Rogerson Notches Another Sprint Invaders Season Opener at 34 Raceway!

(by Bill Wright) April 19, 2008 – Matt Rogerson won his fifth career Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders Association Saturday night at the 34 Raceway near West Burlington, Iowa. Entering the night, his four wins at the facility were already tops with the series. Rogerson survived a mid-race duel with John Schulz and pulled away on an extremely heavy surface to claim his third Sprint Invaders tally in the month of April at 34.

After a sixth place showing in the Rich DeReu Memorial Shake-Up Dash, things didn’t look good for Rogerson, until winner Bobby Mincer rolled a three on the dice. That put Matt outside row one. “It was all about track position tonight the way the track was,” said Rogerson. “I should thank Bobby Mincer for drawing what he did after the dash. We’ve got a few laps around this place.”

Tim Rose

After a lap one flip by Nick Guernsey, who was uninjured, and a lost wheel by Ryan Jamison on the next try, the third start was a charm, and Rogerson shot out to a lead immediately. Schulz tucked into second, and the lead pair separated from the pack. After a caution on lap six, the remaining 20 laps went non-stop. On lap 16, in lapped traffic, Schulz made a pass for the lead at the flagstand before Rogerson returned the favor and led the rest of the way. “I was trying to get around a lapped car and bicycled badly over in turn two,” says Rogerson. “I had to get off it and counter-steer, and he got by me. Then pretty much the same thing happened to him. From then on I was running well. Everyone knows that’s where Matt Rogerson’s going to end up running anyway, the bottom.”

Schulz, who won with the Sprint Invaders here last July, remembered the lead exchange the same way. “Matt was a little better in the open track, and I could reel him in in traffic. We both bicycled up with a lapped car and he ended up getting by us again. I’ve known him my whole life. It was just a good race. I could make some ground up on top, but you had to watch the lappers sliding up in front of you. You had to just bite the bullet and take what you could get.”

Finishing a distant, but solid third, was fourth generation driver, Korey Weyant. “It helped us to start up front,” he said. “We’ve got a new motor this year, so that helped a ton. The track was really tacky. We messed up on the setup a bit, we were spiking on the right rear pretty bad. Maybe if it wasn’t, we could have been up there with the top two.”

2007 Knoxville Raceway 360 Track Champion, Josh Higday was fourth, and Bobby Mincer was fifth. Jon Agan, Jerrod Hull, Josh Schneiderman, hard-charger Jordan Goldesberry and Justin Newberry rounded out the top ten.

Heats went to Weyant, Rogerson, Schulz and Josh Schneiderman. Mincer won the Shake-Up Dash, and Nick Eastin dominated the 12-lap B main event.

Donnie Steward

The Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders will be back in action on Friday, May 16 at the Morgan County Speedway in Jacksonville, Illinois.

Results

Ideal Ready Mix 25-lap A main Finish (started): 1. 29, Matt Rogerson, Burlington, IA (2) 2. 2, John Schulz, West Burlington, IA (4) 3. 99w, Korey Weyant, Springfield, IL (1) 4. 1, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (5) 5. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (3) 6. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (7) 7. 12, Jerrod Hull, Sikeston, MO (10) 8. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (6) 9. 65, Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL (19) 10. 36, Justin Newberry, West Burlington, IA (18) 11. 53H, Matt Harms, Morton, IL (17) 12. 23, Kevin Hetrick, Gladstone, IL (9) 13. 29x, Russ Hall, Des Moines, IA (15) 14. 4B, Scott Boles, New London, IA (8) 15. 22x, Nick Eastin, West Burlington, IA (16) 16. 3, Matt Sutton, Macomb, IL (11) 17. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL (20) 18. 6, Dustin Whiting, Burlington, IA (12) 19. 51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (13) 20. 0, Nick Guernsey, Burlington, IA (14) DNS – 1x, Jayson Ditsworth, Gladstone, IL. Lap Leaders: Rogerson 1-15, Schulz 16, Rogerson 17-25.

Josh Higday

Staats Heat Race #1 (8 laps, top four to A, top two to Dash): 1. Korey Weyant (4) 2. Bobby Mincer (3) 3. Kevin Hetrick (2) 4. Ryan Jamison (8) / 5. Matt Harms (7) 6. Jordan Goldesberry (1) 7. Justin Newberry (5) 8. 4J, Justin Parrish, Des Moines, IA (6)

Golden Eagle Distributors/Budweiser Heat Race #2 (8 laps, top four to A, top two to Dash): 1. Matt Rogerson (4) 2. Jon Agan (2) 3. Jerrod Hull (5) 4. Nick Guernsey (6) / 5. 18A, Dan Avery, Burlington, IA (7) 6. Nick Eastin (1) 7. 9, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (3) DNS – 16HD, Donnie Steward, West Burlington, IA

Midland Performance Heat Race #3 (8 laps, top four to A, top two to Dash): 1. John Schulz (2) 2. Josh Higday (3) 3. Matt Sutton (4) 4. Russ Hall (5) / 5. 10, Eric Vanderploeg, Altoona, IA (8) 6. 17, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (6) 7. Jimmy Davies (7) 8. 38, Seth Wilke, Burlington, IA (1)

Fastway Fabrication Heat Race #4 (8 laps, top four to A, top two to Dash): 1. Josh Schneiderman (5) 2. Scott Boles (2) 3. Dustin Whiting (1) 4. Jayson Ditsworth (3) / 5. 5MRE, Tim Rose, Burlington, IA (6) 6. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (4) DNS – 35, Brian Hetrick, Stronghurst, IL, 78, Robert Bell, Colfax, IA

Rich DeReu Memorial Shake-Up Dash (6 laps): 1. Bobby Mincer (1) 2. John Schulz (3) 3. Josh Higday (5) 4. Josh Schneiderman (2) 5. Korey Weyant (8) 6. Matt Rogerson (7) 7. Jon Agan (6) 8. Scott Boles (4)

Holtkamp’s Trailer Repair B Main (12 laps, top five to A): 1. Nick Eastin (2) 2. Matt Harms (1) 3. Justin Newberry (7) 4. Jordan Goldesberry (3) 5. Jimmy Davies (9) / 6. Austin McCarl (5) 7. Justin Parrish (11) 8. Seth Wilke (6) 9. Dan Avery (8) 10. Jarrod Schneiderman (12) 11. Tim Rose (10) 12. Rager Phillips (4) DNS – Eric Vanderploeg, Brian Hetrick, Donnie Steward, Robert Bell

Jordan Goldesberry

Contingency Awards:

KSE Products Hard Charger -

The Brake Man – Nick Eastin

Diversified Machine – Korey Weyant

Kinser Air Filters – Josh Higday

M&W Aluminum Products – Russ Hall

Ultra Shield – Jimmy Davies

Saldana Racing Products – John Schulz

Rod End Supply – Justin Newberry, Josh Schneiderman

 

 

 

 

4/5/08

I-55 Raceway

Pevely, MO

WoO

29 cars

Chad Kemenah (7th car out to time) set quick time on a dry surface at 11.292 seconds. Craig Dollansky (5th car out) was second quick, followed by Kerry Madsen (17th), Joey Saldana (18th), Jason Meyers (11th), Justin Henderson (20th), Daryn Pittman (2nd), Danny Lasoski (13th), Jac Haudenschild (9th) and Tim Shaffer (3rd). AJ Bruns got upside down hard in hot laps. He didn't get a time in, but the crew thrashed to get him back for the B. Brad Greer had motor problems and failed to get a time in. Shane Stewart shelled a motor on his second qualifying lap.

Chad Hillier

Heat one (started): 1. Pittman 21 (2) 2. Shaffer 6 (1) 3. Kemenah 8K (4) 4. Saldana 9 (3) 5. Steve Kinser 11 (6) 6. Kraig Kinser 20 (5) / 7. Chad Hillier 5c (8) 8. Wade Oliver 58 (9) 9. Brad Greer 3B (10) 10. Danny Smith 4 (7)

After the track was reworked, Pittman led the distance in the 10 lapper. Kemenah shot to the low side to get by Shaffer early, but the top came in for Shaffer who claimed second and a trip to the first three rows of the dash at the halfway point. Smith exited on lap eight.

Chad Kemenah

Heat two (started): 1. Lasoski 5 (2) 2. Dollansky 2 (4) 3. Donny Schatz 15 (1) 4. Meyers 14 (3) 5. Jason Sides 7s (6) 6. Lucas Wolfe 5w (5) / 7. Terry McCarl 24 (8) 8. Jimmy Hurley 35 (9) 9. Sam Hafertepe Jr. 15H (7)

Lasoski led flag to flag. Dollansky shot by Schatz for second on the first lap and held the position. A good race between Wolfe and McCarl for the final transfer, saw McCarl with the early advantage, but Wolfe took the low preferred line in turn one on lap four to capture the spot back for good. Hafertepe's motor expired on lap eight.

