Springfield,Mo.-Lonnie Wheatly and Ron Williams
In the first event pitting the ASCS Sooner and ASCS Warrior forces against one another, it was Tulsa’s Brian McClelland taking the winner’s loot back to the Sooner State by winning Saturday night’s 25-lap feature event atop the ¼-mile Springfield Raceway clay oval.
The two-time American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region champion, a Springfield winner in 2009, gunned into the lead at the outset and weathered three cautions over the last half of the race to beat Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior rep Jonathan Cornell to the checkered flag.
“I didn’t really mind the cautions, they at least kept me out of traffic,” McClelland explained after his seventh career ASCS Sooner triumph. “I wasn’t sure how close behind me they were though, I figured with those cautions the lapped cars I had in there earlier were probably getting picked off.”
Which, in fact, they were. While four lapped cars separated McClelland from his chasers when the race’s first caution flew after 11 laps, three cautions and seven laps later found Cornell on McClelland’s tailtank for the final seven-lap dash to the stripe.
McClelland proved too strong though aboard the Wesmar-powered Maxwell Oil No. 87, crossing the stripe ahead of Cornell with current Sooner points leader Joe Wood, Jr., current Warrior points leader Brad Loyet and Oklahoma shoe Jonathan Beason rounding out the top five.
McClelland and Loyet led the feature field to the green flag with McClelland gunning into the lead. Third-starter Wood, Jr., surged past Loyet as well on the opening circuit, with Loyet countering back on the top side by the third round with fourth-starter Cornell making his way past Wood, Jr., as well for third by the fifth round.
The leader was in lapped traffic by the seventh round and picked off a handful of lapped cars by the time Cody Whitworth sailed off the top of turn three and into the weeds. Cornell worked past Loyet for second by the time the caution flew again five laps later when Mark Shirshekan spun off the top of turn one and then had finished off the lapped traffic by the time the final caution flew for a Cameron Hagin stop on the backstretch after 18 laps.
While on McClelland’s tail on the final restart, Cornell was unable to mount a serious challenge and settled for runner-up honors.
“I was trying to save my tires, so I wasn’t pushing quite as hard as I could have,” Cornell explained. “Turns out I had plenty left, I could almost kick myself. Still, we’re happy with second tonight.”
Wood, Jr., made his way past Loyet on the 19th lap to claim the show position, with Loyet and fellow Midget ace gone Sprint shoe Beason filling out the top five.
Kyle Bellm raced from tenth to sixth, with four-time Warrior champion Randy Martin climbing from 15th to seventh. Cody Baker was eighth, with Michelle Decker and 19th-starter Matt Covington completing the top ten.
Loyet, Whitworth, Josh Stephens and Cornell topped heat race action for the 34-car field, with Cameron Hagin winning the 15-lap “B” Main.
In support Action,defending Budweiser USRA RHS Modified Champion Mitch Keeter nosed ahead of race leader Jerry Lankton on lap 16 to secure his 1st feature win of the season after a side by side duel.
Lankton grabbed the opening lead at the start as Keeter who has had motor problems the last 2 events followed closely as Kyle slagle also kept close.Lankton using the bottom groove was looking to secure his first ever A-Mod victory was perfect on the bottom as Keeter moved to the middle lane.Current USRA Track point leader Jackie Dalton began his surge forward and by lap 4 was in the mix up front along with Former Turkey Classic winner Steve Martin.Caution waved on lap 9 as Billy Dalton’s night ended with problems.On the restart, Lankton found Dalton challanging for the top spot while Keeter,Slagle and Jody Tillman battled.On lap 11,Dalton vaulted to the front. Caution waved on lap 13 as Steve Martin slowed with a flat tire. On the restart, Lankton got around Dlaton to take back the lead as Keeter followed through.Side by side they raced with Keeter getting the top spot on lap 16 and held off repeated challanges from Lankton for his first win of the season.Dalton, Slagle and Tillman completed the top 5.”This is a new motor from Yeoman Engines and it really worked good tonight.”quoted Keeter. Lankton also had a new Yeoman powerplant in and the 2nd year A-Mod driver really picked-up the pace. “We picked it up Friday Night and worked almost all evening Friday and Sat getting things ready.”Said Lankton.”That was fun racing door to door with Mitch.Jerry(Hoffman) had reworked the track after the SprintCar B Feature and it provided us a good surface.
