By J M Hallas
Ft. Worth, Tx.,(Sept 17, 2011) It was a long, but record breaking day of sorts, as the US National Dirt Track Championships finally got underway in what would prove to be a marathon, not a short sprint. After suffering a total rain out on Friday night, the 4/10 mile, semi-banked, clay oval opened early for it's first ever 'daily double' of racing. The propsed Friday night portion would be run early enough in the day to give drivers, crews and cars a short break before completing the champion events in basically the normal fashion, albeit a little later start than planned.
John Whittington(Vidor) became the first ever person to sweep both the Modified and Limited Modified A-qualifiers on the same and looked to be a good bet to repeat the feat in the evening portion. At times during the nights finals it looked like Whittington might complete his quest, but Troy Taylor and Clyde Dunn jr. had their own ideas.
Moore Makes Most of Sitton Miscue for SUPR Late Model Win
Haughton, La's Ray Moore became the first person to back up his, US National Dirt Track Championship win in the 40-lap SUPR Late Model A-main. Moore, who started back in row five, worked his way forward in the early stages chasing down Kevin Sitton for the lead in traffic. Sitton had trouble with a lapped car that saw him take an off road excursion through the infield just past halfway. This gave Moore the opening to get out front and take advantage of his tire conservation. Moore was then able to motor away to full straightaway margin over Sitton as the checkers waved.
The 21-car SUPR Late Model feature got off to a rocky start with Sitton jumping out front, but Loni Richardson and Chris Holley tangled to quickly bring the yellow out. The second try saw Sitton get the point coming off turn 2 pursued by Wendall Bolden, Jason Ingalls, Timothy Culp, Eric Turner and Morgan Bagley. Ingalls got by Bolden for second with Culp on top going by for third.
Culp then ducked to the bottom to go under Ingalls for second, while Turner worked the low side to move up to third. Yellow waved on lap 6 when Holley found the wall in turn 2. Sitton jumped out on green with Moore making a big charge up to third. Sitton, Culp and Moore began to break away by lap 109 as Rob Litton and Robbie Starnes grabbed fourth and fifth.
The top three were still out from the pack coming to halfway with Sitton, Culp, Moore, Starnes and Litton in the top five. Moore used traffic to get by Culp for second and close on Sitton. Sitton got hung up with az lapped car sending him through the infield giving up the top spot to Moore on lap 22. Once clear Moore quickly began stretching out an advantage.
Moore caught heavy traffic with five tom go still holding a comfortable margin over Sitton and Culp, who had a gap back to Starnes and Litton. Neither Sitton or Culp could capitalize on traffic to gain on Moore who cleared still holding a safe lead. At the checkers it was Moore in the Moore Wireline, Tools International, J&J Motorsports, Smith Towing, Extreme Graphics, Jay Dickens Race Engines, Mars Race Cars crossing the line with no challengers in site.
"It was a lot of hard work tonight," commented Moore. "We had to start in the back of our heat race and the track was kind of one groove so I didn't get the passing points I needed to start further up in the main. Starting in the fifth riow I had my work cut out for me. I honestly didn't think we'd be able to get up through there. I love this place. I wish we would come here moire often. It's real fun to race on."
"I think I had something for Kevin(Sitton) even before he got hung up with a lapped. I watched him and Culp up there battling. It was early in the race and I mwas just trying to save my tires. When I saw him get tangled up with that lapped car I went full speed ahead. Once I got the lead I went all out the rest of the way."
"There were a lot of good cars in front of me and I thought the track woulkd be pretty top down, and around the ciushion and not sure how much passing we cou;ld do. Luckily the cushion blew off and I was a ble to get down to the bottom and pass some cars."
"I made a good move on that one restart. I prefered to be on the outside since I noticed the bottom was bottling up. I was glad to get out there on that restart and bailed off in there as hard as I could, get by some cars, then back to the bottom. It worked out to our favor."
"We run the spec motor with the big blade. The times we;ve been here and tried an open motor the track has been real slick. Tonight it was definitely slick and it worked out. The bigger motors are harder to control on this type track. It's a lot easier to drive a small motored car and the bigger spoiler and less weight break help a lot."
SUPR Late Models A-main
93 Ray Moore, Haughton, La., 20 Kevin Sitton, Baytown, C8 Timothy Culp, West Monroe, La., 77 Robbie Starnes, Baytown, 6x Rob Litton, Alexandria, La., 33x Eric Turner, Hermatige, Mo., F5 Chad Dupont, Shreveport, La, 75 Patrik Daniel, Wills Point, 71a Allen Tippen, Minden, La, 1F Brett Frazier, Haughton, La, 14m Morgan Bagley, Longview, 33c Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla., 11c Jeff Chandler, Minden, La., 10p Jody Prince, Sibley, La., R5 BJ Robinson, Shreveport, La., 8 Mike Palasini, Lelano, Miss, 87m Jason Ingalls, Hallsville, 84 Skip O'Neal, Midlothian, 28b Wendall Bolden, Greenville, 0 Loni Richardson, Povis, 28 Chris Holley, Dayton
SUPR Late Model Last Chance Qualifiers(Top 2 to A-main)
LCQ 1; 84 Skip O'Neal, 11c Jeff Chandler, 14z Zach McMillan, 14R Jeff Roth, 12 Johnny Philpot jr, 26r Randy Roth , 89 Kevin Ray, 74s Josh Sliney, ZZ Sloppy Hogg
LCQ 2; 28 Chris Holley, 8 Mike Palasini, 10p Jody Prince, 97 Eric Neal, 316 Mike Ruckles, 02 Charles Armstrong jr, M1 Justin McNeil, 83 Charles Armstrong, 31 Gary Lowe
SUPR Heats(Top 16 in passing points to A-main)
Heat 1; 14m Morgan Bagley, 20 Kevin Sitton, F5 Chad Dupont, 0 Loni Richardson, 12 Johnny Philpot jr., 33c Gary Christian, 11c Jeff Chandler, 97 Eric Neal, 316 Mike Ruckles, 74s Josh Sliney, ZZ Sloppy Hogg, M1 Justin McNeil
Heat 2; 87m Jason Ingalls, C8 Timothy Culp, 93 Ray Moore, 71a Allen Tippen, 10p Jody Prince, 75 Patrik Daniel, 28 Chris Holley, 14r Jeff Roth, 89 Kevin Ray, 83 Charles Armstrong, 02x Charles Armstrong jr.
