CMS Public Relations
April 4, 2015

(Warrensburg, MO) Central Missouri Speedway (CMS) began its 2015 race season on Saturday evening for KDKD 95.3 FM ‘Today’s New Hit Country’ race night. A total of 89 drivers signed in for competition in five race divisions. Opening night had its challenges for those in attendance as fans braved the early April cold temperatures.

Track personnel did their best to stay on top of a difficult and stubborn race surface while the talented group of drivers and crew personnel skillfully searched for the best drive lines on the track to run in and for the best setup options based on track conditions.

The night began with 11 Pure Stock drivers competing in a pair of heat races. Darrin Christy raced his way to the win over Jeremiah Wilson and defending Pure Stock Track Champion Leroy Morrison in heat race number one while Jason Ryun bested Jason Cochran and Don Johnson for heat race two.

In the main event, Ryun shot out to an early race lead with Christy close behind. The yellow flag flew on lap three for Cochran while at the same time new driver Roger Detherage retired to the pits. When racing resumed, Ryun led Christy and Wilson until lap five when the yellow flag came out again, this time for a spin by Jesse Ballard. On the lap four restart, Ryun distanced himself from the intense battled for second between Christy and Wilson. Midway through the race, Ryun had nearly a full straightaway lead on his closest pursuers. Behind the leader, Christy held second while Don Johnson and Morrison battled with Wilson for third but in the end it was Ryun who grabbed the victory with Christy, Wilson, Morrison, and Don Johnson in the top five.
Pure Stock Feature Results  
1st-      3d-Jason Ryun, Kansas City
2nd-     3b-Darren Christy, Kansas City, KS
3rd-     58-Jeremiah Wilson, Concordia
4th-      50jr-Leroy Morrison, Raymore
5th-      3-Don Johnson, Overland Park, KS
6th-      3c-Jason Cochran, Kansas City, KS
7th-      12-Scott Martin, Warrensburg
8th-      05-Jesse Ballard, Holden
9th-      81-Casey Jo Miller, Holden
10th-    51-Rob Gard, Warrensburg
11th-    25jr-Roger Detherage, Windsor

It’s clearly evident the car class drawing the best numbers these days at most tracks is the B-Mod division. Throughout the Midwest the class continues to gain momentum and stature among race fans. A whopping 30 B-mod drivers raced throughout the night in four heat races, a b-main, and eventually the 15-lap main event.

Troy Carlyle had a convincing win in heat one over Cody Frazon and Johnny McGinnis. Otterville, Missouri’s Chad Staus bested Don Marrs and Jason Billups. The heat three finishing order saw former B-Mod track champion Jacob Ebert ahead of Dakota Foster and Curtis Berry. Defending track champions Dean Wille took the fourth and final heat race win over Ryun Edde and Karla Lampe of Fair Grove, Missouri. In the B-Main, Brett Wood crossed the finish line first ahead of Robbie Ewing and Rick Anderson.

Twenty-two drivers made the grid for the 15-lap main event with Marrs leading the field to the green flag alongside Staus. Just as the field neared the front stretch for lap one, Marrs’ car went just enough sideways in front of the field causing several cars to be involved in a chain-reaction incident. The race was restarted at this point as Staus shot out to the lead with Marrs and Dakota Foster behind.  Jacob Ebert and Dean Wille raced hard for the fourth position with Wille claiming the position by lap five; however, Ebert wasn’t done yet as he rebounded to third a few laps later.

Troy Carlyle raced forward to eighth after being involved in the early race pileup. The red flag came out on lap eight for a crash on the back stretch with Darren Phillips nearly turning over; Ryan Edde of Urbana was also involved. Despite the grinding crash, both drivers were okay. Edde returned to the race while Phillips retired from the event with too much damage to continue.

