By Ronnie Williams
Lebanon,Mo.-The High-banks of the Lebanon I-44 Speedway saw over 130 race teams sign-in to a smooth racing surface and some dramatic last minute drama as the Speedway opened for its 21 season of StockCar Racing.
In the LateModel Feature,second generation driver Christian Rayburn brought the field of 23 down for the grren,but it was Lebanon's Brandon McCormick who would grab the lead on the opening laps with 2003 champion Brad Looney following in tow as Rusty Dukes,MARS regular Leslie Essary and Rayburn following closely.With McCormick setting a fast pace,the top 5 seemed to be content to run his pace as on lap 3 T.J.Kurkeyndall moved into the top 5.The action really picked-up on lap 5 when leader McCormick and runner-up Looney exchanged some sheet metal as the duo were battling for the lead as Rusty Dukes was looking to find running room into this battle.THe battle was strong as Looney made a pass on lap 7 for the lead only to find the red flag coming out for Reid Millard as his rear-end seemed to lock up going into turn 3.This would put McCormick back into the lead with Looney,Dukes,Essary,Dustin Mooneyham and Jason Bodenhamer into the top 6 as Bodee had started the 25 lap feature in 12th.On the restart,Looney and McCormick gave the crowd another strong battle was Looney took over the lead on lap 9 as Leslie essary was making his move into third place.On lap 15,the red flag waved as Rusty Dukes and Dustin Mooneham got together on the frontstetch sending both drivers to the rear of the field.Runner-up McCormick developed some motor problems and would also fall by the wayside. As the field restarted,Looney,Essary,Bodenhamer,and a fast moving Donnie Timmerman wer locked into a fast moving battle while Kuykendall and Dave Ware who was coming from the 21st starting spot,and Brandon Maggard were battling.With Looney staying on the high-side, Essary and Bodee were working the low groove and challanging hard with Timmerman now joining this battle. On lap 20 Essary would pull into the pits with problems as Bodenhamer was hammering the low groove as Looney stayed upstairs.On the restart following a lap 21 yellow,Looney drove it hard into turn 3 as Bodenhamer applied pressure on the low side as the race side-by-side.The next lap saw Looney jump the cushion in turn 4,as Bodenhamer made the winning pass to the low side as Timmerman and Dave Ware were coming on strong followed by Maggard.Looney retired to the pits the next lap as Rusty Dukes was coming into the battle again.The yellow waved for sheet metal on lap 23 setting up a dramatic finish as Bodenhamer stood on the gas as Dave Ware came up to speed slowly on the restart allowing Timmerman to move into the runner-up spot followed by Ware,Maggard,and 1988 titleset Darrell Mooneyham who recovered from a lap 9 spin coming through the field.The second 5 included Jason Meadors,Dukes,Danny Atkinson,Dustin Mooneyham and Brian Schutt as 14 car finished on the lead lap.
The Modified feature would see 1985 point champion Jim Hayes set the pace and lead the early opening laps as Jamie Ragland,Shane Essary,David Payne, and Eric Turner were in tow.On lap 8,Ragland made the pass for the lead as all eyes were on 2003 titlest Erik Maggard who was coming up through the field from his 16th starting spot.Ragland would set a fast pace as Shane essary made the charge into the runner-up spot 3 laps later.On lap 15 the running order would see Essary move into the top spot followed by Ragland, Turner, Maggard, Eric Hudson and James Hartman.With Essary in control,Maggard made a bold move to pic off Ragland, then set his sights on the leader Essary.A late race yellow for the stalled car of Todd Rainey set up the last lap shootouts as Essary held the top spot as Maggard put the slide job on in turn 4 with Essary moving back into the lead as now Hudson was moving on the low groove with Turner making some noise.Heading for the white flag, Maggard made the pass in turn 4 as Hudson found more power on the low side and pulled behind Maggard as Turner also stayed low in tow.As the checkered flew, Maggard claimed the last lap effort victory followed by Hudson, Turner, Essary and James Hartman in the top 5.
The FactoryStock feature saw Tim rown jump from his front row outside starting spot to take the early lead with 2003 champ Quintin Day in tow followed by 14 year old Micheal Maggard.With Brown in charge,Burl Woods was making some noise after starting 14th in the field and was quickly into the top 5 and in just 4 laps was challanging Brown for the top spot as Maggard and Day continued there battle for 3rd place.Woods pulled along side of Brown several laps,but Brown held off the late charges to claim the victory followed closely by Woods,Maggard,Day,and rookie Lake Mooneyham at the checkered.
