ROSSBURG, Ohio (May 27) – Matt Miller has found a niche in the Johnny Appleseed Classic by Miller Lite at Eldora Speedway, as he prevailed over a tough field of entrants in the Sunoco American Late Model Series (ALMS) field to defend his 2011 win on Sunday night. Rounding out the four division contest with wins were Randy Hannagan (NRA Sprint Invaders), Joey Kramer (UMP DIRTcar Modifieds) and Barney Craig (Stock Cars).

Behind the wheel of the Rick DeLong owned Late Model, Miller started in the preferred starting position at Eldora – outside pole, but at the drop of the green flag for the 25-lap chase, it was polesitter Andrew Reaume shooting into the lead.

That didn’t last long, as on a lap two restart, Miller redeemed himself and shot out in front. Jeff Babock followed him, with Jeep Vanwormer in tow, as Reaume dropped back to fourth. In the distance of one lap around the .500 mile clay oval, Steve Casebolt shot from fifth to runner-up and set his sights on Miller’s position out in front.

Casebolt kept Miller within his sight and had another shot on a lap 16, but Miller displayed the poise that led him to previous Eldora Speedway championships as well as a $100,000 Dirt Late Model Dream win to head into victory lane for the second consecutive year. Casebolt was within striking distance at the finish, but had to settle for runner-up honors, as VanWormer and Babcock followed across the line ahead of Scott James in fifth.

Once again, the NRA Sprint Invaders displayed their mastery of the Eldora oval as they ran their main event green to checkered. Hannagan is no stranger to the Eldora podium and Sunday night he let everyone know that.

He powered to the front when the green flag flew and never looked back. Shane Stewart started sixth by virtue of his quick time on the night and rode the Eldora wall from sixth to second on the first tour. It looked like he may have had something for Hannagan, but as the laps wore down, there was no denying Hannagan of the win.

In the closing laps, Stewart used the lapped traffic to his advantage, but without a caution flag to bunch up the field, he had to settle for second. Jim Nier was closing in the final laps, but had to settle for third, followed in order by Butch Schroeder and Darren Long.

Joey Kramer seems to have found a secret to Eldora that he is not willing to share as Sunday’s win marked three in a row. During the early stages of the featured event, Ryan Sutter used his pole starting position to keep Kramer within striking distance, but as the race wore down, Kramer was on a mission.

Matt Westfall mounted a last race challenge but ran out of time. He was able to get around Sutter seven laps from the finish, but that didn’t allow him enough time to narrow the gap. Westfall followed Kramer in second position at the finish, with Sutter, Brian Ruhlman and Jesse Bitterling completing the top five.

Earnie Woodard appeared to have shaken some of his early season bad luck to lead the early stages of the Stock Car finale, but former champion and now three-time feature winner Barney Craig overcame him to take the lead and eventual victory. Multiple caution flag periods kept bunching the field up to Craig and gave Woodard opportunities to take back the lead, but Craig was able to prevail yet another time.

Woodard crossed the line in runner-up spot for his best finish of the year, while Dean Pitts, Rob Trent and Shawn Phillippi completed the top five.

Next up on the Eldora agenda is a busy Dream week of activities, June 6-9. Kicking off the racing action on Wednesday night (June 6) will be the Feed The Children Prelude to the Dream featuring over 25 driving superstars from NASCAR, Indy Car, NHRA and the World of Outlaws, followed by Friday and Saturday’s chase for $100,000 in the Dirt Late Model Dream by Ferris Commercial Mowers.

Tickets and campsites for these events, and other Eldora Speedway race meets, are available online www.EldoraSpeedway.com or by calling the track office at (937) 338-3815.

