(LEBANON, Missouri by Sarah Woodhurst) A large Late Model field was on hand for the ‘Back to School Bash’ on Fohn’s Furniture & Lawn Equipment Night at the Races, presented by Ariens & Gravely, on Saturday night, August 27.

‘Jammin’ Jimmy’ Vanzandt of Springfield picked up his first ASA Late Model feature victory after winning his qualifying heat race earlier in the night.

Nixa’s Tyler Scott coasted across the finish line first in the Modified division, literally, as his car died coming out of turn four on the last lap. Toby Harden, Dustin Reeves, Shawn Jones, and Brad Stiffler were also victorious in their feature races.

 

An on-track autograph session was held during intermission where many drivers parked their cars on the front stretch and visited with fans. NASCAR superstar and former I-44 Speedway track champion, Mike Wallace, was in attendance to compete in the Late Model division against his daughter, current track points leader, Chrissy Wallace.

 

Twenty-two cars checked into the feature division Late Model race.

Early-race contact between Mike Wallace and Jeremy Manes of Nixa forced both cars to retire to the pits early. On the restart, Fair Grove racer Dale Roper Jr. maintained the lead over Joe Ross of Independence, Vanzandt, Grant Sharp of Conway, and Marshfield’s Steve Holt. These race leaders were bumper-to-bumper until contact between Ross and Roper Jr. on lap 19 which forced both drivers to the end of the long Late Model line. Sharp then took the lead from Vanzandt as Chrissy Wallace joined the front-runners. Vanzandt slipped back to third place while Sharp and Wallace battled up front for first. On the last lap of the race, contact between Wallace and race leader, Sharp, sent Sharp spinning and the caution flag waving. Both drivers were sent to the back, which put Vanzandt back in the lead.  Vanzandt held onto the lead for the final lap to claim his first-ever ASA Late Model feature victory at I-44 Speedway. Holt finished second, Justin Jennings of LaGrange finished third, Conway’s Scott Atkinson finished fourth, and Brian Brown of Springfield took home fifth place.

 

Vanzandt was arguably one of the most excited feature winners in Monster Energy Victory Lane all season, as the crowd cheered him on post-race. “It feels great,” VanZandt said. He went on to say that hanging out with all of his buddies was his favorite part of racing at I-44 Speedway. “Just being around all my friends and the atmosphere . . . it’s just a lot of fun.”

 

The ‘Nixa Nightmare’ Tyler Scott dominated the Modified main event as he took off to an early lead and maintained it for the entire race.  The big lead turned out to be a stroke of luck for the Scott team as his #57 machine lost power coming out of turn four on the last lap as he coasted to the checkers. Fellow Nixa racer, Robert Baltzell, and Richland’s Jason Otto were bumper-to-bumper for second place with Fair Grove racer Payton Lucas behind in fourth. Baltzell claimed the second spot, followed by Otto in third, Lucas in fourth, and Stephen Counterman of Fair Grove in fifth.

 

“Hopefully the damage isn’t severe enough to keep us out,” Scott said in Monster Energy Victory Lane. “Man, I can’t say enough . this is awesome, it really is. I wish we had more Modifieds out here to put on a better show for you fans, but this is a lot of fun.”

 

The Sportsman class was in highly competitive form as position battles and lead changes highlighted the race. Lebanon’s own Aaron Douglas took the early lead with Fair Grove’s Rick Sharp right on his bumper.

Toby Harden of Marshfield joined Douglas and Sharp, and took over the lead on the closing laps. Harden held on to the lead to win the race, followed by Sharp in the runner-up spot, Douglas in third, JC Newell of Stoutland in fourth, and Blake Sanford of St. Charles rounding out the top five. “That’s a good hard race right there,” Harden said in Monster Energy Victory Lane.

 

In the 10-lap dash for the subcompact, 4-cylinder powered Chargers, Shawn Jones of Belle worked his way up from last place to win his second feature race in a row. Jones took the lead from Marshfield driver, Gary Davenport, on lap eight. Davenport finished second, Caston Jones of Belle in third, Richland’s Ben Kramer in fourth, and Jimmy Poindexter of Willard in fifth.

 

Dustin Reeves also claimed his second feature victory in a row after taking the lead in the Road Warrior race on lap four. Reeves had to work to get by Rogersville’s Steve Shaw, who finished second.  Hometown racer, Brandon Henderson, finished in third place over Mike Scott of Rogersville in fourth, and Stoutland’s Josh Lewis in fifth.

 

The Pro National Series ‘Baby Grand’ cars made their final points stop in Lebanon for a 40-lap national points event featuring eleven cars from seven different states. Chris Willis of Goodlettsville, Tennessee led the majority of the race while fellow Tennessee driver, Ronnie Brinkley, battled with Brad Stiffler of Washington Court House, Ohio for second place. Hunter Baize of Bremen, Kentucky and Ricky Allen of Chouteau, Oklahoma got tangled up on lap fifteen, which brought out the first and only caution of the race.

Corey Dueser of Lanesville, Indiana suffered engine failure on lap 28, as Willis and Stiffler continued to race side-by-side for first place.

Stiffler became the race leader on lap 37 and gained a big lead over the field. Willis finished in second, Brinkley in third, previous I-44 Speedway ‘Baby Grand’ feature winner Austin Johnson of Inola, Oklahoma in fourth, and Cole Rose of Ft. Smith, Arkansas in fifth.

 

Next Saturday’s ‘Kickin’ Asphalt’ show at Lebanon I-44 Speedway will be highlighted by the 50-lap, $1,000 to win ‘Coca-Cola World 50’ Late Model special – plus ASA Modifieds, Sportsman, Chargers, Road Warriors, and the OMSRA ‘Outlaw Mini Stock’ racecars.  Complete information about I-44 Speedway’s 2011 racing schedule, racecar construction specifications and general rules may be found on the track’s official website, www.i44speedway.net.

