By Sam Stoecklin, Track Announcer
Warrensburg, MO
August 4, 2007
The avid race fans at CMS were treated to a total of 23 races Saturday night for Pepsi night at the races in five divisions at the high-banked facility. There were 107 cars in the pits that competed in 22 races throughout the night’s competition. Making their second appearance of the year was the Southern Midget Racing Series based out of Oklahoma. Just five weeks remain during the 2007 championship season at the ‘Burg with the point’s races heading down the final stretch and tightening up in each division.
In only their second year at the track, the B-modifieds had a full field of cars on hand as 28 racers signed in for 4 qualifying heat races and a b-main, which set the line-up for the 15-lap feature event. Michael Mullins was the first to take a checkered flag for the night in heat race one ahead of Steve Evans and Johnny Ebert. Rusty Trimble led Brian Ziegler and Bobby Raybourn to the checkered flag in heat two with point’s leader Scotty Martin taking heat three over Ethan Isaacs and Mark Evinger. Darren Poston found victory lane ahead of Gary Lewis and Brad Smith in heat number four. A wild and shortened b-main was also ran to set the final 4 starting positions for the feature and in the end it was Darrell Sweeden taking the win over Danny Trimble, Phil Wright and Cliff Owings. By virtue of their heat race wins Mullins and Rusty Trimble led the charge to the green flag as 20 drivers made their way into turn one for the main event. Mullins grabbed the early lead until the yellow flag flew on lap two for Smith and Evinger who were involved in a spin off of turns one and two. As the field went back to green flag condition, 10-time feature winner Martin fought hard with Mullins for the lead down the front stretch with some contact between the two leaders. Martin was able to grab the point through lap seven but officials were watching Martin’s right-rear tire closely as it appeared to be slowly going down, possibly from the contact when battling for the lead. During a lap five caution period, Martin was told to report to the hot pit area to have the tire checked out but in the end was able to continue and get his spot back up front for the restart. Martin barely held on to the lead with Poston now breathing down his neck and on lap seven Martin’s tire finally gave way and allowed Poston to inherit the lead. Another caution period just after Poston grabbed the lead again slowed the field. Poston looked to have the field under control but the tricky racing surface in turn four allowed Mullins to regain the lead after Poston got sideways. A chain-reaction incident on lap 10 took out several competitors with Ethan Isaacs, Poston, Ziegler and Rusty Trimble all involved, which relegated all of them to the tail of the field for the final five laps. Bobby Raybourn and Johnny Ebert, who had been running sixth and seventh then moved up to second and third for the final five circuits trying to chase down Mullins for the win. In the end, an emotional and very appreciative Michael Mullins from Kingsville scored his first-ever feature win in a popular win amongst the CMS racing fans. Raybourn followed Mullins to the line in second with Ebert picking up his best finish of the year in third with Owings, Chris Brockway and Sweeden rounding out the top six.
The Southern Midget Racing Series (SMRS) was back for a second time this year at the ‘Burg. This time there were 20 drivers on hand competing for the $1,100-to-win 20-lap feature race in three heat races and a pole dash so sort out the line-up for their feature race. Gary Taylor picked up right where he left off at in June, the last appearance by the SMRS, by grabbing heat race number one over Rick Forbes. Heat race number two went to Zach Daum ahead of Joe Cleveland as Donnie Ray Crawford held off Rick England in heat race number three. Taylor also picked up the win in the pole dash with a late-race pass for the lead over Daum and Crawford. For the feature race the drivers were doing their best on the tricky surface to stay on the extreme bottom lane to find the best traction off of the corners. After a couple of early race re-starts, the racers were finally able to get in their groove and ran for the checkered flag. Gary Taylor of Sapulpa, Okalahoma had the field covered on this night and easily took his second win at the ‘Burg in as many tries this year. Matt Sherill of Tulsa, Oklahoma held off Zach Daum of Pocahontas, Illinois for second with Daum in third. Joe Boyles was fourth with Donnie Ray Crawford fifth and Rick Forbes, who had earlier in the race gone off the turn four embankment finishing in sixth.
