Lonnie Wheatley, MESQUITE, Tex. (March 17, 2007) – Jake "The Snake" Peters was in the green on St. Patrick's Day, pocketing $5,433 by posting his second career O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National feature victory in Saturday night's 34th Annual Devil's Bowl Speedway Spring Nationals 25-lap finale.
Peters took the lead from Scott Winters on the fourth round then held off a late rush from 16th-starter Jason Johnson to snare the posted $4,000 winner's share. Prior to the feature, a pair of Peters' sponsors, Folken Brothers Trucking and S&G Trucking, offered a $1,000 bonus to the Sioux Falls, SD, shoe for a top three finish. Then, when a member of the sponsors' party won the $433 50/50 drawing, the winnings were offered to Peters in the case of victory.
"This is what we came down here for, every once in a while you get lucky and come up with a win," Peters explained in victory lane. When informed of the bonus money, Peters pointed out his sponsors in the crowd and exclaimed, "Hey, I like the way you guys think!"
While Peters started the feature event from the pole position, it was front row outside starter Winters gunning into the early lead. The Minnesota racer paced the field until Michael Lang looped his mount in turn two on the fourth lap, collecting Natalie Sather and Mike Chadd in the process. Sather and Chadd were done for the night while Lang continued.
When the green flag flew again, Peters wasted little time charging past Winters to put the Weseman-powered Folken Brothers Trucking/Bubba Farms/TNT Enterprises No. 57x Schnee in front for keeps.
"I wasn't too concerned early on, I was really just trying to get a feel for how I needed to drive the car the rest of the race," Peters commented.
And while Peters cruised up front most of the way, Louisiana's Johnson got within striking distance in the final handful of laps and fell just two car-lengths short at Will Hale's checkered flag.
The battle for position behind Peters was furious throughout. Sixth-starter Gary Wright climbed to third on the opening round, only to have Chuck Swenson soon battle back by. Swenson raced past Winters for second on the seventh round and set his sights on Swenson, while 13th-starter Kevin Ramey had rocketed up to third by the ninth round.
Perhaps the fastest car on the track when the caution flew after twelve laps for Foster Landon, who slid to a stop on the frontstretch with front end woes after contact while dicing for position among the top eight, Ramey's luck soured in short order when a torsion stop fell off during the caution period. Ramey continued on with a suddenly ill-handling machine.
Following one final caution a lap later for Travis Rilat, who lost a driveline, Peters led the way in front of Swenson, Ramey, Wayne Johnson and Wright, with Jason Johnson advancing ten positions over the first half of the race to sixth.
Peters successfully fought off a Swenson bid for the lead on the 14th lap and began to distance himself from the field, with Jason Johnson surging to third a lap later as he edged by Wayne Johnson and Ramey in a wild three-car scramble off the fourth turn.
Jason Johnson disposed of Swenson for second on the 17th round and began reeling in Peters. By the 22nd lap, Johnson had closed to Peters' tailtank and was poised to strike as the lead duo approached lapped traffic.
Peters worked his way past three lapped cars flawlessly over the final two laps to keep Johnson at bay, fending off a last corner bid from Johnson to post the narrow victory. Johnson's Hard Charger effort aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle netted runner-up honors.
Swenson crossed the stripe third in the Fisher-powered K&C Conversions No. X Maxim, with Wayne Johnson fourth in the Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Eagle. Wright rounded out the top five in the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction No. 9 Maxim.
Ramey held on to finish sixth, with Andy Shouse climbing eleven positions to claim seventh. After racing from eleventh to snare the third and final transfer position in a caution-free "B" Main, Darren Stewart picked off another 16 positions in the feature by charging from 22nd to eighth. Danny Jennings raced from 20th to ninth, with Winters competing the top ten.
Garry Lee Maier, Lang, Toby Chapman, Chadd and Landon topped heat race action, with Jeff Mitrisin and Shouse topping the twin "B" Mains. Maier was in the mix much of the way in the "A" Main, only to suffer engine woes as the white flew while running sixth.
