By Lyndal Scranton – WHEATLAND, Missouri (August 3, 2019) – Rodney Sanders took command midway through Saturday night’s 40-lap feature and went on to win the 10th annual USMTS Slick Mist Show-Me Shootout Presented by Foley Equipment.
Sanders, of Happy, Texas, held off Dereck Ramirez and Terry Phillips in a two-lap shootout after a pair of late cautions wiped out his big lead. It was the long-time series regular’s 91st career USMTS win, but his first triumph in a Modified at Lucas Oil Speedway.
“We won a Late Model race here a couple of years ago, but I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this place,” said Sanders, the USMTS season points leader who picked up his fifth series win of 2019. It was worth $3,000.
“You can go out and win one night and not make it out of the B-main the next,” Sanders added. “But if you have a good car, you can come from deep in the field.”
Which he had to do after being forced to come through a B-main after a sixth-place heat-race finish. That left Sanders started outside of row seven in the main event, with a lot of work to do.
Tyler Wolff got the jump from his outside front row starting position and roared to the lead, building a two-second cushion over Marriott by lap seven.
As Wolff began to encounter lapped traffic by lap 10, Marriott cut into his lead and was within a couple of car lengths when the first caution waved on lap 12. Phillips was running third and Sanders had moved all the way from 14th to fourth.
Sanders gained momentum after the restart and soon was in second, then used a high-side pass out of turn four to move past Wolff and into the lead to complete lap 20.
It looked as if the race would go green the rest of the way, with Sanders checking out. He was leading Phillips by 3.2 seconds when a caution with just two laps remaining wiped out that cushion and gave Phillips, and third-running Ramirez a two-lap chance to steal the win.
Sanders was up for the challenge. He finished 0.7 seconds – or about three car lengths – clear of Ramirez with Phillips third, Hunter Marriott fourth and Jake O’Neil fifth.
“I was really tight down on the bottom and I had to really hit my marks to make it go down there,” Sanders said of the late restarts. “I can’t thank my crew enough. We struggled all night long. We were in a fire drill all night long.”
Phillips, who won the Hunt for the Casey’s Cup opener on Thursday in Park City, Kansas, had to make a quick engine change after blowing a motor during hot laps. His crew did so in time for him to earn a heat-race win.
“We were fortunate to get where we’re at,” Phillips said of his night. “I wish we’d have had a little more time to work on the car, but that’s the way it goes. We were fortunate to get up there and stay in Dereck’s way in the heat race. The new motor wasn’t running. It was just thrashing.
“But all in all, it was a pretty good night.”
Bryant earns B-Mod triumph: Andy Bryant took the lead early, then withstood challenges from season points leader Kris Jackson on multiple restarts over the final 12 laps to earn his second Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod feature win of the season.
“The track was great tonight, nice and smooth,” Bryant said. “Kris and I like racing each other. We both try to race the other as clean as possible. I have a lot of respect for him and I hope it’s mutual.”
Bryant, of Fort Scott, Kansas, started on the inside of row three and moved into the lead on lap two, taking over from front-row starter and lap one leader Dillon McCowan. Jackson and JC Morton were right behind when the race’s first yellow bunched things on lap seven.
Just one lap after the restart, McCowan’s car lost power in turn four to bring out another caution and put the big three of Bryant, Jackson and Morton – all former track champions – at the front of the pack.
Bryant flawlessly handled three restarts the remainder of the way, finally pulling away from six-time winner Jackson by a winning margin of 1.8 seconds. Morton wound up third with Tyler Kidwell fourth and Dan Daniels fifth.
Ott dominates Street Stocks feature: Wheatland’s Toby Ott started up front and led all 20 laps in a dominant O’Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks feature win. It was his fifth win of the season.
The Lucas Oil Speedway points leader wound up about a straightaway in front of runner-up Kyle Slader, who slipped past Johnny Coats with two laps remaining. Marc Carter finished fourth and Cody Frazon fifth.
Ott’s official winning margin was 3.7 seconds, but his lead peaked at 5.1 seconds by lap 15. He got hung up in some lapped traffic the rest of the way, but his lead was big enough that he didn’t have a lot of worry.
“Everything tonight went really well,” Ott said. “The car was great on the bottom, even there late when I got into the lappers. Even there late I went to the middle and the car wanted to stick right there. The track was really good. It was racy everywhere for me.”
