By Spencer Wilson
SITKA, KY--Veteran dirt late model driver, Paul Harris of Prestonsburg, KY broke through on Saturday Night at the 201 Speedway as he claimed his first career O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts event. The 48 year old driver thus becomes the eighth different driver in 12 races this season to win a BoB Late Model event as he led the final 16 laps to capture the $3000 to win Lucas Oil A-Main event. Harris behind the wheel of his Miller Brothers Coal. Harris Tricking, Twin Bridge Auto Parts, American Racer Tires, Custom Race Engines, Swartz Race Cars Ford Mustang held off a furious charge from 18th starting and new series points leader, Aaron Hatton of Mt. Sterling, KY, who finished in second in the Checkered Flag Auto Sales/Draime Engines/MasterSbilt Grand Prix. Victor Lee of Stanford, KY was third in the Team Barber Racing/Barber Truck Repair/C.J. Rayburn Grand Prix. Taking fourth was Rod Evans of St. Albans, WV in the Don White Racing/Technology Services/Rocket Grand Prix. Rounding out the top five was Chuckie May of Allen, KY in the May Block and Concrete/GRT Monte Carlo. A total of 33 cars were on hand for the event before a packed hillside at the Eastern Kentucky track.
The Lucas Oil 40 lap A-Main would see three different leaders with Tyrel Todd grabbing the early lead followed by Victor Lee and Mike Jewell. Shannon Thornsberry would quickly rocket from fifth to third by lap two overhauling Jewell in the process. Thornsberry was not done yet as he moved into second by Lee on the third lap and was already starting to chase down the leader, Todd. Johnny Wheeler was another driver on the move early in the main event as moved his mount into third by the fifth circuit. Up front Todd, Thornsberry and Wheeler were starting to distance themselves from the rest of the field which saw two and three wide racing going on. As the leaders started to enter lapped traffic on the ninth lap Thornsberry and Wheeler closed the gap quickly on Todd. As the trio entered turn four on the 10th lap a lapped car got sideways which forced Todd sideways causing a chain reaction accident involving Todd and second place running Thornsberry, who both came to stop on the race track in turn four. Todd went pitside with suspension damage and Thornsberry continued, this time on the tail. With that out of the way Wheeler was the new leader of the race with Paul Harris now running in second followed by Lee, Chuckie May and Rod Evans. Wheeler and Harris then would put on quite a show for the large gathering of race fans at 201 as they would race hard and clean side by side on many occasions with Wheeler always holding the lead at the start-finish line for scoring purposes. From the 11th lap until the 24th lap the race for the lead continued to be a dandy with Lee. May and Evans all having a ringside seat for the battle.
As the cars were exiting turn four to begin lap 25 a broken suspension part on the back of Wheeler's car forced him to veer off the track and stopping up topside of turn four putting him out of the race. With Wheeler's fine run ending that would put Harris on the point with Lee and Evans running second and third. Lee and Evans would then go to the top of the racing surface and that looked to now be the quickest way around the race track. Harris then would change his line from the bottom to the middle groove because he now had to contend with Aaron Hatton. Hatton who started 18th blazed through the pack using the very bottom groove of the race track around the inside retaining wall. By the 30th lap Hatton was all the way up third passing Evans in the process. Hatton and Lee then went side by side for four laps each alternating the spot at the start-finish line. Hatton would finally get past Lee on lap 36 and now had four laps to go to catch Harris. Harris however would thwart off all remaining challenges from Hatton and go on to pick up his first ever O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass win. Hatton's drive earned him the PPM Racing Products Hard Charger of the race in passing 15 cars on his way to a second place finish which allowed him to take over the points lead in the series after 12 races. Lee's consistent and high finishes continue as he came home in third. Evans would finish fourth with Chuckie May getting back around Brandon Kinzer on the final lap to claim fifth.
Completing the top ten were David Smith, Brandon Kinzer, Brad Neat, David Powers and Dennis Selby. Shannon Thornsberry was the Racing Optics fast qualifier for the 33 entrants on hand with a quick lap of 14.143 seconds. The Crown Spray Power Heat Race winners were Johnny Wheeler, Tyrel Todd, Victor Lee and Mike Jewell. David Powers and David Smith won the O'Reilly Auto Parts B-Mains.
The next O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass event will be this Saturday Nigth, July 10 at the Bluegrass Speedway in Bardstown, KY.
Event Summary
O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series
Event #12 of 2004
201 Speedway
Sitka, KY
Saturday Night, July 3, 2004
Racing Optics Fast Time: Shannon Thornsberry 14.143
Crown Spray Power Heat #1: Johnny Wheeler, Shannon Thornsberry, Rod Evans, Brandon Kinzer
Crown Spray Power Heat #2: Tyrel Todd, Paul Harris, Brad Neat, Spensor Watson
Crown Spray Power Heat #3: Victor Lee, Chuckie May, Chris Combs, Michael England
Crown Spray Power Heat #4: Mike Jewell, Chris Wilson, Dennis Selby, Brett Foster
O'Reilly Auto Parts B-Main #1: David Powers, Brandon Kinzer, Doug Smith, Ralph Francis
O'Reilly Auto Parts B-Main #2: David Smith, Brett Foster, Aaron Hatton, Michael England
Lucas Oil A-Main (40 Laps): Paul Harris, Aaron Hatton, Victor Lee, Rod Evans, Chuckie May, David Smith, Brandon Kinzer, Brad Neat, David Powers, Dennis Selby, Spensor Watson, Chris Combs, Doug Smith, Brett Foster, Chris Wilson, Shannon Thornsberry, Johnny Wheeler, Mike Jewell, Michael England, Michael Howard, Steve Cornelius, Tyrel Todd, Ralph Francis, Robert Fletcher
SITKA, KY--Veteran dirt late model driver, Paul Harris of Prestonsburg, KY broke through on Saturday Night at the 201 Speedway as he claimed his first career O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts event. The 48 year old driver thus becomes the eighth different driver in 12 races this season to win a BoB Late Model event as he led the final 16 laps to capture the $3000 to win Lucas Oil A-Main event. Harris behind the wheel of his Miller Brothers Coal. Harris Tricking, Twin Bridge Auto Parts, American Racer Tires, Custom Race Engines, Swartz Race Cars Ford Mustang held off a furious charge from 18th starting and new series points leader, Aaron Hatton of Mt. Sterling, KY, who finished in second in the Checkered Flag Auto Sales/Draime Engines/MasterSbilt Grand Prix. Victor Lee of Stanford, KY was third in the Team Barber Racing/Barber Truck Repair/C.J. Rayburn Grand Prix. Taking fourth was Rod Evans of St. Albans, WV in the Don White Racing/Technology Services/Rocket Grand Prix. Rounding out the top five was Chuckie May of Allen, KY in the May Block and Concrete/GRT Monte Carlo. A total of 33 cars were on hand for the event before a packed hillside at the Eastern Kentucky track.
