Double X Speedway
California, MO
May 8, 2022
By: Dean Reichel
A pleasant late Spring evening greeted fans and racers alike at Double X Speedway for the second round of Sunday Night Thunder in 2022. With a week of not quite so wet weather leading up to Sunday, Kyle Wirts and crew had the 1/4 mile oval ready for racers to do battle to see who would emerge victorious. With the season of graduations upon us and some drivers sidelined with mechanical issues early in the season, the car count was lower than expected but the racing was just as intense as ever.
With a handful of Pure Stocks signed in, a single heat race would determine the feature lineup for later in the evening. The eight lap heat saw week one feature winner Darin Porter on the front row alongside Shayne Healea. At the drop of the green it was a two car drag race into turn one. Healea would gain the advantage exiting turn two and would not be bested for the duration. Porter would finish a comfortable second with Justin McDowell making a last lap pass to finish third over Preston McDowell in fourth and Russell Beach completing the field.
Next up was the Super Stock division with a half dozen cars and drivers signed in. In the single heat race, Dale Berry and Eddie Keeran brought the field to the green flag. Berry would open a comfortable lead over the field in the opening couple of circuits until mechanical gremlins would bring the blue #05 to a stop on the backstretch in a plume of smoke.The race restarted with Keeran at the point and John Clancy in second. Keeran worked hard to keep Clancy at bay, Keeran worked hard to make his #87 Camaro as wide as possible to maintain his advantage and take the win over Clancy in second place. Jody Romig finished third, Joe Miller was fourth. Dusty See finished fifth in his debut at Double X and Dale Berry was relegated to sixth.
Winged Sprint Cars took to the track for a pair of heat races to cap off the preliminary rounds of competition. Heat one saw Taylor Walton and Jarman Dalitz leading the charge into turn one. Dalitz got there first but Walton took the lead in turn two and never looked back. As Walton checked out on the field drivers in the remaining positions were swapping lines and getting racy. At the checkered the finishing order was Walton, Dalitz, Samuel Wagner, Mackenzie Borchers, Jack Wagner, Jake Griffin and Russell Potter respectively. The second heat was Quinton Benson and Slater Helt on the front row. At the drop of the green flag Benson took the early advantage running the low road but Helt would use the top shelf to drive around the leader in turn two. Ben Brown raced his way into second place but a bobble in turn four saw him slip back in the running order. At the checkered it was Helt in the victors spot, Benson would finish second, Chase Porter raced his was up to third from sixth, Tyler Blank crossed the line fourth followed by Brown and Tyler Elliott.
The Pure Stock saw the same cars on the front row with Shayne Healea on the pole and Darin Porter to his starboard side. Porter would move to the point with Healea in tow. On lap three the caution would wave for the stopped #21 of Porter who suffered a flat right front. Healea would inherit the lead on the restart with Preston McDowell, Justin McDowell and Russell Beach following in line. Porter’s crew was able to change the flat tire and he rejoined the field at the tail. Healea would lead on the restart being chased by Justin McDowell. A lap seven caution bunched the field behind the leader and saw Justin McDowell continue to pressure the leader. As the laps clicked by Healea was able to open a six car length lead over the field only to see Justin McDowell mount a charge as the white flag waved. At the checkered it was Shayne Healea picking up the victory with Justin McDowell edging Porter at the line for second. With Porter in third, Russell Beach finished fourth and Preston McDowell completed the running order in fifth.
The Super Stock feature rolled off next with Eddie Keeran and multi time track champion John Clancy sharing the front row. Clancy would use the traction on the outside to his advantage and take the top spot over Keeran. One lap later, Smokin Joe Miller would use the same real estate on the front stretch to take second away from Keeran. On lap four Keeran would move to the bottom in one and two to take second back from Miller, at the same time Miller got up against the outside wall on the back straight bringing out a caution. Miller would drive his #409 to the pit area for evaluation and ultimately retire from the event. With the field closed up to his rear bumper Clancy would continue his strong run but Keeran the pressure on the leader. As the laps wound down, Keeran closed on the fleet #8 of Clancy showing a front fender to the leader on multiple occasions. On lap 13, Keeran was able to use a lapped car to set a pick and drive by Clancy to take the top spot. At the checkered it was Eddie Keeran claiming the victory with Jody Romig placing second after driving a smooth race. John Clancy recovered for third, Dusty See was fourth and Joe Miller was given credit for fifth place. Dale Berry was unable to start due to mechanical problems.
