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Mikulencak Masters Hudgeons Memorial at Texana; Jones tops Jack in 2nd round of Street Stock Shootout

It was a special night Saturday as Texana Raceway Park hosted the 2nd Annual Aaron Hudgeons Memorial, plus Round 2 of the South Texas Street Stock Shootout on the 5/16 mile, semi-banked clay track. Fifty-three drivers from across Texas and Louisiana signed in for the $2500 to win Limited Modified Memorial main event, with 35 Street Stocks competing for their increased purse.

Numerous sponsors stepped up adding to the special purse commemorating the life of Aaron Hudgeons, long time racer and chassis builder in the south Texas area. The soft spoken Hudgeons, who was one of those rare competitors that was always willing to help other racers - even those in own class - lost his battle with cancer last year. Hudgeons is highly respected by all those that knew or raced with him over his career.

Along with the big payday for the winner many other special awards were sponsored in the Limited Modified class, as well as the Street Stock class. The unique format included qualifying in the Limited Modified and Street Stocks, with B-mains completing the fields. Two provisionals would be added to make a 26-car Limited Modified starting grid, with 24 taking the green in Street Stocks.

Not only was it a full house in the pits with 100 cars in the three classes, but a huge fan turnout filling the grandstands, and grassy seating areas. During pre-race ceremonies track promoter Ken Bulsterbaum was leading into the invocation relating Hudgeons story and paying tribute to track owner Bruce Tesch’s mother who recently passed away, when two lone birds did a flyover the track. Eerie!

Mikulencak Masters Limited Modified Main

Veteran Corpus Christi ace Lawrence Mikulencak, in a car that’s been ‘transformed’ more times than the movie, used patience to grab the big win in the 26-car feature. Mikulencak, who qualified second behind Dustin Butcher, trailed Butcher the first third of the 30-lap event. Using the high side, Mikulencak took two laps to get by Butcher for the lead on lap 12. East Texas hot shoe, Johno Whittington chased Mikulencak through the last half of the race, but at the checkers it was Mikulencak by four car lengths over Whittington. Art Rodriguez, former NASCAR and USAC driver Paul White and Brandon Blaylock filled out the top five.

Kaleb Hudgeons, who begins his racing career next season in a Mini Stock bearing his fathers number 10, paced the starting field in a three-wide salute parade lap. As they green finally waved, Butcher jumped out front, but a mid-pack stack up saw Ray Doyon III get kicked around for a yellow. On the second start Mikulencak and Butcher stayed side by side through turns 1-2 before Butcher edged out front. Doyon again found himself facing the wrong way for a lap 1 caution.

The restart saw a similar back up in the pack with John Lieta, Jesse Manning and Chris Swenson getting tangled in turn 4. Going to single file, Butcher got a good jump on Mikulencak and Art Rodriguez, with Whittington getting past Blaylock for fourth. A caution for debris on lap 4 briefly slowed the action. Once back to green Whittington took third from A. Rodriguez, while White moved up from his eighth qualifying spot to battle with Blaylock for fifth.

Whittington then began to pressure Mikulencak for second on lap 8 with look high. Mikulencak decided it was time to go and gave the high groove a try also. Mikulencak gave Butcher several looks up top, as White and Blaylock continued to swap fifth. Mikulencak got along side Butcher on lap 11 and was able to clear him going into to turn 3 and lead lap 12 as Butcher tried to battle back.

Once Mikulencak cleared Butcher, Whittington moved along side him and got by coming to halfway showing Mikulencak, Whittington, Butcher, A. Rodriguez and Blaylock still wheel to wheel with White for fifth. Trevor Egbert brought out a lap 16 yellow when he had trouble and rolled to a stop in turn 4. As racing resumed Mikulencak eased ahead as Butcher tried Whittington low for second. Butcher spun in turn 2, causing A. Rodriguez to go around for a lap 17 yellow.

Back under green the top four got away as Blaylock now had his hands full with Houston veteran Howard Willis, who was moving up after qualifying through one of the B-mains. With ten to go Mikulencak was inching away from Whittington and A. Rodriguez. That margin was erased on lap 22 when Greg Metz spun in turn 4.

Mikulencak jumped out on green while Blaylock and Willis resumed their battle. As the flagman showed the field five fingers, Mikulencak had only two car lengths on Whittington. Whittington could inch closer in the corners, but Mikulencak could pull him coming off. As the white waved, Mikulencak, in the Ace Transmissions, Randy Young Auto Repair, Premier Graphics, “Frankenstein” chassis had a four car advantage that held for the victory.

“I miss racing racing with Aaron(Hudgeons),” commented Mikulencak. “I really respected and enjoyed racing with him. This is a good race for us to win. He’s one of the guys that more racers need to be like.”

“It took a lot of patience and a good ‘free’ car to pull of the win. Last year I had some mechanical problems and there were a few good cars here. This year there were a lot more fast guys, more than I expected. So this is a big win for us.”

“I didn’t find much on he high side trying to get by Dustin (Butcher). I was just patient out there and tried to run him a little faster. Johno (Whittington) was in the mix too, so I had to do something. I just had a good enough car.”

“This is the same car I’ve been running on asphalt all year. All the weight is on the left front, everything is the same except for the tires. This car is the same one I ran as a Modified and that you’ve been a calling a “Frankenstein” for ten years. It was built on a metric frame and I’ve taken all the Modified rear bars off and put a stock frame on it. It probably still has the cracked motor mount on it.(inside joke)” added the always entertaining Mikulencak who won a Modified race here before with a broken motor mount.

