LEXINGTON, KY (6/3/07) - Hailing from Winfield, TN, Mike Marlar has always been known as the "Winfield Warrior", however after his performance in the 2007 Kentucky Speedway, his new nickname might be "Mr. Consistency". Marlar racked up five top 5 finishes in six races to win the weeklong points battle and has netted himself a guaranteed starting spot in the 25th Annual North/South 100 on August 10th and 11th.
The week began at the Portsmouth Raceway Park where 53 entries signed into the pits. Second generation driver and famed chassis builder Audie Swartz grabbed his biggest career win in the Owen "Junior" Stephens Memorial. The following night, the Tour rolled into Bluegrass Speedway where Don O'Neal would best 41 other competitors to become to first repeat winner of the season in the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series. Then on Tuesday night at Richmond Raceway, defending Kentucky Speedweek Champion Greg Johnson would pick up his first win of the season.
After taking Wednesday off, the Speedweek visited Lake Cumberland Speedway for an action-packed night of racing which saw Josh McGuire continue his recent hot streak and notch the win. After Lake Cumberland, the Speedweek Tour went to the Ponderosa Speedway where Brad Neat would edge Marlar in the highly-entertaining Hugh "Junebug" Rowland Memorial. The final night of the Kentucky Speedweek would be at the King Family's Florence Speedway. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned the $10,000-to-win event where Steve Casebolt would cash his biggest career paycheck.
Marlar's consistency was hard to overcome as the driver of the Stephens Motorsports #34 finished 7th or better in every Speedweek event, including four runner-up finishes. By virtue of winning the 2nd Annual Kentucky Speedweek, the Winfield, TN native got his choice of $2500 or a guaranteed starting spot in the $50,000-to-win/$2500-to-start North/South 100 at Florence Speedway on August 10th and 11th.
"Well, I haven't talked to the car owners yet, but I think I want that starting spot," an excited Marlar said after finishing 2nd in the Speedweek finale at Florence. "We just ran really, really well here, so I think we've got a good shot in the North-South. I wanna make sure we're in that race, so I'm pretty sure we're going to take the guaranteed starting position."
Finishing second in the 2007 Kentucky Speedweek was Ashland, KY's Josh McGuire. McGuire picked up his first ever O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series win in the Thursday show at Lake Cumberland while grabbing the runner-up spot in the previous night's race at Richmond. McGuire received $1200 for his second place finish in the Kentucky Speedweek.
"This was a fun week for us and we even got some TV time," laughed McGuire after his 13th place finish at Florence. "We didn't run as well as we would have liked at Bardstown, but I was real happy with our results the rest of the week."
Only Marlar and McGuire made the A-Main in all six of the Kentucky Speedweek events.
Stanford, KY's Victor Lee finished third in the Kentucky Speedweek's final point standings, narrowly edging out Campbellsville, KY's Jason Keltner. Tyrel Todd of Eubank, KY rounded out the top five in the final Kentucky Speedweek points standings.
KENTUCKY SPEEDWEEK NOTES:
* Mike Marlar and Josh McGuire were the only two drivers to make the feature all six nights
* Tyrel Todd was PPM Performance Hard Charger of the Race the first three nights. Todd advanced 12 spots at Portsmouth, 15 spots at Bluegrass, and 15 spots at Richmond
* Don O'Neal's victory at Bluegrass made is the first repeat winner of the year with the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series
* The O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series has now had 10 different winners in 11 races this season
* O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series Rookie of the Year candidate Jason Keltner was consistent all week, finishing in the top 10 in the first five events
* 130 different drivers from 15 different states competed in the 2007 Kentucky Speedweek
KENTUCKY
SPEEDWEEK QUOTES:
"This was a fun week, and we even got some TV time!" - Josh McGuire, after the Speedweek finale at Florence Speedway