Event: JOHNNY APPLESEED CLASSIC BY MILLER LITE
Date: May 27, 2012

NRA Sprint
HEAT 1 – 1. 3G-Shane Stewart [6]; 2. 5M-Max Stambaugh [2]; 3. 35-Ron Blair [4]; 4. 11N-Ed Neumeister [1]; 5. 16-Ryan Ruhl [3]; 6. 22D-Dennis Yoakam [5]; 7. 31-Andy Teunnessen [8]; 8. 16C-Greg Wheeler [7]; 9. 10C-Bob Carmen [9]; 10. 98J-John Kettlewell [DNS];

HEAT 2 – 1. B20-Butch Schroeder [5]; 2. 7-Darren Long [6]; 3. 49T-Gregg Dalman [3]; 4. 56R-Ryan Myers [2]; 5. 00-Ryan Grubaugh [7]; 6. 12-Kent Wolters [1]; 7. 22-Ben Rutan [4]; 8. 70-Jim Lingar [8]; 9. 50B-Mike Burns [9];

HEAT 3 – 1. 34H-Luke Hall [1]; 2. 22H-Randy Hannigan [5]; 3. 7K-Kyle Sauder [6]; 4. 2MDH-Dallas Hewitt [3]; 5. 17-Jared Horstman [7]; 6. 28H-Hud Horton [4]; 7. 4T-Josh Turner [2]; 8. 10J-Jarrod Delong [9]; 9. 10P-Jim Perricone [8];

HEAT 4 – 1. 00N-Jim Nier [6]; 2. 27-Beau Steward [3]; 3. 49-Shawn Dancer [1]; 4. 11-Tim Allison [2]; 5. 3W-Brett Mann [5]; 6. 18-Todd Heuerman [4]; 7. 46-Robert Huisken [7]; 8. 2G-Joe Giebe [8]; 9. 2M-Dustin Dagget [DNS];

B MAINS 1 – 1. 17-Jared Horstman [1]; 2. 22-Ben Rutan [2]; 3. 18-Todd Heuerman [3]; 4. 22D-Dennis Yoakam [4]; 5. 4T-Josh Turner [5]; 6. 31-Andy Teunnessen [6]; 7. 16C-Greg Wheeler [7]; 8. 10J-Jarrod Delong [8]; 9. 10P-Jim Perricone [9]; 10. 10C-Bob Carmen [10]; 11. 98J-John Kettlewell [DNS];

B MAINS 2 – 1. 16-Ryan Ruhl [1]; 2. 3W-Brett Mann [2]; 3. 28H-Hud Horton [3]; 4. 00-Ryan Grubaugh [4]; 5. 12-Kent Wolters [5]; 6. 46-Robert Huisken [6]; 7. 70-Jim Lingar [7]; 8. 50B-Mike Burns [8]; 9. 2G-Joe Giebe [9]; 10. 2M-Dustin Dagget [DNS];

FEATURE – 1. 22H-Randy Hannigan [1]; 2. 3G-Shane Stewart [6]; 3. 00N-Jim Nier [3]; 4. B20-Butch Schroeder [2]; 5. 7-Darren Long [5]; 6. 7K-Kyle Sauder [4]; 7. 35-Ron Blair [7]; 8. 17-Jared Horstman [16]; 9. 22-Ben Rutan [18]; 10. 49T-Gregg Dalman [15]; 11. 34H-Luke Hall [14]; 12. 16-Ryan Ruhl [17]; 13. 27-Beau Steward [10]; 14. 49-Shawn Dancer [8]; 15. 11-Tim Allison [13]; 16. 56R-Ryan Myers [12]; 17. 2MDH-Dallas Hewitt [9]; 18. 18-Todd Heuerman [20]; 19. 5M-Max Stambaugh [11]; 20. 11N-Ed Neumeister [DNS];

Sunoco ALMS
HEAT 1 – 1. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr [2]; 2. 3-Matt Miller [3]; 3. 2-Justin Chance [5]; 4. 87-Richard Neiser [6]; 5. 19-Chad Smith [4]; 6. 15A-Phil Ausra [7]; 7. B4U-Chris Keller [8]; 8. 13-Andy Galgoci [9]; 9. 555-Justin Coulter [1];

HEAT 2 – 1. 88-Andrew Reaume [2]; 2. 1S-Brandon Sheppard [4]; 3. 18R-Chris Ross [3]; 4. 26-Bill Lewis [8]; 5. 77-Steve Kester [6]; 6. 1N-Casey Noonan [1]; 7. 34-Alan Vochaska [7]; 8. 72*-Carri Mason [9]; 9. 34H-Ky Harper [5];

HEAT 3 – 1. 55-Jeep Vanwormer [3]; 2. 1-Jeff Babcock [2]; 3. 15-Jon Henry [4]; 4. 89-Mike Spatola [1]; 5. 21R-Kevin Mack [5]; 6. RH21-Gregg Haskell [6]; 7. 20-Shawn Phillipi [8]; 8. 33-Don Gordon [7]; 9. 33B-Scott Bowersock [DNS];