With the new dirt on the track surface for 2022 and the moisture staying in the track, the Winged Sprint Car feature could shape up to be a good one. Taylor Walton and Slater Helt shared the front row looking for the green flag from Rudy Wirts. Taylor Walton would pick up where he left off in his heat race and quickly open up a ten plus car length lead over the field. Quinton Benson and Slater Helt were battling for second and Chase Porter was moving up through the field also. Nineteen laps clicked by before the caution waved for the stopped car of Slater Helt, just off the top of turn four. With the field regrouped behind the leader Walton, excitement was about to bring the crowd to it’s feet. On the restart, fifth running Tyler Blank put his #4 four machine on the top shelf banging his right rear against the cushion to advance to second by lap 22. A caution flag would put Blank on Waltons rear bumper on the restart. With two laps to mount a charge, Blank gave it a valiant effort but Taylor Walton was not to be denied as he claimed his first feature victory of the season. Blank was second, Quinton Benson finished a strong third, Chase Porter claimed fourth place in his first visit to Double X and Jack Wagner completed the top five. The second five were led by Samuel Wagner in sixth, Jake Griffin in seventh, Tyler Elliott was eighth, Russell Potter ninth and Mackenzie Borchers was tenth. Ben Brown, Slater Helt and Jarman Dalitz completed the field.
Next Sunday night is “Diesel Power Plus Night” at Double X Speedway with a $1500 to win feature event purse for the Winged Sprint Cars on tap. Also be making plans for the May 29th “Tribute to Jesse” Memorial Race with $2500 to win for Winged Sprint Cars sponsored by Clennin Farm Supply, with POWRi Non Wing Sprint Cars and Super Stocks on the evening’s card. For Super Stock fans, Sunday June 5 brings the annual “Dylan Bias Memorial Race” to Double X with a $6000 purse for the Super Stocks that evening. Be sure to keep up with the events on the Double X Speedway Fan Page on Facebook or at www.doublexspeedway.com
Double X Speedway
California, MO
May 8, 2022
Results
Winged Sprint Cars- 13 cars
Feature Event- 1. 93-Taylor Walton, Odessa; 2. 4-Tyler Blank, California; 3. 15B-Quinton Benson, Sweet Springs; 4. 2- Chase Porter, St, Joseph; 5. 77-Jack Wagner, Lone Jack; 6. 73-Samuel Wagner, Lone Jack; 7. 0-Jake Griffin, Quincy,IL; 8. 49-Tyler Elliott, Jefferson City; 9. 3P-Russell Potter, Boonville; 10. 41-Mackenzie Borchers, Marshall; 11. X-Ben Brown, Marshall; 12. Slater Helt, Cactus Flats; 13. 9m-Jarman Dalitz, South Australia
Heat 1- 1. Walton; 2. Dalitz; 3.S. Wagner; 4. Borchers; 5. J. Wagner; 6. Griffin; 7. Potter
Heat 2- 1. Helt; 2. Benson; 3. Porter; 4. Blank; 5. Brown; 6. Elliott
Super Stocks- 6 cars
Feature- 1. 87-Eddie Keeran California; 2. 12-Jody Romig, Syracuse; 3. 8-John Clancy, California; 4. 83-Dusty See, Eldon; 5. 409-Joe Miller, Centertown; 6. 05-Dale Berry, Tuscumbia (DNS)
Heat- 1. Keeran; 2. Clancy; 3. Romig; 4. Miller; 5. See; 6. Berry
Pure Stocks- 5 cars
Feature- 1. 17-Shayne Healea, Cantertown; 2. 5-Justin McDowell, Tuscumbia; 3. 21-Darin Porter, California; 4. 44R- Russell Beach, Lake Ozark; 5. 26-Preton McDowell, Tuscumbia
Heat- 1. Healea; 2. Porter; 3. J. McDowell; 4. P. McDowell; 5. Beach