O'REILLY AUTO PARTS MID-AMERICA RACING SERIES
Batesville Speedway
Friday, June 13, 2003
by Larry Olson; Mountain Home, AR
LOCUST GROVE AR. Jeff Floyd picked up his first O'Reilly Auto Parts Mid-America Racing Series feature win of the 2003 season, and his third career win. Floyd used the outside front row starting position to take the lead on the start, and went all 40 laps in route to the $3,000 win that was slowed by only 1 caution.
Jerry Buck earned his fourth career O'Reilly M.A.R.S. pole, with Floyd to his outside. Floyd moved to the lead as the green flag came out, with Buck, and Dewaine Hottinger falling in behind. Hottinger drove by Buck on the backstretch on the first lap, taking the second spot behind Floyd. Raymond Merrill set Buck back another spot, taking third in turn two on the second lap. Billy Moyer was running fifth by lap three.
Leslie Essary took the fifth spot from Moyer in turn four on lap five, then Essary and Buck dueled for fourth side by side on the next circuit. Floyd held a five carlength lead on Hottinger by lap seven, and had expanded the margin to ten carlengths by lap 10.
Raymond Merrill worked his way past Hottinger for the second spot in turn two on lap 16. Merrill started cutting into Floyd's lead immeadiatly. Billy Moyer was back in fifth by lap 17.
Jeff Floyd was starting to work traffic by lap 20. Merrill had closed to within five carlengths by lap 22. Floyd cleared his first batch of traffic by lap 23, but Merrill had closed to two carlengths by lap 26.
Floyd was closing on traffic again by lap 29. Flody had eased past one slower car by lap 32, and opened his five carlength lead back up again. Floyd was behind three cars, racing for position by lap 35, and had worked his way by the first one on the next lap.
The field had closed up on Merrill as he worked traffic behind Floyd, and Merrill and Hottinger made contact, getting Merrill out of shape. Merrill fell back to the fifth position before he got his car squared back up.
Steve Rushin brought out the races's only caution on lap 38 as he had pulled up on the frontstretch. Jerry Buck and Billy Moyer used the restart to their advantage, moving to second and third as the field got back underway.
Jeff Floyd protected his lead, and paced the field for the last two laps, coming home with the win. Jerry Buck, Billy Moyer, Dewaine Hottinger, and Raymond Merrill made up the top five. Wendell Wallace, Terry Phillips, Leslie Essary, Bill Frye, and Jeff Taylor rounded out the top ten.
Entries: 33
Top Qualifier: Jerry Buck
W&W Concrete Hard Charger: Wendell Wallace
Provisionals: Joey Mack (2), Jerry Walker
Lap Leaders: Jeff Floyd 1-40
Cautions: 1
A Feature (40 Laps)
Finish/Driver/Start/Chassis/Motor/Make/Money Won
1) Jeff Floyd, (2) GRT/Kuntz/Taurus; $3,000
2) Jerry Buck, (1) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $2,000
3) Billy Moyer, (6) MasterSbilt/Dickens/Monte Carlo; $1,250
4) Dewaine Hottinger, (3) GRT/Kuntz/Monte Carlo; $1,100
5) Raymond Merrill, (4) GRT/Kuntz/Grand Prix; $1,000
6) Wendell Wallace, (17) GRT/Craft/Taurus; $750
7) Terry Phillips, (12) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $700
8) Leslie Essary, (7) GRT/Mike's/Grand Prix; $675
9) Bill Frye, (8) GRT/Kuntz/Mustang; $650
10) Jeff Taylor, (15) Larry Shaw/Kuntz/Taurus; $625
11) David Gibson, (10) Shaw-Rocket/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $600
12) Gary Stolba, (9) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $575
13) Mike Bowers, (14) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $550
14) Jack Sullivan, (16) GRT/Dickens/Grand Prix; $525
15) Joey Mack, (21) GRT/Kuntz/Mustang; $500
16) Charlie Randolph, (13) GRT/BMS/Monte Carlo; $500
17) Mike Brown, (19) GRT/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $500
18) Stacy Taylor, (18) GRT/Dickens/Monte Carlo; $500
