Dustin Barks snared his first career American Sprint Car Series feature win by racing to victory lane in Saturday night’s 25-lap American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region main event at Springfield Raceway.
The Farmington, MO, shoe did it in impressive style as well, driving past three former ASCS Sooner Region champions over the final half of the race to take top honors in the inaugural edition of the track’s Ozark Empire Nationals.
While Barks started fifth, front row outside starter Sean McClelland outgunned pole starter Joe Wood, Jr., and paced the early rounds ahead of Wood and Andy Shouse on the top side of the ¼-mile clay oval.
With the top three using the top portion of the racetrack, fourth-running Barks began working the low line and was closing in when the race’s only caution flew after ten circuits when Gavin Punch spun to a stop in turn two.
With McClelland continuing to lead the way on the restart, Shouse slid past Wood for second with Barks making his move to the front by disposing of both Wood (the defending series champion) and then Shouse (the 2004 Sooner co-champion) for second by the 15th round.
Barks reeled in McClelland and squeezed underneath exiting turn four on the 20th round to take command. McClelland contested the lead over the next two laps before slowing as his mount began to overheat.
Barks raced on to his first ASCS checkered flag, commenting that, “We had it working good on the bottom, I was just hoping none of those other guys would move down there before I got to ‘em.”
Shouse took the runner-up position in the final rounds, with McClelland holding on to the show position in front of Wood and 12th-starter Nick Smith.
Making his first Sprint Car start in more than a year, Toby Brown posted a solid sixth-place run carrying the No. 29 on his wing in tribute to Travis Rilat, who continues to recover in a Seattle hospital from burns.
Brian McClelland climbed from 14th to seventh, with J. Kinder, Tyler Blank and Kenneth Walker completing the top ten.
Barks, Kyle Bellm and Wood topped heat race action for the event co-sanctioned with the Winged Outlaw Warriors.
In support action the Budweisre A-Mods started off the nights features with high flying high spped action as current point leader Mitch Keeter and Erik Maggard brought the field down to the green flag.Maggard grabbed the opening lead going to the top side with Keeter,4 time track champion Jackie Dalton and second generation driver Colson Kirk following closely.On lap 4,Keeter took advantage of Maggard's small bobble on the backstretch to take the lead as Dalton followed also while Jody Tillman was coming quickly.With the lead trio of Keeter,Dalton and Maggard going three wide ,Tillman and Brian Green began a charge to the front.Keeter was keeping on the top groove while Dalton drove it deep into turn 4.Caution waved on lap 5 for rookie Corey Weir as the field bunched up on the double-file restart.Dalton picked the top groove for his restart position with Maggard going to his inside.On the restart,Keeter wasted no time in moving his car to the top lane while Dalton was swinging very wide as the veteran Maggard kept his car glued down low.On lap 11,Keeter jumped the top cushion in turn 4 as Dalton rocketed from the top lane to the middle to take command as Maggard was moving fast down low.Behind the lead trio,Jody Tillman,Brian Green and a fast moving Lyle Dietrich along with Kirk and Jerry Lankton were battling.On lap 12 the final caution waved as Tammy Mitchell's car came to a stop in turn 4.Dalton brought the field to the final restart as Keeter and Maggard went to battle side by side as Dalton would go on to record his second win of the season while Keeter,Maggard,Tillman and a quick moving Dietrich followed.
Sportmod competition saw points runner-up Sean Williams and GM 602 Crate driver Billy Dalton bring the talented field to the green flag with Williams wasting no time jumping to the lead as Gary Rodocker,Dalton and Crate motor driver JC Morton following.Williams had checked away from the field leaving a nip and tuck battle for second between Rodocker and morton while Bobby Maggard Jr. was moving fast from his 9th starting spot.With Williams in control,Rodocker and Morton went side by side as Maggard and Dalton batled with Eric Tinderholt.Caution waved on lap 11 for Tinderholt as he came to a halt on the backstretch.SpringfieldRaceway point leader Wayne Graybeal ducked into the pits to change a tire during the caution while Both Tinderholt and Graybeal restarted at the rear.On the restart,Williams pulled away while Rodocker made the move around Morton to grab second place while 14th starter Roy Maynard was coming quickly through the field and into the top 5.Up front Williams was trying to keep distance between himself and the field as Rodocker,Morton,Maynard,Dalton,Maggard Jr and a hard chaarging Graybeal were battling.Williams went on to grab the win with Rodocker getting his best finish of the season while Morton,Dalton and Maynard completed the top 5 as Graybeal charged back to finish 7th.Morton grabbed the top Reliable Chevrolet GM Performance honors gathering an extra $150 for the top Crate motor while Dalton and Maynard also gathered in extra money.
