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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Lonnie Wheatley, ASCS PR
ASCS Gulf South photo

Tommy Bryant Bags ASCS Lone Star Sprint Car win at Cowtown/s November Sprint Shootout

Tommy Bryant bagged his third American Sprint Car Series regional win of the year by topping Cowtown Speedway’s Fourth Annual November Sprint Shootout 35-lap championship feature event on Saturday night.

While Bryant tacked the season-ending ASCS Lone Star feature win on to a pair of previous ASCS Gulf South wins, it was Eric Baldaccini coming away with the 2010 ASCS Lone Star championship.

Bryant started Saturday night’s main event from the pole position, but it was fellow Gulf South shoe and 2009 champ Aaron Reutzel leading the initial handful of laps before running afoul of lapped traffic.

Bryant assumed the point and led the rest of the way aboard Todd Evans’ Sport Clips No. 14e machine for his seventh career ASCS Regional win in front of Justin Melton, with Andy Shouse, newly-crowned ASCS Gulf South champ Ray Allen Kulhanek and Kevin Ramey rounding out the top five.

Brandon Berryman was sixth, with Claud Estes, 20th-starter Travis Elliott, 19th-starter J.P. Bailey and Rafe Essary completing the top ten.

Despite a 19th place finish in the season finale, 22-year-old Baldaccini of Keller, TX, claimed the ASCS Lone Star title by an 81-point margin over Claud Estes.

Kolt Walker, D.J. Estes, Melton, Ramey and Brian McClelland won Saturday night’s heat races, with Bailey and Elliott winning the “B” Mains.

ASCS Lone Star Saturday Results from Cowtown Speedway’s November Sprint Shootout:

Locked in from Friday Night’s Feature: 1x-Gary Taylor, 87-Aaron Reutzel, 14e-Tommy Bryant, 30-Brandon Corn.

First Heat (10 Laps): 1. 45k-Kolt Walker, 2. 74e-Claud Estes, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 0-Chris Morgan, 6. 26-Dalton Steed, 7. 22a-Dan Adkins, 8. 45x-Martin Edwards. DNS: 22k-Kevin Barksdale.

Second Heat (10 Laps): 1. 74d-D.J. Estes, 2. 36-Jonathan Beason, 3. 45-J.P. Bailey, 4. 22-Koby Barksdale, 5. 29-Greg Rilat, 6. 4j-Jamie Passmore, 7. 8a-Alan Myers, 8. 05-Dustin Woods. DNS: 33-Mark Huddleston.

Third Heat (10 Laps): 1. 11-Justin Melton, 2. 9-Justin Sturch, 3. 15T-Travis Elliott, 4. 67-Rodney Henderson, 5. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 6. 15b-Michael Brown, 7. 16-Koty Adams, 8. 58-Gary Floyd, 9. 79-Ryan Hall.

Fourth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 85-Jerry Bell, 4. 1r-Scott Reneau, 5. 66-J.J. Simmons, 6. 24-Evan Pardo, 7. 40-Junior Jenkins, 8. 010-Brian Roberts. DNS: 5m-Raven Culp.

Fifth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 25-Brian McClelland, 2. 26x-Rafe Essary, 3. 27-Andy Shouse, 4. 76-John Ricketts, 5. 17g-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 6. 2-Logan Payne, 7. 7-Roger Wayne Brown, 8. 15-Curtis Wayne Brown.

First “B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 45-J.P. Bailey, 2. 29-Greg Rilat, 3. 66-J.J. Simmons, 4. 1r-Scott Reneau, 5. 24-Evan Pardo, 6. 67-Rodney Henderson, 7. 45x-Martin Edwards, 8. 17g-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 9. 2-Logan Payne, 10. 40-Junior Jenkins, 11. 010-Brian Roberts, 12. 16-Koty Adams, 13. 7-Roger Wayne Brown. DNS: 33-Mark Huddleston, 79-Ryan Hall.

Second “B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 15T-Travis Elliott, 2. 22-Koby Barksdale, 3. 15b-Michael Brown, 4. 76-John Ricketts, 5. 4j-Jamie Passmore, 6. 58-Gary Floyd, 7. 26-Dalton Steed, 8. 0-Chris Morgan, 9. 8a-Alan Myers, 10. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 11. 05-Dustin Woods, 12. 22a-Dan Adkins, 13. 15-Curtis Wayne Brown. DNS: 22k-Kevin Barksdale, 5m-Raven Culp.

“A” Feature (35 Laps): 1. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 2. 11-Justin Melton, 3. 27-Andy Shouse, 4. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 6. 31-Brandon Berryman, 7. 74e-Claud Estes, 8. 15T-Travis Elliott, 9. 45-J.P. Bailey, 10. 26x-Rafe Essary, 11. 29-Greg Rilat, 12. 15b-Michael Brown, 13. 36-Jonathan Beason, 14. 1x-Gary Taylor, 15. 22-Koby Barksdale, 16. 45k-Kolt Walker, 17. 30-Brandon Corn, 18. 25-Brian McClelland, 19. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 20. 9-Justin Sturch, 21. 74d-D.J. Estes, 22. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 23. 85-Jerry Bell, 24. 66-J.J. Simmons.

ASCS Lone Star Region Points (Top 10): 1. Eric Baldaccini 1,862, 2. Claud Estes 1,781, 3. Justin Melton 1,702, 4. Brandon Corn 1,631, 5. Martin Edwards 1,572, 6. John Ricketts 1,540, 7. Kolt Walker 1,513, 8. Brian McClelland 1,407, 9. Kevin Ramey 1,367, 10. Preston Peebles II 1,333.

by Lonnie Wheatley
Photos by Rudy Garcia

Andy Shouse ends 6-year ASCS drought at Speedarama Raceway

Oklahoma invader Andy Shouse foiled Jason Johnson’s hopes of an American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region Labor Day weekend tripleheader sweep by racing to victory lane in Sunday night’s 25-lap main event at Speedarama Raceway.

