By Bob Johnson
DOE RUN, MO--(April 11, 2003) Casey Barnhouse proved he hasn't forgotten what it takes to get to victory lane at Doe Run Raceway.
Farmington's Matt Dotson put his #32 out in front early and seemed to be well on the way to his first feature win in the 600cc Multi class until getting caught up in lap traffic and losing the front runner spot to Barnhouse. Barnhouse had picked up the white flag signaling one more lap and was setting his sights on the checkered when the 26c of Paul Cain jumped the berm coming out of turn four and flipped several times down the front straight infield. Cain was uninjured in the incident and retired his car to the pit area. At the restart, Barnhouse jumped out in front continuing his march to the checkered, completing his triple crown for the night and first for the 2003 season. Rounding out the top five were Dotson, Tyler Robbins, Jeremy Boyer and Junior Ferguson.
Dotson won the first heat with Robbins second and David Chilton third. Timmy Moss followed Barnhouse across the line in the second heat, with Jimmy "Tank" Bridgeman taking the third spot. Dotson was second in the dash with Moss third.
The Dwarf car class is once again being featured at the raceway this season and if opening night was any indication, this class will prove to be real crowd pleaser. 2002 points champion Todd Williams was back in his #98 and showed the fans exactly why he was the champion, winning both his heat and the feature. Vince Conway finished second to Williams in the feature event, Steve Copeland third, Sam Layton fourth and Glenn Province fifth. Layton was second to Williams in the first heat, Dom Wadlow third. Steve Copeland visited victory lane in the second heat after holding off the charge of Vince Conway with Ron Wadlow third.
Michael Harp was the star of the Super Stock class, winning both his heat and the feature. Harp started the race from the front row and led from green to checkered. Dalton Radford had a good run, finishing second both events with Wayne Arnold picking up two third place finishes.
Several new faces were on hand for the Stock Kart class but it was Braydon Wright's night to shine. 2002 champion Brad Paquet finished in the second spot, Wayne Arnold third, Jesse Wright fourth and Andrew Cash fifth. Arnold was first to the checkers in the heat race, Braydon Wright second and Cash third.
The mini stock class had good, close racing all evening with the #25 Eric Bellew holding off the charge of Ronnie Moser for the victory in the feature event with 2002 champion Carl Bellew Jr. finishing third. Moser was the winner of the heat race, Eric Bellew second and Carl Bellew Jr. third.
Greg Price was on hand at the raceway to give the fans a preview of the new class of cars for the 2003 season, the Pro-Mod class. Pro-Mods are equipped with four cylinder engines and bodies resembling Late Models and Modified race cars. Price tagged on the back of the mini stock races just to let the crowd see what the cars could do. "I didn't want to interfere with the racers, so I just hung back and stayed out of their way," said Price of the exhibition. "This class is going to be a lot of fun. I drove a mini stock last year and had a blast and these cars have 3 times the power of those."
Racing will resume this Friday night with all classes participating. Gates open at 6:00 p.m., practice at 7:30 p.m., racing at 8:00 p.m. For more information, log on to www.doerunraceway.com or phone (573) 756-8889.
DOE RUN, MO--(April 11, 2003) Casey Barnhouse proved he hasn't forgotten what it takes to get to victory lane at Doe Run Raceway.
Farmington's Matt Dotson put his #32 out in front early and seemed to be well on the way to his first feature win in the 600cc Multi class until getting caught up in lap traffic and losing the front runner spot to Barnhouse. Barnhouse had picked up the white flag signaling one more lap and was setting his sights on the checkered when the 26c of Paul Cain jumped the berm coming out of turn four and flipped several times down the front straight infield. Cain was uninjured in the incident and retired his car to the pit area. At the restart, Barnhouse jumped out in front continuing his march to the checkered, completing his triple crown for the night and first for the 2003 season. Rounding out the top five were Dotson, Tyler Robbins, Jeremy Boyer and Junior Ferguson.
Dotson won the first heat with Robbins second and David Chilton third. Timmy Moss followed Barnhouse across the line in the second heat, with Jimmy "Tank" Bridgeman taking the third spot. Dotson was second in the dash with Moss third.
The Dwarf car class is once again being featured at the raceway this season and if opening night was any indication, this class will prove to be real crowd pleaser. 2002 points champion Todd Williams was back in his #98 and showed the fans exactly why he was the champion, winning both his heat and the feature. Vince Conway finished second to Williams in the feature event, Steve Copeland third, Sam Layton fourth and Glenn Province fifth. Layton was second to Williams in the first heat, Dom Wadlow third. Steve Copeland visited victory lane in the second heat after holding off the charge of Vince Conway with Ron Wadlow third.
Michael Harp was the star of the Super Stock class, winning both his heat and the feature. Harp started the race from the front row and led from green to checkered. Dalton Radford had a good run, finishing second both events with Wayne Arnold picking up two third place finishes.
Several new faces were on hand for the Stock Kart class but it was Braydon Wright's night to shine. 2002 champion Brad Paquet finished in the second spot, Wayne Arnold third, Jesse Wright fourth and Andrew Cash fifth. Arnold was first to the checkers in the heat race, Braydon Wright second and Cash third.
The mini stock class had good, close racing all evening with the #25 Eric Bellew holding off the charge of Ronnie Moser for the victory in the feature event with 2002 champion Carl Bellew Jr. finishing third. Moser was the winner of the heat race, Eric Bellew second and Carl Bellew Jr. third.
Greg Price was on hand at the raceway to give the fans a preview of the new class of cars for the 2003 season, the Pro-Mod class. Pro-Mods are equipped with four cylinder engines and bodies resembling Late Models and Modified race cars. Price tagged on the back of the mini stock races just to let the crowd see what the cars could do. "I didn't want to interfere with the racers, so I just hung back and stayed out of their way," said Price of the exhibition. "This class is going to be a lot of fun. I drove a mini stock last year and had a blast and these cars have 3 times the power of those."
Racing will resume this Friday night with all classes participating. Gates open at 6:00 p.m., practice at 7:30 p.m., racing at 8:00 p.m. For more information, log on to www.doerunraceway.com or phone (573) 756-8889.
