SITKA, KY (9/01/2007) - Prestonsburg, KY racer Paul Harris took the checkered flag first on Saturday evening at 201 Speedway over a 26 entry field leading all 40 laps and picking up his third career win with the O'Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts. Harris became the 17th different winner on the 2007 tour as he dominated the event over Campbellsville, KY driver Tim Tungate.
As the field raced off into turn one, Paul Harris rolled to the lead with Tim Tungate, Chris Combs, Victor Lee and Tyrel Todd in hot pursuit at the start of the 40 lap, $3,000 to win A-Main event. As the field came to the stripe, the battle for the lead was intense as Harris, Tungate and Combs came off of turn four three wide with Harris edging his mount in front of his competition. The first of five cautions came as the field rolled into lap two when Robert Fletcher slowed his machine exiting turn two ending his night. As the field came to a slow start, Brandon Fouts lightly rolled his machine bringing out the red flag.
On the restart, Paul Harris once again brought the field to the green flag with Chris Combs, Tim Tungate, Victor Lee and Tyrel Todd making a hard dash for second. The battle broke into pairs as Tungate and Combs intensified the battle for second and Lee and Todd dueled for fourth. As the field began to spread out on lap 6, Combs, Lee, Todd and Kinzer heated up the battle for third as they went three and four wide around the clay oval. By lap 10, Combs and Lee broke away from the pack and went side by side for third as David Webb dove to the inside of Brandon Kinzer to take the fifth spot. The caution flag waved again over the 3/8 mile on lap 17 as Tyrel Todd slowed on the frontchute. The top ten running order was Harris, Tungate, Kinzer, Combs, Lee, Webb, Jason Keltner, 16th starting Anthony Adams, Michael Paul Howard and Randy Boggs.
It would be at this point in the race when some drivers found traction in the high groove and rode the cushion moving their mounts to the front. By lap 19, eyes had shifted focus to the middle of the pack as Harold Redmon Jr. had moved his way back into the top 10. His run would be aborted on lap twenty when Tyrel Todd slowed once again on the backchute with mechanical woes causing him to retire from the event. Up front, it was Harris, Tungate, Combs, Lee and Keltner showing the way with Adams into 8th with Redmon Jr. in close tow.
On the restart, the field dove into turn one as the battle for second was intense. Kinzer used the high side around Tungate and Combs as they glued themselves to the rear decklid of Kinzers machine. As the field crossed the stripe on lap 23, Adams dove his machine into turn one to take the fifth spot from Keltner. One lap later, Redmon, Jr. got a run on the high side bypassing the six way battle for second taking the spot and setting his line of attack on Harris.
As Harris found lapped traffic on lap 28, his lead began to dwindle over the field. The battle for second once again raged when Redmon found lapped traffic running in his groove causing him to dive to the bottom allowing Tungate and Kinzer to catch him while Harris began distancing himself again. As second through tenth began slicing and dicing the back of the field, drivers scrambled to grab position. Lapped traffic shuffled the field back and forth as the lead pack exchanged positions numerous times.
As the battle in back of him raged, it was all Paul Harris at the front of the field with in his Bullock powered Swartz Taurus sponsored by Miller Brothers Coal, Hawkeye Trucking, Twin Bridge Auto Parts, Harris Trucking and Merion Brothers Monument set on cruise control.
Coming home in the runner up spot was Campbellsville, KY native Tim Tungate in his Bullock powered Rayburn Monte Carlo machine sponsored by Mulch Madness, Guardian Mortgage, J&L Title, The Shack, Barnes Auto Sales, ABC Childcare and B&W Auto Recyclers. Third place went to Anthony Adams in his Cornett Rayburn Grand Prix followed by Jason Keltner in his Draime powered Rayburn Monte Carlo. Coming home fifth was Brandon Kinzer in his Custom powered GRT Grand Prix. Rounding out the top ten was Tyler Mountain, WV driver Harold Redmon Jr., Isom, Ky native Chris Combs, Victor Lee, Randy Boggs, and David Webb.
"I didn't expect the old car to be this good. It worked well down low so I played it safe and stayed down there," said race winner Paul Harris. "The track was in great shape tonight with racing all around," he also added.
Tungate set fast time in Racing Optic Time Trials with a quick lap of 13.785. Arizona Sport Shirt heat wins went to Tungate, Harris and Lee. The Design 500 B-Main win went to the night's PPM Performance Products hard charger of the race Anthony Adams.