Heat 3; 33x Eric Turner, 6x Rob Litton, 1F Brett Frazier, 28b Wendall Bolden, 77 Robbie Starnes, 8 Mike Palasini, R5 BJ Robinson, 84 Skip O'Neal, 14z Zach McMillan, 31 Gary Lowe, 26r Randy Roth
Dunn Dashes to second TMS Checkers
Clyde Dunn jr.(Sunnyvale) showed pure dominance in the 40-lap Modified main event for the US National Dirt Track Championship. Dunn used a front row starting to go wire to wire on his way to the second TMS Dirt Track victory. Being chased at the start by Tyler Townsend, Dunn had built a half straightaway edge over Chris Henigan and Shane Hebert. While Hebert, Henigan and Randy Timms slugged it out for the runner-up spot, Dunn was able to power away in the latter stages despite occasionally jumping the cushion and slapping the wall. Dunn's first TMS trip to Victory Lane came in 2003 after taking a qualifying feature.
Using the high side, Dunn quickly jumped out front at the start of the 26-car Modified championship finale trailed by Townsend and Henigan with Hebert side by side with Bobby Malchus. Henigan got by Townsend on lap 2, with Hebert getting past Malchus for fourth. Dunn began stretching out his lead, as Whittington made his way into the top five. Whittington then picked off fourth from Hebert.
Continuing to march forward, Whittington got around Townsend, who popped the wall and fell back to fifth. Dunn had a full straight lead while Whittington began searching the bottom on Henigan. Steve Whiteaker jr. brought out a yellow on lap 12 when he lost a motor and rolled to a stop. On the restart Henigan retook second, as Randy Timms made a run up into thetop five.
At the crossed flags it was Dunn, by a half straightaway, Henigan, Hebert, Timms and Whittington holding the top five spots. Yellow waved again on lap 25 when Danny Caldwell found the turn 4 wall. On green Henigan tried low on Dunn giving way to Hebert. Hebert tried a slide job on Dunn, but came out short and fell back in line. Dunn then edged ahead of Hebert, Henigan and Timms, who had a margin to Whittington, Townsend and Ronnie Sigman.
Timms was finally able to secure third, with Whittington still holding off the pack for fifth. Sigman briefly snuck past Whittington for a top five spot, but gave it back as the race wound down. Up front it was "Lil Freaky" Dunn still on the gas, still banging the walls, but increasing his margin on Henigan while the white was waving. Dunn cruised to the $3000 payday in the Dunn Motorsports, Young Chevrolet, Hooters, Smileys Racing Products, Integra Shocks, VP Racing Fuels, Mullins Race Engines, Hughes Racing Chassis.
"I was just flat-footing it on the cushion," replied Dunn. "We had a long weekend, made longer by the rain and racing all day today. We made some changes to the car for the feature earlier today. We left it alone for tonight and it came around to me. The motor started laying down late in the race so I was looking to see if anyone was closing. I bounced it off the walls a couple times missing my marks."
"We won a qualifying race up here in my second year of racing. That's the closest we've come to a big win here and this is my biggest win. I usually just try to run my own race, hit my marks and not worry about who's coming. It's better if I just stay focused and get the job done."
"This track is different. It's just bad fast all the way around. You have to drive around this place for sure. We mainly change the gears, the bar angles and maybe a shock to run here versus our other local tracks. Not a whole lot though. When you've got a good racecar you don't need to do much. Jason(Hughes) gives us a good car and Chad Mullins has lots of horsepower and gets the job done."
"We've run some of the south series USMTS races and I was leading in rookie points at one time. But I have a daytime job so we just can't travel all the time. I'd like to be able to race for a living, but I work for everydat for my father and go when I can."
