Springfield, Mo.- Budweiser USRA Modified driver Jackie Dalton of Carthage is hitting stride here late in the 2012 season as the 5 time Springfield Raceway Track Champion took command away from 2010 champion Mitch Keeter on lap 11 and survived some mid-race cautions in taking his 5th feature win of the season.
The redraw placed Mitch Keeter on the pole with Nick Whitehead on the outside. Keeter still in the hunt for the track championship was trying to close the gap between him and Dalton as only 17 points separated the duo. Keeter grabbed the opening lead as Brian Green , Rob Muilenburg, last weeks winner Steve Muilenburg, and Whitehead completed the 1st lap order. Steve Muilenburg began a charge to the leaders after starting 5th tonight and was coming as Keeter and Green stayed up front. Dalton, who redraw the 8 spot tonight was swinging the top groove and moved into the top 4 by lap 3. Muilenburg’s bid for back to back wins ended on lap 6 as he pulled to the infield with problems. Up front Keeter had opened up a 4 car lead on Green who was making a strong showing tonight. On lap 8, Rob Muilenburg went around on lap 8 bringing out the 1st yellow. Keeter would find the pack coming to him as Green picked the top lane on the restart as Dalton went inside. Keeter shot to the lead as Dalton moved around Green as the Springfield Dynamic Duo were preparing fans for another classic feature. The pace slowed on lap 10 as Fred Slagle got crossed on the backstretch slowing the pace. During the caution, Green’s car stopped with problems as Brent Holman also stopped. This placed both drivers to the rear of the field. On the restart, Keeter shot fast as Dalton kept pace while John Yeoman and former Turkey Classic winner Jody Tillman were side by side. Tillman had charged from the 11th starting spot while Yeoman started 7th. Dalton took the lead on lap 11 on the low side of Keeter. Caution flew on lap 12 as Green and Holman got together slowing the pace. Keeter picked the low groove as Yeoman pulled even. Dalton lead them to the green flag as Yeoman and Keeter were side by side. Dalton pulled to a 4 car length lead as Keeter moved back around Yeoman and began to close in on Dalton. With Yeoman, bobby Pearish and Jerry Lankton all slicing for spots, the crowd had 2 different battles going on. Keener pulled to within 3 car lengths of Dalton but could never get any closer as Dalton brought home the Doug’s Pro Lube/ Garrison Performance/ Hoffman to the win as Keeter in the Mid-America Rebuilders/Yeoman Engines/TRE was a close second. Yeoman brought his Yeoman Engines 25th Anniversary/Dynatech/Hoffman to third followed by Pearish in the Pearish And sons Construction/Yeoman Engines/ Hoffman and 16th starting Jerry Lankton in the Lankton’s Welding/Yeoman Engines/Hoffman a fast moving top 5 spot. 12 of the 16 starters completed the lead lap.
The Reliable Chevrolet/GM Performance USRA B Modifieds had a rough start, but really came to life late in the feature. On the first start, Steve Muilenburg grabbed the opening lead but yellow waved forcing a restart. Don Luna who travels 2 hours to compete weekly at Springfield grabbed the lead as rookie Jeremy Thulin was rim riding the top side in runner up spot. With Luna in his 602 GM Crate, and Thulin in his Spec Yeoman motor, the battle behind was tight all over. Following a couple of cautions, Luna was pulling away as Thulin, Derek Watson and a tight pack of others battled. Luna was setting a quick pace as current point leader and USRA National leader Scott Drake began his move forward. a lap 8 caution placed Drake to Luna’s bumper as both drivers with the GM Crate would have tough battles as last weeks winner Andy Beauchamp, JC Morton, Thulin and Watson were closing in. On lap 9, Drake made the pass on Luna to take over the lead. The Caution really hurt Luna as it seemed that his tires didn’t come back up to temp as he started going backwards. Drake would pull away as Beauchamp and Morton staged a side by side battle back and forth for second place. Drake captured the win as Beauchamp, Morton, early leader Luna and Ryan Stacye from his 16th starting spot completed the top 5. 17 of the 23 starters finished on the lead lap.