HEAT 4 – 1. C9-Steve Casebolt [1]; 2. 81-Scott James [4]; 3. 6K-Michael Kloos [5]; 4. 49-Brian Ruhlman [6]; 5. 75-Dusty Moore [2]; 6. 9R-Curtis Roberts [9]; 7. 51DS-Devin Shiels [8]; 8. 20JB-Jerry Bowersock [7]; 9. 23V-Ryan Vanderveen [3];

B MAINS 1 – 1. 19-Chad Smith [1]; 2. 21R-Kevin Mack [2]; 3. 15A-Phil Ausra [3]; 4. B4U-Chris Keller [5]; 5. RH21-Gregg Haskell [4]; 6. 20-Shawn Phillipi [6]; 7. 13-Andy Galgoci [7]; 8. 33-Don Gordon [8]; 9. 33B-Scott Bowersock [DNS]; 10. 555-Justin Coulter [DNS];

B MAINS 2 – 1. 75-Dusty Moore [2]; 2. 77-Steve Kester [1]; 3. 9R-Curtis Roberts [4]; 4. 1N-Casey Noonan [3]; 5. 34H-Ky Harper [9]; 6. 51DS-Devin Shiels [6]; 7. 34-Alan Vochaska [5]; 8. 72*-Carri Mason [7]; 9. 20JB-Jerry Bowersock [8]; 10. 23V-Ryan Vanderveen [DNS];

FEATURE – 1. 3-Matt Miller [2]; 2. C9-Steve Casebolt [4]; 3. 55-Jeep Vanwormer [6]; 4. 1-Jeff Babcock [3]; 5. 81-Scott James [8]; 6. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr [5]; 7. 15-Jon Henry [11]; 8. 49-Brian Ruhlman [16]; 9. 88-Andrew Reaume [1]; 10. 6K-Michael Kloos [12]; 11. 87-Richard Neiser [13]; 12. 89-Mike Spatola [15]; 13. 75-Dusty Moore [18]; 14. 19-Chad Smith [17]; 15. 15A-Phil Ausra [21]; 16. 23V-Ryan Vanderveen [22]; 17. 26-Bill Lewis [14]; 18. 2-Justin Chance [9]; 19. 1S-Brandon Sheppard [7]; 20. 18R-Chris Ross [10]; 21. 21R-Kevin Mack [19]; 22. 77-Steve Kester [20];

UMP DIRTcar MODIFIED
HEAT 1 – 1. D48-Derek Groomer [1]; 2. 67-Eddie Shaner [3]; 3. 55S-Zachary Schroeder [6]; 4. 05-David Smith [5]; 5. 26-Mike Dirksen [8]; 6. 0-Brent Hole [9]; 7. 09D-Joel Dick [7]; 8. 79-Shane Unger [DNF]; 9. 31J-John Brooks [DNF];

HEAT 2 – 1. 20W-Matt Westfall [1]; 2. 188O-Scott Orr [5]; 3. 15-Nick Katterhenry [9]; 4. 1-Scott Williams [2]; 5. 11-Rob Williams [7]; 6. 27A-Greg Amick [4]; 7. 21M-Donnie Miller [6]; 8. 28-Shaun Smith [3]; 9. 10-Scott Bowersock [DNS];

HEAT 3 – 1. 77-Joey Kramer [2]; 2. 225-Jesse Bitterling [1]; 3. 52-John Phlipot, Jr [4]; 4. 1S-Steve Billenstein [3]; 5. 00-Dave Daugherty [8]; 6. 21T-Tom Treon [7]; 7. 4-Mike Chrisman [5]; 8. 15H-Jeff Hamby [6]; 9. 29-Mark Kowarsch [DNS];

HEAT 4 – 1. 18-Ryan Sutter [1]; 2. 49-Brian Ruhlman [5]; 3. 5-Jonathan Taylor [2]; 4. 45P-Brian Post [4]; 5. 7-Evan Taylor [9]; 6. 5X-Tim Richardson [8]; 7. 4J-David Treon, Jr [7]; 8. 36-Brandon Vaughan [3]; 9. 8C-Corey Bevard [6];

