Looney Escapes Close Call,Captures I-44 Season Opener
Lebanon,Mo.-Republic, Mo Late Model Shoe Brad Looney escaped with a close call in the qualifying heat and used it to his full advantage as he powered to the season opener at the newly laid dirt surface at the Lebanon I-44 Speedway Sat. Night before a large crowd despite very cold weather conditions to put his name in the record books.
Looney, who was challenging for posistion in his heat race,came roaring back to not only win his heat,he used that to start on the front row pole and lead all 20 laps of the Late Model Feature despite several strong challanges from 5 time track champion Ken Essary, and David Ware.
Looney jumped to the early lead with Ware who started on the outside front row heavy in tow for the early stages,until a lap 5 caution came out for Gary Stobla stalled in turn 1.
On the restart, Looney had the challanges of 5 time I-44 Late Model dirttrack champ Ken Essary until Looney pulled away by lap 12 to secure the win.While Looney was gone, the real battle was back in the pack for positions as Ware challanged Essary for positions along with Dustin Mooneyham,and Lebanon's Brandon McCormick swapping spots back and forth until the checkered flew with them finishing in this order. 1988 Dirttrack Late Model Champ Darrell Mooneyham experienced problems while running in the top 10 on lap 5 and pulled in early.
The Modified feature was anything except brotherly love as Eric and Brandon Maggard put on a classic battle for the entire 15 lap feature as they swapped positions for the front spot the entire feature.Brandon whose car was just getting finished up jumped into Bois D'Arc,Mo's Ferrell Moore's 00 Modified and found things to his liking,as he held off brother Eric at the finish line by 1/2 a car length while coming through lapped traffic. Springfield's Mike Watson came charging through to finish in third, followed by Bill Gilliam, and veteran driver Wayne Graybeal who started 18th. Perhaps one of the fastest cars in the feature belonged to Springfield's Eric Lampe who was challenging for a top 5 finish until mechanical problems sent him to the pits. Another driver, Joe Jones from Rolla had a top 5 run going until he found the front stretch wall while going through traffic on lap 13 and in 4th position. Former Dirttrack and Asphalt Modified titlest Jim Hayes was running in the top 5 when mechanical problems sent him to the infield early while running 5th.
The SuperStocks found a great battle between Larry Prewett and Mike Jopin as they swapped the top spot for the first 5 laps until a caution came out for 1988 SuperStock champ Rick Brown's car. Under the caution,something on Prewett's car busted causing him to serve into leader Joplin. Prewett pitted and restarted in the rear as veteran J.C.Newell chased leader Joplin for 2 lap, then Waynesville's Ed Wilson gave chase until lap 8 when Prewett started his charge to the front again and came up about 2 car lengths short.Following these drivers were Newell, Wilson, and Josh Woody.
FactoryStock hotshoe Sean Williams jumped to the lead on lap 1, only to find himself setting in the infield 2 laps later with problems giving the lead and victory to Bois D'Arc driver Tom Gerleve in his 1st ever win, followed closely by Brian Stewart, Lebanon's Quintin Day, Robert Hopkins and Darrin Crisler in the top 5.
The Bomber feature was a rags to riches story as Rolla's Sonny Nicewanner started 16th in the feature after almosr rolling his car in the heat race and came charging through the field to take the lead from Gary Klossner,and Rodney Jones on lap 10 of the 12 lap feature as the lead duo touched and Jone's car ended up rolling over. Klossner,who jumped out to the early lead looked untouchable early,but Nicewanner,and Jones starting reeling in the leader 5 laps later under a caution. On the restart. Klossner,Jones,and Nicewanner were battling hard as Todd Cook was coming from deep in the field through the pack. Following Nicewanner to the line was Scott Symmonds, Cook, early leader Klossner,and 13 year old Mike Maggard.
The Pro-4 feature was a runaway as Karl Jones jumped from his front row starting spot to lead all 12 laps followed up by Ken Jones,and Josh Jones.