For the restart, Ebert mashed the gas and ran hard to break away from Staus, Marrs, and Wille who were embroiled in a fierce battle for second. Another quick yellow flag flew on the next lap with Ebert leading Staus, Wille, Marrs, and Foster. Staus nearly went too high in turn two trying to challenge Ebert for the lead as the move allowed Wille to move to second. With challenging conditions, Wille went to the low side of Ebert in turn four for on the white flag lap but despite heavy pressure from Wille Jacob Ebert held on for the win with Wille a close second. Behind Ebert and Wille at the finish were Staus, Curtis Berry, and Marrs.
B-Mod Feature Results
1st-      94-Jacob Ebert, Oak Grove
2nd-     68m-Dean Wille, Warrensburg
3rd-     c3-Chad Staus, Otterville
4th-      23b-Curtis Berry, Raymore
5th-      9-Don Marrs, Shawnee, KS
6th-      5x-Dakota Foster, Gardner, KS
7th-      44-Troy Carlyle, Kearney
8th-      10-Johnny McGinnis, Hardin
9th-      3B-Richard Brainard, Sedalia
10th-    7L-Karla Lampe, Fair Grove
11th-    77B-Brett Wood, Warrensburg
12th-    77-Ernie Walker, Sedalia
13th-    72-Brad Moore, Urich
14th-    28s-Bill Small, Holden
15th-    15-Ryun Edde, Urbana
16th-    2E-Robbe Ewing, Stockton
17th-    21p-Darren Phillips, Clinton
18th-    2-Rick Anderson, Marshall
19th-    7B-Bobby Russell, Smithville
20th-    33j-Jason Billups, Holt
21st-    14-Kameron Grindstaff, Ind, Mo
DNS-    50jr-Leroy Morrison, Raymore
DNS-    03-Chris Brockway, Warrensburg
DNS-    23t-Tim Smith, Concordia

After racing a handful of races as a guest class in 2014, Lightning Sprints are now a weekly car class at CMS. Nine drivers competed on opening night in a pair of heat races and a 15-lap main event. Veteran racer and long-time CMS competitor Bobby Layne of Kansas City, Missouri flew under the checkered flag in heat one ahead of Jared Solomon and Chris Schofield while Columbia’s Mark Billings commanded heat race two over Ryan Kent and Beau Heavelow.

For the main event, Layne quickly grabbed the lead with Heavelow and Billings in tow. An early yellow flag flew for Solomon who took a wild ride over the turn three embankment but thankfully the car stayed on all four wheels. For the ensuing restart, Layne led Billings, Heavelow and Ryan Kent of Lone Jack, Missouri. Layne looked to be well in command as Heavelow and Billings raced close for second. Once Heavelow cleared Billings just past the mid-race point for second he set his sights on the leader.

Meanwhile, Billings’ strong run came to an end as he retired from the race with mechanical issues. Kent moved into third as Chuck Hines and Tony Layne ran inside the top five. Heavelow eventually tracked down Layne leading to an exciting battle for the lead as Layne tried to hang on to the lead. Eventually, Heavelow found his way around Layne and sailed on to victory by nearly a full straightaway going unchallenged in the closing laps. Layne finished second followed by Kent, Hines and Tony Layne.

Lightning Sprint Feature Results

1st-      4-Beau Heavelow, Sibley
2nd-     01-Bobby Layne, Kansas City
3rd-     30-Ryan Kent, Lone Jack
4th-      49-Chuck Hines, Marshall
5th-      71-Tony Layne, Kansas City
6th-      19-Paden Moreland, Bethany
7th-      60E-Mark Billings, Columbia
8th-      22-Jared Solomon, Lee’s Summit
9th-      9s-Chris Schofield, Raymore

Street Stock events throughout the race program included a pair of heat races followed by a 15-lap main event. Defending track champion Brett Wood of Warrensburg claimed the first heat race ahead of James McMillin and Jay Prevete of Windsor, Missouri while Brian Inlow, Troy Turley, and Clayton Campbell finished first, second, and third in the second and final heat race.

Wood and Turley earned the front row starting positions after the passing points were totaled. Shortly after the race began, an early race caution period occurred when Clayton Campbell spun in turn two. For the lap two restart, Wood led Turley, McMillin, Prevete and Inlow. Behind the leader, Turley and McMillin had a close battle for second but bad luck struck Campbell again in turn two as he lost a left front wheel with still just two laps complete and the field under caution once again.

On the restart, Wood again showed the way as the field came to the green flag. Turley ran the low side with McMillin in the middle as the pair watched leader Wood drive away from their battle for second. Multiple times Street Stock champion John Brooks moved into fifth place by lap five. Shortly after, McMillin went for a spin in between turns one and two to draw the caution. Wood continued to lead for the restart with Turley, Prevete, Brooks and Inlow inside the top five.