Heat three (started): 1. Haudenschild R19 (2) 2. Madsen 55 (4) 3. Tony Bruce Jr. 18 (1) 4. Shane Stewart 83 (5) 5. Billy Alley 22 (6) 6. Henderson D1 (3) / 7. Tommy Worley Jr. 97 (7) 8. Jerrod Hull 12 (8) 9. Tom Dickerman 57D (9) DNS - AJ Bruns 44

Wade Oliver

Haud led the duration. He got late pressure from Madsen, who appeared to be the fastest car on the track after shooting by Bruce for second on lap one.

Dash (started): 1. Dollansky (2) 2. Shaffer (4) 3. Madsen (1) 4. Saldana (8) 5. Haudenschild (3) 6. Lasoski (6) 7. Pittman (5) 8. Meyers (9) 9. Kemenah (7) 10. Henderson (10)

Dollansky left the rest behind in the 8 lapper. Shaffer was strong, as was Saldana who moved up four spots after dueling with Haudenschild.

B main (started): 1. Smith (1) 2. Hafertepe (2) 3. Hillier (4) 4. McCarl (5) 5. Hull (6) 6. Worley Jr. (3) / 7. Bruns (9) 8. Oliver (7) 9. Greer (10) 10. Hurley (8) DNS - Dickerman

The best racing in the 12 lapper came for the final two transfers with Hull and Worley holding off Bruns and Oliver.

Jerrod Hull

A main (started): 1. Meyers (8) 2. Dollansky (1) 3. Saldana (4) 4. Shaffer (2) 5. Haudenschild (5) 6. Kemenah (9) 7. Pittman (7) 8. Schatz (11) 9. Stewart (15) 10. Lasoski (6) 11. Madsen (3) 12. S. Kinser (16) 13. Henderson (10) 14. B ruce Jr. (12) 15. Sides (17) 16. McCarl (22) 17. Hillier (21) 18. Wolfe (14) 19. K. Kinser (13) 20. Smith (19) 21. Alley (18) 22. Worley (24) 23. Hull (23) 24. Hafertepe Jr. (20)

Hafertepe elected to start at the rear of the field and exited early, as did Hull. Dollansky took off in the 40 lapper and looked untouchable early. On lap six, Hillier got sideways in turn four and Alley had nowhere to go, tagging the 5c and tipping over. The contact squared Hillier up and he continued, but Alley was done. Dollansky led Shaffer, Meyers from eighth, Saldana and Haudenschild back to green on the restart. Dollansky took off again and was in lapped traffic after a few more laps. Meyers was able to shoot around Shaffer for second, and Haudenschild had taken fourth from Saldana when K. Kinser got upside down hard in turns three and four on lap 24. The last sixteen laps went non-stop. On lap 31, Meyers got by Dollansky when he was trapped behind a lapped car. From there, he negotiated traffic well to capture his third win in five starts. He also grabbed hard-charger honors.

 

 

3/15/08

Devil's Bowl Speedway Mesquite, TX

ASCoT 360s

51 cars

Tony Bruce Jr., Gary Wright, Jason Sides and Wayne Johnson locked themselves into the feature by finishing in the top four in Friday's prelim.

Heat one (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Kevin Ramey 7m (4*) 2. Aaron Berryhill 97 (1) 3. Shawn Sander 48 (3) 4. Eric Baldaccini B4 (7) 5. Dustin Morgan 8h (6) 6. Skip Wilson 65 (2) 7. Don Droud Jr. 91 (5) 8. Kathryne Minter 13 (8)

Berryhill led early in the 8 lapper. Ramey asserted himself early, moved into second at the halfway point and passed Berryhill for the lead with two to go.

Heat two (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Kenneth Walker 2 (1*) 2. Natalie Sather 94s (4*) 3. Chris Williams 8x (3) 4. Garry Lee Maier 11x (7) 5. Gavin Punch 81AU (8) 6. Billy Melton 87 (6) 7. Koby Barksdale 41x (5) 8. George White 1w (2)

Walker led flag to flag. White was running second on lap seven when he appeared to have a stuck throttle, slid over the turn three and four berm. He retired from the event. Sather did well to work to second and earn a transfer into the A.

Heat three (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. 15H (1*) 2. Scott Winters 23w (2) 3. Brandon Erwin 5E (4) 4. Mike Chadd 4 (7) 5. Tyler Thompson 11 (3) 6. Greg Rilat 35 (5) 7. Lorne Wofford 18x (6) 8. Jake Peters 57x (8)

Before a lap could be completed, G. Rilat and Wofford contacted with Wofford getting upside down. He and Peters, who was collected in the fray, retired. Hafertepe led the duration with Winters in tow. The two were in their own world.

Heat four (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Ryan Roberts 18R (1*) 2. Josh Higday 2x (4*) 3. Travis Rilat 29 (6*) 4. Whit Gastineau 2w (4) 5. Billy Alley 22 (3) 6. Cody Branchcomb 94x (7) 7. Eric Lutz 1 (5) 8. Brandon Moseley 11m (8)

Roberts led the distance, with Higday moving up to second and holding off T. Rilat at the line.

Heat five (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Trey Robb 1s (2*) 2. Brian Brown 21 (3*) 3. Don Young 75 (4) 4. Matt Clevenger 31 (7) 5. Kerry McAllister 15K (1) 6. Colt Treharn 77 (6) 7. Joe Wood Jr. 03 (5) 8. Chris Tarrant 71 (8)

Robb led throughout, as he and Brown left the rest of the field behind. Wood Jr. dropped out on lap five with mechanical problems while running fifth.

Heat six (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Matt Covington 95 (2*) 2. Zach Chappell 50z (4*) 3. Nick Smith 15s (6*) 4. Jason Johnson 41 (5) 5. Jack Dover 53 (3) 6. Kolt Walker 45K (1) 7. Foster Landon 51 (7)

In the stoutest heat field of the night, Covington held off a fast Chappell.

B main one (started): 1. Young (3) 2. Maier (2) / 3. Berryhill (1) 4. Gastineau (5) 5. Alley (6) 6. Droud Jr. (9) 7. G. Rilat (8) 8. Minter (11) 9. Williams (4) 10. Branchcomb (7) 11. Lutz (10) 12. Moseley (12)

Maier led early in the 10 lapper, but it was brief. Young stormed to the fore on the third go-around and the 19 year old won by a straightaway.

B main two (started): 1. Winters (1) 2. Erwin (2) / 3. Morgan (5) 4. Punch (4) 5. Wood Jr. (10) 6. Treharn (8) 7. Wilson (7) 8. Barksdale (9) 9. White (11) 10. McAllister (6) 11. Tarrant (12) 12. Clevenger (3)

Winters checked out on the rest of the field.

B main three (started): 1. J. Johnson (4) 2. Baldaccini (1) / 3. Chadd (2) 4. Dover (6) 5. Ko. Walker (8) 6. Sander (3) 7. Melton (7) 8. Wofford (9) 9. Peters (10) 10. Thompson (5) DNS - Landon

Baldaccini held the lead early. J. Johnson moved into second on lap three and took the lead on lap four.

A main (started): 1. Gary Wright 9 (6) 2. Tony Bruce Jr. 18 (1) 3. Jason Sides 7s (4) 4. Wayne Johnson 94 (3) 5. Chappell (13) 6. Hafertepe Jr. (10) 7. J. Johnson (19) 8. Ramey (5) 9. T. Rilat (14) 10. Ke. Walker (8) 11. Winters (18) 12. N. Smith (16) 13. Sather (9) 14. Droud Jr. (23, pr.) 15. Maier (20) 16. Roberts (11) 17. Higday (12) 18. Young (17) 19. Erwin (21) 20. Baldaccini (22) 21. Brown (15) 22. Robb (2) 23. Covington (7)

Before a lap could be completed, Maier spun in turn one. Covington performed a 360 in turns three and four and then came to a stop on the frontstretch. He retired. Bruce grabbed the lead early in the nonstop 25 lapper with Robb, Sides and Ramey in tow. Robb hit the high side of the speedway and began to gain on Bruce. The 15 year old took the point on lap ten and began to pull away in traffic. Hopes of a win were shattered when he lost power and dropped out on lap twelve. Meanwhile, Wright had moved around W. Johnson and Ramey into third. He worked by Sides, but was still a half a straightaway behind the leader, Bruce. Brown dropped out on lap 16. W. Johnson shot under Ramey and tried to get by Sides with five to go. Sides crowded him to the low side on the front stretch and held onto third after being passed by Wright. Wright gained on Bruce in the late stages, and won in dramatic fashion with a pass on the low side of turn four on the final lap. Chappell moved up to third in impressive fashion.

