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Paul White doubles at Texana Raceway Park with two well-deserved wins

It wasn’t a cakewalk by any stretch of the imagination, but Temple’s Paul White bagged a double at Texana Raceway Park in Edna, Texas, Saturday night winning both the Modified and Limited Modified feature events before a packed house.

Originally billed as the second race in the nine-race South Texas Modified Championship Series for Modifieds and Limited Modifieds, only the Modifieds actually competed for Series points due to a controversy over the Limited Modified tire rules. Both divisions were racing for $1,000 first place prize money, however, and the racing in both classes was intense.

Earlier in the season White - a former USAC Silver Crown Champion - had great success almost everywhere he raced. He scored double feature wins at Battleground Speedway, Houston Raceway Park and dominated Texana Raceway Park to the point that TRP owner Bruce Tesch placed a bounty on him - both in the Modified and Limited Modified classes. The bounties brought out stiff competition and both were eventually claimed.

In the 20-lap Limited Modified feature White chased race leader Shane Hoefling for all but the last ten feet of the last lap. Hoefling did everything he needed to do to stay in the lead, scouting out sticky spots and using lapped traffic whenever and wherever possible to keep White at bay. With five to go it appeared that Hoefling had the race well in hand, but apparently White was just cooling the tires and plotting a late-race charge.

With two to go, White moved back to within striking distance and as the white flag waved White made his move, diving hard into the first turn on the bottom and getting to Hoefling’s bumper. The dirt-saavy veteran then went up top in turns 3-4 with the pair exiting turn four nearly sideways and wheel to wheel. Somehow White got his bumper out front with ten feet to go and took the checkered by about three feet.

“I tried that move a couple of times earlier,” White explained. “When I got the right run on him we were in lapped traffic and that messed it up. I set that up a whole lap before and made sure I had all the ground to make it up. I got up under him a little and he blocked me down, so I went outside as quick as I could to have a nice entry into turn three. That’s really what made it work. It gave me enough momentum to get through the middle.”

“It was driver error,” Hoefling said. “When Paul White is on your tail, you don’t make a driver error. I slipped up a little bit and he got around me on the top side. I knew he was there. I saw him in turns 1-2 on the last lap and again in turns 3-4.”

Unofficial Limited Modified results

1. 216 Paul White
2. 63 Shane Hoefling
3. 175 Mickey Helms
4. 6 Vince Louden
5. 00 Derrick Flora
6. 37 Bill Pittaway
7. 34 Michael Walker
8. 27 Johnny Lewellan
9. 888 Aaron Lunsford
10. 10d Don Painter
11. 15 Andy VanBlarcum
12. 04 Jacob Burnett
13. 7k Kevin Parker
14. 47m Ruben Montes
15. 21 Victor Lindsey

The Modified feature proved to be just as exciting with White and young Steve Whiteaker, Jr, going side by side for much of the race with White using the very low line and Whiteaker searching for traction mostly on the high side.

The race was plagued, however, by a number of caution periods as the track grew more towards slick than tacky.

Several restarts saw White go very low into the turns with Whiteaker right there beside him on the high side. More often than not White was able to get off the turns better with Whiteaker perhaps gaining the advantage through the turns.

Behind the leaders the Series point leader Danny Brown was having to fend off a determined Lawrence Mikulencak as the pair of Corpus Christi drivers battled for third. And not far behind them Dale Flanagan, Jesse Manning and Josh Majek were slicing and dicing for fifth.

But the show that everyone was watching was the chess match being played out up front.

As the laps clicked down, there were more cautions which prompted the track to shorten the event by two laps.

On the final restart with two to go, Whiteaker sailed into turn one on the top and got along side White once again. And once again White again was able to find bite on the bottom and pulled away from Whiteaker a bit coming off turn two. Whiteaker tried to drive it in harder in turn three, but White still held the lead as they entered the front stretch.

As the white flag waved, White was still cat-fishing the low side, with Whiteaker looking for moisture anywhere he could find it. But at the checkered flag it was White by a car length in the Bridwell Motorsports, Engines by Adan & Jeff, Dust Devil chassis. White took home the trophy, some bragging rights and a check fo $1,000.

