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

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

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

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

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

Wiley Rilat Wins Wild One

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASCS Sprint Cars, 25 laps

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

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

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

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

Heat 1

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

Heat 2

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

Heat 3

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

Manning Masters Modified Main

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

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

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

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

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

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

Modified

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

Modified heat

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

White Wins Another One

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Limited Modifieds

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

Limited Modified heats

Heat 1

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

Heat 2

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

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

Late Models

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

Late Model heat winner, 97 Eric Neal

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

Hot Stock Trucks

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

Hot Stock Truck heat winner, 84 Justin Bloom

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

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

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

Street Stocks

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

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

Kerrville’s Greg Dinsmore upgrades after championship year in 2008

Despite winning the 2008 IMCA Modified track championship at I-37 Raceway in Pleasanton, Texas, Kerrville’s Greg Dinsmore isn’t going to rest on the laurels of his 2008 championship.

Dinsmore began 2009 by making a trip north to shop of Bob Harris to pick up the newest in line of chassis’ from Harris Racing. After dropping the power plant and other assorted goodies in the car, the body was hung and off it went to Big Worm Motorsports for the new decal wrap.

Not wanting to fall behind on new technology, Dinsmore then attended the racetechinfo.com chassis seminar presented by Harris. The class, hosted by his wife Candace, had a record number of attendees, all of whom were looking to bolster their knowledge on chassis set-up tips that included on-track and classroom training.

“What worked in 2008 may be out dated in 2009,” replied Dinsmore. “This is also a new chassis design, that has new front end configuration and ‘un-clamped’ rear suspension, so the more I can learn about it now, the farther ahead I’ll be at the track. The testing we did went extremely well and this car is much faster than last years. This looks to be another great year.”

Dinsmore, who will not be defending his title, looks to do more traveling during the 2009 season after I-37 Raceway dropped the IMCA sanction for the Modifieds class.

“We plan to race more big shows this season in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, possibly Arizona and of course, our yearly trip to Boone, Iowa for the IMCA Super Nationals. We’ll probably do our weekly racing at Kennedale Speedway Park when we’re not on the road.”

The first foray into the 2009 season was a “good news, bad news” scenario at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track’s, Texas World Dirt Track Championship. Motor woes plagued Dinsmore on Friday putting him way behind for Saturday’s ‘Last Chance’ race. The car was a rocket on Saturday night as Dinsmore came from the 21st starting position up to ninth using both the bottom and top grooves. His efforts fell short of making the championship main, but Dinsmore looks to rebound at Kennedale Speedway Park’s Spring Kick-off this weekend.

Last year’s championship-winning car now sits unceremoniously behind the race shop, minus numerous parts and pieces. Plans are to repair and replace some parts bent in a late-season crash at Cowtown Speedway (Kennedale, TX), and have the car race ready for Candace to drive once the new motor is ready.

“I’m probably going to be a little nervous at first,” added Candace. “Though I’m anxious to start getting some seat time and apply the knowledge I picked up from Bob Harris’ racetech class. It’s definitely going to be a lot different than my Mini-Sprint.”

During the off season, the Dinsmore family added a new member to the husband and wife team that already includes their sons (Cameron and Logan), daughter (Shelby), father (Jerry Dinsmore), Charles Hopper and team mascot (Chance). This year, look for Chance to have a new running buddy, ‘Chevy,’ a scrappy Chocolate Lab pup.

By J M Hallas

Photo courtesy of Dinsmore Racing

Phillips, Evans, Litton take home Texas World Dirt Track Championships

Proving once again that everything is bigger in Texas, the Texas World Dirt Track Championship set a new standard for total car count. With 60 entries for the SUPR Late Model, $3,500 to win main event, the total number of cars in the pits climbed to 385, easily surpassing the old mark.

With final qualifying features for the Modifieds and Limited Modfieds, plus a full race program for the SUPR Late Models, fans were in store for an exciting conclusion to this year’s championship races.

Evans elusive enough for Limited Modified main win

One way to keep from being passed for the lead is keeping your competitors far enough behind that they can never mount a challenge. Bullard’s Travis Evans put this strategy into practice on his way to the Limited Modified Championship. Evans got away on the start and subsequent restarts keeping the 26-car field at bay. Evans’ only pressure came early, when Shane Hebert tried to stay with him.

Evans and Jamie Burford paced the field to green for the 30-lap championship main event. Evans was first into turn one, with Hebert second and Ted Thomas, Chris Hennigan and Burford three-wide for third after Burford slid high in turn one. Hebert closed in Evans on lap two for the lead, but never mounted an attack.