Modified A-main
88xxx Clyde Dunn jr., Sunnyvale, 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla., 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La., 511 John Whittington, Vidor, 1s Ronnie Sigman, Crandall, 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, 12T Tyler Townsend, Longview, 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, 18 Tim Clonch, Quinlan, 8j Dustin Hyde, Texarkana, 12 Corey Babbitt, Channelview, 75 Allen Sharpensteen, Amarillo, 01 Colby Smith, Greenville, 121 Bobby Ruffin, Crandall, 14x Josh Landers, Princeton, ps3 Brandon McElroy, N. Richland Hills, 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, 87 Justin McCoy, Ovilla, 81B Cody Simpson, Quinlan, D11 David Hennan, Wichita Falls, 17jr Tyler Wood, Lobelville, Tenn., 10 Brian Parker, Collinsville, Okla., 81 Danny Caldwell, Princeton, 89 Steve Whiteaker jr. Corpus Christi, 41j Monte Bolton, Lubbock
Modified Dash; 12T Tyler Townsend, 88xxx Clyde Dunn jr., 9 Shane Hebert, 16 Chris Henigan, 24 Sean Jones, 4m Bobby Malchus, 5w John Whittington, 41j Monte Bolton
Modified B-mains(Top 4 to A-main)
B-main 1; 12 Corey Babbitt, 87 Justin McCoy, 121 Bobby Ruffin, 14x Josh Landers, 56 Troy Taylor, 60 William Gould, 45T Eric Tomlinson, 34 CA Nix, 84 Tom Lorenz, 90 Tommy Fain, 124 Dennie Gieber, 13g Jeremy Green, 5x Danny Veal, 10x Jeremy Ishmael, 57k Kell King, 2s Jeff Standifer, 21c Chris Cole, 41m Steve McMackin, 3 Sam Cox, 15 Jarad Hudson, 60x David Gould, 14m Wade Moyer, c22 Grant Box---DNS, 114 Kelly Lockley---DNS, 410 Brad Doherty---DNS
B-main 2; 01 Colby Smith, 5t Randy Timms, 18 Tim Clonch, 1s Ronnie Sigman, 14 Tristan Dycus, L1 Larry Clevenger, D11 David Hennan, 66 Greg Burt, 19t Tony Osborn, 78 Billy Jack Brutchin, 17p Travis Penrod, 91 Craig Oakes, C1 Eoin Dunn, 3A Chris Armstrong, 17 Randy Martin, 8 Chase Allen, 29 James Savering, 011 Dee Williams, 2 Brandon Stewart, 76n Nicholas Littlejohn, 76 Jeff Rowland
B-main 3; 10 Brian Parker, 81 Danny Caldwell, 18s Cody Smith, 81B Cody Simpson, 25d Donnie Shipp, 51 Micah Thompson, 71 Philip Houston, 34 Mickey Lassiter, 7s AJ Sharpensteen, 17jr Tyler Wood, 955 Robert Metz, 65 Erik Miles, 129 Brian Vollmar, 1* Jason Troutman, 23 Chris Elliott, 18j Dustin Johnson, 39 Rick McCommas---DNS, 33x Brad Pannell---DNS, 15B Thomas Blackwell---DNS
B-main 4; 89 Steve Whiteaker jr., 8j Dustin Hyde, 75 Alan Sharpensteen, ps3 Brandon McElroy, 20 Robbie McCain, 6x Dillon Pike, 18m Wayne Melton, 9k Shane Killingsworth, 7 Rick Lovelady, 55H Buddy Honaker, 74j Jasen Hammond, 85 Thomas Tillison jr , 33 Thomas Nunley, 88 Shawn Gammage, 32 Doug Byrns, 4 Bud Reed, c27 Chase DelReo, 05 Steve Orebaugh, 68 Brandon Watson, 02 Gary Colbin---DNS, 172 Charles Brewer---DNS, 737 Robin Martin---DNS, 54 Dena Wilson---DNS
Modifieds A -qualifier(Top 8 locked in for A-main)
5w John Whittington, 16 Chris Henigan, 24 Sean Jones, 88xxx Clyde Dunn jr., 12T Tyler Townsend, 41j Monte Bolton, 9 Shane Hebert, 4m Bobby Malchus, 12 Corey Babbitt, 5t Randy Timms, 81 Danny Cladwell, 89 Steve Whiteaker jr, 87 Justin McCoy, 01 Colby Smith, 10 Brian Parker, 8j Dustin Hyde, 90 Tommy Fain, 14 Tristan Dycus, 81b Cody Simpson, ps3 Brandon McElroy, A1 Duke Whiseant, 410 Brad Doherty, 18s Cody Smith
Taylor Tops Again in Limited Modified Main
Once again Fort Worth's Troy Taylor made himself 'right at home' grabbing his third TMS Dirt Track Championship feature event. Taylor got out front early but fell back through the middle stages on the 30-lap main. Despite still recovering from a shop injury, Taylor was able to muscle up, make the best of the high side, and run down John Whittington for the lead.
As the white flag waved Whittington and Taylor were wheel to wheel. Taylor got the advantage off turn 2, then held it through turns 3/4 to edge out Whittington for the $2000 payday in the Ameritech Pest Control, Tru-Color Refinishing, D&D Auto Parts, PFC Steering Components, Eibach Springs, Swenson Racing Shocks, Wells Racing Engines, Smileys Racing Chassis.
As green waved on the 26-car Limited Modified field, Taylor was first into turn 1, with Whittington, Steve Whiteaker jr. and Shane Hebert three wide for second. Randy Timms joined the group getting by Whiteaker for third on lap 1. Whittington pressured Taylor for the point and using the low groove got by on lap 3, while Whiteaker retook the position from Timms.
Casey Penn brought out yellow on lap 4 when he looped it in turn 4. Taylor tried challenging for the lead back, but gave up spots to Hebert and Whiteaker. Taylor snagged back third from Whiteaker, with Timms moving back to fourth. Edward Oakes closed in on Whiteaker and Timms in the fight for fourth. Coming to halfway Whittington and Hebert were easing away from Taylor, Whiteaker and Timms rounding out the top five.
Hebert caught Whittington in traffic and was looking for way by on the bottom. That challenged slowed when Paul White and Kameron Campbell went around in betweens turns 3-4 for a lap 21 caution. As the top three got away on green, Whiteaker, Timms and E. Oakes were nearly three abreast for fourth. With five to go it looked like Whittington would take his first step in the double, double dip as he inched away from Hebert and Taylor.
Whiteaker's top five run ended when went around coming off turn 2 for a yellow on lap 25. Once back to green, Hebert held on to Whittingtons bumper on the bottom, while Taylor looked up top. As the lead duo battled, Taylor crept up on both getting along side and by Hebert on lap 27. Using the high side momentum Taylor got side by side with Whittington on the final lap. Taylor powered off turn 2 with the lead, then fended off a return charge by Whittington at the checkers.
"To pull this thing off the way my car was is really unbelievable," exclaimed Taylor a three time TMS winner. "Any win at this place in not 'just anoyther win.' This is my favorire race of the year. It's like racing against Tony Stewart or those guys on the big track. This is a great place to race and I love this facility. I call this my home track, though I live south of here. So I'm going to call this, 'my house' until someone comes along and takes it away."
