Columbus, MS - Some suggest that "The Bullring" should now be renamed "The Gator Swamp".
"The Intimagator" Chris Wall continued a string of impressive performances on Saturday night with a win in the 14th Annual James King Memorial, one of the most prestigious races held annually at Columbus Speedway. Super Late Models would compete for a $6,400 prize in a 64-lap feature event promoted by Terry King and the King family.
Scoot Bloomquist would share the feature front row with David Breazeale, and Bloomquist - reportedly seeking "redemption" at Columbus Speedway after a series of poor performances at the high-banked oval - took the initial lead. Wall would take 2nd place away from Breazeale on the backstretch during the first lap, with Jason Cliburn in 4th as Mike Boland and Ronny Lee Hollingsworth dueled for 5th place.
Wall would run down Bloomquist, then take over the lead on lap 3 with a low-side pass in turns 3 and 4. The field would come to a halt with a caution for Daniel Miller on the next lap, with Wall, Bloomquist, Breazeale, Boland, and Cliburn now in the top five.
As the field restarted, Wall began to distance himself from the pack almost immediately. Bloomquist would fend off Breazeale to hold onto second place, with Mike Boland moving in on the bottom to challenge Breazeale ahead of the battling trio of Cliburn, Hollingsworth, and Scott Slay. Hollingsworth would take 5th place on lap 6 as Boland and Breazeale continued to race door-to-door for 3rd place.
Wall would enter lapped traffic on lap 11, and Boland took over 3rd place on the next lap. A near tangle with a lapped car held up Wall just enough for Bloomquist to charge in on the outside, but the leader would rebound and begin to distance himself once again. As Boland began challenging Bloomquist for second place, Slay and Breazeale would run opposite "seesaw" laps in a race for 5th until Breazeale suffered a flat tire on lap 25. Wall, Bloomquist, Boland, Slay, and Hollingsworth would hold down the top five for the restart.
Another caution would fall one lap later after a tangle involving Roger Shirley and Tombo Callahan, then Wall would set off once again. Terrance Nowell would move into the top five as Boland once again began to go inside Bloomquist looking to take over second place. Nowell would take 4th from Slay on lap 30, but Slay would move back into the position on lap 34. Just ahead, the race between Bloomquist and Boland heated up, the pair running side-by-side in each set of turns for a spell.
Wall would reach traffic on lap 38, and for a while the leaders would spread out. For 12 laps the leaders worked their way through traffic with little fanfare. Boland would reel Bloomquist back in on lap 50, but with a clear track finally between the #0 and the leading #71 by lap 52, Bloomquist seemed to begin running down the leading Wall.
The small gains made by Bloomquist may have looked like the beginning of a final charge for the win, but after only a couple of laps it was obvious that there would be no such charge. Wall once again began pulling away, and Boland moved back in on Bloomquist. Boland would dive deep on lap 58, then stick a classic slide job on the #0 machine to take over second place. Boland began pulling away, and on lap 60, the final caution fell with Bloomquist suffering a flat tire. Wall would line up for the restart with Boland breathing down his neck, looking to pull off a win in the last few laps.
Boland would not be able to mount a challenge on Wall, who rode away in the last four laps to take the win. Boland and Slay would make up the top three, with Shawn Edwards and Jay Blair working their way to top-five honors. David Ashley, Nowell, Cliburn, Jim McDuffie, and Hollingsworth completed the top ten.
In Open-Wheel Modified action, Matt Price would jump to an early lead and hold on out front as Shay Knight worked his way into position for a late run at the win. Knight would begin racing inside Price as the laps wound to a close, then stole the win by mere inches at the finish line. Blake Koenigsberger, Greg Dedwylder, and Murray Vaughn made up the top five.
