Springfield,Mo.-Current MLRA SuperLatemodel Point leader John Anderson swapped the top spot with rookie Contender RC Whitwell 3 different times before edging away late in the feature to place his name as the list of Larry Phillips Memorial presented by Joplin’s Home Pro winners Sat Night at the Quick-Quarter of the SpringfieldRaceway in a special Latemodel event co-sanctioned by the MLRA and MARS DirtCar Series on what Anderson called the quickest raciest track around.
138 race teams were on hand to honor the Springfield Legend Driver as a special tribute was paid to one of NASCARS top 50 drivers in the event presented by Joplin’s Home Pro and the Tullis Family.
Whitwell earned the pole for the evening’s action after the field went from 39 entries to the starting 22 cars with Anderson on his outside.Whitwell grabbed the opening lead by staying down low as Anderson picked the top groove as 2-3 wide action was the call.During the early part of the 40 lap feature,Whitwell opened almost a half a straight away lead as Anderson found Jesse Stovall coming quickly also on the top groove.As the leader began to get into lapped traffic,Anderson and Stovall quickly closed-up the gap bringing the capacity crowd to their feet.Early contender and Show-Me Series point leader Justin Wells fell out early as many battles were gonig on.Anderson was able to use the high groove on the Quarter-mile oval to his advantage as he took over the lead with Stovall following.Whitwell came back strong to take back the lead as the duo swapped spots back and forth.Stovall’s bid for victory ended with a flat tire as the caution waved.Defending event winner Jeremy Payne who qualified through a B ft was perhaps the fastest car on the track worknig the low groove during the long green runs.Behind this hard battle MLRA Top runner Al Purkey,Tony Jackson Jr,UMP top gun Michael Kloos ans MARS point leader Brad Looney were battling.THe final caution of 3 flew on lap 30 as Anderson would see his lead go to nothing as Payne had charged to the second place spot with Whitwell third.On the double-file restart,Payne picked the top lane with Whitwell going low.Anderson would hit the marks perfect as he pulled away to capture his first Phillips Memorial and first ever victory at SpringfieldRaceway.Anderson has struggled before at this track in different evnts,but tonight was on a rail in capturing his 4th out of 5 MLRa features.Whitwell moved around Payne to grab the runner-up spot while Payne,Purkey,Jackson Jr,Kloos,Stovall,B Ft transfer Shane Essary,MARS Champion Looney and former NASCAR National champion Joe Kosiski in the top 10.
In support action in the USRA Modifieds Erik Maggard of Brighton was untouchable tonight as he jumped from his front row pole spot to lead all 20 laps in the $500 to win feature.Maggard the points runner-up in Budweiser RHS USRA track point standings survived a couple of restarts from Travis Smith and went untouched in the 20 lap feature.Smith made a strong showing in grabbing the runner-up honors while Robbie Bryant charged to finish third with 2010 champion Mitch Keeter and 2011 champion Jackie Dalton following.
The B-Mods kept the racing action hot and heavy as Shawn Strong overtook early leader Scott Drake on lap 7 and then pulled away in taking home the victory.Drake got the opening jump on pole setter Don Luna as 2011 champion bobby Maggard Jr followed quickly.Strong began his move to the front on lap 4 after passing Maggard and made the bottom of the track work quickly for him as Drake stayed on the top groove.A late caution loked to set-up a dramatic finish,but Strong having a banner season in the Ozarks pulled away with the honors.Drake,Maggard Jr,Kaleb Copher andGregg Piotrowski followed at the finish.
The Legends brought 21 cars to the track and again provided outstanding racing.Early season point leader Park Jones grabbed the opening lead from pole setter Wayne johnston and 2011 champion Dave Comer.A lap 3 red flag for a crash in turn 3 involving James McDugle,Doug Wilson,Paul Horton, and Bill Cottrill bunched everyone up.Jones would lead the restart,then Comer took over on lap 4 only to see Jones back in front on lap 5.While Comer and Jones went back and forth,Justin Comer,Wayne Johnston and Rob Watson were battling.With Jones looking to have things in hand,Dave Comer waited until the wihte flag lap and made the winning pass out of turn 2 to capture a narrow win.Jones,J Comer,Johnston and Watson completed the top 5.