Up next for the O'Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts will be Richmond Raceway on September 15 paying $3,000 to the winner after taking a weekend off for the World 100 event at Eldora Speedway. Also joining the late models in action will be the Battle of the Bluegrass Modified Series. The Series will then head to Bluegrass Speedway in Bardstown, KY for an event paying $5,000 to win.
For more information on the O'Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series, check us out on the web at www.battleofthebluegrass.com or call the Series office at (859) 433-5707.
Race Summary
O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts
201 Speedway
Sitka, KY
September 1, 2007
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #1 - Tim Tungate, Chris Combs, David Webb, Terry Hicks, Randy Boggs, David Brown, Robert Fletcher, DJ Wells, Randy Caudill
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #2 - Paul Harris, Tyrel Todd, Jason Keltner, Rodney Davis, Brandon Johnson, Anthony Adams, Brandon Fouts, Eric Wells, Daniel Williams
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #3 - Victor Lee, Brandon Kinzer, Harold Redmon Jr., Michael Paul Howard, Rod Evans, Jamie Ferguson, CA Wentz, Eddy Johnson
Design 500 B-Main - Anthony Adams, Jamie Ferguson, Robert Fletcher, CA Wentz, DJ Wells, Eric Wells, Brandon Fouts, David Brown, Eddy Johnson, Daniel Williams, Randy Caudill
O'Reilly Auto Parts A-Main - Paul Harris, Tim Tungate, Anthony Adams, Jason Keltner, Brandon Kinzer, Harold Redmon Jr., Chris Combs, Victor Lee, Randy Boggs, David Webb, Michael Paul Howard, Terry Hicks, Brandon Johnson, Rod Evans, Eric Wells, Rodney Davis, CA Wentz, Jamie Ferguson, DJ Wells, Tyrel Todd, Brandon Fouts, Daniel Williams, Robert Fletcher
Race Statistics
Entries: 26
Lap Leaders: Paul Harris (1-40)
Cautions: 5
Red Flags: 1
PPM Performance Products Hard Charger Of The Race: Anthony Adams (16th to 3rd)
Cruise With The Champions Rookie Of The Race: Jason Keltner
Current O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Points
1. 4 Victor Lee - 4021
2. 0 Jason Keltner - 3692
3. 14 Tyrel Todd - 3545
4. 18 Tim Tungate - 3489
5. 13w David Webb - 3375
6. 11 Jerry Rice - 3264
7. 157 Mike Marlar - 2924
8. 9 Mike Jewell - 2746
9. 47 Chris Combs - 2712
10. 45 Doug Smith - 2439
2007 O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Winners
Florence Speedway (April 13th) - Michael England
Twin Cities Raceway Park (April 20th) - Rick Aukland
Brownstown Speedway (April 21st) - Don O'Neal
Ponderosa Speedway (April 27th) - Aaron Hatton
Bluegrass Speedway (April 28th) - Mike Marlar
Tazewell Speedway (May 12th) - Jimmy Owens
Portsmouth Raceway Park (May 27th) - Audie Swartz
Bluegrass Speedway (May 28th) - Don O'Neal
Richmond Raceway (May 29th) - Greg Johnson
Lake Cumberland Speedway (May 31st) - Josh McGuire
Ponderosa Speedway (June 1st) - Brad Neat
Bluegrass Speedway (June 16th) - Mike Jewell
Brownstown Speedway (June 23rd) - Rohn Moon
201 Speedway (June 30th) - Justin Rattliff
Florence Speedway (July 11th) - Scott James
Ponderosa Speedway (July 13th) - Aaron Hatton
Bluegrass Speedway (July 14th) - Steve Francis
Richmond Raceway (July 21st) - Tim Tungate
Ponderosa Speedway (August 24th) - Mike Marlar
201 Speedway (September 1st) - Paul Harris
2007 O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series Sponsors
O'Reilly Auto Parts - Title Sponsor and "Official Auto Parts Retailer of the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series"
Arizona Sport Shirts - Presenting Sponsor and "Official Souvenir Manufacturer & Vendor of the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series"
Sunoco Race Fuels - "Official Race Fuel of the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series"
2007 O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series Supporters Include: O'Reilly Auto Parts, Arizona Sport Shirts, Sunoco Race Fuels, DART Machinery, Drive Smart Kentucky, Hoosier Race Tires, American Race Tires, PPM Performance Products, Bazell Fuels, Cruise With the Champions, Wayne Bowen Racing Supply, Racing Optics, Design 500, Trailer Parts & Sales, Honda of Prestonsburg, Bullock Race Engines, CJ Rayburn Race Cars, Bert Transmissions, Double H Race Fab, DT52 Photos, and Real Wheels
- Jesse Howard - O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series (jhoward@battleofthebluegrass.com
As the field raced off into turn one, Paul Harris rolled to the lead with Tim Tungate, Chris Combs, Victor Lee and Tyrel Todd in hot pursuit at the start of the 40 lap, $3,000 to win A-Main event. As the field came to the stripe, the battle for the lead was intense as Harris, Tungate and Combs came off of turn four three wide with Harris edging his mount in front of his competition. The first of five cautions came as the field rolled into lap two when Robert Fletcher slowed his machine exiting turn two ending his night. As the field came to a slow start, Brandon Fouts lightly rolled his machine bringing out the red flag.
