American Sprint Car Series

Wayne Johnson Wins 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals!

By Lonnie Wheatley,

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 2, 2008) - Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson left the Marion County Fairgrounds $10,000 wealthier after winning Saturday night's 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals 25-lap championship feature event atop the famed ½-mile Knoxville Raceway clay oval.

Johnson, now residing in Knoxville, IA, took the lead away from Jason Johnson on the seventh circuit and led the rest of the distance aboard Mike and Tim Hammers' Fisher-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Maxim to collect his second ASCS Knoxville Nationals championship after posting his first event win in 2000.

"I kept watching the board to see who was behind me and if anyone was close," the 2000 O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National champion explained afterward. "There didn't seem to be anybody right on me so I just kept trying to run my race."

Ultimately taking the checkered flag with a healthy 3.772-second advantage, Johnson had little to worry about over the final circuits. Aside from a turn two hole that nearly collected him on at least a couple of occasions, that is.

"That hole in turn two about ate me up a couple of times," Johnson relayed. "I got where I was just trying to ride through it, and that actually made it a little worse I think. We survived it though."

Johnson gridded the 24-car feature field outside the second row, with current O'Reilly ASCoT points leader Jason Johnson and reigning series champion Gary Wright on the front row. The trio then offered up a high-speed version of the three-wide salute as they charged in formation off of turn two on the opening round in a scramble for the lead.

Jason Johnson won the drag race into turn three, but it was Wright sliding in front off the exit of turn four to lead the opening round in front of Jason Johnson.

"The Texan" and "The Ragin' Cajun" dueled for the lead over the next several laps, with Wright running the low line and Johnson up top as Billy Alley made his way around Wayne Johnson for third on the second circuit.

Jason Johnson finally edged ahead of Wright for the lead on the fifth circuit and took the top side of the track away, with Wayne Johnson taking third back away from Alley by the time the caution flew after six laps for Scott Winters, who encountered turn two trouble.

The complexion of the race changed dramatically under the caution period when Wright retired to the pit area with a broken wing mount on the frame, handing the second position over to Wayne Johnson.

Wayne wasted little time disposing of the unrelated Jason Johnson for the lead on the restart, motoring into the lead in less than a lap and then gradually checked out on the rest of the field. Not even a lap nine bobble after hitting a hole on the turn two cushion allowed any challengers to close the gap.

Johnson rode the rim the rest of the way to take his third ASCS National Tour win of the season and 26th of his career. "It means the world to me to win this race," the elated victor told the crowd from victory lane.

Behind the Oklahoma racer, the action was heated throughout with Brian Brown taking his share of the spotlight with a drive from 19th that culminated with a runner-up finish.

While Jason Johnson, Billy Alley and Brooke Tatnell diced for position behind Wayne Johnson, Brown was on the move in short order by reaching the seventh position after just eight rounds.

The Grain Valley, MO, racer put Tim and Gina Doogs' Wesmar-powered Super Clean No. 21 Maxim in the top five by the midway point and took fourth from Jason Johnson soon after. Brown slid past Tatnell for third on the 22nd lap and then made a last-corner pass of Alley to take runner-up honors.

Two-time ASCS Knoxville Nationals champ Alley of Lincoln, NE, settled for the show position, with Australian Brooke Tatnell bringing Bobby Sparks' Wells-powered RESM Transport No. 91 Eagle to the checkered flag in fourth.

California's Tyler Walker rounded out the top five, with Texas shoe Travis Rilat in sixth. Missouri's Jesse Hockett was seventh, with Knoxville regulars Bronson Maeschen and Jesse Giannetto next across the stripe. Chico, California's Jonathan Allard completed the top ten.

After running among the top five most of the way, Jason Johnson cut a left rear tire on the final lap and fell to 12th in the final run down behind Skip Jackson, who was subbing for Terry McCarl.

North Dakota's Natalie Sather opened the evening with a late move around Cody Petersen to win the 8-lap "E" Main, then charged to a fifth-place transfer position in the 10-lap "D" Main won by Oklahoma's Trey Robb.

After a great "C" Main start by Sather was wiped out by a caution, she climbed a wheel on the second try and flipped to bring an early end to her alphabet run.

Ohio's Lee Jacobs went on to win the "C" Main in front of Florida's Matt Tiffany, who took the second and final transfer.

Brian Brown took the lead away from Garry Lee Maier four laps into the 15-lap "B" Main and led the rest of the way, with Maier, Matt Moro and Scott Winters earning the final four starting berths into the 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals championship main event.