 

 

3/14/08

Devil's Bowl Speedway Mesquite, TX

ASCoT 360s

52 cars

Heat one (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Eric Lutz 1 (1*) 2. Trey Robb 1s (3*) 3. Eric Baldaccini B4 (6*) 4. Jake Peters 57x (8*) 5. Kathryne Minter 13 (2) 6. Skip Wilson 65 (4) 7. Loren Wofford 18w (9) 8. Chris Williams 8x (5) 9. Brandon Erwin 5E (7)

Lutz led flag to flag holding off Robb in a good battle. Peters, who has Knoxville and Huset's 410 plans this year was the prime mover, as 14 drivers earning the most passing points transferred out of the eight lap heat races to the A. The top eight in points redrew for starting position.

Heat two (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Jack Dover 53 (3*) 2. Gary Taylor 5 (2*) 3. Foster Landon 51 (1) 4. Dustin Morgan 8h (5) 5. Travis Rilat 29 (7) 6. Don Young 75 (9) 7. Kolt Walker 45K (8) 8. Kerry McAllister 15K (4) 9. Michael Lang 14 (6)

McAllister received contact from Rilat when the green flag fell and collected Lang. McAllister and Lang were done. Thomas grabbed the initial lead from teammate and polesitter Landon at the outset. Dover was strong out of row two and used the low side of turn four to blow by the leaders on lap five. He pulled away for an impressive win. Morgan challenged Landon on the last lap, but fell short.

Heat three (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Kent Winters 23w (4*) 2. Joe Wood Jr. 03 (2) 3. Jason Sides 7s (8*) 4. Shawn Sander 48 (1) 5. Natalie Sather 94s (6) 6. Brent Swift 41x (7) 7. Brandon Moseley 11m (9) 8. Kenneth Walker 2 (3) 9. Jason Johnson 41 (5)

Sather appeared to be crowded a bit by Sides coming down the frontstretch when the green fell. The result was a twitch to the left, and contact sending J. Johnson into the wall and to the back of the B. El Paso's Sander grabbed the initial lead, but was overcome by Winters on lap four. Winters pulled away from the field. Wood Jr. passed Sides with three to go for second.

Heat four (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Tony Bruce Jr. 18 (1*) 2. Ryan Roberts 18R (3*) 3. Zach Chappell 50z (4) 4. Sam Hafertepe Jr. 15H (8) 5. Don Droud Jr. 91 (6) 6. Brian Brown 21 (5) 7. Colt Treharn 77 (2) 8. Josh Higday 2x (7) 9. Chris Tarrant 71 (9)

Bruce checked out in by far the stoutest heat of the night. Chappell worked on Roberts and a spot that would have earned him an A transfer, but it was not to be. Two '07 Knoxville champs, three '07 World of Outlaws competitors and more comprised a fast heat.

Heat five (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Wayne Johnson 94 (1*) 2. George White 1w (3*) 3. Mike Chadd 4 (6) 4. Garry Lee Maier 11x (8) 5. Billy Alley 22 (5) 6. Matt Clevenger 31 (7) 7. Billy Melton 87 (2) DNS - Neil Stevens 2H (4)

W. Johnson led flag to flag. Veteran Chadd moved by a couple of drivers with ease, but couldn't run down White. 8th to 4th wasn't enough for Maier either.

Heat six (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Nick Smith 15s (2*) 2. Gary Wright 9 (5*) 3. Aaron Berryhill 97 (1) 4. Kevin Ramey 7m (7) 5. Cody Branchcomb 94x (6) 6. Whit Gastineau 2w (4) 7. Gavin Punch 81AU (8) DNS - Matt Covington 95 (3)

Gastineau spun in front of most of the field, but avoided disaster. He would restart at the tail. Berryhill and N. Smith went side by side for a couple of laps before N. Smith took command. Wright drove under Berryhill at the midway point for second.

B main one (started): 1. Berryhill (3) 2. Wood Jr. (1) / 3. Brown (8) 4. Rilat (4) 5. Sather (5) 6. Chadd (2) 7. Ke. Walker (11) 8. Clevenger (7) 9. Minter (6) 10. Punch (10) 11. Lang (12) 12. Moseley (9) DNS - Stevens

Wood Jr. led early in the 10 lapper, but was dogged by Berryhill until the veteran took the point on lap eight. Brown ran out of laps, but appeared to be the fastest car on the track after getting by Rilat on the last lap and falling one car short of a transfer.

B main two (started): 1. Hafertepe Jr. (1) 2. Droud Jr. (5) / 3. J. Johnson (12) 4. Landon (2) 5. Morgan (3) 6. Wilson (7) 7. Alley (6) 8. Sander (4) 9. Gastineau (8) 10. Higday (11) 11. Covington (13) 12. Williams (10) 13. Treharn (9)

Hafertepe had no peer here. The race was for second. When Gastineau spun on lap eight, it set up a great race for second. Landon held the spot over Droud and J. Johnson on the restart. J. Johnson had passed Droud on the previous lap, but it was negated with the caution. Droud removed all doubt as he blew by Landon for the second and final transfer to the A, forcing J. Johnson to take a provisional that pays, but doesn't award points.

B main three (started): 1. Ramey (3) 2. Chappell (1) / 3. Young (4) 4. Ervin (11) 5. Ko. Walker (8) 6. Tarrant (12) 7. McAllister (10) 8. Melton (9) 9. Maier (2) 10. Wofford (7) 11. Branchcomb (5) 12. Swift (6)

Ramey, Chappell and Maier left the field behind. Maier would bow out on lap six, leaving the lead pair to transfer and leave Young a half lap behind.

A main (started): 1. Bruce Jr. (1) 2. Wright (10) 3. Sides (7) 4. W. Johnson (22) 5. N. Smith (3) 6. Chappell (18) 7. J. Johnson (21) 8. Berryhill (15) 9. Dover (6) 10. Hafertepe Jr. (14) 11. Robb (2) 12. Baldaccini (9) 13. Lutz (4) 14. Peters (13) 15. Roberts (8) 16. Winters (5) 17. Droud Jr. (19) 18. White (11) 19. Landon (20) 20. Thomas (12) 21. Ramey (17) 22. Wood Jr. (16)

W. Johnson needed two pushes to start the race due to an unfastened fuel coupler. He would start 22nd and the rest of the drivers in the outside rows moved up a spot. Bruce Jr. pulled away from the field on a track that was yielding a couple of racing grooves. Three laps were in the books before Chappell came to a stop on the backstretch. He would continue after a restart that saw Bruce leading Robb, N. Smith, Winters and Sides. Two more laps were in the books before Wood tagged the backstretch wall and retired. Wright had moved from 7th to 4th in two laps. A scary incident on lap six saw Thomas climb the right rear of Roberts on the backstretch and flip wildly. Ramey was also caught in the mess. Roberts continued with a mangled wing. Bruce led Robb, N. Smith and Sides, who had gotten back by Wright back to green flag racing. W. Johnson had utilized the low side to climb to eighth with fourteen laps to go. Roberts and Landon contacted on lap nine, bringing yet another caution to the 20 lapper. Landon retired. Bruce's lead now was over N. Smith, Wright, and Sides, who had moved by 15 year old Robb. Six green flag laps felt like an eternity in this one, and Bruce continued his comination. One last stoppage occurred on lap 15 when Droud hit an infield tire and was towed pitside. The last restart saw Bruce get a great jump on Wright, Sides and N. Smith. W. Johnson, who restarted fifth, snatched the final transfer to Saturday night's main event from N. Smith. The rest of the top four included Bruce, who snagged the win, Wright and Sides.

 

 

Bill W’s Best Appearing of 2007

 

The Holidays usually mark my annual best appearing list.  Again this year, we’ve gone with a top ten in 410s and 360s.  We’ll also look at the top five non-wingers, and a top 5 best appearing in midgets.  How tough is it to make the top ten?  Well, for one, I sifted through my photos of 225 410s, 322 360s, 110 non-wingers and 101 midgets.  As always there are three reasons why a car you believe should be on here, isn’t:  1.  I didn’t see the car live.  2.  I didn’t get a good photo of the car with my digital gizmo (not likely) 3.  You are wrong! (likely) 

 

360s

 

#10 – Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD) – Maybe a bit of a stretch, but I found the color combination striking here.  This was a step up from the scheme he had earlier in the year, and I got this shot at the Short Track Nationals in Little Rock.

 

 

#9 – Ben Gregg (Glendale, AZ) – Ben made his first trip to Knoxville in 2007, and again had a sharp looking car to do both 360 and 410 battle.  I first ran into Ben during the 2006 Ohio Speedweek, and his nice looking equipment impressed me then.