It took just two heat races to sort out the 15-car starting field for the street stock main event. Subbing for Trent Deadmon in the 20 car, Jason Bodenhamer grabbed the first heat race ahead of rookie driver Stephen Barber and Bryant Moyer. Brian Johnson held back his closest competitor in the point standings, Tammy Korff, to pick up the win in heat two with Anthony Ward following Korff to the line for third. Bodenhamer and Johnson led the field into turn and from the get go it was Bodenhamer who got the better run, vaulting into the lead ahead of the rest of the field. With two features already completed during the night, the track was getting slicker and slicker, especially off of turn four and once again became the “action” corner throughout the remaining races. Eric Crane spun in the tricky corner early on in the event and with the field once again bunched up, Bodenhamer again pulled away from Johnson who held down second. Korff and Ward had a great battle for the third and fourth with Bryant Moyer and Herb Dannar close behind. Midway through the event Barber spun on lap seven coming off of turn four and again the field was bunched up for a restart. This time, Johnson stayed glued to the back of Bodenhamer and tried for several laps to grab the lead until a spin by Ward on lap ten brought out another caution flag. Moyer began pressuring Korff for third once the green flag flew and was able to take that spot late in the race. Marc Carter, who had started 13th, was also on the charge late in the race and battled with Dannar for the 5th position. Bodenhamer was able to hold back a hard-charging Johnson in what appeared to be his first feature victory at the track in quite some time; however, a post-race inspection of the car he was driving led to Bodenhamer being disqualified. With the unfortunate DQ, Brian Johnson was able to pick up his eighth feature race victory of the year. Moyer had his best run of the year at CMS with a strong second place finish with Korff holding on for third ahead of Carter in fourth, Dannar fifth and Brett Nail in sixth.
With only one week to go until the 25-lap special feature event the late model drivers raced hard for both track points and United Late Model Association (ULMA) points. There were two heat races contested for the 16 cars on hand and in heat number one Bob King grabbed his eighth heat race victory of the year over current track points leader Brett Rollert in second and Steven Clancy in third. James Rutledge had his car hooked up in the low to middle lanes of the track and flew to victory in heat race two ahead of current ULMA points leader Jason Estes in second with Brett Wood finishing third. By virtue of their heat race wins, King and Rutledge took the 16-car starting field to turn one and as he’s done so many times this year, King immediately went to the low lane to grab the point. The full bodied machines raced at a torrid pace until Estes experienced problems on lap six after nearly spinning off of turn four. Estes had obvious mechanical issues on the rear end car and wound up pulling off the track, ultimately finishing 16th. Josh Green had a couple of spins coming off of turn four and also was unable to complete the race. After the lap eight restart, King and Rollert had a great race for the lead for several laps until mechanical gremlins once again struck Rollert as he came to a halt off of turn four, bringing out a late-race caution on lap 12. Upon the restart, Shad Badder tried to find his way underneath King on the low line but ran out of room as King was able to keep his car out front and sail on to his eighth feature race victory the year. Badder settled for second with Clancy third and Rutledge fourth. Brett Wood continued his charge for the ULMA rookie of the year title and wound up in fifth at the checkered flag with Kevin Coyne rounding out the top six.
In ‘Mighty’ Modified action the fans in the stands were treated to four highly competitive heat races ran by the 28 drivers on hand. Tim Karrick became the first driver in any division to claim 10 heat race wins during the 2007 season as he bested Jake Richards and Jim Moody in heat number one. Chad Lyle raced his way to the win in heat two ahead of Jason Bodenhamer and Tom Charles with current points leader Joe Walker grabbing heat three ahead of Terry Schultz and Gene Claxton. Northern Missouri driver Mark Dotson won his first heat race of the year in heat four over James McMillin and defending track champion Aaron Marrant. Rather than running a b-main event, promoter Earl Walls allowed the 27 cars who were able to make the call to run in the feature event and the fans were once again treated to an exciting run to the finish in the premier CMS division. Karrick and Lyle, who is the second-winningest driver of all time at CMS, led the field to flagman Hershel Thompson’s green flag to get the 20-lap race underway. It took three tries to get the first official lap scored as Karrick and Lyle’s battle at the front off of the action corner led to a little contact between the two veterans with Lyle eventually grabbing the lead. A spin by Chad Staus and Denny Albertson off of turn three brought out an early caution flag and regrouped the field for the restart with Lyle, Karrick, Walker and Dotson holding down the top four spots. Dotson appeared to be on his way to a great run until a left front flat tire sidelined his bid for the win just as Joey Lile spun bringing out another caution flag. Once the field went back to racing James McMillin began picking up positions on the high side and at one point had made his way up to third position. Bodenhamer also experienced mechanical trouble and pulled out of the race early as did Ray Emmitt, Kyle Westerhold, Denny Albertson and Dave McVey. Lyle held on to his lead and began lapping cars by lap 11 with Karrick and McMillin trying to thread their way through as well. A caution on lap 13 again regrouped the field while at the same time McMillin’s bid for the win was ended when he pulled off with mechanical trouble. Lyle continued leading upon the restart, meanwhile deep in the field Claxton nearly spun in turn two and Aaron Marrant, with nowhere to go wound up stopping on the track after the two made contact, relegating Marrant to an 18th-place finish. Claxton was able to keep going and held his position, eventually finishing in seventh position. Like so many times before this season, the CMS fans knew to never leave the track early even on a long night at the speedway as the finish to this race was definitely worth sticking around for. With just two laps to go after the last restart, Lyle held the point coming to the line as Karrick was barely able to stick his nose on the low side off of turn four to make a late-race pass for the lead. The two leaders got together just enough to slow their momentum down, which allowed a hard-charging Terry Schultz and last week’s feature winner Jim Moody to also get in on the battle for the win. On the white flag lap, heading into turn one Karrick, Moody and Schultz were three wide for second behind Lyle. With sparks flying from the trio of cars battling for second and the fans on their feet cheering their favorites to the finish, Lyle protected the low side and wound up grabbing his 74th career feature win at CMS! In a close battle to the line off of turn four, Moody nailed down the runner-up spot ahead of Schultz in third and Karrick fourth. Joe Walker had another consistent run to finish in fifth and Jake Richards continued his late-season surge to pick up a strong sixth-place finish.