"Well, I haven't talked to the car owners yet, but I think I want that (North/South 100) starting spot." - Mike Marlar, after winning the 2007 Kentucky Speedweek Championship
"I had a lot of fun out there. The fans saw a good show tonight." - Steve Casebolt, after winning the Speedweek finale at Florence Speedway
"We really needed that bad." - Bobby Wolter Jr., after a top five finish at Lake Cumberland Speedway
"Mr. Stephens meant a lot to me, and that's why this (win) right here means a lot to me." - Audie Swartz, after winning the Owen "Junior" Stephens Memorial at Portsmouth Raceway Park
"That's not what I wanted." - Brad Neat, after drawing an "Invert 4" for the heats at Bluegrass Speedway
"We helped Victor change that tire, and then he went out and beat us for third in the Speedweek points!" - Jason Keltner, said jokingly after he and his crew helped Victor Lee change a tire in the B-Main at Florence Speedway
"If we could just qualify a little better, we might actually win one of these things." - Tyrel Todd after his third straight night of being the Hard Charger
KENTUCKY SPEEDWEEK RESULTS:
5/27/07 - PORTSMOUTH RACEWAY PARK: Audie Swartz, Eddie Carrier Jr., Jackie Boggs, Delmas Conley, Josh McGuire, Shannon Thornsberry, Mike Marlar, Nick Bocook, Greg Johnson, Jason Keltner, Tyrel Todd, Kevin Wagner, Tim Tungate, Marty O'Neal, Jerry Rice, David Webb, Justin Rattliff, Rick Combs, Victor Lee, Michael Chilton, Bobby Wolter Jr., Chris Combs, RJ Conley, Mark Frazier
5/28/07 - BLUEGRASS SPEEDWAY: Don O'Neal, Mike Marlar, Jimmy Owens, Tyrel Todd, Scott James, Victor Lee, Tim Tungate, Michael England, Jason Keltner, Jerry Rice, Dustin Neat, Bryan Barber, Terry English, Josh McGuire, Brad Neat, Mike Jewell, Rick Combs, Johnny Wheeler, Jordan Bland, Rick Corbin, Chris Combs, Joey Daniel, Justin Rattliff
5/29/07 - RICHMOND RACEWAY: Greg Johnson, Josh McGuire, Tyrel Todd, Victor Lee, Mike Marlar, Randy Weaver, Jason Keltner, Scott James, Justin Rattliff, Jesse Lay, Jerry Rice, Mike Jewell, Bobby Carrier Jr., Tim Tungate, GR Smith, Chris Combs, Johnny Wheeler, Marty Stepp, Brandon Witt, Bobby Wolter Jr., Dennis Roberson, Bryan Barber, Aaron Hatton, Michael Chilton
5/31/07 - LAKE CUMBERLAND SPEEDWAY: Josh McGuire, Mike Marlar, Justin Rattliff, Victor Lee, Bobby Wolter Jr., Tim Tungate, Michael Chilton, Danny McGlothlin, Larry Gray, Jason Keltner, Brandon Hardgrove, Tommy Bailey, Brandon Fouts, Tyrel Todd, Chris Combs, Jerry Rice, Doug Smith, Dan Deaton, Kelly Warren, David Webb, Randy Ridner, Greg Johnson
6/1/07 - PONDEROSA SPEEDWAY: Brad Neat, Mike Marlar, Victor Lee, David Webb, Jason Keltner, Johnny Wheeler, Tyrel Todd, Donald Rayborn, Tim Tungate, Jerry Rice, Mike Jewell, Jesse Lay, Michael Chilton, Josh McGuire, Bobby Wolter, Jr., Aaron Hatton, Buzz Williams, Tommy Carlton, Justin Rattliff, Bobby Carrier, Jr., Damon Eller, Doug Smith, Dustin Neat, Bryan Barber
6/2/07 - FLORENCE SPEEDWAY: Steve Casebolt, Mike Marlar, Don O'Neal, Jimmy Mars, Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Bart Hartman, Wendell Wallace, Rod Conley, Ray Cook, Audie McWilliams, Scott James, Josh McGuire, Brad Neat, Earl Pearson, Jr., Robby Hensley, Damon Eller, Steve Landrum, Freddy Smith, Dan Schlieper, Terry English, Steve Shaver, Dale McDowell, Jesse Lay, Matt Miller
Final 2007 Kentucky Speedweek Points
1. 34 Mike Marlar - 1396
2. 41 Josh McGuire - 1230
3. 4 Victor Lee - 1111
4. 0 Jason Keltner - 1107
5. 14 Tyrel Todd - 968
6. 16 Justin Rattliff - 964
7. 11 Jerry Rice - 947
8. 18 Tim Tungate - 943
9. 11 Bobby Wolter Jr. - 751
10. 97 Michael Chilton - 739
-Dustin Jarrett - O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass PR (djarrett@battleofthebluegrass.com)
The week began at the Portsmouth Raceway Park where 53 entries signed into the pits. Second generation driver and famed chassis builder Audie Swartz grabbed his biggest career win in the Owen "Junior" Stephens Memorial. The following night, the Tour rolled into Bluegrass Speedway where Don O'Neal would best 41 other competitors to become to first repeat winner of the season in the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series. Then on Tuesday night at Richmond Raceway, defending Kentucky Speedweek Champion Greg Johnson would pick up his first win of the season.