18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Saturday Championship Feature Results:

"E" Main - Top 12 Advance to "D" Main:

E Feature (8 Laps): 1. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND), 2. 16p-Cody Petersen (Hermosa, SD), 3. 2h-Jason Eckard (Okoboji, IA), 4. 71-R.J. Johnson (Tampa, FL), 5. 2k-Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD), 6. 15-Jack Potter (Pleasant Hill, MO), 7. 34-Josh Padellford (Pleasantville, IA), 8. 5k-Kyle McCutcheon (Alamogordo, NM), 9. 24J-Justin Carver (Memphis, TN), 10. 8k-Butch Hanssen (Sioux Falls, SD), 11. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 12. 2w-Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK), 13. 4b-Bryn Gohn (Malabar, FL), 14. 33-Alan Zoutte (Knoxville, IA), 15. 9p-Jared Peterson (Stanwood, WA), 16. 1p-Curtis Evans (Norburne, MO), 17. 21b-D.J. Brink (Sturgis, SD), 18. 31p-Travis Porter (Rock Island, IL), 19. 9*-Brian Parker (Midlothian, TX).

"D" Main - Top 6 Advance to "C" Main:

D Feature (10 Laps): 1. 1s-Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK), 2. 98r-Joe Ramaker (Choteau, MT), 3. 98-J.D. Johnson (Goddard, KS), 4. 75-Don Young (Bartlett, TN), 5. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND), 6. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 7. 22n-Nate Mosher (Prairie City, IA), 8. k9-Tim Sernett (Burnsville, MN), 9. 15-Jack Potter (Pleasant Hill, MO), 10. 2w-Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK), 11. 9s-Scott Lehman (Hutchinson, KS), 12. 6-Danny Heskin (St. Michael, MN), 13. 5k-Kyle McCutcheon (Alamogordo, NM), 14. 5L-Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD), 15. 71-R.J. Johnson (Tampa, FL), 16. 24J-Justin Carver (Memphis, TN), 17. 2k-Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD), 18. 2h-Jason Eckard (Okoboji, IA), 19. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 20. 8k-Butch Hanssen (Sioux Falls, SD), 21. 34-Josh Padellford (Pleasantville, IA), 22. 16p-Cody Petersen (Hermosa, SD).

"C" Main - Top 2 Advance to "B" Main:

C Feature (12 Laps): 1. 86-Lee Jacobs (Dalton, OH), 2. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 3. 5-Justin Henderson (Sioux Falls, SD), 4. 4-Jon Agan (Knoxville, IA), 5. 2mx-Dustin Daggett (Portland, MI), 6. 18-Ryan Roberts (Aurora, NE), 7. 95-Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK), 8. 35-Ron Blair (Troy, OH), 9. 00m-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 10. 51-Dave Hall (Des Moines, IA), 11. 1s-Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK), 12. 1-Pete Crall (Desoto, KS), 13. 4L-Brock Lemley (Bellingham, WA), 14. 03-Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK), 15. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 16. 98r-Joe Ramaker (Choteau, MT), 17. 98-J.D. Johnson (Goddard, KS), 18. 10x-George White (Fort Worth, TX), 19. 75-Don Young (Bartlett, TN), 20. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND). DNS: 7m-Chad Meyer (Sioux Falls, SD), 43-A.J. Selenke (Wichita, KS).

"B" Main - Top 4 Advance to "A" Main:

B Feature (15 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO), 2. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 3. 2m-Matt Moro (Ankeny, IA), 4. 23w-Scott Winters (Butterfield, MN), 5. 39c-Jason Solwold (Burlington, WA), 6. 29-Russ Hall (Des Moines, IA), 7. 14-Randy Martin (California, MO), 8. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), 9. 57x-Jake Peters (Sioux Falls, SD), 10. 27-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 11. 15s-Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK), 12. 12J-Jared Ridge (Snohomish, WA), 13. 53-Joe Beaver (Knoxville, IA), 14. 86-Lee Jacobs (Dalton, OH), 15. 9m-Ricky Montgomery (Lakewood, CO), 16. 4J-Lee Grosz (Harwood, ND), 17. 7a-J.J. Hickle (Quilcene, WA), 18. 7-Dustin Selvage (Indianola, IA), 19. 72-Glenn Borden (Raymond, WA), 20. 51s-Lee Sowell (Nesbit, MS), 21. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 22. 15b-Brad Bowden (Hernando, MS).