The 2004 ASCS Sooner Region champion hailing from Oklahoma City surged past Beau Smith for the lead at the midway point and set the pace the rest of the way for his third career ASCS Regional triumph and the first since a Sooner score at Cowtown Speedway nearly six years ago on September 25, 2004.

“It was getting a little rough in the middle coming off of two, I found a little piece just above it that gave us a really good run off the corner,” Shouse explained in victory lane.

In the process, Shouse denied Johnson a weekend sweep which would have been worth an extra $1,000 from Griffith Trucking for Johnson. Johnson rebounded from an early encounter with Gary Wright to snare third at the line behind Shouse and Channin Tankersley and collected an extra $500 for winning two of three events over the weekend.

After the initial start was waved off for a three-car tangle in turn one, Beau Smith gunned into the lead from the pole position with third-starting Shouse working past Tommy Bryant for second in the opening circuits.

With Smith fending off Shouse, Tankersley and Bryant, Johnson’s hopes of a three-peat were diminished when he and Gary Wright tangled exiting turn two and slid to a stop on the backstretch while battling for sixth on the fifth circuit. Both restarted at the tail.

Shouse went to work on Smith and ultimately raced into the lead on the 13th round, a lap before fourth-running Bryant stopped in turn three with Johnson and Wright back up to seventh and ninth, respectively.

While Shouse cruised out front in the ensuing circuits, Tankersley battled past Smith for second as Johnson and Wright scratched their way forward. The race’s final caution flew just four laps shy of the checkered flag when Smith spun to a stop on the backstretch after contact with Johnson, who was up to fourth as Wright checked his mount into the pit area.

Shouse held off Tankersley over the final four rounds to secure the win aboard the Bishop Racing Components No. 27, while Johnson nipped 15th-starter Skip Wilson at the line for the show position. Wilson was fourth, with Aaron Reutzel rounding out the top five.

Chris Sweeney was sixth, with Travis Elliott, Wes Miller, Jimmy Brooks and Larry Howery completing the top ten.

Scottie McDonald, Bryant, Miller and Johnson topped heat race action for the 32-car field, with Wilson winning the “B” Main.

ASCS Gulf South Results from Speedarama Raceway:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 88-Scottie McDonald, 2. 51s-Beau Smith, 3. 3-Gary Watson, 4. 35-Greg Rilat, 5. 69-Larry Howery, 6. 58-Gary Floyd, 7. 36-John Pate. DNS: 74e-Claud Estes.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 85-Tommy Bryant, 2. 93-Chris Sweeney, 3. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 4. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 6. 14-Michael Lang, 7. 8tw-Kent Lewis, Jr., 8. 19-Klint Angelette.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 51w-Wes Miller, 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 3. 27-Andy Shouse, 4. 5c-Chris Coker, 5. 16-Koty Adams, 6. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 7. 30-Brandon Corn, 8. 76-John Ricketts.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 71-Channin Tankersley, 3. 9x-Gary Wright, 4. 65-Skip Wilson, 5. 15T-Travis Elliott, 6. 30x-Bean Elliott, 7. 31-Brandon Berryman. DNS: 8-Bruce Crockett.

“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 65-Skip Wilson, 2. 69-Larry Howery, 3. 16-Koty Adams, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 74e-Claud Estes, 6. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 7. 31-Brandon Berryman, 8. 76-John Ricketts, 9. 19-Klint Angelette, 10. 58-Gary Floyd, 11. 36-John Pate, 12. 8tw-Kent Lewis, Jr., 13. 14-Michael Lang, 14. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr. DNS: 5c-Chris Coker, 30x-Bean Elliott, 30-Brandon Corn, 8b-Bruce Crockett.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 27-Andy Shouse, 2. 71-Channin Tankersley, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 65-Skip Wilson, 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 6. 93-Chris Sweeney, 7. 15T-Travis Elliott, 8. 51w-Wes Miller, 9. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 10. 69-Larry Howery, 11. 51s-Beau Smith, 12. 9x-Gary Wright, 13. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 14. 16-Koty Adams, 15. 35-Greg Rilat, 16. 74e-Claud Estes, 17. 85-Tommy Bryant, 18. 3-Gary Watson, 19. 88-Scottie McDonald, 20. 12b-Logan Bledsoe.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Ray Allen Kulhanek 2,165, 2. Aaron Reutzel 2,098, 3. Tommy Bryant 2,083, 4. Brandon Berryman 1,986, 5. Travis Elliott 1,911, 6. Chris Sweeney 1,833, 7. Wes Miller 1,770, 8. Beau Smith 1,684, 9. Scottie McDonald 1,679, 10. Logan Bledsoe 1,641.

Photos and story by Lonnie Wheatley

Jason Johnson golden in ASCS Gulf South go at Golden Triangle

Jason Johnson kicked off the American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region Labor Day weekend triple by racing to victory lane in Friday night’s 25-lap main event at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

Johnson needed just four laps to charge into the lead from the sixth starting position and led the rest of the way for his 12th overall ASCS win of 2010 aboard the JJR Don Ott-powered Haynes No. 41 Maxim and sixth in Gulf South action.

While Skip Wilson jumped into the early lead from the pole position, Johnson raced around the top side of the ¼-mile clay oval into third on the opening circuit behind Wilson and Reutzel.