 

 

#8 – Rager Phillips (Pleasantville, IA) – Car owner Randy Plath made this list back in 2005.  His striking color combinations are always on the mark, and the move to black in 2007 was a good decision.  This shot was taken at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa.

 

 

#7 – Bryan Howland (Auburn, NY) – Bryan again made the trip out to Knoxville, and I loved the look of his car again this year.  As an announcer, I prefer the big recognizable number in bright colors.  His color combo is unlike anyone else’s.

 

 

#6 – Jeff Williams (Belle Center, OH) – Jeff has had good-looking cars for a long time, but this is his first trip to the top ten here.  Green is usually seen as bad luck in racing, but it sure looks good on the track and off when coupled with black.  I caught Jeff at Eldora in July.

 

 

#5 – Tim Crawley (Little Rock, AR) – Driving Mike Ward’s #88 for the first time this season, Tim inherited Ward’s knack for a flashy looking car (Ward topped this list in 2003).  A predominantly blue edge hit the nail on the head this year.  This shot is from the STN at Little Rock.

 

 

#4 – Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth, TX) – Ramey takes pride in the look of his car and it is a bit surprising this is his first foray into the top ten.  The sun played tricks with me in Little Rock, but you get the idea of this unique looking ride.  You can almost hear Kevin’s custom jukebox blaring out of the trailer!

 

 

#3 – Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) – The winner of the NSCS Sprintweek, the 360 Nationals, a feature with the WoO in Oregon, and a prelim at the STN makes the list with the popular Doyle’s Harley Davidson machine.  This car is no surprise on this list as Doyle has appeared before with Roger Crockett.

 

 

#2 – Ryan Jamison (Mediapolis, IA) – Ryan didn’t stray too far from the Sprint Invaders series, but the veteran’s car was looking as good as ever.  It was simply eye candy this year!  A predominantly purple car over the years has made the switch to black, at it’s the right choice.

 

 

#1 – Justin Barger (Montrose, NY) – Two New Yorkers on the list?  Can it be so?  And two NY winners in a row?  Barger’s car simply pops off the track at you.  You can’t help but be impressed with the looks of this one!  A closer look reveals the details of the graphics with the checkered flag look.  A modern style of number blends with a classic color scheme.

 

 

2006 360 Top Ten: 1. Jessica Zemken 2. Donny Howard 3. Foster Landon 4. Randy Martin 5. Travis Whitney 6. Brian Brown 7. Brad Best 8. Shawn Van Wyhe 9. Danny Martin Jr. 10. Jeff Day

 

2005 360 Top Ten: 1. Rick Ideus 2. Caleb Griffith 3. Scott Box 4. Ricky Fauver 5. Sean McClelland 6. Dave Anderson 7. Randy Plath 8. Randy Martin 9. Doug Lovegrove 10. Brad Welborn

 

2004 360 Top Ten: 1. Preston Peebles II 2. Jody Roland 3. Eddie Gallagher 4. Natalie Sather 5. Darren Long 6. Herb Reed 7. AG Rains 8. Gene Ackland 9. Dex Eaton 10. Brian Hetrick

 

2003 360 Top Ten: 1. Mike Ward 2. Sean McClelland 3. Roger Crockett 4. Brian Harvill 5. Cody Hansen 6. Ryan Voss 7. Randy Droescher 8. Wade Oliver 9. Billy Alley 10. Kenny Adams

 

2002 Best Appearing 360:  Rick Ideus

 

410s

 

#10 – Jac Haudenschild (Nationals) (Wooster, OH) – A vintage Maxim look caught the eye of many at this year’s Knoxville Nationals, but upon closer examination, the “Wild Child’s” version looked little like the classic ‘80’s – ‘90’s Maxim house car.  More modern graphics and a tinge of red and black set off this year’s version.

 

 

#9 – Jerry Richert Jr. (Forest Lake, MN) – The retro look continues.  This year, Jerry dedicated his look to car owner Frank Wagner, who fielded a car for his father, the late Jerry Richert Sr., and 2007 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Jerry “Scratch” Daniels.  The only thing that seemed out of place with this work of art was the wing on top!

 

 

#8 – Stevie Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) – Save the e-mails!  You either love this car or hate it, I know!  “The Easter Egg” is one of many nicknames for Stevie’s ride, and one of the few that can be printed.  Upon closer examination with sunglasses, you can see the care that went into the scheme, and you can’t say it doesn’t stand out on the track!  A great car for a great cause.

 

 

#7 – Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) – When I first saw it, I told Brian I wasn’t in favor.  Once I saw it on the track, it grew on me and now has become one of my favorite schemes of 2007.  I applaud those who change schemes every so often, and Rod Kueffer the “Vinylking” of Missouri produced another great creation here.

 

 

#6 – Brian Kristan (Zion, IL) – An emotional driver with an emotional style, had a nice looking ride in 2007.  This shot wouldn’t be complete without some “BK” battle cars on the tail tank.  I believe this is the work of Rhey Graphics, who has made this list before.  I caught this shot at the Hancock County Speedway in Britt, Iowa.

 

 

#5 – Joey Saldana (King’s Royal) (Brownsburg, IN) – I didn’t care much for the Kasey Kahne Racing schemes accentuating the yellow this year, but I did like the classic blue version that Saldana sported at Eldora Speedway in July.

 

 

#4 – Fred Rahmer (Salfordville, PA) – I loved the red, white and blue look of Rahmer’s car this year.  The lines were streamed well with a hint of gray thrown in.  The Miller Chevrolet sponsorship colors blended better with this car than any other.  Unfortunately, a couple hours after I took this shot, there wasn’t much left of this ride as it was piled in hot laps in turn one at Knoxville.

 

 

#3 – Tyler Thompson (Cape Girardeau, MO) – Here’s a car that looked good whenever it showed up at the racetrack.  I took this shot at 34 Raceway in West Burlington.  The car was very sharp on and off the track.

 

 

#2 – Randy Martin (California, MO) – Randy’s always on this list along with his good friend the “Vinylking”.  If there was still a competition for Best Appearing at the Nationals, Randy’s cars would still be unfairly overlooked, because 1. He races at Knoxville so often, and 2. His cars have been the best looking so long, that people take them for granted.

 

 

#1 – Kenny Jacobs (Weikert’s) (Holmesville, OH) – Kenny Jacobs becomes the 6^th different driver to win this award in six years.  It must have been the year of the retro look, and I may be biased, but the classic Weikert’s Livestock car is one of my all-time faves.  This one looks like it’s from Eldora.

 

 

2006 410 top ten: 1. Kerry Madsen (Nationals) 2. Donny Schatz (Nationals) 3. Brian Leppo 4. Jason Meyers 5. Wayne Johnson 6. Jason Dukes 7. Brook Weibley 8. Brian Ellenberger 9. David Harrison 10. Brooke Tatnell (whitewalls)

 

2005 410 top ten: 1. Brooke Tatnell 2. Kerry Madsen 3. Shane Stewart 4. Cory Haas 5. Chad Blonde 6. Brian Leppo 7. Jason Hunt 8. Kenny Jacobs 9. Jesse Giannetto 10. Mike Stefka

 

2004 410 top ten:  1. Terry McCarl 2. Kenny Jacobs 3. Randy Martin 4. Chad Kemenah 5. Tim Shaffer 6. Roger Crockett 7. Mark Smith 8. Lucas Wolfe 9. Brian Montieth 10. Mike Kertscher

 

2003 410 top ten:  1. Toni Lutar 2. Randy Martin 3. Steve Kinser (Hulk) 4. Randy Hannagan 5. Don Droud Jr. (Batman) 6. Lance Dewease/Terry McCarl 7. Chad Kemenah 8. Tim Kaeding 9. Kim Mock/Mike Kertscher 10. Joe Roe

 

2002 410 top ten:  1. Sammy Swindell (nationals) 2. Chad Blonde 3. Matt Moro 4. Sean Michael 5. Jeff Hodgson 6. Jan Howard 7. Greg Hodnett 8. Dave Enders 9. Tommy Tarlton 10. Chad Meyer

 

Non-wing

 

#5 – Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, AZ) – The Hoffman #69 is always looking nice, and since Kroger/Tide has come on board as sponsor, they have turned it up a notch.  Always one of the best-looking cars out there.  I got this shot at Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

 

 

#4 – Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO) – Jesse could have scored in any of the categories as it’s common to see him with a wing or without, 410 or 360.  I liked the black with blue and orange look “The Rocket” had this year on the USAC tour.  This shot was taken at Kokomo, Indiana.

 

 

#3 – Mat Neely (Robinson, IL) – Mat brought this orange version of the #17N to the rained out Ultimate Challenge in Oskaloosa, Iowa.  His other mount with primarily blue colors was also under consideration for the top five in 2007.