The Lucas Oil 40 lap A-Main would see three different leaders with Tyrel Todd grabbing the early lead followed by Victor Lee and Mike Jewell. Shannon Thornsberry would quickly rocket from fifth to third by lap two overhauling Jewell in the process. Thornsberry was not done yet as he moved into second by Lee on the third lap and was already starting to chase down the leader, Todd. Johnny Wheeler was another driver on the move early in the main event as moved his mount into third by the fifth circuit. Up front Todd, Thornsberry and Wheeler were starting to distance themselves from the rest of the field which saw two and three wide racing going on. As the leaders started to enter lapped traffic on the ninth lap Thornsberry and Wheeler closed the gap quickly on Todd. As the trio entered turn four on the 10th lap a lapped car got sideways which forced Todd sideways causing a chain reaction accident involving Todd and second place running Thornsberry, who both came to stop on the race track in turn four. Todd went pitside with suspension damage and Thornsberry continued, this time on the tail. With that out of the way Wheeler was the new leader of the race with Paul Harris now running in second followed by Lee, Chuckie May and Rod Evans. Wheeler and Harris then would put on quite a show for the large gathering of race fans at 201 as they would race hard and clean side by side on many occasions with Wheeler always holding the lead at the start-finish line for scoring purposes. From the 11th lap until the 24th lap the race for the lead continued to be a dandy with Lee. May and Evans all having a ringside seat for the battle.
As the cars were exiting turn four to begin lap 25 a broken suspension part on the back of Wheeler's car forced him to veer off the track and stopping up topside of turn four putting him out of the race. With Wheeler's fine run ending that would put Harris on the point with Lee and Evans running second and third. Lee and Evans would then go to the top of the racing surface and that looked to now be the quickest way around the race track. Harris then would change his line from the bottom to the middle groove because he now had to contend with Aaron Hatton. Hatton who started 18th blazed through the pack using the very bottom groove of the race track around the inside retaining wall. By the 30th lap Hatton was all the way up third passing Evans in the process. Hatton and Lee then went side by side for four laps each alternating the spot at the start-finish line. Hatton would finally get past Lee on lap 36 and now had four laps to go to catch Harris. Harris however would thwart off all remaining challenges from Hatton and go on to pick up his first ever O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass win. Hatton's drive earned him the PPM Racing Products Hard Charger of the race in passing 15 cars on his way to a second place finish which allowed him to take over the points lead in the series after 12 races. Lee's consistent and high finishes continue as he came home in third. Evans would finish fourth with Chuckie May getting back around Brandon Kinzer on the final lap to claim fifth.
Completing the top ten were David Smith, Brandon Kinzer, Brad Neat, David Powers and Dennis Selby. Shannon Thornsberry was the Racing Optics fast qualifier for the 33 entrants on hand with a quick lap of 14.143 seconds. The Crown Spray Power Heat Race winners were Johnny Wheeler, Tyrel Todd, Victor Lee and Mike Jewell. David Powers and David Smith won the O'Reilly Auto Parts B-Mains.
The next O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass event will be this Saturday Nigth, July 10 at the Bluegrass Speedway in Bardstown, KY.
Event Summary
O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series
Event #12 of 2004
201 Speedway
Sitka, KY
Saturday Night, July 3, 2004
Racing Optics Fast Time: Shannon Thornsberry 14.143
Crown Spray Power Heat #1: Johnny Wheeler, Shannon Thornsberry, Rod Evans, Brandon Kinzer
Crown Spray Power Heat #2: Tyrel Todd, Paul Harris, Brad Neat, Spensor Watson
Crown Spray Power Heat #3: Victor Lee, Chuckie May, Chris Combs, Michael England
Crown Spray Power Heat #4: Mike Jewell, Chris Wilson, Dennis Selby, Brett Foster
O'Reilly Auto Parts B-Main #1: David Powers, Brandon Kinzer, Doug Smith, Ralph Francis
O'Reilly Auto Parts B-Main #2: David Smith, Brett Foster, Aaron Hatton, Michael England
Lucas Oil A-Main (40 Laps): Paul Harris, Aaron Hatton, Victor Lee, Rod Evans, Chuckie May, David Smith, Brandon Kinzer, Brad Neat, David Powers, Dennis Selby, Spensor Watson, Chris Combs, Doug Smith, Brett Foster, Chris Wilson, Shannon Thornsberry, Johnny Wheeler, Mike Jewell, Michael England, Michael Howard, Steve Cornelius, Tyrel Todd, Ralph Francis, Robert Fletcher