Over 85 race teams checked into the pit on the opening night as the track went back to the dirt surface for the first time since 1988. Racing will resume Sat.Night with the gates opening at 5PM,hotlap at 6:40,and action to start at 7:30 with $1000 going to the Late Model Feature winner again this week.
Late Models
1st Heat-Brad Looney-Republic,2)Darrell Mooneyham-Verona,3)Danny Atkinson-Lebanon
2nd Ht-Dave Ware-Springfield,2)-Ken Essary-Cape Fair,3)Brandon McCormick-Lebanon
A Ft-1)Looney,2)Essary,3)Ware,4)Dustin Mooneyham-Aurora,5)McCormick,6)Jim Fulp-Crane,7)Atkinson,8)Tony Jackson Jr.-Lebanon,9)Tim Brown-Stoutland,10)Will Ince-Fordland,11)Gary Stobla-Willow Springs,12)LeRoy Johnson-Brookline,13)Darrell Mooneyham,14)Kris Jackson-Lebanon
Modifieds
1st Ht-Eric Lampe-Springfield,2)Jim Hayes-Crocker,3)Paul Williams-Ozark
2nd Ht-Eric Maggard-Pleasant Hope,2)Mike Riddle-Marshfield,3)Joe Johnson-Rolla
3rd Ht-Brandon Maggard-Willard,2)Jamie Ragland-Lebanon,3)Bill Gilliam-Steeleville
A Ft-1)B.Maggard,2)E.Maggard,3)Mike Watson-Springfield,4)Gilliam,5)Wayne Graybeal-Springfield,6)Eric Hudson-Rolla,7)Jim Webber-Cuba,8)Rustin Miller-Houston,9)John Rathgerber-Cuba,10)Lampe,11)Johnson,12)James Hartman-Camdenton,13)Riddle,14)Hayes
Factory Stocks
1st Ht-Robert Hopkins-Marshfield,2)Brian Stewart-Republic,3)Darrin Crisler-Springfield
2nd Ht-Sean Williams-Willard,2)Tom Gerleve-Bois D'Arc,3)Rick Davis-Rolla
A Ft-Gerleve,2)Stewart,3)Quentin Day-Lebanon,4)Hopkins,5)Crisler,6)Davis,7)Jeff Davenport-Richland,8)Burl Woods-Republic,9)Trent Harrison-Crocker,10)Williams
SuperStocks
1st Ht-Larry Prewett-Jerome,2)Mike Joplin-Springfield,3)Ed Wilson-Waynesville
A Ft-Joplin,2)Prewett,3)J.C.Newell-Camdenton,4)Wilson,5)Josh Woody-Buckhorn,6)Rick Brown-Stoutland,7)Bob Crouse-Springfield
Bombers
1st Ht-Gary Klossner-Rolla,2)Todd Cook-Duke,3)Rodney Jones-Aurora
2nd Ht-Brian Schutt-Lebanon,2)Derrick Peterson-Lebanon,3)Luke Stephens-Stoutland
A Ft-Sonny Nicewaner-Rolla,2)Scott Symmonds-Springfield,3)Cook,4)Klossner,5)Mike Maggard-Springfield,6)Peterson,7)Chad Cromer-Lebanon,8)Jason Beitler-Lebanon,9)Don Watson-St.James,10)Jason Richards-Waynesville,11)Jones,12)Schutt,13)Tracey Hixson-Marshfield,14)Tim Riffle-Phillipsburg
Pro 4's
1st Ht-Karl Jones-Springfield,2)Ken Jones-Rogersville,3)Josh Jones-Springfield
A Ft-Karl Jones,2)Ken Jones,3)Josh Jones,4)Rick Metcalf-Aurora,5)Cameron Smith-Ozark,6)Craig Burgess-Rogersville,7)Lonnie Muhlbauer-Ozark,8)Don Lacey-Ozark,9)Robert Schofield-Ozark
Lebanon,Mo.-Republic, Mo Late Model Shoe Brad Looney escaped with a close call in the qualifying heat and used it to his full advantage as he powered to the season opener at the newly laid dirt surface at the Lebanon I-44 Speedway Sat. Night before a large crowd despite very cold weather conditions to put his name in the record books.
