. That’s probably high hopes, but we came here to win.”

IMCA Southern Sportmods

1. 11 Keith White, Academy
2. 8 Danny Hogue, Abilene
3. 007 Chris Meyers, Eunice, N.M.
4. 55 Justin Shaw, Sweetwater
5. 28 Gabe Tucker, Carbon
6. 44 Jeff Turner, Kaufman
7. 137 Dean Abbey, Comanche
8. 37 Bill Pittaway, Corpus Christi
9. 38 Matt Meuller, Stamford
10. 2 Mark Patterson, Abilene
11. 48 Bradley Poor, Abilene
12. 74 Ted Thomas, Post
13. 99 Gary Underwood, Abilene
14. 5 Kevin Green, Robinson
15. 95 Steven Abbey, Comanche
16. 77 Tyler Fain, Abilene
17. 4 Kenneth Graves, Tahoka
18. 112 Brandon Stewart, Academy
19. 90 Tommy Fain, Abilene
20. 911 Josh McGaha, Brownwood

IMCA SSM heats (Top 2 to A-main)
Heat 1; 8 Danny Hogue, Abilene, 007 Chris Meyers, Eunice, N.M. 2, 137 Dean Abbey, Comanche, 55 Justin Shaw, Sweetwater
3, 28 Gabe Tucker, Carbon, 44 Jeff Turner, Kaufman
4, 11 Keith White, Academy, 112 Brandon Stewart, Academy
5, 2 Mark Patterson, Abilene, 74 Ted Thomas, Post
6, 911 Josh McGaha, Brownwood, Bill Pittaway, Corpus Christi

IMCA SSM B-mains (Top 4 to A-main)
B-main 1; 38 Matt Meuller, Stamford, 95 Steven Abbey, Comanche, 77 Tyler Fain, Abilene, 5 Kevin Green, Robinson
B-main 2; 90 Tommy Fain, Abilene, 48 Bradley Poor, Abilene, 99 Gary Underwood, Abilene, 4 Kenneth Graves, Tahoka

IMCA Stock Cars

Veteran Modified driver Vince Ogle missed making the main by one spot, but made up for it as the Lubbock pilot took it out on the IMCA Stock Car field. Ogle led flag to flag surviving challenges from several drivers along with three-wide action.

The 20-lap I-Stock main started with Matt Guillaume, Ogle and Jeremy Gettler going three wide for the lead with Ogle coming out on top. As that battle settled down, Billy Wade and TJ Wilson were side by side for fourth. As the top three continued to run nose to tail, with Gettler taking a look inside on lap four.

Jason Batt spun in tun four, while Eric Jones rolled to a stop on the back stretch to bring out the yellow.

Kevin Opheim made a big move on the restart, but got into Guillaume sending him around. Guillaume was able to keep rolling but Opheim began to fade with flat, separating the field. This left Ogle with a good lead over Gettler and Wilson, who had a gap back to Duain Pritchett and Dustin Locke at the mid-point of the race.

Wilson battled to get around Gettler getting by on lap 12, while Pritchett closed on Gettler. Wilson caught Ogle for the lead and took a look inside on lap 14, but was not able to complete the pass. The lead quartet caught traffic on lap 15 with Ogle getting through clean. Wilson got hung up with the lapped car of Wayne Stremmel sending them both around. Wilson never stopped, but Stremmel was unable to go bringing out a caution.

With the yellow charged to Stremmel, Wilson got his spot back for the restart and as green waved again Ogle, Wilson and Gettler were three wide for the lead. Ogle and Wilson traded some paint with Wilson ending up on the back stretch wall to bring the caution back out.

Once back to green Ogle had Gettler again taking a look inside for the lead. Gettler also had Pritchett to deal with as Pritchett was trying to top groove looking for second. Gettler gave it his best shot on the last lap but slid high off turn 1 loosing numerous spots. As Pritchett and Locke ran door to door for second, Ogle in a car owned by Earl Johnson and sponsored by Fletcher Motorsports, Carburetor Corner, was taking the surprise win.