Ruble Maxey survived a major pileup on the first lap of the Late Model Stock event to take the feature win over TK King, with Jason Sanderford rounding out the top three. Andy Robinson would take the Crate Late Model win over Mike Shirley and Talbert Goldman. Heath Beard would out duel TK King to take his first Columbus Speedway feature win in the Street Stock division, the pair followed across the line by Jeffrey Walker in a fantastic finish.
Allen Gilreath would beat Michael Pendley and Hugh Shaffer to the line in the Mini Stock main event. Wayne & Jamie Sudduth took the Cruiser feature win, and Kale Deloach claimed the victory in the Hot Shot feature.
14th Annual James King Memorial
33 Super Late Models on hand
Fast time: 13.64 Scott Bloomquist
B-Main winners: Terrance Nowell, Jeff White, Bub McCool
Provisional starter: Jerry Inmon
Fin. ## Driver (Started)
1ST 71 CHRIS WALL (4)
2ND 222 MIKE BOLAND (5)
3RD 6 SCOTT SLAY (8)
4TH 5 SHAWN EDWARDS (15)
5TH 2X JAY BLAIR (17)
6TH 14 DAVID ASHLEY (12)
7TH 55 TERRANCE NOWELL (11)
8TH 888 JASON CLIBURN (3)
9TH 760 JIM MCDUFFIE (20)
10TH 18 RONNY LEE HOLLINGSWORTH (6)
11TH 99 JEFF WHITE (14)
12TH 54 DAVID BREAZEALE (2)
13TH 02 STEPHEN BRANTLEY (21)
14TH 20 TOMBO CALLAHAN (7)
15TH 0 SCOTT BLOOMQUIST (1)
16TH 8 JIMMY CLIBURN (13)
17TH 12 JASON SMITH (19)
18TH 57 ROGER SHIRLEY (22)
19TH 57J BUB MCCOOL (13)
20TH 1 JOHNNY STOKES (23)
21ST 1 TIM BUSHA (18)
22ND 19 RANDY WALTERS (24)
23RD D7 JERRY INMON (25)
24TH 19 MARK MEARS (16)
25TH 16 DANIEL MILLER (9)
"The Intimagator" Chris Wall continued a string of impressive performances on Saturday night with a win in the 14th Annual James King Memorial, one of the most prestigious races held annually at Columbus Speedway. Super Late Models would compete for a $6,400 prize in a 64-lap feature event promoted by Terry King and the King family.
Scoot Bloomquist would share the feature front row with David Breazeale, and Bloomquist - reportedly seeking "redemption" at Columbus Speedway after a series of poor performances at the high-banked oval - took the initial lead. Wall would take 2nd place away from Breazeale on the backstretch during the first lap, with Jason Cliburn in 4th as Mike Boland and Ronny Lee Hollingsworth dueled for 5th place.
Wall would run down Bloomquist, then take over the lead on lap 3 with a low-side pass in turns 3 and 4. The field would come to a halt with a caution for Daniel Miller on the next lap, with Wall, Bloomquist, Breazeale, Boland, and Cliburn now in the top five.
As the field restarted, Wall began to distance himself from the pack almost immediately. Bloomquist would fend off Breazeale to hold onto second place, with Mike Boland moving in on the bottom to challenge Breazeale ahead of the battling trio of Cliburn, Hollingsworth, and Scott Slay. Hollingsworth would take 5th place on lap 6 as Boland and Breazeale continued to race door-to-door for 3rd place.
Wall would enter lapped traffic on lap 11, and Boland took over 3rd place on the next lap. A near tangle with a lapped car held up Wall just enough for Bloomquist to charge in on the outside, but the leader would rebound and begin to distance himself once again. As Boland began challenging Bloomquist for second place, Slay and Breazeale would run opposite "seesaw" laps in a race for 5th until Breazeale suffered a flat tire on lap 25. Wall, Bloomquist, Boland, Slay, and Hollingsworth would hold down the top five for the restart.