On the restart, Paul Harris once again brought the field to the green flag with Chris Combs, Tim Tungate, Victor Lee and Tyrel Todd making a hard dash for second. The battle broke into pairs as Tungate and Combs intensified the battle for second and Lee and Todd dueled for fourth. As the field began to spread out on lap 6, Combs, Lee, Todd and Kinzer heated up the battle for third as they went three and four wide around the clay oval. By lap 10, Combs and Lee broke away from the pack and went side by side for third as David Webb dove to the inside of Brandon Kinzer to take the fifth spot. The caution flag waved again over the 3/8 mile on lap 17 as Tyrel Todd slowed on the frontchute. The top ten running order was Harris, Tungate, Kinzer, Combs, Lee, Webb, Jason Keltner, 16th starting Anthony Adams, Michael Paul Howard and Randy Boggs.
It would be at this point in the race when some drivers found traction in the high groove and rode the cushion moving their mounts to the front. By lap 19, eyes had shifted focus to the middle of the pack as Harold Redmon Jr. had moved his way back into the top 10. His run would be aborted on lap twenty when Tyrel Todd slowed once again on the backchute with mechanical woes causing him to retire from the event. Up front, it was Harris, Tungate, Combs, Lee and Keltner showing the way with Adams into 8th with Redmon Jr. in close tow.
On the restart, the field dove into turn one as the battle for second was intense. Kinzer used the high side around Tungate and Combs as they glued themselves to the rear decklid of Kinzers machine. As the field crossed the stripe on lap 23, Adams dove his machine into turn one to take the fifth spot from Keltner. One lap later, Redmon, Jr. got a run on the high side bypassing the six way battle for second taking the spot and setting his line of attack on Harris.
As Harris found lapped traffic on lap 28, his lead began to dwindle over the field. The battle for second once again raged when Redmon found lapped traffic running in his groove causing him to dive to the bottom allowing Tungate and Kinzer to catch him while Harris began distancing himself again. As second through tenth began slicing and dicing the back of the field, drivers scrambled to grab position. Lapped traffic shuffled the field back and forth as the lead pack exchanged positions numerous times.
As the battle in back of him raged, it was all Paul Harris at the front of the field with in his Bullock powered Swartz Taurus sponsored by Miller Brothers Coal, Hawkeye Trucking, Twin Bridge Auto Parts, Harris Trucking and Merion Brothers Monument set on cruise control.
Coming home in the runner up spot was Campbellsville, KY native Tim Tungate in his Bullock powered Rayburn Monte Carlo machine sponsored by Mulch Madness, Guardian Mortgage, J&L Title, The Shack, Barnes Auto Sales, ABC Childcare and B&W Auto Recyclers. Third place went to Anthony Adams in his Cornett Rayburn Grand Prix followed by Jason Keltner in his Draime powered Rayburn Monte Carlo. Coming home fifth was Brandon Kinzer in his Custom powered GRT Grand Prix. Rounding out the top ten was Tyler Mountain, WV driver Harold Redmon Jr., Isom, Ky native Chris Combs, Victor Lee, Randy Boggs, and David Webb.
"I didn't expect the old car to be this good. It worked well down low so I played it safe and stayed down there," said race winner Paul Harris. "The track was in great shape tonight with racing all around," he also added.
Tungate set fast time in Racing Optic Time Trials with a quick lap of 13.785. Arizona Sport Shirt heat wins went to Tungate, Harris and Lee. The Design 500 B-Main win went to the night's PPM Performance Products hard charger of the race Anthony Adams.
Up next for the O'Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts will be Richmond Raceway on September 15 paying $3,000 to the winner after taking a weekend off for the World 100 event at Eldora Speedway. Also joining the late models in action will be the Battle of the Bluegrass Modified Series. The Series will then head to Bluegrass Speedway in Bardstown, KY for an event paying $5,000 to win.