“The owner (Earl Johnson) does a good job on the car and keeps in going,” replied Ogle. “I knew after the Modified race that you could make it work through the middle. If I just ran up towards the top they might under me going in, but I could hold them off coming out(of the corner). Earl will get over and get a wrench on it if I tell what I need”

“I was pretty worried about that three wide restart. The track is kind of narrow to go three wide. It all came out good for me.”

IMCA Stock Cars
1. 17 Vince Ogle, Lubbock
2. 221 Duain Pritchett, Combine
3. 8 Dustin Locke, Eunice, N.M.
4. 57 JJ Heinz, Green Bay, Wisc.
5. 22 Billy Wade, San Angelo
6. 50 Matt Guillaume, Tomball
7. 01 Tony Ritterbush, Dunlap, Iowa
8. 55 Mart Wampler, Snyder
9. 122 Bill Brzezinski, Roby
10. 19 Jason Batt, Killeen
11. 150 Terry Wojtek, Sterling City
12.23 Jeremy Gettler, Adair, Iowa
13. 02 Wayne Stremmel, Snyder
14. 157 Mike Van Genderen, Newton, Iowa
15. 62 TJ Wilson, Van
16. 441 Jeff Turner, Kaufman
17. 144 Kevin Opheim, Mason City, Iowa
18. 69 Kirk Martin, Aledo
19. 28 Cory Davis, Eunice, N.M.
20. 84 Eric Jones, Killeen
21. 9 John Armstrong, Merkel

IMCA Stock Car heats (Top 4 redraw)
Heat 1; 17 Vince Ogle, Lubbock, 22 Billy Wade, San Angelo, 144 Kevin Opheim, Mason City, Iowa, 19 Jason Batt, Killeen
2; 50 Matt Guillaume, Tomball, 1 Willie Free, Snyder, 62 TJ Wilson, Van, 55 Mart Wampler, Snyder
3; 221 Duain Pritchett, Combine, 23 Jeremy Gettler, Adair, Iowa, 57 JJ Heinz, Green Bay, Wisc., 157 Mike Van Genderen, Newton, Iowa

IMCA Hobby Stock

Proving Friday night was no fluke, Ft. Worth’s Allen Montgomery again showed the 20-car IMCA Hobby Stock field nothing but his rear bumper. Picking of where he left off, Montgomery grabbed the point on lap 1 and never looked back. Jeff Kinniard made a run at Montgomery on the final lap but came up short giving Montgomery the back to back wins.

When green waved at the start of the 20 lapper, Montgomery beat Colby Deming into turn 1 for the lead. David Bissonette got pas Deming on lap two for second. The top five singled themselves out with Bryan Sewell and Andy Roller door to door for sixth. Kinniard got along side Deming on lap 6 and took third. Tobie Talk brought out the caution on lap 7 when he spun in turn four.

On the restart Bissonette took a quick look on Montgomery, with Kinniard and Deming again side by side and Sewell getting around Charles Cosper for fifth. Coming to the midway point it was Montgomery, Bissonette, Kinniard, Deming and Sewell in the top five. Deming would slap and nearly climb the back stretch wall on lap 10 ending is top-five run.

Shortly after green waved again Kinniard made a move on Bissonette getting along side on lap 15. Sewell closed in on that duo almost going three wide on lap 16. This gave Montgomery the chance to put some distance on the trio. Kinniard got by Bissonette on lap 17 and went on a charge for the leader. Kinniard caught Montgomery as the white flag waved but came up a little short as Montgomery in the Ace Tire Service, Extreme Graphics, Texas Star Racing, Matt’s Repair, Destroyer Chassis took the back to back win.

“Tonight was just mainly luck,” said Montgomery. “I drew number one and just held on to it. The car wasn’t working as good as it was last night. It was fast enough I guess. I was able to stay up there. The track rubbered up a lot more than I thought. I had it too tight and it wouldn’t turn in the center of the corner.”

“All I hope for is a top four every night. To sweep the weekend, that would be great. Two years ago I won 13 races, last year I didn’t win any. You never know when your last one will be so you make the best out of every one you get.”