Lucas Oil Speedway results (Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019)
10th annual Slick Mist Show-Me Shootout Presented by Foley Equipment
USMTS Modifieds
Casey’s General Store A-Main (40 Laps): 1. 20-Rodney Sanders, 25:21.829[14]; 2. 4R-Dereck Ramirez, 25:22.597[9]; 3. 75-Terry Phillips, 25:22.973[5]; 4. 62-Hunter Marriott, 25:23.905[4]; 5. 0-Jake O’Neil, 25:24.478[7]; 6. 12H-Jason Hughes, 25:24.730[16]; 7. 38C-Jason Pursley, 25:25.507[12]; 8. 4RX-Jared Russell, 03:54.227[3]; 9. 227-Chase Domer, 25:25.801[1]; 10. 96T-RC Whitwell, 25:25.951[15]; 11. 91-Joe Duvall, 25:26.109[19]; 12. 87-Darron Fuqua, 25:26.874[10]; 13. 21-Ryan Middaugh, 25:27.083[24]; 14. 88-Chad Wheeler, 25:27.233[29]; 15. 51-Lucas Gibbs, 25:27.656[27]; 16. 23-Adam Kates, 25:27.666[26]; 17. 03-Chase Jones, 25:27.963[11]; 18. 9-Jerad Fuller, 25:28.192[21]; 19. 98-John Allen, 25:28.364[25]; 20. 5-Robbie Reed, 25:28.451[17]; 21. 3J-Jake Nightingale, 25:29.528[6]; 22. 65-Tyler Davis, 21:44.549[13]; 23. 33Z-Zack Vanderbeek, 17:12.129[22]; 24. 4W-Tyler Wolff, 17:21.668[2]; 25. 134-Robert Heydenreich, 14:00.093[18]; 26. 24D-Donnie Fellers, 12:47.645[28]; 27. 8S-Jon Sheets, 11:07.724[23]; 28. 292-Kyle Thompson, 03:39.908[20]; 29. 17-Mike Striegel, 02:17.058[8]
Real Racing Wheels B Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 65-Tyler Davis, 09:26.218[3]; 2. 96T-RC Whitwell, 09:27.076[13]; 3. 5-Robbie Reed, 09:27.740[4]; 4. 91-Joe Duvall, 09:28.249[1]; 5. 9-Jerad Fuller, 09:30.303[2]; 6. 8S-Jon Sheets, 09:31.091[12]; 7. 88-Chad Wheeler, 09:32.016[5]; 8. 21X-Travis Saurer, 09:32.728[6]; 9. 747-Colton Eck, 09:34.425[8]; 10. 23-Adam Kates, 09:34.634[7]; 11. 8-Jeremy Vaughn, 09:36.032[11]; 12. 22D-Daniel Hilsabeck, 09:37.833[10]; 13. 12-Scotty Allen, 09:37.833[9]; (DNS) 19R-Ryan Gustin, 09:37.833; (DNS) 22H-Dustin Hodges, 09:37.833
Real Racing Wheels B Feature 2 (15 Laps): 1. 20-Rodney Sanders, 11:43.927[7]; 2. 12H-Jason Hughes, 11:47.734[2]; 3. 134-Robert Heydenreich, 11:50.492[1]; 4. 292-Kyle Thompson, 11:51.326[4]; 5. 33Z-Zack Vanderbeek, 11:53.519[11]; 6. 21-Ryan Middaugh, 11:53.644[5]; 7. 98-John Allen, 11:54.500[3]; 8. 19SB-Lance Mari, 11:55.395[8]; 9. 16-Austin Siebert, 11:58.682[14]; 10. 21F-Johnny Fennewald, 11:59.181[10]; 11. 51-Lucas Gibbs, 11:59.584[6]; 12. 24D-Donnie Fellers, 12:00.885[9]; 13. 35-Chris Cole, 09:51.259[12]; 14. 2G-Brandon Givens, 12:00.885[13]
Simpson Racing Products Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 62-Hunter Marriott, 04:08.091[2]; 2. 4RX-Jared Russell, 04:10.279[6]; 3. 38C-Jason Pursley, 04:12.241[4]; 4. 98-John Allen, 04:12.658[5]; 5. 21-Ryan Middaugh, 04:13.717[7]; 6. 747-Colton Eck, 04:15.787[3]; 7. 22D-Daniel Hilsabeck, 04:15.939[8]; 8. 35-Chris Cole, 04:19.685[1]; 9. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 04:19.685[9]
Fast Shafts Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 227-Chase Domer, 03:16.248[1]; 2. 87-Darron Fuqua, 03:17.500[2]; 3. 12H-Jason Hughes, 03:17.643[3]; 4. 134-Robert Heydenreich, 03:18.331[7]; 5. 292-Kyle Thompson, 03:18.926[8]; 6. 19SB-Lance Mari, 03:20.044[4]; 7. 8-Jeremy Vaughn, 03:22.857[5]; (DQ) 96T-RC Whitwell, 03:16.794[6]