O’Reilly ASCoT 34th Annual Devil's Bowl Spring Nationals Preliminary Event Results:
Locked in from Friday's Preliminary Event:
94-Wayne Johnson, 9-Gary Wright, 57x-Jake Peters, X-Chuck Swenson.
Heat Races (Top 12 in passing points to “A” Main; Balance to 2 "B" Mains)
Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 27-Andy Shouse, 4. 61J-Danny Jennings, 5. 2h-Mason Hill, 6. 98-J.D. Johnson, 7. 7h-Rob Hartman, 8. 14e-Todd Evans.
Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 14-Michael Lang, 2. 18-Lorne Wofford, 3. 81au-Gavin Punch, 4. 43-A.J. Selenke, 5. 35-Brad Best, 6. 22-Koby Barksdale, 7. 2-Neil Stevens, 8. 11-Tyler Thompson.
Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 84-Toby Chapman, 2. 94x-Cody Branchcomb, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 94s-Natalie Sather, 5. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 6. 65-Skip Wilson, 7. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 8. 1x-Matt Linder.
Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 4-Mike Chadd, 2. R19-Scott Winters, 3. 64J-Johnny Miller, 4. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 5. 31-Mark Pace, 6. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 7. 91-Darren Stewart, 8. 21-Nick Smith.
Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 11F-Foster Landon, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 4. 53-Jack Dover, 5. 31c-Matt Clevenger, 6. 83s-Larry Neighbors, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini.
Pole Dash (Four Locked in Drivers from Friday Night and Top 2 in Passing Points from Heat Races; Finishing Order Determines Front Three Rows of “A” Main):
Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 57x-Jake Peters, 2. R19-Scott Winters, 3. X-Chuck Swenson, 4. 94-Wayne Johnson, 5. 18-Lorne Wofford, 6. 9-Gary Wright.
"B" Mains – Top 3 From Each Advance to “A” Main
First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 2. 98-J.D. Johnson, 3. 94s-Natalie Sather, 4. 81au-Gavin punch, 5. 7h-Rob Hartman, 6. 31-Mark Pace, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 8. 22-Koby Barksdale, 9. 35-Brad Best, 10. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 11. 2-Neil Stevens. Disqualified: 97-Aaron Berryhill (took the checkered flag in second but lost a muffler during the race). DNS: 11-Tyler Thompson, 21-Nick Smith.
Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 27-Andy Shouse, 2. 61J-Danny Jennings, 3. 91-Darren Stewart, 4. 53-Jack Dover, 5. 31c-Matt Clevenger, 6. 65-Skip Wilson, 7. 2h-Mason Hill, 8. 1x-Matt Linder, 9. 43-A.J. Selenke, 10. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 11. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 12. 14e-Todd Evans, 13. 83s-Larry Neighbors.
O’Reilly ASCoT 34th Annual Devil's Bowl Spring Nationals "A" Main Event:
“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 57x-Jake Peters, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. X-Chuck Swenson, 4. 94-Wayne Johnson, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 7. 27-Andy Shouse, 8. 91-Darren Stewart, 9. 61J-Danny Jennings, 10. R19-Scott Winters, 11. 64J-Johnny Miller, 12. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 13. 84-Toby Chapman, 14. 98-J.D. Johnson, 15. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 16. 18-Lorne Wofford, 17. 94x-Cody Branchcomb, 18. 29-Travis Rilat, 19. 11F-Foster Landon, 20. 14-Michael Lang, 21. 94s-Natalie Sather, 22. 4-Mike Chadd.
Lap Leaders: Scott Winters 1-3, Jake Peters 4-25.
O’Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 433, 2. Wayne Johnson 410, 3. Chuck Swenson 384, 4. (tie) Darren Stewart and Jason Johnson 369, 6. Travis Rilat 359, 7. Jake Peters 294, 8. Foster Landon 275, 9. Nick Smith 271, 10. Andy Shouse 258, 11. J.D. Johnson 254, 12. Garry Lee Maier 250, 13. Toby Chapman 248, 14. Danny Jennings 246, 15. Johnny Miller 244.
