HomeDirt Late Model NewsIowa’s Jason Rauen Pulls Off Surprise Sweep Of Qualifying Night To Earn...

Iowa’s Jason Rauen Pulls Off Surprise Sweep Of Qualifying Night To Earn Pole Starting Spot In USA Nationals At Cedar Lake Speedway

Published on

- Advertisement -

World of Outlaws Late Model SeriesNEW RICHMOND, WI – Aug. 5, 2011 – Jason Rauen of Farley, Iowa, surprised even himself with a clean sweep of Friday night’s qualifying program for the USA Nationals presented by U.S. Steel at Cedar Lake Speedway.

An upstart 31-year-old dirt Late Model driver making just his third career appearance at the high-banked, three-eighths-mile oval, Rauen was fastest in the 54-car Ohlins Shocks Time Trials session, won a heat race and captured the 10-lap dash to earn the pole position starting spot in Saturday night’s 24th annual 100-lap, $50,000-to-win A-Main. He will lead the field to the green flag in what will be both his first-ever start in the USA Nationals and a World of Outlaws Late Model Series event.

“I had no idea we would do this tonight,” said an awestruck Rauen, who operates a precision machine shop alongside his father in their home town of Farley, Iowa. “Our goal was just to make the show. Then we timed good, came out of the heat good with a win and won the dash.

“I don’t want to have a big head, but it feels good. We’ve had a tough last month of racing with a lot of issues and problems, so this is a great rebound. Hopefully we can keep it up tomorrow night and come out of here with a good finish.”

Rauen started third in the dash, which pitted the top-two finishers from each of the night’s five 15-lap heat races in a sprint to determine the alignment of the first five rows in Saturday evening’s USA Nationals. He was moved to the pole, however, when Chris Simpson of Oxford, Iowa, was penalized two spots for starting the race too early and took advantage of the break, leading the entire distance with his MB Customs/ProPower combination.

Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., passed Chad Simpson of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, with two laps remaining in the dash to finish second and secure the outside pole starting spot in the 100-lapper. Mars, who also was a runner-up in his heat, is a two-time winner of the USA Nationals.

Chad Simpson held on to finish third, followed by two-time defending WoO LMS champion Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., and current WoO LMS points leader Rick Eckert of York, Pa. All three drivers won heat races and will start the USA Nationals from the positions they placed in the dash.

Rounding out the top 10 in the dash was first-heat winner Ronny Lee Hollingsworth of Newport, Ala.; Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill.; A.J. Diemel of Bonduel, Wis., who used a steel-block engine; Chris Simpson; and 18-year-old Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill.

Rauen, whose qualifying lap of 13.484 seconds fell short of the Cedar Lake track record (12.972 seconds) he established on June 17 during the speedway’s DIRTcar Summer Nationals event, knows he has a supreme challenge ahead of him on Saturday night.

“We know our team’s working and our cars and everything are clicking,” said Rauen, whose car is wrenched by Eckert’s former chief mechanic Zach Frields. “But 100 laps is a long race when you have the best in the business behind you. The guys starting behind me have been around this place a lot more than I have – I mean, Jimmy (Mars) has thousands of laps here – so if we can hold them off it’ll be a hell of an accomplishment.”

Mars and Eckert were the only previous USA Nationals winners to crack Saturday’s starting field through a heat race. Five-time victors Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., and Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the third heat, and two-time champion Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, missed transferring by two positions in the second preliminary.

Birkhofer is guaranteed a starting berth in the USA Nationals, however, because he won Thursday’s Dart Corn Belt Clash Series feature at Cedar Lake. The highest finisher in that race who does not qualify for the 100-lapper will receive a provisional spot.

The qualifying heats were tough on several contenders, including:

* Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., who was knocked out of the second heat with left-front damage sustained in a lap-10 scrape with Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., as they battled for the final transfer position.

* Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who pulled off the track during the pace lap of the second heat due to a broken brake caliper.

* Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., and Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., and who tangled in turn two while running second and third, respectively, on lap six of the fourth heat. Clanton spun while Davenport was forced to the pit area to change a cut left-rear tire; both drivers continued but Clanton was nipped for fourth by Dan Schlieper of Sullivan, Wis., and Davenport placed sixth.

Saturday’s grand finale program, which includes B-Mains, a last-chance race and the 100-lap USA Nationals plus a full show for Cedar Lake’s NASCAR Late Models, is scheduled to begin with hot laps at 6:30 p.m.

Additional details and ticket info on the USA Nationals can be obtained by logging on to www.cedarlakespeedway.com.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):