Limited Modifieds

87 Lawrence Mikulencak, 511 Johno Whittington, 22 Art Rodriguez, 2w Paul White, 9b Brandon Blaylock, 12m Howard Willis, 26g JJ Jennings, 75 Joel Couvillion, 66 Johnny Torres, 12 Roly Rodriguez, 63 Shane Hoefling, 174 Mickey Helms, 184 Brian Rye, 9 David Meredith, 20 Dwayne Norvell, 76 Jesse Manning, 4 Robby Minten, 955 Greg Metz, 24 John Lieta, 147 GW Hessong, 9D Ray Doyon III, 90 Dustin Butcher, 48 Chris Swenson, 5A Trevor Egbert, 151 Adam Perks, 19 Bubba Seals

Awards

-$400 Dale Earnhardt die cast from Pray Racing, 87 Lawrence Mikulencak
-$150 Longest tow from defending winner Steve Whiteaker jr., 75 Joel Couvillion(Alexandria, La.)
-$100 Fast Qualifier from Ace Transmission; 90 Dustin Butcher
-$200 Fastest non-qualifier to make A-main from Corpus “C” Cars, 66 Johnny Torres
-$50 each Two highest non-qualifiers to not make A-main from South Texas Speedway, 85 Jeff Nix, 211x Dean Hollier
-H500 Tire, Hard charger from Bebo Race Designs, 12m Howard Willis
-$100 Hard luck award from Big Dog Racing, 5A Trevor Egbert
-(4) $50 O’Riellys gift cards from Art Rodriguez to 4 random non-qualifiers, 2 Robert Boyd, 18 Larry Jernigan, 04 Jacob Burnett, 63s Chase Sanchez

Provisionals; 147 GW Hessong (highest track points to not make A-main—Gave points to points leader Jensen Pray unable to make event due to Family emergency), 151 Adam Perks (promoters choice)

Limited Modified B-mains (Top 3 to A-main)

B-main 1

66 Johnny Torres, 184 Brian Rye, 9 David Meredith, 151 Adam Perks, 8 Lary Paris, 26 David McBride, 56 Brad Titzman, 119 Eric Floyd, 3j Jesse James, 10D Don Painter, 25 John Morgan

B-main 2

5A Trevor Egbert, 12m Howard Willis, 48 Chris Swenson, 83 Monte Nichols III, 37 Bill Pittaway, 115 Chuck Perry, 47 James Myers, 18 Larry Jernigan, 82 Brandon Dorsey, 81 Victor Lindsey, 11 Tom Grothues

B-main 3

174 Mickey Helms, 76 Jesse Manning, 20 Dwayne Norvell, 04 Jacob Burnett, 211x Dean Hollier, 1 Trice Hermes, 147 GW Hessong, 71w Bart Wilcox, 2 Robert Boyd, 3 Abraham Mares

B-main 4

26g JJ Jennings, 12 Roly Rodriguez, 4 Robby Minten, 85 Jeff Nix, 155 Vince Kacir, 63s Chase Sanchez, 68 Chris Shafer, 6 Vince Louden, 118 Anthony Gordon

Jones Out Jousts Jack in Street Stock Shootout

Top-qualifier Wade Jones took command early in the Street Stock Shootout chased by a handful of the best local fender car drivers. Jones was pressured in latter stages by Bobby Jack and Stephan Danielson as the 25-lapper wound down. On the final lap Jack got under Jones in turn 3 and came off tun 4 side by side. Jones won the drag race to the checkers by only a few inches to snag the flag to flag win.

As the 24-car field took the green, Jones was first into tun 1 trailed by Tony Blankenship, Jack, Brian King and Danielson. Jack, King and Blankenship were almost three wide for second on lap 1 with Jack getting the spot as the top six sorted out single file. King and Blankenship were side by side for third on lap 3, while Bubba Seals, Dennis Hilla and Eric Floyd were three wide for eighth. Seals and Hilla then went three abreast with Anthony Gordon for seventh as Seals made his way forward.

Alan Kunkel and Mike Moseley tangled on lap 9 leaving Moseley in the front stretch wall for the races first yellow. Once back to racing, Jack and Blankenship were door to door for second, Danielson and Chris Shafer side by side for fourth and Seals taking sixth from King, who began to fade before retiring early. Coming to the crossed flags it was Jones easing away, Jack, Danielson and Blankenship, while Seals and Shafer swapped fifth.

Floyd spun on lap 11, with Aaron Leddy and AJ Wernette spinning behind him bringing out the final yellow. As Jones inched ahead on green, Blankenship and Shafer were door to door, with Seals looking for a way by both. Seals finally got by Shafer for fifth on lap 16, then picked off fourth from Blankenship with AJ Dancer following in his tracks.

With five to go the top three were within a car length and holding a margin over fourth through seventh. Jack began to put the heat on Jones looking low on lap 21 as the top three were nose to tail. Behind them Dancer took fourth from Seals. Jack again got a nose under Jones as they came to the white flag. The two battled into turn 3 where Jack nearly got the advantage. As they raced to the checkers it was Jones in the Opiela Mechanical, Horelka Racing, Mission Auto Parts, SABFI, Mobil 1, Jeff’s Auto Rebuilders, 74 Ranch & Resort, Camaro holding on for the victory by less than a foot.

“It was a tough field out there tonight,” replied Jones. “Bobby Jack, Stephan Danielson and AJ Dancer was moving up quick. I’m lucky I qualified on the pole like I did. We tried a few different things in practice last night. We finally found something(that worked) and took a little wedge out. It worked out pretty good for us.”

“I kind of burned my tires off towards the end and Bobby got inside me. I wasn’t sure what to think when I saw him under me. Bobby’s a real clean racer and he gave me space. I tried to keep him pinned down so he couldn’t get a good run off turn 4. Sure enough it worked out.”

“We didn’t change much from our I-37 set up. We had a little more roll out and changed gears, that’s about it.”