The SuperStocks saw 2 restarts and when it was all said and done Larry Prewett took control on the opening laps and never looked back in capturing the victory after an opening lap crash took out pole setter Tony Jackson Jr and Trent Harrison along with Jason Otto.Rick Brown followed Prewett to the stripe with Tim Petty recovering from an early spin to gather third place honors with Dave Bozich and Jason Bybee in the top 5.
The BomberBombers saw 22 strong take the opening green as Richard Weber and Brandon Knutdson go side by side for the top spot.David Hendrix made his move early on lap 4 to take over the top spot and hel off a late race surge of KC Prettyman in capturing his first victory.Following the lead duo to the line were Knutdson, Weber, and Derrick Peterson as 19 of the original 22 finished on the lead lap.
Joe Todd took over the command on lap 2 to claim the Limited Sprint Car feature followed to the line by Eric Todd,Clint Todd,Early leader Terry Moore,and Matt Tatro.
Racing continues next Sat. Night with racing in the LateModels, Modifieds, FactoryStocks, SuperStocks, and Bombers with gates opening at 5 and hotlaps around 7PM with the actual racing at 7:30.
Results
LateModels
1st Ht-1)Brandon McCormick-Lebanon 2)Donnie Gemes-Warsaw 3)Dustin Mooneyham-Aurora
2nd Ht-1)Rusty Dukes-Fair Grove 2)Leslie Essary-Crane 3)Tj KuyKendall-Warsaw
3rd Ht-1)Brad Looney-Republic 2)Brandon Maggard-Willard 3)Brian Schutt-Lebanon
A Ft-1)Jason Bodenhamer-Centerview 2)Donnie Timmerman-El Dorado Springs 3)Dave Ware-Springfield4)Maggard 5)Darrell Mooneyham-Aurora 6)Jason Meadors-Fordland 7)Dukes 8)Danny Atkinson-Lebanon 9)Mooneyham 10)Schutt
Modifieds
1st Ht-1)Jim Hayes-Crocker 2)David Payne 3)Troy Treadway-Ava
2nd Ht-1)Eric Hudson-Rolla 2)Jamie Ragland-Lebanon 3)Dan Wohnoutka-Bolivar
3rd Ht-1)Shane Essary-Aurora 2)Jeff Cutshaw-Cross Timbers 3)Eric Turner-Hermitage
A Ft-1)Erik Maggard-Pleasant Hope 2)Hudson 3)Turner 4)Essary 5)James Hartman-Camdenton 6)Ragland 7)Payne 8)Hayes 9)Wohnoutka 10)Justin Newman-Waynesville
FactoryStocks
1st Ht-1)Tim Brown-Stoutland 2)Quintin Day-Lebanon 3)Jason Reccker-Camdenton
2nd Ht-1)Micheal Maggard-Springfield 2)Tom Gerleve-Bois D'Arc 3)Lake Mooneyham-Republic
A Ft-1)Brown 2)Burl Woods-Republic 3)Maggard 4)Day 5)Mooneyham 6)Ed Schutt-Richland 7)Reccker 8)Gerleve 9)Rich Allen-Camdenton 10)Bill Scharr-St Robert
SuperStocks
1st Ht-1)Rick Brown-Stoutland 2)Jason Otto-Richland 3)Trent Harrison-Crocker
2nd Ht-1)Tony Jackson Jr-Lebanon 2)Larry Prewett-Jerome 3)Dave Bozich-Laurie
A Ft-1)Prewett 2)Brown 3)Tim Petty-Marshfield 4)Bozich 5)Jason Bybee 6)Wayne Bysor-Bolivar 7)Teddy Ballinger-Halfway 8)Josh Woody-Waynesville 9Jackson Jr. 10)Harrison
Bombers
1st Ht-1)Brandon Knutdson-Lebanon 2)David Hendrix-Richland 3)KC Prettyman-Waynesville
2nd Ht-1)Donnie Jackson-Lebanon 2)Richard Weber-Cuba 3)Justin Foust-Lebanon
3rd Ht-1)Derrick Peterson-Lebanon 2)Jeff Scroggins-Brookline 3)Micheal Teeters-Lebanon
A ft-1)Hendrix 2)Prettyman 3)Knutdson 4)Weber 5)Peterson 6)Scroggins 7)John Stephens-Aurora 8)Zach Neil-Aurora 9)Rodney Jones-Aurora 10)Foust
Limited Sprints
1st Ht-1)Matt Tatro-Phillipsburg 2)Scott Wedelstadt-Lebanon 3)Jody Juhl-Lebanon
2nd Ht-1)Terry Moore-Warsaw 2)Joe Todd-Falcon 3)Clint Todd-Falcon
A Ft-1)J.Todd 2)Eric Todd-Falcon 3)C.Todd 4)Moore 5)Tatro 6)Juhl 7)Bill Kee-Conway 8)Wedelstadt
Lebanon,Mo.-The High-banks of the Lebanon I-44 Speedway saw over 130 race teams sign-in to a smooth racing surface and some dramatic last minute drama as the Speedway opened for its 21 season of StockCar Racing.