Another caution would fall one lap later after a tangle involving Roger Shirley and Tombo Callahan, then Wall would set off once again. Terrance Nowell would move into the top five as Boland once again began to go inside Bloomquist looking to take over second place. Nowell would take 4th from Slay on lap 30, but Slay would move back into the position on lap 34. Just ahead, the race between Bloomquist and Boland heated up, the pair running side-by-side in each set of turns for a spell.
Wall would reach traffic on lap 38, and for a while the leaders would spread out. For 12 laps the leaders worked their way through traffic with little fanfare. Boland would reel Bloomquist back in on lap 50, but with a clear track finally between the #0 and the leading #71 by lap 52, Bloomquist seemed to begin running down the leading Wall.
The small gains made by Bloomquist may have looked like the beginning of a final charge for the win, but after only a couple of laps it was obvious that there would be no such charge. Wall once again began pulling away, and Boland moved back in on Bloomquist. Boland would dive deep on lap 58, then stick a classic slide job on the #0 machine to take over second place. Boland began pulling away, and on lap 60, the final caution fell with Bloomquist suffering a flat tire. Wall would line up for the restart with Boland breathing down his neck, looking to pull off a win in the last few laps.
Boland would not be able to mount a challenge on Wall, who rode away in the last four laps to take the win. Boland and Slay would make up the top three, with Shawn Edwards and Jay Blair working their way to top-five honors. David Ashley, Nowell, Cliburn, Jim McDuffie, and Hollingsworth completed the top ten.
In Open-Wheel Modified action, Matt Price would jump to an early lead and hold on out front as Shay Knight worked his way into position for a late run at the win. Knight would begin racing inside Price as the laps wound to a close, then stole the win by mere inches at the finish line. Blake Koenigsberger, Greg Dedwylder, and Murray Vaughn made up the top five.
Ruble Maxey survived a major pileup on the first lap of the Late Model Stock event to take the feature win over TK King, with Jason Sanderford rounding out the top three. Andy Robinson would take the Crate Late Model win over Mike Shirley and Talbert Goldman. Heath Beard would out duel TK King to take his first Columbus Speedway feature win in the Street Stock division, the pair followed across the line by Jeffrey Walker in a fantastic finish.
Allen Gilreath would beat Michael Pendley and Hugh Shaffer to the line in the Mini Stock main event. Wayne & Jamie Sudduth took the Cruiser feature win, and Kale Deloach claimed the victory in the Hot Shot feature.
14th Annual James King Memorial
33 Super Late Models on hand
Fast time: 13.64 Scott Bloomquist
B-Main winners: Terrance Nowell, Jeff White, Bub McCool
Provisional starter: Jerry Inmon
Fin. ## Driver (Started)
1ST 71 CHRIS WALL (4)
2ND 222 MIKE BOLAND (5)
3RD 6 SCOTT SLAY (8)
4TH 5 SHAWN EDWARDS (15)
5TH 2X JAY BLAIR (17)
6TH 14 DAVID ASHLEY (12)
7TH 55 TERRANCE NOWELL (11)
8TH 888 JASON CLIBURN (3)
9TH 760 JIM MCDUFFIE (20)
10TH 18 RONNY LEE HOLLINGSWORTH (6)
11TH 99 JEFF WHITE (14)
12TH 54 DAVID BREAZEALE (2)
13TH 02 STEPHEN BRANTLEY (21)
14TH 20 TOMBO CALLAHAN (7)
15TH 0 SCOTT BLOOMQUIST (1)
16TH 8 JIMMY CLIBURN (13)
17TH 12 JASON SMITH (19)
18TH 57 ROGER SHIRLEY (22)
19TH 57J BUB MCCOOL (13)
20TH 1 JOHNNY STOKES (23)
21ST 1 TIM BUSHA (18)
22ND 19 RANDY WALTERS (24)
23RD D7 JERRY INMON (25)
24TH 19 MARK MEARS (16)
25TH 16 DANIEL MILLER (9)
