O'REILLY AUTO PARTS MID-AMERICA RACING SERIES
Wheatland Raceway, 3rd Annual Fall Classic
Saturday, September 27, 2003
by Larry Olson; Mountain Home, AR
WHEATLAND MO. Terry Phillips of Springfield, Missouri won his 14th feature of the 2003 season Saturday at the Wheatland Raceway. Phillips's statistics in 2003 would make one think that he'd won the O'Reilly Auto Parts Mid-America Racing Series points championship. He came up 12 points short however, as Bill Frye of Greenbriar, Arkansas won his third consecutive O'Reilly M.A.R.S. championship in 2003.
Brad Looney held the pole for the season finale, with Charlie Randolph to his outside. Looney moved to the lead as the green flag fell. Randolph fell out of the top five quickly, as Purkey, Phillips, Steve Rushin, and Jeff Floyd fell in behind Looney.
Frye took over the fifth spot in turn two on the second lap. Phillips slipped past Stolba for second, then took the lead from Looney in turn two on the third lap. Phillips had opened a 10 carlength advantage by lap five.
Frye improved past Rushin, then Stolba into third by lap six. The caution flag waved for Jeff Taylor who had gotten into the backstretch wall. Taylor had to be wreckered to the pits, through for the night.
Jeff Floyd was fifth on the restart. Frye moved past Looney for second in turn two on lap eight. Floyd drove past Stolba for fourth in turn two on lap nine. Wendell Wallace made his first appearance in the top five, as he raced past Stolba in turn four on lap 11. Floyd drove by Looney for third in turn four on lap 12.
Floyd was on the move, and bypassed Frye for second in turn four on lap 13. Phillips was heading the field by a half straightaway by lap 14. Wallace and Looney were racing for fourth on lap 15, with Wallace getting the spot in turn four on the next lap. Wallace picked up another spot, past Frye in turn four on lap 17. Out front Phillips was starting to lap slower cars by lap 18.
Al Purkey moved to fifth by lap 20, then drove by Frye for the fourth spot in turn two on lap 22. Steve Rushin brought out caution number two on lap 23 as he was pulled up on the frontstretch.
Wallace drove by Floyd into second on the restart. Frye and Purkey raced side by side, with Purkey retaining fourth as the cars sorted out after the restart. Phillips was pacing the field by 10 carlengths again by lap 28, and was back in traffic by lap 34.
Wallace was able to close the gap between him and Phillips as the frontrunners diced through the traffic. Wallace had made his way to Phillips' back bumper by lap 37, and made a high side run on Phillips as the field came to the checkers, but couldn't make the pass.
Terry Phillips picked up the season finale win, with Wendell Wallace, Jeff Floyd, Al Purkey, and Bill Frye making up the top five. Gary Stolba, Brad Looney, Dewaine Hottinger, Joey Mack, and Charlie Randolph rounded out the top ten.
