Justin Wells
Jody Tillman
Jesse Sobbing
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Springfield,Mo.With a record 189 cars in 4 divisions,the 4th annual Turkey Classic got underway with sunny mid 50 degree weather and an outstanding racing program in all 4 divisions as new winners topped this years event.
The LateModel feature saw defending Turkey classic winner Ken Essary grab the opening lead from his outside front row spot on the opening lap from pole setter Rylan Long and started setting sail in the middle lanes early with Chris Morelock,Chuck Comer,Jack Sullivan,Wells and John Anderson following.On lap 3 the only caution waved for the 30 lap event.With the double-file restart,Essary held command as Wells was riding to the top groove and moving strong from his 6th starting spot.After a spirited batlle,Wells overtook his teacher Essary on lap 6 and never looked back leaving the field to battle,Sullivan in the GRT house car moved along side of Essary and they battled for second place for several laps as Anderson,Jesse Stovall and alan Vaughn were all in a tight pack.Up front Wells moved the car anywhere he wanted to while getting into lapped traffic.Sullivan started to close some of the gap,but Wells was on a rail tonight as he took home the $2,000 to win event in a dominating fashion.
"The car was perfect and Jerry really out did himself on getting the track ready."quoted the winner Wells the 2-Time IMCA National champion and Show-Me Racin Series Champion."This was a tough field of cars and the only thing that didn't go right was our redraw(Wells after being the top point car redraw a 6 putting him 3rd row outside).And that even worked good because coming through the field,I found several different racing lanes which helped me through the lapped traffic.Following the winner to the line were Sullivan,Jesse Stovall who just nipped defending champion essary at the line,Essary and the Hard Charging John Anderson.Alan Vaughn,John Beck,pole setter Long,Morelock and Shane Essary on the lead lap.
The A-Modifieds saw 75 cars enter the event as after 8 very tuogh heats and 5 last chance races saw the 20 car starting field set to go 20 laps with a star-studded field set to battle for the $1000 to win event.THe redraw put Fort Scott,Kansas hotshoe Brian Bolin on the pole with Topeka,Kansas young gun Kyle Covert to his outside as the duo went wheel to wheel on the start.Covert grabbed the opening lead as Springfield regular Jody Tillman quickly jumped to the top groove with Bolin following.The only caution waved on lap 3 as 3 time track champion Jackie Dalton pulled high in turn 2 with problems as Tillman had made the move to the top spot.With Tillman bringing the field to the restart,Covert moved to the bottom groove and try and overtake the high flying Tillman as Bolin,David Hendrix,Chad Lyle and Aaron Marrant wer close behind with the tight second pack of Dean Willie,2010 track champion Mitch Keeter,Jim Body and Rob Muilenburg all side by side.On lap 10,Tillman had pulled some distance between himself and Covert as Chad Lyle who started 8th in the feature was on the charge forward.After a 2 lap battle,Lyle moved into the runner-up spot and began to slowly gain on Tillman as Marrant,Keeter,Willie and Erik Maggard were closing in on Covert.With 5 to go,Tillman kicked in the gas petal and pulled some distance between himself and the quick moving Lyle.Tillman would gather his biggest win of his Modified career taking the win with Lyle,Marrant,Dean Willie,Keeter,Covert,Maggard,early contender Bolin,Rocky Breliew and veteran Rob Muilenburg completing the top 10 as 14 of the 20 starters were on the lead lap.Tillman a former LateModel and top runner FactoryStock driver from Branson was all smiles."Just making the field is a feat in itself and tonight has to be the biggest win in my history.This was as good a field of cars as you can get.The redraw put me 1 spot back from where I finished in points,but when Bolin went to the middle lane on the start it left the top wide open and that's where I normally run here weekly.This is my second Modified victory and the burm up on the top was wicked and fast tonight.The track was smooth and racy.I'm really happy."
The SportMods had 64 entries with 6 qualifying heats and 4 Last chance events getting to the 20 car field with Eric Tinderholt and LebanonMidway Champion Michael Stake bringing the field to the start.Tinderholt would take the opening lead with Stake following close behind.This battle went back and forth with Brian Bolin waiting in the wings along with John Yeoman Jr.A big change in the race developed around lap 5 as both Stake and Yeoman had to pit for slow leaking flats and rejoined at the rear of the field as Tinderholt grabbed the top spot.Tinderholt and Bolin kept there battle going and around lap 9,Iowa hard chargerJeese Sobbing who started the feature 10th had quietly moved into the top 3 driving an IMCA Legal SportModified with a Crate Motor.Tinderholt a front runner at Springfield weekly kept the lead until lap 9 when Bolin took over the top spot.Sobbing top over the lead on lap 10 as the top 3 began to pull away.Bolin regained the top spot on lap 13 only to see Sobbing take it back the next lap.Sobbing went on to take the Turkey win back to the Hawkeye state of Iowa as he pulled away late in the feature.Bolin would take home the Yeoman's Racing Engines top prize money for being the top finishing Spec Motor as Yeoman's Engines and many other joplin Area businesses pulled together $1,000 to the top finshing 9 spec Motors.Following the lead dup to the line were Tinderholt,Mike Hailman,Bobby Maggard Jr,2010 track champion Wayne Graybeal,Mike Strigel,a hard charging Cayden Carter,Larry Tindle and CMS regular James McMillian in the top 10 as 15 of the 20 starters finished on the lead lap.