On lap three Joe Courvillion, Matt Mueller and Michael Robertson were three-abreast for fifth. As Courvillion took the spot, Dennie Geiber moved in making it three-wide for sixth. By lap five Evans began to open up an advantage on Hebert.

Mueller brought out the yellow on lap seven when he spun in turn two and ended up on top of the infield guard rail.

Once back under green, Evans again inched ahead of Hebert who quickly built a margin over Thomas, Courvilion, Hennigan and Geiber running nose to tail. Robertson, using the high groove, got along side and then by Geiber for sixth on lap eight. Robertson then passed Hennigan for fifth a lap later, while Courvillion was looking under Thomas for third.

Geiber then put the heat on Courvillion for fourth, with Robertson spinning ending his charge to the front. On the restart, Geiber took a peek under Thomas, while former IMCA Sportmod National champion, Jeff Turner, worked his way past Burford and Hennigan for sixth. Geiber was finally able to get under Thomas for third on lap 11.

At halfway the top five were Evans, Hebert, Geiber, Thomas and Courvillion.

By lap 20 Evans had run away to nearly a full straightaway lead over Hebert. The margin shrunk quickly when former USAC Silver Crown champion, Paul White broke and rolled to stop in turn two.

As the field went back to green, Geiber was putting pressure on Hebert for second, giving Evans the chance to again motor away.

Geiber got the position from Hebert,who slowed and pulled off on lap 22.

With five to go Evans had half a straight lead on Geiber, who had a big gap to Courvillion, Thomas, Turner, Burford, Jacob Pirkle and Andy Claiborne. Thomas, Burford and Turner took it three-wide for fourth on lap 26. Up front, Evans was still holding a comfortable margin on Geiber as he took the checkers in the Four Seasons Heating & Air Conditioning, Dent Magic, Jeff’s Performance, IRP Chassis.

Limited Modified A-main
4 Travis Evans, Bullard
124 Dennie Gieber, Frankston
30 Joe Courvillion, Sharon, La.
44 Jeff Turner, Kaufman
19 Jamie Burford, Keatchie, La.
148 Andy Claiborne, Conroe
74 Ted Thomas, Post
8 Robert Vetter, Wolfe City
41 Jacob Pirkle, Midlothian
01H Chris Hennigan, Marshal
71m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak
40p Jeff Wood, Conoe
25 Ray Petty, Princeton
18 Tim Clonch, Quinlan
1w Keith White, Academy
1x Brent York, Bullard
75 Kyle Nelson, Mansfield
9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La.
216 Paul White, Temple
Boo Randy Thomas, Elk City, Okla
07 Robert Black, Hallsburg
051 Michael Robertson, Minden, La
38 Matt Mueller, Stamford
61 Glenn Leuschner, Irving
5c Chris Cogburn, Robinson
81 Cody Simpson, Quinlan

“A little bit of good and a lot of luck”, said Evans, “When we had the (pole) dash I knew we had to get pole. Once I got that done I felt better about getting this done. I just held on and hit my marks and didn’t worry about what everyone else was doing. I figured if they were that fast that they would just come on around.

“My car was pretty good from the day we got here. We made some changes throughout the weekend. We gambled a little here tonight doing some work with the tires. I think it paid off.
This is first car that Jason Ingalls built. We’re real proud of it. Hopefully he’ll sell a lot of them now.”

Phillips fends off Arpin in Modified finale

Missouri’s Terry Phillips and Canadian Steve Arpin put on a classic battle throughout the 40-lap Modified Championship finale. Arpin got out front early, but gave way to Phillips on lap 7. Arpin used lapped traffic near the midway point to get the lead back for one lap until Phillips re-assumed the point. On the final lap Phillips had to dodge a lapped car giving Arpin one last run at him coming to the checkers. Phillips eked out the win by a mere car length at the line.

Arpin beat Phillips into turn one at the start of the 26-car, $3000 to win, Modified main event. Phillips fell in line second, with William Gould third. As the top five sorted out single file, John Allen and Jason Armstrong battled side by side for sixth. Arpin had Phillips on his bumper as they eased away from Gould. With nearly everyone on the bottom grove, Chad Wheeler was using the high side to get along side Tate Cole and Rodney Sanders.

Phillips took his first look for the lead on lap 10 and finally got beside Arpin on lap 11. After a brief wheel to wheel battle, Phillips took over the point on lap 12. Arpin then moved to the top looking for a way to get the lead back. The lead duo caught traffic on lap 15, with Arpin pinning Phillips behind a slower car to get the top spot back on lap 16.