Peters took the lead from Scott Winters on the fourth round then held off a late rush from 16th-starter Jason Johnson to snare the posted $4,000 winner's share. Prior to the feature, a pair of Peters' sponsors, Folken Brothers Trucking and S&G Trucking, offered a $1,000 bonus to the Sioux Falls, SD, shoe for a top three finish. Then, when a member of the sponsors' party won the $433 50/50 drawing, the winnings were offered to Peters in the case of victory.
"This is what we came down here for, every once in a while you get lucky and come up with a win," Peters explained in victory lane. When informed of the bonus money, Peters pointed out his sponsors in the crowd and exclaimed, "Hey, I like the way you guys think!"
While Peters started the feature event from the pole position, it was front row outside starter Winters gunning into the early lead. The Minnesota racer paced the field until Michael Lang looped his mount in turn two on the fourth lap, collecting Natalie Sather and Mike Chadd in the process. Sather and Chadd were done for the night while Lang continued.
When the green flag flew again, Peters wasted little time charging past Winters to put the Weseman-powered Folken Brothers Trucking/Bubba Farms/TNT Enterprises No. 57x Schnee in front for keeps.
"I wasn't too concerned early on, I was really just trying to get a feel for how I needed to drive the car the rest of the race," Peters commented.
And while Peters cruised up front most of the way, Louisiana's Johnson got within striking distance in the final handful of laps and fell just two car-lengths short at Will Hale's checkered flag.
The battle for position behind Peters was furious throughout. Sixth-starter Gary Wright climbed to third on the opening round, only to have Chuck Swenson soon battle back by. Swenson raced past Winters for second on the seventh round and set his sights on Swenson, while 13th-starter Kevin Ramey had rocketed up to third by the ninth round.
Perhaps the fastest car on the track when the caution flew after twelve laps for Foster Landon, who slid to a stop on the frontstretch with front end woes after contact while dicing for position among the top eight, Ramey's luck soured in short order when a torsion stop fell off during the caution period. Ramey continued on with a suddenly ill-handling machine.
Following one final caution a lap later for Travis Rilat, who lost a driveline, Peters led the way in front of Swenson, Ramey, Wayne Johnson and Wright, with Jason Johnson advancing ten positions over the first half of the race to sixth.
Peters successfully fought off a Swenson bid for the lead on the 14th lap and began to distance himself from the field, with Jason Johnson surging to third a lap later as he edged by Wayne Johnson and Ramey in a wild three-car scramble off the fourth turn.
Jason Johnson disposed of Swenson for second on the 17th round and began reeling in Peters. By the 22nd lap, Johnson had closed to Peters' tailtank and was poised to strike as the lead duo approached lapped traffic.
Peters worked his way past three lapped cars flawlessly over the final two laps to keep Johnson at bay, fending off a last corner bid from Johnson to post the narrow victory. Johnson's Hard Charger effort aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle netted runner-up honors.
Swenson crossed the stripe third in the Fisher-powered K&C Conversions No. X Maxim, with Wayne Johnson fourth in the Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Eagle. Wright rounded out the top five in the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction No. 9 Maxim.
Ramey held on to finish sixth, with Andy Shouse climbing eleven positions to claim seventh. After racing from eleventh to snare the third and final transfer position in a caution-free "B" Main, Darren Stewart picked off another 16 positions in the feature by charging from 22nd to eighth. Danny Jennings raced from 20th to ninth, with Winters competing the top ten.
Garry Lee Maier, Lang, Toby Chapman, Chadd and Landon topped heat race action, with Jeff Mitrisin and Shouse topping the twin "B" Mains. Maier was in the mix much of the way in the "A" Main, only to suffer engine woes as the white flew while running sixth.
