O'REILLY AUTO PARTS MID-AMERICA RACING SERIES
Bolivar Speedway, Missouri Dirt Track Championship
Friday, August 22, 2003
by Larry Olson; Mountain Home, AR
BOLIVAR MO. Wendell Wallace notched his second O'Reilly Auto Parts Mid-America Racing Series win of the year at the Missouri Dirt Track Championship at the Bolivar Speedway. Wallace took the top spot from Jeff Floyd in turn four on the fourth lap, then had to hold off a hard charging Terry Phillips as the laps wore down.
Leslie Essary was the nights top qualifier and held the pole with Floyd to his outside. Floyd got the best of things on the start, moving to the lead with Essary, Bill Frye, Wallace, and Terry Phillips giving chase. Wallace drove past Frye, taking third in turn four on the opening lap, then bested Essary for second in turn two a half lap later.
Wallace didn't follow Floyd for long, getting under him in turn four on the fourth lap. Frye was past Essary for third, then Phillips got by Essary for the fourth spot on lap five.
It didn't take Wallace long to run away from the field, as he was a half straightaway ahead of Floyd by lap 10. Wallace as also starting to encounter slower cars at this point as well. Wallace was looking at six slower cars, and had cleared two of them by lap 13. Wallace cleared the traffic by lap 16, while behind him, Frye and Phillips were battling for the third spot nose to tail getting into traffic themselves.
Jason Bodenhamer brought out the caution on lap 19, as he was just off the track on the backstretch after contact with another car. Phillips got by Frye on the restart, and Brad Looney took over fifth on the restart as well.
Only two more laps went into the books before Dewaine Hottinger spun trying to avoid another car in turn four.
Wallace was a rocket ship on the restart, blasting out to a 10 carlength advantage in just one lap. Phillips raced past Floyd for second, getting under him in turn four on lap 24. Wallace was a half straightaway ahead of Phillips by lap 25.
Phillips appeared to be closing some ground on Wallace on his own, but closed quickly when Wallace got back into traffic by lap 30. Wallace was facing four cars again by lap 32, and Phillips had closed up to his rear bumper.
Wallace was able to clear one car by lap 35, but Phillips followed him on through. Wallace was finally able to move into some clear track, and had a five carlength advantage of Phillips at the white flag.
Wendell Wallace came home with the win, with Terry Phillips, Jeff Floyd, Brad Looney, and Bill Frye making up the top five. Leslie Essary, David Gibson, Gary Stolba, Charlie Randolph, and Mike Brown rounded out the top ten.
Entries: 31
Top Qualifier: Leslie Essary
W&W Concrete Hard Charger: Jerry Buck
Provisionals: Jeff Taylor (3), Jerry Buck (3)
Lap Leaders: Jeff Floyd 1-4, Wendell Wallace 5-40
Cautions: 2
A FEATURE (40 Laps)
Finish/Driver/Start/Chassis/Motor/Make/Money Won
1) Wendell Wallace, (4) GRT/Craft/Taurus; $3,000
2) Terry Phillips, (5) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $2,000
3) Jeff Floyd, (2) GRT/Kuntz/Grand Prix; $1,250
4) Brad Looney, (6) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $1,100
5) Bill Frye, (3) GRT/Kuntz/Mustang; $1,000
6) Leslie Essary, (1) GRT/Mike's/Grand Prix; $750
7) David Gibson, (7) Rocket/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $700
8) Gary Stolba, (14) GRT/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $675
9) Charlie Randolph, (18) GRT/BMS/Monte Carlo; $650
10) Mike Brown, (8) GRT/Kuntz/Taurus; $625
11) Jack Sullivan, (9) GRT/Dickens/Grand Prix; $600
12) Scott Drake, (10) Rayburn/Dickens/Grand Prix; $575
13) Jerry Buck, (22) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $550
14) Jeff Taylor, (21) Larry Shaw/Kuntz/Taurus; $525
15) Peyton Taylor, (17) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
16) Ken Essary, (13) Ince/Mike's/Grand Prix; $500
17) Joey Mack, (15) GRT/Kuntz/Mustang; $500
18) Dewaine Hottinger, (19) GRT/Kuntz/Monte Carlo; $500