Johnson disposed of Reutzel for second the next time around and then dove underneath Wilson entering turn three on the fourth circuit to snare a lead he would never relinquish although Reutzel kept pace throughout after taking second from Wilson a lap after Johnson took command.

While Johnson found some breathing room after a lap 13 restart, one final caution with six laps to go put Reutzel on Johnson’s tailtank and in position to challenge for the point in the final circuits. But, Johnson worked the top of one and two and the bottom of turns three and four flawlessly over the final half dozen rounds to secure the win over the defending ASCS Gulf South champion.

Tommy Bryant chased Johnson and Reutzel to the line, with Wilson and Travis Elliott rounding out the top five. Chris Sweeney was sixth, with Wes Miller, current ASCS Gulf South points leader Ray Allen Kulhanek, 17th-starter Andy Shouse and Greg Rilat completing the top ten.

Channin Tankersley, Johnson, Bryant and Wilson topped heat race action for the 27-car field, with Larry Howery making a last-lap pass of Gary Watson to win the 12-lap “B” Main. After starting eighth in the main event, Tankersley was sideline after tagged the turn one wall on the third lap.

ASCS Gulf South Results from Golden Triangle Raceway Park:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 15T-Travis Elliott, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 5. 69-Larry Howery, 6. 8-Bruce Crockett, 7. 5c-Chris Coker.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 93-Chris Sweeney, 3. 51w-Wes Miller, 4. 27-Andy Shouse, 5. 31-Brandon Berryman, 6. 52-Roger Oakes, 7. 76-John Ricketts.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 85-Tommy Bryant, 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 3. 16-Koty Adams, 4. 3-Gary Watson, 5. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 6. 30x-Bean Elliott, 7. 45k-Kolt Walker.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 65-Skip Wilson, 2. 51s-Beau Smith, 3. 35-Greg Rilat, 4. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 5. 7-Michael McNeil, 6. 19-Klint Angelette.

“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 69-Larry Howery, 2. 3-Gary Watson, 3. 27-Andy Shouse, 4. 7-Michael McNeil, 5. 30x-Bean Elliott, 6. 31-Brandon Berryman, 7. 8-Bruce Crockett, 8. 45k-Kolt Walker, 9. 5c-Chris Coker, 10. 76-John Ricketts, 11. 52-Roger Oakes, 12. 19-Klint Angelette, 13. 12b-Logan Bledsoe.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 3. 85-Tommy Bryant, 4. 65-Skip Wilson, 5. 15T-Travis Elliott, 6. 93-Chris Sweeney, 7. 51w-Wes Miller, 8. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 9. 27-Andy Shouse, 10. 35-Greg Rilat, 11. 16-Koty Adams, 12. 3-Gary Watson, 13. 30x-Bean Elliott, 14. 7-Michael McNeil, 15. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 16. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 17. 51s-Beau Smith, 18. 31-Brandon Berryman, 19. 71-Channin Tankersley, 20. 69-Larry Howery.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,996 2. Tommy Bryant 1,895, 3. Aaron Reutzel 1,843, 4. Brandon Berryman 1,811, 5. Travis Elliott 1,692, 6. Chris Sweeney 1,605, 7. Wes Miller 1,564, 8. Beau Smith 1,482, 9. Scottie McDonald 1,462, 10. Logan Bledsoe 1,443.

Photos and story by Lonnie Wheatley

Gary Wright wrangles 3rd ASCS Gulf South win of year at Golden Triangle Raceway Park

Gary Wright picked off his third American Sprint Car Series Regional win of the year by topping Friday night’s 25-lap ASCS Gulf South main event at the Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas.

Wright took the lead away from Tommy Bryant on the tenth round en route to victory lane aboard Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 9x Maxim.

Wright took the checkered flag in front of Bryant, with early leader Aaron Reutzel, current ASCS Gulf South points leader Ray Allen Kulhanek and Travis Elliott rounding out the top five.

Chris Sweeney was sixth, with Beau Smith, Wes Miller, Larry Howery and Brandon Berryman completing the top ten.

Smith, Elliott and Wright topped heat race action, with Scottie McDonald winning the “B” Main.

ASCS Gulf South Region Results from Golden Triangle Raceway Park:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 51s-Beau Smith, 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 3. 30x-Bean Elliott, 4. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 5. 19-Klint Angelette, 6. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 7. 2-Dustin Welch, 8. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 9. 23-Darryl Wills.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 15T-Travis Elliott, 2. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 3. 85x-Jerry Bell, 4. 85-Tommy Bryant, 5. 51w-Wes Miller, 6. 88-Scottie McDonald, 7. 31-Brandon Berryman, 8. 3-Gary Watson.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 93-Chris Sweeney, 3. 69-Larry Howery, 4. 8b-Bruce Crockett, 5. 22L-Kent Lewis, Sr., 6. 52-Roger Oakes, 7. 35-Greg Rilat. DNS: 25c-Steve Hubbard.