 

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RESULTS

 

 

LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1)            93           Chrissy Wallace

2)            2              Grant Sharp

3)            35           Steve Holt

4)            20           Austin Fullerton

5)            45           Cris Beaver

6)            18           Jim Reaves

7)            7              Jeremy Manes

 

HEAT 2

1)            2X           Scott Atkinson

2)            10           Dale Roper Jr.

3)            O2          Brian Brown

4)            69           Caleb Hall

5)            11           Mike Wallace

6)            3              Tucker Cory

 

HEAT 3

1)            67           Jimmy Vanzandt

2)            27           Joe Ross

3)            21           Ken Dickinson

4)            9              Phil Harris

5)            56           Justin Jennings

6)            12           DNF Dale Roper Sr

 

FEATURE

1)            67           Jimmy Vanzandt  Springfield

2)            35           Steve Holt           Marshfield

3)            56           Justin Jennings  LaGrange

4)            2X           Scott Atkinson   Conway

5)            O2          Brian Brown       Springfield

6)            45           Cris Beaver         Joplin

7)            10           Dale Roper Jr     Fair Grove

8)            27           Joe Ross               Independence

9)            69           Caleb Hall            Lee Summit

10)          9              Phil Harris            Springfield

11)          93           Chrissy Wallace Concord, NC

12)          3              Tucker Cory        Quincy, IL

13)          2              Grant Sharp        Conway

14)          20           Austin Fullerton Chelsea, OK

15)          21           Ken Dickinson    Camdenton

16)          1X           Toby Harden      Marshfield

17)          12           Dale Roper Sr     Fair Grove

18)          11           Mike Wallace     Concord, NC

19)          7              Jeremy Manes  Nixa

20)          77X         Blake Sanford    St. Charles

21)          7X           Aaron Douglas   Lebanon

22)          18           Jim Reaves          Strafford

 

 

MODIFIEDS

HEAT 1

1)            25           Stephen Counterman

2)            26           Payton Lucas

3)            33           Riley Sharp

4)            9              Robert Baltzell

 

HEAT 2

1)            57           Tyler Scott

2)            8              Jason Otto

3)            5              DNF Mike Coryell

 

FEATURE

1)            57           Tyler Scott           Nixa

2)            9              Robert Baltzell   Nixa

3)            8              Jason Otto          Richland

4)            26           Payton Lucas      Fair Grove

5)            25           Stephen Counterman    Fair Grove

6)            33           Riley Sharp          Fair Grove

7)            66           Terry Taylor        Fair Grove

8)            5              DNS Mike Coryell  Lebanon

 

 

SPORTSMAN

HEAT 1

1)            10           Rick Sharp

2)            83           JC Newell

3)            77           Blake Sanford

4)            63           Chuck Higdon

 

HEAT 2

1)            1              Tody Harden

2)            7              Aaron Douglas

3)            29           Rex Sawyer

 

FEATURE

1)            1              Toby Harden      Marshfield

2)            10           Rick Sharp           Fair Grove

3)            7              Aaron Douglas   Lebanon

4)            83           JC Newell            Stoutland

5)            77           Blake Sanford    St Charles

6)            63           Chuck Higdon    Strafford

7)            29           Rex Sawyer        Ava

 

 

ROAD WARRIOR

HEAT 1

1)            6              Dustin Reeves

2)            90           Steve Shaw

3)            33           Mike Scott

4)            76           Brandon Henderson

5)            7X           Josh Lewis

6)            7              Aaron Lowrance

 

FEATURE

1)            6              Dustin Reeves   Camdenton

2)            90           Steve Shaw        Rogersville

3)            76           Brandon Henderson       Lebanon

4)            33           Mike Scott          Rogersville

5)            7X           Josh Lewis           Stoutland

6)            7              Aaron Lowrance Lebanon

 

 

CHARGERS

HEAT 1

1)            7              Shawn Jones

2)            34           Caston Jones

3)            27           Nick Cherry

4)            14           Ben Kramer

5)            10           Gary Davenport

6)            5              Jimmy Poindexter

 

FEATURE

1)            7              Shawn Jones      Belle

2)            10           Gary Davenport Marshfield

3)            34           Caston Jones     Belle

4)            14           Ben Kramer        Richland

5)            5              Jimmy Poindexter  Willard

6)            27           Nick Cherry         Springfield

 

 

PRO NATIONAL SERIES “BABY GRANDS”

HEAT 1

1)            25           Ronnie Binkley

2)            22           Austin Johnson

3)            O8          Chris Willis

4)            13           Hunter Baize

5)            33           Ricky Allen

6)            16           Billy Wishard

 

HEAT 2

1)            18           Brad Stiffler

2)            2              Corey Dueser

3)            14           Corey Dueser

4)            81           Jacob Blair

5)            16X         Jacob McClay

 

FEATURE

1)            18           Brad Stiffler        Washington Court House, OH

2)            O8          Chris Willis           Goodlettsville, TN

3)            25           Ronnie Brinkley Henderson, TN

4)            22           Austin Johnson Inola, OK

5)            2              Cole Rouse         Ft Smith, AR

6)            16           Billy Wishard      Chouteau, OK

7)            81           Jacob Blair           Parkville, MO

8)            14           Corey Dueser    Lanesville, IN

9)            13           Hunter Baize      Bremen, KY

10)          33           Ricky Allen          Chouteau, OK

11)          16X         DNS Jacob McClay McDermott, OH