Brown’s third place finish was enough for him to retain the series points lead while Mikulencak took over second from Manning, with Whiteaker, unofficially, taking over fourth in the Series point standings.

“I could hear him (Steve Whiteaker) out there and saw him the turns a couple times,” White said after the race. “But I really didn’t feel that it made any difference as long as I didn’t mess up on my entrance and getting through the middle. As long as I hit my spots there was no way - no matter who it was - anyone was going to pass me.

“ I felt after I came in from the Limited Modified feature that we needed to put all the bite in it we could to get it off the turns and not worry about blasting around the top. I didn’t think anybody had anything for me if I didn’t mess up on the bottom. That’s just what we elected to go with and it paid off.”

Unofficial Modified results

1. 2w Paul White
2. 89 Steve Whiteaker, Jr
3. 55 Danny Brown
4. 87 Lawrence Mikulencak
5. 57 Dale Flanagan
6. 82 Joshua Majek
7. 76 Jesse Manning
8. 174 Max Helms
9. 96 Foster Ellison
10. 125 Jason Borlace
11. 95 Jeremy Davenport
12. 12 Rolie Rodriguez
13. 15 Chris Carrol
14. 55b Wesley Anderson
15. 16. James Jennings
16. 22 Art Rodriguez
17. 155 Vince Kacir

by J.M Hallas and Nick Holt

Photos by Brenda Dancer

USMTS Modifieds to battle at Cowtown on Saturday, Heart O’ Texas on Sunday

A USMTS Southern Series tripleheader is on tap for this weekend with a trio of West Region battles worth $2,000 to win each. A big field of cars are expected at each event where local aces have a real chance of keeping the winner’s share of the purses close to home.

FRIDAY, MAY 1 - LAKE COUNTRY SPEEDWAY

On Friday, May 1, the Lake Country Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., will host the USMTS Southern Series for a second straight season. Jason Hughes picked up his first USMTS Southern Series victory of the season as 56 top-flight Modified teams duked it out in the inaugural event at Ronny Gould’s speedplant. Hughes held off Jamie Burford and Steve Holzkamper in a fireworks-filled feature, then went on to capture the USMTS Southern Series championship crown.

Also on the racing card will be USRA Southern Limited Modifieds and Hobby Stocks with pit gates opening at 4:30, grandstands at 5:00, hot laps beginning at 6:30 and the first heat race slated to take the green flag at 7:00.

The Lake Country Speedway at 3/8-mile semi-banked clay oval located 0.7 mile east of I-35 (Exit 29) on US 70, then 1.8 miles south on US 77. For more information, call 405-388-9407 or check out www.lakecountryspeedwayok.com online.

SATURDAY, MAY 2 - COWTOWN SPEEDWAY

The series makes a return visit to the Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale, Texas, on Saturday, May 2, as the touring titans look to regain some respect after local drivers swept the top three spots in last year’s debut.

“This is our house,” exclaimed George White in victory lane. “Ain’t nobody taking our money home.”

With 56 entries on hand, White led an impressive showing by the local contingent as Cowtown Speedway drivers finished 1-2-3 in the main event as the USMTS Southern Series drivers made their debut at the lightning-fast facility. Bryan Sugg while Glenn Leuschner grabbed third. The first 26 laps of the 40-lap main event belonged to Eddie Martin before a flat tire ended the runaway leader’s hopes of winning.

USRA Southern Limited Modifieds, Winged 600s, Street Stocks and Bombers will also compete. Pit gates open at 4:00, grandstands open up at 5:00, hot laps get going at 6:30 and the mud starts flying at 7:00.

The Cowtown Speedway is a 1/4-mile high-banked clay oval located 1.7 miles southeast of I-20 (Exit 442-A) on Mansfield Hwy., then 1.4 miles southwest on New Hope Rd. For more information, call 817-313-8563 or visit www.cowtownspeedway.com on the World Wide Web.