Trevor Drake took to the top groove on lap 5 to overtake then race leader Charlie Gentile in a 3 way battle along with Rusty Forrest to capture the victory in the Midwest Modz event.Following Drake to the stripe in the official finish was Forrest,Taylor Moore,Monte Padgett and Randy Belk.Top runners weekly Gary Krebs and points runner-up Sam Pettty had good runs ended by a lap 2 crash along with Terry Williams.
After making a bid to grab second place at the finish line,Tyler Schoen found that move to pay off as he was declared the winner in the area’s PureStock feature.Clayton Powell had lead all 15 laps,but issues in after race inspection disqualified the winner.An action packed feature saw lots of action through the entire pack.Bryan Tillman,Ken Scott,Russell graves and Richard Sparks completed the top 5.
Next up at SpringfieldRaceway will be the action packed Bordertown Casino OctoberFast on Sat October 15th.The special high paying event will feature USRA Modifieds,B-Mods,Midwest Modz,Legends,PureStocks and the area Bombers(runnnig under Midway and 2010 Springfield Rules).Also the special Battle of Law Enforcement race to help raise money for 1 Missing Link and the popular Bordertown Money drop during intermission for some lucky race fans.PitGates will open at 10:30 with the Grandstand Gates opening at 1-Hotlaps at 2PM and Racing to start at 3PM..Last season this event drew over 140 regular races teams and over 20 Law Enforcements race teams.
THis season the event will pay 1222 to the A-Mod winner,777 to the B-Mod winner, 444 to the PureStock feature winner, 477 to the Bomber winner and 333 to each the Legend and Midwest Modz winner.
For more information visit WWW.SpringfieldRaceway.com or contact Jerry Hoffman at 417-673-7426
Results-MLRA/MARS LateModels
Lucas Oil Products Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. Justin Wells 2. Tony Jackson Jr. 3. Al Purkey 4. Jeremy Payne 5. Rick Lebow 6. Bryon Allison 7. Patrick Johnson 8. Jason Pursley
Fast Track Photos Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. RC Whitwell 2. John Anderson 3. Bill Koons 4. Shane Essary 5. Steve Johnson 6. Brandon Morton 7. Chris Morelock 8. Don Cloyd
Hatfield Racing Engines Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. Jesse Stovall 2. Terry Phillips 3. Dustin Walker 4. Brad Looney 5. Leroy Johnson 6. Joe Walkenhorst 7. Ken Essary 8. Eric Tinderholt
ATL Fuel Cells Heat 4 (10 Laps): 1. Michael Kloos 2. Dustin Mooneyham 3. Rex Merritt 4. Evan Hubert 5. Andrew Kosiski 6. Don Miers 7. Shawn Lee 8. Chris Hawkins
Larry Shaw Race Cars Heat 5 (10 Laps): 1. Justin Asplin 2. Joe Kosiski 3. Larry Jones 4. Billy Koons Jr. 5. JD Hubert 6. Chuck Comer 7. Pat Cox
Sunoco Race Fuels B Main 1 (12 laps): 1. Jeremy Payne 2. Leroy Johnson 3. Ken Essary 4. JD Hubert 5. Shane Essary 6. Patrick Johnson 7. Joe Walkenhorst 8. Pat Cox 9. Dustin Mooneyhoam 10. Chuck Comer 11. Don Cloyd 12. Steve Johnson 13. Chris Hawkins
