Feature Shortened after California Driver Kellen Chadwick injured in Firey Crash
By: Ryan Neuharth
CASA GRANDE, Ariz – (February 22, 2008) Racing out of the Springfield, MO shop of Terry Phillips, Tucson native Jeremy Payne lead all 20-laps in his Andy’s Frozen Custard/Hanna Ray Motorsports/Terry Phillips Autosports/GRT to take night one of the Salute to the Veterans 100 at Central Arizona Raceway.
Payne would take the lead on the initial start followed by nine-time USMTS Champion Kelly Shryock, Ron Jones, fellow front row started Jeff Stafford, Jay Rosales and 13th starting Jason Hughes.
The scheduled 30-laps feature was shortened to 20 after a lap two crash involved California’s Kellen Chadwick, New Mexico’s Bumper Jones and Jay Rosales, and North Dakota’s Marlyn Seidler. Rosales made contact in turn two with Jeff Stafford causing him to spin down the backstretch blocking the speedway as full speed traffic approached. Chadwick was collected by Rosales and began flipping as Jones came upon the incident. Unable to slow his car in time, Jones hit the roof of the upside-down Chadwick who would come to rest on all four wheels on top of Seidler’s right front.
As Seidler began to back away, fuel spilled on the racetrack ignited causing a large fire under the cars involved in the crash. It was quickly extinguished by the track safety crew and they began to attend to Chadwick. He had to be extricated from the car and was airlifted to a Phoenix hospital. Kellen was awake and alert talking with the paramedics and complaining of severe neck pain.
After the 37-minute red flag period, Payne would lead the restart with Shryock second, Jones third, Stafford fourth with Hughes rounding out the top five with Chris Olexiewicz occupying sixth and 2008 USMTS Champion Jason Krohn seventh.
Hughes and Olexiewicz would make quick work of Stafford on laps two and three, with Krohn turning the same trick on lap four. Payne had a comfortable lead on lap five as Jones looked for a way past Shryock with Hughes quickly closing.
Seventeenth and eighteenth starting drivers Chad Ayres and Curt Barnett would crack the top 10 by lap five as Barnett sat ninth with Ayres tenth. They would each jump up two spots on lap six as the complexion of the top five would change dramatically on laps eight and nine. Hughes pulled into the infield with heavy smoke and Jones coasted off the frontstretch with mechanical difficulty just one circuit later.
With 10 in, Payne continued out front with Shryock still second, Olexiewicz now third, Krohn now fourth, Barnett fifth, Ayers sixth, and Fito Gallardo seventh from 14th. The rash of night long engine trouble would continue on lap 15 when Brandon Kenney would erupt in a cloud of smoke in turn one. At the same time Terry Phillips would retire from the event with apparent engine woes.
Payne would cruise the final five laps to take the opening night win and claim the pole for Sunday $8,000 to win Main Event. Shryock, Olexiewicz, Krohn and Ayers how snuck by Barnett on lap 18 would claim the other four transfers to Sunday Main Event.
Saturday’s events kickoff at 10am with the Custom Car and Bike show with the first green flag scheduled for 4pm
Heat 1: Terry Tipton, Kellen Chadwick, Chris Olexowicz, Travis Gorsuch, Lance Mari, Alan Sharpensteen, Kenny Hawkins, Brandon Kenney, Erik Elmer (-1)
Heat 2: Kelly Shryock, Jeremy Payne, Fito Gallardo, Curt Barnett, Sherman Barnett (-1), Johnny Scott (NF), Royal Jones (NF), Tommy Weder Jr. (NF)
Heat 3: Ben Seidler, Jay Rosales, Jason Hughes, Marlyn Seidler, Christy Georges, Carlos Auhmada, Dave Dulceak, Eric Turner (NF), Mark Harrison (NS)
Heat 4: Aaron Mari, George Fronsman, Jeff Stafford, Cody Alvarez, Chad Ayers, Bo Hatfield (NF), Bryan Roland (NF), Jim DiGiovanni (NF), Bob Sanders (NS)
Heat 5: Ron Jones, Bo Hatfield, Jason Krohn, Bumper Jones, Zach Vanderbeek, Duane Cleveland, Jason Noll, Terry Phillips