Street Stocks

41 Wade Jones, 88j Bobby Jack, 149 Stephan Danielson, 52 AJ Dancer, 91 Bubba Seals, 77 Chris Shafer, 35 Tony Blankenship, 3 Steve Miller, 11 Shawn Kline, 118 Anthony Gordon, 37w Frank Okruhlik, 26 Eric Floyd, 2x Dennis Hilla, 21x Jason Fox, 23 David Bruns, 53 Jason Kelly, 55 Lauren Chamberlain, 58 James Hoss, 93 Aaron Leddy, 37 AJ Wernette, 9* Brad Hayes, 31 Brian King, 68 Alan Kunkel, 3m Mike Moseley

100 Pole Award from King Racing - Wade Jones #41
(Award formerly for a winner with a Mud Buster sticker was changed to $25 Awards to each B-Main winner)
B-Main winners getting $25 each: Jason Fox #21x and Mike Mosely #3
$100 7th Place Finisher Award from Dynamic Race Craft - Tony Blankenship #35
$50 Hard Charger Award from Dynamic Race Craft - AJ Dancer #52 (started 17th and finished 4th.. Frank Okruhlik #37w also increased the same number of positions, but was not registered in the Shootout series.)
G60 Tire Certificate from Swenson Racing Chassis for Hard Charger - AJ Dancer #52
$250 value Bobby Labonte die cast car from Pray Racing to feature winner - Wade Jones #41
$50 drawn at start of feature for a position between 11th to 24th from G&R Racing. Number was 17 - Lauren Chamberlain #55

Street Stock B-mains(Top 5 to A-main)

B-main 1

21x Jason Fox, 52 AJ Dancer, 3 Steve Miller, 58 James Hoss, 53 Jason Kelly, 2 Scott Stubbs, 7 Cody Leonard, 76 Kevin McElveen, 4 David McGuire, 74 Charlie Raburn—DNS
B-main-2

3m Mike Moseley, 11 Shawn Kline, 37w Frank Okruhlik, 55 Lauren Chamberlain, 9* Brad Hayes, 50 Kevin Willms, 89F Matt Farris, 04 Dustin Robbins, 42 Curtis King, 22 Patricia Lucas

Victor Vargas grabbed the early lead in the 20-lap, 12-car Dwarf Car feature. Mike Christians got around Vargas on lap 2 but gave up the lead to Greg Sexton sr. when he slipped in turns 1-2. From there Sexton sr. stretched out his lead going on to take the win by a comfortable margin over Christians, Vargas, Brad Wright and Douglas Wright.

Dwarf Cars

14 Greg Sexton, Sr, 13 Mike Christians, 24 Victor Vargas, 1 Brad Wright, 66 Douglas Wright, 15 Gary Faris, 11 Jerry Godfrey, 4 Geoffrey Youngblood, 6 Keith Samples, 5 Keith Horella, 7 Greg Sexton, Jr, 2EZ Easy Casey

Dwarf Car heat winners; 2EZ Easy Casey, Greg Sexton, Sr.

Story by JM Hallas
Photos by JBHotshots

Robert Barker the TSRS “Spectacular” winner at Thunderhill Raceway

With over 500 feature laps of racing over the one-day 13th Annual Stock Car Spectacular at Thunderhill Raceway, it was only fitting that the last lap of the season was one of the most exciting.

The Texas Super Racing Series 75-lap feature was the nightcap after eleven – yes, that’s a total of twelve – features were packed into the Spectacular schedule. Youngster Cody Smith, who had led the entire race until the final turn of the last lap, and former San Antonio Speedway Late Model track champion, Robert Barker, had a classic battle to finish that wasn’t decided until the checkered flag was in the air.

As green waved on the 16-car, 75-lap TSRA Late Model finale, Smith jumped into the lead, but Mike Reininger spun in turn 2 to bring the yellow quickly before a lap was in the books. On the second try Smith got huge jump when Brian Moczygemba got sideways coming to the green in front of the field. Remarkably, he was able to get straightened out with no contact with any other cars and hung on to second.

Barker quickly fell in behind Moczygemba once everyone was straightened out. Dillon Spreen and TSRS point leader Jake Kruger rounded out the top five as the field settled down. As Barker looked for a way around Moczygemba, Smith edged away.

Barker finally got along side Moczygemba on the fifth lap and took the second spot with Spreen tagging along into third. As the front runners gapped themselves out and settled in to click off laps, Bobby Teer, Jr, got by Kruger for fifth.

After lapping a couple stragglers Smith caught the back of a big pack on lap 25. Smith was able to dice through the traffic without losing ground to Barker who had to negotiate the same traffic.

Yellow on lap 39 slowed the action when Craig Selman and Kendall Bumbera spun in turn 3.

On the restart Smith and Barker got away cleanly while Spreen slipped and fell back to fifth. Barker immediately turned up the heat and poked his nose under Smith going into turn one with Smith quickly slamming the door. Again on lap 53 Barker showed Smith the Blue Oval of his Ford only to get it shut in the door again.

Barker then fell in line behind Smith for several laps, cooling his tires, his emotions and regrouping for a late run. With five to go, Barker was back on Smith’s bumper with a “hello” tap. Barker then stuck the nose under Smith on lap 73 and again Smith closed the door abruptly. Coming to the white flag Barker stayed on Smith’s tail and made his move coming out of turn 2 this time.

Barker got along side going into turn three. Smith tried to slam the door, but Barker was already in. The two locked wheels and slid up the track until Smith found the turn four wall and tire barrier. Barker won the scramble back to the line to the cheers and jeers of the standing crowd, with Moczygemba going around in the turn four melee. Smith recovered for a sixth place finish, but refused post-race tech for the top points chasers.

“I got up next to him (Smith) and he didn’t want me to pass,” Barker said when asked about the last lap incident. “I don’t know what his spotter told him, but it clearly wasn’t a good move. Three times I got the nose under him and he chopped me off. I wasn’t just going to give it to him. If he wants a wrecked racecar, fine. I was just going to wait until the last lap.”

“The adrenaline buzz for this race won’t wear off for a while” said Barker, who book-ended his season with Thunderhill Raceway wins. “We’ll be up all night. This year was up and down. We started with a win, had some motor problems and that took us out of contact with the points. It was a good year once we got back on track.”

“Right now I really don’t know my plans for next season. We’ll just enjoy the off season and see what happens.”

In TSRS Late Model qualifying Robert Barker set fast time in the Mission Auto Parts, Circle K Fencing & Welding, Central Lath & Plaster, BMF Shocks, Oval Components, Screen Pro Graphics, Justice Brothers Ford with a lap of 15.212 seconds.

With his strong 5th place finish, Jake Kruger cemented the 2009 TSRS Late Model Championship.