18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals "A" Main

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 2. 21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO), 3. 22-Billy Alley (Lincoln, NE), 4. Brooke Tatnell (Sydney, AUS), 5. 24T-Tyler Walker (Los Angeles, CA), 6. 29T-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 7. 75J-Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO), 8. 96-Bronson Maeschen (Knoxville, IA), 9. d1-Jesse Giannetto (Cedar Rapids, IA), 10. 0-Jonathan Allard (Chico, CA), 11. 1m-Skip Jackson (Sydney, AUS), 12. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 13. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 14. 40-Clint Garner (Sioux Falls, SD), 15. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 16. 7n-Roger Crockett (Medford, OR), 17. 2m-Matt Moro (Ankeny, IA), 18. 23w-Scott Winters (Butterfield, MN), 19. 28-Jonathan Cornell (Sedalia, MO), 20. 5*-Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA), 21. 11x-Gregg Bakker (Sioux Falls, SD), 22. 53d-Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), 23. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 24. 9w-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX).

Lap Leaders: Gary Wright 1-4, Jason Johnson 5-6, Wayne Johnson 7-25.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Jason Johnson 3,259, 2. Gary Wright 3,168, 3. Wayne Johnson 3,119, 4. Zach Chappell 3,089, 5. Garry Lee Maier 2,878, 6. Eric Baldaccini 2,685, 7. Nick Smith 2,584, 8. Kenneth Walker 2,373, 9. Travis Rilat 2,275, 10. Gary Taylor 2,152, 11. Kathryne Minter 2,010, 12. Jack Dover 1,798, 13. Matt Covington 1,473, 14. Aaron Berryhill 1,174, 15. Jason Sides 1,130.
 

Wayne Johnson Tops ASCS Knoxville Nationals Friday Prelim

By Lonnie Wheatley,

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 1, 2008) - A second night of 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals preliminary action found another Johnson in victory lane, as past O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National champion Wayne Johnson raced to victory lane in Friday night's 20-lap feature atop Knoxville Raceway's ½-mile clay oval.

Johnson emerged from a three-car battle for the lead at the midway point, taking the lead away from Jesse Giannetto on the 12th round before scampering away to the checkered flag with a 3.865-second advantage over Gary Wright, with Giannetto, Brooke Tatnell and Jesse Hockett rounding out the top five.

While Nebraska's Jack Dover and Oregon's Roger Crockett led the 24-car feature field to the green flag, it was second row starters Giannetto and Johnson quickly taking over the top two positions after the initial start was waved off for Brad Bowden's disable machine.

Giannetto charged past the front row starters exiting turn two on the opening circuit with Johnson hot on his heels. And with Giannetto and Johnson pacing the early rounds, Gary Wright was on the move from his eighth starting position after besting the 61-car field in qualifying with a lap of 16.656 seconds.

Wright picked off three positions on the opening lap to crack the top five, took fourth from Dover a lap later and then took third away from Crockett on the seventh circuit.

As the leaders approached the tail of the field, Johnson moved in to challenge Giannetto for the point entering turn three on the ninth lap. Giannetto fought off the bid, with Wright moving in to take second from Johnson a lap later.

Johnson battled right back, reclaiming second from Wright and then sliding past Giannetto for the lead as the trio battled through heavy traffic to complete the 12th round.

"I saw ol' GW (Gary Wright) there on the bottom and knew he'd found something, he's always the first to find the fastest part of the track," Johnson explained in victory lane. "He went back to the top after he got around me, I knew I had to get to the bottom and stay there."

Which is exactly what the 2000 ASCS National champion did after splitting a pair of lapped cars to establish some breathing room. Johnson raced through traffic over the final rounds to secure his second O'Reilly ASCoT National win of the season aboard Mike and Tim Hammers' Fisher-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Maxim.

Wright took over second on the 14th round and kept the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction No. 9 Maxim in the runner-up slot until the checkered flag flew, with 2006 ASCS Knoxville Nationals champ Giannetto settling for show honors.

Making his first start aboard Bobby Sparks' Wells-powered RESM Transport No. 91 Eagle, Australian Brooke Tatnell timed in second-quick on the night and then earned a fourth-place finish in the feature.

Missouri's Jesse Hockett rounded out the top five after taking over the position in the final handful of laps, with ASCS Northwest Speedweek champion Crockett in sixth. Current ASCS Rebel Region points leader Kenny Adams was seventh, with Gregg Bakker, Brian Brown and Clint Garner completing the top ten.

After Wright set quick time, heat races were won by Johnson, Tim Crawley, Jared Ridge, Matt Covington and Brown.

