red river article from august 21

[David Wright]

Hornets take center stage at Red River Speedway

 

* August 22nd, 2010 2:41 pm CT

 

Officials check on Greg Ragsdale after he hit the wall in Saturday's Hornet Heat. He was uninjured.

Photo: James Robinson

 

With regular drivers from Altus Speedway joining the usual suspects, the 4 cylinder Hornet Class took over the night of racing at Red River Speedway on Saturday night. Dark clouds provided shield from the sun but only a scant few scattered rain drops as Mason Maahs and Corey New found themselves among the winners.

 

Kicking off the night with the Hornet Dash for Cash, the tone was set early as Red River drivers would play catch up to Altus most of the night. Lance Chapman jumped out to an early lead in the 4 lap Dash, but Corey New would work his way to the front in the second turn of the second lap and go on to take the race and the $100 prize.

 

In the first Hornet Heat of the night, Amanda Shrum would lead early but was challenged hard by "Rookie Driver" Tracy King in the 101 car. King would take the lead in the second lap of the 8 lap race as Shrum fell back to third when Greg Ragsdale worked his way up to second place to trade a little paint with the leader.

 

After scrapping the wall on the back straightaway, Ragsdale edged his way into the lead in the final turn, but after a collision with King found himself slamming against the wall as the 101 car took the victory and Shrum finished second. Ragsdale was uninjured in the wreck, but his night of racing was over as tire trouble kept him out of the feature race.

 

Amy Norton took and held an early lead on the way to victory in the second Hornet Heat. Dillan Brown worked his way from the back to third by lap 4 and almost forced Lance Chapman off the track as they battled for second place. Justin Shrum would challenge Corey New the entire way in the third Hornet Heat, but New held on for the win.

 

The 4 lap Hornet Trophy Dash featured the top three finishers from the second and third Heat races. Mason Maahs held off Lance Chapman, Justin Shrum, Amy Norton, Corey New, and Tim Tutten as he cruised to victory.

 

The night would end with a crowded field of 14 cars in the exciting Hornet Feature race. Ashley Shrum held onto the lead for the first few laps as Amy Norton challenged early but began to fall back. Justin Shrum almost came off the track in a battle with Corey New as they both fought to work their way up front.

 

Ashley would lose the lead when Lance Chapman bumped her 38 car hard from behind, causing the bumper to come lose on one side. The collision triggered a chain reaction as Norton, Tim Tutten, and Tracy King also found themselves off the track and in the infield to bring out the caution flag. Ashley would return to the track and finish the race minus her bumper. King would be the only one not to return.

 

With Mason Maahs leading the way after the restart, Corey New worked his way into second place followed by Tutten. Maahs held onto first place until the final turn of the final lap when New worked his way inside and slipped ahead to practically steal the checkered flag from Maahs hand. Chapman would finish third with Justin Shrum coming in fourth.

 

While the Hornets dominated, other classes were still part of the night as the points standings become more and more important late in the season. Tight races in the Charger class saw Mike Wright take wins in both the Heat and Feature races followed by a dust stirring celebration with donuts in the infield. Cameron Liss and Jason Dobbins would stay close in the Heat, while Dan Geil challenged the entire race in the Feature but was never able to work his way inside.

 

Gage Cullar made his first appearance at Red River Speedway in some time and ran away with both the Mod 4 Heat and Feature races, boosting him over both Mike Nowels and Scott Lewis to seventh in the points standings. Points leader Debbie Cullar finished a distant second in the Heat, but lost control and slid off the track in the last turn of lap 6 in the Feature to wind up third and give Matt Rose second.

 

Dale Miller took wins in the Thunderstock/Super Stock Heat and Feature races while Teddy Shrum finished second and took first place points for Thunderstock. Ted Minor had trouble in the turns several times and finished a distant third.

 

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