Sam Stoecklin
ULMA Public Relations
July 17, 2013
The 2013 race season rolled on last week as Lucas Cattle Company ULMA late model drivers competed in three straight nights of action at participating tracks. The action began Friday at Callaway Raceway in Fulton, Missouri; continued Saturday at Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Missouri; and came to a conclusion Sunday evening at Double X Speedway in California, Missouri.
At Callaway Raceway, Henley, Missouri’s Jason Russell continued his dominance of the season by claiming his fourth feature win at the track this year and eighth overall ULMA victory. Russell’s latest victory came from the pole position in the 20-lap main event. Track point’s leader Payton Looney started fifth in the event and moved up late in the race in a heated battle with Todd McCoin and Ashley Lancaster to claim the runner-up spot. Lancaster recorded another strong finish by finishing in third position, just edging out Jon Melloway and Zeke Langley at the line.
Finishing sixth through tenth were Cliff Powell, Chris Lapp, Chris Cox, McCoin and Bridget Clifford. Racing resumes at Callaway Raceway again Friday, July 19 for another weekly racing program. Track information is available by contacting track owner and promoter Betty Atterberry at (573) 220-1751. The track race status phone line is (573) 592-7795.
Late Model action returned to Moberly, Missouri’s Randolph County Raceway (RCR) last Saturday evening as 13 drivers showed up for the night’s events. Dominating performances are nothing new to Quincy, Illinois driver Vance Wilson and that is just what he handed the rest of the competition as he led all 20 laps in the night’s featured race. Wilson led the way from the point and claimed his sixth victory of the year and fourth in a row at the track.
Behind Wilson at the race end were former feature winner Kenny Mudd, Larry Winn, Jon Melloway, and Lane Ehlert, with a strong top-five showing. Sixth through tenth were Bobby Penney, Ben Ballard, Zeke Langley, Dalton Imhoff, and Cliff Powell.
The late models are off this week at RCR but return in a big way with a track special event that pays $1,000 to win on Saturday, July 27. Be sure to visit the track online for a complete schedule and general information by pointing your web browser to www.randolphcountyraceway.com or call 660-833-1727 for race status and additional information.
Sunday night at Double X Speedway featured extra money for the drivers and an exciting night for fans participating and attending the ‘Race for Riley’ night at the speedway. Initially, a $300 bonus was put up for any one driver who could sweep the action at Callaway Raceway, Randolph County Raceway, and Double X Speedway but when Saturday rolled around with a different winner, this bonus was left on the table.
An extra $500 was added to the purse for the Double X event, which paid participating drivers $100 just to start while the winner took away $600. In addition, Chris Bork of CBracephotos.com tagged on an extra $50 for the hard-charging driver of the night advancing the most position in the main event. RacinDirt.com also got in on the added bonus money theme by putting up an extra $100 for a mystery driver in the main event.
Twelve cars made their way to the unique facility and competed in three heat races. Heat winners were Jason Russell, Justin Russell, and Todd McCoin. The Russell Brothers lined up on row one to lead the field to the green flag ahead of McCoin and Brandon Imhoff.
Jason Russell started the RacinDirt.com feature race with a blistering pace bringing his Brother along for the initial first laps as the two tried to check out on the rest of the field. Sixth-starting Kevin Coyne had his best run of the year going and was challenging for second position by lap three but his ride suffered mechanical failure in the rear of the car, causing it to violently turn to the right nearly head on into the turn two wall. Coyne’s night ended on the hook with a bent frame and damaged race car. Fourth-running Imhoff had nowhere to go and was involved in the incident but was able to continue on after the two cars were separated.
On the ensuing restart, varied reaction to the green flag caused a chain-reaction melee, which ultimately led to the demise of Bobby Penney, who like Coyne, had one of his best runs of the year going until that point. Penney’s car came to a halt down the front straightaway wall as his night ended on the hook. By lap five, Jason Russell, led Justin, Earl Roark, Todd McCoin, and Craig Bessinger.
The third and final yellow flag flew just short of the halfway point at lap 9 when Todd McCoin’s machine went up and over the berm in turns one and two. From this point on when the race resumed, Jason Russell pulled away from his younger Brother and the rest of the field. Seventh-starting Roark did all he could to reel in Justin Russell inside the top three with Imhoff having a strong run back to fourth.
When the race concluded, Jason Russell had recorded his ninth victory of the year in his second dominating performance of the weekend. Justin Russell came away with his best finish of the year in second while Roark also recorded his best finish of the year in third place. Chris Cox edged Brandon Imhoff for a solid fourth-place showing with Imhoff rounding out the top five.
The remainder of the field was Bessinger, Greg Clemmons, McCoin, Bob Cummings, Penney, Coyne, and John Farmer. The CBracephotos.com hard-charger award went to Earl Roark while the RacinDirt.com award, which was initially supposed to go to a mystery driver in the finish, went to John Farmer. Unfortunately, Farmer became ill shortly after hot laps and had to leave the track. ULMA officials asked participating drivers if they would approve the bonus to go to Farmer and they unanimously agreed to Farmer receiving the added money. ULMA drivers and officials loaded Farmer’s car, put away his tools, and secured his van and hauler for the night as he was unable to return until the next day to retrieve his car and hauler.
ULMA thanks to Double X Speedway for hosting a pair of ULMA events at the track in 2013 and looks forward to returning next season! Visit www.xxspeedway.com or locate the track on Facebook for additional details.
ULMA late models return to action at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri this Saturday, July 20. Call the track at 417-282-5984 or log onto the website at www.lucasoilspeedway.com for a complete schedule of events and race night information.
ULMA licensing is mandatory at all sanctioned tracks, no exceptions! Drivers must present their license on arrival when checking in at all tracks. Visit www.ulmaracing.com for scheduling, full results, information, stats, rules, and to print and complete the 2013 form prior to competing. Drivers should be prepared for technical inspection at all tracks at all times!
This season marks the first year for ULMA to partner with Hoosier Tire Midwest. Drivers may purchase tires from ULMA throughout the season by contacting ULMA officials, the program benefits drivers at the end of the season during the October 19 championship banquet, which takes place in California, Missouri. Please visit www.racetires.com for additional information.
Drivers earn championship points from their 15 best race appearances throughout the season of the more than 50 possible scheduled race nights. Visit ULMA’s title sponsor at www.lucascattlecompany.com. ULMA sincerely thanks Hoosier Tire Midwest, FastShafts, Rod End Supply, RacingJunk.com, and PhotoGraphics by Shelly Payne for their support this season.
ULMA Standings
POS CAR # NAME STARTS POINTS
1st 2J Jason Russell 14 1638
2nd 1TC Chris Cox 14 1399
3rd 0X Justin Russell 14 1351
4th 7X Todd McCoin 13 1343
5th B1 Vance Wilson 12 1321
6th 23Z Zeke Langley 13 1303
7th 12 Payton Looney ® 11 1250
8th 16 Bobby Penney ® 10 1008
9th 9 Chris Lapp 10 1004
10th T8R Earl Roark ® 9 950
ULMA Schedule at a Glance
Friday, July 19th – Callaway Raceway
Saturday, July 20th – Lucas Oil Speedway
Friday, July 26th – Callaway Raceway
Saturday, July 27th – Randolph County Raceway, $1,000 to win track special
Friday, August 2nd – Callaway Raceway
Saturday, August 3rd = Lucas Oil Speedway
Friday, August 9th – Callaway Raceway
Saturday, August 10th – Randolph County Raceway
Friday, August 16th – Callaway Raceway
Saturday, August 17th – Lucas Oil Speedway
Saturday, August 17th – Randolph County Raceway