jdearing
04-17-2005, 02:03 PM
Clint Brown
April 17, 2005
The O'Reilly MLRA 2005 Thunder Tour rolled into Winston Speedway to kick off the tracks 2005 season and when the smoke settled 3-time O'Reilly MLRA champion Al Purkey notched his first win of the young season.
The win was a hard fought battle as the Coffeyville, KS racer battled tooth and nail with 4-time and defending O'Reilly MLRA champion Alan Vaughn from the drop of the green. Vaughn bolted from his pole position and into the lead at the drop of the green, but Purkey wasn't about to let the Belton, MO hotshoe get away as he dogged him at every point on the track working the corners both high and low. The two held the same positrons as they came up on heavy lapped traffic of lap 12 with Purkey pulling alongside, but Vaughn made a bold move between two lapped cars to hold onto the top spot. The field slowed on lap 14 for the spun mount of Mark Evinger and as the green flag waved the yellow came out again as Creighton, MO's David Turner found himself facing the wrong direction on the front stretch after making contact with another car and then the wall. Turner was done for the night and retired to the pit area. On the restart Vaughn was once again able to hold onto the lead until Pukey finally got a run and moved in to the top spot on lap 17, but his time at the front was short lived as Vaughn swept back to the point one lap later. Having lost the top spot Purkey began searching for the line to move back out front and found it as he motored past Vaughn on lap 23 with a move low on the track. The yellow flag flew again on lap 26 as Freemon, MO's Aaron Seabaugh spun his mount in turn 2. With the green flag flying Purkey set the pace with Vaughn making a hard challenge to take away the spot. Vaughn made a run on the low side going into turn 3 on lap 29 and moved in front of Purkey, but not to be outdone Purkey dove back down the track to keep his spot. As the two came off of the fourth turn they made contact going for the same spot on the track with Vaughn's machine spinning around facing the wrong direction bringing out the races final caution. >From that point on Purkey held on to lead the pack under the checkered flag by nearly 1/2 a straightaway. Following Purkey across the line were Aurora, MO's Shane Essary, CJ Lyle, Tommy Rowe, and Vaughn who rode the high side to come back to the fifth position.
Joining Purkey and Vaughn as heat winners were the #63 of St Joseph, MO's Dale Eaton and Doniphan, NE resident Tommy Rowe in his beautiful 2R machine. Jeff French captured the B Feature and then battled his way to the 7th position in the A Feature to earn the Leaf Racewear Hard Charger Award.
By virtue of his win Al Purkey moved past Jason Bodenhamer and into the points lead for the O'Reilly MLRA 2005 Thunder Tour by a scant 2 points. The front pair are followed closely by Vaughn who is looking for and unprecedented fifth O'Reilly MLRA championship trophy to add to his collection.
Next up for the O'Reilly MLRA 2005 Thunder Tour is a return visit to Outlaw Motor Speedway in Muskogee, OK for two nights of racing action on May 20 and 21.
For the latest news and information on the O'Reilly MLRA 2005 Thunder Tour visit www.mlraracing.com
Full Results
Winston Speedway
April 16, 2005
Heat 1
1) Al Purkey, 2) CJ Lyle, 3) Shane Essary, 4) Gary Webb, 5) Jeff French, 6) TJ Kuykendall, 7) Dean Wray
Heat 2
1) Alan Vaughn, 2) Jason Bodenhamer, 3) Larry Clawson, 4) David Turner, 5) Tom Cordray, 6) Mark Evinger, 7) Dale Dickinson
Heat 3
1) Dale Eaton, 2) Brett LaFollette, 3) Ryan McAninch, 4) Russell Portwood, 5) David Barker, 6) Vistor Sims, 7) Mike Jones
Heat 4
1) Tommy Rowe, 2) Aaron Seabaugh, 3) Gary Billings Jr., 4) Bryon Allison, 5) Terry Melton, 6) Greg Choate, DNS - John Farmer
B Feature
1) Jeff French, 2) TJ Kuykendall, 3) David Barker, 4) Tom Cordray, 5) Mark Evinger, 6) Mike Jones, 7) Greg Choate, 8) Terry Melton, 9) Victor Sims
A Feature
1) Al Purkey, 2) Shane Essary, 3) CJ Lyle, 4) Tommy Rowe, 5) Alan Vaughn, 6) Gary Webb, 7) Brett LaFollette, 8) Jeff French, 9) Jason Bodenhamer, 10) Bryon Allison, 11) Larry Clawson, 12) Dale Eaton, 13) David Barker, 14) Ryan McAninch, 15) Gary Billings Jr., 16) Tom Cordray, 17) TJ Kuykendall, 18) Aaron Seabaugh, 19) Mark Evinger, 20) David Turner, 21) Russell Portwood, 22) Terry Melton
Chase Race Decals Hard Luck Award: David Turner
Performance Bodies 5th Place Award: Alan Vaughn
Leaf Racewear Hard Charger Award: Jeff French
2005 Thunder Tour Sponsors: O'Reilly Auto Parts, Hoosier Race Tire, Hatfield Racing Engines, Larry Shaw Race Cars, Afco, GRT Race Cars, The Driveline Shop, Intensitee, Sunoco Race Fuels, Weld Wheels, Chase Race Decals, Gameday Trophy, Bodee's Race Bodies, Smitty's Racing Engines, Duralite, Holley, Lunati, Rod End Supply, Schoenfeld Headers, Kluhsman Racing Components, Performance Race Bodies, ATL Fuel Cells, Leaf Racewear
April 17, 2005
The O'Reilly MLRA 2005 Thunder Tour rolled into Winston Speedway to kick off the tracks 2005 season and when the smoke settled 3-time O'Reilly MLRA champion Al Purkey notched his first win of the young season.