SUNDAY, MAY 3 - HEART O’ TEXAS SPEEDWAY

On Sunday, May 3, race fans at the Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Elm Mott, Texas, get their first look at the stars and cars of the USMTS Southern Series. Just like Cowtown last year, HOT Speedway regulars have an advantage over the first-time invaders. Keith White, Benji Kirkpatrick, Justin Radcliff, Eric Tomlinson, Jimmie Helona, Chase Jupe, Johnny Sheets, Cody Daniel, Wesley Dulock, Pat McGuire and Keith Green are just a few of the names that are expected to defend their home turf.

The USRA Southern Limited Modifieds and Mini-Sprints are also on the menu. Eight-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock will climb behind the wheel of Shannon “Slider” Young’s #1 Centex Motorsports powered QWIK Chassis to compete with the USRA Southern Limited Modifieds.

Pit gates open at 3:00, grandstands open at 4:00, hot laps start at 5:30 and the racing action kicks off at 6:00.

The Heart O’ Texas Speedway is a 1/3-mile semi-banked clay oval located 0.6 mile north of I-35 at Exit 343 (FM 308) on east frontage road. For more information, call 254-776-1576 or surf on over to www.heartotexspeedway.com.

USMTS SOUTHERN SERIES - WEST REGION STANDINGSTop 20 as of April 29, 2009

1. 12 Jason Hughes, Westville, Okla. … 208
2. 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa … 153
2. 51 Eddie Martin, Stilwell, Okla. … 153
4. 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D. … 152
5. 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla. … 143
5. 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas … 143
5. 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La. … 143
8. 5 Steve Holzkamper, Gentry, Ark. … 130
9. 88 Chad Wheeler, Muskogee, Okla. … 129
9. 89 Steven Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas … 129
11. 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla. … 128
12. 5a Wes Armstrong, Marshall, Texas … 127
13. 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas … 122
14. 25 Scott Green, Derby, Kan. … 120
14. 12 Johnny Bone Jr., Pea Ridge, Ark. … 120
16. 5r Morgan Bagley, Longview, Texas … 119
17. 57 Jason Armstrong, Marshall, Texas … 116
18. 111 Bumper Jones, Mesilla Park, N.M. … 110
19. 71k Kevin Sustaire, Emery, Texas … 109
20. 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla. … 102
20. GO Kip Hughes, Enid, Okla. … 102

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, call the headquarters at (515) 832-7944 or visit www.usmts.com online for the latest news and information from the USMTS.

Gator Motorplex enjoys action-packed opening night

The Lone Star Speedzone crew made the trip from San Marcos to Gator Motorplex in Wills, Texas, to catch the “opening night” racing action at the wonderfully-prepared, red clay, high-banked, quarter-mile “almost-oval” oval. I say “almost” because the entry to turns one and three are tighter than the exits to their corresponding turns, two and four, making for some interesting differences in driving styles as drivers searched for the quick way around.

Despite the threat of rain, a great opening night crowd was on hand, with the crowd about evenly divided between the concrete “grandstands” and the terraced hillside just outside turn 3-4. The clouds only turned dark enough to actually rain for a brief 15-minute period and the track was soon race ready thanks to some quick work by the two famous Gator school buses, one of which has six wheels on the rear axle.

Since this was my first race at Gator, I only knew a couple of drivers - Lone Star Speedzone’s very own Arthur Hermiz in the Hobby Stock class and David Lege, Jr (I actually know your dad, David…) in the Limited Modified division. So, if I have messed up someone’s name or have something else totally mixed up, please be nice.

Modifieds

The Modified feature had Kevin Sturgess and Jeff Wood on the front row, but the 20-lapper got off to a rocky start with lots of banging and bumping and a spin or two which brought out an immediate yellow flag.

The next start was much better with Sturgess getting out first, followed by Wood who went to the inside. Bryan Vollmer quickly moved into third as Wood worked the outside while Sturgess searched for grip down low.

Meanwhile, Steve Pugh moved into fourth behind Vollmer while Ricky Bain took over the fifth spot.

Not sure at what lap, but after a few laps of working on Sturgess, Wood pulled into the infield, done for the night. Pugh, who had gotten by Vollmer a bit earlier, then inherited the tough job of running down Sturgess.