“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 88-Scottie McDonald, 2. 31-Brandon Berryman, 3. 22L-Kent Lewis, Sr., 4. 3-Gary Watson, 5. 23-Darryl Wills, 6. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 7. 2-Dustin Welch, 8. 52-Roger Oakes. DNS: 35-Greg Rilat, 51-Jimmy Brooks, 25c-Steve Hubbard.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 85-Tommy Bryant, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 15T-Travis Elliott, 6. 93-Chris Sweeney, 7. 51s-Beau Smith, 8. 51w-Wes Miller, 9. 69-Larry Howery, 10. 31-Brandon Berryman, 11. 30x-Bean Elliott, 12. 88-Scottie McDonald, 13. 23-Darryl Wills, 14. 3-Gary Watson, 15. 8b-Bruce Crockett, 16. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 17. 22L-Kent Lewis, Sr., 18. 19-Klint Angelette, 19. 85x-Jerry Bell, 20. 12b-Logan Bledsoe.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,345, 2. Tommy Bryant 1,299, 3. Aaron Reutzel 1,261, 4. Brandon Berryman 1,246, 5. Scottie McDonald 1,185, 6. Travis Elliott 1,145, 7. Chris Sweeney 1,086, 8. Wes Miller 1,060, 9. Greg Rilat 983, 10. Logan Bledsoe 963.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Sammy Swindell opens ASCS Season with Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals win

Sammy Swindell kicked off his pursuit of the 2010 Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Sere presented by K&N Filters $60,000 championship by winning Friday night’s 37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals 30-lap main event.

The winningest driver in Devil’s Bowl Speedway history, Swindell stormed into the lead on the sixth round aboard the J&D Motorsports/Swindell Motorsports No. 10 Maxim and never looked back en route to the $6,000 triumph.

Originally slated as a two-day event, encroaching foul weather forced the early cancellation of the Saturday portion, ratcheting up Friday’s event to the standard Lucas Oil ASCS National one-day purse.

And when all the final checkered flag flew, the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars opened the 2010 season the same way 2009 finished out; with Tennessee’s Swindell in victory lane.

Swindell, who closed out the 2009 campaign with a Western World Championships score at USA Raceway, gridded Friday’s feature outside the second row as pole starter Sean McClelland outgunned Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Channin Tankersley for the early lead.

Swindell chased the lead duo for several rounds before racing by Tankersley for second on the fifth round and then disposing of McClelland for the lead on the low side of turns one and two on a lap six restart.

“I was searching around and finally found a good spot to get off the bottom of turn two,” Swindell explained after his fifth career ASCS National triumph.

While Swindell paced the field, fifth-starter Brady Bacon surged past both Tankersley and McClelland for second on the eighth round and set his sights on Swindell.

Bacon reeled in the veteran ace a time or two, only to have a caution slow the pace. Swindell proved much too strong on the restarts and raced to Will Hale’s checkered flag virtually unchallenged.

“I’m still learning these ASCS cars, I was actually getting a little too tight toward the end,” Swindell explained. “That might have been a problem if we’d got into a lot of traffic, but with the yellows we didn’t really run into that.”

Picking up a night in Joe Zierolf’s No. c41, Wayne Johnson rallied from the 18th starting position to fifth in the opening seven circuits. After trading some wild sliders with Danny Wood, Johnson ultimately battled past Bacon for the runner-up slot on the 21st lap and held the position to the line.

Bacon matched his career-best Lucas Oil Sprint Car finish by taking the show position aboard the Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 99 Triple-X, with Wood fourth in the H&H Enterprises No. 94.

Tony Bruce, Jr., rounded out the top five in the Bruce Racing No. 18 Maxim, with defending series champion Shane Stewart charging from 23rd to sixth after utilizing a provisional to start the main event.

Jesse Hockett was seventh, with Ricky Logan, Zach Chappell and Travis Rilat completing the top ten. Austen Wheatley ran among the top ten most of the way until a right rear vibration that resulted from some frontstretch wall contact dropped him to eleventh.

Debuting with his own race team, 2008 series champion Jason Johnson finished 12th after a lap 12 spin in turn one.

Tankersley held down the third position in the main event until a lost muffler prompted the black flag and a race-ending trip to the pit area after seven laps.

Chappell, Bruce, Tankersley, McClelland, Swindell, Derek Hagar and Danny Jennings topped heat race action for the 62-car field, with Jason Johnson, Wayne Johnson and Jack Dover winning the “B” Mains.

The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters return to action on Friday night, April 9, at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, TX, before moving on to Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway the following night, April 10.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters
37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals Results:

Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points to “A” Main; Balance to 3 “B” Mains):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 50z-Zach Chappell, 2. 65-Skip Wilson, 3. 14-Michael Lang, 4. 29-Travis Rilat, 5. 45-Martin Edwards, 6. 91x-Taylor Milton, 7. 15-Bud Goodwin, 8. 30-Brandon Corn, 9. 03-Joe Wood, Jr.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 2. 10a-Ricky Logan, 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. C41-Wayne Johnson, 5. 57-Shane Stewart, 6. 95-Matt Covington, 7. 5-Brent Swift, 8. 14e-Todd Evans, 9. 74x-Joshua Hodges.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 21L-Trevor Lewis, 3. 5h-Justyn Cox, 4. 24-Justin Carver, 5. 6-Kyle Hirst, 6. 27-Andy Shouse, 7. 97b-Aaron Berryhill, 8. 6s-Justin Spoerl, 9. 3g-Darren Long.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 1-Sean McClelland, 2. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 3. 00-Michael Dupuy, 4. 75x-Don Young, 5. 35-Matt Sherrell, 6. 72-Sherman Davis, 7. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 8. 86-Josh Fisher. DNS: 5m-Glenn Martin.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 10-Sammy Swindell, 2. 22-Koby Barksdale, 3. 31-Matt Clevenger, 4. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 5. 93-Dustin Morgan, 6. 53-Jack Dover, 7. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 8. 9x-Gary Wright, 9. 88-Tim Crawley.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 9h-Derek Hagar, 2. 2-Kenneth Walker, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 94-Danny Wood, 5. 98-Joe Ramaker, 6. 9-Brian Parker, 7. 8w-Jordan Whitehead, 8. 87x-Billy Melton. DNS: 22k-Kevin Barksdale.