B-Main 1: Jason Hughes, Marlyn Seidler, Chad Ayers, Brandon Kenney, Christy Georges, RC Whitwell, Alan Sharpensteen, Carlos Auhmada, Eric Turner, Jim DiGiovanni, Kenny Hawkins, Erik Elmer, Jeremy Newberry (NF), Duane Cleveland (NF), Zach Vanderbeek (NF), Mark Harrison (NS), Bob Sanders (NS)
B-Main 2: Fito Gallardo, Bumper Jones, Curt Barnett, Johnny Scott, Terry Phillips, Travis Gorsuch (-1), Tommy Weder Jr. (-1), Sherman Barnett (-3), Lance Mari (NF), Dave Dulceak (NF), Jason Noll (NF), Bo Hatfield (NS), Bryan Roland (NS), Royal Jones (NS), Terry Tipton (NS)
Preliminary A-Main: Jeremy Payne, Kelly Shryock, Chris Olexowicz, Jason Krohn, Chad Ayers, Fito Gallardo, Curt Barnett, Johnny Scott, Jeff Stafford, Cody Alvarez, Ben Seidler (NF), Terry Phillips (NF), Brandon Kenney (NF), Christy Georges (NF), Ron Jones (NF), Jason Hughes (NF), RC Whitwell (NF), George Fronsman (NF), Jay Rosales (NF), Kellen Chadwick (NF), Marlyn Seidler (NF), Bumper Jones (NF), Travis Gorsuch (NF), Aaron Mari (NF), Bo Partain (NF)
** 45 Modifieds**
** 10 states represented (CA, AZ, WY, IA, OK, TX, NM, MN, ND, MO)
About Central Arizona Raceway
The Central Arizona Raceway is located at 512 South 11-mile Corner Road at the Pinal County Fairgrounds, 7-miles east of Casa Grande, AZ on Highway 287. Racing January through November, C.A.R is home to the Wild West Shootout, the Salute to the Veterans 100, and the West Hurst Memorial while showcasing events from the BRA dirt Modified Weekly & Touring Series, the Southwest Dirt Racing Association Late Models, O’Reilly ASCS Sprint Car Series, Arizona Dwarf Car Association, Southwest Modlite Racing Association, Super Stock Touring Series, and Pure Stock division.
By: Ryan Neuharth
CASA GRANDE, Ariz – (February 22, 2008) Racing out of the Springfield, MO shop of Terry Phillips, Tucson native Jeremy Payne lead all 20-laps in his Andy’s Frozen Custard/Hanna Ray Motorsports/Terry Phillips Autosports/GRT to take night one of the Salute to the Veterans 100 at Central Arizona Raceway.
Payne would take the lead on the initial start followed by nine-time USMTS Champion Kelly Shryock, Ron Jones, fellow front row started Jeff Stafford, Jay Rosales and 13th starting Jason Hughes.
The scheduled 30-laps feature was shortened to 20 after a lap two crash involved California’s Kellen Chadwick, New Mexico’s Bumper Jones and Jay Rosales, and North Dakota’s Marlyn Seidler. Rosales made contact in turn two with Jeff Stafford causing him to spin down the backstretch blocking the speedway as full speed traffic approached. Chadwick was collected by Rosales and began flipping as Jones came upon the incident. Unable to slow his car in time, Jones hit the roof of the upside-down Chadwick who would come to rest on all four wheels on top of Seidler’s right front.
As Seidler began to back away, fuel spilled on the racetrack ignited causing a large fire under the cars involved in the crash. It was quickly extinguished by the track safety crew and they began to attend to Chadwick. He had to be extricated from the car and was airlifted to a Phoenix hospital. Kellen was awake and alert talking with the paramedics and complaining of severe neck pain.
After the 37-minute red flag period, Payne would lead the restart with Shryock second, Jones third, Stafford fourth with Hughes rounding out the top five with Chris Olexiewicz occupying sixth and 2008 USMTS Champion Jason Krohn seventh.
Hughes and Olexiewicz would make quick work of Stafford on laps two and three, with Krohn turning the same trick on lap four. Payne had a comfortable lead on lap five as Jones looked for a way past Shryock with Hughes quickly closing.
Seventeenth and eighteenth starting drivers Chad Ayres and Curt Barnett would crack the top 10 by lap five as Barnett sat ninth with Ayres tenth. They would each jump up two spots on lap six as the complexion of the top five would change dramatically on laps eight and nine. Hughes pulled into the infield with heavy smoke and Jones coasted off the frontstretch with mechanical difficulty just one circuit later.