"My car really wasn't the way I like it, I just kept working packing the top in under cauition. Other guys were up there trying to cool their tire, I guess, but were really helping me and make my part of the track better. Was haviong trouble with my brakes all weekend and having to pump them up, too. I really have to thank my crew for the all the hard work they put into getting ready for this weekend, and of course my wife for putting up with me."
"We fell a little short in the Modified. It's the same car we won with here two years ago. We just started working on this car three or four weeks ago. We cut all the rear suspension off of it to update it and never got a chance to test it. I guess we should have left it alone, but we're getting there."
"We had a couple of offers to run a Late Model up here and try to sweep all three classes. It's just never been the right timing to do a deal like that. Someday maybe."
Limited Modified A-main
56 Troy Taylor, Ft. Worth, 511 John Whittington, Vidor, 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La., 26 Dean Abbey, Camanche, 41g Randy Timms, Wheatland, La., 10 Brian Parker, Collinsville, Okla., 53 Edward Oakes, Jonesville, 77x Garrett Gregory, Tomball, 2w Paul White, Temple, 103 JC Howell, Mabank, 90 Dustin Butcher, Corpus Christi, 19x Randy Seals, Humble, 1T Jason Troutman, Sunnyville, 8g Devin Gerrior, Owasso, Okla., 39w Jimmy Staats, Edgewood, 5 Mike Martin, Magnolia, 88 Doug Easterling, Rule, 3 Chris Linares, Duke, Okla., 5* Casey Penn, Shreveport, La., 7m Danny Morris, Ada, Okla., 78 Kamron Campbell, Breaux Bridge, La., 89c Steve Whiteaker jr., Corpus Christi, 151 Adam Perks, El Campo, 24x John Lieta, Inez, 18t Terry Osborn, Oklahoma City, Okla., 15w Dennie Gieber, Jacksonville
Limited Mod Dash; 56 Troy Taylor, 9 Shane Hebert, 89c Steve Whiteaker jr, 41g Randy Timms, 511 John Whittington, 53 Edward Oakes, 26 Dean Abbey, 24xx John Lieta
Limited Modified B-mains(Top 4 to A-main)
B-main 1; 5 Mike Martin, 77x Garrett Gregory, 7m Danny Morris, 3 Chris Linares, 188 RJ Stroman, 33 Pepper Kuykendall, 22w Johnny Walton, 81 Levy Galmor, 148 Justion Blackburn, 1H Cullen Hill, 38 Matt Mueller, 08 Sean Glennon, 5s Gary Cox, 39 Chad Cambron, 71k Cody Smith, 19 Randy Seals, 711 Michael Daniels, 48 Bradley Poor, 121 Johnnie Rauschenberg, 84 Tom Lorenz, 49 Chris Cleveland---DNS, 4 Bo Day---DNS, 8H Mark Hogue---DNS, 012 Robbie Sanders---DNS, 12x Kyle Stevens---DNS, 9E Kinzer Edwards---DNS, 26m Jay McClanahan---DNS
B-main 2 ; 15w Dennie Gieber, 103 JC Howell, 2w Paul White, 151 Adam Perks, 3j Newton Barta, 10d Don Painter, 58 Sid Kiphen, 83 Monty Nichols III, 177 Tommy Fain, 13j James McCreery, 14x Barry Hornbeck, 14 Michael Newhard, 91 Ryan Watkins, 211 Chad Fitzgerald, 00 Brad Shirley, 99f Gary Fritchin, mc20 Bobby McGehee, 8g Devin Gerrior , 4x Robby Minten, 95 Smiley Welborn, 24x Steve Miller, 20 Ronnie Welborn, 75 Kyle Nelson, 10g Mike Goodson
B-main 3; 39w Jimmy Staats, 90 Dustin Butcher, 10 Brian Parker, 88 Doug Easterling, m69 Derick Grigsby, 24 Jake Upchurch, 18 Tim Clonch, 8 Jason Tiner, 82 Craig Oakes, 188 Derek Rashall, 72 Russell White, 71w Bart Wilcox, 47w Andy Wojtaszczyk, 955 Robert Metz, 1w Walter Hamilton, 42 Randy Kirkland, 9D Ray Doyon III, D25 David Tanner, 02 Dillon Burk, 39x Dusty Lout, 748 Donnie Blackburn, 23g Glen Gordy---DNS, 8c Skip O'Neal---DNS, 89d Michael Darby---DNS, 21k Mickey Night---DNS, 97 Buck Buchanan---DNS, 4g Jason Gaston---DNS
B-main 4; 78 Kamron Campbell, 5* Casey Penn, 18T Terry Osborn, 1T Jason Troutman, 1* Adam Penn, 99 Kristi Byrd, 21 David Cobb, M1 Ken Miller, 63 Shane Hoefling, 23w Jamie Wright, 4p Eddie Prator, 19b Phillip Bagley, 76 Archie Whitt, 11 Jeff Allgayer, 87 Johnny Brazell, 771 Jerry Karkrider, 86 Paul Vines, 222t Chris Bulthron, 77 Tyler Fain, 31 Michael Martin, 46 Ray Brown, F16 Jesse Freeman, 09 Robert Elloit
Limited Modifieds A-qualifier(Top 8 locked in to A-main)
511 John Whittington, 89c Steve Whiteaker jr, 9 Shane Hebert, 26 Dean Abbey, 53 Edward Oakes, 41g Randy Timms', 24xx John Lieta, 56 Troy Taylor, 77x Garrett Gregory, 151 Adam Perks, 90 Dustin Butcher, 78 Kamron Campbell, 48 Bradley Poor, 75 Kyle Nelson, 10 Brian Parker, 18t Terry Osborn, 711 Michael Daniels, 10g Mike Goodson, 39 Jimmy Staats, v8 Robert Vetter, 19x Randy Seals, 15w Dennie Gieber, 88 Doug Easterling, 94 Sean Jones---DNS
Ft. Worth, Tx.,(Sept 17, 2011) It was a long, but record breaking day of sorts, as the US National Dirt Track Championships finally got underway in what would prove to be a marathon, not a short sprint. After suffering a total rain out on Friday night, the 4/10 mile, semi-banked, clay oval opened early for it's first ever 'daily double' of racing. The propsed Friday night portion would be run early enough in the day to give drivers, crews and cars a short break before completing the champion events in basically the normal fashion, albeit a little later start than planned.