Casey’s Midwest Modz showed everyone how side by side green flag action was tonight as they went caution free with a near photo finish. Joplin’s Bobby Gough took the opening spot as Taylor moore, Nathan Gold and Ken Walker were 3 wide behind. Gold used the bottom groove to take over the lead on lap 3 as Gough had Todd McGregor and others switching spots. Gold pulled away as McGregor moved into second on lap 5 while point leader Trevor Drake was riding the high side after starting tonight 10th. Gold keeping down low, would see his lead get smaller as Drake gave chase by lap 8. Opening night winner Rusty Forrest was playing a patient game tonight and letting traffic thin out moved with Drake through the field. Drake took command on lap 10 from Gold only to see the Willard driver get the lead back on lap 12. Gold downstairs, Drake upstairs were side by side all over the “Quick-Quarter” surface as Forrest was gaining on the lead duo. Drake took back the lead on the white flag lap as gold wasn’t done yet. Heading on the backstretch, Gold pulled even with Drake as they went into turn 3 side by side with Gold using the low groove. At the line, Drake took the win by less the half a car length as Gold, Forrest, McGregor and Ty Jackson completed the top 5 runners. 14 of the 16 starters finished on the lead lap.
Wheeler Metals Legends brought 20 car to the grid tonight as it was musical chairs early. On the start, Bill Cottrill had problems and slowed letting everyone to get around. Current point leader Justin Comer came quickly on Cottril and made contact sending him off turn 1 to bring out a restart with Comer starting 20th. Rod Baird grabbed the opening lead as caution flew for Rex Merritt and Park Jones. On the restart, James McDugle waited until everyone got out of the jam-up and shot to the outside to lead lap 2 as Jay Reynolds, Caleb McDugle and many others battled. Reynolds leads lap 3 as Caleb McDugle, Darrell McWhirter and last weeks winner Mike Hailmann followed. A caution bunched everyone together as Hailmann now pulled to Reynolds as the duo battled. On lap 8, Hailmann got the lead as Justin Comer had quickly moved to third spot. On lap 14, Hailmann’s Engine exploded in a small ball of fire bringing out the caution. Reynolds now found Comer on his bumper as Caleb McDugle was waiting in the wings watching the leaders. Reynolds and Comer sliced,diced and raced hard in the closing laps as Comer took the spot on lap 16 with Reynolds not giving up without a battle. Reynolds wanted the very bottom groove as Comer wasn’t giving it up. Reynolds tried several ways and moves to take back the lead as Comer stayed tight. Comer would hang on despite the last lap efforts of Reynolds in taking the win as Reynolds, Caleb McDugle, Darrell McWhirter, and Rex Merritt rallied back for a top 5 run. 14 of the 20 starters finish the lead lap.
Defending Pepsi Pure Stock Champion Jack Hamer of Ava got back into the winners circle tonight as he took the lead from lady driver Elizabeth Jolley on lap 2. The feature was green until lap 10 when caution flew. Eric Clay had moved to challenge Hamer but on lap 6 fell back in the pack. Point leader Bret Testerman had raced to second place while Jolley and Mitch Hemphill battled. A lap 10 caution for Mac Asbell, Philip Schloesser and Danny Vasquez bunched everyone up. Testerman went out with a broken axel as Clay was quick to move on leader Hamer. Hamer would lead the white flag lap as Clay closed in. clay would edge Hamer at the finish, but was found to have over the cubic limit motor rule and was disqualified. Hamer took the win with Hemphill, Schloesser, David Moellering, and Asbell in the final top 5 rundown. Jolley and Vasquez had good showings go bad also as the harmonic balancers didn’t meet track specs. Point contender and Rookie Tyler Thulin made hard contact with the wall in his heat and didn’t start the feature tonight.
