(LEBANON, Missouri, by Sarah Woodhurst) The ASA Late Models of Lebanon I-44 Speedway completed their longest race of the season Saturday night as 19 cars checked into the annual 100-lap Fall Shootout, presented by Budweiser and Monster Energy. Ken Dickinson of Camdenton lead the field to the finish line in his black #21 car. Fair Grove native, David Bates, took home the checkers in the Modified division’s feature, as well as Toby Harden of Marshfield in the Sportsman division, Camdenton’s Robert Reeves in the Road Warrior class, and newcomer Paul Jepsen of Rolla in the Charger division.
The final ‘Kickin’ Asphalt’ show of the 2011 season began with qualifying Heat races and a ‘Dash for Cash’ in each class. Presented by Cookin’ From Scratch in Doolittle, the Dash races featured the top six drivers from each racing class’s Heat race finishes in a five-lap race for bonus money. Jim Reaves of Strafford, Dickinson, and Jim VanZandt of Springfield won the Late Model Heat races, while Chrissy Wallace of Concord, NC won the Dash race. In the Modified division, Bates and Richland’s Jason Otto won the heat races and Lebanon’s own Mike Coryell won the Dash. Toby Harden swept the Sportsman division races, as he won the Heat, Dash, and Feature races. Robert Reeves had a similarly successful night as he also won the Heat, Dash, and Feature races in the Road Warrior division. In the 4-cylinder, subcompact Charger class, Ben Kramer and Belle’s Shawn Jones won the Heat races, while Gary Davenport of Marshfield claimed his first win in the Dash.
“If you’re gonna win one, they always say to win the big one, so here we are,” Dickinson said in Monster Energy Victory Lane. Dickinson proved that he performs well during extended-lap features as he as he also won the Late Model ‘Coca-Cola World 50’ at I-44 Speedway on September 3.
Only six cautions plagued the 100-lap Late Model feature, and racing was as competitive as it has been all year. Dickinson took the lead from Reaves on lap 8, and impressively maintained it for the remaining 92 laps. Reaves, VanZandt, Wallace, Grant Sharp, and Brian Brown were nose-to-tail for a good portion of the race until contact between Brown and George Buhr II of Neosho on lap 45 brought out a caution and re-aligned the field. Soon after the restart, contact between Wallace and Reaves slowed the race again and both cars were penalized to the back of the pack. After 20 or so laps of calmer than usual racing, a battle for third place broke out between VanZandt, Steve Holt, and Wallace, while Grant Sharp of Conway cruised around the track in second behind Dickinson. The final caution of the night came on lap 96, which set up a four-lap dash for the checkers. Dickinson held onto the lead to win the race, while Wallace squeezed past Sharp for second, VanZandt finished fourth, and Brown rounding out the top five.
“This was absolutely the best my car has been all year,” Dickinson said. “We’ve been fine tuning it . . . me and Tony [Jackson, Jr], out at TJR racing. We’ve worked on this car all year trying to get it to where it’s at and tonight, it was just there. It was on a rail. When they get to where they’ll turn that good, it makes it fun to drive.”
Nine cars circled the 3/8-mile asphalt oval 35 times for the Modified feature event. Bates put on a dominating performance as he took the lead from Fair Grove’s Payton Lucas on lap six and never looked back. Meanwhile, some bumping and passing was going on behind Bates as Lucas, Otto, Rod Icenhower of Fair Grove, and Elkland’s Rocky Rash fought hard for the second through fifth spots. Contact between Nixa’s Tyler Scott and Mike Coryell of Lebanon on lap 14 sent both cars to the rear of the field. Both drivers seemed to overcome this challenge however, as they managed to work their way back to the front of the pack before the end of the race. No driver could catch Bates though, as he rocketed across the finish line first. The original finish was Bates, Icenhower in second, Scott in third, Otto in fourth, and Coryell in fifth, but a post-race conflict in the pits between Otto and Scott resulted in the disqualification of both drivers. The final results were Bates, Icenhower, Coryell in third, Rash in fourth, and Kevin Blackburn of Lebanon in fifth.
Harden took home three wins in one night in the Sportsman division, after winning the feature with a big lead over the 2011 points champion, Rick Sharp. Only one caution came out during the 20-lap Sportsman race featuring five cars. These five drivers drove hard for every lap, with little contact among them. Sharp finished in second behind Harden, JC Newell of Stoutland finished third, and Strafford’s Chuck Higdon finished fifth.
Robert Reeves had a successful night driving his son Dustin Reeve’s popular red #6 Road Warrior. His night could actually be described as “perfect” as he won all three Road Warrior events. 2011 Road Warrior champion Mike Scott of Rogersville didn’t make it easy on him though, as Scott and Reeves both drove as hard as they possibly could during the feature event. Multiple lead swaps and a door-to-door finish made the Road Warrior feature one of the most exciting of the night for the huge crowd on hand. Reeves finished in first place, with Scott in second, Kory Barker of Lebanon in third, and Matt Darnell of Buffalo in fourth.
The Charger main event was highlighted by three-wide racing action among the 4-cylinder drivers. Nick Cherry of Springfield grabbed the early lead and looked as though he had the car to beat until Larry Hunter of Laquey stole the lead away from him on lap five. Jepsen, driving Josh Ratliff’s yellow #21 machine, which is no stranger to victory lane, joined in on the lead swap action as he took over the first place position on lap eight. Jepsen seemed to get faster and faster for the remaining seven laps and he made going to Monster Energy Victory Lane look easy as he was the first to cross the finish line. Hunter finished second, with Caston Jones of Belle in third, 2011 Charger champion Shawn Jones in fourth, and Kramer in fifth.
