Sam Stoecklin
ULMA Public Relations
Sept 1, 2014

For the second time this year, Jon Binning of Warrensburg, Missouri pulled off a ULMA double-win weekend as he took victories at both Central Missouri Speedway (CMS) in his hometown on Saturday and then followed that up with another trip to victory lane at Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Missouri on Sunday. The wins marked the fourth and fifth victories of the year for Binning as he tries to tighten up the already close battle for the Lucas Cattle Company ULMA championship. Binning previously won on back-to-back nights at CMS earlier this season.

Action began on Saturday night at CMS with drivers participating in the track’s annual Labor Day weekend special events. Ten drivers participated in the action, which included a pair of heat races to sort things out for the evening. Binning, a two-time track champion at CMS, drove to the win in heat one ahead of Payton Looney and Michael Weir of Kansas City. In heat two, current ULMA point’s leader Dwight Niehoff of Lockwood, Missouri claimed the win.

The feature event lined up with Binning and Niehoff taking the initial green flag from the front row. Early on, Binning set a torrid pace as drivers settled in for the 20-lap race. Niehoff never let Binning out of his sights and stayed close through lapped traffic with Looney running solidly in third. Some of the best racing came from Todd McCoin, Ryan Petersheim, and Lane Ehlert before the halfway point at lap ten. With Binning and Niehoff in lapped traffic, things got a little dicey for Binning as he left the door open for Niehoff in the closing laps. Off of turn two, the pair split lapped cars and Niehoff shot out front.

With just two laps remaining, Binning fought hard to stay with the new leader and maneuvered his way around the track on the low side with Niehoff in the middle lane. On the white flag lap, Binning found a fast line and pulled even with Niehoff on the back straightaway to setup up a final turn three and four sprint to the finish. Coming off of turn four, the pair were dead even with Binning ultimately narrowly outgunning Niehoff for his third win of the year during the caution-free event. Niehoff finished second with Looney third, Todd McCoin fourth, Ryan Petersheim fifth, Lane Ehlert sixth, Greg Clemmons seventh, and Chris Cox eighth.

Central Missouri Speedway, 8/30/14 – Race #36
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 1 65 Jon Binning Warrensburg , Mo
2 2 9D Dwight Niehoff Lockwood , Mo
3 3 12 Payton Looney Republic , Mo
4 9 7X Todd Mccoin Barnett , Mo
5 4 6R Ryan Petersheim Harrisburg , Mo
6 7 42 Lane Ehlert Foristell , Mo
7 10 55 Greg Clemons Uhrich , Mo
8 6 1T Chris Cox Jefferson City, Mo
9 8 10 Dave Mosley Sedalia , Mo
10 5 75B Michael Weir Kansas City, Mo

Drivers return to CMS this Saturday for their final appearance of the year at the track, located just four miles north of Warrensburg. Gates open at the speedway at 5, drivers meeting/pill draw closes at 6:30, hot laps roll off at 7 and racing begins at 7:30. There are no track registration fees. For additional information contact the track at 660-747-2166 or visit www.centralmissourispeedway.net.

ULMA drivers made a rare Sunday-night appearance at Randolph County Raceway. An unfortunate accident involving the race hauler for both Dwight Niehoff’s and Payton Looney’s cars took place prior to the races as the haulers of Binning and Niehoff were travelling together. A vehicle in front of the Binning hauler stopped abruptly to turn forcing one vehicle to slam on its brakes. Thanks to Niehoff’s attention to detail and quick response, he avoided hitting the back of Binning’s hauler and was able to steer clear, preventing further damage and possible injury or worse in the process.

However, steering clear of the Binning hauler also meant his hauler and vehicle went off the road. The hauler did detach during the accident and flipped into a ditch, striking trees in the process. Thankfully the tow vehicle did not flip but the hauler and cars inside received extensive damage. As of press time, the assessment to Niehoff’s car seemed to be mostly body damage and plans are for him to return to action at CMS this weekend with the championship on the line. It is unknown how much damage Looney’s car has as it is still inside of the trailer with hopes of it being extracted soon. Both drivers are still in the overall championship hunt this year.

Thirteen drivers were able to compete throughout the night with Binning claiming the first heat race win over Cody Holtkamp and Jon Melloway. In heat two, Chris Lapp claimed the victory ahead of Larry Winn and Terry Gallaher to sort out the main event lineup.