Looney, who was challenging for posistion in his heat race,came roaring back to not only win his heat,he used that to start on the front row pole and lead all 20 laps of the Late Model Feature despite several strong challanges from 5 time track champion Ken Essary, and David Ware.
Looney jumped to the early lead with Ware who started on the outside front row heavy in tow for the early stages,until a lap 5 caution came out for Gary Stobla stalled in turn 1.
On the restart, Looney had the challanges of 5 time I-44 Late Model dirttrack champ Ken Essary until Looney pulled away by lap 12 to secure the win.While Looney was gone, the real battle was back in the pack for positions as Ware challanged Essary for positions along with Dustin Mooneyham,and Lebanon's Brandon McCormick swapping spots back and forth until the checkered flew with them finishing in this order. 1988 Dirttrack Late Model Champ Darrell Mooneyham experienced problems while running in the top 10 on lap 5 and pulled in early.
The Modified feature was anything except brotherly love as Eric and Brandon Maggard put on a classic battle for the entire 15 lap feature as they swapped positions for the front spot the entire feature.Brandon whose car was just getting finished up jumped into Bois D'Arc,Mo's Ferrell Moore's 00 Modified and found things to his liking,as he held off brother Eric at the finish line by 1/2 a car length while coming through lapped traffic. Springfield's Mike Watson came charging through to finish in third, followed by Bill Gilliam, and veteran driver Wayne Graybeal who started 18th. Perhaps one of the fastest cars in the feature belonged to Springfield's Eric Lampe who was challenging for a top 5 finish until mechanical problems sent him to the pits. Another driver, Joe Jones from Rolla had a top 5 run going until he found the front stretch wall while going through traffic on lap 13 and in 4th position. Former Dirttrack and Asphalt Modified titlest Jim Hayes was running in the top 5 when mechanical problems sent him to the infield early while running 5th.
The SuperStocks found a great battle between Larry Prewett and Mike Jopin as they swapped the top spot for the first 5 laps until a caution came out for 1988 SuperStock champ Rick Brown's car. Under the caution,something on Prewett's car busted causing him to serve into leader Joplin. Prewett pitted and restarted in the rear as veteran J.C.Newell chased leader Joplin for 2 lap, then Waynesville's Ed Wilson gave chase until lap 8 when Prewett started his charge to the front again and came up about 2 car lengths short.Following these drivers were Newell, Wilson, and Josh Woody.
FactoryStock hotshoe Sean Williams jumped to the lead on lap 1, only to find himself setting in the infield 2 laps later with problems giving the lead and victory to Bois D'Arc driver Tom Gerleve in his 1st ever win, followed closely by Brian Stewart, Lebanon's Quintin Day, Robert Hopkins and Darrin Crisler in the top 5.
The Bomber feature was a rags to riches story as Rolla's Sonny Nicewanner started 16th in the feature after almosr rolling his car in the heat race and came charging through the field to take the lead from Gary Klossner,and Rodney Jones on lap 10 of the 12 lap feature as the lead duo touched and Jone's car ended up rolling over. Klossner,who jumped out to the early lead looked untouchable early,but Nicewanner,and Jones starting reeling in the leader 5 laps later under a caution. On the restart. Klossner,Jones,and Nicewanner were battling hard as Todd Cook was coming from deep in the field through the pack. Following Nicewanner to the line was Scott Symmonds, Cook, early leader Klossner,and 13 year old Mike Maggard.
The Pro-4 feature was a runaway as Karl Jones jumped from his front row starting spot to lead all 12 laps followed up by Ken Jones,and Josh Jones.