John Whittington(Vidor) became the first ever person to sweep both the Modified and Limited Modified A-qualifiers on the same and looked to be a good bet to repeat the feat in the evening portion. At times during the nights finals it looked like Whittington might complete his quest, but Troy Taylor and Clyde Dunn jr. had their own ideas.
Moore Makes Most of Sitton Miscue for SUPR Late Model Win
Haughton, La's Ray Moore became the first person to back up his, US National Dirt Track Championship win in the 40-lap SUPR Late Model A-main. Moore, who started back in row five, worked his way forward in the early stages chasing down Kevin Sitton for the lead in traffic. Sitton had trouble with a lapped car that saw him take an off road excursion through the infield just past halfway. This gave Moore the opening to get out front and take advantage of his tire conservation. Moore was then able to motor away to full straightaway margin over Sitton as the checkers waved.
The 21-car SUPR Late Model feature got off to a rocky start with Sitton jumping out front, but Loni Richardson and Chris Holley tangled to quickly bring the yellow out. The second try saw Sitton get the point coming off turn 2 pursued by Wendall Bolden, Jason Ingalls, Timothy Culp, Eric Turner and Morgan Bagley. Ingalls got by Bolden for second with Culp on top going by for third.
Culp then ducked to the bottom to go under Ingalls for second, while Turner worked the low side to move up to third. Yellow waved on lap 6 when Holley found the wall in turn 2. Sitton jumped out on green with Moore making a big charge up to third. Sitton, Culp and Moore began to break away by lap 109 as Rob Litton and Robbie Starnes grabbed fourth and fifth.
The top three were still out from the pack coming to halfway with Sitton, Culp, Moore, Starnes and Litton in the top five. Moore used traffic to get by Culp for second and close on Sitton. Sitton got hung up with az lapped car sending him through the infield giving up the top spot to Moore on lap 22. Once clear Moore quickly began stretching out an advantage.
Moore caught heavy traffic with five tom go still holding a comfortable margin over Sitton and Culp, who had a gap back to Starnes and Litton. Neither Sitton or Culp could capitalize on traffic to gain on Moore who cleared still holding a safe lead. At the checkers it was Moore in the Moore Wireline, Tools International, J&J Motorsports, Smith Towing, Extreme Graphics, Jay Dickens Race Engines, Mars Race Cars crossing the line with no challengers in site.
"It was a lot of hard work tonight," commented Moore. "We had to start in the back of our heat race and the track was kind of one groove so I didn't get the passing points I needed to start further up in the main. Starting in the fifth riow I had my work cut out for me. I honestly didn't think we'd be able to get up through there. I love this place. I wish we would come here moire often. It's real fun to race on."
"I think I had something for Kevin(Sitton) even before he got hung up with a lapped. I watched him and Culp up there battling. It was early in the race and I mwas just trying to save my tires. When I saw him get tangled up with that lapped car I went full speed ahead. Once I got the lead I went all out the rest of the way."
"There were a lot of good cars in front of me and I thought the track woulkd be pretty top down, and around the ciushion and not sure how much passing we cou;ld do. Luckily the cushion blew off and I was a ble to get down to the bottom and pass some cars."
"I made a good move on that one restart. I prefered to be on the outside since I noticed the bottom was bottling up. I was glad to get out there on that restart and bailed off in there as hard as I could, get by some cars, then back to the bottom. It worked out to our favor."
"We run the spec motor with the big blade. The times we;ve been here and tried an open motor the track has been real slick. Tonight it was definitely slick and it worked out. The bigger motors are harder to control on this type track. It's a lot easier to drive a small motored car and the bigger spoiler and less weight break help a lot."
SUPR Late Models A-main
93 Ray Moore, Haughton, La., 20 Kevin Sitton, Baytown, C8 Timothy Culp, West Monroe, La., 77 Robbie Starnes, Baytown, 6x Rob Litton, Alexandria, La., 33x Eric Turner, Hermatige, Mo., F5 Chad Dupont, Shreveport, La, 75 Patrik Daniel, Wills Point, 71a Allen Tippen, Minden, La, 1F Brett Frazier, Haughton, La, 14m Morgan Bagley, Longview, 33c Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla., 11c Jeff Chandler, Minden, La., 10p Jody Prince, Sibley, La., R5 BJ Robinson, Shreveport, La., 8 Mike Palasini, Lelano, Miss, 87m Jason Ingalls, Hallsville, 84 Skip O'Neal, Midlothian, 28b Wendall Bolden, Greenville, 0 Loni Richardson, Povis, 28 Chris Holley, Dayton
SUPR Late Model Last Chance Qualifiers(Top 2 to A-main)
LCQ 1; 84 Skip O'Neal, 11c Jeff Chandler, 14z Zach McMillan, 14R Jeff Roth, 12 Johnny Philpot jr, 26r Randy Roth , 89 Kevin Ray, 74s Josh Sliney, ZZ Sloppy Hogg
LCQ 2; 28 Chris Holley, 8 Mike Palasini, 10p Jody Prince, 97 Eric Neal, 316 Mike Ruckles, 02 Charles Armstrong jr, M1 Justin McNeil, 83 Charles Armstrong, 31 Gary Lowe
SUPR Heats(Top 16 in passing points to A-main)
Heat 1; 14m Morgan Bagley, 20 Kevin Sitton, F5 Chad Dupont, 0 Loni Richardson, 12 Johnny Philpot jr., 33c Gary Christian, 11c Jeff Chandler, 97 Eric Neal, 316 Mike Ruckles, 74s Josh Sliney, ZZ Sloppy Hogg, M1 Justin McNeil
Heat 2; 87m Jason Ingalls, C8 Timothy Culp, 93 Ray Moore, 71a Allen Tippen, 10p Jody Prince, 75 Patrik Daniel, 28 Chris Holley, 14r Jeff Roth, 89 Kevin Ray, 83 Charles Armstrong, 02x Charles Armstrong jr.