In the LateModel Feature,second generation driver Christian Rayburn brought the field of 23 down for the grren,but it was Lebanon's Brandon McCormick who would grab the lead on the opening laps with 2003 champion Brad Looney following in tow as Rusty Dukes,MARS regular Leslie Essary and Rayburn following closely.With McCormick setting a fast pace,the top 5 seemed to be content to run his pace as on lap 3 T.J.Kurkeyndall moved into the top 5.The action really picked-up on lap 5 when leader McCormick and runner-up Looney exchanged some sheet metal as the duo were battling for the lead as Rusty Dukes was looking to find running room into this battle.THe battle was strong as Looney made a pass on lap 7 for the lead only to find the red flag coming out for Reid Millard as his rear-end seemed to lock up going into turn 3.This would put McCormick back into the lead with Looney,Dukes,Essary,Dustin Mooneyham and Jason Bodenhamer into the top 6 as Bodee had started the 25 lap feature in 12th.On the restart,Looney and McCormick gave the crowd another strong battle was Looney took over the lead on lap 9 as Leslie essary was making his move into third place.On lap 15,the red flag waved as Rusty Dukes and Dustin Mooneham got together on the frontstetch sending both drivers to the rear of the field.Runner-up McCormick developed some motor problems and would also fall by the wayside. As the field restarted,Looney,Essary,Bodenhamer,and a fast moving Donnie Timmerman wer locked into a fast moving battle while Kuykendall and Dave Ware who was coming from the 21st starting spot,and Brandon Maggard were battling.With Looney staying on the high-side, Essary and Bodee were working the low groove and challanging hard with Timmerman now joining this battle. On lap 20 Essary would pull into the pits with problems as Bodenhamer was hammering the low groove as Looney stayed upstairs.On the restart following a lap 21 yellow,Looney drove it hard into turn 3 as Bodenhamer applied pressure on the low side as the race side-by-side.The next lap saw Looney jump the cushion in turn 4,as Bodenhamer made the winning pass to the low side as Timmerman and Dave Ware were coming on strong followed by Maggard.Looney retired to the pits the next lap as Rusty Dukes was coming into the battle again.The yellow waved for sheet metal on lap 23 setting up a dramatic finish as Bodenhamer stood on the gas as Dave Ware came up to speed slowly on the restart allowing Timmerman to move into the runner-up spot followed by Ware,Maggard,and 1988 titleset Darrell Mooneyham who recovered from a lap 9 spin coming through the field.The second 5 included Jason Meadors,Dukes,Danny Atkinson,Dustin Mooneyham and Brian Schutt as 14 car finished on the lead lap.
The Modified feature would see 1985 point champion Jim Hayes set the pace and lead the early opening laps as Jamie Ragland,Shane Essary,David Payne, and Eric Turner were in tow.On lap 8,Ragland made the pass for the lead as all eyes were on 2003 titlest Erik Maggard who was coming up through the field from his 16th starting spot.Ragland would set a fast pace as Shane essary made the charge into the runner-up spot 3 laps later.On lap 15 the running order would see Essary move into the top spot followed by Ragland, Turner, Maggard, Eric Hudson and James Hartman.With Essary in control,Maggard made a bold move to pic off Ragland, then set his sights on the leader Essary.A late race yellow for the stalled car of Todd Rainey set up the last lap shootouts as Essary held the top spot as Maggard put the slide job on in turn 4 with Essary moving back into the lead as now Hudson was moving on the low groove with Turner making some noise.Heading for the white flag, Maggard made the pass in turn 4 as Hudson found more power on the low side and pulled behind Maggard as Turner also stayed low in tow.As the checkered flew, Maggard claimed the last lap effort victory followed by Hudson, Turner, Essary and James Hartman in the top 5.
The FactoryStock feature saw Tim rown jump from his front row outside starting spot to take the early lead with 2003 champ Quintin Day in tow followed by 14 year old Micheal Maggard.With Brown in charge,Burl Woods was making some noise after starting 14th in the field and was quickly into the top 5 and in just 4 laps was challanging Brown for the top spot as Maggard and Day continued there battle for 3rd place.Woods pulled along side of Brown several laps,but Brown held off the late charges to claim the victory followed closely by Woods,Maggard,Day,and rookie Lake Mooneyham at the checkered.