Over 85 race teams checked into the pit on the opening night as the track went back to the dirt surface for the first time since 1988. Racing will resume Sat.Night with the gates opening at 5PM,hotlap at 6:40,and action to start at 7:30 with $1000 going to the Late Model Feature winner again this week.
Late Models
1st Heat-Brad Looney-Republic,2)Darrell Mooneyham-Verona,3)Danny Atkinson-Lebanon
2nd Ht-Dave Ware-Springfield,2)-Ken Essary-Cape Fair,3)Brandon McCormick-Lebanon
A Ft-1)Looney,2)Essary,3)Ware,4)Dustin Mooneyham-Aurora,5)McCormick,6)Jim Fulp-Crane,7)Atkinson,8)Tony Jackson Jr.-Lebanon,9)Tim Brown-Stoutland,10)Will Ince-Fordland,11)Gary Stobla-Willow Springs,12)LeRoy Johnson-Brookline,13)Darrell Mooneyham,14)Kris Jackson-Lebanon
Modifieds
1st Ht-Eric Lampe-Springfield,2)Jim Hayes-Crocker,3)Paul Williams-Ozark
2nd Ht-Eric Maggard-Pleasant Hope,2)Mike Riddle-Marshfield,3)Joe Johnson-Rolla
3rd Ht-Brandon Maggard-Willard,2)Jamie Ragland-Lebanon,3)Bill Gilliam-Steeleville
A Ft-1)B.Maggard,2)E.Maggard,3)Mike Watson-Springfield,4)Gilliam,5)Wayne Graybeal-Springfield,6)Eric Hudson-Rolla,7)Jim Webber-Cuba,8)Rustin Miller-Houston,9)John Rathgerber-Cuba,10)Lampe,11)Johnson,12)James Hartman-Camdenton,13)Riddle,14)Hayes
Factory Stocks
1st Ht-Robert Hopkins-Marshfield,2)Brian Stewart-Republic,3)Darrin Crisler-Springfield
2nd Ht-Sean Williams-Willard,2)Tom Gerleve-Bois D'Arc,3)Rick Davis-Rolla
A Ft-Gerleve,2)Stewart,3)Quentin Day-Lebanon,4)Hopkins,5)Crisler,6)Davis,7)Jeff Davenport-Richland,8)Burl Woods-Republic,9)Trent Harrison-Crocker,10)Williams
SuperStocks
1st Ht-Larry Prewett-Jerome,2)Mike Joplin-Springfield,3)Ed Wilson-Waynesville
A Ft-Joplin,2)Prewett,3)J.C.Newell-Camdenton,4)Wilson,5)Josh Woody-Buckhorn,6)Rick Brown-Stoutland,7)Bob Crouse-Springfield
Bombers
1st Ht-Gary Klossner-Rolla,2)Todd Cook-Duke,3)Rodney Jones-Aurora
2nd Ht-Brian Schutt-Lebanon,2)Derrick Peterson-Lebanon,3)Luke Stephens-Stoutland
A Ft-Sonny Nicewaner-Rolla,2)Scott Symmonds-Springfield,3)Cook,4)Klossner,5)Mike Maggard-Springfield,6)Peterson,7)Chad Cromer-Lebanon,8)Jason Beitler-Lebanon,9)Don Watson-St.James,10)Jason Richards-Waynesville,11)Jones,12)Schutt,13)Tracey Hixson-Marshfield,14)Tim Riffle-Phillipsburg
Pro 4's
1st Ht-Karl Jones-Springfield,2)Ken Jones-Rogersville,3)Josh Jones-Springfield
A Ft-Karl Jones,2)Ken Jones,3)Josh Jones,4)Rick Metcalf-Aurora,5)Cameron Smith-Ozark,6)Craig Burgess-Rogersville,7)Lonnie Muhlbauer-Ozark,8)Don Lacey-Ozark,9)Robert Schofield-Ozark