The Legends week in and week out put on classic battles at SpringfieldRaceway and Sat night was no different.Point leeader Justin Comer and young gun Tyler Horton brought the field to the green as J.Comer grabbed the early lead with Dave comer following along with Horton,Park Jones and a fast moving Rob Watson who started 8th.With Justin Comer leading,Dave Comer closed-up the ground and applied pressure.On lap 7,Dave comer grabbed the lead while the pack was racing 3 wide all around.On lap 10,Tyler horton took over second place from Justin Comer as Park Jones moved around als
n lap 14,Jones moved around Tyler to take over second place and closed-up the gap between himself and Dave Comer.Standing changed on lap 18 as the final caution waved as Justin Comer stalled in turn 2 bunching the field-up.On the 2 lap shootout,Park Jones pulled even with Dave Comer as Tyler Horton tried to make it 3 wide.Dave Comer would withstand the late race chalanges as Jones,Tyler Horton,Rob Watson and Chuck Comer completed the top 5.
The MidWest Modz feature saw extra money throughout the entire field and a strong field of cars for this first year class.Point leader Kaleb Copher and Tyler Chainey brought the field to the green as the duo went side by side while Earl Muilenburg and points runner-up JC Newell battled.On lap 2,Rusty Adams spun in turn 4 bringing out the yellow and bunching the field again.On the restart,Copher pulled away as Chainey and Newell went to battle while second generation driver Trever Drake and Lamar Newman were side by side.With Copher in the lead,newell was a solid second as the field was battling.On lap 6,Adams went off turn 2 bunching the field again.On the restart,Drake made a move around Newell to take over second place as Bobby gough who started 7th was on the march forward.While copher was leading,Gough moved around Drake on lap 9 and began to run down the leader.Behind the lead duo,a great race for third involving 5 different cars was going on.Up front Copher took the win with Gough,Drake,Newell and Veteran Earl Muilenburg completing the top 5 as 10 of the 13 starters finished on the lead lap.
Up next at SpringfieldRaceway will be Reliable Chevrolet night featuring a $400 to win SportMod feature event along with action in the Budweiser A-Mods,StreetStocks,SportMods,Legends,MidWest Modz and PureStocks.
American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Results from Springfield Raceway:
www.ascsracing.com
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 22-Dustin Barks, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 88-J. Kinder, 4. 81au-Gavin Punch, 5. 87-Brian McClelland, 6. 81au-Gavin Punch.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 2. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 3. 9m-Jon Corbin, 4. 04-Brad Graham, 5. 17-Kyle Carpenter, 6. 2-Kenneth Walker.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 2. 1-Sean McClelland, 3. 29-Toby Brown, 4. 15s-Nick Smith, 5. 21T-Eric Todd, 6. 21$-Michelle Decker.
"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 22-Dustin Barks, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 5. 15s-Nick Smith, 6. 29-Toby Brown, 7. 87-Brian McClelland, 8. 88-J. Kinder, 9. 75-Tyler Blank, 10. 2-Kenneth Walker, 11. 04-Brad Graham, 12. 21$-Michelle Decker, 13. 17-Kyle Carpenter, 14. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 15. 81au-Gavin Punch, 16. 9m-Jon Corbin, 17. 21T-Eric Todd, 18. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford.