 

 

#2 – Brett Burdette (Milan, IN) – This teenager had one of the eye-catching rides of the year with a nice color combo accentuating the primarily white mount.

 

 

#1 – JJ Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) – I only saw this car briefly before the rains hit at Oskaloosa, but it was enough to win Best of Show in 2007.  The Yeley’s cars are always nice to look at, but the photo really doesn’t do this one justice.  It had a sheen just sitting there.

 

 

2006 Best Appearing Non-wing car: Don Droud Jr.

2005 Non-wing top five: 1. Kevin Besecker 2. Matt Westfall 3. Charles Davis Jr. 4. Dave Darland 5. Jac Haudenschild

2004 Best Appearing Non-wing car:  Seth Wilson

2003 Best Appearing Non-wing car:  Roger Rager

2002 Best Appearing Non-wing car:  Damion Gardner

 

Midgets

 

#5 – Dustin Morgan (Collinsville, OK) – Jeff Walker’s cars always have a good look to them and his midgets follow the same scheme, whether it be red or blue.  I captured this shot during the Knoxville Midget Nationals while young Stenhouse had his back turned.

 

 

#4 – Brad Loyet (Sunset Hills, MO) – One thing is sure about the Loyet midget.  It’s easy to keep track of at the racetrack.  Loyet was the POWRi champion this year, and deservedly so.  Blaze orange is a touchy subject in racing, but done right here.

 

 

#3 – Tracy Readinger (Oley, PA) – Tracy made his first foray to Knoxville representing the East Coast ARDC organization, and though he was a little low on power, he had a ball, and a great looking midget.

 

 

#2 – AJ Fike (Galesburg, IL) – AJ campaigned the polished #69 at the Knoxville Midget Nationals.  The black glossed look was enhanced by a modern flame graphic.

 

 

#1 and #1a – Brandon Waelti (Sun Prairie, WI) – I give a slight edge to Brandon’s black car, but the red one still looks better than any other I feasted a look upon in 2007.  These cars had a shine on and off the track, whether it be at Angell Park or Knoxville.

 

 

2006 Midget Top Five: 1. Andy Martin 2. Jimmy Light 3. Bryan Clauson 4. Tom Hessert III 5. Kurt Mayhew

2005 Best Appearing Midget: Mike Miller

2004 Best Appearing Midget:  Steven Graham

2003 Best Appearing Midget:  Aaron Fiscus

 

Next young sprinter update:  Sam poses at the Huset’s Speedway (SD) World of Outlaws event with his pizza, and sits in my broadcast seat at Knoxville looking for a job.

 

 

 

10/26/07

I-30 Speedway

Little Rock, AR

57 cars

Heat one (started): 1. Brian McClelland 87B (2) 2. Ron Blair 35R (1) 3. Jack Dover 53D (5) 4. Kevin Ramey 7m (10) 5. Brandon Berryman 29x (6) 6. Cody Gardner 1G (8) 7. Tyler Blank 75B (3) 8. Tim Simmons 71T (7) 9. Andrew Korte 98 (9) DNS – John Carney II 8c (4)

Korte and Simmons contacted before a lap could be completed, disabling both sprinters. B. McClelland led the 10 lap distance. Ramey was the man on the move.

Heat two (started): 1. Joe Wood Jr. 03 (1) 2. Lorne Wofford 18w (2) 3. Gary Wright 9w (8) 4. Jeff Swindell 12s (7) 5. Paul McMahan 01 (10) 6. Eric Baldaccini B4 (4) 7. Kyle Bellm 14K (9) 8. Travis Rutz 39 (6) 9. Mike Dussel 6 (5) 10. Rick Pringle 38 (3)

Wood led flag to flag despite two cautions. R. Pringle stopped on lap two and exited and Dussel ran into an infield tire on lap four and helplessly got upside down. He was unhurt but done for the night. Wright and Swindell provided a veteran showdown, with Wright garnering third on the last lap.

Heat three (started): 1. Daryn Pittman 21P (1) 2. Darren Stewart 91 (2) 3. Tim Shaffer A12 (10) 4. Nick Smith 15s (3) 5. AJ Rains 3 (5) 6. Josh Fisher 86 (4) 7. Sean McClelland 1 (8) 8. Kenneth Walker 2w (6) 9. Kenny Taylor 66 (7) 10. Jon Freeman 81 (9)

Pittman led the distance. Shaffer did well in moving up seven spots, earning high point getter of the heats.

Heat four (started): 1. Kaley Gharst 3* (2) 2. Tim Crawley 88 (7) 3. Scott Winters R19 (1) 4. Jason Meyers 14m (6) 5. Greg Wilson w20 (9) 6. Danny Smith 5$ (5) 7. Lucas Wolfe 13K (8) 8. Brad Greer 3B (4) 9. Derek Hagar 9JR (3)

This was sort of a race of attrition. Gharst led flag to flag. Hagar was running second early, but a trip over the berm made him lose several spots. After getting passed by Meyers, he flipped over turn two later on. Wolfe spun on lap four, making the road to the front a hard oner. Crawley diced up the competition for second.

Heat five (started): 1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 40R (5) 2. Eric Lutz 20E (2) 3. Robbie Standridge 12x (7) 4. Don Droud Jr. 1x (9) 5. Wade Oliver 58 (8) 6. Ronny Howard 44 (4) 7. Mike Boston 51B (1) 8. Jonathan Cornell 28 (6) DNS – Justin Sturch 4T (3)

Boston led and seemed to have the race in hand, before he spun into the infield on lap seven. Stenhouse inherited the lead and finished off a fine run. Cornell exited after contact with Oliver on lap two.

Heat six (started): 1. Ernie Ainsworth 40 (4) 2. Stu Snyder 2D (2) 3. Steve Short 8s (3) 4. Jeff Wingate 8w (5) 5. Lee Sowell 51s (8) 6. Brian Brown 21 (9) 7. Wade Human 7w (7) 8. Mallory Armfield 5MA (6) 9. Zach Pringle 8z (1)

Z. Pringle was winning going away when he spun on lap five. Ainsworth assumed the point and finished the race off. A collapsed nose wing hindered B. Brown's progress.

Qualifier one (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Berryman (1*) 2. Shaffer (8*) 3. Droud (3*) 4. Snyder (4*) 5. Wofford (5*) 6. Short (2*) 7. Walker (12) 8. Korte (13) 9. Boston (11) 10. Bellm (9) 11. Pittman (6) 12. B. McClelland (7) DNS – Wingate (10), Z. Pringle (14), Sturch (15)

Pittman spun on the first lap and collected B. McClelland ending the night for both. Berryman led the distance, and held off a fast Shaffer at the finish.

Qualifier two (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Wright (7*) 2. Winters (3*) 3. D. Stewart (5*) 4. Blair (6*) 5. S. McClelland (10) 6. Rains (1) 7. Fisher (9) 8. R. Pringle (14) 9. Human (11) 10. Sowell (4) 11. Crawley (8) 12. B. Brown (2) DNS – Greer (12), Dussel (13)

Sowell had this one in hand with a charging Crawley in second on the white flag lap, but Sowell blew out his rear-end with a piece punching a hole in Crawley's oil pan, costing both a good starting spot in the A. Wright was opportunistic in inheriting the lead from third.

Qualifier three (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Meyers (3*) 2. Oliver (2*) 3. Gharst (7*) 4. Ainsworth (8*) 5. Lutz (5*) 6. Gardner (1) 7. D. Smith (9) 8. Dover (6) 9. Cornell (12) 10. Freeman (14) 11. Taylor (13) 12. Wolfe (10) 13. Swindell (4) 14. Simmons (11)

Gardner led early before Meyers took the lead on lap three. Swindell broke a cam spud on lap eight. Dover spun on lap four.

Qualifier four (started, *qualified for feature): 1. McMahan (4*) 2. Stenhouse (8*) 3. Standridge (5*) 4. Wilson (3*) 5. N. Smith (2) 6. Ramey (6*) 7. Wood Jr. (7*) 8. Blank (10) 9. Rutz (11) 10. Baldaccini (1) 11. Hagar (13) 12. R. Howard (9) 13. Armfield (12) 14. Carney II (14)

McMahan and Baldaccini exchanged the early lead with McMahan taking control. Contact between the two resulted in Baldaccini spinning on lap two. Stenhouse restarted sixth but was quickly moving forward. He was second by lap 10 of 12, when Armfield tipped over. Stenhouse used a line entering high in turn one and shooting off the bottom of turn two to move through the field. McMahan was able to hold him off in the end.