The Legends feature saw a dramatic turn of events as defending Turkey Champion Dave Bauer had jumped fro his 3rd starting spot to take the early lead with Nationals Semi-Pro Champion Jason Rayle following closely along with Chuck Comer,Park Jones,Dave Comer,and 2010 track champion Justin Comer. Bauer's chances of becoming a repeat winner ended on lap 8 when Brian Boucher slowed inturn 2 on the top groove and Bauer clipped him ending his night.On the restart,Rayle Springfield's 2009 track champion found a bumper full of Chuck Comer,Jones,Dave Comer and Justin Comer the entire 20 lap feature as those 5 cars were in a tight pack.Rayle would hold off the challanges to record the victory with Chuck Comer,Park Jones,Dave Comer and Justin Comer following while Tyler Horton,Colt Pruente,Matt Gruenburg,James McDugley,and Paul Horton completed the top 10.
SpringfieldRaceway thanks everyone for an outstanding Turkey Classic and thier support in 2010.
More information can be gathered by visiting WWW.SpringfieldRaceway.Com
Results
LateModels
A Ft-1)Justin Wells-Aurora 2)Jack Sullivan-Greenbrier,Ark. 3)Jesse Stovall-Galena 4)Ken Essary-Cape Fair 5)John Anderson-Omaha,Neb 6)Alan Vaughn-Belton 7)John Beck-East St Louis,Ill 8)Rylan Long-Greenfield 9)Chris Morelock-Springfield 10)Shane Essary-Aurora 11)Joey Mack-Benton 12)Don Black- 13)Shawn Lee-Spickard,Mo 14)Jerry Morgan-Adrian 15)Chuck Comer-Joplin 16)Leslie Essary-Crane 17)Ron McQuerry-St Louis 18)Bruce Unterbrink-Highland,Ill 19)Scott Fry-Rocky Comfort 20-Larry Jones-El DoradoSprings
1st B Ft(Top 2 to A) 1)-Mack 2)Beck 3)Steve Johnson-Joplin 4)Joey Vaughn-Silom Springs,Ark 5)Dustin Walker-Belton 6)Matt Brookshire-Jermoe 7)John clancy Jr-California 8)Chase Meade-Dewey,Oklahoma 9)Jeff McGhee-Van Buren,Mo
2nd B-1)Black 2)McQuerry 3)Mike Hammerle-St Louis 4)Jeff Johnson 5)Chad Williams-Joplin DNS-Ron Bunn Tony Jackson Jr Patrick Johnson
1st Ht-1)Long 2)Morelock 3)L Essary 4)Reynolds 5)Fry 6)Bunn 7)Mack 8)Brookshire
2nd Ht-1)Anderson 2)Sullivan 3)Comer 4)Unterbrink 5)Johnson 6)Meade 7)Jackson Jr 8) P.Johnson
3rd Ht-1)Wells 2)S Essary 3)Jones 4)Lee 5)McQuerry 6)Walker 7) JVaughn 8)Clancy Jr
4th Ht-1)K.Essary 2)A Vaughn 3)Stovall 4)Beck 5)Black 6)Hammerle 7)Johnson 8)McGhee 9)C Williams
A Mods
A Ft-1)Jody Tillman-Branson West 2)Chad Lyle-LoneJack 3)Aaron Marrant-Richmond 4)Dean Willie-Warrensburg 5)Mitch Keeter-Webb City 6)Kyle Covent-Topeka,Kansas 7)Erik Maggard-Springfield 8)Brian Bolin-Fort Scott,Kansas 9)Rocky Breliew-Joplin 10)Rob Muilenburg-Sparta 11)Jim Body-Diamond 12)Matt Dotson-Strugeon 13)Bob Kerbs-Nevada 14)Jeff James-Staton,Iowa 15)David Hendrix-Buckhorn 16)Steve Masiel-House Springs 17)Robbie Reed-Mexico 18)Steve Glenn-Hamilton 19)Grant Junghans-Manhatten,Kansas 20)Jackie Dalton-Carthage
1st B Ft(Top 2 advance)Willie 2)Keeter 3)John Fellers 4)Scott Crigler 5)Canyan Methrin 6)Paul Snyder 7)Jeff Lebaube 8)Sam Petty 9)Eric Turner 10)Dean Hensler 11)Issac Dotson DNS- Jeff Roth,Jordan McCrimmon