19) Steve Rushin, (20) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
20) Shane Essary, (11) GRT/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $500
21) Jerry Walker, (22) Larry Shaw/Dynotech/Grand Prix; $500
22) Shane Harris, (5) GRT/Stanton/Intrepid; $500
1st Heat (12 Laps) 1) Dewaine Hottinger, Russellville AR 2) Leslie Essary, Crane MO 3) Charlie Randolph, Muskogee OK 4) Mike Bowers, North Little Rock AR 5) Jack Sullivan, Greenbriar AR 6) Steve Rushin, Poplar Bluff MO 7) John Pafford, Eads TN 8) Shane Diamant, North Little Rock AR 9) Jerry Walker, Southhaven MS
2nd Heat 1) Jeff Floyd, Walnut Ridge AR 2) Jerry Buck, Harviell MO 3) David Gibson, Ash Flat AR 4) Gregg Herron, Little Rock AR 5) Brad Looney, Republic MO 6) Brian Holliway, Sheridan AR 7) Mike Brown, Ft. Gibson OK 8) Jim Greenway, Galena MO
3rd Heat 1) Raymond Merrill, Sallisaw OK 2) Bill Frye, Greenbriar AR 3) Shane Essary, Aurora MO 4) Jeff Taylor, Batesville AR 5) Stacy Taylor, Jacksonville AR 6) Bryan Millican, Cleveland TX 7) Joey Mack, Benton MO 8) Barry Barkley, Jonesboro AR
4th Heat 1) Shane Harris, Sheridan AR 2) Gary Stolba, Willow Springs MO 3) Billy Moyer, Batesville AR 4) Terry Phillips, Springfield MO 5) Wendell Wallace, Batesville AR 6) Brandon Ball, West Plains MO 7) Jason Snodgrass, Mountain Home, AR 8) Dean Carpenter, Coldwater MS
Last Chance Qualifier (15 Laps, four transfer) 1) Wendell Wallace 2) Stacy Taylor 3) Mike Brown 4) Steve Rushin 5) Brad Looney 6) Joey Mack 7) Brian Holliway 8) Shane Diamant 9) Jerry Walker 10) Jason Snodgrass 11) Gregg Herron 12) John Pafford 13) Barry Barkley 14) Brandon Ball 15) Bryan Millican (scratches: Jim Greenway, Dean Carpenter)
Batesville Speedway
Friday, June 13, 2003
by Larry Olson; Mountain Home, AR
LOCUST GROVE AR. Jeff Floyd picked up his first O'Reilly Auto Parts Mid-America Racing Series feature win of the 2003 season, and his third career win. Floyd used the outside front row starting position to take the lead on the start, and went all 40 laps in route to the $3,000 win that was slowed by only 1 caution.
Jerry Buck earned his fourth career O'Reilly M.A.R.S. pole, with Floyd to his outside. Floyd moved to the lead as the green flag came out, with Buck, and Dewaine Hottinger falling in behind. Hottinger drove by Buck on the backstretch on the first lap, taking the second spot behind Floyd. Raymond Merrill set Buck back another spot, taking third in turn two on the second lap. Billy Moyer was running fifth by lap three.
Leslie Essary took the fifth spot from Moyer in turn four on lap five, then Essary and Buck dueled for fourth side by side on the next circuit. Floyd held a five carlength lead on Hottinger by lap seven, and had expanded the margin to ten carlengths by lap 10.
Raymond Merrill worked his way past Hottinger for the second spot in turn two on lap 16. Merrill started cutting into Floyd's lead immeadiatly. Billy Moyer was back in fifth by lap 17.
Jeff Floyd was starting to work traffic by lap 20. Merrill had closed to within five carlengths by lap 22. Floyd cleared his first batch of traffic by lap 23, but Merrill had closed to two carlengths by lap 26.
Floyd was closing on traffic again by lap 29. Flody had eased past one slower car by lap 32, and opened his five carlength lead back up again. Floyd was behind three cars, racing for position by lap 35, and had worked his way by the first one on the next lap.
The field had closed up on Merrill as he worked traffic behind Floyd, and Merrill and Hottinger made contact, getting Merrill out of shape. Merrill fell back to the fifth position before he got his car squared back up.
Steve Rushin brought out the races's only caution on lap 38 as he had pulled up on the frontstretch. Jerry Buck and Billy Moyer used the restart to their advantage, moving to second and third as the field got back underway.