Brooks’ familiar orange #27 continued pursuing Turley and Prevete as the laps wound down. Just shy of lap ten, Wood built a near straightaway lead while simultaneously Brooks went to the low side of Prevete to take the third position. Turn two continued to be a bad luck charm for McMillin as he spun after hard contact with Herb Dannar down the front stretch, unfortunately the incident led to McMillin retiring from the event after a valiant run near the front.

Wood restarted the race with Turley and Brooks in pursuit. In one of the best races of the night, Brooks, Turley and Prevete ran close for second until Prevete’s luck went south after a spin in turn four, which relegated him to the tail for the restart. The race ended under a green, white, and checkered flag situation as Wood went on to claim the win over Turley, a hard-charging Kevin Perkins of Sedalia, Brooks and Dwayne Mitchell.

Street Stock Feature Results           

1st-      7-Brett Wood, Warrensburg
2nd-     2-Troy Turley, Knob Noster
3rd-     1-Kevin Perkins, Sedalia
4th-      27-John Brooks, Warrensburg
5th-      96-Dwayne Mitchell, Syracuse
6th-      74-Herb Dannar, Holden
7th-      43-Brian Inlow, Concordia
8th-      33-Josh Guy, Knob Noster
9th-      25-Jay Prevete, Windsor
10th-    53k-Larry Norris, Holden
11th-    3-Allen Perryman, Belton
12th-    68m-James McMillin, Warrensburg
13th-    2b-Brian Cox, Concordia
14th-    58-Jeremiah Wilson, Concordia
15th-    30-Casey Meads, Clinton
DNS-    30c–Clayton Campbell, Otterville
DNS-    3L-Ron Livengood, Sedalia

In USRA Modified action, 22 drivers contested three heat races to earn spots on the grid for the 25-lap feature event. West Plains, Missouri’s Logan Martin fought off Dean Wille and Zach Sanders of Kearney, Missouri for the heat one victory. Johnny Fennewald of Appleton City flew the checkers in heat two ahead of Jim Moody and Terry Schultz of Sedalia. The third and final prelim event went to Lewis Jackson with Tim Karrick and Edgerton, Kansas driver Dalton Kirk finishing close behind.

Earlier in the evening, track owner/promoter Earl Walls spoke at the driver’s meeting regarding the newly resurfaced track. As it turned out, Walls’ prediction that the track would be rough in places materialized as by the time the USRA Modifieds hit the track, several pressure ridges had built up particularly in the turns.

Drivers either watched the previous main events and knew what they were facing or heard from their crew personnel before going out what was going on with the track surface.  As the old race cliché states,  everyone had to race on the same surface and all but one car present made their way to the track.

Logan Martin’s impressive early season continued as the youngster earned the pole position alongside Johnny Fennewald for the initial green flag. Not long after racing began, defending track champion Terry Schultz pulled into the hot pit area during a lap one caution period. Schultz’s crew quickly made repairs and Schultz rejoined the field just before the race resumed.

At this time, Martin led Fennewald, Tim Karrick, Lewis Jackson and Jim Moody near the front. Shortly after the restart, Jim Moody had a rare spin in turn one up on the high side as the field slowed once again under caution. Richard Layne tried to avoid Moody’s stalled car but made contact with Moody and although both cars were able to drive away, only Layne was able to continue racing after a quick trip to the hot-pit area.

Up front, Martin paced the field for the restart with Fennewald and Karrick close behind. The turn four exit had its challenges as drivers did their best to maneuver their way through it. Gunner Martin’s car went around in turn two to draw a caution as the field raced their way through lap two. Fennewald had a strong restart when racing resumed but Logan Martin held point at the front until a few laps later when the caution flag came out for Kansan Steven Bowers, Jr., who had stalled in the track exit lane.

For the next restart, Martin led Fennewald, Karrick, Dalton Kirk, Jackson, Zach Sanders, Darron Fuqua, Justin Johnson and Dean Wille. On lap five, Fennewald began to put heavy pressure on the #36 of Martin just as Matt Johnson of Archie, Missouri retired from the events. Karrick ran strong on the low side and challenged Fennewald for second on several occasions to make for a three-car breakaway by lap ten.