Phillips was able to get the nose back under Arpin on lap 17, retaking the lead on lap 18. Phillips and Arpin were still side-by-side on lap 18 as they were forced to go three wide around a lapped car. At the crossed flags it was Phillips beginning to creep away with Arpin, Gould, Tommy Meyer and Timothy Culp in the top five.

With Phillips increasing his margin, Gould began reeling in Arpin for second catching him on lap 26. Arpin was able to regain some space as the two worked lapped traffic, but Gould closed the gap once clear on lap 32.

With five laps to go, Phillips had a 1/4 straightaway lead over Arpin and Gould, who held gap to Meyer.

Phillips again had slower cars become rolling road blocks with two to go. This gave Arpin the opportunity to sneak back in, with Gould in tow. As the white flag waved Arpin was there, along with Gould and a rapidly closing Meyer. Coming out of turn four Phillips had to move high to avoid a lapped car. Arpin gave it the ol’ college try coming to the line, but fell a car length short as Phillips in the Andy’s Frozen Custard, Don Babb Motorsports, Hatfield Racing Engines, Integra Shocks, Simpson, GRT Chassis, was taking the victory.

Modified Main
75x Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
00X Steve Arpin, Estavan, Canada
60 William Gould, Calera, Okla.
65 Tommy Meyer, Blooming Praire, Minn.
11 Jason Armstrong, Marshall
98 John Allen, Chanute, Kan.
c8 Timothy Culp, West Monroe, La.
12D Scott Drake, WebbCity, Mo.
18 Tim Clonch, Quinlan
99T Eric Turner, Hermitage, Mo.
9H Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La.
89 Tate Cole, Muskogee, Okla.
88 Chad Wheeler, Muskogee, Okla.
120 Rodney Sanders, Hapy
14T Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
97 Rich Lewerke, Garner, Ioa
21 Chris Brown, Cleveland
1V Vance Wilson, Frankford, Mo.
88x Clyde Dunn jr, Forney
30 Chase Allen, Midlothian
1H TJ Herndon, Atwood, Tenn.
301 Ken Couch, Midlothian
31 Neal Debord, Amarillo
47x Melvin Pilcher, Springdale, Ark
X2 Brain Bolin, Fort Scott, Kan.
12HX Mike Hansen, Alton, Iowa

“I was fortunate enough to get some lucky breaks early,” stated Phillips. “Running the race is easy, getting into the race was the hard part with this field of cars. Knowing we had the front after the dash was a big weight off me. I just watched the track to see what it was going to do. With a big race like this and so many good cars, you’ve got have a lot of luck and be I the right place at the right time.”

“I could hear him (Arpin) out there. I knew he was close, but I was having a little trouble (with my brakes). I wasn’t going to block, but I wasn’t going to give him the good line either. He kind of picked me on the lapped cars, which is what he needed to do. He’s a good driver and raced me clean. It worked out for us. It must have been a heck of a race to watch.

“We had a pretty good car, but that’s about the time my brakes went away. These race cars are hard to drive with no brakes. I hit my corners right without having to use much brake. I knew if stayed patient and didn’t over drive the car I’d be alright.”

“On the last lap I slid up a little bit and he’d go to the bottom. I had to get around that lapped car. I went in there and the pedal went to the floor and it pushed up. I tried to keep the car down as much as I could so he couldn’t drift up and get a good run off the corner. Once I got mine straight I eased in the gas and tried to beat him to the line. I knew we were ok then.

I like running these mods as a hobby, a serious hobby, because these guys are serious.”

Litton leads charge in SUPR Late Model lid lifter

Alexandria, Louisiana’s Rob Litton picked up his second Texas World Dirt Track title, but the road to the winner’s circle was not an easy one. Litton was challenged early by Kurt Kile with the two making contact in the latter stages, that sent Kurt Kile around. In the final laps Litton had to hold off 2008 SUPR Rookie of the Year, Kevin Sitton for the win.


Polesitter Doug Ingalls was first into turn one at the start of the 22-car, 40-lap, $3,500 to-win SUPR season opener. But it was Litton coming out of turn 2 with lead followed by Kurt Kile, John Anderson, Lee Davis and Ingalls. As the top six began to string out, Allen Tippen and Patrik Daniel were side by side for eighth. Sitton got along side and by Ingalls on lap 3 for sixth, then put Tippen in his wake on lap four for fifth.