After taking Wednesday off, the Speedweek visited Lake Cumberland Speedway for an action-packed night of racing which saw Josh McGuire continue his recent hot streak and notch the win. After Lake Cumberland, the Speedweek Tour went to the Ponderosa Speedway where Brad Neat would edge Marlar in the highly-entertaining Hugh "Junebug" Rowland Memorial. The final night of the Kentucky Speedweek would be at the King Family's Florence Speedway. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned the $10,000-to-win event where Steve Casebolt would cash his biggest career paycheck.
Marlar's consistency was hard to overcome as the driver of the Stephens Motorsports #34 finished 7th or better in every Speedweek event, including four runner-up finishes. By virtue of winning the 2nd Annual Kentucky Speedweek, the Winfield, TN native got his choice of $2500 or a guaranteed starting spot in the $50,000-to-win/$2500-to-start North/South 100 at Florence Speedway on August 10th and 11th.
"Well, I haven't talked to the car owners yet, but I think I want that starting spot," an excited Marlar said after finishing 2nd in the Speedweek finale at Florence. "We just ran really, really well here, so I think we've got a good shot in the North-South. I wanna make sure we're in that race, so I'm pretty sure we're going to take the guaranteed starting position."
Finishing second in the 2007 Kentucky Speedweek was Ashland, KY's Josh McGuire. McGuire picked up his first ever O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series win in the Thursday show at Lake Cumberland while grabbing the runner-up spot in the previous night's race at Richmond. McGuire received $1200 for his second place finish in the Kentucky Speedweek.
"This was a fun week for us and we even got some TV time," laughed McGuire after his 13th place finish at Florence. "We didn't run as well as we would have liked at Bardstown, but I was real happy with our results the rest of the week."
Only Marlar and McGuire made the A-Main in all six of the Kentucky Speedweek events.
Stanford, KY's Victor Lee finished third in the Kentucky Speedweek's final point standings, narrowly edging out Campbellsville, KY's Jason Keltner. Tyrel Todd of Eubank, KY rounded out the top five in the final Kentucky Speedweek points standings.
KENTUCKY SPEEDWEEK NOTES:
* Mike Marlar and Josh McGuire were the only two drivers to make the feature all six nights
* Tyrel Todd was PPM Performance Hard Charger of the Race the first three nights. Todd advanced 12 spots at Portsmouth, 15 spots at Bluegrass, and 15 spots at Richmond
* Don O'Neal's victory at Bluegrass made is the first repeat winner of the year with the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series
* The O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series has now had 10 different winners in 11 races this season
* O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series Rookie of the Year candidate Jason Keltner was consistent all week, finishing in the top 10 in the first five events
* 130 different drivers from 15 different states competed in the 2007 Kentucky Speedweek
KENTUCKY
SPEEDWEEK QUOTES:
"This was a fun week, and we even got some TV time!" - Josh McGuire, after the Speedweek finale at Florence Speedway
"Well, I haven't talked to the car owners yet, but I think I want that (North/South 100) starting spot." - Mike Marlar, after winning the 2007 Kentucky Speedweek Championship