The SuperStocks saw 2 restarts and when it was all said and done Larry Prewett took control on the opening laps and never looked back in capturing the victory after an opening lap crash took out pole setter Tony Jackson Jr and Trent Harrison along with Jason Otto.Rick Brown followed Prewett to the stripe with Tim Petty recovering from an early spin to gather third place honors with Dave Bozich and Jason Bybee in the top 5.
The BomberBombers saw 22 strong take the opening green as Richard Weber and Brandon Knutdson go side by side for the top spot.David Hendrix made his move early on lap 4 to take over the top spot and hel off a late race surge of KC Prettyman in capturing his first victory.Following the lead duo to the line were Knutdson, Weber, and Derrick Peterson as 19 of the original 22 finished on the lead lap.
Joe Todd took over the command on lap 2 to claim the Limited Sprint Car feature followed to the line by Eric Todd,Clint Todd,Early leader Terry Moore,and Matt Tatro.
Racing continues next Sat. Night with racing in the LateModels, Modifieds, FactoryStocks, SuperStocks, and Bombers with gates opening at 5 and hotlaps around 7PM with the actual racing at 7:30.
Results
LateModels
1st Ht-1)Brandon McCormick-Lebanon 2)Donnie Gemes-Warsaw 3)Dustin Mooneyham-Aurora
2nd Ht-1)Rusty Dukes-Fair Grove 2)Leslie Essary-Crane 3)Tj KuyKendall-Warsaw
3rd Ht-1)Brad Looney-Republic 2)Brandon Maggard-Willard 3)Brian Schutt-Lebanon
A Ft-1)Jason Bodenhamer-Centerview 2)Donnie Timmerman-El Dorado Springs 3)Dave Ware-Springfield4)Maggard 5)Darrell Mooneyham-Aurora 6)Jason Meadors-Fordland 7)Dukes 8)Danny Atkinson-Lebanon 9)Mooneyham 10)Schutt
Modifieds
1st Ht-1)Jim Hayes-Crocker 2)David Payne 3)Troy Treadway-Ava
2nd Ht-1)Eric Hudson-Rolla 2)Jamie Ragland-Lebanon 3)Dan Wohnoutka-Bolivar
3rd Ht-1)Shane Essary-Aurora 2)Jeff Cutshaw-Cross Timbers 3)Eric Turner-Hermitage
A Ft-1)Erik Maggard-Pleasant Hope 2)Hudson 3)Turner 4)Essary 5)James Hartman-Camdenton 6)Ragland 7)Payne 8)Hayes 9)Wohnoutka 10)Justin Newman-Waynesville
FactoryStocks
1st Ht-1)Tim Brown-Stoutland 2)Quintin Day-Lebanon 3)Jason Reccker-Camdenton
2nd Ht-1)Micheal Maggard-Springfield 2)Tom Gerleve-Bois D'Arc 3)Lake Mooneyham-Republic
A Ft-1)Brown 2)Burl Woods-Republic 3)Maggard 4)Day 5)Mooneyham 6)Ed Schutt-Richland 7)Reccker 8)Gerleve 9)Rich Allen-Camdenton 10)Bill Scharr-St Robert
SuperStocks
1st Ht-1)Rick Brown-Stoutland 2)Jason Otto-Richland 3)Trent Harrison-Crocker
2nd Ht-1)Tony Jackson Jr-Lebanon 2)Larry Prewett-Jerome 3)Dave Bozich-Laurie
A Ft-1)Prewett 2)Brown 3)Tim Petty-Marshfield 4)Bozich 5)Jason Bybee 6)Wayne Bysor-Bolivar 7)Teddy Ballinger-Halfway 8)Josh Woody-Waynesville 9Jackson Jr. 10)Harrison
Bombers
1st Ht-1)Brandon Knutdson-Lebanon 2)David Hendrix-Richland 3)KC Prettyman-Waynesville
2nd Ht-1)Donnie Jackson-Lebanon 2)Richard Weber-Cuba 3)Justin Foust-Lebanon
3rd Ht-1)Derrick Peterson-Lebanon 2)Jeff Scroggins-Brookline 3)Micheal Teeters-Lebanon
A ft-1)Hendrix 2)Prettyman 3)Knutdson 4)Weber 5)Peterson 6)Scroggins 7)John Stephens-Aurora 8)Zach Neil-Aurora 9)Rodney Jones-Aurora 10)Foust
Limited Sprints
1st Ht-1)Matt Tatro-Phillipsburg 2)Scott Wedelstadt-Lebanon 3)Jody Juhl-Lebanon
2nd Ht-1)Terry Moore-Warsaw 2)Joe Todd-Falcon 3)Clint Todd-Falcon
A Ft-1)J.Todd 2)Eric Todd-Falcon 3)C.Todd 4)Moore 5)Tatro 6)Juhl 7)Bill Kee-Conway 8)Wedelstadt