IMCA Hobby Stocks
1. 38 Allen Montgomery, F. Worth
2. 07 Jeff Kinniard, Mansfield
3. 44 Bryan Sewell, Seagoville
4. 33 Charles Cosper, Belton
5 63 Andy Roller, Bellmead
6 85 David Bissonette, Stephenville
7. 111 Nyle Godwin, Redfield, Iowa
8. 87 Matt Drottz, Ankeny
9. 22 Todd Reitzler, Grinnell, Iowa
10. 46 Billy Taylor, Gatesville
11. 84 Jeremy Montgomery, Ft. Worth
12. 41 Tommy Phillips, Abilene
13. 818 Dustin Mims, Dublin
14. 71 Jaron Sharon,
15. 77 Tobie Talk, Abilene
16. 56 Melvin Burrows, Gatesville
17. 37 Randy Abbey, Comanche
18. 65 Colby Deming, Hobs, N.M.
19. 7 Dale Roys, Merkel
20. 9 Joe Parker, Mineral Wells

IMCA Hobby Stock heats (Top 3 to A-main)
Heat 1; 111 Nyle Godwin, Redfield, Iowa, 41 Tommy Phillips, Abilene, 63 Andy Roller, Bellmead
2; 33 Charles Cosper, Belton, 38 Allen Montgomery, Ft. Worth, 87 Matt Drottz, Ankeny, Iowa
3; 07 Jeff Kinniard, Mansfield, 44 Bryan Sewell, Seagoville, 85 David Bissonette, Stephenville
4; 65 Colby Deming, Hobbs, N.M., 71 Jaron Shahon, 77 Tobie Talk, Abilene

IMCA Hobby Stock B-mains (Top 4 to A-main)
B-main 1; 22 Todd Reitzler, Grinnell, Iowa, 818 Dustin Mims, Dublin, 7 Dale Roys, Merkel, 9 Joe Parker, Mineral Wells
B-main 2; 84 Jeremy Montgomery, Ft. Worth, 46 Billy Taylor, Gatesville, 56 Melvin Burrows, Gatesville, 37 Randy Abbey, Comanche

The Jr Mini Stock feature came down to the last lap before it was settled. Aaron Elliott had stayed glued on Bryce Pritchett’s bumper for he entire race. As the two youngsters took the white flag it was till anyone’s race. Going into turn three the two made contact with Pritchett getting worst of it as he spun around. At the checkers it was 13 year-old, Elliott in the Pinto sponsored by David Elliott, Fletcher Motorsports, L&M Farms and Tin Top Customs, taking the victory.

Jr Mini Stock feature
1. 21 Aaron Elliott, Hawley
2. 62 Jonathon Davis, Sweetwater
3.121 Bryce Pritchett, Combine

Jr Mini Stock heat; 21 Aaron Elliott, Hawley

Pure Stock feature
1. 71 Cory Clinkenbeard
2. 00
3. 61 Cal Collier
4.72 Ronnie Gregory

Pure Stock heat; 72 Ronnie Gregory, Cross Pla

by J M Hallas

White, Fox, Van Genderen, Montgomery top first night features at Abilene’s Ice Breaker

Keith White bounced back from a last-place showing in one IMCA feature with a first-place finish in another on Friday, opening night of the Ice Breaker special at Abilene Speedway.

Sidelined by a flat tire in the Southern SportMod main, White led the distance in winning the Modified feature, holding Robbie Edwards at bay late in the contest for the $500 victory.

Other winners during the first sanctioned program of the new season in Texas were Gary Fox in the SportMods, Iowa traveler Mike Van Genderen in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and Allen Montgomery in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks.

White and Jeff Emerson drew front row starts for the Modified feature. White was in front by the second set of turns and Edwards slipped past Emerson on lap two.

Emerson, Monte Bolton, Chris Bragg and Danny Hogue jockeyed behind the front pair. Coming to midway point, Edwards was all over White for the lead with Emerson, Bolton and Bragg looking for their own opportunities.

Edwards got his nose outside White on a lap 12 restart, but White closed the door on the front stretch. Bolton tried Edwards for second on lap 14 but fell back in line. Bolton got alongside Edwards before the final caution came the next time around.