"I had a lot of fun out there. The fans saw a good show tonight." - Steve Casebolt, after winning the Speedweek finale at Florence Speedway
"We really needed that bad." - Bobby Wolter Jr., after a top five finish at Lake Cumberland Speedway
"Mr. Stephens meant a lot to me, and that's why this (win) right here means a lot to me." - Audie Swartz, after winning the Owen "Junior" Stephens Memorial at Portsmouth Raceway Park
"That's not what I wanted." - Brad Neat, after drawing an "Invert 4" for the heats at Bluegrass Speedway
"We helped Victor change that tire, and then he went out and beat us for third in the Speedweek points!" - Jason Keltner, said jokingly after he and his crew helped Victor Lee change a tire in the B-Main at Florence Speedway
"If we could just qualify a little better, we might actually win one of these things." - Tyrel Todd after his third straight night of being the Hard Charger
KENTUCKY SPEEDWEEK RESULTS:
5/27/07 - PORTSMOUTH RACEWAY PARK: Audie Swartz, Eddie Carrier Jr., Jackie Boggs, Delmas Conley, Josh McGuire, Shannon Thornsberry, Mike Marlar, Nick Bocook, Greg Johnson, Jason Keltner, Tyrel Todd, Kevin Wagner, Tim Tungate, Marty O'Neal, Jerry Rice, David Webb, Justin Rattliff, Rick Combs, Victor Lee, Michael Chilton, Bobby Wolter Jr., Chris Combs, RJ Conley, Mark Frazier
5/28/07 - BLUEGRASS SPEEDWAY: Don O'Neal, Mike Marlar, Jimmy Owens, Tyrel Todd, Scott James, Victor Lee, Tim Tungate, Michael England, Jason Keltner, Jerry Rice, Dustin Neat, Bryan Barber, Terry English, Josh McGuire, Brad Neat, Mike Jewell, Rick Combs, Johnny Wheeler, Jordan Bland, Rick Corbin, Chris Combs, Joey Daniel, Justin Rattliff
5/29/07 - RICHMOND RACEWAY: Greg Johnson, Josh McGuire, Tyrel Todd, Victor Lee, Mike Marlar, Randy Weaver, Jason Keltner, Scott James, Justin Rattliff, Jesse Lay, Jerry Rice, Mike Jewell, Bobby Carrier Jr., Tim Tungate, GR Smith, Chris Combs, Johnny Wheeler, Marty Stepp, Brandon Witt, Bobby Wolter Jr., Dennis Roberson, Bryan Barber, Aaron Hatton, Michael Chilton
5/31/07 - LAKE CUMBERLAND SPEEDWAY: Josh McGuire, Mike Marlar, Justin Rattliff, Victor Lee, Bobby Wolter Jr., Tim Tungate, Michael Chilton, Danny McGlothlin, Larry Gray, Jason Keltner, Brandon Hardgrove, Tommy Bailey, Brandon Fouts, Tyrel Todd, Chris Combs, Jerry Rice, Doug Smith, Dan Deaton, Kelly Warren, David Webb, Randy Ridner, Greg Johnson
6/1/07 - PONDEROSA SPEEDWAY: Brad Neat, Mike Marlar, Victor Lee, David Webb, Jason Keltner, Johnny Wheeler, Tyrel Todd, Donald Rayborn, Tim Tungate, Jerry Rice, Mike Jewell, Jesse Lay, Michael Chilton, Josh McGuire, Bobby Wolter, Jr., Aaron Hatton, Buzz Williams, Tommy Carlton, Justin Rattliff, Bobby Carrier, Jr., Damon Eller, Doug Smith, Dustin Neat, Bryan Barber
6/2/07 - FLORENCE SPEEDWAY: Steve Casebolt, Mike Marlar, Don O'Neal, Jimmy Mars, Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Bart Hartman, Wendell Wallace, Rod Conley, Ray Cook, Audie McWilliams, Scott James, Josh McGuire, Brad Neat, Earl Pearson, Jr., Robby Hensley, Damon Eller, Steve Landrum, Freddy Smith, Dan Schlieper, Terry English, Steve Shaver, Dale McDowell, Jesse Lay, Matt Miller
Final 2007 Kentucky Speedweek Points
1. 34 Mike Marlar - 1396
2. 41 Josh McGuire - 1230
3. 4 Victor Lee - 1111
4. 0 Jason Keltner - 1107
5. 14 Tyrel Todd - 968
6. 16 Justin Rattliff - 964
7. 11 Jerry Rice - 947
8. 18 Tim Tungate - 943
9. 11 Bobby Wolter Jr. - 751
10. 97 Michael Chilton - 739
-Dustin Jarrett - O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass PR (djarrett@battleofthebluegrass.com)