Hoosier Racing Tires B Main 2 (12 Laps): 1. Evan Hubert 2. Rick Lebow 3. Larry Jones 4. Brandon Morton 5. Billy Koons Jr. 6. Jason Pursley 7. Andrew Kosiski 8. Shawn Lee 9. Chris Morelock 10. Bryon Allison 11. Don Mires 12. Eric Tinderholt
Lucas Cattle Company A Feature (40 Laps): 1. John Anderson 2. RC Whitwell 3. Jeremy Payne 4. Al Purkey 5. Tony Jackson Jr. 6. Michael Kloos 7. Jesse Stovall 8. Shane Essary 9. Brad Looney 10. Joe Kosiski 11. Bill Koons 12. Terry Phillips 13. Evan Hubert 14. Justin Asplin 15. Dustin Walker 16. Billy Koons Jr. 17. Rex Merritt 18. Dustin Mooneyham 19. Bryon Allison 20. Leroy Johnson 21. Rick Lebow 22. Justin Wells
USRA Modifieds-A Ft-1)Erik Maggard-Brighton 2)Travis Smith- 3)Robbie Bryant-Willard 4)Mitch Keeter-Webb City 5)Jackie Dalton-Carthage 6)Terry Kirk-Ubana 7)Brian Green-Pierce City 8)John Yeoman III-Granby 9)Dustin Campbell-Nevada 10)Kyle Slagle-Pierce City 11)Eric Lampe-Springfield 12)Dwight Neihoff-Lockwood 13)Billy Dalton-Exerter 14)Marvin Forrest-Shell Knob 15)Bobby Pearish-Oronogo 16)Randy Lebow-Galena 17)Jordan McCrimmon-Bolivar 18)Nick Whitehead-Ozark 19)Kaelie Archer-Bolivar 20)Daniel Franklin-Eureka Springs,Ark 21)Tammy Mitchell-Pea Ridge,Ark 22)Chase Jones-El Dorado Springs
B-Mods-1)Shawn Strong-Republic 2)Scott Drake-Webb City 3)Bobby Maggard Jr-Republic 4)Kaleb Copher-Webb City 5)Gregg Piotrowski 6)Don Luna-St James 7)JC Morton-Springfield 8)Andy Beauchamp-Springfield 9)Johnathan Romesburg 10)Michael Seitz-Rolla 11)Jack Jones-Lebanon 12)Mike Mansker-Springfield 13)Tony Moore-Lebanon 14)Gary Rodocker-Willard 15)Ethan Lamons-Iola,Kansas 16)T.R.Phillips-Springfield 17)Keith Campbell-Nevada 18)Reuben Ellis-Sarcoxie 19)Wayne Graybeal-Springfield 20)Ryan Stacye-Fair Grove 21)Blake Ellis-Sarcoxie 22)Shane Bias-Springfield DNS-Jeremy Thulin-Miami,Okla
Legends-1)Dave comer-Joplin 2)Park Jones-Joplin 3)Justin Comer-Joplin 4)Wayne Johnston-Rolla 5)Rob Watson-Clever 6)Caleb McDugle-Quapaw,Okla 7)Tyler Horton-Joplin 8)Billy Cottrill-Joplin 9)Payton Looney-Republic 10)Brandi Morrison-Bolivar 11)Calvin Garner-Sarcoxie 12)Brian Boucher-Joplin 13)Colt Pruente-Aurora 14)Matt Gruenburg-Joplin 15)Rick Nichols-Cassville 16)Grasyn Cox-Joplin 17)Gary Hockman-Rolla 18)James McDugle-Quapaw,Okla 19)Doug Wilson-Joplin 20)Paul Horton-Joplin 21)Bill Cottrill-Joplin
Midwest Modz-1)Trevor Drake-Webb City 2)Rusty Forrest-Ozark 3)Taylor Moore-Bois D’Arc 4)Monte Padgett-Joplin 5)Randy Belk-Joplin 6)Dakota Maggard-Republic 7)Bobby Gough-Joplin 8)Joey Wiles 9)Kourtney Stevens-Springfield 10)Ken Walker-Springfield 11)Paul Campenelli-Springfield 12)Steve Moore-Springfield 13)Jordan Green-Rolla 14)Rick Williams-Springfield 15)Gary Krebs-Clever 16)Sam Petty-Niangua 17)Terry Williams-Springfield DQ-Charlie Gentile-Ozark
PureStocks-1)Tyler Schoen-Brighton 2)Bryan Tillman-West Branson 3)Ken Scott-Willard 4)Russell Graves-Fair Play 5)Richard Sparks-Springfield 6)Joey Long-Mansfield 7)Tracy Manning-Urbana 8)Issac Keepper-Hurley 9)Lenny Bell-Willard 10)Jared Calvert-Springfield 11)Mark Asbell-Springfield DQ-Clayton Powell-Granby,Frank James-Sarcoxie DNS-Robert Tosh,Tyler Thulin-Miami,Okla