Donnellson, Iowa (May 5, 2016) – Thursday night kicked off a three day, three show weekend for the Lucas Oil MLRA. 37 cars rolled into the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa to compete for the $3,000 top prize.
Brian Birkhofer won his opening heat race from the outside of row three. His push to the front in his heat placed him on the DirtonDirt.com pole. He quickly jumped to the lead, and showed the way for the opening half of the feature, before Brandon Sheppard found an opening exiting turn two, and shot underneath the former World 100 winner.
Sheppard distanced himself from the pack and set an unmatched pace in wrapping up his first win of the season and second ever with the Lucas Oil MLRA.
“The track was really tricky tonight, really slippery,” said Sheppard. “Birky was really good right through the middle (of turns one and two), so I knew I had to move around and try to find a line that I was going to be able to pass him with.”
Earl Pearson Jr. made the most of his first start of the season with the Moring Motorsports team. He out dueled Birkhofer for the runner up position, but never seriously challenged Shepherd.
“This is a brand new car, Stuckey and them guys put together last week. I’m proud to see all these fans come out here on Thursday night and see one heck of a show. For the first time out in this new Black Diamond Chassis, I’m gonna say it was pretty good.”
Less than five laps shy of the checkers, Birkhofer pulled to the infield and Chris Simpson, who started 14th, moved up one spot into the top three. It was a quiet move forward for Simpson, but he was greeted with a big applause by the home state fans as the best finisher among Iowa drivers.
“We could roll guys on the outside, but I could really get off of four on the bottom” commented Simpson. “I was home all day with the flu, so to be able to start 14th and come home third, with the way I’m feeling, that’s pretty good.”
The tour packs up and heads to Davenport Speedway Friday, for another $3,000 to win event before wrapping up the weekend Saturday, with a visit to Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Missouri.
Lucas Cattle Company A Feature (40 Laps): 1. Brandon Sheppard 2. Earl Pearson Jr. 3. Chris Simpson 4. Tony Jackson Jr 5. Jesse Stovall 6. Dave Eckrich 7. Chad Simpson 8. Jason Papich 9. Justin Kay 10. JC Wyamn 11. Terry Phillips 12. Rickey Frankel 13. Jordan Yaggy 14. Jason Utter 15. Gordy Gundaker 16. Brantlee Gotschall 17. Denny Woodworth 18. Ried Millard 19. Jason Rauen 20. Brian Birkhofer 21. Tad Pospisil 22. Ray Guss Jr. 23. Spencer Diercks 24. Jason Perry 25. Ryan Gustin 26. Austin Siebert
Hoosier Racing Tires B Feature #1 (12 Laps): 1. Denny Woodworth 2. Terry Phillips 3. Jason Perry 4. Dustin Griffin 5. Jason Papich 6. Denny Eckrich 7. Brantlee Gotschall 8. Justin Reed 9. Jacob Magee 10. Bryon Allison 11. Reid Millard
HotRodProcessing.com B Feature #2 (12 Laps): 1. Ray Guss Jr 2. Ryan Gustin 3. Gordy Gundaker 4. Jeremy Payne 5. Jay Johnson 6. Chris Spieker 7. Jay Chenowith 8. Mark Burgtorf 9. Richard Weber 10. Austin Siebert
Bilstein Shocks Heat #1 (10 Laps): 1. JC Wyman 2. Justin Kay 3. Brandon Shepherd 4. Jason Utter 5. Gordy Gundkaer 6. Jeremy Payne 7. Dustin Griffin 8. Terry Phillips 9. Jason Papich 10. Denny Eckrich
Casey’s General Stores Heat #2 (10 Laps): 1. Brian Birkhofer 2. Spencer Diercks 3. Tony Jackson Jr 4. Tad Pospisil 5. Chris Simpson 6. Denny Woodworth 7. Brantlee Gotschall 8. Jay Chenowith 9. Mark Burgtorf
Chix Gear Race Wear Heat #3 (10 Laps): 1. Rickey Frankel 2. Jesse Stovall 3. Chad Simpson 4. Jason Perry 5. Jacob Magee 6. Ray Guss Jr 7. Jay Johnson 8. Bryon Allison 9. Reid Millard
Malvern Bank Heat #4 (10 Laps): 1. Dave Eckrich 2. Earl Pearson Jr 3. Jordan Yaggy 4. Ryan Gustin 5. Jason Rauen 6. Justin Reed 7. Austin Siebert 8. Chris Spieker 9. Richard Weber
For all of the latest news and information fans are encouraged to visit the series website at www.MLRARacing.com.
Fans may also “like” the Lucas Oil MLRA Facebook page by clicking www.Facebook.com/lucasoilmlra or follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/MLRA.
#####