Bryan Tillman took the lead from Shawn Schmidt on lap 4 of the Williams Lawn Care and Preservation Street Stock feature event. The best showing of the season in car count kept the fans watching racing all over the pack. Tillman who won the special event last week looked back in stride after suffering a mid season injury non racing related. Issac Keepper had moved into the second place spot on lap 8 and was trying to hold off Schmidt, Wayne Morris and others when something broke on the final lap sending him up in turn 2 and falling back. After Tillman it was Schmidt, Morris, Bill Schoen and Daniel Deason at the line. Early season winner Rex Sawyer had to overcome to incidents sending him backwards and point leader Jim Reid had motor problems on lap 6 while running in 4th spot sending him out of action early.
Wesley Smith grabbed the opening lead in the Young Lions Legends tonight as the car count grew to 6 entries in this under 16 year old class. While Smith was long gone, the real race was a side by side battle between Ty McWhirter and Kylan Garner. These two ran side by side from lap 4 until lap 12 with McWhirter getting the spot followed by last weeks winner Garner. Graysn Cox, Lexy VanZandt and first time racer Mariah Reynolds completed the field.
The Transport Graphics Championship Chase continues next Saturday Night with USRA Modifieds, USRA B Modifieds, Midwest Modifieds, Legends, Young Lions, Pure Stocks and Street Stocks with racing at 7:30 sharp.
Results
USRA Modifieds
A Ft-1) Jackie Dalton-Carthage 2) Mitch Keeter-Webb City 3) John Yeoman-Joplin 4) Bobby Pearish-Oronogo 5) Jerry Lankton-Lampe 6) Rob Muilenburg-Sparta 7) Diaran Hendrix-Joplin 8) Jody Tillman-Branson 9) Danny DeMasters-Joplin 10) Daniel Franklin- Eureka Springs, Arkansas 11) Nick Whitehead-Nixa 12) Scott Symmonds-Bolivar 13) Fred Slagle-Pierce City 14) Brian Green-Pierce City 15) Brent Holman-Rogers, Arkansas 16) Steve Muilenburg-Sparta
1st Ht-1) Yeoman 2) Keeter 3) R Muilenburg 4) Dalton 5) Hendrix 6) Tillman 7) Symmonds 8) DeMasters
2nd Ht-1) Green 2) Whitehead 3) S Muilenburg 4) Pearish 5) Holman 6) Franklin 7) Slagle 8) Lankton
USRA B Modifieds
A Ft-1) Scott Drake-Webb City 2) Andy Beauchamp-Springfield 3) JC Morton-Springfield 4) Don Luna-St James 5) Ryan Stacye-Fair Grove 6) Bobby Maggard-Republic 7) Dakota Maggard-Republic 8) Jeremy Thulin-Miami,Oklahoma 9) Derek Watson-Willard 10) Jared Thulin-Stillwater, Oklahoma 11) Kaleb Copher-Webb City 12) Terry Williams-Springfield 13) Taylor Moore-Bois D’Arc 14) Tony Myers 15) Chris Ratterree-Mt Grove 16) Toby Thompson-Mt Grove 17) Dustin Shaw 18) Bobby Ratterree-Mt Grove 19) Michael Page-Webb City 20) Jason Bridgeman-West Plains 21) Michael Maggard-Republic 22) Steve Muilenburg-Sparta 23) Thomas Hylton-Avilla DNS-Tyler Chainey-Springfield
1st Ht-1) Drake 2) Muilenburg 3) Copher 4) J. Thulin 5) Brigeman 6) Stacye 7) D Maggard 8) C Ratterree