After several tries to get around White up top, Edwards gave it one more shot on lap 18, this time trying the low side. Once again, the White was up to the challenge, holding the front spot and going on to the win.

Fox started on the pole but fell back during the early stages of the SportMod 20-lapper. Coming on in the second half of the race, Fox got by Bobby Sikes Jr. for the lead and then inched away to take the checkers.

Sikes, Fox and Matt Mueller dueled early before Mueller lost ground and made contact with White on lap seven. That incident wound up sending the three-time national champion to the pits with a flat; Mueller came to a stop two laps later with a flat of his own and brought out the caution.

Fox made his move on lap 12 to get around Sikes, who tried to fight back on the low groove. The yellow waved on lap 15 when 2007 national king Jeff Turner pulled to a stop. Fox got away clean on the restart and inched away from Sikes over the final five laps.

Van Genderen added his name to the Stock Car record books after surviving a multi-car tussle, then battling past Turner for the lead in the final laps for the win.

The scrap came just before the halfway point and allowed Van Genderen to take over second.

Van Genderen got his bumper out front on lap 16, but Turner didn’t give up easily. With two laps to go, Van Genderen finally secured the position and eked away.

Montgomery got the lead from Todd Reitzler on lap six and eased away for the Hobby Stock win.

With Reitzler and Jeff Kinniard battling behind him, Montgomery opened up a lead and put lapped traffic in the middle. Kinniard got past Reitzler for second well behind Montgomery on the final circuit.

More than 160 drivers from seven states competed in the opening Ice Breaker program.

Pit gates open at 3 p.m. on Saturday for the second of three weekend shows at Abilene. Hot laps are at 5 p.m. and racing is at 7 p.m.

SportMods race for $750 to win in their first regional event of 2009. First place in the Modified main pays $500, Stocks chase a top prize of $300 and Hobbies run for $250 to win.

All four sanctioned divisions run again Sunday.

Feature Results

Modifieds – 1. Keith White, Academy; 2. Robbie Edwards, Eastland; 3. Monte Bolton, Lubbock; 4. Chris Bragg, Springtown; 5. Jeff Emerson, Sherman; 6. Tommy Fain, Abilene; 7. Steve Hayes, Eastland; 8. Danny Hogue, Abilene; 9. Bob Sikes, Eunice, N.M.; 10. Jason Schoenberger, Gorham, Kan.; 11. David Davis, Sweetwater; 12. Gabe Tucker, Carbon; 13. Dean Deming, Hobbs, N.M.; 14. Levi Ely, Abilene; 15. Chris Elliott, Eastland; 16. Brian Flowers, Hobbs, N.M.; 17. Chris Dawson, Post; 18. Darin Leonard, Corpus Christi; 19. Dillon Smith, China Grove; 20. Josh McGaha, Brownwood.

Southern SportMods — 1. Gary Fox, Haslet; 2. Bobby Sikes Jr., Eunice, N.M.; 3. Bradley Poor, Abilene; 4. Scotty Wallace, Lorenzo; 5. Chris Meyers, Eunice, N.M.; 6. Josh McGaha, Brownwood; 7. James Myers, Corpus Christi; 8. Danny Hogue, Abilene; 9. Dean Abbey, Comanche; 10. Justin Shaw, Sweetwater; 11. Steven Abbey, Comanche; 12. Randy Buttery, Duncanville; 13. Ted Thomas, Post; 14. Gabe Tucker, Carbon; 15. Doug Easterling, Rule; 16. Jeff Turner, Kaufman; 17. Todd Bartlett, Abilene; 18. Matt Mueller, Stamford; 19. Tommy Fain, Abilene; 20. Keith White, Academy.