Heat 3; 33x Eric Turner, 6x Rob Litton, 1F Brett Frazier, 28b Wendall Bolden, 77 Robbie Starnes, 8 Mike Palasini, R5 BJ Robinson, 84 Skip O'Neal, 14z Zach McMillan, 31 Gary Lowe, 26r Randy Roth
Dunn Dashes to second TMS Checkers
Clyde Dunn jr.(Sunnyvale) showed pure dominance in the 40-lap Modified main event for the US National Dirt Track Championship. Dunn used a front row starting to go wire to wire on his way to the second TMS Dirt Track victory. Being chased at the start by Tyler Townsend, Dunn had built a half straightaway edge over Chris Henigan and Shane Hebert. While Hebert, Henigan and Randy Timms slugged it out for the runner-up spot, Dunn was able to power away in the latter stages despite occasionally jumping the cushion and slapping the wall. Dunn's first TMS trip to Victory Lane came in 2003 after taking a qualifying feature.
Using the high side, Dunn quickly jumped out front at the start of the 26-car Modified championship finale trailed by Townsend and Henigan with Hebert side by side with Bobby Malchus. Henigan got by Townsend on lap 2, with Hebert getting past Malchus for fourth. Dunn began stretching out his lead, as Whittington made his way into the top five. Whittington then picked off fourth from Hebert.
Continuing to march forward, Whittington got around Townsend, who popped the wall and fell back to fifth. Dunn had a full straight lead while Whittington began searching the bottom on Henigan. Steve Whiteaker jr. brought out a yellow on lap 12 when he lost a motor and rolled to a stop. On the restart Henigan retook second, as Randy Timms made a run up into thetop five.
At the crossed flags it was Dunn, by a half straightaway, Henigan, Hebert, Timms and Whittington holding the top five spots. Yellow waved again on lap 25 when Danny Caldwell found the turn 4 wall. On green Henigan tried low on Dunn giving way to Hebert. Hebert tried a slide job on Dunn, but came out short and fell back in line. Dunn then edged ahead of Hebert, Henigan and Timms, who had a margin to Whittington, Townsend and Ronnie Sigman.
Timms was finally able to secure third, with Whittington still holding off the pack for fifth. Sigman briefly snuck past Whittington for a top five spot, but gave it back as the race wound down. Up front it was "Lil Freaky" Dunn still on the gas, still banging the walls, but increasing his margin on Henigan while the white was waving. Dunn cruised to the $3000 payday in the Dunn Motorsports, Young Chevrolet, Hooters, Smileys Racing Products, Integra Shocks, VP Racing Fuels, Mullins Race Engines, Hughes Racing Chassis.
"I was just flat-footing it on the cushion," replied Dunn. "We had a long weekend, made longer by the rain and racing all day today. We made some changes to the car for the feature earlier today. We left it alone for tonight and it came around to me. The motor started laying down late in the race so I was looking to see if anyone was closing. I bounced it off the walls a couple times missing my marks."
"We won a qualifying race up here in my second year of racing. That's the closest we've come to a big win here and this is my biggest win. I usually just try to run my own race, hit my marks and not worry about who's coming. It's better if I just stay focused and get the job done."
"This track is different. It's just bad fast all the way around. You have to drive around this place for sure. We mainly change the gears, the bar angles and maybe a shock to run here versus our other local tracks. Not a whole lot though. When you've got a good racecar you don't need to do much. Jason(Hughes) gives us a good car and Chad Mullins has lots of horsepower and gets the job done."
"We've run some of the south series USMTS races and I was leading in rookie points at one time. But I have a daytime job so we just can't travel all the time. I'd like to be able to race for a living, but I work for everydat for my father and go when I can."