Official Results of the TSRS 75

Finish, Car Number, Name, Hometown, Laps Completed, Qualifying Time

1. 17 Robert Barker, Boerne, TX 75 laps QT 15.212 (Fast Time)
2. 1 Bobby Teer, Jr., Comfort, TX 75 laps QT 15.600
3. 92 (81) Dillon Spreen, Boerne, TX 75 laps QT 15.596
4. 18 Jesse Salazar, San Antonio, TX, 75 laps QT 15.706 (Hard Charger)
5. 14 Jake Kruger, Bastrop, TX 75 laps QT 15.326
6. 50 Brian Moczygemba, San Antonio, TX 75 laps QT 15.458
7. 33 Mike Williams, Hockley, TX 74 laps QT 15.456
8. 54 Steve Green, Marble Falls, TX 74 laps QT 15.528
9. 72 Kendall Bumbera, Sealy, TX 74 laps QT 15.848
10. 38 Craig Selman, Buda, TX 72 laps QT 15.677
11. 15 Brad Burke, Johnson City, TX 68 laps QT 16.268
12. 28 (4) Levi Krauss, Schertz, TX 57 laps QT 15.764
13. 02 Ugo Bevione, Austin, TX 55 laps QT 16.225
14. 3 Mike Reininger, San Antonio, TX 48 laps QT 15.678
15. 00 Beau Bukowski, San Antonio, TX 37 laps QT 15.690
16. 05 Cody Smith, LaVernia, TX QT 15.424 – TI – Declined Tech

The Pro Modified “Prismstream.com 50” got off to a shaky start when outside pole sitter Jason Marmon got sideways in front of the field. As the field spun and scattered, John Paul Kliewer got the worst of it when he tagged the turn four wall hard. Kliewer, Brett Boyd and Mike Williams were unable to make the restart.

Once green waved, Cory Lovell got out front with John Schultz, Anthony Gordon and Michael Umscheid in pursuit.

Umscheid, using the high groove, began picking off his competition taking Gordon on lap three for third and Schultz on lap four for second. And it wasn’t long before Umscheid ran down Lovell to challenge for the lead.

After a try on the high side, Umscheid ducked low getting by on the inside to take the lead on lap thirteen. Umscheid, who was half a second faster than anyone else in qualifying, had no problem stretching out his advantage. Once safely out front, Umscheid put it on cruise control easily taking the win and Pro Modified Championship.

In qualifying Umscheid posted the fastest Pro Modified lap at 15.214 seconds in his Tri-Lectric, AAA House Leveling, Premier Minerals, Circle Racing Wheels, Day Motorsports, Swenson Racing, The Brake Man, Jani-King sponsored car.

Official Pro Modifieds “Prismstream.com 50” results

Finish, Car Number, Name, Hometown, Laps Completed, Qualifying Time

1. 5 Michael Umscheid, Austin, TX 50 laps QT 15.214
2. 61 Cory Lovell, Lockhart, TX 50 laps QT 15.851
3. 14 John Schultz, 50 laps QT 15.865
4. 18 Anthony Gordon, San Antonio, TX 50 laps QT 16.023
5. 65 Bubba Menard, Castroville, TX 50 laps QT 16.014
6. 04 Brad Hudak, 50 laps QT 16.139
7. 07 Matt Kaminski, Corpus Christi, TX 47 laps QT 17.047
8. 26 Bob Slezinsky, Beeville, TX 47 laps QT 15.956
9. 78 Greg Baber, Uvalde, TX 4 Laps QT 15.904
10. 33 Jason Mormon, Seabrook, TX 0 laps QT 15.791
11. 3 Mike Williams, Hockley, TX 0 laps QT 17.799
12. 9 Brett Boyd, Magnolia, TX 0 laps QT 16.054
13. 22 John Paul Kliewer, Boerne, TX 0 laps QT 15.811
14. 44 H. E. Naumann, Del Valle, TX DNQ, DNS
15. 10 Robert Walton, Bastrop, TX DNQ, DNS

A short field of Pro Trucks took the green for the “DWIDude.com 35” with Jim Albert getting the early lead trailed by David Lewein, Keith Riethmeyer and Shawn Paul Lehman.

Early on Riethmeyer’s truck got loose off turn two giving up spots Lehman, with Jason Marshall and Cary Stapp following him through. Marshall then took fourth from Stapp, who was in his first truck ride.

Lehman drifted too high on lap six with Marshall going by for third. After a brief side by side battle, Stapp got by Lehman for fourth. Marshall snared second from Lewien on lap nine, finding himself a half straightaway behind Albert. Slowly and methodically Marshall reeled in the leader, catching him on lap 30. It didn’t take Marshall long to get past Albert on lap 31 after Albert slipped high.

From there Marshall kept on truckin’ along for the victory and Pro Truck title.

Official Pro Trucks ”DWIDude.com 35” results

Finish, Car Number, Name, Hometown, Laps Completed, Qualifying Time

1. 42 Jason Marshall, Leander, TX 35 laps QT 16.576
2. 31 Jim Albert, Lockhart, TX 35 laps QT 16.780
3. 3 David Lewien, Blanco, TX 35 laps QT 16.816
4. 99 Cary Stapp, San Marcos TX 35 laps QT 16.843
5. 28 Shawn Paul Lehman, Manchaca, TX 35 laps QT 16.753
6. 41 Keith Riethmeyer, Hutto TX. 35 laps QT 16.597

Coming into the final 2009 race for the ASA A-Line Auto Parts Super Stocks, Clint LaFont had already secured the track championship as well as the ASA western Regional title. It also marked the return of multi-time track champ and defending ASA National Champion, Cary Stapp in the familiar black #99 car.

Brent Reeves and Jason Stanley jumped out on green, with Shawn Paul Lehman splitting through the middle of a pack to take the third spot by the end of the first lap and set his sights on Stanley.

After some minor contact with Lehman, Stanley spun in turn four on the fourth circuit to bring out the yellow flag. Lehman was charged with contact and sent to the tail of the pack.

On the restart Stanley kept the pressure on Reeves and got under him on the ninth lap to claim the lead. While Stanley opened some ground on Reeves and the rest, the middle of the pack as playing a high speed game of bumper tag.

Just as Bobby LaFont took over second his night ended as he broke and rolled to a stop on the track to bring out a caution flag.

Once back under green, Clint LaFont and Stapp worked their way past Tommy Gural for third and fourth. Meanwhile Duane Toyne had reeled in Stanley up front by lap 20 with LaFont joining the lead duo on lap 21. As Toyne and LaFont battled for second, Stapp caught up and joined in the action.