Sitton continued his march to the front putting pressure on Anderson for fourth on lap eight. In the pack, James Ward and Ingalls were dicing for sixth, while Howard Willis was making his way up to seventh from near the back of the field. Kurt Kile snuck past Litton for the top spot on lap 19 as they negotiated traffic. Litton re-grabbed the point on lap 20, with Sitton and Anderson door-to-door for third.

The lead duo got hung up in traffic while Ward and Willis moved their way into the top five. As the race wound down to the final five laps, Kurt Kile got into the back of Litton sending Kurt Kile around and to the rear of the field for the restart. Sitton tried to hang on to Litton once the green waved as they put some distance on Ward and Willis who were separated by lapped cars.

Ward slipped too high on lap 36, losing ground and regaining control right in front of Willis making a battle for third. Up front Litton was inching his way ahead of Sitton.

As Litton took the white flag he held a five car length edge over Sitton and motored on to the checkers in the LMS Truck Center, Litton Motorsports, TWM Racing Products, Wall to Wall Performance Engines, Stuckey Enterprises, Rocket Chassis, where he found Victory Lane once before in 2004.

SUPR Late Model Main
68 Rob Litton, Alexandria, La.
20s Kevin Sitton, Baytown
W3 James Ward, Lettsworth, La.
23w Howard Willis, Dayton
14 David Ashley, Zachary, La.
21 Lee Davis, Greenwood, La.
77K Kurt Kile, Nichols, Iowa
71a Allen Tippen, Minden, La.
93 Ray Moore, Haughton, La.
43G Jeremy Grady, Story City, Iowa
75D Patrik Daniel, Wils Point
75S Cody Skythad, Fargo, N.D.
11c Jeff Chandler, Minden, La.
10B Mike Balcaen, Winnipeg, Canada
R51 Rusty Cummings, Minden, La.
47E Tom Earl III, Haslet
88 Kevin Kile, West Liberty, Iowa
14M Doug Ingalls, Longview
R5 Kyle Cummings, Sibley, La.
c28 Kenny Merchant, Ruston, La.
5M Jon Mitchell, Texarkana
2A John Anderson, Omaha, Nebr.

“It was a lot of luck,” said Litton. “We’ve got a bunch of guys that work on the car and they do a great job. We try to be as prepared as we can, but it takes some luck too.

“Even in our heat race there was always someone close. With 60 cars from across the country you know there’s a tough field. You always know someone’s right there. When we got out in clean air the car felt real good. I knew someone would have to be unbelievably good to get around me. Lapped traffic is different story.

“We don’t have any communication with the crew, but we do use hand signals. It’s still hard to tell who’s behind you. Here you can look up at the scoreboard and tell who’s there.

By J M Hallas

Photos by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

TWS Dirt Track Championships boast big Friday nite numbers

In what is rapidly becoming the biggest dirt track racing event in the region, Texas Motor Speedway’s Dirt Track is hosting another successful version the annual Texas World Dirt Track Championship presented by O’Reilly’s Auto Parts on their four tenth-mile, semi-banked track just north of Ft. Worth, Texas.

Over 300 drivers from fourteen states and one Canadian province rolled through the pit gate, quickly filled the designated pit area and spilled over into the adjacent camping area.

The 212 Modified entries include not only regional and local Track Champions and Rookies of the Year, but also National Champions as well - a virtual “who’s who” in the dirt modified racing community. The heat races looked more like feature races typically seen at “Anytrack, USA,” on a Saturday night.

Limited Modifieds had 123 drivers signed in, headed by two National champions, one of whom came up a little short in the Friday night qualifying races and failed to qualify for the upcoming feature race.

Many of the top SUPR Late Model series drivers were on hand for “hot lap” sessions throughout the night, readying themselves for the $3,500-to-win SUPR season opener on Saturday.

Phillips flies to Modified A-Qualifier win

Springfield, Missouri’s Terry Phillips may be better known for his prowess driving a dirt Late Model, but Friday night he proved he can handle a Modified as well. Phillips, who started in the second row of Friday night’s A-qualifier, battled by Tommy Meyer for second, then grabbed the lead from Canadian Steve Arpin halfway through the 15-lap event. From there Phillips ran away to notch the win.

,br clear=”left”>Meyer and Arpin paced the 21-car starting field to green in a fight for the top eight spots to be locked in for Saturday nights championship race. Arpin jumped out coming down the front stretch beating Meyer in to turn 1 for the lead. In the pack small wars were erupting with some expected paint-trading and rubbing.

Timothy Culp and Vance Wilson made contact several times before Wilson ended up facing the wrong direction in turn 4 at the end of the first lap to bring out the yellow. Wilson was done for night, while Culp continued with a slightly adjusted door panel. On the restart the field broke away clean, with William Gould quickly moving from the last row into the top ten.