Modified A-main
88xxx Clyde Dunn jr., Sunnyvale, 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla., 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La., 511 John Whittington, Vidor, 1s Ronnie Sigman, Crandall, 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, 12T Tyler Townsend, Longview, 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, 18 Tim Clonch, Quinlan, 8j Dustin Hyde, Texarkana, 12 Corey Babbitt, Channelview, 75 Allen Sharpensteen, Amarillo, 01 Colby Smith, Greenville, 121 Bobby Ruffin, Crandall, 14x Josh Landers, Princeton, ps3 Brandon McElroy, N. Richland Hills, 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, 87 Justin McCoy, Ovilla, 81B Cody Simpson, Quinlan, D11 David Hennan, Wichita Falls, 17jr Tyler Wood, Lobelville, Tenn., 10 Brian Parker, Collinsville, Okla., 81 Danny Caldwell, Princeton, 89 Steve Whiteaker jr. Corpus Christi, 41j Monte Bolton, Lubbock
Modified Dash; 12T Tyler Townsend, 88xxx Clyde Dunn jr., 9 Shane Hebert, 16 Chris Henigan, 24 Sean Jones, 4m Bobby Malchus, 5w John Whittington, 41j Monte Bolton
Modified B-mains(Top 4 to A-main)
B-main 1; 12 Corey Babbitt, 87 Justin McCoy, 121 Bobby Ruffin, 14x Josh Landers, 56 Troy Taylor, 60 William Gould, 45T Eric Tomlinson, 34 CA Nix, 84 Tom Lorenz, 90 Tommy Fain, 124 Dennie Gieber, 13g Jeremy Green, 5x Danny Veal, 10x Jeremy Ishmael, 57k Kell King, 2s Jeff Standifer, 21c Chris Cole, 41m Steve McMackin, 3 Sam Cox, 15 Jarad Hudson, 60x David Gould, 14m Wade Moyer, c22 Grant Box---DNS, 114 Kelly Lockley---DNS, 410 Brad Doherty---DNS
B-main 2; 01 Colby Smith, 5t Randy Timms, 18 Tim Clonch, 1s Ronnie Sigman, 14 Tristan Dycus, L1 Larry Clevenger, D11 David Hennan, 66 Greg Burt, 19t Tony Osborn, 78 Billy Jack Brutchin, 17p Travis Penrod, 91 Craig Oakes, C1 Eoin Dunn, 3A Chris Armstrong, 17 Randy Martin, 8 Chase Allen, 29 James Savering, 011 Dee Williams, 2 Brandon Stewart, 76n Nicholas Littlejohn, 76 Jeff Rowland
B-main 3; 10 Brian Parker, 81 Danny Caldwell, 18s Cody Smith, 81B Cody Simpson, 25d Donnie Shipp, 51 Micah Thompson, 71 Philip Houston, 34 Mickey Lassiter, 7s AJ Sharpensteen, 17jr Tyler Wood, 955 Robert Metz, 65 Erik Miles, 129 Brian Vollmar, 1* Jason Troutman, 23 Chris Elliott, 18j Dustin Johnson, 39 Rick McCommas---DNS, 33x Brad Pannell---DNS, 15B Thomas Blackwell---DNS
B-main 4; 89 Steve Whiteaker jr., 8j Dustin Hyde, 75 Alan Sharpensteen, ps3 Brandon McElroy, 20 Robbie McCain, 6x Dillon Pike, 18m Wayne Melton, 9k Shane Killingsworth, 7 Rick Lovelady, 55H Buddy Honaker, 74j Jasen Hammond, 85 Thomas Tillison jr , 33 Thomas Nunley, 88 Shawn Gammage, 32 Doug Byrns, 4 Bud Reed, c27 Chase DelReo, 05 Steve Orebaugh, 68 Brandon Watson, 02 Gary Colbin---DNS, 172 Charles Brewer---DNS, 737 Robin Martin---DNS, 54 Dena Wilson---DNS
Modifieds A -qualifier(Top 8 locked in for A-main)
5w John Whittington, 16 Chris Henigan, 24 Sean Jones, 88xxx Clyde Dunn jr., 12T Tyler Townsend, 41j Monte Bolton, 9 Shane Hebert, 4m Bobby Malchus, 12 Corey Babbitt, 5t Randy Timms, 81 Danny Cladwell, 89 Steve Whiteaker jr, 87 Justin McCoy, 01 Colby Smith, 10 Brian Parker, 8j Dustin Hyde, 90 Tommy Fain, 14 Tristan Dycus, 81b Cody Simpson, ps3 Brandon McElroy, A1 Duke Whiseant, 410 Brad Doherty, 18s Cody Smith
Taylor Tops Again in Limited Modified Main
Once again Fort Worth's Troy Taylor made himself 'right at home' grabbing his third TMS Dirt Track Championship feature event. Taylor got out front early but fell back through the middle stages on the 30-lap main. Despite still recovering from a shop injury, Taylor was able to muscle up, make the best of the high side, and run down John Whittington for the lead.
As the white flag waved Whittington and Taylor were wheel to wheel. Taylor got the advantage off turn 2, then held it through turns 3/4 to edge out Whittington for the $2000 payday in the Ameritech Pest Control, Tru-Color Refinishing, D&D Auto Parts, PFC Steering Components, Eibach Springs, Swenson Racing Shocks, Wells Racing Engines, Smileys Racing Chassis.
As green waved on the 26-car Limited Modified field, Taylor was first into turn 1, with Whittington, Steve Whiteaker jr. and Shane Hebert three wide for second. Randy Timms joined the group getting by Whiteaker for third on lap 1. Whittington pressured Taylor for the point and using the low groove got by on lap 3, while Whiteaker retook the position from Timms.
Casey Penn brought out yellow on lap 4 when he looped it in turn 4. Taylor tried challenging for the lead back, but gave up spots to Hebert and Whiteaker. Taylor snagged back third from Whiteaker, with Timms moving back to fourth. Edward Oakes closed in on Whiteaker and Timms in the fight for fourth. Coming to halfway Whittington and Hebert were easing away from Taylor, Whiteaker and Timms rounding out the top five.
Hebert caught Whittington in traffic and was looking for way by on the bottom. That challenged slowed when Paul White and Kameron Campbell went around in betweens turns 3-4 for a lap 21 caution. As the top three got away on green, Whiteaker, Timms and E. Oakes were nearly three abreast for fourth. With five to go it looked like Whittington would take his first step in the double, double dip as he inched away from Hebert and Taylor.
Whiteaker's top five run ended when went around coming off turn 2 for a yellow on lap 25. Once back to green, Hebert held on to Whittingtons bumper on the bottom, while Taylor looked up top. As the lead duo battled, Taylor crept up on both getting along side and by Hebert on lap 27. Using the high side momentum Taylor got side by side with Whittington on the final lap. Taylor powered off turn 2 with the lead, then fended off a return charge by Whittington at the checkers.
"To pull this thing off the way my car was is really unbelievable," exclaimed Taylor a three time TMS winner. "Any win at this place in not 'just anoyther win.' This is my favorire race of the year. It's like racing against Tony Stewart or those guys on the big track. This is a great place to race and I love this facility. I call this my home track, though I live south of here. So I'm going to call this, 'my house' until someone comes along and takes it away."