The win was a hard fought battle as the Coffeyville, KS racer battled tooth and nail with 4-time and defending O'Reilly MLRA champion Alan Vaughn from the drop of the green. Vaughn bolted from his pole position and into the lead at the drop of the green, but Purkey wasn't about to let the Belton, MO hotshoe get away as he dogged him at every point on the track working the corners both high and low. The two held the same positrons as they came up on heavy lapped traffic of lap 12 with Purkey pulling alongside, but Vaughn made a bold move between two lapped cars to hold onto the top spot. The field slowed on lap 14 for the spun mount of Mark Evinger and as the green flag waved the yellow came out again as Creighton, MO's David Turner found himself facing the wrong direction on the front stretch after making contact with another car and then the wall. Turner was done for the night and retired to the pit area. On the restart Vaughn was once again able to hold onto the lead until Pukey finally got a run and moved in to the top spot on lap 17, but his time at the front was short lived as Vaughn swept back to the point one lap later. Having lost the top spot Purkey began searching for the line to move back out front and found it as he motored past Vaughn on lap 23 with a move low on the track. The yellow flag flew again on lap 26 as Freemon, MO's Aaron Seabaugh spun his mount in turn 2. With the green flag flying Purkey set the pace with Vaughn making a hard challenge to take away the spot. Vaughn made a run on the low side going into turn 3 on lap 29 and moved in front of Purkey, but not to be outdone Purkey dove back down the track to keep his spot. As the two came off of the fourth turn they made contact going for the same spot on the track with Vaughn's machine spinning around facing the wrong direction bringing out the races final caution. >From that point on Purkey held on to lead the pack under the checkered flag by nearly 1/2 a straightaway. Following Purkey across the line were Aurora, MO's Shane Essary, CJ Lyle, Tommy Rowe, and Vaughn who rode the high side to come back to the fifth position.
Joining Purkey and Vaughn as heat winners were the #63 of St Joseph, MO's Dale Eaton and Doniphan, NE resident Tommy Rowe in his beautiful 2R machine. Jeff French captured the B Feature and then battled his way to the 7th position in the A Feature to earn the Leaf Racewear Hard Charger Award.
By virtue of his win Al Purkey moved past Jason Bodenhamer and into the points lead for the O'Reilly MLRA 2005 Thunder Tour by a scant 2 points. The front pair are followed closely by Vaughn who is looking for and unprecedented fifth O'Reilly MLRA championship trophy to add to his collection.
Next up for the O'Reilly MLRA 2005 Thunder Tour is a return visit to Outlaw Motor Speedway in Muskogee, OK for two nights of racing action on May 20 and 21.
For the latest news and information on the O'Reilly MLRA 2005 Thunder Tour visit www.mlraracing.com
Full Results
Winston Speedway
April 16, 2005
Heat 1
1) Al Purkey, 2) CJ Lyle, 3) Shane Essary, 4) Gary Webb, 5) Jeff French, 6) TJ Kuykendall, 7) Dean Wray
Heat 2
1) Alan Vaughn, 2) Jason Bodenhamer, 3) Larry Clawson, 4) David Turner, 5) Tom Cordray, 6) Mark Evinger, 7) Dale Dickinson
Heat 3
1) Dale Eaton, 2) Brett LaFollette, 3) Ryan McAninch, 4) Russell Portwood, 5) David Barker, 6) Vistor Sims, 7) Mike Jones
Heat 4
1) Tommy Rowe, 2) Aaron Seabaugh, 3) Gary Billings Jr., 4) Bryon Allison, 5) Terry Melton, 6) Greg Choate, DNS - John Farmer
B Feature
1) Jeff French, 2) TJ Kuykendall, 3) David Barker, 4) Tom Cordray, 5) Mark Evinger, 6) Mike Jones, 7) Greg Choate, 8) Terry Melton, 9) Victor Sims
A Feature
1) Al Purkey, 2) Shane Essary, 3) CJ Lyle, 4) Tommy Rowe, 5) Alan Vaughn, 6) Gary Webb, 7) Brett LaFollette, 8) Jeff French, 9) Jason Bodenhamer, 10) Bryon Allison, 11) Larry Clawson, 12) Dale Eaton, 13) David Barker, 14) Ryan McAninch, 15) Gary Billings Jr., 16) Tom Cordray, 17) TJ Kuykendall, 18) Aaron Seabaugh, 19) Mark Evinger, 20) David Turner, 21) Russell Portwood, 22) Terry Melton
Chase Race Decals Hard Luck Award: David Turner
Performance Bodies 5th Place Award: Alan Vaughn
Leaf Racewear Hard Charger Award: Jeff French
2005 Thunder Tour Sponsors: O'Reilly Auto Parts, Hoosier Race Tire, Hatfield Racing Engines, Larry Shaw Race Cars, Afco, GRT Race Cars, The Driveline Shop, Intensitee, Sunoco Race Fuels, Weld Wheels, Chase Race Decals, Gameday Trophy, Bodee's Race Bodies, Smitty's Racing Engines, Duralite, Holley, Lunati, Rod End Supply, Schoenfeld Headers, Kluhsman Racing Components, Performance Race Bodies, ATL Fuel Cells, Leaf Racewear