Gould had just gotten past John Allen for the transfer spot, when Rodney Sanders spun to bring out the caution on lap three. Once back to green the top three eased away from the rest of the field. On lap five Phillips started challenging Arpin for the lead. Phillips took a look outside, with Meyer filling the hole low looking for second.

Phillips continued to chase Arpin on the high side and got the edge coming out of turn 2 beating Arpin back to the line to lead on lap seven. Meyer then began to put the heat on Arpin for second, with Gould finally securing the final transfer spot. Phillips was able to pull away while Meyer took second from Arpin. As the white flag was shown, Phillips had built nearly a full straightaway lead, easily cruising to the win.

Modified A-qualifier(Top 8 locked in to Saturday’s A-main)
1. 75x Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. 65 Tommy Meyer, Blooming Prairie, Minn
3. 00 Steve Arpin, Estavan, Canada
4. 21c Chris Brown, Cleveland
5. 8C Timothy Culp, West Monroe, La.
6. 98 John Allen, Chanute, Kan.
7. 11 Jason Armstrong, Marshall
8. 60 William Gould, Calera, Okla.
9. 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian
10. 5M Morgan Bagley, Longview
11. 00EH Jeff Taylor, Joneboro, Ark.
12. 99T Eric Turner, Hermitage, Mo.
13. 9H Shane Hebert, Lafayete, La.
14. 7J Ron Jones, Princeton, Minn.
15. 120 Rodney Sanders, Happy
16. xxx Rick Hurnsberger, Hot Springs, Ark.
17. 88x Clyde Dunn jr.
18. 11H Jim Hernandez, Topeka, Kan.
19. 21C Wade Cross, Phillips, Nebr.
20. 87 Justin McCoy, Ovilla
21. 1V Vance, Wilson, Frankfort, Mo.
2J Grant Junghans, Manhatten, Kan.—DNS
12HXMike Hansen, Alton, Iowa—DNS
1x Chris Ableson, Souix City, Iowa—DNS

Hebert hot as Cajun cooking for Limited Modified victory

Lafayette, Louisiana’s Shane Hebert showed the Limited Modified field nothing but his rear bumper in the 15-lap A-qualifier. Hebert started on the pole, got a big jump on Matt Meuller when green waved, and proceeded to lead every lap. Hebert got a late challenge from fellow Cajun, Jamie Burford but was up to the task for the win.

As Hebert grabbed the early lead, Travis Evans snagged second, with Meuller and Chris Hennigan falling into line. As the top six sorted out single file, from seventh on back it was still side-by-side through the pack. Hennigan and Burford both got by Meuller on lap one for third and fourth. The lead quartet then pulled away from Andy Claiborne, who had also gotten past Meuller.

By lap five, Hebert had put some distance on Evans, who had opened a gap back to Hennigan and Burford. Burford picked off third from Hennigan on lap six, while former IMCA Sportmod champ, Jeff Turner and Ted Thomas got past Claiborrne and Meuller in the fight for the last transfer position. With five laps to go the battle in the pack was still wheel to wheel.

As Hebert was on cruise control, Burford ran down Evans for second catching him on lap 11. After a brief battle, Burford got by Evens on lap 12 and went in search of the leader. Burford was only able to get close as the white flag waved, but never close enough to mount a serious challenge as Hebert took the checkers with a slight margin.

Limited Modified A-qualifier(Top 8 locked in for Sat. A-main)
1. 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La
2. 19 Jamie Burford, Keatchie, La.
3. 4 Travis Evans, Bullard
4. 01H Chris Hennigan, Marshall
5. 44 Jeff Turner, Kaufman
6. 74 Ted Thomas, Post
7. 148 Andy Claiborn, Conroe
8. 38 Matt Meuller, Stamford
9. 28 Wendall Bolden, Greenville
10. 40p Jeff Wood, Conroe
11. 124 Dennie Gieber, Frankston
12. 118 Tim Clonch, Quinlan
13. 199 Matt Winnett, Colbert, Okla
14. 71m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak
15. 69R Kenny Grigsby, Marshall
16. 30 Joe Corvillion, Sharon, La.
17. 5D Kevin Green, Waco
18. OK Ron McCartney,
19. 051 Michael Robertson,
20. Boo Randy Thomas, Elk City, Oka.
21. 15 Joe Collier, Clyde
22. 41 Jacob Pirkle, Midlothian
23. 1x Brent York, Bullard
24. 5t Randy Timms, Oklahoma City, Okla.

by J.M. Hallas

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

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