One of the most anticipated nights of the year for the young racing fans will take place next week at the speedway during Kids’ Night at the Races. All kids 12 and under will receive a free “goodie bag” filled with various donated items from CMS drivers and fans. In addition, there will be foot races on the track during intermission time for several age-group divisions for both boys and girls 12 and under. Drivers will be on hand during the intermission-time activities to sign autographs and talk to the young fans as well. Next week is also the annual late model special at the track. Promoters Earl and Susan Walls have put up an outstanding purse for the late model drivers who will be competing for $800 to win and $100 to start the 24-car, 25-lap feature event. Regular admission prices return to the speedway next week with general admission at $10, military and students with I.D. $8, Seniors 65 and older $5, kids six to twelve $5 and children five and under free! The pit and admission gates open at 5 with hotlaps taking to the track at 7 and racing getting underway at 7:30. For current and up-to-the-minute racing information you can call the track report line by dialing (660) 747-2166. Be sure to bookmark the track’s Website at www.centralmissourispeedway.net and check back often for the remaining schedule, updated track news, as well as complete results and point standings in each racing division courtesy of track statistician Glyda Jaeger. We look forward to seeing all of you again next week for another weekend of racing action at CMS. Kids, don’t forget to where your best running shoes to the track for your foot races Saturday night!
A brief synopsis of the top ten in each division for last night’s feature races follows, for complete results visit the track’s Website at www.centralmissourispeedway.net where results will be posted at a later time.
Modified Feature (finish/car #/name/hometown)
(1) 96 Chad Lyle-Lone Jack, (2) 00 Jim Moody-Odessa, (3) 90 Terry Schultz, Sedalia, (4) 1k Tim Karrick-Basehor KS, (5) 11d Joe Walker-Harrisonville, (6) 4j Jake Richards-Kansas City, KS, (7) 42 Gene Claxton-Kansas City, MO, (8) 81 Tom Charles-Bonner Springs, KS, (9) 99w Dennis Walrath-Clinton, (10) 03 Richard Layne, Kansas City
Late Model Feature
(1) 45 Bob King-Independence, (2) 73b Shad Badder-Oak Grove, (3) 12c Steven Clancy-Odessa, (4) 1 James Rutledge-California, (5) 7 Brett Wood-Warrensburg, (6) 22 Kevin Coyne-Kingsville, (7) 3 Jamie Wineland-Lohman, (8) 47 Ed Griggs-Pleasant Hill, (9) 88 Derek Nevels-Higginsville, (10) 56 Jimmy Jobe-Harrisonville
Street Stock Feature
(1) 97k Brian Johnson-Independence, (2) 9d Bryant Moyer-Lone Jack, (3) pms1 Tammy Korff-Fulton, (4) 10 Marc Carter-Warrensburg, (5) 74 Herb Dannar-Holden, (6) 30 Brett Nail-Raytown, (7) 09 Chad Eickleberry-Warrensburg, (8) 16L Jeff Lazenby-Sedalia, (9) 55m John Miller-Oak Grove, (10) 11 Anthony Ward-Independence
SMRS Midget Feature
(1) 999 Gary Taylor-Sapulpa, OK, (2) 22j Matt Sherill-Tulsa, OK, (3) 5d Zach Daum-Pocahontas, IL, (4) 7b Joe Boyles-Greenwood, (5) 299 Donnie Ray Crawford-Tulsa, OK, (6) 95k Rick Forbes-Omaha, NE, (7) 10k Ron Kuhn-Lee’s Summit, (8) 11 Joe Cleveland-Bennington, KS, (9) 10p Will Pierce-Lee’s Summit, (10) 01 Greg Luckert-Kansas City
B-Modified Feature
(1) m20 Michael Mullins-Kingsville, (2) 23 Bobby Raybourn-Odessa, (3) 94 Johnny Ebert-Bates City, (4) 44 Cliff Owings-Blue Springs, (5) 03 Chris Brockway-Warrensburg, (6) 14 Darrell Sweeden-Independence, (7) 40 Roger Stone-Kansas City, (8) 1t Danny Trimble-Eudora, KS, (9) 06 Lucas Isaacs-Bonner Springs, KS, (10) 66 Ethan Isaacs-Bonner Springs, KS