2nd Ht-1) B Ratterree 2) Watson 3) Thompson 4) Page 5) J Thulin 6) B Maggard 7) Chainey 8) Moore
3rd Ht-1) Luna 2) Beauchamp 3) Morton 4) M Maggard 5) Hylton 6) Williams 7) Shaw 8) Myers
Midwest Modz
A Ft-1) Trevor Drake-Webb City 2) Nathan Gold-Willard 3) Rusty Forrest- Ozark 4) Todd McGregor-Clever 5) Ty Jackson-Springfield 6) Bobby Gough-Joplin 7) Taylor Moore-Bois D’Arc 8) Craig Keeter-Webb City 9) Gary Krebs-Clever 10) Matthew Thulin-Miami, Oklahoma 11) Austin Johnson-Joplin 12) Brad Graves-Bolivar 13) Steve Moore-Springfield 14) Shane Bias-Everton 15) James Redus-Springfield 16) Ken Walker-Springfield
1st Ht-1) Drake 2) S. Moore 3) T Moore 4) Thulin 5) Gold 6) Jackson 7) Bias 8) Keeter
2nd Ht-1) Walker 2) Forrest 3) Gough 4) McGregor 5) Krebs 6) Johnson 7) Redus 8) Graves
Legends
A Ft-1 Justin Comer-Joplin 2) Jay Reynolds-Springfield 3) Caleb McDugle-Quapaw, Oklahoma 4) Darrell McWhirter-Bentonville, Arkansas 5) Rex Merritt-Billings 6) Billy Cottrill-Joplin 7) James McDugle-Quapaw, Oklahoma 8) Calvin Garner-Sarcoxie 9) Matt Gruenberg-Joplin 10) Paul Horton-Joplin 11) Nick Whitehead-Nixa 12) Bill Cottrill-Joplin 13) Doug Wilson-Joplin 14) Larry Smoot-Joplin 15) Wayne Johnston-Rolla 16) Mike Hailmann-Reed Springs 17) Nichole Cottrill-Joplin 18) Rod Baird-Oldfield 19) Park Jones-Joplin 20) Brain Boucher-Joplin
1st Ht-1) Jones 2) Comer 3) McWhirter 4) Bill Cottrill 5) Wilson 6) Boucher 7) N Cottrill
2nd Ht-1) Reynolds 2) Hailmann 3) Merritt 4) Smoot 5) J McDugle 6) Gruenberg
3rd Ht-1) Johnston 2) Baird 3) C McDugle 4) Billy Cottrill 5) Horton 6) Whitehead 7) Garner
Pure Stocks
A Ft-1) Jack Hamer-Ava 2) Mitch Hemphill-Miami, Oklahoma 3) Philip Schloesser-Everton 4) David Moellering-Billings 5) Mac Asbell-Springfield 6) Brett Testerman-Miami, Oklahoma 7) Tanner Sitton-Bolivar 8) Terry Williams DQ-Eric Clay( Motor size)Danny Vasquez,Elizabeth Jolley(Harmonic Balancer Not to spec) DNS-Tyler Thulin-Miami, Oklahoma
1st Ht-1) Hemphill 2) Testerman 3) Asbell 4) Moellering 5) Schloesser DQ-Vasquez(From Feature results)
2nd Ht-1) Hamer 2) Sitton 3) Williams 4)Thulin DQ-Clay(Rear Percentage/Motor oversize) Jolley-From Feature results)
Street Stocks
A Ft-1) Bryan Tillman-Branson 2) Shawn Schmidt-Springfield 3) Wayne Morris-Miami, Oklahoma 4) Bill Schoen-Brighton 5) Daniel Deason-Bolivar 6) Rex Sawyer-Ava 7) Larry Whitworth Jr-Branson 8) Rick Williams-Springfield 9) Misty Kaasa-Springfield 10) Issac Keepper-Hurley 11) Chris Youngblood 12) Jim Reid-Springfield DNS-Wayne Bysor, Chet Crain
1st Ht-1)Schmidt 2) Tillman 3) Morris 4) Schoen 5) Whitworth 6) Kaasa DNS-Crain
2nd Ht-1) Reid 2) Sawyer 3) Bysor 4) Williams 5) Keepper 6) Youngblood 7) Deason
Young Lions
A Ft-1) Wesley Smith-Nixa 2) Ty McWhirter-Bentonville, Arkansas 3) Kylan Garner-Sarcoxie 4) Graysn Cox-Joplin 5) Lexy Van Zandt-Springfield 6) Mariah Reynolds-Springfield
Ht-1) Smith 2) Cox 3) McWhirter 4) Garner 5) Van Zandt 6) Reynolds