Entries: 43
Top Qualifier: Brad Looney
W&W Concrete Hard Charger: Al Purkey
Provisionals: Jeff Taylor (4), Jason Snodgrass (3)
Lap Leaders: Brad Looney 1-2, Terry Phillips 3-40
Cautions: 2
A FEATURE (40 Laps)
Finish/Driver/Start/Chassis/Motor/Make/Money Won
1) Terry Phillips, (4) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $3,000
2) Wendell Wallace, (9) GRT/Craft/Taurus; $2,000
3) Jeff Floyd, (7) GRT/Kuntz/Grand Prix; $1,250
4) Al Purkey, (14) Larry Shaw/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $1,100
5) Bill Frye, (8) GRT/Kuntz/Mustang; $1,000
6) Gary Stolba, (3) GRT/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $750
7) Brad Looney, (1) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $700
8) Dewaine Hottinger, (6) GRT/Kuntz/Monte Carlo; $675
9) Joey Mack, (11) GRT/Kuntz/Mustang; $650
10) Charlie Randolph, (2) GRT/BMS/Monte Carlo; $625
11) Leslie Essary, (15) GRT/Mike's/Grand Prix; $600
12) Chris Smyser, (19) MasterSbilt/Clements/Grand Prix; $575
13) Jason Bodenhamer, (12) GRT/Buzzard/Grand Prix; $550
14) David Turner, (13) Rocket/Bailey/Monte Carlo; $525
15) Jerry Buck, (17) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
16) Brandon McCormick, (20) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
17) Jason Snodgrass, (21) GRT/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $500
18) Chad Clark, (16) Clark/Draime/Grand Prix; $500
19) Steve Rushin, (5) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
20) Mike Brown, (18) GRT/Kuntz/Taurus; $500
21) Shane Essary, (10) Larry Shaw/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $500
22) Jeff Taylor, (22) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
1st Heat (12 Laps) 1) Jeff Floyd, Walnut Ridge AR 2) David Turner, Creighton MO 3) Jason Bodenhamer, Centerview MO 4) Leslie Essary, Crane MO 5) Mike Brown, Ft. Gibson OK 6) Peyton Taylor, Desha AR 7) Herb Nagy, Harrisonville MO 8) Ken Essary, Cape Fair MO 9) Larry Jones, Eldorado Springs MO
2nd Heat 1) Terry Phillips, Springfield MO 2) Joey Mack, Benton MO 3) Bill Frye, Greenbriar AR 4) Brandon McCormick, Lebanon MO 5) Jerry Buck, Harviell MO 6) Todd Kallweit, Wheatland MO 7) Michael Barber, Eldorado Springs MO 8) Jeff Taylor, Pleasant Plains AR 9) LeRoy Johnson, Springfield MO
3rd Heat 1) Charlie Randolph, Muskogee OK 2) Gary Stolba, Willow Springs MO 3) Wendell Wallace, Batesville AR 4) T.J. Kuykendall, Warsaw MO 5) Chris Comer, Parkville MO 6) Dustin Mooneyham, Aurora MO 7) Richard Foster, Holts Summit MO 8) Brook Phillips, Wichita KS 9) Randy McGraw, Marshall MO
4th Heat 1) Brad Looney, Republic MO 2) Al Purkey, Coffeyville KS 3) Shane Essary, Aurora MO 4) Kerry Schulze, Moundsville MO 5) Bryan Allison, Marshall MO 6) Will Vaught, Crane MO 7) Christian Rayburn, Osage Beach MO 8) Shorty Acker, Windsor MO
5th Heat 1) Steve Rushin, Poplar Bluff MO 2) Dewaine Hottinger, Russellville AR 3) Chris Smyser, Lancaster MO 4) Chad Clark, Marshall MO 5) Darrell Mooneyham, Aurora MO 6) Jason Snodgrass, Mountain Home AR 7) Ken Dickenson, Lebanon MO 8) Reid Millard, Jefferson City MO
1st Last Chance Qualifier (15 Laps, two transfer) 1) Jerry Buck 2) Chris Smyser 3) T.J. Kuykendall 4) Todd Kallweit 5) Richard Foster 6) Will Vaught 7) Darrell Mooneyham 8) Randy McGraw 9) Ken Dickenson 10) Larry Jones 11) Michael Barber 12) Shorty Acker 13) Chris Comer (scratch: Jeff Taylor)
2nd Last Chance Qualifier 1) Mike Brown 2) Brandon McCormick 3) Peyton Taylor 4) Kerry Schulze 5) Ken Essary 6) Bryan Allison 7) Dustin Mooneyham 8) Jason Snodgrass 9) Brook Phillips 10) Christian Rayburn 11) Reid Millard 12) Herb Nagy 13) LeRoy Johnson
FINAL MARS POINTS FOR 2003