19) Brandon McCormick, (20) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
20) Shane Essary, (12) GRT/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $500
21) Jason Bodenhamer, (11) GRT/Buzzard/Grand Prix; $500
22) Gary Webb, (16) GRT/Pro Power/Grand Prix $500
1st Heat (12 Laps) 1) Terry Phillips, Springfield MO 2) Mike Brown, Ft. Gibson OK 3) Scott Drake, Webb City MO 4) Gary Stolba, Willow Springs MO 5) Gary Webb, Blue Grass IA 6) Brandon McCormick, Lebanon MO 7) Darrell Mooneyham, Aurora MO 8) LeRoy Johnson, Springfield MO
2nd Heat 1) Wendell Wallace, Batesville AR 2) Brad Looney, Republic MO 3) David Gibson, Ash Flat AR 4) Jason Bodenhamer, Centerview MO 5) Dustin Mooneyham, Aurora MO 6) Dewaine Hottinger, Russellville AR 7) Charlie Randolph, Muskogee OK 8) Steve Rushin, Poplar Bluff MO
3rd Heat 1) Leslie Essary, Crane MO 2) Jack Sullivan, Greenbriar AR 3) Shane Essary, Aurora MO 4) Joey Mack, Benton MO 5) Rusty Dukes, Fair Grove MO 6) Jerry Buck, Harviell MO 7) Larry Jones, Eldorado Springs MO 8) Bryan Allison, Marshall MO
4th Heat 1) Bill Frye, Greenbriar AR 2) Jeff Floyd, Walnut Ridge AR 3) Ken Essary, Cape Fair MO 4) Peyton Taylor, Desha AR 5) Jeff Taylor, Pleasant Plains MO 6) Chris Comer, Parkville MO 7) Todd Kallweit, Wheatland MO
1st Last Chance Qualifier (10 Laps, two transfer) 1) Peyton Taylor 2) Dewaine Hottinger 3) Darrell Mooneyham 4) Bryan Allison 5) Jerry Buck 6) Larry Jones 7) Rusty Dukes (scratch: LeRoy Johnson)
2nd Last Chance Qualifier 1) Charlie Randolph 2) Brandon McCormick 3) Dustin Mooneyham 4) Steve Rushin 5) Jeff Taylor (scratches: Chris Comer, Todd Kallweit)
Bolivar Speedway, Missouri Dirt Track Championship
Friday, August 22, 2003
by Larry Olson; Mountain Home, AR
BOLIVAR MO. Wendell Wallace notched his second O'Reilly Auto Parts Mid-America Racing Series win of the year at the Missouri Dirt Track Championship at the Bolivar Speedway. Wallace took the top spot from Jeff Floyd in turn four on the fourth lap, then had to hold off a hard charging Terry Phillips as the laps wore down.
Leslie Essary was the nights top qualifier and held the pole with Floyd to his outside. Floyd got the best of things on the start, moving to the lead with Essary, Bill Frye, Wallace, and Terry Phillips giving chase. Wallace drove past Frye, taking third in turn four on the opening lap, then bested Essary for second in turn two a half lap later.
Wallace didn't follow Floyd for long, getting under him in turn four on the fourth lap. Frye was past Essary for third, then Phillips got by Essary for the fourth spot on lap five.
It didn't take Wallace long to run away from the field, as he was a half straightaway ahead of Floyd by lap 10. Wallace as also starting to encounter slower cars at this point as well. Wallace was looking at six slower cars, and had cleared two of them by lap 13. Wallace cleared the traffic by lap 16, while behind him, Frye and Phillips were battling for the third spot nose to tail getting into traffic themselves.
Jason Bodenhamer brought out the caution on lap 19, as he was just off the track on the backstretch after contact with another car. Phillips got by Frye on the restart, and Brad Looney took over fifth on the restart as well.
Only two more laps went into the books before Dewaine Hottinger spun trying to avoid another car in turn four.
Wallace was a rocket ship on the restart, blasting out to a 10 carlength advantage in just one lap. Phillips raced past Floyd for second, getting under him in turn four on lap 24. Wallace was a half straightaway ahead of Phillips by lap 25.
Phillips appeared to be closing some ground on Wallace on his own, but closed quickly when Wallace got back into traffic by lap 30. Wallace was facing four cars again by lap 32, and Phillips had closed up to his rear bumper.
Wallace was able to clear one car by lap 35, but Phillips followed him on through. Wallace was finally able to move into some clear track, and had a five carlength advantage of Phillips at the white flag.