Lapp and Winn earned the most passing points and occupied the front row at the start of the feature race with Binning and Jon Melloway close behind. Lapp and Winn stayed steady at the front of the field once the race began with Binning slipping back to fifth early on.

Cody Holtkamp kept his late-season surge of strong finishes going as he climbed his way into the top three after starting fifth on the field while Binning split the difference between two cars in turns one and two near the front of the rundown.

Winn stayed close the entire race distance as Lapp was not able to hold onto a top-five finish by the end of the race, ultimately slipping to sixth in the final rankings. A final caution near the end of the 20-lap race setup a green, white, checkered-flag finish that kept fans guessing who would come away with the win.

With Binning leading on the restart, Holtkamp stalked the leader through every turn as the final lap flew for the drivers. Binning nearly gave the race away in turn one as his car became unsettled after hitting a tricky spot on the track allowing Holtkamp to briefly sneak by but Binning was able to go back around coming off turn two as the pair headed for the final turns. Coming to the line the two drivers raced hard for the win with Binning narrowly edging out Holtkamp for the win by a half car length. It was the second-consecutive night Binning drove to the win by a close margin.

Holtkamp finished a strong second with Winn nailing down the third spot. On back were David Melloway, who captures the track’s Late Model track championship, Ryan Petersheim was fifth, Lapp sixth, Trent Everhart posted his best finish of the year in seventh with Terry Gallaher eighth, Chris Cox ninth and Ashlee Lancaster in tenth. The RCR season is now concluded. Visit the track online at www.randolphcountyraceway.com.

Randolph County Raceway, 8/31/14 – Race #37
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 3 65 Jon Binning Warrensburg , Mo
2 5 14T Cody Holtkamp Holts Summit, Mo
3 2 11W Larry Winn Hallsville , Mo
4 9 14X David Melloway Columbia , Mo
5 8 6R Ryan Petersheim Harrisburg , Mo
6 1 9 Chris Lapp Barnett , Mo
7 12 27 Trent Everhart Clifton Hill, Mo
8 6 0 Terry Gallaher Hannibal , Mo
9 7 1T Chris Cox Jefferson City, Mo
10 4 74X Jon Melloway Hallsville , Mo
11 11 16 Ashlee Lancaster Sturgeon , Mo
12 10 23P Devan Wiss Centralia , Mo
13 13 7 Kenny Mudd Winfield , Mo

Just two points-earning events remain for the year and both of those events are scheduled at Lucas Oil Speedway. The track hosts the pro pulling leagues this week but will return to action for the final two weekly race nights scheduled for this year on September 13 and September 20. For additional information including admission and schedule of events, visit www.lucasoilspeedway.com.

After last week’s action, Niehoff still holds down the top spot in the standings with Chris Cox just 8 points behind in second and Payton Looney and Jon Binning now tied for third and Zeke Langley fifth. Mathematically, the top four drivers are still alive in the quest for the year eight ULMA championship. It will all come down to throwaway finishes for the drivers over the last three races. Drivers keep their 15 best points-earning finishes of the year to determine the Lucas Cattle Company ULMA Champion. Full ULMA standings and stats may be found at www.ulmaracing.com.

ULMA shirts are now on sale. Kids through adult XL shirts are $15 while XXL and XXXL shirts sell for $17. Shirts may be previewed by visiting the main ULMA website at www.ulmaracing.com. The shirts come in pink, grey, white, and lime green. See the designated ULMA track official to get yours today!

Visit ULMA’s title sponsor at www.lucascattlecompany.com. ULMA thanks Hoosier Tire Midwest and Rod End Supply for their continued support. ULMA is proud to announce the return of RacingJunk.com to the sponsorship fold for the association. RacingJunk.com is the official classifieds of the ULMA. For more information on ULMA, visit www.ulmaracing.com.

Current ULMA Standings
POS CAR # NAME STARTS POINTS
1st 9D Dwight Niehoff 23 1576
2nd 1T Chris Cox 31 1568
3rd 12 Payton Looney 22 1562
4th 65 Jon Binning 22 1562
5th 23 Zeke Langley 19 1508
6th 72 Jake Williams 17 1494
7th 7X Todd McCoin 18 1460
8th B1 Vance Wilson 14 1428
9th 0X Justin Russell 18 1426
10th 6R Ryan Petersheim ® 17 1404

Remaining Schedule
Saturday, September 6 – Central Mo Speedway
Saturday, September 13 – Lucas Oil Speedway
Saturday, September 20 – Lucas Oil Speedway
Saturday, October 18 – ULMA Championship Banquet