Last seasons points runner-up Sean Williams found himself back in the winners circle in the Reliable Chevorlet SportMod class after taking the lead from Andy Beauchamp after beauchamp spun while leading on lap 16.Jared Thulin powered to the front early from his outside front row spot to lead the opening 4 laps.Beauchamp applied pressure and on lap 5 took over the lead while 3 wide action was the call of the night.Lebanon Midway Friday Night winner Kris Jackson followed Beauchamp through to take second from Thulin. Beauchamp looking for his first ever SportMod win was hooked on the top groove and pulling away as Williams moved from his 8th starting spot to take second place from Jackson on lap 7. On lap 8,caution waved for Reuben Ellis as he spun in turn 2. On the double-file restart, Beauchamp pulled away but Williams stayed close behind and applied pressure as Jackson,Mike Hailman,JC Morton,Scott Drake along with point leader Bobby Maggard Jr and 18th place starter Don Luna were coming. Lap 16 turned to be a turning point in the race as beauchamp missed his mark high in turn 3 and spun right in front of the pack. Williams was able to move down low to take the lead as Beauchamp collected the side of Maggard Jr’s car causing him to go off the pace. Williams would pull away as Jackson, Hailman,Scott Drake in his new SportMod with a Reliable Chevrolet 602 Crate motor and Luna completed the top 5.
The LegendCar feature looked like Talladega at the start as 3 and 4 wide racing was the call. Dave Bauer took the opening lead with Rick Nichols along side. Bauer would lead until lap 6 when Mike Hailman picked the high groove on a double-file restart to take command while Jay Reynolds followed through. With Hailman pulling away, The side by side battle between Reynolds and point leader Dave Comer kept everyone wondering as Wayne Johnston and early season point leader Park Jones were wheel to wheel. While Hailman took the checkered first, it would be Dave Comer to claim the victory as Hailman’s motor was to have to high of a compression.Following Comer to the stripe was Reynolds,Johnston,Jones and Tyler Horton as 16 of the 20 starters were on the lead lap.
Current Wheeler Metals PureStock point leader Jack Hamer took the lead on lap 5 from Jared Thulin after Thulin suffered a flat tire to grab his second win of the season.Lenny Bell lead the opening 2 laps before a locked-up brake caused him to spin.Thulin then took over as Hamer and James Redus battled.Thulin swung wide in turn 2 and made contact with Redus sending both cars out of contention.Hamer then had Wayne Morris challanging the entire race for the top spot. Redus, Philip Schloesser and Matthew Bowen completed the top 5.
Action continues Sat Night July 9th with the Mid-Season Championships at the SpringfieldRaceway with action in the USRA Modifieds,SportMods,Legends,Midwest Modz,StreetStocks(FactoryStock Cars-bring your track rules) and PureStocks with racing at 7PM.
Results-Budweiser Shooutout
“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 87-Brian McClelland, 2. 28-Jonathan Cornell, 3. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 4. 05-Brad Loyet, 5. 36-Jonathan Beason, 6. 86-Kyle Bellm, 7. 14-Randy Martin, 8. 9m-Cody Baker, 9. 7-Michelle Decker, 10. 11c-Matt Covington, 11. 00-Kacee Frazier, 12. 09-Josh Stephens, 13. 110-Cameron Hagin, 14. 21-Eric Todd, 15. 85-Forrest Sutherland, 16. 29-Rusty Quick, 17. 3-Mark Shirshekan, 18. 3p-Rusty Potter, 19. 50-Cody Whitworth, 20. 92j-J.R. Topper.
“B” Main (15 Laps): 1. 110-Cameron Hagin, 2. 29-Rusty Quick, 3. 11c-Matt Covington, 4. 21-Eric Todd, 5. 2a-Randy Hibbs, 6. 010-Brian Roberts, 7. 04-Brad Graham, 8. 11-Chad Corken, 9. 775-Andy Korte, 10. 35-Rick Wright, Jr., 11. 51-Terry Lindsey, 12. 165-Haley Arnold, 13. 31L-Lee Little, 14. 5m-Miranda Arnold, 15. 65L-Nick Lucito, 16. 55-Greg Clemons. DNS: 75-Tyler Blank, 17-Kyle Carpenter.
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 05-Brad Loyet, 2. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 3. 9m-Cody Baker, 4. 36-Jonathan Beason, 5. 04-Brad Graham, 6. 11c-Matt Covington, 7. 775-Andy Korte, 8. 75-Tyler Blank. DNS: 17-Kyle Carpenter.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 50-Cody Whitworth, 2. 3-Mark Shirshekan, 3. 92j-J.R. Topper, 4. 7-Michelle Decker, 5. 29-Rusty Quick, 6. 110-Cameron Hagin, 7. 165-Haley Arnold, 8. 31L-Lee Little, 9. 55-Greg Clemons.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 09-Josh Stephens, 2. 87-Brian McClelland, 3. 14-Randy Martin, 4. 86-Kyle Bellm, 5. 21-Mike Trent, 6. 5m-Miranda Arnold, 7. 010-Brian Roberts, 8. 2a-Randy Hibbs.
Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 28-Jonathan Cornell, 2. 00-Kacee Frazier, 3. 3p-Rusty Potter, 4. 85-Forrest Sutherland, 5. 11-Chad Corken, 6. 51-Terry Lindsey, 7. 35-Rick Wright, Jr., 8. 65L-Nick Lucito.
Budweiser USRA RHS Modifieds
A Ft-1)Mitch Keeter-Webb City 2)Jerry Lankton-Lampe 3)Jackie Dalton-Carthage 4)Kyle Slagle-Piercr City 5)Jody Tillman-Branson 6)Erik Maggard-Brighton 7)Dwight Niehoff-Lockwood 8)Eric Lampe-Springfield 9)Darrell Jackson-Carthage 10)Nick Whitehead-Nixa 11)Steve Martin-Ozark 12)James Esmond 13)Billy Dalton-Exetor 14)Tammy Mitchell-Pea Ridge,Ark.
1st Ht-1)Slagle 2)Maggard 3)Dalton 4)Lampe 5)Martin 6)Neihoff 7)Whitehead
2nd Ht-1)Tillman 2)Keeter 3)Lankton 4)Jackson 5)Mitchell 6)B Dalton 7)Esmond
Reliable Chevrolet SportMods
A Ft-1)Sean Williams-Willard 2)Kris Jackson-Lebanon 3)Mike Hailman-ReedSprings 4)Scott Drake-Webb City 5)Don Luna-St James 6)Kaleb Copher-Webb City 7)JC Morton-Springfield 8)Gary Rodocker-Willard 9)Wayne Graybeal-Springfield 10)Andrew Smith-Willard 11)Blake Ellis-Sarcoxie 12)Bobby Maggard Jr-Republic 13)John Gardner-Diamond 14)Reuben Ellis-Sarcoxie 15)Shane Bias-Springfield 16)Andy Beauchamp-Springfield 17)Michael Page-Webb City 18)Terry Beckham Sr-Joplin 19)Jared Thulin-Miami,Okla 20)Ryan Stacye-Fair Grove
1st Ht-1)Stacye 2)Williams 3)Drake 4)Bias 5)R Ellis 6)B Ellis 7)Smith
2nd Ht-1)Jackson 2)Thulin 3)Maggard Jr 4)Morton 5)Graybeal 6)Gardner 7)Page
3rd Ht-1)Hailman 2)Beauchamp 3)Copher 4)Beckham Sr 5)Rodocker 6)Luna
Legends
A Ft-1)Dave Comer-Joplin 2)Jay Reynolds-Springfield 3)Wayne Johnston-Rolla 4)Park Jones-Joplin 5)Tyler Horton-Joplin 6)Billy Cottrill-Joplin 7)James McDugle Jr-Quapaw,Okla 8)James McDugle Sr-Quapaw,Okla 9)Matt Gruenburg-Joplin 10)Rick Nichols-Cassville 11)Paul Horton-Joplin 12)Brian Boucher-Joplin 13)Dave Bauer-Webb City 14)Bill Cottrill-Joplin 15)Charles Gaines-Miami,Okla 16)Skyler Looney-Republic 17)Justin Comer-Joplin 18)Colt Pruente-Aurora 19)Doug Wilson-Joplin DQ-Mike Hailman-ReedSprings-Compression
1st Ht-1)Johnston 2)D Comer 3)P Horton 4)Nichols 5)Pruente 6)Cottrill Sr 7)Boucher
2nd Ht-1)Jones 2)Reynolds 3)McDugle Sr 4)Gruenburg 5)McDugle Jr 6)Gaines
3rd Ht-1)T Horton 2)Bauer 3)Billy Cotrril 4)J Comer 5)Looney 6)Wilson
Wheeler Metals PureStocks
A Ft-1)Jack Hamer-Ava 2)Wayne Morris-Miami,Okla 3)James Redus-Springfield 4)Philip Schloesser-Everton 5)Matthew Bowen-Strafford 6)Bret Testerman-Miami,Okla 7)Lenny Bell-Springfield 8)Jeremy Thulin-Miami,Okla 9)Kenneth Woodruff-Springfield DQ-Mike Watson-Springfield(Springs) Jesse Parton-Oak Grove,Ark-(Springs)
1st Ht-1)Morris 2)Schloesser 3)Redus 4)Testerman 5)Woodruff
2nd Ht-1)Hamer 2)Thulin 3)Bell 4)Bowen