1 66F FRYE, BILL GREENBRIAR, AR 2796
2 75P PHILLIPS, TERRY SPRINGFIELD, MO 2784
3 5T TAYLOR, JEFF PLEASANT PLAINS, AR 2556
4 F1 FLOYD, JEFF WALNUT RIDGE, AR 2494
5 5E ESSARY, LESLIE CRANE, MO 2474
6 427B BROWN, MIKE FT. GIBSON, OK 2390
7 9R RANDOLPH II, CHARLIE MUSKOGEE, OK 2310
8 81B BUCK, JERRY HARVIELL, M0 2290
9 65H HOTTINGER, DEWAINE RUSSELLVILLE, AR 2270
10 14JR RUSHIN, STEVE POPLAR BLUFF, MO 2200
11 97M MACK, JOEY BENTON, MO 2166
12 33S STOLBA, GARY WILLOW SPRINGS, MO 2038
13 15E ESSARY, SHANE AURORA, MO 1775
14 18S SULLIVAN, JACK GREENBRIAR, AR 1587
15 60B BOWERS, MIKE NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR1483
16 88W WALLACE, WENDELL BATESVILLE, AR 1381
17 27T TAYLOR, STACY JACKSONVILLE, AR 1077
18 12M MERRILL, RAYMOND SALLISAW, OK 1067
19 G2 GIBSON, DAVID ASH FLAT, AR 916
20 14L LOONEY, BRAD REPUBLIC, MO 803
21 21W WALKER, JERRY SOUTHAVEN, MS 733
22 71S SNODGRASS, JASON MOUNTAIN HOME, AR 704
23 64M McCROSKEY, REX SPRINGFIELD, MO 655
24 42M McCORMICK, BRANDON LEBANON, MO 559
25 2M MOONEYHAM, DUSTIN AURORA, MO 538
O'REILLY AUTO PARTS MID-AMERICA RACING SERIES
Wheatland Raceway, 3rd Annual Fall Classic
Friday, September 26, 2003
by Larry Olson; Mountain Home, AR
WHEATLAND MO. A late afternoon thunderstorm caused Wheatland Raceway track officials and O'Reilly M.A.R.S. officlals to cancel Friday's portion of the 3rd Annual Fall Classic. The event will not be made up on the O'Reilly M.A.R.S. schedule. Saturday's second night of the 3rd Annual Fall Classic will be the final points event of the O'Reilly M.A.R.S. season.
Wheatland Raceway, 3rd Annual Fall Classic
Saturday, September 27, 2003
by Larry Olson; Mountain Home, AR
WHEATLAND MO. Terry Phillips of Springfield, Missouri won his 14th feature of the 2003 season Saturday at the Wheatland Raceway. Phillips's statistics in 2003 would make one think that he'd won the O'Reilly Auto Parts Mid-America Racing Series points championship. He came up 12 points short however, as Bill Frye of Greenbriar, Arkansas won his third consecutive O'Reilly M.A.R.S. championship in 2003.
Brad Looney held the pole for the season finale, with Charlie Randolph to his outside. Looney moved to the lead as the green flag fell. Randolph fell out of the top five quickly, as Purkey, Phillips, Steve Rushin, and Jeff Floyd fell in behind Looney.
Frye took over the fifth spot in turn two on the second lap. Phillips slipped past Stolba for second, then took the lead from Looney in turn two on the third lap. Phillips had opened a 10 carlength advantage by lap five.
Frye improved past Rushin, then Stolba into third by lap six. The caution flag waved for Jeff Taylor who had gotten into the backstretch wall. Taylor had to be wreckered to the pits, through for the night.
Jeff Floyd was fifth on the restart. Frye moved past Looney for second in turn two on lap eight. Floyd drove past Stolba for fourth in turn two on lap nine. Wendell Wallace made his first appearance in the top five, as he raced past Stolba in turn four on lap 11. Floyd drove by Looney for third in turn four on lap 12.
Floyd was on the move, and bypassed Frye for second in turn four on lap 13. Phillips was heading the field by a half straightaway by lap 14. Wallace and Looney were racing for fourth on lap 15, with Wallace getting the spot in turn four on the next lap. Wallace picked up another spot, past Frye in turn four on lap 17. Out front Phillips was starting to lap slower cars by lap 18.
Al Purkey moved to fifth by lap 20, then drove by Frye for the fourth spot in turn two on lap 22. Steve Rushin brought out caution number two on lap 23 as he was pulled up on the frontstretch.
