SOUTH COFFEYVILLE , OK – July 4, 2007 – A late caution flag gave Jack Sullivan new life.
Then Sullivan did the rest, getting up on the wheel and passing race-long leader Will Vaught with two circuits remaining to win Wednesday night’s 40-lap MARS DIRTcar Series event at Mid-America Speedway.
Sullivan, 31, of Greenbrier, Ark. , registered his second MARS victory of the 2007 season after spending much of the distance looking like his GRT was a second-place car. He was nearly a straightaway behind Crane, Mo. ’s Vaught when a lap-31 caution flag for a spin by Zac Simmons of Erie , Kan. , saved him.
“At that point in time, I thought, If I don’t get a caution, I’ll settle for second and go to the next one,” said Sullivan, who earned $3,000 for capturing the first-ever MARS show at the one-third-mile oval. “I needed a caution real bad to have a chance, and I got one. I guess every now and then it’s good to be lucky.”
Sullivan stayed right with Vaught’s GRT by Frye mount after the restart, putting him in position to take advantage of Vaught’s slight slip with the two-to-go signal going out to the field. The nose of Vaught’s car shoved out when he caught a rut in turn four, allowing Sullivan to slide into the lead for good.
Vaught settled for a disappointing runner-up finish, a couple car lengths behind Sullivan.
Al Purkey of Coffeyville , Kan. , finished third, followed by teammates Jeremy Payne and Terry Phillips, both of Springfield , Mo.
Sullivan turned up the wick in his Hatfield-powered machine on the race’s final restart.
“(Vaught) could get out and get away from me when we ran a bunch of green-flag laps,” analyzed Sullivan, who was no match for Vaught during the caution-free stretch from laps 9-31. “But then when the caution came out I could run with him for three or four laps, so I knew I could give him a run.”
Staying close paid off for Sullivan when he saw Vaught bounce out of the groove heading to lap 38.
“I probably put a little pressure on him,” Sullivan said of the deciding pass, “and I jumped on myself a little bit to try a little harder.”
Vaught, a 20-year-old who dabbled in ARCA stock car racing last year, made no excuses for the slip that prevented him from becoming a repeat MARS winner in 2007.
“I tried to turn through a hole (in turn four), hit it, and just pushed up,” said Vaught, who scored his first career MARS victory on May 6 at Monett ( Mo. ) Speedway . “I just messed up. I ran in there a little too hard.
“I saw (Sullivan’s) nose before that last caution, so I knew he was running the bottom in three and four. But I gave him the opening he needed anyway.
“I think we had the best car,” added Vaught, who started second. “But it was just one of those deals that happens.”
Sullivan, who started fourth, recorded his fourth career MARS triumph. He also moved into the tour’s points lead by a slim two-point margin over Purkey, who was atop the standings entering the Independence Day special.
“If we can keep rolling, we can possibly win this thing,” said Sullivan, whose best-ever MARS points finish is third, in 2005. “The championship is our goal this year.”
Purkey, 45, wanted more than a third-place finish racing at a track that’s just three miles from his shop, but he couldn’t capitalize on his pole position starting spot.
“I got to the lead once (underneath Vaught on the second lap), but the caution came out and put me back,” said Purkey. “I never got close to the lead again. I guess I wasn’t aggressive enough.
“Jack won the first show we had (on a track with) traction and rough, so he’s got something figured out for these conditions,” added Purkey.
Purkey raced on Wednesday night with a heavy heart. Many Kansas and Oklahoma towns near Mid-America Speedway, including Purkey’s hometown of Coffeyville , were inundated by historic flooding just two days earlier, so Purkey wasn’t quite in the mood to go racing in his backyard.
While Purkey’s home on the outskirts of Coffeyville wasn’t affected by the flooding, he knew many people who were left homeless.
There were no flooding issues at Mid-America Speedway, which is located just south of the Kansas/Oklahoma border. But continued flooding in nearby areas forced many teams and fans to take alternate routes to the track, in some instances adding at least a half-hour of travel time to their trips.
The situation certainly hindered the car count for the event, which drew 15 cars because several teams that had planned to attend opted to skip the program due to the flooding situation.
The night’s two heat races were won by Sullivan and Purkey.
The MARS DIRTcar Series returns to action this Saturday night (July 7) at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon , Mo.
For more information on the tour, visit www.midamericaracingseries.com.
MARS DIRTcar Series A-Main Finish (40 laps):
1. Jack Sullivan
2. Will Vaught
3. Al Purkey
4. Jeremy Payne
5. Terry Phillips
6. Bill Frye
7. Kenny Schrader
8. Steve Rushin
9. Jack Simmons
10. Hendrix Dairan
11. Terry Melton
12. Keith Simmons
13. Zac Simmons
14. Darren Ray
15. Brandon McCormick
Then Sullivan did the rest, getting up on the wheel and passing race-long leader Will Vaught with two circuits remaining to win Wednesday night’s 40-lap MARS DIRTcar Series event at Mid-America Speedway.
