Sam Stoecklin
ULMA Public Relations
Sept 24, 2014

Year number eight for Lucas Cattle Company ULMA drivers and fans concluded Saturday evening at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri, where Jon Binning ultimately claimed the ULMA Championship Title by a single point over season-long contender Dwight Niehoff. Payton Looney captured his third win of the season during the final ULMA event of the year while Ryan Petersheim finished the season as Rookie of the Year.

The weekend event had all the makings of a down-to-the-wire thriller for several positions throughout the championship standings in addition to the actual speedway’s own close standings to determine the track champion in the late models. Expectantly, the night eventually produced several storylines, which ran the full gamut of emotions, which included nearly everything from happiness to sorrow.

Twenty-eight late models checked into the pits for the final weekly racing event of the season at Lucas Oil Speedway, which also served as the final night of points-earning for ULMA competitors. Drivers competed in three heat races and one b-main event to decide the race lineup for the main event.

Ethan Young of Harrisonville drove to the win over Lockwood, Missouri drivers Dwight Niehoff and Jake Williams in heat race one. Larry Jones of Eldorado Springs, Missouri held off ninth-starting J.D. Hubert and Phil Edmondson for a victory in heat two while the third and final heat went to Payton Looney ahead of Jason Bodenhamer and R.D. Peterson of Springfield, Missouri. Petersheim drove to the win in the b-main in front of Lane Ehlert and Todd McCoin of Barnett, Missouri.

Hubert and Jones occupied row one of the 20-lap main event to lead the 24-car starting grid to the initial green flag. To start the evening, not only was the ULMA title on the line but also the Lucas Oil Speedway track championship, as Hubert had a narrow edge on Williams in the standings.

In the early stages of the race, Hubert quickly established himself as the man to beat in pursuit of the victory and track championship with Looney quickly settling into second position while Jones and Young maintained solid placements in the top four.

The race experienced an early caution for Edmondson, whose car was leaking fluids onto the speedway, Edmondson ultimately continued on in the event. Racing quickly resumed shortly after the caution with Hubert pulling away from his closest pursuers as Jones and Niehoff moved inside the top four while Young slipped to fifth. By lap six, Hubert enjoyed a near full straightaway lead over second-running and forward-moving Young who ran second ahead of Looney, Niehoff, and Larry Ferris.

On lap seven, a caution for a spin in turn four again slowed the field for realignment. Hubert had the lead for the restart with Young and Looney in tow. By now, Jason Bodenhamer ran inside the top five in search of his third win of the season while Niehoff and Ferris raced hard for a spot inside the top five.

The race remained clean and green as intense battles unfolded all throughout the rundown including Niehoff and Binning as they fought hard for every position they could muster with the title on the line. Track title contender Jake Williams crept into the seventh spot by lap 14 while Hubert continued leading the event.

Shortly after cars crossed the line for lap 15, an incident involving McCoin in turn one and two drew a third caution as Hubert was unable to avoid contact with McCoin’s stalled car. Hubert’s bid for the championship ended in a flash as his car received too much damage to continue. McCoin and early contender Larry Jones also joined Hubert on the sidelines and retired to the pit area.

For what turned out to be the final race restart, Looney and Young brought the field to the green flag and resumed their battle for the win down to the final turns coming for the checkered flag. In the closing laps, Young worked multiple lanes to find a way around Looney while Niehoff methodically fought his way back to the third position in another close-knit battle with Bodenhamer, while Ferris maintained fifth.

On the final lap, Looney and Young laid it all on the line as both drivers searched for their first Lucas Oil Speedway victory of the year. However, on this night it was the Prodigal Son, Looney, who scored the victory by narrowly taking the win ahead of Young at the checkers. Niehoff crossed the line in third as the apparent ULMA champion while Bodenhamer held on for fourth with Ferris crossing the line fifth. Binning, Williams, Chris Cox, Cody Holtcamp and former track champion Tommy Cordray completed the top ten.

ULMA Race #40, Lucas Oil Speedway Results, 9/20/14

In post-race celebrations Looney enjoyed his first speedway win of the season thanking his family, friends, and car owners the Russell Niehoff family for their support this season. Jake Williams secured the track championship and was also extremely thankful to his supporters throughout the season as he took the time to mention them in post-race interviews.