Wille’s night came to an end as he also retired from the race near lap ten. Karrick continued his pursuit of Fennewald for second until another caution fell over the field when Gunner Martin suffered a spin in turn four. With 15 laps remaining, Logan Martin led Fennewald, Karrick, Jackson, Kirk, Fuqua, Tyler Schmidt, Schultz and Layne with Kirk rocketing into second shortly after racing resumed in the wild event.

Logan Martin then lost the lead to Fennewald in a tight battle as drivers jockeyed for positions inside the top five. Several changes in the order took place in turn two as Karrick fell back after his car nearly stalled out in turn. At the same, Kansan Dalton Kirk wanted in on the lead action along with Fuqua, who made his move inside the top five in a furious battle among front runners.

Fennewald held the lead until he also spun from the lead in between turns one and two on lap 17, which led to a late-race caution with eight laps remaining. It was later reported that Fennewald’s window net had actually came undone and ultimately falling into the steering wheel and getting caught up, which led to his spin from the lead.

In the end, the race turned out to be exciting for the fans to watch with multiple changes in position in the running order but for the hard-working drivers, it was an edition of excitement as they did everything they could to put forth their best efforts. With Fuqua now in command, Jackson showed he was a force to be reckoned with as he ran solidly inside the top three throughout the course of the race.

As the laps wore down, Fuqua held the lead in pursuit of his first-ever CMS win with Jackson moving to second while Logan Martin rebounded to third after falling back earlier in the race. Kirk also ran solidly inside the top five as Terry Schultz rebounded to the upper reaches of the running order. Tyler Schmidt found a preferred line to advance through the field late in the race in a close battle with previously leader Logan Martin.

Near the end of the race it was not to be for Dalton Kirk as he fell from contention on lap 20 after a valiant effort. Fuqua ultimately had all the right moves on this night and came away the victor. It was an all Kansas one-two-three finish as Lewis Jackson and Tyler Schmidt finished second and third. Logan Martin, Karrick, Schultz, Layne, Fennewald, Kyle Graves and Craig Crossette completed the top ten. In victory lane, Fuqua stated, “I’m worn out after that one, but I’ve got to thank the crew for getting me here, we will definitely have to nut and bolt on the car after this one but it feels good to get my first win here.”

USRA Modified Feature Results

1st-      87-Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, KS
2nd-     3J-Lewis Jackson, Wellsville, KS
3rd-     66T-Tyler Schmidt, Easton, KS
4th-      36-Logan Martin, West Plains
5th-      1k-Tim Karrick, Basehor, KS
6th-      90-Terry Schultz, Sedalia
7th-      0-Richard Layne, Kansas City
8th-      21-Johnny Fennewald, Appleton City
9th-      14-Kyle Graves, Fulton
10th-    99c-Craig Crossette, Valley Ctr, KS
11th-    32p-Nick Pence, Raymore
12th-    23-Steve Twenter, Sedalia
13th-    30-Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, KS
14th-    69-Zach Sanders, Kearney
15th-    7j-Justin Johnson, Gardner, KS
16th-    75-Gunner Martin, Blue Springs
17th-    68-Dean Wille, Warrensburg
18th-    77-Steven Bowers Jr, Topeka, KS
19th-    16s- Matt Johnson, Archie
20th-    00-Jim Moody, Odessa
21st-    97k-Brian Johnson, Independence
DNS-    8x-Chad Thomasen, Louisburg, KS

Next Saturday, April 11, ULMA Late Models join the regular weekly program for the first of six appearances this season. Pit gates open at 4:30 with grandstands opening at 5. From this point forward in the season, the driver’s pill draw for starting positions will close promptly at 6:15. If drivers are not officially signed in prior to this time, they will not earn points for advancing through the field and will earn finishing points only.

Adult admission is $12, Senior Citizens 65 and older $10, Military w/I.D. $10, Kids ages six to twelve $5, children five and under are free. Admission is free for anyone permanently confined to a wheelchair. Weekly pit pass is $30.  Be sure to check out the latest schedule updates, track news, and general race information online at www.centralmissourispeedway.net. Find CMS on Twitter @CMSgoing_green and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Central-Missouri-Speedway.