Sullivan, 31, of Greenbrier, Ark. , registered his second MARS victory of the 2007 season after spending much of the distance looking like his GRT was a second-place car. He was nearly a straightaway behind Crane, Mo. ’s Vaught when a lap-31 caution flag for a spin by Zac Simmons of Erie , Kan. , saved him.
“At that point in time, I thought, If I don’t get a caution, I’ll settle for second and go to the next one,” said Sullivan, who earned $3,000 for capturing the first-ever MARS show at the one-third-mile oval. “I needed a caution real bad to have a chance, and I got one. I guess every now and then it’s good to be lucky.”
Sullivan stayed right with Vaught’s GRT by Frye mount after the restart, putting him in position to take advantage of Vaught’s slight slip with the two-to-go signal going out to the field. The nose of Vaught’s car shoved out when he caught a rut in turn four, allowing Sullivan to slide into the lead for good.
Vaught settled for a disappointing runner-up finish, a couple car lengths behind Sullivan.
Al Purkey of Coffeyville , Kan. , finished third, followed by teammates Jeremy Payne and Terry Phillips, both of Springfield , Mo.
Sullivan turned up the wick in his Hatfield-powered machine on the race’s final restart.
“(Vaught) could get out and get away from me when we ran a bunch of green-flag laps,” analyzed Sullivan, who was no match for Vaught during the caution-free stretch from laps 9-31. “But then when the caution came out I could run with him for three or four laps, so I knew I could give him a run.”
Staying close paid off for Sullivan when he saw Vaught bounce out of the groove heading to lap 38.
“I probably put a little pressure on him,” Sullivan said of the deciding pass, “and I jumped on myself a little bit to try a little harder.”
Vaught, a 20-year-old who dabbled in ARCA stock car racing last year, made no excuses for the slip that prevented him from becoming a repeat MARS winner in 2007.
“I tried to turn through a hole (in turn four), hit it, and just pushed up,” said Vaught, who scored his first career MARS victory on May 6 at Monett ( Mo. ) Speedway . “I just messed up. I ran in there a little too hard.
“I saw (Sullivan’s) nose before that last caution, so I knew he was running the bottom in three and four. But I gave him the opening he needed anyway.
“I think we had the best car,” added Vaught, who started second. “But it was just one of those deals that happens.”
Sullivan, who started fourth, recorded his fourth career MARS triumph. He also moved into the tour’s points lead by a slim two-point margin over Purkey, who was atop the standings entering the Independence Day special.
“If we can keep rolling, we can possibly win this thing,” said Sullivan, whose best-ever MARS points finish is third, in 2005. “The championship is our goal this year.”
Purkey, 45, wanted more than a third-place finish racing at a track that’s just three miles from his shop, but he couldn’t capitalize on his pole position starting spot.
“I got to the lead once (underneath Vaught on the second lap), but the caution came out and put me back,” said Purkey. “I never got close to the lead again. I guess I wasn’t aggressive enough.
“Jack won the first show we had (on a track with) traction and rough, so he’s got something figured out for these conditions,” added Purkey.
Purkey raced on Wednesday night with a heavy heart. Many Kansas and Oklahoma towns near Mid-America Speedway, including Purkey’s hometown of Coffeyville , were inundated by historic flooding just two days earlier, so Purkey wasn’t quite in the mood to go racing in his backyard.
While Purkey’s home on the outskirts of Coffeyville wasn’t affected by the flooding, he knew many people who were left homeless.
There were no flooding issues at Mid-America Speedway, which is located just south of the Kansas/Oklahoma border. But continued flooding in nearby areas forced many teams and fans to take alternate routes to the track, in some instances adding at least a half-hour of travel time to their trips.
The situation certainly hindered the car count for the event, which drew 15 cars because several teams that had planned to attend opted to skip the program due to the flooding situation.
The night’s two heat races were won by Sullivan and Purkey.
The MARS DIRTcar Series returns to action this Saturday night (July 7) at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon , Mo.
For more information on the tour, visit www.midamericaracingseries.com.
MARS DIRTcar Series A-Main Finish (40 laps):
1. Jack Sullivan
2. Will Vaught
3. Al Purkey
4. Jeremy Payne
5. Terry Phillips
6. Bill Frye
7. Kenny Schrader
8. Steve Rushin
9. Jack Simmons
10. Hendrix Dairan
11. Terry Melton
12. Keith Simmons
13. Zac Simmons
14. Darren Ray
15. Brandon McCormick