Chad Corken took the lead away from Josh Padellford on the fourth round en route to winning the 10-lap "C" Main, while Nick Smith picked up the 12-lap "B" Main victory when Dave Hall popped a left rear tire less than a lap from the finish.

After Nate Van Haaften flipped on the initial "B" Main start, the second start featured a wild five-car flip in turn one including Ryan Anderson, Stephen Lines, Josh Higday, Natalie Sather and Chad Corken. Everyone walked away from the carnage uninjured, with Sather the only one able to rejoin the racing action.

A total of 111 different drivers competed over the two preliminary nights of the 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals, setting Saturday night's championship feature lineups.

18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Friday Night Preliminary Results:

Qualifying:

1. 9w-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 16.656, 2. 91s-Brooke Tatnell (Sydney, NSW) 16.722, 3. 11x-Gregg Bakker (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.764, 4. 86-Lee Jacobs (Dalton, OH) 16.767, 5. 75J-Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO) 16.775, 6. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 16.796, 7. D1-Jesse Giannetto (Cedar Rapids, IA) 16.850, 8. 7n-Roger Crockett (Medford, OR) 16.863, 9. 53d-Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 16.870, 10. 18-Ryan Roberts (Aurora, NE) 16.884, 11. 15b-Brad Bowden (Hernando, MS) 16.893, 12. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS) 16.935, 13. 2m-Matt Moro (Des Moines, IA) 16.937, 14. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL) 16.985, 15. 40-Clint Garner (Sioux Falls, SD) 17.009, 16. 51-Dave Hall (Des Moines, IA) 17.028, 17. 71r-Ryan Anderson (Charter Oak, IA) 17.043, 18. 23-Stephen Lines (Melbourne, AUS) 17.078, 19. 03-Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK) 17.110, 20. 21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 17.140, 21. 27-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE) 17.143, 22. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 17.147, 23. 15s-Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 17.156, 24. 43-A.J. Selenke (Wichita, KS) 17.174, 25. 22b-Ben Gregg (Phoenix, AZ) 17.176, 26. 35-Ron Blair (Troy, OH) 17.235, 27. 7m-Chad Meyer (Sioux Falls, SD) 17.238, 28. 12J-Jared Ridge (Snohomish, WA) 17.244, 29. 95-Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 17.299, 30. 1-Pete Crall (Desoto, KS) 17.332, 31. 98-J.D. Johnson (Goddard, KS) 17.336, 32. 1s-Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK) 17.343, 33. 5-Justin Henderson (Sioux Falls, SD) 17.346, 34. 24-Josh Higday (Des Moines, IA) 17.357, 35. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe (Rock Rapids, IA) 17.358, 36. 11-Chad Corken (Highlands Ranch, CO) 17.420, 37. 3-Nate Van Haaften (Otley, IA) 17.421, 38. 34-Josh Padellford (Pleasantville, IA) 17.440, 39. 2mx-Dustin Daggett (Portland, MI) 17.458, 40. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) 17.461, 41. 5L-Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD) 17.472, 42. 12-Rod Richards (Des Moines, IA) 17.489, 43. 15-Jack Potter (Kansas City, MO) 17.538, 44. 8k-Butch Hanssen (Sioux Falls, SD) 17.577, 45. 7L-Darren Long (Elida, OH) 17.583, 46. 34h-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH) 17.642, 47. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA) 17.683, 48. 54-Brett Mather (Ames, IA) 17.689, 49. 71-R.J. Johnson (Tampa, FL) 17.693, 50. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND) 17.698, 51. 20au-Troy Little (Sydney, NSW) 17.703, 52. 48-Tyler Thompson (Des Moines, IA) 17.745, 53. 4b-Bryn Gohn (Malabar, FL) 17.768, 54. 2-Luke Dollansky (Elk River, MN) 17.888, 55. 33-Alan Zoutte (Knoxville, IA) 17.915, 56. 1p-Curtis Evans (Norburne, MO) 17.938, 57. 5x-Dave Glennon (Casselton, ND) 17.994, 58. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX) 18.214, 59. 2w-Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK) 18.270, 60. 31p-Travis Porter (Rock Island, IL) 18.523, 61. 9*-Brian Parker (Dallas, TX) 19.137.