Edelbrock Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 75-Terry Phillips, 04:04.219[1]; 2. 4R-Dereck Ramirez, 04:04.292[3]; 3. 91-Joe Duvall, 04:06.187[4]; 4. 9-Jerad Fuller, 04:07.157[7]; 5. 23-Adam Kates, 04:07.667[5]; 6. 12-Scotty Allen, 04:08.284[2]; 7. 33Z-Zack Vanderbeek, 01:16.854[6]; 8. 2G-Brandon Givens, 01:16.854[8]
MSD Performance Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 17-Mike Striegel, 02:28.283[3]; 2. 03-Chase Jones, 01:20.385[2]; 3. 0-Jake O’Neil, 02:31.473[7]; 4. 88-Chad Wheeler, 02:32.060[4]; 5. 51-Lucas Gibbs, 02:32.354[6]; 6. 24D-Donnie Fellers, 02:35.348[5]; 7. 21F-Johnny Fennewald, 02:35.947[8]; 8. 22H-Dustin Hodges, 01:20.385[1]
VP Race Fuels Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 4W-Tyler Wolff, 02:24.120[3]; 2. 3J-Jake Nightingale, 02:24.501[4]; 3. 65-Tyler Davis, 02:26.384[1]; 4. 5-Robbie Reed, 02:27.013[5]; 5. 21X-Travis Saurer, 02:29.155[7]; 6. 20-Rodney Sanders, 02:29.689[8]; 7. 8S-Jon Sheets, 02:30.955[6]; 8. 16-Austin Siebert, 02:31.731[2]
Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods
Big O Tires A-Feature (20 Laps): 1. 28B-Andy Bryant, [5]; 2. 65-Kris Jackson, [4]; 3. 18M-JC Morton, [6]; 4. 54-Tyler Kidwell, [9]; 5. 68-Dan Daniels, [8]; 6. 39-Rusty Rickard, [1]; 7. 28Z-Randy Zimmerman, [13]; 8. 1F-Mitchell Franklin, [10]; 9. 98K-Kenton Allen, [7]; 10. 18-Austin Joplin, [17]; 11. 16-Blake Pierce, [3]; 12. 22-Dalton Ragsdale, [11]; 13. 10P-Dayton Pursley, [15]; 14. 796-Tyler Wood, [18]; 15. 66-Cale Turner, [16]; 16. 929-Garrett Thompson, [21]; 17. 83-Kyle Fritter, [24]; 18. 14T-Quentin Taylor, [20]; 19. 21F-Hannah Frazee, [23]; 20. 1-Kurt Sledd, [12]; 21. 53H-Tye Hollingsworth, [14]; 22. (DNF) 8-Dillon McCowan, [2]; 23. (DNF) 57J-John Fellers, [19]; 24. (DNF) 99-Jim Cihy, [22]
Big O Tires B-Feature (12 Laps): 1. 18-Austin Joplin, 14:12.903[1]; 2. 796-Tyler Wood, 14:16.101[2]; 3. 57J-John Fellers, 14:16.848[7]; 4. 14T-Quentin Taylor, 14:18.613[3]; 5. 929-Garrett Thompson, 14:19.825[6]; 6. 99-Jim Cihy, 14:24.196[11]; 7. 21F-Hannah Frazee, 14:24.732[10]; 8. 83-Kyle Fritter, 14:25.104[13]; 9. 74-Kyle Bates, 14:27.839[4]; 10. 5-Boyd Engelhartdt, 08:42.947[9]; 11. (DNF) 96-Cody Brill, 05:30.960[5]; 12. (DNF) 28-Wesley Briggs, 05:31.448[8]; 13. (DNF) 25-Kenneth McDonald, 05:33.893[12]; (DNS) 20-Al Ferguson, 05:33.893; (DNS) 87-Justin Pike, 05:33.893
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18M-JC Morton, [1]; 2. 65-Kris Jackson, [5]; 3. 28B-Andy Bryant, [8]; 4. 28Z-Randy Zimmerman, [7]; 5. 14T-Quentin Taylor, [3]; 6. 74-Kyle Bates, [4]; 7. 57J-John Fellers, [6]; 8. (DNF) 20-Al Ferguson, [2]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 8-Dillon McCowan, 05:04.784[3]; 2. 22-Dalton Ragsdale, 05:09.261[1]; 3. 54-Tyler Kidwell, 05:11.684[6]; 4. 66-Cale Turner, 05:11.876[2]; 5. 18-Austin Joplin, 05:13.049[7]; 6. 96-Cody Brill, 05:14.663[5]; 7. 929-Garrett Thompson, 05:15.653[8]; 8. 28-Wesley Briggs, 05:16.033[4]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 39-Rusty Rickard, 11:12.897[8]; 2. 1-Kurt Sledd, 11:13.416[2]; 3. 1F-Mitchell Franklin, 11:14.208[6]; 4. 53H-Tye Hollingsworth, 11:16.177[7]; 5. (DNF) 21F-Hannah Frazee, 11:20.490[1]; 6. (DNF) 25-Kenneth McDonald, 10:50.000[3]; (DNS) 87-Justin Pike, 01:26.953