Budweiser A-Mods
A Ft-1)Jackie Dalton-Carthage 2)Mitch Keeter-Webb City 3)Erik Maggard-Springfield 4)Jody Tillman-Branson West 5)Lyle Dietrich-Uraban 6)Brian Green-Pierce City 7)Colson Kirk-Urbana 8)Jerry Lankton-Lampe 9)Kyle Slagle-Joplin 10)Tammy Mitchell-Pea Ridge,Ark. 11)Darrell McWhirter-Bentonville,Ark. 12)Corey Weir-Nixa 13)Tony McCollum-
1st Ht-1)Maggard 2)Kirk 3)Tillman 4)McWhirter 5)Slagle 6)McCollum 7)Weir
2nd Ht-1)Keeter 2)Dalton 3)Green 4)Dietrich 5)Lankton 6)Mitchell
Reliable Chevrolet GM Performance SportMods
A Ft-1)Sean Williams-Willard 2)Gary Rodocker-Willard 3)JC Morton-Springfield 4)Billy Dalton-Reeds 5)Roy Maynard-Alba 6)Bobby Maggard Jr-Republic 7)Wayne Graybeal-Springfield 8)Larry Tindle-Springfield 9)John Yeoman Jr-Granby 10)Eric Tinderholt-Lampe 11)Mike Hailman-Reed Springs 12)Andrew Smith-Willard 13)Ron McClellan-Jasper 14)Blake Ellis-Springfield 15)Nathan Evans-Springfield 16)Mike Barnett-Springfield DNS-Nathan Cottrell-Nixa Ryan Edde-Urbana
1st Ht-1)Williams 2)Morton 3)Maggard Jr 4)Smith 5)Maynard 6)Ellis
2nd Ht-1)Dalton 2)Tindle 3)Graybeal 4)Evans 5)Barnett 6)Hailman
3rd Ht-1)Rodocker 2)Tinderholt 3)Yeoman Jr 4)McClellan 5)Cottrell 6)Edde
Legends
A Ft-1)Dave Comer-Joplin 2)Park Jones-Joplin 3)Tyler Horton-Joplin 4)Rob Watson-Billings 5)Chuck Comer-Joplin 6)Paul Horton-Joplin 7)Gary Hockman-Rolla 8)Justin comer-Joplin 9)Rodney Baird-Oldfield 10)Billy Cottrill-Joplin 11)Colt Pruente-Aurora 12)Brian Boucher-Joplin 13)Larry Prewett-Jerome 14)Rick Nichols-Cassville DNS-David Bauer-Webb City,Jay Reynolds-Springfield
1st Ht-1)T Horton 2)J.Comer 3)Baird 4)P.Horton 5)Watson 6)Nichols 7)Prewett 8)Boucher
2nd Ht-1)D Comer 2)Jones 3)C.Comer 4)Pruente 5)Cottrill 6)Hockman 7)Reynolds 8)Bauer
MidWest Modz
A Ft-1)Kaleb Copher-Webb City 2)Bobby Gough-Joplin 3)Trevor Drake-Webb City 4)JC Newell-Stoutland 5)Earl Muilenburg-Sparta 6)Lamar Newman-Nixa 7)Shawn Hatcher-Reed Springs 8)Tyler Chainey-Springfield 9)Gary Krebs-Clever 10)Dairan Hendrix-Joplin 11)Mark Raymond-Branson 12)Rusty Adams-Springfield 13)Rich Reynolds-Mt Vernon
1st Ht-1)Chainey 2)Muilenburg 3)Hatcher 4)Gough 5)Adams 6)Krebs 7)Raymond
2nd Ht-1)Copher 2)Drake 3)Newell 4)Newman 5)Reynolds 6)Hendrix
The Farmington, MO, shoe did it in impressive style as well, driving past three former ASCS Sooner Region champions over the final half of the race to take top honors in the inaugural edition of the track’s Ozark Empire Nationals.
While Barks started fifth, front row outside starter Sean McClelland outgunned pole starter Joe Wood, Jr., and paced the early rounds ahead of Wood and Andy Shouse on the top side of the ¼-mile clay oval.
With the top three using the top portion of the racetrack, fourth-running Barks began working the low line and was closing in when the race’s only caution flew after ten circuits when Gavin Punch spun to a stop in turn two.
With McClelland continuing to lead the way on the restart, Shouse slid past Wood for second with Barks making his move to the front by disposing of both Wood (the defending series champion) and then Shouse (the 2004 Sooner co-champion) for second by the 15th round.
Barks reeled in McClelland and squeezed underneath exiting turn four on the 20th round to take command. McClelland contested the lead over the next two laps before slowing as his mount began to overheat.
Barks raced on to his first ASCS checkered flag, commenting that, “We had it working good on the bottom, I was just hoping none of those other guys would move down there before I got to ‘em.”
Shouse took the runner-up position in the final rounds, with McClelland holding on to the show position in front of Wood and 12th-starter Nick Smith.
Making his first Sprint Car start in more than a year, Toby Brown posted a solid sixth-place run carrying the No. 29 on his wing in tribute to Travis Rilat, who continues to recover in a Seattle hospital from burns.
Brian McClelland climbed from 14th to seventh, with J. Kinder, Tyler Blank and Kenneth Walker completing the top ten.
Barks, Kyle Bellm and Wood topped heat race action for the event co-sanctioned with the Winged Outlaw Warriors.
