Austin Alumbuagh - ASCS Photo
Kelly Boen - Lloyd Collins Photo
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Sam Stoecklin
MSFS Public Relations
Sedalia, MO
August 22, 2010
The 2010 season has come to a close at the Missouri State Fair Speedway. At the end of the night, two more elated drivers added their name to the sacred list of winners at the ‘Historic Half Mile’ by besting the field in their respective divisions and earning the crown of Missouri State Fair Champion! The pumped up fans in the Pepsi Grandstands witnessed the Winged Outlaw Warrior 360 Sprint Cars compete in three heat races and a 20-lap main event along with the Lucas Oil MLRA Super Late Models taking to the track for three heats, one b-main and the 25-lap main event. It was a hot and clear late August evening when things got underway at 6 p.m. as the state fair wound down for another year.
Race night action was brought to the fans and drivers by AAA Insurance during both fair races this year and their support and presence at both events this was a refreshing sight as the #77 AAA Sprint Cup car was on display for the fans just outside the grandstand area. During the intermission break, Cowboy Kenny Bertram, Jason Russell, and a group of aerial flyers on motocross bikes thrilled the crowd with jumps, back flips, and daredevil action with the crowd roaring their approval for the riders’ extreme riding.
For the three WoW heat races, Rusty Potter of Boonville, Austin Alumbaugh of Higginsville, and Randy Martin of California claimed the wins in the eight-car, eight-lap races to set the stage for the twenty-lap main event. Alumbaugh earned the coveted pole position for the 360s with Martin claiming the outside row. Cody Baker and Brian Brown started the race in row two with Sedalia driver Jonathan Cornell and Potter making up the third row. Alumbaugh quickly showed his muscle and set the bar high for the rest of the competition as he blazed around the half mile track with Martin falling in behind the leader for second just in front of Brown in third. Drivers searched for their preferred grooves all around the track both high and low as the first five laps quickly went by, until a yellow flag on lap six waved over the field for the stalled car of Taylor Walton on the front stretch. At the same time, third-running Brown clipped the front of his car while running way down on the low side out of turn two and causing major damage to his machine. Brown tried to make his way back to the Midland Sports Cards pit area on his own but ultimately had to be towed into the infield to make repairs. WoW officials quickly put Brown on the clock, in which he had two minutes to make repairs before the field went back to racing. Brown’s crew were quick on the punch and managed to get Brown back out with 45 seconds to spare.
As the race resumed, Alumbaugh again stepped out to a quarter straightaway lead over second-running Martin and Cornell, who had moved to third from his fifth starting position. Running inside the top three was a difficult task for another driver as Martin, like his rival Brian Brown, found himself in trouble on the back chute with a stalled car by lap ten with the caution again waving over the field. Although Martin’s crew was able to get a reprieve after the caution flew, only to be followed immediately by another quick caution period, he did make it back out onto the track but quickly pulled back in, unable to continue the race. The series’ all-time winning driver was scored in twenty-second place at race end.
At the halfway point, Alumbaugh now had Cornell to deal with in order to claim the win. As the field again settled into a nice race rhythm, Brown quickly gained positions after restarting at the tail after his spin and was in the top ten again by lap fourteen. Lap-after-lap Alumbaugh mastered his way through the lapped traffic to keep Sedalia’s Cornell behind him. Three-fourths of the way through the race, sixteen year old Cody Baker was in the mix having a great run in the third position with R.J. Johnson of Tampa, Florida securely running in fourth and WoW point leader Eric Todd fifth. On lap eighteen, Cornell had one last chance to try and maneuver his way through traffic but it was not to be as the ‘Man of Steel’ from Higginsville, Austin Alumbaugh, was just too strong. It was Austin’s second WoW win of the year and first since way back on May 29th at 24 Raceway in Moberly, MO. Cornell had a great run to second place from fifth, Baker’s youth and exuberance brought him home to a solid third-place run with Johnson holding strong in fourth, Todd fifth and Kansas City’s Jon Corbin advancing from his eleventh starting position to take sixth. Visit the official Winged Outlaw Warriors official website at www.wowsprints.homestead.com.