After a brief caution for a stalled car, the top four raced nose-to-tail and stayed in contact, literally, as they scrapped it out.

LaFont got by Toyne for second on lap 31 leaving Stapp and Toyne side-by-side for third.

LaFont made contact with Stanley after a brake-check in turn 4 that sent Stanley around. In the stack up Stapp and Toyne had nowhere to go and Toyne stuck it in the turn 4 wall. Toyne was not hurt, but his car was done for the night. LaFont was sent to the tail for the contact.

Stanley got a huge jump on the restart, but the track-savvy Stapp closed in quickly. The waning laps saw Stapp hounding Stanley with Lehman and Chris Birmingham chasing them both down. On the last lap Stapp gave it the good old college try coming out of turn 4, but Stanley won the drag race to the checkers by mere inches.

Stanley’s win was short lived, however, as his car failed to pass the post-race inspection.

Official ASA, A-Line Auto Parts Super Stock results

Finish, Car Number, Name, Hometown, Laps Completed, Qualifying Time

1. 99 Cary Stapp, San Marcos, TX 40 laps
2. 28 Shawn Paul Lehman, Manchaca, TX 40 laps
3. 9 Chris Birmingham Leander, TX 40 laps
4. 3 Clint LaFont, Volente, TX 40 laps
5. 27 Tommy Gural Elgin, TX 40 laps
6. 15 JC Pilcher, Castroville, TX 40 laps
7. 19 Brent Reeves, Converse, TX 40 laps
8. 36 Roger Davis, Orange Grove, TX 40 laps
9. 97 Ken Tyler, La Grange, TX 40 laps
10. 33 Bubba Gustafson, Austin, TX 40 laps
11. 97X John Witzsche, Corpus Christi, TX 33 laps
12. 48 Duane Toyne, Leander, TX 31 laps
13. 80 Allen Alexander, San Antonio, TX 27 laps
14. 88 Bobby LaFont Volente, TX 17 laps
15. 11 Tracy Tschoerner, Taylor, TX DNS
16. 21 Jason Stanley, San Antonio, TX – Techincal infraction – Illegal rear end

The TSRS Allison Legacy Series feature saw Cole Runco hold off Stephan McCurely in a scheduled 50-lap race that was shortened to 43 laps after numerous spins during the final 10 laps.

The official results from the Legacy race are being withheld pending tech results.

Unofficial TSRS Allison Legacy Series results

1. 19 Cole Runco
2. 07 Rusty Mirth
3. 08 Gavin Boyett
4. 1 Stephan McCurley
5. 88 Kyle Harding
6. 4 Dillon Sampson
7. 56 Lauren Runco
8. 32 James Huff
9. 96 Jake Wright
10. 87 Charles Aiken
11. 34 Tom Harwell
12. 80 Collin Alexander
13. 99 Matt Yevcak
14. 14 Allen Sampson

In the Sportmod (Limited Modified) feature, Anthony Monroe jumped into the lead from the outside row coming out of turn 2. Johny Lewellan ducked under Monroe on lap 2 leading back to the line on lap three.

Veteran dirt and pavement driver, Chris Swenson saw his night end early when he broke and rolled to a stop in turn 2. Once back to green Lewellan inched away from Monroe and Don Painter. A blown motor by Rusty Head on lap 34 slowed the action and re-bunched the field.

On the restart, Painter got past Monroe for second and was hot on Lewellan’s tail.

Shawn Paul Lehman, who had issues with his own car and jumped in his Grandfather’s ride, ended up looking the wrong way on successive laps to bring out a pair of caution periods. With the race shortened to a green, white, checkered finish, the two IMCA legal dirt cars of Lewellan and Painter battled it out for the win.
Lewellan, who’s car is crew chiefed by former Late Model ace Tommy Gural, held steady on the final two laps to notch the victory in the Austin Mobile Marine, Absolute Masonry, Southwest Landscaping sponsored car.

Painter, who’s son is 10 years old, used the “power of 10” to wrap up the Sportmod championship with his second place finish on 10/10, in the #10 car.

Official Sportmod results

1. 27 Johnny Lewallen, San Marcos, TX 42 laps QT 16.159
2. 10 Don Painter, Buda, TX 42 laps QT 16.084
3. 79 Cody Beddoe, Waco, TX 41 laps QT 16.689
4. 68 Rusty Head, Buda, TX 34 laps QT 16.506
5. 88 Duane Sanders, Killeen, TX 9 laps QT 19.550
6. 48 Chris Swenson, Boerne, TX 3 laps QT 16.169
7. 19 Benton Kemp, Corpus Christi, TX QT 17.043 – DNS
8. 28 (5) Junior Medlock, Manchaca, TX QT 18.539 – DNS
9. 64 Abel Arredondo, Kingsville, TX DNQ, DNS
10. 82 Anthony Monroe, Corpus Christi, TX QT 18.131 – TI – Vacuum Test
11. 5 (28) Shawn Paul Lehman, Manchaca, TX QT 16.488 – TI – Too Light

Mason Teague not only won the 30-lap Thunder Stock feature – the final points race of the season – but also won the season championship with a stirring win over defending champ Joey Tschoerner, Terry Tschoerner, Aaron Brungot and Gary Chancellor.

Coming into the event Teague had a comfortable 60-point lead in the championship standings over Anthony Gordon, who still had a mathematical chance at the title. Gordon’s championship hopes ended, however, when he was forced to pit to change a flat tire at mid race. Gordon ended up finishing a disappointing twelfth, but on the lead lap.