O’Reilly ASCoT 34th Annual Devil's Bowl Spring Nationals Preliminary Event Results:
Locked in from Friday's Preliminary Event:
94-Wayne Johnson, 9-Gary Wright, 57x-Jake Peters, X-Chuck Swenson.
Heat Races (Top 12 in passing points to “A” Main; Balance to 2 "B" Mains)
Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 27-Andy Shouse, 4. 61J-Danny Jennings, 5. 2h-Mason Hill, 6. 98-J.D. Johnson, 7. 7h-Rob Hartman, 8. 14e-Todd Evans.
Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 14-Michael Lang, 2. 18-Lorne Wofford, 3. 81au-Gavin Punch, 4. 43-A.J. Selenke, 5. 35-Brad Best, 6. 22-Koby Barksdale, 7. 2-Neil Stevens, 8. 11-Tyler Thompson.
Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 84-Toby Chapman, 2. 94x-Cody Branchcomb, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 94s-Natalie Sather, 5. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 6. 65-Skip Wilson, 7. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 8. 1x-Matt Linder.
Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 4-Mike Chadd, 2. R19-Scott Winters, 3. 64J-Johnny Miller, 4. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 5. 31-Mark Pace, 6. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 7. 91-Darren Stewart, 8. 21-Nick Smith.
Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 11F-Foster Landon, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 4. 53-Jack Dover, 5. 31c-Matt Clevenger, 6. 83s-Larry Neighbors, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini.
Pole Dash (Four Locked in Drivers from Friday Night and Top 2 in Passing Points from Heat Races; Finishing Order Determines Front Three Rows of “A” Main):
Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 57x-Jake Peters, 2. R19-Scott Winters, 3. X-Chuck Swenson, 4. 94-Wayne Johnson, 5. 18-Lorne Wofford, 6. 9-Gary Wright.
"B" Mains – Top 3 From Each Advance to “A” Main
First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 2. 98-J.D. Johnson, 3. 94s-Natalie Sather, 4. 81au-Gavin punch, 5. 7h-Rob Hartman, 6. 31-Mark Pace, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 8. 22-Koby Barksdale, 9. 35-Brad Best, 10. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 11. 2-Neil Stevens. Disqualified: 97-Aaron Berryhill (took the checkered flag in second but lost a muffler during the race). DNS: 11-Tyler Thompson, 21-Nick Smith.
Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 27-Andy Shouse, 2. 61J-Danny Jennings, 3. 91-Darren Stewart, 4. 53-Jack Dover, 5. 31c-Matt Clevenger, 6. 65-Skip Wilson, 7. 2h-Mason Hill, 8. 1x-Matt Linder, 9. 43-A.J. Selenke, 10. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 11. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 12. 14e-Todd Evans, 13. 83s-Larry Neighbors.
O’Reilly ASCoT 34th Annual Devil's Bowl Spring Nationals "A" Main Event:
“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 57x-Jake Peters, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. X-Chuck Swenson, 4. 94-Wayne Johnson, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 7. 27-Andy Shouse, 8. 91-Darren Stewart, 9. 61J-Danny Jennings, 10. R19-Scott Winters, 11. 64J-Johnny Miller, 12. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 13. 84-Toby Chapman, 14. 98-J.D. Johnson, 15. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 16. 18-Lorne Wofford, 17. 94x-Cody Branchcomb, 18. 29-Travis Rilat, 19. 11F-Foster Landon, 20. 14-Michael Lang, 21. 94s-Natalie Sather, 22. 4-Mike Chadd.
Lap Leaders: Scott Winters 1-3, Jake Peters 4-25.
O’Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 433, 2. Wayne Johnson 410, 3. Chuck Swenson 384, 4. (tie) Darren Stewart and Jason Johnson 369, 6. Travis Rilat 359, 7. Jake Peters 294, 8. Foster Landon 275, 9. Nick Smith 271, 10. Andy Shouse 258, 11. J.D. Johnson 254, 12. Garry Lee Maier 250, 13. Toby Chapman 248, 14. Danny Jennings 246, 15. Johnny Miller 244.