With 10 in, Payne continued out front with Shryock still second, Olexiewicz now third, Krohn now fourth, Barnett fifth, Ayers sixth, and Fito Gallardo seventh from 14th. The rash of night long engine trouble would continue on lap 15 when Brandon Kenney would erupt in a cloud of smoke in turn one. At the same time Terry Phillips would retire from the event with apparent engine woes.
Payne would cruise the final five laps to take the opening night win and claim the pole for Sunday $8,000 to win Main Event. Shryock, Olexiewicz, Krohn and Ayers how snuck by Barnett on lap 18 would claim the other four transfers to Sunday Main Event.
Saturday’s events kickoff at 10am with the Custom Car and Bike show with the first green flag scheduled for 4pm
Heat 1: Terry Tipton, Kellen Chadwick, Chris Olexowicz, Travis Gorsuch, Lance Mari, Alan Sharpensteen, Kenny Hawkins, Brandon Kenney, Erik Elmer (-1)
Heat 2: Kelly Shryock, Jeremy Payne, Fito Gallardo, Curt Barnett, Sherman Barnett (-1), Johnny Scott (NF), Royal Jones (NF), Tommy Weder Jr. (NF)
Heat 3: Ben Seidler, Jay Rosales, Jason Hughes, Marlyn Seidler, Christy Georges, Carlos Auhmada, Dave Dulceak, Eric Turner (NF), Mark Harrison (NS)
Heat 4: Aaron Mari, George Fronsman, Jeff Stafford, Cody Alvarez, Chad Ayers, Bo Hatfield (NF), Bryan Roland (NF), Jim DiGiovanni (NF), Bob Sanders (NS)
Heat 5: Ron Jones, Bo Hatfield, Jason Krohn, Bumper Jones, Zach Vanderbeek, Duane Cleveland, Jason Noll, Terry Phillips
B-Main 1: Jason Hughes, Marlyn Seidler, Chad Ayers, Brandon Kenney, Christy Georges, RC Whitwell, Alan Sharpensteen, Carlos Auhmada, Eric Turner, Jim DiGiovanni, Kenny Hawkins, Erik Elmer, Jeremy Newberry (NF), Duane Cleveland (NF), Zach Vanderbeek (NF), Mark Harrison (NS), Bob Sanders (NS)
B-Main 2: Fito Gallardo, Bumper Jones, Curt Barnett, Johnny Scott, Terry Phillips, Travis Gorsuch (-1), Tommy Weder Jr. (-1), Sherman Barnett (-3), Lance Mari (NF), Dave Dulceak (NF), Jason Noll (NF), Bo Hatfield (NS), Bryan Roland (NS), Royal Jones (NS), Terry Tipton (NS)
Preliminary A-Main: Jeremy Payne, Kelly Shryock, Chris Olexowicz, Jason Krohn, Chad Ayers, Fito Gallardo, Curt Barnett, Johnny Scott, Jeff Stafford, Cody Alvarez, Ben Seidler (NF), Terry Phillips (NF), Brandon Kenney (NF), Christy Georges (NF), Ron Jones (NF), Jason Hughes (NF), RC Whitwell (NF), George Fronsman (NF), Jay Rosales (NF), Kellen Chadwick (NF), Marlyn Seidler (NF), Bumper Jones (NF), Travis Gorsuch (NF), Aaron Mari (NF), Bo Partain (NF)
** 45 Modifieds**
** 10 states represented (CA, AZ, WY, IA, OK, TX, NM, MN, ND, MO)
About Central Arizona Raceway
The Central Arizona Raceway is located at 512 South 11-mile Corner Road at the Pinal County Fairgrounds, 7-miles east of Casa Grande, AZ on Highway 287. Racing January through November, C.A.R is home to the Wild West Shootout, the Salute to the Veterans 100, and the West Hurst Memorial while showcasing events from the BRA dirt Modified Weekly & Touring Series, the Southwest Dirt Racing Association Late Models, O’Reilly ASCS Sprint Car Series, Arizona Dwarf Car Association, Southwest Modlite Racing Association, Super Stock Touring Series, and Pure Stock division.