Heat Seven (8 Laps): 1. 1J-Danny Jennings, 2. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 2w-Whit Gastineau, 7. 21-Brian Brown, 8. 14x-Jody Rosenboom.

“B” Mains (Top 2 From Each Advance to “A” Main):

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 3. 57-Shane Stewart, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 2-Kenneth Walker, 6. 75x-Don Young, 7. 72-Sherman Davis, 8. 6-Kyle Hirst, 9. 30-Brandon Corn, 10. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 11. 8w-Jordan Whitehead, 12. 27-Andy Shouse, 13. 9-Brian Parker. DNS: 14x-Jody Rosenboom, 14e-Todd Evans, 5m-Glenn Martin.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. C41-Wayne Johnson, 2. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 3. 5h-Justyn Cox, 4. 93-Dustin Morgan, 5. 65-Skip Wilson, 6. 95-Matt Covington, 7. 97b-Aaron Berryhill, 8. 6s-Justin Spoerl, 9. 2k-Whit Gastineau, 10. 35-Matt Sherrell, 11. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 12. 15-Bud Goodwin, 13. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 14. 3g-Darren Long. DNS: 21-Brian Brown.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 3. 45-Martin Edwards, 4. 91x-Taylor Milton, 5. 98-Joe Ramaker, 6. 88-Tim Crawley, 7. 87x-Billy Melton, 8. 31-Matt Clevenger, 9. 24-Justin Carver, 10. 9x-Gary Wright, 11. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12. 00-Michael Dupuy, 13. 5-Brent Swift, 14. 22k-Koby Barksdale. DNS: 86-Josh Fisher.

37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 10-Sammy Swindell, 2. C41-Wayne Johnson, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 94-Danny Wood, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 57-Shane Stewart, 7. 75-Jesse Hockett, 8. 10a-Ricky Logan, 9. 50z-Zach Chappell, 10. 29-Travis Rilat, 11. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 12. 41-Jason Johnson, 13. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 14. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 15. 1-Sean McClelland, 16. 53-Jack Dover, 17. 1J-Danny Jennings, 18. 9x-Gary Wright, 19. 9h-Derek Hagar, 20. 14-Michael Lang, 21. 71-Channin Tankersley, 22. 21L-Trevor Lewis, 23. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 24. 22-Koby Barksdale.

Lap Leaders: Sean McClelland 1-5, Sammy Swindell 6-30.

Note: Shane Stewart and Gary Wright utilized provisionals based on 2009 points to start the “A” Main.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 15): 1. Sammy Swindell 150, 2. Wayne Johnson 142, 3. Brady Bacon 135, 4. Danny Wood 130, 5. Tony Bruce, Jr. 125, 6. Shane Stewart 122, 7. Jesse Hockett 119, 8. Ricky Logan 116, 9. Zach Chappell 113, 10. Travis Rilat 110, 11. Austen Wheatley 108, 12. Jason Johnson 106, 13. Kevin Ramey 104, 14. Johnny Herrera 102, 15. Sean McClelland 100.

by Lonnie Wheatley
Photo Lonnie Wheatley

Jason Johnson wins Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals; Launches Lucas Oil ASCS title defense

Jason Johnson launched his Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters title defense in strong fashion by emerging atop a hotly-contested 30-lap finale at the 36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Speedway Spring Nationals on Saturday night.

“The Ragin’ Cajun” battled into the lead on the 20th circuit and then outdueled Tony Bruce, Jr., over the final circuits to secure the win in a rousing finale to the series’ opening weekend of competition that attracted 67 competitors from 17 different states.

“This thing is tough, there’s so much competition here I’m having to work way too hard,” Johnson quipped after his first series win of the season aboard Lanny Row’s Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle.

Advancing from the sixth position, Johnson raced around Bruce for the lead on a lap 20 restart. But, the race was far from being over, as Bruce battled back in his Rider-powered No. 18 Maxim.

After crossing the stripe in full throttle, wheel-to-wheel formation to complete the 26th lap, the pair locked horns for the $6,000 winner’s share with Johnson on the low side and Bruce up high. Johnson drifted up the track exiting turn two on the 27th round and muscled back into the lead as Bruce was forced into uncharted territory beyond the traditional Devil’s Bowl backstretch racing surface.

“I apologize if I used up too much track there, I try to race everyone the way they would race me,” Johnson explained in victory lane. “I had to what I could though because this is where I want to be standing after the checkered flag flies.”

As if coming out on the short end of the lead battle weren’t enough, insult was added to injury when Bruce weighed in just five pounds below the required minimum of 1,475 pounds. Bruce was relegated to a 24th place finish following the disqualification, with Shane Stewart escaping the weekend with the series’ early points lead after assuming runner-up honors. Gary Wright picked up three positions over the final ten rounds to claim the show position, with Johnny Herrera and Travis Rilat rounding out the top five.

After drawing the pole position for the main event, Bruce outgunned Friday night winner Shane Stewart for the lead at the drop of the green flag and paced the early circuits with Johnson taking third away from Wright by the sixth round.

A three-way scrum for the point between Bruce, Stewart and Johnson was about to fully erupt as traffic came into play, only to have the race’s first caution fly after eleven laps when Brian Brown came to a stop on the frontstretch. At the same time, Travis Rilat slid to a stop off the top of turn two. Rilat tagged the tail of the field, while Brown retired to the pit area after attempted repairs.

Back under way, Stewart shot into the lead on the 12th circuit. It was short-lived however, as Bruce returned the favor on the 14th round. Bruce turned up the wick in the ensuing circuits and opened a half straightaway lead as Stewart and Johnson battled for second.

Johnson finally disposed of Stewart for second on the 17th round and was reeling in the leader when action was interrupted with 19 laps in the books after Dustin Morgan came to a stop on the frontstretch following contact with Danny Wood.