In support action the Budweisre A-Mods started off the nights features with high flying high spped action as current point leader Mitch Keeter and Erik Maggard brought the field down to the green flag.Maggard grabbed the opening lead going to the top side with Keeter,4 time track champion Jackie Dalton and second generation driver Colson Kirk following closely.On lap 4,Keeter took advantage of Maggard's small bobble on the backstretch to take the lead as Dalton followed also while Jody Tillman was coming quickly.With the lead trio of Keeter,Dalton and Maggard going three wide ,Tillman and Brian Green began a charge to the front.Keeter was keeping on the top groove while Dalton drove it deep into turn 4.Caution waved on lap 5 for rookie Corey Weir as the field bunched up on the double-file restart.Dalton picked the top groove for his restart position with Maggard going to his inside.On the restart,Keeter wasted no time in moving his car to the top lane while Dalton was swinging very wide as the veteran Maggard kept his car glued down low.On lap 11,Keeter jumped the top cushion in turn 4 as Dalton rocketed from the top lane to the middle to take command as Maggard was moving fast down low.Behind the lead trio,Jody Tillman,Brian Green and a fast moving Lyle Dietrich along with Kirk and Jerry Lankton were battling.On lap 12 the final caution waved as Tammy Mitchell's car came to a stop in turn 4.Dalton brought the field to the final restart as Keeter and Maggard went to battle side by side as Dalton would go on to record his second win of the season while Keeter,Maggard,Tillman and a quick moving Dietrich followed.
Sportmod competition saw points runner-up Sean Williams and GM 602 Crate driver Billy Dalton bring the talented field to the green flag with Williams wasting no time jumping to the lead as Gary Rodocker,Dalton and Crate motor driver JC Morton following.Williams had checked away from the field leaving a nip and tuck battle for second between Rodocker and morton while Bobby Maggard Jr. was moving fast from his 9th starting spot.With Williams in control,Rodocker and Morton went side by side as Maggard and Dalton batled with Eric Tinderholt.Caution waved on lap 11 for Tinderholt as he came to a halt on the backstretch.SpringfieldRaceway point leader Wayne Graybeal ducked into the pits to change a tire during the caution while Both Tinderholt and Graybeal restarted at the rear.On the restart,Williams pulled away while Rodocker made the move around Morton to grab second place while 14th starter Roy Maynard was coming quickly through the field and into the top 5.Up front Williams was trying to keep distance between himself and the field as Rodocker,Morton,Maynard,Dalton,Maggard Jr and a hard chaarging Graybeal were battling.Williams went on to grab the win with Rodocker getting his best finish of the season while Morton,Dalton and Maynard completed the top 5 as Graybeal charged back to finish 7th.Morton grabbed the top Reliable Chevrolet GM Performance honors gathering an extra $150 for the top Crate motor while Dalton and Maynard also gathered in extra money.
The Legends week in and week out put on classic battles at SpringfieldRaceway and Sat night was no different.Point leeader Justin Comer and young gun Tyler Horton brought the field to the green as J.Comer grabbed the early lead with Dave comer following along with Horton,Park Jones and a fast moving Rob Watson who started 8th.With Justin Comer leading,Dave Comer closed-up the ground and applied pressure.On lap 7,Dave comer grabbed the lead while the pack was racing 3 wide all around.On lap 10,Tyler horton took over second place from Justin Comer as Park Jones moved around als
n lap 14,Jones moved around Tyler to take over second place and closed-up the gap between himself and Dave Comer.Standing changed on lap 18 as the final caution waved as Justin Comer stalled in turn 2 bunching the field-up.On the 2 lap shootout,Park Jones pulled even with Dave Comer as Tyler Horton tried to make it 3 wide.Dave Comer would withstand the late race chalanges as Jones,Tyler Horton,Rob Watson and Chuck Comer completed the top 5.The MidWest Modz feature saw extra money throughout the entire field and a strong field of cars for this first year class.Point leader Kaleb Copher and Tyler Chainey brought the field to the green as the duo went side by side while Earl Muilenburg and points runner-up JC Newell battled.On lap 2,Rusty Adams spun in turn 4 bringing out the yellow and bunching the field again.On the restart,Copher pulled away as Chainey and Newell went to battle while second generation driver Trever Drake and Lamar Newman were side by side.With Copher in the lead,newell was a solid second as the field was battling.On lap 6,Adams went off turn 2 bunching the field again.On the restart,Drake made a move around Newell to take over second place as Bobby gough who started 7th was on the march forward.While copher was leading,Gough moved around Drake on lap 9 and began to run down the leader.Behind the lead duo,a great race for third involving 5 different cars was going on.Up front Copher took the win with Gough,Drake,Newell and Veteran Earl Muilenburg completing the top 5 as 10 of the 13 starters finished on the lead lap.
Up next at SpringfieldRaceway will be Reliable Chevrolet night featuring a $400 to win SportMod feature event along with action in the Budweiser A-Mods,StreetStocks,SportMods,Legends,MidWest Modz and PureStocks.