A main (started): 1. Shaffer (1) 2. Wright (2) 3. Meyers (7) 4. Stenhouse (3) 5. McMahan (6) 6. Wilson (17) 7. Standridge (9) 8. Ainsworth (5) 9. Droud (12) 10. Lutz (16) 11. D. Stewart (8) 12. Oliver (13) 13. Blair (11) 14. Wofford (19) 15. Wood Jr. (21) 16. Snyder (15) 17. Short (18) 18. Ramey (20) 19. Gharst (4) 20. Berryman (14) 21. Winters (10)

Wright used the high side to take the lead in the 25 lapper. Shaffer followed with Stenhouse in tow before a lap six spin by Snyder, just as the leaders were entering lapped traffic. The lead trio led Gharst, Meyers and Ainsworth back to green flag racing. Meyers passed Gharst for fourth after the restart. Two laps later, Gharst took a tumble in turn four. He was uninjured. Stenhouse had taken second from Shaffer and now set his sights on Wright. Shaffer came back into second and gained on Wright when the pair entered lapped traffic. On lap 19, Shaffer slid in front of Wright and blocked his low line in turn two to take the lead for good in Doc Sloan's sprinter. Meyers was able to get by Stenhouse for the third and final guaranteed spot in Saturday's finale. Wilson was the hard-charger, moving by 11 cars on his way to sixth.

 

 

 

 

10/25/07

I-30 Speedway

Little Rock, AR

Short Track Nationals Night #1

Heat one (started): 1. Jason Johnson 41 (1) 2. Chris Morgan 7c (4) 3. Travis Rilat 29R (7) 4. Matt Covington 95 (3) 5. Marshall Skinner 26 (6) 6. Tommy Bryant 21T (8) 7. Dustin Morgan 59D (9) DNS – Jimmy Brooks 51J (2), Garry Bell 32 (5)

J. Johnson domination.

Heat two (started): 1. Jason Sides 7s (2) 2. Sam Hafertepe Jr. 15H (1) 3. Wayne Johnson 94J (4) 4. Shane Stewart 1HD (8) 5. Shawn Sander 29s (9) 6. Dain Naida 6N (7) 7. Josh Howard 20 (5) 8. Steven Tiner 94T (6) 9. Johnny Miller 64J (3)

Sides led flag to flag. Miller got upside down but returned for the qualifier.

Heat three (started): 1. Jerrod Hull 12H (1) 2. Terry Gray 10 (4) 3. Tim Montgomery 87T (3) 4. Zach Chappell 50z (8) 5. Jay Russell 76 (5) 6. Joe Beaver 53B (7) 7. Danny Martin Jr. 00 (9) 8. Larry Howery 69H (2) 9. Bob Schaeffer 93B (6)

Hull led the duration winning goingaway.

Heat four (started): 1. Jesse Hockett 75J (1) 2. Tony Bruce Jr. 18T (2) 3. Garry Lee Maier 11x (3) 4. Gary Taylor 25 (6) 5. Coleman Gulick 14c (5) 6. Tyler Thompson 11T (4) 7. Jake Peters 57x (9) 8. Tyler Walker 4am (8) 9. Bryce Vowan 2m (7)

Hockett tread where no one else would, high above a heavy cushion and bouncing through three and four to take an entertaining win. Taylor puffed smoke after the checkers and retired for the night.

Heat five (started): 1. Brad Bowden 15B (6) 2. Chris Williams 8x (1) 3. Claud Estes III 74E (5) 4. Mike Brecht 97 (7) 5. Doc Sloan D12 (3) 6. Robert Bell 71B (2) 7. John Jacob 71J (8) 8. Curtis Evans 1P (4)

Bowden had a stroke of luck after contacting Evans on the opening lap and dropping to the back. An Evans caution for a flat saved his starting spot and he took the lead from the talented young Williams on the final circuit.

Heat six (started): 1. Jan Howard 4x (2) 2. Dale Blaney 6B (7) 3. Tyler Brown 14T (3) 4. Chris Sweeney 93c (5) 5. Ryan Bickett 17B (6) 6. Jimmy Hurley 35H (1) 7. Lewis Jenkins Jr. 7H (8) DNS – Lee Sowell 51s (4)

Ja. Howard left the rest behind. Blaney used the bottom to perfection and picked off T. Brown in the final corner for second.

Qualifier one (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Maier (3*) 2. Chappell (5*) 3. C. Morgan (6*) 4. Walker (12) 5. W. Johnson (4*) 6. J. Johnson (7*) 7. Boweden (8*) 8. Bryant (9) 9. Sloan (1) 10. R. Bell (10) 11. Jo. Howard (11) 12. Covington (2) DNS – Vowan (13)

Covington and W. Johnson collided in a battle for the lead on lap five. W. Johnson returned to capture fifth from the back. Walker's run from 12th to 4th was not enough for a feature spot after a poor heat showing. Jo. Howard was part of a scary crash after the checkers and he was taken in for observation.

Qualifier two (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Skinner (2*) 2. Bruce (5*) 3. Brecht (4*) 4. Hull (7*) 5. Rilat (6*) 6. Jenkins (10) 7. Blaney (8*) 8. Martin Jr. (9) 9. Bickett (1) 10. Evans (12) 11. Hurley (11) 12. Brooks (13) DNS – Taylor (3)

Skinner led the 12 lapper throughout.

Qualifier three (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Sander (4*) 2. Hafertepe Jr. (6*) 3. Sides (8*) 4. Russell (2) 5. Naida (1) 6. Williams (5) 7. Gray (7) 8. T. Brown (3) 9. Miller (12) 10. G. Bell (13) 11. Jacob (10) 12. Thompson (9) 13. Tiner (11)

Russell took the early lead. Sander was quickly on his tail and took his well-handling mount to the point on lap six. Some of the best racing of the night was between Sander, Russell, Hafertepe and Sides before a lap seven Tiner stoppage.

Qualifier four (started, *qualified for feature): 1. S. Stewart (6*) 2. Beaver (1*) 3. Gulick (2) 4. Ja. Howard (8*) 5. Estes (5*) 6. Hockett (7*) 7. Sweeney (3) 8. Montgomery (4) 9. D. Morgan (10) 10. Schaeffer (12) 11. Howery (11) 12. Peters (9) DNS – Sowell (13)

Beaver led early, but couldn't hold off the dominant S. Stewart who took the lead with three to go. Beaver held on for second and a feature spot.

A main (started): 1. S. Stewart (1) 2. Sides (2) 3. Chappell (4) 4. Rilat (16) 5. Hafertepe (3) 6. Bruce (9) 7. Hull (10) 8. W. Johnson (19) 9. J. Johnson (15) 10. Blaney (14) 11. Skinner (13) 12. Beaver (20) 13. Bowden (11) 14. Hockett (17) 15. Maier (7) 16. C.Morgan (8) 17. Brecht (12) 18. Sander (5) 19. Estes (18) 20. Ja. Howard (6)

S. Stewart led the field early. The track, still heavy was lending to two wide action, with unstable sprinters…typical Little Rock excitement. On lap three, Ja. Howard had a top five going when he flipped hard over the turn one berm. He was uninjured, but done. S. Stewart led Sides, Chappell, Hafertepe and Sander back to green flag racing. S. Stewart was dominant in the 25 lapper and put a couple of cars between himself and Sides by lap 11 when Sander flipped out of sixth. He was unhurt. The top five remained the same on the restart with C. Morgan replacing Sander. Six more laps were in the books when C. Morgan shelled a driveline and ended a fine run. By that time, Rilat had come from 16th to fifth, and Hockett from 17th to sixth. Hockett's run ended upside down on the final lap. S. Stewart held on to win in dominant fashion.

