Sam Stoecklin
ULMA Media Relations
August 17, 2011
There’s nothing more exciting for fans but more nerve-wracking for drivers than watching a chase for a championship unfold as the season winds down. This is exactly what is happening this year with the quest for the Crawdad’s Classics Gourmet Hot Sauce ULMA crown! Since the season began last spring, drivers have earned finishes to count towards their overall points total and now those same drivers are doing their best to “throw out” lower finishes and replace them with improved results. At least 15 point-earning races must be accumulated to count towards the ULMA championship.
Current point’s leader Jake Griffin of Quincy, Illinois, added to his point lead by picking up another win last weekend at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Missouri. The young driver has racked up five wins this year, one of which came during a double points-earning weekend. Griffin also has six runner-up finishes to his credit. His next three throwaway finishes are 4th, 3rd, and 3rd. Among Griffin’s 15 best performances this year he is credited with 12 twelve top-two finishes. Griffin leads the point standings at both Scotland County Speedway and Callaway Raceway.
Last Saturday, Jason Bodenhamer of Centerview, Missouri took a step in the right direction and kept his chances alive to become the first two-time association champion. He covered the always stout Central Missouri Speedway (CMS) field of drivers with his fourth win of the year. Bodenhamer replaced a third-place finish as a result of his win, in fact, his next five replacement finishes are all third-place performances. So far, Bodenhamer has accumulated 10 top-two finishes. At CMS, Bodenhamer is also the late model track point’s leader and is in the running for the modified championship as well.
Steve Clancy, a six-time ULMA winner this season, is right in the mix and could be the sleeping giant when the sun sets on the current season. Clancy drove to a third-place finish at CMS last weekend and in the process threw out a sixth-place run. Clancy’s next series of throwaway finishes are 4th, 4th, 6th, 4th, 3rd, and 3rd. The Odessa, Missouri driver has finished inside the top three every race he has competed in since July 2nd. Clancy has amassed nine top two finishes this season. Only Rylan Long has more wins than Clancy in 2011. Clancy’s series of throwaway finishes leaves him a bit more room at the top for replacing finishes than Griffin and Bodenhamer and this will not only be on Clancy’s mind but also on the minds of his closest competitors.
Rylan Long, he did not fare well this past weekend after being disqualified for a rules infraction at CMS. Fans and fellow drivers were glad to see Long make the long haul to Warrensburg to compete and he did have a solid run inside the top three; however, he was not credited with an official finish. Still, Long is very much in the hunt for the ULMA title but will need help from Mother Nature and his own willingness to travel to other ULMA events to take the battle down to the wire. Although he sits in 18th in the current standings, a closer review of Long’s points accumulated this year reveal that his seven wins, one being on a double points-earning night, coupled with two 4th-place finishes and one 2nd place finish (11 starts), put him right in the thick of things. Long’s home track is Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri, and the track has three remaining ULMA-sanctioned races scheduled (Aug 20, Aug 27, and Sept 3). As long as the track is able to contest these races barring any rained-out events and if he finishes strong, Long will have 14 credited finishes. All he would need is one more finish at any ULMA-sanctioned race in order to accumulate 15 starts towards the championship.
Lucas Oil Speedway returns to regular weekly programming this Saturday, August 20th as the track welcomes back its championship contending drivers for an evening of racing in its three divisions. Rylan Long is the current track point leader but always faces tough competition from the talented pool of drivers at the track including two-time track champion Tommy Cordray. For a complete listing of remaining events at the speedway visit www.lucasoilspeedway.com; things will get underway with gates opening at 5:00, Hot Laps at 7:00, and racing at 7:30.
Behind Griffin last weekend at Scotland County were Cordray in second, Danny Lorton fifth, last year’s ULMA champion Vance Wilson in sixth, and Kelly Smith seventh. There were seven late models on hand with five ULMA member drivers competing. The track will host another night of late model racing again this weekend on Saturday, August 20th. Pit gates will open at 4, grandstand admissions follow at 5, hot laps at 6:30, and racing begins at 7. The track may be found on the internet by logging onto www.scotlandcountyspeedway.com.