American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Results from Springfield Raceway:
www.ascsracing.com
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 22-Dustin Barks, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 88-J. Kinder, 4. 81au-Gavin Punch, 5. 87-Brian McClelland, 6. 81au-Gavin Punch.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 2. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 3. 9m-Jon Corbin, 4. 04-Brad Graham, 5. 17-Kyle Carpenter, 6. 2-Kenneth Walker.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 2. 1-Sean McClelland, 3. 29-Toby Brown, 4. 15s-Nick Smith, 5. 21T-Eric Todd, 6. 21$-Michelle Decker.
"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 22-Dustin Barks, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 5. 15s-Nick Smith, 6. 29-Toby Brown, 7. 87-Brian McClelland, 8. 88-J. Kinder, 9. 75-Tyler Blank, 10. 2-Kenneth Walker, 11. 04-Brad Graham, 12. 21$-Michelle Decker, 13. 17-Kyle Carpenter, 14. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 15. 81au-Gavin Punch, 16. 9m-Jon Corbin, 17. 21T-Eric Todd, 18. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford.
Budweiser A-Mods
A Ft-1)Jackie Dalton-Carthage 2)Mitch Keeter-Webb City 3)Erik Maggard-Springfield 4)Jody Tillman-Branson West 5)Lyle Dietrich-Uraban 6)Brian Green-Pierce City 7)Colson Kirk-Urbana 8)Jerry Lankton-Lampe 9)Kyle Slagle-Joplin 10)Tammy Mitchell-Pea Ridge,Ark. 11)Darrell McWhirter-Bentonville,Ark. 12)Corey Weir-Nixa 13)Tony McCollum-
1st Ht-1)Maggard 2)Kirk 3)Tillman 4)McWhirter 5)Slagle 6)McCollum 7)Weir
2nd Ht-1)Keeter 2)Dalton 3)Green 4)Dietrich 5)Lankton 6)Mitchell
Reliable Chevrolet GM Performance SportMods
A Ft-1)Sean Williams-Willard 2)Gary Rodocker-Willard 3)JC Morton-Springfield 4)Billy Dalton-Reeds 5)Roy Maynard-Alba 6)Bobby Maggard Jr-Republic 7)Wayne Graybeal-Springfield 8)Larry Tindle-Springfield 9)John Yeoman Jr-Granby 10)Eric Tinderholt-Lampe 11)Mike Hailman-Reed Springs 12)Andrew Smith-Willard 13)Ron McClellan-Jasper 14)Blake Ellis-Springfield 15)Nathan Evans-Springfield 16)Mike Barnett-Springfield DNS-Nathan Cottrell-Nixa Ryan Edde-Urbana
1st Ht-1)Williams 2)Morton 3)Maggard Jr 4)Smith 5)Maynard 6)Ellis
2nd Ht-1)Dalton 2)Tindle 3)Graybeal 4)Evans 5)Barnett 6)Hailman
3rd Ht-1)Rodocker 2)Tinderholt 3)Yeoman Jr 4)McClellan 5)Cottrell 6)Edde
Legends
A Ft-1)Dave Comer-Joplin 2)Park Jones-Joplin 3)Tyler Horton-Joplin 4)Rob Watson-Billings 5)Chuck Comer-Joplin 6)Paul Horton-Joplin 7)Gary Hockman-Rolla 8)Justin comer-Joplin 9)Rodney Baird-Oldfield 10)Billy Cottrill-Joplin 11)Colt Pruente-Aurora 12)Brian Boucher-Joplin 13)Larry Prewett-Jerome 14)Rick Nichols-Cassville DNS-David Bauer-Webb City,Jay Reynolds-Springfield
1st Ht-1)T Horton 2)J.Comer 3)Baird 4)P.Horton 5)Watson 6)Nichols 7)Prewett 8)Boucher
2nd Ht-1)D Comer 2)Jones 3)C.Comer 4)Pruente 5)Cottrill 6)Hockman 7)Reynolds 8)Bauer
MidWest Modz
A Ft-1)Kaleb Copher-Webb City 2)Bobby Gough-Joplin 3)Trevor Drake-Webb City 4)JC Newell-Stoutland 5)Earl Muilenburg-Sparta 6)Lamar Newman-Nixa 7)Shawn Hatcher-Reed Springs 8)Tyler Chainey-Springfield 9)Gary Krebs-Clever 10)Dairan Hendrix-Joplin 11)Mark Raymond-Branson 12)Rusty Adams-Springfield 13)Rich Reynolds-Mt Vernon
1st Ht-1)Chainey 2)Muilenburg 3)Hatcher 4)Gough 5)Adams 6)Krebs 7)Raymond
2nd Ht-1)Copher 2)Drake 3)Newell 4)Newman 5)Reynolds 6)Hendrix