Official Thunder Stock results

Finish, Car Number, Name, Hometown, Laps Completed, Qualifying Time

1. 16 Mason Teague, Paige, TX 30 laps
2. 14 Joey Tschoerner, Bartlett, TX 30 laps
3. 10 Terry Tschoerner, Taylor, TX 30 laps
4. 50 Aaron Brungot, Cedar Park, TX 30 laps
5. 4 Gary Chancellor, Bastrop, TX 30 laps
6. 20 Steve Joyce, Buda, TX 30 laps
7. 15 James Cole, San Antonio, 30 laps
8. 58 Patrick Burow, San Antonio, TX 30 laps
9. 13 Stan Easty 30 laps
10. 37 Del Harris, Huntsville, TX 30 laps
11. 74 Jim Teague, Paige, TX 30 laps
12. 22 Anthony Gordon, San Antonio, TX 30 laps
13. 93 Aaron Leddy, Von Ormy, TX 16 laps
14. 8 David Sevilla, Jr., San Antonio, TX 11 laps
15. 88 Eric Robbins Red Rock, TX 10 laps
16. 56 Joey Jenkins, Del Valle, TX 4 laps

Coming to the start of the Grand Stock feature, Layton Carroll had pretty much locked up not only the track championship, but Rookie of the Year honors as well. And with his fourth place finish he took home both titles.

Cody Smith ignored all that and won the 30-lapper leaving Carolyn Aramendia, Art Ganss, Carroll and Marcia Moore to fight it out for second at the checkered flag.

Official Grand Stock results

Finish, Car Number, Name, Hometown, Laps Completed, Qualifying Time

1. 53 Cody Smith, Niederwald, TX 30 laps
2. 50 Carolyn Aramendia, San Antonio, TX 30 laps
3. 12 Art Ganss, Driftwood, TX 30 laps
4. 58 Layton Carroll, Yoakum, TX 30 laps
5. 91 Marcia Moore, Cedar Creek, TX 30 laps
6. 03 Chris Trevino, San Antonio, TX 30 laps
7. 79 James Aramendia, San Antonio, TX 30 laps
8. 7 Kris Wilson, Austin, TX 30 laps
9. 8 Brandon Gaither, La Vernia, TX 20 laps
10. 65 Floyd Reed, Spicewood, TX 18 laps
11. 23 Bob Meyers DNS

The Texas Pro Sedan 34-lap feature (in honor of the 34 years that the TPS has been in continuous operation) had the TPS championship on the line after a season-long battle between Mike Merrill and Tom Johnson. The TPS group had 21 for the 4-cylinder racers in the pits, the most of any class participating in this year’s Spectacular.

After four single-car spins on the initial start, Johnson got out front, with Merrill on his heels. The top two blistered the field quickly and started encountering lapped traffic by the third lap. By lap 15 the lead duo had lapped more than half the field.

The two continued their torrid pace, lapping the fourth-place car driven by Corpus Christi Speedway’s Cody Limerick by mid-race. In fact Johnson had just lapped Sergio Hexsel, who was running in the third spot, when caution waved for Dennis Taylor’s blown engine on lap 24.

Since the scoring went back to the last completed lap, this put Hexsel back on the lead lap.

As the green waved on the restart, Johnson quickly got away from Merrill who had lapped cars to contend with. And it turns out that Merrell’s VW developed a vibration that got worse as the laps clicked off which gave Hexsel an opportunity to close the gap.

With Merrell slowing a bit on every lap, Johnson was now able to motor off to an easy win.

But with valuable TPS points on the line, Merrell was able to hold of Hexsel for second and thus secure the championship by a single point, the closest margin in TPS’ long history.

Official Texas Pro Sedan results

Finish Car # Driver/Hometown Car Type/Engine CC Qualifying Feature Laps

1, 15 Tom Johnson/Kingsland, TX Ford Mustang/2340-arca 16.951 34 Laps
2, 70 Mike Merrell/Kingsland, TX VW Scirocco/1690 17.142 34 Laps
3, 20 Sergio Hexsel/Live Oak, TX VW GTI/2042 17.713 34 Laps
4, 73 r-Cody Limerick/Corpus Christi,TX Ford Mustang/2348 (ccs) 17.999 33 Laps
5, 04 r-Nathan Robbins/Bastrop, TX Ford Pinto/2338 18.143 32 Laps
6, 27 Bill Labarge/Bryan, TX BMW/2313 18.044 32 Laps
7, 48 Mike Knotts/Universal City, TX VW Scirocco/1648 18.096 32 Laps
8, 22 Harry Osburn Jr./San Antonio, TX Ford Mustang/2349-svo 18.037 31 Laps
9, 3 Bob Sherland/San Antonio, TX VW Rabbit/1790 17.911 31 Laps
10, 01 r-Tory Christopher/Universal City Toyota Celica/1950 19.094 31 Laps
11, 75 r-Daniel Wilkerson/Corpus Christi Ford Pinto/2338 20.313 31 Laps
12, 23 r-J.J. Osburn III/Converse, TX Ford Mustang/2338-svo 20.429 30 Laps
13, 18 Lanny Young/Kingsland, TX VW Karmen Ghia/2275 19.641 30 Laps
14, 97 Kevin Hallman/Cibolo, TX Ford Mustang/2338 21.394 29 Laps
15, 71 Bruce Mabrito/San Antonio, TX VW Scirocco/1980 20.440 29 Laps
16, 50 Rick Dawdy/San Antonio, TX VW Rabbit/1648 24.159 29 Laps
17, 40 r-Robert Robbins/Bastrop, TX Ford Pinto/2000 23.287 29 Laps
18, 55 John Miesen/Marion, TX VW Sedan/1915 21.916 28 Laps
19, 88 r-Dennis Taylor/Live Oak, TX Chevrolet Cobalt/2232 19.654 26 Laps
20, 26 Lalo Leal/Corpus Christi, TX Ford Cobra/2342-arca 17.523 6 Laps
21, 38 Dave Parks/San Antonio, TX 2001 VW Sedan/1588 26.141 1 Laps
dna, 2 r-Johnny Guerra/Corpus Christi, TX Ford Mustang/2338
dna, 9 r-Bobby Burrows/Yorktown, TX Ford Fusion/2338-svo D
dna, 77 Pete Wright/Ft. Worth, TX VW Scirocco/2008
dna, 07 r-Mike O’Connor/Weatherford, TX Pontiac Sunfire/2167

Margin of Victory 10:21 seconds.

The Dwarf Car Series of Texas feature saw Jerry Young, Mike Young, Jim Rogers, Coby Young and Arden Vikre take the top five spots.