Wallace drove by Floyd into second on the restart. Frye and Purkey raced side by side, with Purkey retaining fourth as the cars sorted out after the restart. Phillips was pacing the field by 10 carlengths again by lap 28, and was back in traffic by lap 34.
Wallace was able to close the gap between him and Phillips as the frontrunners diced through the traffic. Wallace had made his way to Phillips' back bumper by lap 37, and made a high side run on Phillips as the field came to the checkers, but couldn't make the pass.
Terry Phillips picked up the season finale win, with Wendell Wallace, Jeff Floyd, Al Purkey, and Bill Frye making up the top five. Gary Stolba, Brad Looney, Dewaine Hottinger, Joey Mack, and Charlie Randolph rounded out the top ten.
Entries: 43
Top Qualifier: Brad Looney
W&W Concrete Hard Charger: Al Purkey
Provisionals: Jeff Taylor (4), Jason Snodgrass (3)
Lap Leaders: Brad Looney 1-2, Terry Phillips 3-40
Cautions: 2
A FEATURE (40 Laps)
Finish/Driver/Start/Chassis/Motor/Make/Money Won
1) Terry Phillips, (4) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $3,000
2) Wendell Wallace, (9) GRT/Craft/Taurus; $2,000
3) Jeff Floyd, (7) GRT/Kuntz/Grand Prix; $1,250
4) Al Purkey, (14) Larry Shaw/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $1,100
5) Bill Frye, (8) GRT/Kuntz/Mustang; $1,000
6) Gary Stolba, (3) GRT/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $750
7) Brad Looney, (1) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $700
8) Dewaine Hottinger, (6) GRT/Kuntz/Monte Carlo; $675
9) Joey Mack, (11) GRT/Kuntz/Mustang; $650
10) Charlie Randolph, (2) GRT/BMS/Monte Carlo; $625
11) Leslie Essary, (15) GRT/Mike's/Grand Prix; $600
12) Chris Smyser, (19) MasterSbilt/Clements/Grand Prix; $575
13) Jason Bodenhamer, (12) GRT/Buzzard/Grand Prix; $550
14) David Turner, (13) Rocket/Bailey/Monte Carlo; $525
15) Jerry Buck, (17) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
16) Brandon McCormick, (20) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
17) Jason Snodgrass, (21) GRT/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $500
18) Chad Clark, (16) Clark/Draime/Grand Prix; $500
19) Steve Rushin, (5) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
20) Mike Brown, (18) GRT/Kuntz/Taurus; $500
21) Shane Essary, (10) Larry Shaw/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $500
22) Jeff Taylor, (22) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
1st Heat (12 Laps) 1) Jeff Floyd, Walnut Ridge AR 2) David Turner, Creighton MO 3) Jason Bodenhamer, Centerview MO 4) Leslie Essary, Crane MO 5) Mike Brown, Ft. Gibson OK 6) Peyton Taylor, Desha AR 7) Herb Nagy, Harrisonville MO 8) Ken Essary, Cape Fair MO 9) Larry Jones, Eldorado Springs MO
2nd Heat 1) Terry Phillips, Springfield MO 2) Joey Mack, Benton MO 3) Bill Frye, Greenbriar AR 4) Brandon McCormick, Lebanon MO 5) Jerry Buck, Harviell MO 6) Todd Kallweit, Wheatland MO 7) Michael Barber, Eldorado Springs MO 8) Jeff Taylor, Pleasant Plains AR 9) LeRoy Johnson, Springfield MO