Johnson rallied by Bruce on the high side of turns one and two on the restart, setting the stage for the intense final rounds in which Johnson ultimately outlasted Bruce to take the checkered flag with a 0.518-second advantage.

Running among the top three throughout, Stewart assumed runner-up honors aboard Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered ProBilt Construction No. 57 A.R.T. in the final rundown.

Slipping from his third-starting position to as far back as sixth on the 19th round, four-time series champion Gary Wright worked back up to third by race’s end in Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 9x Maxim.

New Mexico’s Johnny Herrera posted his second top-five finish in as many nights by crossing the stripe fourth in the No. 45x entry, while 18th-starter Rilat raced back from his early miscue to round out the top five in the Shark-powered F&J Construction No. 29 Triple-X.

Eric Baldaccini, the 2008 Brodix Rookie of the Year, earned KSE Hard Charger honors by racing from 20th to sixth. After surrendering the fourth position due to a flat left rear tire on the 23rd lap, Joe Wood, Jr., raced back through the field in the final circuits to salvage a solid seventh-place showing.

Zach Chappell raced from 22nd to eighth, with Nick Smith and Tim Crawley completing the top ten.

Koby Barksdale, Smith, Wood, Morgan, Andy Shouse, Sean McClelland and Rilat topped Saturday night’s heat races. Barksdale made an early exit from the main event with engine woes.

Wood wired the field in the first “B” Main with ninth-starter Baldaccini making a late move around Brad Welborn for the second and final transfer.

Rilat paced the opening eleven laps of the second “B” Main before Brady Bacon finally made the top side of turns three and four work to his advantage. Bacon spun out of the lead a lap later however, leaving Rilat to take the win in front of Mike Chadd.

McMahan paced the entire distance in the third “B” Main, with Chappell taking advantage of a late caution to overtake Trevor Lewis for the final transfer.

Michael Dupuy ran among the top five much of the way in the main event before fading and then exiting just a few laps shy of the checkered flag.

Sixteen-year-old Trey Robb had climbed from 12th to sixth only to spin off the top of turn two on the 27th round to bring out the race’s final caution.

Darren Long got upside down on the opening lap of the second heat race, with Glenn Martin also tumbling entering turn one in the fifth heat. Both drivers were done for the night.

Derrik Ortega tagged the frontstretch wall exiting turn four and got upside down on the initial start of the second “B” Main, with Jerry Bell and Kenneth Walker both tumbling in the same place on the ensuing restart. Walker made repairs in time to use a provisional for the main event as the others watched on.

Action for the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters resumes with next weekend’s State Fair Speedway Spring Nationals in Oklahoma City, OK.

36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals Finale Results:

Locked in From Friday’s Preliminary Feature:
57-Shane Stewart, 9x-Gary Wright, 41-Jason Johnson, 21-Brian Brown.

Heat Races (Top 12 in Passing Points to “A” Main; Balance to 3 “B” Mains):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 22-Koby Barksdale, 2. 4J-Lee Grosz, 3. 3d-Paul McMahan, 4. e85-Zach Chappell, 5. 1a-Robby Wolfgang, 6. 86-Josh Fisher, 7. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 8. 11-Chad Corken, 9. 50-Stephanie Chappell.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 15s-Nick Smith, 2. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 3. 12-Trey Robb, 4. 88-Tim Crawley, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 2-Kenneth Walker, 7. 13k-Kathryne Minter, 8. 9-Brian Parker, 9. 7-Darren Long.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 94-Danny Wood, 2. 17w-Brad Welborn, 3. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 4. 9jr-Derek Hagar, 5. 53-Jack Dover, 6. 91-Gary Taylor, 7. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 8. 74e-Claud Estes, 9. 35-Derrik Ortega.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 93-Dustin Morgan, 2. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. 81au-Gavin Punch, 4. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 5. 21L-Trevor Lewis, 6. 15-Kerry McAlister, 7. 65-Skip Wilson, 8. 3-Mark Shirshekan.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 27-Andy Shouse, 2. 00-Michael Dupuy, 3. 10-Bryan Dobesh, 4. 95-Matt Covington, 5. 11F-Foster Landon, 6. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 7. 5m-Glenn Martin, 8. 96-Bronson Maeschen.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 1-Sean McClelland, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 4. 23-Seth Bergman, 5. 87-Billy Melton, 6. 45k-Kolt Walker, 7. 12w-Dale Wester, 8. 13-Jesse Hockett.

Heat Seven (8 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 4c-Mike Chadd, 3. 85-Jerry Bell, 4. 12J-Jared Ridge, 5. 10a-Ricky Logan, 6. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 7. 65g-Jordan Goldesberry, 8. 14e-Justin Spoerl.

“B” Mains (Top 2 From Each Advance to “A” Main):

First “B” Feature (15 Laps): 1. 94-Danny Wood, 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 17w-Brad Welborn, 4. 4J-Lee Grosz, 5. 11F-Foster Landon, 6. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 7. 81au-Gavin Punch, 8. 96-Bronson Maeschen, 9. 9jr-Derek Hagar, 10. 10-Bryan Dobesh, 11. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 12. 12w-Dale Wester, 13. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 14. 50-Stephanie Chappell, 15. 14e-Justin Spoerl, 16. 97-Aaron Berryhill

Second “B” Feature (15 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 4c-Mike Chadd, 3. 10a-Ricky Logan, 4. 23-Seth Bergman, 5. 53-Jack Dover, 6. 65-Skip Wilson, 7. 11-Chad Corken, 8. 74e-Claud Estes, 9. 15-Kerry McAlister, 10. 99-Brady Bacon, 11. 13k-Kathryne Minter, 12. 1a-Robby Wolfgang, 13. 85-Jerry Bell, 14. 2-Kenneth Walker, 15. 35-Derrik Ortega. DNS: 7-Darren Long.