Official Dwarf Car Series of Texas results

Finish, Car Number, Name, Hometown, Laps Completed, Qualifying Time

1. 18 Jerry Young, Helotes, TX 20 laps Qt 18.105
2. 3 Mike Young, Helotes, TX 20 laps DNT
3. 6 Jim Rogers, Ingleside, TX 20 laps QT 17.952
4. 55 Coby Young, Helotes, TX 20 laps DNT
5. 72 Arden Vikre, San Marcos, TX 20 laps QT 17.646
6. 15 Dwain Groff, Helotes, TX 20 laps DNT
7. 27 Butch Havelka, Portland, TX 20 laps QT 18.459
8. 16 Chris Knandel, Corpus Christi, TX 20 laps QT 18.126
9. 30 Billy Groff, Helotes, TX 30 laps QT 19.398
10. 60 Richard Smith, Wimberley, TX 30 laps QT 18.587
11. 8 Chuck McCormick, Helotes, TX 30 laps QT 18.191
12. 13 John Flake, Austin, TX 30 laps QT 18.755
13. 32 Hoppy Malatek, Fentres, TX 30 laps QT 20.122
14. 05 Keith Roach, Buda, TX 16 laps QT 17.808

Tracy Tschoerner, Brady Ramzinski, Michael Espinoza, Jerry Woolf and Kris Wilson were the top five finishers in the 15-lap Mini Stock feature.

Official Mini Stock results

Finish, Car Number, Name, Hometown, Laps Completed, Qualifying Time

1. 01 Tracy Tschoerner, Taylor, TX 15 laps
2. 88X Brandy Ramzinski, San Antonio, TX 15 laps
3. 18 Michael Espinoza 15 laps
4. 10 Jerry Woolf, San Antonio, TX 15 laps
5. 03 Kris Wilson, Austin, TX 15 laps
6. 02 Dalton Wall, Kyle, TX 14 laps
7. 68 Kenneth Wright, McQueeney, TX 14 laps
8. 88 Brandon Spreen, Boerne, TX 12 laps
9. 77 Eric Robbins, Red Rock, TX 11 laps

Lyndon Kirk and Mike Steinman broke away early in the 27-lap NasKart feature until caution re-bunched the field. Steinman got shuffled back on the restart leaving Kirk to battle with Richard Gonzales, who took over the lead until they made contact giving Steinman and Chris Terry a run at the top two spots. Kirk made a last lap charge to sneak in for the victory.

Official NasKart results

Finish, Car Number, Name, Hometown, Laps Completed, Qualifying Time

1. 5 Lyndon Kirk, Austin, TX 27 laps
2. 17 Richard Gonzales, San Antonio, TX 27 laps
3. 71 Mike Steinman, Austin, TX 27 laps
4. 12 Frank Mena, Leander, TX 27 laps
5. 24 Chris Terry, Oklahoma City, OK 27 laps
6. 88 Kayleb Kreis, Lake Travis, TX 27 laps
7. 07 Megan Smith Austin, TX 27 laps
8. 29 Marty Kreis, Lake Travis, TX 27 laps
9. 77 Andy Taylor, TX 27 laps
10. 18 Chris Birmingham, Leander, TX 27 laps
11. 8 Gary Smith, Austin, TX 11 laps
12. 48 Kevin Hummell, Lake Travis, TX DNS

By J.M. Hallas and Nick Holt
Front page and story photos by Jeff Garvin

032709 - Greg Dinsmore & Chris Swenson interviewed

“Bringing you all the racing action across the great state of Texas.” ^TM

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Kerrville’s Greg Dinsmore dominates I-37 Raceway Opening Night with a big Outlaw Modified win

Outlaw Modified driver Greg Dinsmore dominated the racing action Saturday at I-37 Raceway’s opening night. The Kerrville dirt track ace had it all his way as he made a shambles of both his heat race and the 15-lap Modified feature at the Pleasanton, Texas, quarter-mile.

Despite the cool temperatures, a good crowd was on hand to enjoy the many improvements to the facility that were made during the off season and watch five action-packed feature events.

Dale Flanagan and Greg Dinsmore started up on the front row of the Modified feature with Johnny Torres and Jeffrey Nix in row two. There was, however, a tense moment in the Dinsmore camp before the race was even under way as sparks were visible coming from under Dismore’s new Modified during the warm up laps.

As the green flag waved Dinsmore screamed into turn one, got the car completely sideways, lifted the left front tire off the track as he got back on the throttle and shot down the back straight already several car lengths in front of Flanagan.

After that it was simply a question of who would finish second. And the battle for second turned out to be the show.

Torres quickly went to work on Flanagan while Flanagan went to work trying to figure out a way to hold off the determined youngster. The pair went side-by-side for a lap or two, but Torres wisely didn’t force the issue and settled back into third, waiting for the right moment to make his move. Sure enough, a couple of laps later Torres made a clean pass just before Chris Swenson caught up with the duo.

Meanwhile, Dinsmore was nowhere in sight with almost a half-lap lead over Torres.

After several laps, Swenson finally found a way around Flanagan to claim third and took off in pursuit of Torres, but the laps ran out before he could catch him.

Dinsmore, who never even remotely challenged, won by half a lap over Torres, Swenson, Flanagan, Jeff Nix and Arlan Schult. Dinsmore also won his heat race convincingly.

Unofficial Outlaw Modified results
1. 8g Greg Dinsmore
2. 66 Johnny Torres
3. 48 Chris Swenson
4. 57 Dale Flanagan
5. 85 Jeff Nix
6. 19 Arlan Schult
7. c31 Marlin Samford - DNSM

Chris Swenson had much better luck in the IMCA SportMod feature, though, proving once again that experience is hard to beat on the dirt as he worked his way up through an 11-car field to take a well-deserved win.

Teammates Mark McGahey and Doug Livingston set the early pace with Pat Lyon and Chris Rye not far behind battling for third.

After a brief caution period for a spin, Swenson had worked his way up to fourth and started to work on Rye for third. It only took two laps for Swenson to figure out a safe way by Rye and he set sail for the two leaders, who were still bumper to bumper.

Swenson squeezed by Livingston at the halfway point and five laps later had McGahey in his mirror. Swenson then cruised off leaving McGahey and Livingston to resume their race-long battle, but this time for second place.

