O'REILLY AUTO PARTS MID-AMERICA RACING SERIES
Wheatland Raceway, 3rd Annual Fall Classic
Friday, Saturday; September 26-27
by Larry Olson; Mountain Home, AR
BATESVILLE AR. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Mid-America Racing Series will wrap up it's fourth season this weekend. The O'Reilly M.A.R.S. series will sanction both nights of the 3rd Annual Fall Classic at the Wheatland Raceway. Originally, the O'Reilly M.A.R.S. series had agreed to sanction Saturday's event. Late last week however, the O'Reilly M.A.R.S. series and Wheatland Raceway officials came to an agreement for the O'Reilly M.A.R.S. series to sanction both nights.
Each night will be headlined by a 40 Lap feature event paying $3,000 to win, and guarentee each starter at least $500. These two races will be the final two points events in the 2003 season.
The battle for the top spot will go down to this final weekend of racing, as only 20 points seperate Bill Frye of Greenbriar, Arkansas and Terry Phillips of Springfield, Missouri. Frye picked up the big prize this past weekend at the Lebanon I-44 Speedway. Frye's $10,000 Bill Willard Memorial pay-day was good for his checkbook, but provided little in the way of points seperation. Phillips who finished in second place, minimizing the damage in the points race, and grabbed a $5,000 payday for himself.
Jeff Taylor of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas basically has third place in series points locked up. Taylor won't be able to catch either Frye or Phillips, but isn't in a position to loose third place to any drivers behind him. Taylor had a top five at Lebanon this past weekend piloting a new GRT Chassis.
Jeff Floyd of Walnut Ridge, Arkansas moved back by Leslie Essary of Crane, Missouri for fourth place. Floyd finished just outside the top five at the Bill Willard Memorial. Essary's late season string of bad luck continued as he was the second car out of the event, taking a big points hit. Only four points seperate the pair however, and this points battle will in all likelyhood go down to the very wire.
Mike Brown of Ft. Gibson, Oklahoma is in sixth place in the points. His position is safe from any driver behind him, but Brown is in a position, if things go just right, to still move up. It would take two great runs for Brown, which he is more than capable of, and for things to not go well for his competitors, but there is still a chance for Brown to improve his finish this weekend.
Charlie Randolph of Ft. Gibson, Oklahoma is seventh in the points. Randolph is also the Kuntz & Company Rookie of the Year for 2003. Randolph's rookie title is not in doubt, but his spot in the final points standings is. Jerry Buck of Harviell, Missouri is only ten points back of Randolph, and Dewaine Hottinger of Russellville, Arkansas is still within striking distance of seventh place, only 44 points behind Randolph. This points battle will also go down to the wire for final resolution.
Steve Rushin of Poplar Bluff, Missouri will round out the top ten. Rushin could still catch Hottinger and move up a slot, but Joey Mack of Benton, Missouri could also still catch Rushin. Each spot in the final O'Reilly M.A.R.S. points battle is valuable, and these drivers will be fighting hard to try to improve.
Gary Stolba, of Willow Springs, Missouri is 12th in the points, and is another driver that won't be able to change his position in the final points standings. Stolba will be on hand ready to compete. Shane Essary of Aurora, Missouri improved a spot in the standings, and also moved to second in the Kuntz & Company rookie points battle over the weekend. Look for Essary to be more than competitive as he moved into a new Larry Shaw Chassis over the past weekend, and the results were apparant.
Pit gates are scheduled to open at 4:00pm both nights, with grandstands opening at 5:00pm. Adult ticket prices are $15.00 with kids admitted for $5.00. Tier parking will be $16.00 per person per night. Adult pit passes are $30.00, with kids admitted to the pits for $15.00. The Wheatland Raceway is located 5 blocks south of U.S. 54 on State Route 83. You can visit the Wheatland Raceway on the world wide web at http://www.wheatlandraceway.com
For information about the O'Reilly Mid-America Racing Series point your browser to http://www.midamericaracingseries.com.
Title Sponsor for the 2003 Mid-America Racing Series is O'Reilly Auto Parts. Rookie of the Year sponsor for 2003 is Kuntz & Co. Performance and Balancing.
Major Corporate Sponsors for the 2003 M.A.R.S. season are Competition Cams, Rinehart Trucking, GRT Race Cars, Hatfield Racing Engines, Hoosier Racing Tires, Larry Shaw Race Cars, Schoenfeld Headers, and Turbo Blue Racing Fuel.
Turbo Blue is the official racing fuel for the Mid-America Racing Series.
Associate Corporate Sponsors for the 2003 M.A.R.S. season are Appleton Rack & Pinion, Boyd Built Fabricators, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Duralite Racing Wheels, JFR Graphics, Landrum Spring Service, M&M Racing Equipment, MasterSbilt Race Cars, Mudslinger The Magazine, Pizza Hut of Batesville, Ringer Gloves, Rockhard Powder Coating, Raceday Embroidery.