Bob Test has consistently ran strong the second half of the season and he backed up a string of recent top performances with his best finish of the year last weekend at CMS by coming away second behind Bodenhamer. His most recent finish was his fourth top five in a row. All total he has 30 starts this year, tying him with fellow CMS regulars Brett Wood and Trace Westling for the most starts by any driver this season. As previously mentioned, Clancy finished third last week during the 20-lap main event at CMS; Kevin Coyne and Jon Binning rounded out the top five. Brett Wood, last week’s winner Bob King, Trace Westling, and Chad Clancy also finished inside of the top ten. There were 15 drivers on hand with 14 member drivers present. Sadly, prior to the races beginning at CMS last week it was announced that 18-year promoters Earl and Susan Walls would be retiring at the end of the season, which leaves a big question mark on next year for drivers in the Warrensburg area. ULMA will be monitoring the situation closely during the off-season to see if another potential track owner will step up; however, the association had already begun the process of exploring other opportunities for expanding ULMA’s footprint in the coming years prior to the announcement. Things get underway Saturday, August 20th at CMS with pits opening at 4:30, grandstands at 5; hot laps at 7, and racing at 7:30. Visit the track’s website at www.centralmissourispeedway.net for complete information and remaining event details.
Mother Nature has taken her toll on racing this season at Callaway Raceways in Fulton and the rain won out again last weekend at the track located near Fulton, Missouri. The raceway will try once again this Friday night to host drivers and fans for a night of close racing this Friday, August 19th. Be sure to visit the track’s official website for standings, general information and directions to the track by going to www.callawayraceways.com.
The Crawdad’s Classics Gourmet Hot Sauce ULMA point’s-earning season runs through October with the last two races taking place on Saturday, October 1st at CMS and Sunday, October 2nd at 24 Raceway in Moberly. ULMA will monitor the schedule for Callaway closely to see if the track will be adding anymore races to its rained-shortened season. As soon as a determination is made by the track about their “pending” dates, ULMA will make an official statement on additional points-earning opportunities.
Log onto www.ulmaracing.com for all information regarding the fifth-year ULMA association; to join the association’s email group, send request to unitedlatemodelassociation@hotmail.com. ULMA wishes to thank its 2011 business partners for their involvement. This year’s team consists of title sponsor Crawdad’s Classics Gourmet Hot Sauce, TCI® Automotive, Fast Shafts, Rod End Supply, SafeRacer.com, Kenny’s Tile, Racingjunk.com, Imhoff Construction, Kenny Johnson’s Race Replicas, D&L Motorsports, and InsuranceSpecialists.com. ULMA is a proud supporter of Homes for Our Troops. To join the team, contact ULMA at unitedlatemodelassociation@hotmail.com.
Crawdad’s Classics Gourmet Hot Sauce ULMA Top 10 Point Standings
POS CAR # NAME POINTS Starts
1st O8 Jake Griffin (R) 1474 22
2nd 88B Jason Bodenhamer 1466 24
3rd 12c Steve Clancy 1460 24
4th 5 Tommy Cordray 1454 19
5th 7 Brett Wood 1444 30
6th 22 Kevin Coyne 1424 26
7th 65 Jon Binning 1374 25
8th 79 Robby Warner 1364 15
9th 1 Bob Test 1362 30
10th 7W Trace Westling 1338 30
Upcoming Sanctioned Races
Friday August 19
*Callaway Raceway (Weekly Race)
Saturday August 20
*Central Missouri Speedway (Weekly Race)
*Lucas Oil Speedway (Weekly Race)
*Scotland County Speedway (Weekly Race)
Friday August 26
*Callaway Raceway (Callaway Track Points End, Weekly Race)
Saturday August 27
*Central Missouri Speedway (Weekly Race)
*Lucas Oil Speedway (Weekly Race)
*Scotland County Speedway (Weekly Race)
Friday September 2
*Callaway Raceway (Weekly Race)
Saturday September 3
*Central Missouri Speedway (Weekly Race)
*Lucas Oil Speedway (Weekly Race – Speedway Track Pts End – Final ULMA Pts Night at Lucas)
*Scotland County Speedway (Weekly Race)