At the finish it was Swenson, McGahey with Livingston glued to his bumper, Kris Rye a distant third, and Patrick Lyon.

Doug Livingston and Kris Rye won the SportMod heat races.

Unofficial IMCA Southern SportMod results
1. 48 Chris Swenson
2. 88 Mark McGahey
3. 89 Doug Livingston
4. 4$ Kris Rye
5. 60 Patrick Lyon
6. 2x Dennis Hilla
7. 11 Chris McLendon
8. 09 David Routon Jr.
9. 4r Unk
10. 771 Wesley
11. 18 Larry Jerryman

In the Street Stock 15-lap feature Justin Henley came from deep in the 13-car field to notch his first victory of the new season.

For a while it looked like Tommy Casey would take the win, but as the laps wound down Casey and A.J Wernette, who ran a strong race to celebrate his seventeenth birthday, were both passed by a surging Henley on the 12th circuit.

Two laps later the group dicing for second place got into a free-for-all in turns three and four and suddenly Wernette was sitting in the infield as Henley motored off to take the win.

Casey, Chico Cox, who had started on the pole, Wes Werts, who had started beside Cox, and Wade Jones rounded out the top five.

In the first Street Stock heat race Chris Brock made the highlight footage as he went flying – literally - out of the park in turn three and completed a four-point landing safely in the pit area.

Rene Mares and Wade Jones won the Street Stock heat races.

Unofficial Street Stock results
1. 99 Justin Henley
2. 42 Tommy Casey
3. 21 Chico Cox
4. 77 Wes Werts
5. 41 Wade Jones
6. 01 Bijah Fowler
7. 55 Cody Clark
8. 37 AJ Wernette
9. 68 William Johnson III
10. 33 Frederick Gierisch
11. 51Don Lewis
12. 08 Rene Mares
13. 88 Chris Brock

Moe VanKirk picked up right where he left off last season, taking a convincing win in the 15-lap Limited Late Model main event.

Howie Marcx and Richard Bartosh started on the front row and they raced side-by-side down the back straight. But Bartosh got two wheels up on the tire wall in turn 3-4 and almost became the second car to exit the track unexpectedly. Bartosh somehow managed to get down off the tires and back onto the track and continued to race, eventually finishing fourth.

But it was a VanKirk show once he got by Marcx in the early going.

Patrick Kelly had an excellent race, showing patience and skill as he found a way around Marcx at mid-race to eventually earn a second-place finish.

Meanwhile Bartosh, none the worse for his on-the-tire-wall adventure, worked his way back into fourth as the top four cars separated themselves from the rest of the eight-car field for the remainder of the race.

Kelly tried to make up ground on VanKirk as the laps clicked off, but without much success. At the checkered it was VanKirk, Kelly, Marcx and Bartosh, all separated by a car length or two.

Van Kirk and Patrick Kelly won their respective Limited Late Model heat races.

Unofficial Limited Late Model results
1. 58 Moe VanKirk
2. 84 Patrick Kelly
3. 13 Howie Marcx
4. 7 Richard Bartosh
5. 5-0 Jerry Neal
6. 14 Gary Hunter
7. 1x Andrew Hesler
8. 21 Chris Snocker

In easily the most entertaining race of the night, asphalt ace John Heil worked and bumped his way through the field to win the Pure Stock 20-lap main event.

Janel Hilla started on the front row of the 16-car field and led for the first six laps over Sonny Jones and Adam Torres, who gave her all she could handle until Jones scooted by to take the lead on lap six.

Mike Brown and Danny Kasprowicz weren’t far behind

Back in the pack Heil and another asphalt specialist, Mark Chrudimsky, were running wild as they picked off one car after another.

After a caution for a minor spin, it was Jones, Hilla, Torres, Brown and Kasprowicz the top five as the green flew.

Kasprowicz makes a gutsy, three-wide outside move going into turn one and came out of turn two in second place as Hilla,Torres and Brown were beating and banging below him.

But at the other end of the track, Kasprowicz got way wide allowing Mike Brown to take back second. As Kasprowicz tried to recover that spot, he exited turn four too near the wall and suddenly darted down across the bunched up field dicing for position behind the lead group. With nowhere to go, William Sanders and Mark Chrudimsky crashed hard with Kasprowicz and the threesome ended up trying to knock down the front straight wall.

By now Heil had worked his way up to fourth.

At the restart Heil got a huge jump on the outside and roared into second place behind Jones.

A lap later Hilla spun in turn four, but no caution was needed as she ended up in the infield. This moved Brandon Eure into fourth.

With five to go Heil got around Jones who seemed to slow a bit as the laps clicked off. Torres soon caught Jones as well and was about to complete a pass when he pulled into the infield with flames in the engine compartment.

On the restart it was Heil, Jones, Eure and a surprisingly-fast Marc Roy in fourth, Jake Kruger in fifth, William Cavender in sixth and Hilla back up to seventh. Heil jumped out first with the next few cars in line going three-wide into the first turn with Eure coming out of turn two in second with Roy on his bumper.

Eure, however, had nothing for Heil and at the finish it was Heil, Eure, Roy, Krueger, Cavender and Hilla.

Kasprowicz and Denis Jasik won the Pure Stock heat races.

Unofficial Pure Stock results
1. 30 John Heil
2. 4 Brandon Eure
3. 24 Marc Roy
4. 13 Jake Kruger
5. 15 William Cavender
6.7x Janel Hilla
7. 555 Sonny Jones
8. 9 Phillip Haywood
9. 8 Dennis Jasik
10. 66 Adam Torres
11. 39 Mark Chrudimsky
12. 01 Mike Brown
13. 74k Danny Kasprowicz
14. 98 William Souder
15. 79 George Long
16. 14 Mark Pivarnik

Les Bettis outclassed the five-car Front Runner field taking both the heat race and the 10-lap main event.

Bettis’only real challenger, Greg Mares, gave it all he had but ended up a couple of car-lengths short at the finish.

Unofficial Front Runner results
1. 57 Les Bettis
2. 14 Greg Mares
3. 8jr Alec Jasik
4. 35 James Sanford
5. 41 Amber Helton

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