2nd B Ft-1)Jackie Dalton 2)Jim Body 3)Dale Proctor 4)John Yeoman 5)Larry Campbell 6)Brian Green 7)Bobby Pearish 8)Rusty Weir 9)Kaelie Archer 10)Leo Keifer DNS-Paul Reeder,Tim North,Shane Demey
3rd B-1)Maggard 2)Muilenburg 3)Casey McClaskey 4)Lyle Dietrich 5)Craig Reetz 6)Tyler Brown 7)Chase Jones 8)Jeff Asher 9)Matt Zimmerly 10)Justin Russell DNS-Roger Moser,Rustin Miller,Terry Kirk,
4th B-1)M Dotson 2)Maisel 3)Jason Thompson 4)Marvin Forrestt 5)Arlen Stewart 6)Jim Freeman 7)Tim Dotson 8)Carl Conley 9)Corey Weir 10)Patrick Naeger 11)John Coates 12)Corey Lowrance 13)Jason Pursley DNS David Kirkland
5th B-1)Reed 2)James 3)Donnie Fellers 4)Jeff Conner 5)Robbie Test 6)Chance Bishop 7)Brian Toxel 8)Richard Ruch 9)Darrell Jackson 10)Mitch Parmeley DNS-Jerry Lankton
Ht Winners-Bolin,Junghans,Covert,Glenn,Hendrix,Marrant,Kerbs,Lyle
SportMods
A Ft-1)Jesse Sobbing-Glenwood,Iowa 2)Brian Bolin-Fort Scott,Kansas 3)Eric Tinderholt-Lampe 4)Mike Hailman-ReedSprings 5)Bobby Maggard Jr-Republic 6)Wayne Graybeal-Springfield 7)Mike Streigel-Hermitage 8)Cayden Carter-Oskaloosa,Iowa 9)Larry Tindle-Springfield 10)James McMillian-Warrenburg 11)Jon Yeoman Jr-Granby 12)Michael Stake-Phillipsburg 13)Shawn Strong-Republic 14)Colton Bunn-Deerfield,Mo 15)Sean Williams-Willard 16)Jeff Miller-Hermitage 17)Tony Hatfield-Joplin 18)Brian Webster-Richland 19)Dean Willie-Warrensburg DQ-Denny Felker Jr-Joplin
1st B Ft(Top 2 To A) 1)Williams 2)Willie 3)Andy Beauchamp-Springfield 4)Charlie Gentile-Ozark 5)Brad Moad-Springfield 6)Mike Watson-Springfield 7)JC Newell-Decaturville 8)Nick Roberts-Des Moines,Iowa 9)Tommy McBride-Lebanon 10)Steve Reetz-Iowa 11)Dale Hess 12)Jeff Frohwitter-Dittemore 13)Ted Ballinger-Halfway
2nd B-1)McMillian 2)Hatfield 3)Willie Wilson-Springfield 4)Chris Morelock-Springfield 5)Chuck Tilley 6)Jamie Petty-Niangua 7)Lynn Starry-Excelsior Springs 8)Brandon Pister-Rogersville 9)Jerry Slaughter-Bartlesville,Okla DNS-Blake Ellis,John Gamble,Bobby Ratterree,Ryan Stacye
3rd B-1)Carter 2)Webster 3)Brad Dittemore 4)Dallas Scott-Springfield 5)Bobby Williams 6)Chad Tilley 7)Darren Danner-Joplin 8)Steve Pumphrey-Iowa 9)Grant Sharp-Conway 10)Terry Williams-Springfield 11)Andrew Smith-Willard DNS-Chad Neill,Josh Rupp
4th B-1)Miller 2)Felker 3)James Redus-Springfield 4)Heath Loney-Sparta 5)Mark Evinger-Grain Valley 6)Bryan Rigsby-Torra,Kansas 7)Chris Vannausdale-Iowa 8)Chuck Tilley 9)JC Morton-Springfield 10)Shawn Claspill-Springfield 11)Gary Rodocker-Willard DNS-Jerry Brown,Kenny Shelton
Heat winners-Hailman,Graybeal,Stake,Bolin,Yeoman Jr,Strong
Legends
A Ft-1)Jason Rayle 2) Chuck Comer 3)Park Jones 4)Dave Comer 5)Justin Comer 6)Tyler Horton 7)Colt Pruente 8)Matt Gruenburg 9)James McDugley 10)Paul Horton 11)Jamie Reynolds 12)Daid Bauer 13)Kyle Cox 14)Brian Boucher 15)Jay Reynolds 16)Mitch Jenkins 17)Doug Wilson