Third “B” Feature (15 Laps): 1. 3d-Paul McMahan, 2. e85-Zach Chappell, 3. 21L-Trevor Lewis, 4. 13-Jesse Hockett, 5. 91-Gary Taylor, 6. 3-Mark Shirshekan, 7. 45k-Kolt Walker, 8. 87-Billy Melton, 9. 95-Matt Covington, 10. 12J-Jared Ridge, 11. 9-Brian Parker, 12. 65g-Jordan Goldesberry, 13. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 14. 86-Josh Fisher. DNS: 5m-Glenn Martin.

36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals Championship “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 57-Shane Stewart, 3. 9x-Gary Wright, 4. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 5. 29-Travis Rilat, 6. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 7. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 8. e85-Zach Chappell, 9. 15s-Nick Smith, 10. 88-Tim Crawley, 11. 94-Danny Wood, 12. 12-Trey Robb, 13. 27-Andy Shouse, 14. 4c-Mike Chadd, 15. 3d-Paul McMahan, 16. 2-Kenneth Walker, 17. 00-Michael Dupuy, 18. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 19. 1-Sean McClelland, 20. 93-Dustin Morgan, 21. 50-Stephanie Chappell, 22. 21-Brian Brown, 23. 22-Koby Barksdale, 24. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr. (Disqualified; weighed in below the minimum required weight after finishing second).

Lap Leaders: Tony Bruce, Jr. 1-11, Shane Stewart 12-13, Tony Bruce, Jr. 14-19, Jason Johnson 20-30.

Note: Stephanie Chappell and Kenneth Walker utilized provisionals based on 2008 owner’s points to start the “A” Main.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 15): 1. Shane Stewart 296, 2. Jason Johnson 294, 3. Gary Wright 290, 4. Johnny Herrera 282, 5. (tie) Danny Wood and Nick Smith 260, 7. Paul McMahan 258, 8. (tie) Brian Brown and Eric Baldaccini 248, 10. Michael Dupuy 240, 11. Tony Bruce, Jr. 238, 12. Sean McClelland 232, 13. Mike Chadd 226, 14. Dustin Morgan 222, 15. Travis Rilat 215.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Shane Stewart Wins Lucas Oil ASCS Opener at Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals

A new era in Sprint Car racing kicked off with the opening night of the 36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Speedway Spring Nationals as Oklahoma native Shane Stewart raced to victory lane in the season opening 25-lap feature event for the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters.

Stewart raced around early leader Paul McMahan on the tenth round and later held off the closing duo of Gary Wright and Jason Johnson to strike the winning blow in the opening salvo of the Lucas Oil ASCS $60,000 championship points chase.

“This has got to be one of my biggest wins,” were the first words out of Stewart’s mouth after climbing from Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered ProBilt Construction No. 57 ART-chassis. “Paul and his guys did an unbelievable job, just four days ago the trailer was completely empty and now it’s got about all we could need.”

Stewart beat four-time series champion Gary Wright to the stripe by two car-lengths, with defending series champion Jason Johnson claiming the show position. Brian Brown snared the fourth and final lock-in position to Saturday night’s 30-lap Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals championship feature event by crossing the stripe in fourth.

After starting the feature from the second row inside, Stewart spent the early rounds chasing McMahan, who had outgunned Brown for the lead at the drop of the green.

But, after three quick cautions in the opening handful of laps, Stewart began pressuring McMahan for the point before diving into the lead in turn three on the tenth lap.

“I thought he (McMahan) would be a little stronger than what he was,” Stewart explained afterward. “We were just a little tight early, so I knew we’d probably get better as the race went on.”

Out front, Stewart worked through traffic adeptly to keep Wright and Johnson at bay in the final rounds en route to his 16th career ASCS National triumph.

“We just need a backup motor and then I’m sure we can stay out here all year and try to keep racking up the points,” Stewart commented of his Lucas Oil ASCS title aspirations.

Just as Stewart took command on the tenth circuit, the action immediately behind him for position was intense between McMahan, Wright and Johnson. Wright finally battled into the second position on the 15th round with Johnson following suit. A lap later, McMahan bicycled in turn two and lost three more positions.

Wright, who surrendered the second starting position and was shuffled back to 14th in the grid (last among heat race transfers to the “A” Main) after swapping out powerplants, had wasted little time racing into contention by cracking the top five in Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 9x Maxim after just five laps.

Wright then took fourth from Brown by the ninth round before surging past both Johnson and McMahan in traffic. Wright closed in on Stewart in the closing circuits before settling for runner-up honors and locking into Saturday’s feature in his bid for back-to-back Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals honors.

Working forward from seventh, Johnson kicked off his title defense with a close third-place run in the Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle, while Brown took advantage of McMahan’s lap 16 slip to snare fourth in the Super Clean No. 21 Maxim.

Riding a wave of 15 consecutive ASCS Regional feature wins into the weekend, New Mexico’s Johnny Herrera rounded out the top five just a couple of car lengths behind Brown.

McMahan settled for sixth, with Tony Bruce, Jr., earning KSE Hard Charger honors by racing from 20th to seventh. Jack Dover bounced back from an early stop to snare eighth after starting 18th, while Danny Wood recovered from an early foray off of turn two to claim ninth. After running among the top five in the early stages, Pennsylvania’s Trevor Lewis completed the top ten.