1. 98-Jason Rauen/Farley, IA 13.484

2. 49-Jonathan Davenport/Blairsville, GA 13.530

3. 21-Billy Moyer/Batesville, AR 13.679

4. 25F-Jason Feger/Bloomington, IL 13.701

5. 89F-Daren Friedman/Forrest, IL 13.724

6. 89-Mike Spatola/Manhattan, IL 13.737

7. 25-Shane Clanton/Fayetteville, GA 13.771

8. 99Jr-Frankie Heckenast Jr./Orland Park, IL 13.868

9. 15B-Brian Birkhofer/Muscatine, IA 13.868

10. 19H-Austin Hubbard/Seaford, DE 13.871

11. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 13.894

12. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 13.898

13. 32-Chris Simpson/Oxford, IA 13.899

14. 15-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 13.950

15. 18RH-Ronny Lee Hollingsworth/Northport, AL 13.952

16. 777-Jared Landers/Batesville, AR 13.955

17. 37-Jared Hawkins/Fairmont, WV 13.960

18. 25s-Chad Simpson/Mt. Vernon, IA 13.964

19. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 13.998

20. 93-Ray Moore/Shreveport, LA 14.014

21. 2-Brady Smith/Solon Springs, WI 14.032

22. 1d-Don O’Neal/Martinsville, IN 14.049

23. 1s-Brian Shirley/Chatham, IL 14.066

24. b5-Brandon Sheppard/New Berlin, IL 14.077

25. 28e-Dennis Erb Jr./Carpentersville, IL 14.094

26. 11R-Tyler Reddick/Corning, CA 14.106

27. 28-Jimmy Mars/Menomonie, WI 14.113

28. 90-Lance Matthees/Winona, MN 14.151

29. 21B-Chip Brindle/Chatsworth, GA 14.170

30. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 14.177

31. 58-A.J. Diemel/Bonduel, WI 14.177

32. 18b-Shannon Babb/Moweaqua, IL 14.191

33. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 14.200

34. s9-Dan Schlieper/Sullivan, WI 14.217

35. 32c-Vic Coffey/Caledonia, NY 14.263

36. 33x-Adam Hensel/Barron, WI 14.282

37. 71-Andrew McKay/Edina, MN 14.290

38. 0-Scott Bloomquist/Mooresburg, TN 14.301

39. 11-Pat Doar/New Richmond, WI 14.305

40. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 14.337

41. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 14.352

42. 9-Eric Smith/Bloomington, IL 14.368

43. 9T-Tim Isenberg/Marshfield, WI 14.402

44. 7R-Kent Robinson/Bloomington, IN 14.402

45. 71d-Ron Davies/Warren, PA 14.433

46. 00-Randy Korte/Highland, IL 14.459

47. 31-Jason Utter/Columbus Jct., IA 14.566

48. 99J-Jimmy Dehm/Lexington, IL 14.593

49. 87-Ross Bailes/Clover, SC 14.675

50. 40-Bryan Wennen/Lindstrom, MN 14.686

51. 18-Dustin Hapka/Grand Forks, ND 14.752

52. 1L-John Lobb/Frewsburg, NY 14.858

53. 27H-Stew Hayward/Calgary, Alberta 14.884

54. 22-Jill George/Cedar Falls, IA 15.095

Heat No. 1 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Hollingsworth, Diemel, B. Smith, Fuller, Reddick, Hubbard, Moore, Friedman, Hapka, Hensel, Korte

Heat No. 2 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Eckert, Mars, Francis, Feger, Birkhofer, E. Smith, McKay, Utter, O’Neal, Lobb (DNS) Babb

Heat No. 3 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Chad Simpson, Chris Simpson, Heckenast, Shirley, Moyer, Bloomquist, Matthees, McCreadie, Isenberg, Dehm, Hayward

Heat No. 4 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Richards, Sheppard, Hawkins, Schlieper, Clanton, Davenport, Doar, Brindle, Robinson, George, Bailes

Heat No. 5 (15 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Rauen, Erb, Landers, Lanigan, C. Smith, Frank, Coffey, Spatola, Davies, Wennen

Dash Results (10 laps): Rauen, Mars, Chad Simpson, Richards, Eckert, Hollingsworth, Erb, Diemel, Chris Simpson, Sheppard

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), Vicci (Official Uniform), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel), DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award), McCarthy’s One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning (Raye Vest Memorial Pill Draw Award), Chizmark Larson Insurance, Factory Value Parts and RacingJunk.com; in addition to contingency sponsors Comp Cams, Eibach Springs, JE Pistons, MSD Ignition, Ohlins Shocks, Pro Power Engines, Quartermaster, Rocket Chassis, R2C Performance, Superflow Dynos, Wix Filters and Wrisco Aluminum. 

- Advertisement -

Recent articles

Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals Visit Headlines Two-Day Show at I-75 Raceway

(SWEETWATER, TENNESSEE)  Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals Series presented by Coltman Farms...

Davenport Sweeps Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Action at Atomic

CHILLICOTHE, OH (March 24, 2024) – Jonathan Davenport was the driver to...

Steven Snyder Jr Earns $10K in POWRi Outlaw Micro KKM Challenge Championship Night Thrilling Win

Visalia, CA. (3/22/24) Steven Snyder Jr would thrill the capacity crowd...

Scotland County Speedway Results – 3/23/24

11 entries MODIFIEDS A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 11-Ethan Braaksma; 2. 90M-Chase...

Scotland County Speedway Results – 3/22/24

12 entries MODIFIEDS A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 11-Ethan Braaksma; 2. 00-Chris...

Appeals Commission Upholds Findings and Process in Tire Penalties

Board adjusts impact to penalized drivers, all three eligible to race...

Austin Torgerson Takes Checkers in POWRi Outlaw Micro KKM Challenge Prelim Night Two

Visalia, CA. (3/21/24) Austin Torgerson would celebrate his twenty-first birthday in...

RELATED ARTICLES

Appeals Commission Upholds Findings and Process in Tire Penalties

Board adjusts impact to penalized drivers, all three eligible to race pending fines CONCORD, NC...

Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals Visit Headlines Two-Day Show at I-75 Raceway

(SWEETWATER, TENNESSEE)  Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals Series presented by Coltman Farms Racing and fueled...

Davenport Sweeps Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Action at Atomic

CHILLICOTHE, OH (March 24, 2024) – Jonathan Davenport was the driver to beat on Sunday...

Devin Moran Earns First Career Brownstown Victory

BROWNSTOWN, IN (March 23, 2024) – After 10 years of trying to make it to...

Chris Simpson Seeking A Fast Start To 2024 With Lucas Oil MLRA

Wheatland, Missouri (March 22, 2024) – Leaving the Lucas Oil Speedway after the season...