XX Speedway
California, MO
By: Dean Reichel
The 2012 racing season is going ahead full throttle at Double X Speedway in California, MO. Despite the threat of rain, a good field of competitors showed up ready to excite the fans in attendance. The Xxtreme Glass WInged Sprint Cars, Cooper Racing Street Stocks, Double X Hobby Stocks and 600cc Winged Micro Sprints were all in competition on the tight 1/4 mile clay Sunday evening.
Headlining the night’s events were the Winged Sprint Cars presented by XXtreme Glass of California. Leading the field to the green flag were pole sitter Haley Arnold and Jonathan Cornell on the outside. On the initial start Cornell won the drag race into turn one and looked to have been the leader, but the yellow flag for the stalled car of Matt McGarry on the front straightaway negated that lap and called for a complete restart. On the next restart Cornell again took command but alas, a caution again caused the yellow to come out. The third time was the charm as Cornell again went to the point on the start and set sail. Cornell kept the Kiowa Line Builders #28 in front as the pack sorted out behind him. Tyler Blank settled into the second position and tried to reel in the leader as they approached lapped traffic. Cornell was able to maintain his position at the front and claimed his second win of the season at Double X. Tyler Blank finished second, Cody Baker made his return to weekly action at Double X by claiming third, Taylor Walton posted a solid fourth and Haley Arnold rounded out the top five. Matt McGarry, TJ Muths, David Brown, Andrew Turley and Doug Wilson completed the top ten. Heat races were won by Arnold, Cornell and Baker. Top five in points are Cornell 380, Blank 354, Maycock 300, Brown 274, Evan Martin 253.
The 600cc Winged Micro Sprint feature looked to be a good one with Dean Hathman and Dallas Wood bringing the field to the green flag. Wood jumped out to the early lead and put the field on notice he was ready to race. However, mechanical woes caught up with Wood on lap 5 and he retired to the pit area for the remainder of the event. On the restart the second running Hathman assumed the point and was not challenged. Surviving a lap 17 restart, Dean Hathman was able to take the victory, follwed by Quinton Benson in second, Corey Nelson in third, Ryan Marsch in fourth and Scott Hathman in fifth. Heat races were won by Dean Hathman and Dallas Wood. The next scheduled appearance of the 600cc Micros is July 15th.
The Cooper Racing street stock class belonged to California’s own John Clancy Jr. Plagued by bad racing luck recently at Double X, Clancy Jr. shook that off and picked up a solid win in the feature event. Clancy led green to checkered in the event holding off the early challenges of Dale Berry who settled for the second position. Derek Henson drove a steady race to finish third, Keeth Strange was fourth and Jim Keeran completed the top five. Heat races were won by Clancy, Jr. and Berry. Point leaders are Henson 320, Strange 314, Curtis Turpin 300, Clancy 280, Keeran 262.
Rounding out the card were the Double X Hobby Stock Cars. Will Register picked up the feature and heat races wins. Rounding out the field in the feature event were AJ Wirts, Rudy Wirts and Kyle Shaw who towed over from Drexel, MO for the evening. Top five in points are Register 374, Seth Jacobs 282, R.Wirts 258, Jeff Buford 178, A. Wirts148.
Saturday night will be the evening of racing this coming weekend at Double X. Taking to the track on June 9th will be the XXtreme Glass Winged Sprint Cars, the Cooper Racing Street Stocks, The Double X Hobby Stocks and returning for their second appearance of the season will be the WAR Wingless Sprint Cars. For the remainder of June we will be on our usual Sunday night schedule with the ULMA Late Models joining us on June 17 along with our three usual weekly classes. On Sunday June 24, the Winged Sprint Cars will be racing for an increased purse and the WAR Wingless Sprint Cars will join the street stocks and hobby stocks that evening. For more information be sure to check out www.xxspeedway.com , find us on Facebook or call 573-796-4694 for details.