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 16-Blake Pierce, 05:05.111[2]; 2. 68-Dan Daniels, 05:07.371[3]; 3. 98K-Kenton Allen, 05:08.617[7]; 4. 10P-Dayton Pursley, 05:11.006[5]; 5. 796-Tyler Wood, 00:00.447[6]; 6. (DNF) 99-Jim Cihy, 01:52.848[1]; 7. (DNF) 83-Kyle Fritter, 00:00.447[4]
O’Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 27OTT-Toby Ott, 08:12.222[1]; 2. 4-Kyle Slader, 08:15.924[8]; 3. 35-Johnny Coats, 08:16.203[4]; 4. 10-Marc Carter, 08:20.332[2]; 5. 04-Cody Frazon, 08:20.647[7]; 6. 27-Bob Barnett, 08:20.762[11]; 7. 69-Brian Brown, 08:21.340[5]; 8. 42-James Flood, 08:22.166[6]; 9. 60-Chuck Knight, 08:22.225[10]; 10. 85-Nick Fritch, 08:23.503[3]; 11. 11T-Richie Tosh, 08:23.513[9]; 12. 7M-Scott Johnson, 08:27.684[13]; 13. 25-John Allen, 08:28.565[12]; 14. 11-Brad Gideon, 08:29.674[17]; 15. 5H-Eric Hammons, 08:12.875[16]; 16. 44S-Steve Scott, 08:13.979[14]; 17. 19-Kenny Shelton, 08:14.441[19]; 18. 71K-Lehmann Karl, 08:16.005[20]; 19. 2-Colton Bourland, 08:18.072[15]; 20. (DNF) 31J-Josh Crump, 03:29.197[18]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 27OTT-Toby Ott, [9]; 2. 85-Nick Fritch, [1]; 3. 69-Brian Brown, [5]; 4. 04-Cody Frazon, [7]; 5. 60-Chuck Knight, [2]; 6. 7M-Scott Johnson, [4]; 7. 44S-Steve Scott, [6]; 8. 2-Colton Bourland, [10]; 9. 31J-Josh Crump, [8]; 10. 19-Kenny Shelton, [3]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 10-Marc Carter, 03:09.930[3]; 2. 35-Johnny Coats, 03:10.223[1]; 3. 42-James Flood, 03:10.265[5]; 4. 4-Kyle Slader, 03:11.624[6]; 5. 27-Bob Barnett, 03:12.034[4]; 6. 11T-Richie Tosh, 03:14.291[9]; 7. 25-John Allen, 03:14.324[10]; 8. 5H-Eric Hammons, 03:16.806[2]; 9. 11-Brad Gideon, 03:18.264[7]; 10. 71K-Lehmann Karl, 03:19.637[8]
Action resumes August 17: After a scheduled weekend off, Lucas Oil Speedway’s Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series resumes on August 17. It’ll be Fan Appreciation Night Presented by the CW Ozarks/Ozarks Sports Zone. Fans will be treated to food and drink specials throughout the evening.
The Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds will headline the action with a 25-lap, $1,000 to win feature. Pure Stocks also will be a special guest class, joining the Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models, Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods and O’Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks.
The Show-Me Vintage Racing Club also will return to put on a vintage exhibition race.
Gates will open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and opening ceremonies at 7.
For questions about tickets or camping for any event at Lucas Oil Speedway, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or via email at Nichole@LucasOilSpeedway.com.
CONTACT:
Danny Lorton
Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager
Office: (417) 282-5984