"My car really wasn't the way I like it, I just kept working packing the top in under cauition. Other guys were up there trying to cool their tire, I guess, but were really helping me and make my part of the track better. Was haviong trouble with my brakes all weekend and having to pump them up, too. I really have to thank my crew for the all the hard work they put into getting ready for this weekend, and of course my wife for putting up with me."
"We fell a little short in the Modified. It's the same car we won with here two years ago. We just started working on this car three or four weeks ago. We cut all the rear suspension off of it to update it and never got a chance to test it. I guess we should have left it alone, but we're getting there."
"We had a couple of offers to run a Late Model up here and try to sweep all three classes. It's just never been the right timing to do a deal like that. Someday maybe."
Limited Modified A-main
56 Troy Taylor, Ft. Worth, 511 John Whittington, Vidor, 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La., 26 Dean Abbey, Camanche, 41g Randy Timms, Wheatland, La., 10 Brian Parker, Collinsville, Okla., 53 Edward Oakes, Jonesville, 77x Garrett Gregory, Tomball, 2w Paul White, Temple, 103 JC Howell, Mabank, 90 Dustin Butcher, Corpus Christi, 19x Randy Seals, Humble, 1T Jason Troutman, Sunnyville, 8g Devin Gerrior, Owasso, Okla., 39w Jimmy Staats, Edgewood, 5 Mike Martin, Magnolia, 88 Doug Easterling, Rule, 3 Chris Linares, Duke, Okla., 5* Casey Penn, Shreveport, La., 7m Danny Morris, Ada, Okla., 78 Kamron Campbell, Breaux Bridge, La., 89c Steve Whiteaker jr., Corpus Christi, 151 Adam Perks, El Campo, 24x John Lieta, Inez, 18t Terry Osborn, Oklahoma City, Okla., 15w Dennie Gieber, Jacksonville
Limited Mod Dash; 56 Troy Taylor, 9 Shane Hebert, 89c Steve Whiteaker jr, 41g Randy Timms, 511 John Whittington, 53 Edward Oakes, 26 Dean Abbey, 24xx John Lieta
Limited Modified B-mains(Top 4 to A-main)
B-main 1; 5 Mike Martin, 77x Garrett Gregory, 7m Danny Morris, 3 Chris Linares, 188 RJ Stroman, 33 Pepper Kuykendall, 22w Johnny Walton, 81 Levy Galmor, 148 Justion Blackburn, 1H Cullen Hill, 38 Matt Mueller, 08 Sean Glennon, 5s Gary Cox, 39 Chad Cambron, 71k Cody Smith, 19 Randy Seals, 711 Michael Daniels, 48 Bradley Poor, 121 Johnnie Rauschenberg, 84 Tom Lorenz, 49 Chris Cleveland---DNS, 4 Bo Day---DNS, 8H Mark Hogue---DNS, 012 Robbie Sanders---DNS, 12x Kyle Stevens---DNS, 9E Kinzer Edwards---DNS, 26m Jay McClanahan---DNS
B-main 2 ; 15w Dennie Gieber, 103 JC Howell, 2w Paul White, 151 Adam Perks, 3j Newton Barta, 10d Don Painter, 58 Sid Kiphen, 83 Monty Nichols III, 177 Tommy Fain, 13j James McCreery, 14x Barry Hornbeck, 14 Michael Newhard, 91 Ryan Watkins, 211 Chad Fitzgerald, 00 Brad Shirley, 99f Gary Fritchin, mc20 Bobby McGehee, 8g Devin Gerrior , 4x Robby Minten, 95 Smiley Welborn, 24x Steve Miller, 20 Ronnie Welborn, 75 Kyle Nelson, 10g Mike Goodson
B-main 3; 39w Jimmy Staats, 90 Dustin Butcher, 10 Brian Parker, 88 Doug Easterling, m69 Derick Grigsby, 24 Jake Upchurch, 18 Tim Clonch, 8 Jason Tiner, 82 Craig Oakes, 188 Derek Rashall, 72 Russell White, 71w Bart Wilcox, 47w Andy Wojtaszczyk, 955 Robert Metz, 1w Walter Hamilton, 42 Randy Kirkland, 9D Ray Doyon III, D25 David Tanner, 02 Dillon Burk, 39x Dusty Lout, 748 Donnie Blackburn, 23g Glen Gordy---DNS, 8c Skip O'Neal---DNS, 89d Michael Darby---DNS, 21k Mickey Night---DNS, 97 Buck Buchanan---DNS, 4g Jason Gaston---DNS
B-main 4; 78 Kamron Campbell, 5* Casey Penn, 18T Terry Osborn, 1T Jason Troutman, 1* Adam Penn, 99 Kristi Byrd, 21 David Cobb, M1 Ken Miller, 63 Shane Hoefling, 23w Jamie Wright, 4p Eddie Prator, 19b Phillip Bagley, 76 Archie Whitt, 11 Jeff Allgayer, 87 Johnny Brazell, 771 Jerry Karkrider, 86 Paul Vines, 222t Chris Bulthron, 77 Tyler Fain, 31 Michael Martin, 46 Ray Brown, F16 Jesse Freeman, 09 Robert Elloit
Limited Modifieds A-qualifier(Top 8 locked in to A-main)
511 John Whittington, 89c Steve Whiteaker jr, 9 Shane Hebert, 26 Dean Abbey, 53 Edward Oakes, 41g Randy Timms', 24xx John Lieta, 56 Troy Taylor, 77x Garrett Gregory, 151 Adam Perks, 90 Dustin Butcher, 78 Kamron Campbell, 48 Bradley Poor, 75 Kyle Nelson, 10 Brian Parker, 18t Terry Osborn, 711 Michael Daniels, 10g Mike Goodson, 39 Jimmy Staats, v8 Robert Vetter, 19x Randy Seals, 15w Dennie Gieber, 88 Doug Easterling, 94 Sean Jones---DNS