B MAINS 1 – 1. 26-Mike Dirksen [1]; 2. 00-Dave Daugherty [2]; 3. 0-Brent Hole [3]; 4. 15H-Jeff Hamby [8]; 5. 21T-Tom Treon [4]; 6. 09D-Joel Dick [5]; 7. 79-Shane Unger [7]; 8. 4-Mike Chrisman [6]; 9. 31J-John Brooks [9]; 10. 29-Mark Kowarsch [DNS];

B MAINS 2 – 1. 11-Rob Williams [1]; 2. 7-Evan Taylor [2]; 3. 28-Shaun Smith [7]; 4. 8C-Corey Bevard [10]; 5. 27A-Greg Amick [3]; 6. 21M-Donnie Miller [5]; 7. 36-Brandon Vaughan [8]; 8. 4J-David Treon, Jr [6]; 9. 5X-Tim Richardson [4]; 10. 10-Scott Bowersock [DNS];

FEATURE – 1. 77-Joey Kramer [2]; 2. 20W-Matt Westfall [3]; 3. 18-Ryan Sutter [1]; 4. 49-Brian Ruhlman [8]; 5. 225-Jesse Bitterling [7]; 6. 188O-Scott Orr [6]; 7. 5-Jonathan Taylor [12]; 8. 15-Nick Katterhenry [10]; 9. 55S-Zachary Schroeder [9]; 10. 45P-Brian Post [16]; 11. 67-Eddie Shaner [5]; 12. 0-Brent Hole [21]; 13. 28-Shaun Smith [22]; 14. 26-Mike Dirksen [17]; 15. 00-Dave Daugherty [19]; 16. 7-Evan Taylor [20]; 17. 15H-Jeff Hamby [23]; 18. 52-John Phlipot, Jr [11]; 19. 1-Scott Williams [14]; 20. 1S-Steve Billenstein [15]; 21. D48-Derek Groomer [4]; 22. 11-Rob Williams [18]; 23. 8C-Corey Bevard [24]; 24. 05-David Smith [13];

STOCK CAR
HEAT 1 – 1. 00-Dean Pitts [4]; 2. 01-Earnie Woodard [5]; 3. 3-Rob Trent [2]; 4. 12G-Garry Domoe [3]; 5. 23-Casey Barr [8]; 6. M1-Jeremy Creech [6]; 7. 17-Corey Wooten [1]; 8. 52T-Cody Timmerman [DNS];

HEAT 2 – 1. 71C-Barney Craig [5]; 2. 52-John Phlipot, Jr [3]; 3. 99-Andy King [8]; 4. 36-Adam Schaeff [6]; 5. 65-Rodney Lacey [7]; 6. 5-Ricky Rae Dillon [1]; 7. 115-Benjamin Myers [4]; 8. 5G-Anthony Goode [2];

HEAT 3 – 1. 20-Shawn Phillipi [1]; 2. 55-Bradley Caudill [5]; 3. 08-Todd Gross [7]; 4. 19-Wayne Williams [4]; 5. 1W-Mark Wooten [3]; 6. 11D-Colton Oda [2]; 7. 49-Eric Sandlin [6];

FEATURE – 1. 71C-Barney Craig [4]; 2. 01-Earnie Woodard [2]; 3. 00-Dean Pitts [5]; 4. 3-Rob Trent [7]; 5. 20-Shawn Phillipi [3]; 6. 55-Bradley Caudill [6]; 7. M1-Jeremy Creech [16]; 8. 36-Adam Schaeff [11]; 9. 19-Wayne Williams [12]; 10. 99-Andy King [8]; 11. 5-Ricky Rae Dillon [17]; 12. 17-Corey Wooten [19]; 13. 23-Casey Barr [13]; 14. 12G-Garry Domoe [10]; 15. 1W-Mark Wooten [15]; 16. 115-Benjamin Myers [20]; 17. 52-John Phlipot, Jr [1]; 18. 5G-Anthony Goode [23]; 19. 11D-Colton Oda [18]; 20. 65-Rodney Lacey [14]; 21. 49-Eric Sandlin [21]; 22. 08-Todd Gross [9]; 23. 52T-Cody Timmerman [DNS];