The regular season at Lucas Oil Speedway is now complete with only special-events remaining on the schedule. For information and details regarding upcoming events be sure to visit www.lucasoilspeedway.com for complete details.

Upon conclusion of the main event, it was announced that Niehoff had unofficially claimed the 2014 ULMA championship; however, unbeknownst to the Association, a previously undetected finish entry would drastically change the outcome of the season.

A previous fifth-place finish for Binning was erroneously scored as a sixth-place run and the wrong points were entered into the spreadsheet. Regretfully the error was not discovered until after the events had concluded and interviews were completed on Saturday. The error ultimately revealed that instead of finishing a close second in the championship standings that Binning had actually claimed the hard-fought championship by a single point over Niehoff.

Upon discovery, the association immediately notified Niehoff, who was understandably disappointed when informed of the untimely mistake. After notifying and apologizing to Niehoff, the association’s President, Kevin Coyne, stated, “I am completely impressed by the way he handled the situation, he gracefully accepted the bad news like the true championship-caliber driver we all know he is.”

The association first and foremost wishes to again apologize to Dwight Niehoff and Jon Binning for what transpired and to their family members, car owners, crewmen, and fans, and to all those in attendance at Lucas Oil Speedway on Saturday evening who may have been misled by the initial outcome. The association has vowed to improve its quality review and points-keeping procedures for future seasons.

Moving forward, ULMA is extremely honored and proud of both Niehoff’s and Binning’s battle for the title and the professional manner in which it was handled throughout the season during the battle for the title. Their season-long competitive relationship grew stronger with each passing race. This in itself is a testament to both drivers’ professional courtesy and respect to one another’s’ race programs.

Their 2014 journey included parking side-by-side at the various tracks, lending a hand when needed, and on occasion even travelling together. In fact, it was on one of these occasions when travelling to an event that a near-tragic accident nearly ended Niehoff’s season. On the way to Randolph County Raceway, with Niehoff at the wheel of the hauler transporting his and Payton Looney’s cars, wound up flipping into a ditch.

Thanks to Niehoff’s precision driving he was able to avoid what could have been disastrous contact with Binning’s hauler, which he was behind. Binning had to unexpectedly apply heavy braking when the car in front of him came to a near stop from full speed to make a sudden turn. Unbelievably, no one was injured in the incident and in a matter of weeks, both cars returned to competition as the season drew to a close.

Upon notifying and congratulating Binning, a long-time ULMA competitor, of his championship season, Binning stated, “It’s been an amazing season and I am glad Dwight and I retained our friendship through all of this, it has been tough on everyone and it’s really unfortunate to have it end like this.” Binning was thankful to his supporters, crew, and dedicated sponsors for his season in which he recorded five victories. Binning currently leads multiple “All-Time ULMA Stat” categories.

ULMA wishes to thank Lucas Oil Speedway, Callaway Raceway, Randolph County Raceway, Double X Speedway, and Central Missouri Speedway for hosting in combination a total of 40 ULMA events this season! ULMA also thanks the many drivers who competed throughout the 2014 season and the fans for attending the events. The Association’s volunteer directors also wish to thank everyone who provided advice and words of encouragement in the last few days to stay focused in order to keep moving late model racing forward.

The 2014 Lucas Cattle Company Championship Banquet takes place on Saturday, October 18 at American Legion Post 131 located at 733 East Young Street in Warrensburg, Missouri. ULMA will recognize top tier eligible drivers at the banquet; all drivers, fans, crew, owners, and family members are welcome to attend.

Start times, menu details, as well as end-of-season payout will be released in the coming days; however, those planning on attending must email unitedlatemodelassociation@hotmail.com with number in their party by October 6th! Any driver wishing to order extra plaques/awards for crew members, owners, or sponsors needs to email specific details to ULMA Board Member Danny Lorton at dlorton@ulmaracing.com as quickly as possible!

Visit ULMA’s title sponsor at www.lucascattlecompany.com. ULMA would like to take a moment and thank Hoosier Tire Midwest and Rod End Supply for their continued support and dedication. ULMA is proudly affiliated with RacingJunk.com, the official classifieds of the ULMA. For more information, news, information, standings, and more visit www.ulmaracing.com.

Final ULMA Standings, Full Standings available at ww.ulmaracing.com

Remaining Event

Saturday, October 18 – ULMA Championship Banquet – email unitedlatemodelassociation@hotmail.com today to reserve your spot at this year’s banquet!