Jeff Floyd protected his lead, and paced the field for the last two laps, coming home with the win. Jerry Buck, Billy Moyer, Dewaine Hottinger, and Raymond Merrill made up the top five. Wendell Wallace, Terry Phillips, Leslie Essary, Bill Frye, and Jeff Taylor rounded out the top ten.
Entries: 33
Top Qualifier: Jerry Buck
W&W Concrete Hard Charger: Wendell Wallace
Provisionals: Joey Mack (2), Jerry Walker
Lap Leaders: Jeff Floyd 1-40
Cautions: 1
A Feature (40 Laps)
Finish/Driver/Start/Chassis/Motor/Make/Money Won
1) Jeff Floyd, (2) GRT/Kuntz/Taurus; $3,000
2) Jerry Buck, (1) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $2,000
3) Billy Moyer, (6) MasterSbilt/Dickens/Monte Carlo; $1,250
4) Dewaine Hottinger, (3) GRT/Kuntz/Monte Carlo; $1,100
5) Raymond Merrill, (4) GRT/Kuntz/Grand Prix; $1,000
6) Wendell Wallace, (17) GRT/Craft/Taurus; $750
7) Terry Phillips, (12) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $700
8) Leslie Essary, (7) GRT/Mike's/Grand Prix; $675
9) Bill Frye, (8) GRT/Kuntz/Mustang; $650
10) Jeff Taylor, (15) Larry Shaw/Kuntz/Taurus; $625
11) David Gibson, (10) Shaw-Rocket/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $600
12) Gary Stolba, (9) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $575
13) Mike Bowers, (14) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $550
14) Jack Sullivan, (16) GRT/Dickens/Grand Prix; $525
15) Joey Mack, (21) GRT/Kuntz/Mustang; $500
16) Charlie Randolph, (13) GRT/BMS/Monte Carlo; $500
17) Mike Brown, (19) GRT/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $500
18) Stacy Taylor, (18) GRT/Dickens/Monte Carlo; $500
19) Steve Rushin, (20) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
20) Shane Essary, (11) GRT/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $500
21) Jerry Walker, (22) Larry Shaw/Dynotech/Grand Prix; $500
22) Shane Harris, (5) GRT/Stanton/Intrepid; $500
1st Heat (12 Laps) 1) Dewaine Hottinger, Russellville AR 2) Leslie Essary, Crane MO 3) Charlie Randolph, Muskogee OK 4) Mike Bowers, North Little Rock AR 5) Jack Sullivan, Greenbriar AR 6) Steve Rushin, Poplar Bluff MO 7) John Pafford, Eads TN 8) Shane Diamant, North Little Rock AR 9) Jerry Walker, Southhaven MS
2nd Heat 1) Jeff Floyd, Walnut Ridge AR 2) Jerry Buck, Harviell MO 3) David Gibson, Ash Flat AR 4) Gregg Herron, Little Rock AR 5) Brad Looney, Republic MO 6) Brian Holliway, Sheridan AR 7) Mike Brown, Ft. Gibson OK 8) Jim Greenway, Galena MO
3rd Heat 1) Raymond Merrill, Sallisaw OK 2) Bill Frye, Greenbriar AR 3) Shane Essary, Aurora MO 4) Jeff Taylor, Batesville AR 5) Stacy Taylor, Jacksonville AR 6) Bryan Millican, Cleveland TX 7) Joey Mack, Benton MO 8) Barry Barkley, Jonesboro AR
4th Heat 1) Shane Harris, Sheridan AR 2) Gary Stolba, Willow Springs MO 3) Billy Moyer, Batesville AR 4) Terry Phillips, Springfield MO 5) Wendell Wallace, Batesville AR 6) Brandon Ball, West Plains MO 7) Jason Snodgrass, Mountain Home, AR 8) Dean Carpenter, Coldwater MS
Last Chance Qualifier (15 Laps, four transfer) 1) Wendell Wallace 2) Stacy Taylor 3) Mike Brown 4) Steve Rushin 5) Brad Looney 6) Joey Mack 7) Brian Holliway 8) Shane Diamant 9) Jerry Walker 10) Jason Snodgrass 11) Gregg Herron 12) John Pafford 13) Barry Barkley 14) Brandon Ball 15) Bryan Millican (scratches: Jim Greenway, Dean Carpenter)