Pugh’s job was made much easier, though, when the yellow flew at about mid race for a turn 3-4 spin by Russell Moore.

On the restart, Pugh seemed poised to make a move on Sturgess, but his engine went up in a cloud of blue smoke going down the front straight. It was pretty much a cakewalk for Sturgess after that.

Sturgess, who ran a smart, smooth race was followed to the line by Kaif Sellier, who took advantage of the fact that several in front of him had problems, Pugh and Belge.

Russell Moore and Bryan Vollmer won their heat races.

Modified results showing Finishing Position, Starting Position, Car Number, Name, Hometown

1 1 121 Kevin Sturgess Tomball , Tx
2 12 4$ Kalif Sellier Katy , Tx
3 6 156 Steve Pugh Willis , Tx
4 9 7 Mike Belge Willis , Tx
5 5 44 Marcus Berndt Katy , Tx
6 10 32 Doug Byrns Willis , Tx
7 3 148 Russell Moore Conroe , Tx
8 7 55 Roger Faulkner Conroe , Tx
9 13 167 Alan Drewry
10 8 07 Keith Wright Willis , Tx
11 4 129 Bryan Vollmer Tomball , Tx
12 2 51 Jeff Wood Willis , Tx
13 11 28 Ricky Bain College Station, Tx

Hobby Stocks

The Hobby Main featured a great duel between eventual winner Ronnie Williams and heat-race winner John Warner.

Ronnie Williams and Mark Gallagher started on the front row with Rodney Mears and John Gregory in row two. Williams got out first but Gallagher and Jessie Flowers tangled in 3-4 to bring out the caution flag before a lap was complete. That moved Mears up to the front row and Warner inherited a row two spot for the restart.

Warner moved past Flowers using the outside immediately after the restart and set his sights on and quickly caught Williams.

The front-running pair easily separated themselves from the rest of the field and made a bit of contact with each other occasionally as they diced for the lead. They had half a lap on the field at the halfway flags with Mears and Ricky Hudson heading the rest of the pack. But Hudson lost his spot after taking a quick trip through the infield.

With six left, Clayton Lorenz stopped his damaged car in turn four. This bunched up the field which had become so spread out that the leaders were about to start lapping the back markers.

The restart had Williams, Warner, Brandon Moore and Arthur Hermiz up front. Williams got a great jump and took off with Warner in hot pursuit, but debris in turn one only a lap later brought out another yellow.

Warner valiantly tried the inside for the last few laps, but Williams took the checkered flag with his rival glued to his rear bumper.

Jessie Flowers, John Warner and Rodney Mears were the heat winners.

Hobby Stock Results showing Finishing Position, Starting Position, Car Number, Name, Hometown

1 2 2 Ronnie Williams Conroe , Tx
2 6 20 John Warner Conroe , Tx
3 13 123 Brandon Moore
4 9 76 Daniel King
5 15 777 Arthur Hermiz Conroe , Tx
6 4 17 Ricky Hudson Montgomery , Tx
7 1 6M Mark Gallagher Bryan , Tx
8 11 41 Charles Viereck Willis , Tx
9 7 27VF John Gregory Montgomery , Tx
10 10 21R Ronnie Racer Shelby Conroe , Tx
11 3 77 Rodney Mears Tomball , Tx
12 14 21 Earl Schultz Spring , Tx
13 8 777L Clayton Lorenz Willis , Tx
14 12 67 E. Wade Johnson Willis , Tx
15 5 333 Jessie Flowers Conroe , Tx

Pure Stocks

Terry Parsley and Robb Slott started on the front row, but a multi-car free-for-all down the front straight as the green waved scattered cars everywhere. No real harm done except to heat winner Casey Garvin’s car which made all sorts of evil noises as he joined the rear of the field for the restart.

Slott won the drag race to turn one as the green waved, but had Parsley on his tail right away.

Parsley tried the inside line while Slott used the outside to his advantage for several laps in the early going as the pair opened up a big gap back to the pack.

It wasn’t long before the dueling duo was dealing (sorry… ) with lapped traffic. Parsley was able to peel off Slott using a lapped car to take over the lead at about halfway.