Following conclusion of the Late Model 100-lap feature, fans and racers gathered in the pit area for autographs, meet-and-greets, and music and karaoke with a live DJ. Adult fans also enjoyed draft beer on tap, poured by the Lebanon Shriners, during the popular season-ending ‘Party in the Pits’.
The 2011 racing season at Lebanon I-44 Speedway has now officially come to a close. Complete information about I-44 Speedway, racecar construction specifications and general rules may be found on the track’s official website, www.i44speedway.net. The track’s 2012 ‘Kickin’ Asphalt’ racing season schedule is slated for announcement in late October, and will be available on the website as well as on the official ‘Lebanon I-44 Speedway’ Facebook page.
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RESULTS – FALL SHOOTOUT – I-44 SPEEDWAY – OCTOBER 1, 2011
LATE MODELS
HEAT 1
1) 18 Jim Reaves
2) 93 Chrissy Wallace
3) O2 Brian Brown
4) 5 Mike VanNoy
5) 46 Chad Walter
6) 21X Rodney Phillips
HEAT 2
1) 21 Ken Dickinson
2) 2 Grant Sharp
3) 1 Blake Sanford
4) 3 Tucker Cory
5) 9 Brennon Willard
6) 12 Dale Roper Jr
HEAT 3
1) 67 Jim VanZandt
2) 7 Jeremy Manes
3) 17 Jenny White
4) 69 Caleb Hall
5) 45 George Buhr II
6) 35 DNS Steve Holt
7) 1 DNS Toby Harden
DASH
1) 93 Chrissy Wallace
2) 67 Jim VanZandt
3) 21 Ken Dickinson
4) 18 Jim Reaves
5) 7 Jeremy Manes
6) 2 Grant Sharp
FEATURE
1) 21 Ken Dickinson Camdenton
2) 93 Chrissy Wallace Concord, NC
3) 2 Grant Sharp Conway
4) 67 Jim VanZandt Springfield
5) O2 Brian Brown Springfield
6) 12 Dale Roper Jr Fair Grove
7) 1 Blake Sanford St. Charles
8) 18 Jim Reaves Strafford
9) 35 Steve Holt Strafford
10) 5 Mike VanNoy Kansas City
11) 7 Jeremy Manes Nixa
12) 21X Rodney Phillips
13) 3 Tucker Cory Quincy, IL
14) 46 Chad Walter Clarence
15) 45 George Buhr II Neosho
16) 69 Caleb Hall Lees Summit
17) 9 Brennon Willard Lebanon
18) 17 Jenny White Topeka, KS
19) 1 Toby Harden Marshfield
MODIFIEDS
HEAT 1
1) 91 David Bates
2) 29 Roderick Icenhower
3) 7 Ricky Icenhower
4) 1 Rocky Rash
5) 26 Payton Lucas
HEAT 2
1) 8 Jason Otto
2) 57 Tyler Scott
3) 5 Mike Coryell
4) 44 Kevin Blackburn
DASH
1) 5 Mike Coryell
2) 57 Tyler Scott
3) 29 Roderick Icenhower
4) 91 David Bates
5) 8 Jason Otto
6) 7 Ricky Icenhower
FEATURE
1) 91 David Bates Fair Grove
2) 29 Rod Icenhower Fair Grove
3) 5 Mike Coryell Lebanon
4) 1 Rocky Rash Elkland
5) 44 Kevin Blackburn Lebanon
6) 26 Payton Lucas Fair Grove
7) 7 Ricky Icenhower Fair Grove
8) 57 DQ Tyler Scott Nixa
9) 8 DQ Jason Otto Richland
SPORTSMAN
HEAT 1
1) 1 Toby Harden
2) 83 JC Newell
3) 10 Rick Sharp
4) 63 Chuck Higdon
5) 51 Adam Lowrance
6) 7 DNS Aaron Douglas
DASH
1) 1 Toby Harden
2) 10 Rick Sharp
3) 83 JC Newell
4) 63 Chuck Higdon
5) 51 Adam Lowrance
FEATURE
1) 1 Toby Harden Marshfield
2) 10 Rick Sharp Fair Grove
3) 83 JC Newell Stoutland
4) 63 Chuck Higdon Strafford
5) 51 Adam Lowrance Lebanon
6) 7 DNS Aaron Douglas Lebanon
ROAD WARRIOR
HEAT 1
1) 6 Robert Reeves
2) 33 Mike Scott
3) 21X Kory Barker
4) 21 Matt Darnell
DASH
1) 6 Robert Reeves
2) 33 Mike Scott
3) 21X Kory Barker
4) 21 Matt Darnell
FEATURE
1) 6 Robert Reeves Camdenton
2) 33 Mike Scott Rogersville
3) 21X Kory Barker Lebanon
4) 21 Matt Darnell Buffalo
CHARGER
HEAT 1
1) 14 Ben Kramer
2) 10 Gary Davenport
3) 1 Amanda Page
4) 5 Jesse Poindexter
5) 21 DNS Paul Jepsen
HEAT 2
1) 7 Shawn Jones
2) 74 Larry Hunter
3) 34 Caston Jones
4) 27 Nick Cherry
5) 19 Allan Branson
DASH
1) 10 Gary Davenport
2) 74 Larry Hunter
3) 34 Caston Jones
4) 14 Ben Kramer
5) 7 Shawn Jones
6) 1 Amanda Page
FEATURE
1) 21 Paul Jepsen Rolla
2) 74 Larry Hunter Laquey
3) 34 Caston Jones Belle
4) 7 Shawn Jones Belle
5) 14 Ben Kramer
6) 27 Nick Cherry Springfield
7) 10 Gary Davenport Marshfield
8) 1 Amanda Page
9) 5 Jason Poindexter Willard
10) 19 Allan Branson