For more information on the O'Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series, check us out on the web at www.battleofthebluegrass.com or call the Series office at (859) 433-5707.
Race Summary
O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts
201 Speedway
Sitka, KY
September 1, 2007
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #1 - Tim Tungate, Chris Combs, David Webb, Terry Hicks, Randy Boggs, David Brown, Robert Fletcher, DJ Wells, Randy Caudill
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #2 - Paul Harris, Tyrel Todd, Jason Keltner, Rodney Davis, Brandon Johnson, Anthony Adams, Brandon Fouts, Eric Wells, Daniel Williams
Arizona Sport Shirts Heat #3 - Victor Lee, Brandon Kinzer, Harold Redmon Jr., Michael Paul Howard, Rod Evans, Jamie Ferguson, CA Wentz, Eddy Johnson
Design 500 B-Main - Anthony Adams, Jamie Ferguson, Robert Fletcher, CA Wentz, DJ Wells, Eric Wells, Brandon Fouts, David Brown, Eddy Johnson, Daniel Williams, Randy Caudill
O'Reilly Auto Parts A-Main - Paul Harris, Tim Tungate, Anthony Adams, Jason Keltner, Brandon Kinzer, Harold Redmon Jr., Chris Combs, Victor Lee, Randy Boggs, David Webb, Michael Paul Howard, Terry Hicks, Brandon Johnson, Rod Evans, Eric Wells, Rodney Davis, CA Wentz, Jamie Ferguson, DJ Wells, Tyrel Todd, Brandon Fouts, Daniel Williams, Robert Fletcher
Race Statistics
Entries: 26
Lap Leaders: Paul Harris (1-40)
Cautions: 5
Red Flags: 1
PPM Performance Products Hard Charger Of The Race: Anthony Adams (16th to 3rd)
Cruise With The Champions Rookie Of The Race: Jason Keltner
Current O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Points
1. 4 Victor Lee - 4021
2. 0 Jason Keltner - 3692
3. 14 Tyrel Todd - 3545
4. 18 Tim Tungate - 3489
5. 13w David Webb - 3375
6. 11 Jerry Rice - 3264
7. 157 Mike Marlar - 2924
8. 9 Mike Jewell - 2746
9. 47 Chris Combs - 2712
10. 45 Doug Smith - 2439
2007 O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Winners
Florence Speedway (April 13th) - Michael England
Twin Cities Raceway Park (April 20th) - Rick Aukland
Brownstown Speedway (April 21st) - Don O'Neal
Ponderosa Speedway (April 27th) - Aaron Hatton
Bluegrass Speedway (April 28th) - Mike Marlar
Tazewell Speedway (May 12th) - Jimmy Owens
Portsmouth Raceway Park (May 27th) - Audie Swartz
Bluegrass Speedway (May 28th) - Don O'Neal
Richmond Raceway (May 29th) - Greg Johnson
Lake Cumberland Speedway (May 31st) - Josh McGuire
Ponderosa Speedway (June 1st) - Brad Neat
Bluegrass Speedway (June 16th) - Mike Jewell
Brownstown Speedway (June 23rd) - Rohn Moon
201 Speedway (June 30th) - Justin Rattliff
Florence Speedway (July 11th) - Scott James
Ponderosa Speedway (July 13th) - Aaron Hatton
Bluegrass Speedway (July 14th) - Steve Francis
Richmond Raceway (July 21st) - Tim Tungate
Ponderosa Speedway (August 24th) - Mike Marlar
201 Speedway (September 1st) - Paul Harris
2007 O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series Sponsors
O'Reilly Auto Parts - Title Sponsor and "Official Auto Parts Retailer of the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series"
Arizona Sport Shirts - Presenting Sponsor and "Official Souvenir Manufacturer & Vendor of the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series"
Sunoco Race Fuels - "Official Race Fuel of the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series"
2007 O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series Supporters Include: O'Reilly Auto Parts, Arizona Sport Shirts, Sunoco Race Fuels, DART Machinery, Drive Smart Kentucky, Hoosier Race Tires, American Race Tires, PPM Performance Products, Bazell Fuels, Cruise With the Champions, Wayne Bowen Racing Supply, Racing Optics, Design 500, Trailer Parts & Sales, Honda of Prestonsburg, Bullock Race Engines, CJ Rayburn Race Cars, Bert Transmissions, Double H Race Fab, DT52 Photos, and Real Wheels
- Jesse Howard - O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series (jhoward@battleofthebluegrass.com