Raceday Embroidery is the sponsor of the Crew of the Year Award
Wheatland Raceway, 3rd Annual Fall Classic
Friday, Saturday; September 26-27
by Larry Olson; Mountain Home, AR
BATESVILLE AR. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Mid-America Racing Series will wrap up it's fourth season this weekend. The O'Reilly M.A.R.S. series will sanction both nights of the 3rd Annual Fall Classic at the Wheatland Raceway. Originally, the O'Reilly M.A.R.S. series had agreed to sanction Saturday's event. Late last week however, the O'Reilly M.A.R.S. series and Wheatland Raceway officials came to an agreement for the O'Reilly M.A.R.S. series to sanction both nights.
Each night will be headlined by a 40 Lap feature event paying $3,000 to win, and guarentee each starter at least $500. These two races will be the final two points events in the 2003 season.
The battle for the top spot will go down to this final weekend of racing, as only 20 points seperate Bill Frye of Greenbriar, Arkansas and Terry Phillips of Springfield, Missouri. Frye picked up the big prize this past weekend at the Lebanon I-44 Speedway. Frye's $10,000 Bill Willard Memorial pay-day was good for his checkbook, but provided little in the way of points seperation. Phillips who finished in second place, minimizing the damage in the points race, and grabbed a $5,000 payday for himself.
Jeff Taylor of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas basically has third place in series points locked up. Taylor won't be able to catch either Frye or Phillips, but isn't in a position to loose third place to any drivers behind him. Taylor had a top five at Lebanon this past weekend piloting a new GRT Chassis.
Jeff Floyd of Walnut Ridge, Arkansas moved back by Leslie Essary of Crane, Missouri for fourth place. Floyd finished just outside the top five at the Bill Willard Memorial. Essary's late season string of bad luck continued as he was the second car out of the event, taking a big points hit. Only four points seperate the pair however, and this points battle will in all likelyhood go down to the very wire.
Mike Brown of Ft. Gibson, Oklahoma is in sixth place in the points. His position is safe from any driver behind him, but Brown is in a position, if things go just right, to still move up. It would take two great runs for Brown, which he is more than capable of, and for things to not go well for his competitors, but there is still a chance for Brown to improve his finish this weekend.
Charlie Randolph of Ft. Gibson, Oklahoma is seventh in the points. Randolph is also the Kuntz & Company Rookie of the Year for 2003. Randolph's rookie title is not in doubt, but his spot in the final points standings is. Jerry Buck of Harviell, Missouri is only ten points back of Randolph, and Dewaine Hottinger of Russellville, Arkansas is still within striking distance of seventh place, only 44 points behind Randolph. This points battle will also go down to the wire for final resolution.
Steve Rushin of Poplar Bluff, Missouri will round out the top ten. Rushin could still catch Hottinger and move up a slot, but Joey Mack of Benton, Missouri could also still catch Rushin. Each spot in the final O'Reilly M.A.R.S. points battle is valuable, and these drivers will be fighting hard to try to improve.
Gary Stolba, of Willow Springs, Missouri is 12th in the points, and is another driver that won't be able to change his position in the final points standings. Stolba will be on hand ready to compete. Shane Essary of Aurora, Missouri improved a spot in the standings, and also moved to second in the Kuntz & Company rookie points battle over the weekend. Look for Essary to be more than competitive as he moved into a new Larry Shaw Chassis over the past weekend, and the results were apparant.
Pit gates are scheduled to open at 4:00pm both nights, with grandstands opening at 5:00pm. Adult ticket prices are $15.00 with kids admitted for $5.00. Tier parking will be $16.00 per person per night. Adult pit passes are $30.00, with kids admitted to the pits for $15.00. The Wheatland Raceway is located 5 blocks south of U.S. 54 on State Route 83. You can visit the Wheatland Raceway on the world wide web at http://www.wheatlandraceway.com
For information about the O'Reilly Mid-America Racing Series point your browser to http://www.midamericaracingseries.com.
Title Sponsor for the 2003 Mid-America Racing Series is O'Reilly Auto Parts. Rookie of the Year sponsor for 2003 is Kuntz & Co. Performance and Balancing.
Major Corporate Sponsors for the 2003 M.A.R.S. season are Competition Cams, Rinehart Trucking, GRT Race Cars, Hatfield Racing Engines, Hoosier Racing Tires, Larry Shaw Race Cars, Schoenfeld Headers, and Turbo Blue Racing Fuel.
Turbo Blue is the official racing fuel for the Mid-America Racing Series.
Associate Corporate Sponsors for the 2003 M.A.R.S. season are Appleton Rack & Pinion, Boyd Built Fabricators, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Duralite Racing Wheels, JFR Graphics, Landrum Spring Service, M&M Racing Equipment, MasterSbilt Race Cars, Mudslinger The Magazine, Pizza Hut of Batesville, Ringer Gloves, Rockhard Powder Coating, Raceday Embroidery.
Raceday Embroidery is the sponsor of the Crew of the Year Award