Meanwhile, back in the pack, there was lots of beating and banging as the leaders tried to work their way through. Parsley worked traffic to his advantage and for the next few laps opened up a several car-length lead.

As the laps wound down the Parsley was able to maintain his advantage over Slott, but someone spun (not sure who) and the caution flag waved to set up a green, white, checkered finish that was bound to produce some fireworks.

But it was not to be as Parsley was called into the infield by race officials for an unexplained reason and did not return to the track.

Slott was then easily held off Matthew Berry, who finished second.

Will Carter, Stetson Adams and Casey Garvin and won their respective heat races.

Pure Stock Results showing Finishing Position, Car Number, Name

1st 48ROB Rob Slott
2nd 02 Matthew Berry
3rd 89 Corey Hamilton
4th 818 Stetson Adams
5th 77 Garrett Gregory
6th 2 Preston Lawson
7th 29 Kasey Garvin
8th 57 Mike Hooper
9th 723 Ronnie Mekalip
10th 20N Syble Matthews
11th 179 Donald Cain Jr
12th 2R Ricky Kelley
13th 81 Dale Spencer
14th 89C Codey Hamilton
15th 3P Terry Parsley
16th 43 Bubba Matthews
17th 14 Derek Legg
18th 55 Tyler Moore

Street Stocks

Theresa Waller and Mike DeGroot started on the front row with DeGroot getting the point on the first lap. Mike Johnson and Barry McIllwain soon joined the front pair and the four of them took off.

At halfway the front four were still nose-to-tail with everyone running basically the same line - more or less in the middle - with no one searching low or looking for the berm up high.

After a brief caution for a minor spin, DeGroot got a good jump on Waller as the green flew as does McIllwain who challenged Waller for a lap or two. I’m not too sure what happened to Johnson who was running third earlier. Conner Lazenby made it a four-pack up front at the laps wound down.

This foursome ran close and clean for the rest of the race with DeGroot, Waller, McIllwain and Lazenby finishing in that order.

Johnson and DeGroot were the heat race winners.

Street Stock resutls showing Finishing Position, Car Number, Name

1st 21 Mike DeGroot
2nd 3 Theresa Waller
3rd 41 Barry McIllwain
4th 10 Connor Lazenby
5th 29 Jason Kibby
6th 20 Mike Johnson
7th 32 Chanc Towery
8th 2H Jeffrey Jackson
9th 43 David Jackson

Limited Mods

Twenty-two Limited Modifieds lined up for their 20-lap, $1,000 to win feature.

As you might imagine, it was a wild start, but they all made it through with Jeff Wood jumping out first and Johnny Holder in second.

Wood looked very strong in the early going with Holder not able to mount much of a challenge. Tommy Moore looked pretty strong in third, but a spin in the pack brings out the yellow with only a few laps in the books.

As they got back to racing, Holder and Moore made some serious contact but both were able to hold on as Dalton Faulkner moved into fourth.

After a caution for a spinner, Holder tried the very low side for a lap or two, but Wood made the center of the track work for him as the red clay got blacker and blacker.

Wood was never seriously challenged after Holder determined that the bottom wasn’t going to work and went wire-to-wire for a very convincing win.

Holder, Wood, Moore and (not too sure, but maybe) Brad Brumbly won their heats.

Limited Modified resutls showing Finishing Position, Car Number, Name

1st 40P Jeff Wood
2nd 4 Johnny Holder
3rd 148 Tommy Moore
4th 27 Dalton Faulkner
5th 71 Chase Bresee
6th 7 Brad Brumley
7th 5C Steve Clayton
8th 86 Justin Collins
9th 14 Roy Catlin
10th 24 James Gunter
11th 388 Steve Burrow
12th 9 David Lege Jr
13th 78 Andy Mahoney
14th 92 Tim Ferguson
15th 627 Mark Jackson
16th 17 Cody Dusty
17th 107 Todd Jouett
18th 18 Bobby Middleton
19th 87 Dennis Miley
20th R3W Rick Wolfe
21st 20 Eddie Holley
22nd 590 Jonathan Walker

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

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