Stewart, Wright, Kyle Bellm, Nick Smith, Herrera, Lewis, Aaron Berryhill and Wood topped heat race action for the 65-car field, with Michael Dupuy, Skip Wilson, Dustin Morgan and Dover victorious in the 12-lap “B” Mains.

The red flag flew on the opening lap of the night’s eighth and final heat race when Minnesota’s Neil Stevens and Nebraska’s Mark Pace both flipped wildly in the opening pair of corners after contact. Both drivers emerged relatively unscathed.

36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals Preliminary Results:

Heat Races (Top 14 in Passing Points to “A” Main; Balance to 4 “B” Mains):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 93-Dustin Morgan, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 5. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 6. 22-Koby Barksdale, 7. 2-Kenneth Walker, 8. 50-Stephanie Chappell, 9. 12w-Dale Wester.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 13k-Kathryne Minter, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 88-Tim Crawley, 5. 29-Travis Rilat, 6. 9jr-Derek Hagar, 7. 12-Trey Robb, 8. 9-Brian Parker.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 2. 4c-Mike Chadd, 3. 13-Jesse Hockett, 4. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 5. 53-Jack Dover, 6. 96-Bronson Maeschen, 7. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 8. 5m-Glenn Martin.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 15s-Nick Smith, 2. 00-Michael Dupuy, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 15-Kerry McAlister, 5. 23-Seth Bergman, 6. e85-Zach Chappell, 7. 17w-Brad Welborn, 8. 91-Gary Taylor.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 2. 21-Brian Brown, 3. 81au-Gavin Punch, 4. 12J-Jared Ridge, 5. 7-Darren Long, 6. 87-Billy Melton, 7. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 8. 99-Brady Bacon.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 21L-Trevor Lewis, 2. 11F-Foster Landon, 3. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 27-Andy Shouse, 5. 10a-Ricky Logan, 6. 11-Chad Corken, 7. 14e-Justin Spoerl, 8. 85-Jerry Bell.

Heat Seven (8 Laps): 1. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 2. 3-Mark Shirshekan, 3. 65-Skip Wilson, 4. 10-Bryan Dobesh, 5. 95-Matt Covington, 6. 35-Derrik Ortega, 7. 65g-Jordan Goldesberry, 8. 45-Martin Edwards.

Heat Eight (8 Laps): 1. 94-Danny Wood, 2. 3d-Paul McMahan, 3. 86-Josh Fisher, 4. 4x-Jamie Passmore, 5. 4J-Lee Grosz, 6. 1a-Robby Wolfgang, 7. 2x-Neil Stevens, 8. 31-Mark Pace.

“B” Mains (Top 2 From Each Advance to “A” Main):

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 00-Michael Dupuy, 2. 1-Sean McClelland, 3. 13-Jesse Hockett, 4. 22-Koby Barksdale, 5. 4J-Lee Grosz, 6. 96-Bronson Maeschen, 7. 15-Kerry McAlister, 8. 1a-Robby Wolfgang, 9. 12-Trey Robb, 10. 12J-Jared Ridge, 11. 65g-Jordan Goldesberry, 12. 9-Brian Parker. DNS: 91-Gary Taylor.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 65-Skip Wilson, 2. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. e85-Zach Chappell, 4. 88-Tim Crawley, 5. 23-Seth Bergman, 6. 99-Brady Bacon, 7. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 8. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 9. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 10. 3-Mark Shirshekan, 11. 9jr-Derek Hagar. DNS: 2x-Neil Stevens, 31-Mark Pace.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 93-Dustin Morgan, 2. 81au-Gavin Punch, 3. 86-Josh Fisher, 4. 4x-Jamie Passmore, 5. 11-Chad Corken, 6. 7-Darren Long, 7. 10a-Ricky Logan, 8. 27-Andy Shouse, 9. 17w-Brad Welborn, 10. 85-Jerry Bell, 11. 12w-Dale Wester, 12. 45-Martin Edwards. DNS: 51-Jimmy Brooks.

Fourth “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 11F-Foster Landon, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 5. 95-Matt Covington, 6. 14e-Justin Spoerl, 7. 2-Kenneth Walker, 8. 87-Billy Melton, 9. 35-Derrik Ortega, 10. 5m-Glenn Martin 11. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 12. 50-Stephanie Chappell.

36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals Preliminary “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 21-Brian Brown, 5. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 6. 3d-Paul McMahan, 7. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 8. 53-Jack Dover, 9. 94-Danny Wood, 10. 21L-Trevor Lewis, 11. 15s-Nick Smith, 12. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 13. 00-Michael Dupuy, 14. 10-Bryan Dobesh, 15. 1-Sean McClelland, 16. 81au-Gavin Punch, 17. 11F-Foster Landon, 18. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 19. 93-Dustin Morgan, 20. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 21. 65-Skip Wilson, 22. 50-Stephanie Chappell, 23. 4c-Mike Chadd, 24. 13k-Kathryne Minter.

Lap Leaders: Paul McMahan 1-9, Shane Stewart 10-25.

Note: Stephanie Chappell and Eric Baldaccini utilized provisionals based on 2008 owner’s points to start the “A” Main.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 15): 1. Shane Stewart 150, 2. Gary Wright 146, 3. Jason Johnson 144, 4. Brian Brown 142, 5. Johnny Herrera 140, 6. Paul McMahan 138, 7. Tony Bruce, Jr. 136, 8. Jack Dover 134, 9. Danny Wood 132, 10. Trevor Lewis 130, 11. Nick Smith 128, 12. Aaron Berryhill 126, 13. Michael Dupuy 124, 14. Bryan Dobesh 122, 15. Sean McClelland 120.

by Lonnie Wheatley

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