Wendell Wallace came home with the win, with Terry Phillips, Jeff Floyd, Brad Looney, and Bill Frye making up the top five. Leslie Essary, David Gibson, Gary Stolba, Charlie Randolph, and Mike Brown rounded out the top ten.
Entries: 31
Top Qualifier: Leslie Essary
W&W Concrete Hard Charger: Jerry Buck
Provisionals: Jeff Taylor (3), Jerry Buck (3)
Lap Leaders: Jeff Floyd 1-4, Wendell Wallace 5-40
Cautions: 2
A FEATURE (40 Laps)
Finish/Driver/Start/Chassis/Motor/Make/Money Won
1) Wendell Wallace, (4) GRT/Craft/Taurus; $3,000
2) Terry Phillips, (5) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $2,000
3) Jeff Floyd, (2) GRT/Kuntz/Grand Prix; $1,250
4) Brad Looney, (6) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $1,100
5) Bill Frye, (3) GRT/Kuntz/Mustang; $1,000
6) Leslie Essary, (1) GRT/Mike's/Grand Prix; $750
7) David Gibson, (7) Rocket/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $700
8) Gary Stolba, (14) GRT/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $675
9) Charlie Randolph, (18) GRT/BMS/Monte Carlo; $650
10) Mike Brown, (8) GRT/Kuntz/Taurus; $625
11) Jack Sullivan, (9) GRT/Dickens/Grand Prix; $600
12) Scott Drake, (10) Rayburn/Dickens/Grand Prix; $575
13) Jerry Buck, (22) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $550
14) Jeff Taylor, (21) Larry Shaw/Kuntz/Taurus; $525
15) Peyton Taylor, (17) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
16) Ken Essary, (13) Ince/Mike's/Grand Prix; $500
17) Joey Mack, (15) GRT/Kuntz/Mustang; $500
18) Dewaine Hottinger, (19) GRT/Kuntz/Monte Carlo; $500
19) Brandon McCormick, (20) GRT/Hatfield/Monte Carlo; $500
20) Shane Essary, (12) GRT/Hatfield/Grand Prix; $500
21) Jason Bodenhamer, (11) GRT/Buzzard/Grand Prix; $500
22) Gary Webb, (16) GRT/Pro Power/Grand Prix $500
1st Heat (12 Laps) 1) Terry Phillips, Springfield MO 2) Mike Brown, Ft. Gibson OK 3) Scott Drake, Webb City MO 4) Gary Stolba, Willow Springs MO 5) Gary Webb, Blue Grass IA 6) Brandon McCormick, Lebanon MO 7) Darrell Mooneyham, Aurora MO 8) LeRoy Johnson, Springfield MO
2nd Heat 1) Wendell Wallace, Batesville AR 2) Brad Looney, Republic MO 3) David Gibson, Ash Flat AR 4) Jason Bodenhamer, Centerview MO 5) Dustin Mooneyham, Aurora MO 6) Dewaine Hottinger, Russellville AR 7) Charlie Randolph, Muskogee OK 8) Steve Rushin, Poplar Bluff MO
3rd Heat 1) Leslie Essary, Crane MO 2) Jack Sullivan, Greenbriar AR 3) Shane Essary, Aurora MO 4) Joey Mack, Benton MO 5) Rusty Dukes, Fair Grove MO 6) Jerry Buck, Harviell MO 7) Larry Jones, Eldorado Springs MO 8) Bryan Allison, Marshall MO
4th Heat 1) Bill Frye, Greenbriar AR 2) Jeff Floyd, Walnut Ridge AR 3) Ken Essary, Cape Fair MO 4) Peyton Taylor, Desha AR 5) Jeff Taylor, Pleasant Plains MO 6) Chris Comer, Parkville MO 7) Todd Kallweit, Wheatland MO
1st Last Chance Qualifier (10 Laps, two transfer) 1) Peyton Taylor 2) Dewaine Hottinger 3) Darrell Mooneyham 4) Bryan Allison 5) Jerry Buck 6) Larry Jones 7) Rusty Dukes (scratch: LeRoy Johnson)
2nd Last Chance Qualifier 1) Charlie Randolph 2) Brandon McCormick 3) Dustin Mooneyham 4) Steve Rushin 5) Jeff Taylor (scratches: Chris Comer, Todd Kallweit)