Stock Cars – 1. Mike Van Genderen, Newton, Iowa; 2. Jeff Turner, Kaufman; 3. Billy Wade, San Angelo; 4. Terry Wojtek, Sterling City; 5. Dustin Locke, Eunice, N.M.; 6. Duain Pritchett, Combine; 7. Tony Ritterbush, Dunlap, Iowa; 8. Matt Guillaume, Tomball; 9. J.J. Heinz, Green Bay, Wis.; 10. Jason Batt, Killeen; 11. Matt Wampler, Snyder; 12. John Armstrong, Merkel; 13. Bill Brzezinski Sr., Roby; 14. Russell Jordan, Abilene; 15. Wayne Stremmell, Stamford; 16. Kirk Martin, Aledo; 17. Jeremy Gettler, Adair, Iowa; 18. Cody Rhodes, Tye; 19. Kevin Opheim, Mason City, Iowa; 20. Cory Davis, Eunice, N.M.; 21 Willie Free, Snyder; 22. Eric Jones, Killeen; 23. Doug Kennemer, Boyd; 24. Walter Freeman, Hobbs, N.M.

Hobby Stocks – 1. Allen Montgomery, Fort Worth; 2. Jeff Kinniard, Mansfield; 3. Todd Reitzler, Grinnell, Iowa; 4. Justin Fowler, Granbury; 5. Charles Cosper, Belton; 6. Nyle Godwin, Redfield, Iowa; 7. Sam Hodges, Eunice, N.M.; 8. David Bissonette, Stephenville; 9. Andy Roller, Bellmead; 10 Tobie Talk, Abilene; 11. Tommy Phillips, Abilene; 12. Billy Taylor, Gatesville; 13. Bud Ohlinger, Abilene; 14. Dustin Mims, Dublin; 15. Matt Drottz, Ankeny, Iowa; 16. Rodney Sparks, Abilene; 17. Colby Deming, Hobbs, N.M.; 18. Bryan Sewell, Seagoville; 19. Robert Barnett, Sweetwater; 20. Evan Davis, Mineral Wells.

By J M Hallas

Abilene Speedway’s “Ice Breaker” kicks off this weekend

An open practice session is on tap tonight, Thursday, Feb 19, 2009, and leads into the season-opening “Ice Breaker” special this weekend at Abilene Speedway.

Last year’s Ice Breaker winner Keith White

Pit gates open at 5 p.m., with IMCA Modifieds, Southern SportMods, Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks turning laps from 6-10 p.m. this evening. Feature events for all four sanctioned divisions are scheduled Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 20-22.

Modifieds race for $500 to win each night. The Saturday show is also the first regional event of the season for the Southern SportMods and pays $750 to win.

Top prize for Stock Cars all three nights and for the Southern SportMods on Friday and Sunday is $300. First in the Hobby Stock features is worth $250.

All applicable IMCA points, including home region points for Stock Car and Hobby Stock drivers, will be awarded each night.

Pit gates open at 4 p.m. for Friday’s show. Hot laps are at 5:30 p.m. and racing starts at 7:30 p.m.

On Saturday, pits open at 3 p.m., hot laps are at 5 p.m. and racing is at 7 p.m.

Worship services at the track are at 10 a.m. Sunday. Pit gates open at 11 a.m., hot laps are at 11:30 a.m. and racing is at 1 p.m.

Pit passes are $25 each night Friday through Sunday. Grandstand admission is $12 for adults, $5 for kids 6-12 and five and under get in free.

Questions about the Ice Breaker, presented by Smiley’s and Showtime Signs & Designs, can be directed to promoter Rob Poor at 325 537-4494 or 325 692-8800.

Passes to get into the pit area for tonight’s practice are $12.

Abilene Speedway gearing up for “The 2009 Ice Breaker”

Abilene Speedway will be hosting “The 2009 Ice Breaker” at their fast quarter-mile, clay oval on Friday, February 20, Saturday, February 21, and Sunday, February 22, 2009.

The IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sportsmods, IMCA Hobby Stocks, and the 305 Sprint Cars wi be featured all weekend long along with the “trophy classes,” the Pure Stocks and Mini Stocks. Abilene Speedway owner and promoter Rob Poor will be offering Abilene Speedway points all three days.

For ticket information contact the track at 325-692-8800 or log on to their website at http://abilenespeedway.com or email the promoter at speedway@abilene.com.

Staff Report

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