 

 

 

 

9/27/07

Knoxville Raceway

39 305s

Heat one (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Trish Dover 9T (1*) 2.
Mitch Alexander 6 (2*) 3. Bruce Anderson 11A (3*) 4. Josh Padellford 34
(7*) 5. Jeff Edgington 4E (6*) 6. Steve Yarns 98 (8) 7. Bob Hildreth 55KC
(5) 8. Johnny Anderson 66x (4) DQ - Eric Todd 29 (9, crossed fifth, tire)
DNS - Garry Lee Maier 11x (10)

Heat two (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Shadrach Sporaa 11s (1*) 2.
Mitchell Moore 51 (3*) 3. Matt Stephenson (7*) 4. Ryan Voss 3D (2*) 5.
Stacey Alexander 126 (5*) 6. Tom Lenz 8L (6) 7. Jack Potter 15 (10) 8.
Matthew Stelzer 99 (8) 9. Kris Miller 33 (9) DQ - Brandon Gray 19 (4,
crossed 4th, tire)

Heat three (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Bob Lamb 47 (1*) 2. Marty
Stephenson 36 (2*) 3. Steve Breazeale 66 (6*) 4. Larry Webb 8 (4*) 5. Zach
Clark 9x (7*) 6. Randy Reinhard 10B (3) 7. Jacob Nicoson 13 (8) 8. Tyler
Derrickson 7a (5) 9. John Kearney 86 (9) 10. Mark Widmar 7w (10)

Heat four (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Rager Phillips 9 (5*) 2.
Clint Garner F1 (1*) 3. Casey Fredrichsen 20 (3*) 4. Chad Huston 7H (6*)
5. Nate Van Haaften 63 (7*) 6. Doug Bratrud 22s (9) 7. Jeff Metli 1G (8)
DQ - Curtis Thorson 91 (4, crossed third, weight) DNS - Rob Kubli 23K (2)

B main (started): 1. Potter (6) 2. Lenz (5) 3. Todd (12) 4. Bratrud (2) /
5. Gray (11) 6. Stelzer (9) 7. Miller (10) 8. Thorson (13) 9. Metli (7)
10. Hildreth (8) 11. Nicoson (4) 12. Yarns (3) 13. Reinhard (1) DNS -
Derrickson, J. Anderson, Kearney, Kubli, Widmar

A main (started): 1. S. Alexander (20) 2. Phillips (1) 3. Dover (2) 4.
Marty Stephenson (9) 5. Todd (23) 6. Moore (6) 7. Matt Stephenson (4) 8.
Lamb (5) 9. Breazeale (7) 10. Garner (10) 11. Huston (15) 12. Lenz (22)
13. M. Alexander (8) 14. Potter (21) 15. Padellford (11) 16. Webb (13) 17.
B. Anderson (12) 18. Clark (17) 19. Voss (16) 20. Van Haaften (18) 21.
Fredrichsen (14) 22. Bratrud (24) 23. Edgington (19) 24. Sporaa (3)

Garner made a visit to the work area on the parade lap and restarted at
the tail.  Dover jumped out to an early lead in the 15 lapper.  She was
trailed by Phillips until he used moisture on the low side of turns one
and two to take the lead on lap five.  Meanwhile, S. Alexander was forging
forward, using the low side.  By lap eight, he was in third and by lap 10,
he had blown by the leaders in traffic to grab his first Knoxville win.



 

 

 

9/22/07

Lee County Speedway

Donnellson, IA

Sprint Invaders

30 cars

Heat one (started): 1. Rusty Potter 3P (2) 2. Joe Beaver 53 (4) 3. Jarod Smith 24 (8) 4. Tyler Thompson 48 (6) / 5. Matt Harms 53H (7) 6. Charlie Gilpin Jr. 9G (5) 7. Mark Tischer 4m (3) 8. Daniel Avery 18A (1)

Potter led flag to flag in the 10 lapper. Smith was third after the completion of the first lap, and that’s where he stayed. The top two heat finishers redrew for the feature.

Heat two (started): 1. Rager Phillips 14P (2) 2. Kaley Gharst 3* (6) 3. Nick Eastin 22x (3) 4. John Schulz 2 (4) / 5. Josh Schneiderman 49 (7) 6. Tim Moore 10T (8) 7. Brian Stansberry 70 (5) 8. Johnny Anderson 7a (1)

Anderson led early and was pulling away until he lost power on lap eight. That handed the lead to Phillips, who held off Gharst the rest of the way. Gharst had battled at the midway point with Eastin, as the two exchanged chops.

Heat three (started): 1. Dustin Selvage 7 (2) 2. Russ Hall 29x (4) 3. Korey Weyant 99w (3) 4. Matt Sutton 3 (6) / 5. Jeff Mitrisin 10 (7) 6. Lance Gullo 3G (1) 7. Scott Boles 4B (5)

Selvage dominated. Boles dropped out on lap nine. Mitrisin worked over Sutton late for the final transfer to no avail.

Heat four (started): 1. Jordan Goldesberry 65 (2) 2. Bobby Mincer 15 (3) 3. Bart Andrews 9x (4) 4. Donnie Steward 16s (7) / 5. Ryan Jamison 51J (6) 6. Justin Newberry 36 (5) 7. Jimmy Davies 99 (1)

Goldesberry led flag to flag despite late pressure from Mincer. Steward grabbed fifth from Jamison at the halfway point, and then got under Davies for the final transfer after starting on the tail.

Dash (started): 1. Phillips (2) 2. Schulz (4) 3. Mincer (8) 4. Weyant (1) 5. Sutton (5) 6. Schneiderman (3) 7. Jamison (7) 8. Gharst (6)

Phillips dominated the $1,000 to win Storm Steel Shake-up Challenge for cars who gained enough dash points during the year to qualify. Gharst elected to start at the rear and pulled off early, sparing his car for the feature.

B main (started): 1. Schneiderman (2) 2. Mitrisin (3) 3. Jamison (4) 4. Harms (1) / 5. Gullo (7) 6. Gilpin (5) 7. Boles (11) 8. Davies (12) 9. Tischer (9) 10. Avery (13) 11. Moore (6) 12. Newberry (8) 13. Stansberry (10) DNS – Anderson

Newberry got upside down before a lap could be completed. The incident also involved Stansberry and Moore. All three retired. Schneiderman led the non-stop 12 lapper for the distance. Mitrisin pressured him as he entered traffic, but he was able to hold the advantage.

A main (started): 1. Gharst (2) 2. Mincer (5) 3. Potter (6) 4. Hall (1) 5. Weyant (11) 6. Sutton (15) 7. Schulz (14) 8. Beaver (8) 9. Schneiderman (17) 10. Jamison (19) 11. Goldesberry (3) 12. Andrews (12) 13. Selvage (7) 14. Steward (16) 15. Thompson (13) 16. Eastin (10) 17. Harms (20) 18. Phillips (4) 19. Smith (9) 20. Mitrisin (18)

Hall paced the field early in the 25 lapper with Gharst in tow. As the pair neared lapped traffic on lap seven, Selvage spun, bringing a caution. Hall led Gharst, Mincer, Goldesberry, Potter and Phillips back to green flag racing. Mitrisin had charged from 18th to 9th. That’s when his luck would end. On the restart, he contacted Smith, who was running 8th. Smith was into the wall and Mitrisin couldn’t get a flat changed in time to continue. Hall was back in front during the green, but slipped high as rubber started to develop down low. The slip allowed Gharst to take a lead he would never relinquish. Twelve more laps were in the books when right rear tires started to pay the price of the abrasive track surface that finally succumbed to over 100 door slammers in support. The lap 20 victim was Phillips, who was running 7th. On the restart, a fourth running Goldesberry got slightly sideways in turn two, and Eastin made contact. Goldesberry’s incident collected Steward. Gharst continued leading through lap 22, when Eastin bowed out of 4th with a flat, and Harms retired with the same woes. The three lap dash to the checkers would be led by Gharst ahead of Hall, Mincer, Weyant and Potter. Potter shot into a higher gear and quickly disposed of Weyant and Mincer with two to go. He then got around Hall coming for the white flag. A last ditch effort to overtake the leader got him high in turn two and he lost second to Mincer. Nonetheless, it was entertaining run out of nowhere. Gharst’s 7th Sprint Invaders tally of the season sealed his title with the series. Sutton and Jamison drove by nine cars to share top passing honors.

 

 

 

9/15/07

 

Spoon River Speedway

Canton, IL

 

23^rd Annual Tom Knowles Memorial

 

28 MASS Sprints

36 POWRi Midgets

 

Sprints

 

Ryan Bunton (19^th car out to time) set quick time at 12.143 seconds around the extremely high-banked 3/8 mile oval.  Tim Montgomery (5^th car out) was second quick, followed by Jimmy Hurley (6^th), Nathan Charron (27^th), Terry Babb (3^rd), Jerrod Hull (14^th), Blake Fitzpatrick (23^rd), Bob Weuve (25^th), Jim Moughan (21^st) and AJ Bruns (22^nd).  Tyler Thompson failed to get a time, when he spun on his allotted lap.  Tyler Shoemaker also did not get a time in, when his night ended in hot laps up in smoke.

 

Heat one (started): 1. Bruns 44 (3) 2. Fitzpatrick 10F (4) 3. Bunton 6R (6) 4. Bronson Maeschen 96 (2) 5. Mike Deavers 72 (1) / 6. Chad Branson 71 (7) 7. Jimmy Davies 99 (8) 8. Mark Tischer 4m (9) 9. Charron 96c (5) DNS – Tyler Shoemaker 1T

 

Deavers took the early lead in the 10 lapper before a lap two Tischer spin.  Deavers led Bruns, Maeschen, Fitzpatrick and Bunton back to green flag racing.  On lap three, Bruns drove under Deavers for the lead.  A lap later, Deavers performed a 360 spin in turn four that collected Charron, ending his race.  Deavers rejoined the field at the tail and would roar back to take the final transfer.  Fitzpatrick, a talented 15 year old, was an impressive second.