For the Lucas Oil MLRA, the three heat winners were David Turner of Adrian and a pair of Omaha, Nebraska drivers, John Anderson Joe Kosiski. The b-main win went to Brandon McCormick of Lebanon. Twenty-two drivers started the twenty-five lap feature event for the MLRA with Kelly Boen claiming the pole position with Turner to his outside. A lap one, turn one four car incident involving Dave Eckrich, Kevin Gundaker, Chris Smyser and Jason O’Brien forced the field to realign for another attempt at starting the race, but it was not to be as one more yellow flew on the start before the third time was the charm to get the race underway. It was evident early on that someone would have to record the run of their lives to beat Boen, who quickly left the rest of the field behind him battling for second position.
Turner and Kosiski ran close for second and third position until Kosiski left the speedway on lap five. The field of drivers kicked into a nice race rhythm until the caution again waved at the start of lap nine for Smyser. With the field realigned, it was still Boen in control and new second-place man John Anderson in second with Turner third and former point leader Brad Looney in fourth. The remainder of the race ran caution free with some hard-fought battles for third through seventh position involving Turner, Looney, six-time champion Al Purkey, Randy McGraw of Marshall, and Bill Koons.
At the lap fifteen point of the 25-lap race Anderson tried to find a way to catch Boen but he could not reel the leader in as Boen’s quick pace allowed him to begin lapping cars on lap eighteen. Fifteenth-starting Brandon McCormick made his way into the top ten by midway and went on to finish in ninth in the event. Boen continued to build his lead and ultimately ran away with the win with Anderson settling for second. David Turner, a former winner this year at the speedway came away with a great run to third, followed by Looney, Purkey, McGraw, Koons, and a rebounding Joe Kosiski in eighth position. In victory lane, Boen thanked promoters Reid Millard and Jason Bodenhamer for the dedication in trying to return racing to the half mile this season. Purkey was able to increase his point lead after the event as he sets his sights on a seventh MLRA title. Additional may be found on MLRA’s official website at www.mlraracing.com.
For more information regarding the Missouri State Fair Speedway, point your browser to www.missouristatefairspeedway.com. Stay tuned to the site for future announcements regarding the speedway and plans for the future. The speedway sincerely thanks our Corporate and Business Partners for 2010: Aflac, Ditzfield Transfer, W-K Chevrolet, Rick Ball Ford, Subway, Don’s Towing, Greg Smith Ford, Show Me Asphalt, Kiowa Line Builders, Diamond Pet Foods, Mid MO Auto Sales, i-land Internet Service, Pepsi, Midland Sports Cards, Budweiser, Specialty Sports Wear, Advanced Image Systems, Miller Lite, Impact Sign and Lighting, All Star Bail Bonds, Hunt’s Communication w/Dish Network, Missouri Army National Guard, Michael Ross Foundation, Hoosier Tires, Sunoco, KRCG TV 13, Millard Family Chapels, Bodee’s Race Bodies, Bill Sharp’s BBQ, Goody’s Steak Burgers, and South 65 Sonic.
Winged Outlaw Warriors (WoW) Results
1) 33 Austin Alumbaugh, 2) 28 Jonathan Cornell, 3) 9m Cody Baker, 4) 71 R.J. Johnson, 5) 21t Eric Todd, 6) 44 Jon Corbin, 7) 21b Brian Brown, 8) 88 J. Kinder, 9) 165 Haley Arnold, 10) 24 Lanny Carpenter, 11) 4 Evan Martin, 12) 04 Brad Graham, 13) 75 Tyler Blank, 14) 72 Curtis Boyer, 15) 5m Miranda Arnold, 16) 9c Tony Crank, 17) 48 David Brown, 18) 65 T.J. Muths, 19) 3p Rusty Potter, 20) 11c Dakota Carroll, 21) 12c Faron Crank, 22) 14 Randy Martin, 23) 93 Taylor Walton, 24) 43 Frank Brown
Lucas Oil MLRA Results
1) 07 Kelly Boen 2) 2 John Anderson, 3) 15t David Turner, 4) 14 Brad Looney 5) 33 Al Purkey, 6) 25 Randy McGraw, 7) 29 Bill Koons, 8) 53 Joe Kosiski, 9) 42 Brandon McCormick, 10) 1s Jack Sullivan, 11) 7 J.D. Hubert, 12) 15b Jason O’Brien, 13) 58 Dave Eckrich, 14) 56 Chris Spieker, 15) 5j Matt Johnson, 16) 77a Justin Asplin, 17) 2 Dustin Vance, 18) 4w Dustin Walker, 19) Y8 Shorty Acker, 20) 90 Joe Walkenhorst, 21) 25s Chris Smyser, 22) 14 Kevin Gundaker