3rd Heat 1) Charlie Randolph, Muskogee OK 2) Gary Stolba, Willow Springs MO 3) Wendell Wallace, Batesville AR 4) T.J. Kuykendall, Warsaw MO 5) Chris Comer, Parkville MO 6) Dustin Mooneyham, Aurora MO 7) Richard Foster, Holts Summit MO 8) Brook Phillips, Wichita KS 9) Randy McGraw, Marshall MO
4th Heat 1) Brad Looney, Republic MO 2) Al Purkey, Coffeyville KS 3) Shane Essary, Aurora MO 4) Kerry Schulze, Moundsville MO 5) Bryan Allison, Marshall MO 6) Will Vaught, Crane MO 7) Christian Rayburn, Osage Beach MO 8) Shorty Acker, Windsor MO
5th Heat 1) Steve Rushin, Poplar Bluff MO 2) Dewaine Hottinger, Russellville AR 3) Chris Smyser, Lancaster MO 4) Chad Clark, Marshall MO 5) Darrell Mooneyham, Aurora MO 6) Jason Snodgrass, Mountain Home AR 7) Ken Dickenson, Lebanon MO 8) Reid Millard, Jefferson City MO
1st Last Chance Qualifier (15 Laps, two transfer) 1) Jerry Buck 2) Chris Smyser 3) T.J. Kuykendall 4) Todd Kallweit 5) Richard Foster 6) Will Vaught 7) Darrell Mooneyham 8) Randy McGraw 9) Ken Dickenson 10) Larry Jones 11) Michael Barber 12) Shorty Acker 13) Chris Comer (scratch: Jeff Taylor)
2nd Last Chance Qualifier 1) Mike Brown 2) Brandon McCormick 3) Peyton Taylor 4) Kerry Schulze 5) Ken Essary 6) Bryan Allison 7) Dustin Mooneyham 8) Jason Snodgrass 9) Brook Phillips 10) Christian Rayburn 11) Reid Millard 12) Herb Nagy 13) LeRoy Johnson
FINAL MARS POINTS FOR 2003
1 66F FRYE, BILL GREENBRIAR, AR 2796
2 75P PHILLIPS, TERRY SPRINGFIELD, MO 2784
3 5T TAYLOR, JEFF PLEASANT PLAINS, AR 2556
4 F1 FLOYD, JEFF WALNUT RIDGE, AR 2494
5 5E ESSARY, LESLIE CRANE, MO 2474
6 427B BROWN, MIKE FT. GIBSON, OK 2390
7 9R RANDOLPH II, CHARLIE MUSKOGEE, OK 2310
8 81B BUCK, JERRY HARVIELL, M0 2290
9 65H HOTTINGER, DEWAINE RUSSELLVILLE, AR 2270
10 14JR RUSHIN, STEVE POPLAR BLUFF, MO 2200
11 97M MACK, JOEY BENTON, MO 2166
12 33S STOLBA, GARY WILLOW SPRINGS, MO 2038
13 15E ESSARY, SHANE AURORA, MO 1775
14 18S SULLIVAN, JACK GREENBRIAR, AR 1587
15 60B BOWERS, MIKE NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR1483
16 88W WALLACE, WENDELL BATESVILLE, AR 1381
17 27T TAYLOR, STACY JACKSONVILLE, AR 1077
18 12M MERRILL, RAYMOND SALLISAW, OK 1067
19 G2 GIBSON, DAVID ASH FLAT, AR 916
20 14L LOONEY, BRAD REPUBLIC, MO 803
21 21W WALKER, JERRY SOUTHAVEN, MS 733
22 71S SNODGRASS, JASON MOUNTAIN HOME, AR 704
23 64M McCROSKEY, REX SPRINGFIELD, MO 655
24 42M McCORMICK, BRANDON LEBANON, MO 559
25 2M MOONEYHAM, DUSTIN AURORA, MO 538
O'REILLY AUTO PARTS MID-AMERICA RACING SERIES
Wheatland Raceway, 3rd Annual Fall Classic
Friday, September 26, 2003
by Larry Olson; Mountain Home, AR
WHEATLAND MO. A late afternoon thunderstorm caused Wheatland Raceway track officials and O'Reilly M.A.R.S. officlals to cancel Friday's portion of the 3rd Annual Fall Classic. The event will not be made up on the O'Reilly M.A.R.S. schedule. Saturday's second night of the 3rd Annual Fall Classic will be the final points event of the O'Reilly M.A.R.S. season.