 

Heat two (started): 1. Ryan Jamison 78 (2) 2. Chris Urish 83 (3) 3. Montgomery 51 (6) 4. Babb 2s (5) 5. Korey Weyant 99w (1) / 6. Matt Harms 53H (8) 7. Tommy Rockwell 95 (7) 8. Robert Bell 71x (9) 9. Weuve 19 (4)

 

Weuve spun after a start was called back and restarted at the tail.  Weyant was the early leader with Jamison in tow.  On lap five, Rockwell came to a stop on the backstretch.  Weyant led Jamison, Urish, Montgomery and Babb back to the green.  Two laps later, it would be Weuve who spun.  He had grabbed fifth from Babb, but would have to restart in the rear.  He probably wished he wouldn’t have, as he turned over on lap nine.  He was uninjured.  On the lap seven restart, Jamison took the lead for good.

 

Heat three (started): 1. Moughan 1m (4) 2. Robbie Standridge 22 (1) 3. Hurley 35 (6) 4. Hull 12 (5) 5. Matt Sutton 3 (7) / 6. Manny Rockhold 02 (3) 7. Tiffany Wyzard 5w (2) 8. Tyler Thompson 11 (9) 9. Jeremy Standridge 10s (8)

 

R.Standridge led early before a lap two Rockhold spin.  He led Wyzard, Moughan, Hull and Hurley back to green.  Two laps later, it would be Thompson who would be a spin victim.  The order had not changed much.  Wyzard was under pressure from Moughan for second on lap seven, when she tagged the wall and spun on lap six.  Moughan would take the lead on lap nine, while Sutton took advantage of Wyzard’s misfortune and grab the final transfer.

 

Dash (started): 1. Bruns (2) 2. R. Standridge (1) 3. Hurley (4) 4. Hull (3) 5. Montgomery (5) 6. Bunton (6)

 

Bruns dominated much as he did his heat.

 

B main (started): 1. Rockhold (2) 2. Rockwell (5) 3. Harms (7) 4. Thompson (11) 5. J. Standridge (8) / 6. Wyzard (3) 7. Davies (6) 8. Branson (4) 9. Tischer (9) 10. Bell (10) 11. Weuve (1)

 

Weuve spun on the first go-around and restarted at the tail.  Wyzard led early, but Rockhold took over after a good battle on lap 5 of 14.  Two laps later, Wyzard would spin out of second.  J. Standridge grabbed the final transfer from Davies with two to go.

 

A main (started): 1. Hull (2) 2. Babb (3) 3. Bunton (6) 4. Montgomery (5) 5. R. Standridge (15) 6. Fitzpatrick (1) 7. Weyant (14) 8. Maeschen (11) 9. Urish (9) 10. Sutton (17) 11. Deavers (13) 12. Rockwell (16) 13. Jamison (12) 14. Bruns (8) 15. Hurley (4) 16. Rockhold (10) 17. Harms (18) 18. J. Standridge (19) 19. Moughan (7) 20. Thompson (20)

 

Bunton made contact with another car, spun, and restarted at the tail before a lap could be completed.  Fitzpatrick led early in his second winged sprint start.  The 30 lapper was slowed on lap six, when Thompson spun.  Fitzpatrick was battling Hull at the time, and they were ahead of Babb, Hurley and Montgomery when the green fell again.  Hull quickly gained the lead before four cautions in the next five laps would occur.  Those retired included Thompson, Moughan, J. Standridge, Harms, Rockhold and Hurley.  After lap 12, it was rubber-down around the bottom and Hull held serve.  Bunton did a nice job coming back for a top three finish.  Standridge was the hard-charger, moving up ten spots.

 

Midgets

 

Heat one (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Zach Daum 5D (8*) 2. Aaron Fiscus 7F (2*) 3. Dustin Morgan 111 (7*) 4. Tim Noble 6 (9*) 5. Mike Hess 51 (1) 6. Thomas Meseraull 69 (6) 7. Dan Mecum 8 (5) 8. Bryon Walters 4H (3) 9. Austin Brown 7 (4)

 

Hess jumped out to the early lead in the 8 lapper.  Meseraull moved up nicely, picking through traffic from row three to the runner-up spot.  Mecum spun on lap six, bringing out the caution.  The restart saw Hess and Meseraull ahead of Fiscus, A. Brown and Morgan.  Meseraull took the lead on the restart, but one lap later got sideways in turn two and collected Hess, sending both to the rear for a restart that now saw a charging Daum leading, ahead of Fiscus, Morgan, A. Brown and Noble.  Hess made a late charge, but could do no better than fifth.

 

Heat two (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Brad Loyet o5 (2*) 2. Kenny Biro 22 (7*) 3. Mike Riley 05R (4*) 4. Joe Wipperfurth 19 (5*) 5. Bubba Altig 67 (6) 6. Kurt Mayhew 21K (8) 7. Rob Simpson 3 (3) 8. Derek Hagar 5o (1) DNS – Davey Ray 33 (9)

 

The start saw Hagar and Loyet tangle.  The contact collected Altig and Mayhew.  All restarted but Hagar.  Loyet was out and running when the green flag fell, and won going away.  Biro charged forward, while Altig recovered to fourth for awhile, before Wipperfurth got back by.

 

Heat three (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Dave Camfield Jr. 86c (2*) 2. Patrick Bruns 5 (1*) 3. Nick Lundgreen 41 (7*) 4. Kyle Wissmiller 0 (4) 5. Kenny Brown 17 (3) 6. Kellen Conover 76 (6) 7. Daniel Adler 50 (8) 8. Rich Camfield 87 (5) DNS – Ken Schmidt 4 (9)

 

Bruns led early.  Lap four saw disaster for R. Camfield and Adler.  R. Camfield went up in smoke, while Adler went up in flames.  Both were done.  Bruns led D. Camfield, Wissmiller, K. Brown and Lundgreen back to green flag racing.  The lead pair put on an entertaining duel the rest of the way, with D. Camfield taking the advantage coming for the white flag.  Lundgreen held off Wissmiller for third after another good race on the lightning fast high banks.

 

Heat four (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Tim Siner 15 (1*) 2. Nick Knepper 25 (5*) 3. Tony Roney 1T (4*) 4. Donnie Lehmann 31 (9*) 5. Brad Paris 36P (8*) 6. Rik Forbes 95K (7) 7. Kris Hoegsted 97 (6) 8. Johnny Murdock 0J (2) 9. Michael Pickens 2 (3)

 

Siner took the point early, but was quickly overcome by Pickens, who had no peer.  Coming for the white flag, the leader exited the track, giving up the lead and putting him in the back of the B.  Siner led the rest of the way.  Lehmann worked the bottom of the 3/8 to move up five spots.

 

B main (started): 1. Hess (3) 2. Meseraull (7) 3. Altig (2) 4. Mayhew (4) 5. Forbes (6) 6. Hagar (13) / 7. Walters (12) 8. K. Brown (5) 9. Simpson (10) 10. Mecum (9) 11. Conover (8) 12. Hoegsted (11) 13. Murdock (15) 14. Wissmiller (1) 15. R. Camfield (14) DNS – Schmidt, Pickens, A. Brown, Adler, Ray

 

Altig led the 12 lapper early before Hess took over on lap four.  The only caution came for R. Camfield, who went up in smoke and came to a stop on lap six.  Meseraull put on a nice charge and battled with Altig, grabbing the runner-up spot late.

 

A main (started): 1. Meseraull (18) 2. Loyet (4) 3. Lehmann (10) 4. Altig (19) 5. Wipperfurth (15) 6. Forbes (21) 7. Daum (6) 8. Biro (5) 9. Hagar (22) 10. Mayhew (20) 11. Paris (16) 12. Riley (13) 13. Roney (14) 14. Knepper (2) 15. Noble (9) 16. Fiscus (11) 17. Hess (17) 18. Bruns (12) 19. Lundgreen (7) 20. Siner (8) 21. D. Camfield (3) 22. Morgan (1)

 

The 30 lapper became a race of attrition.  Loyet spun before a lap could be completed and restarted at the rear.  Knepper led through the first five laps, which had at least as many stoppages.  Biro spun on lap two, while Morgan banged the cushion hard in two on the restart and retired.  Siner spun out of fifth in an incident with Riley.  Noble was third when he got together with Daum, who overturned.  Both restarted.  D. Camfield retired on a lap three restart when he hammered an infield tire.  Knepper led a charging Meseraull, Bruns, Hess and Wipperfurth on the lap five restart.  A lap later, Meseraull had a lead he would never relinquish, despite constant pressure from Hess until lap 24, when he and Wipperfurth collided and collected Bruns.  Only Wipperfurth would restart.  Loyet would come charging back for second, to lead several charges.  The victor was also the hard-charger.