Heat Races (Top 4 Advance to "A" Main; Positions 5-8 to "B" Main; Positions 9-10 to "C" Main)

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 35-Ron Blair, 3. 9w-Gary Wright, 4. 27-Don Droud, Jr., 5. 15b-Brad Bowden, 6. 51-Dave Hall, 7. 5L-Eric Lutz, 8. 98-J.D. Johnson, 9. 11-Chad Corken, 10. 34h-Luke Hall.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 91s-Brooke Tatnell, 3. d1-Jesse Giannetto, 4. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier, 5. 3-Nate Van Haaften, 6. 71r-Ryan Anderson, 7. 1s-Trey Robb, 8. 7m-Chad Meyer, 9. 17-Samantha Taylor, 10. 12-Rod Richards.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 12J-Jared Ridge, 2. 2m-Matt Moro, 3. 7n-Roger Crockett, 4. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 5. 15s-Nick Smith, 6. 5-Justin Henderson, 7. 53-Brett Mather, 8. 23-Stephen Lines, 9. 15-Jack Potter, 10. 34-Josh Padellford.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington, 2. 4a-Kenny Adams, 3. 53d-Jack Dover, 4. 2mx-Dustin Daggett, 5. 86-Lee Jacobs, 6. 24-Josh Higday, 7. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 8. 43-A.J. Selenke, 9. 71-R.J. Johnson, 10. 8k-Butch Hanssen.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 40-Clint Garner, 3. 1-Pete Crall, 4. 75J-Jesse Hockett, 5. 18-Ryan Newman, 6. 22b-Ben Gregg, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 8. 94s-Natalie Sather, 9. 7L-Darren Long, 10. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe.

"C" Main - Top 2 Advance to "B" Main

"C" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 11-Chad Corken, 2. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe, 3. 71-R.J. Johnson, 4. 34-Josh Padellford, 5. 34h-Luke Hall, 6. 5x-Dave Glennon, 7. 20au-Troy Little, 8. 8k-Butch Hanssen, 9. 17-Samantha Taylor, 10. 48-Tyler Thompson, 11. 15-Jack Potter, 12. 1p-Curtis Evans, 13. 33-Alan Zoutte, 14. 12-Rod Richards, 15. 4b-Bryn Gohn, 16. 9*-Brian Parker, 17. 31p-Travis Porter, 18. 13-Kathryne Minter, 19. 2w-Kenneth Walker, 20. 2-Luke Dollansky, 21. 7L-Darren Long.

"B" Main - Top 4 Advance to "A" Main

"B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 15s-Nick Smith, 2. 5-Justin Henderson, 3. 7m-Chad Meyer, 4. 15b-Brad Bowden, 5. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 6. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 7. 1s-Trey Robb, 8. 54-Brett Mather, 9. 94s-Natalie Sather, 10. 43-A.J. Selenke, 11. 5L-Eric Lutz, 12. 98-J.D. Johnson, 13. 18-Ryan Roberts, 14. 51-Dave Hall, 15. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe, 16. 86-Lee Jacobs, 17. 71r-Ryan Anderson, 18. 23-Stephen Lines, 19. 24-Josh Higday, 20. 11-Chad Corken, 21. 3-Nate Van Haaften. DNS: 22b-Ben Gregg.

18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Friday Preliminary "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (20 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 9w-Gary Wright, 3. d1-Jesse Giannetto, 4. 91s-Brooke Tatnell, 5. 75J-Jesse Hockett, 6. 7n-Roger Crockett, 7. 4a-Kenny Adams, 8. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 9. 21-Brian Brown, 10. 40-Clint Garner, 11. 88-Tim Crawley, 12. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier, 13. 27-Don Droud, Jr., 14. 53d-Jack Dover, 15. 5-Justin Henderson, 16. 2m-Matt Moro, 17. 15s-Nick Smith, 18. 2mx-Dustin Daggett, 19. 12J-Jared Ridge, 20. 1-Pete Crall, 21. 7m-Chad Meyer, 22. 95-Matt Covington, 23. 35-Ron Blair, 24. 15b-Brad Bowden.

Lap Leaders: Jesse Giannetto 1-11, Wayne Johnson 12-20.
 

Jason Johnson Tops ASCS Knoxville Nationals Opener

By Lonnie Wheatley,

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (July 31, 2008) - Louisiana's Jason Johnson opened up the 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals in familiar fashion by racing to victory lane in Thursday night's 20-lap preliminary feature event atop the ½-mile Knoxville Raceway clay oval.

Starting from the second row outside, the current O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National points leader muscled into the lead on the opening circuit and paced the field throughout en route to his tenth series win of the season, with Billy Alley, Travis Rilat, Tyler Walker and Zach Chappell rounding out the top five.

"We were standing right here about a month ago," Johnson explained in reference to his ASCS National Tour triumph at Knoxville Raceway on June 20. "And this is where we want to be Saturday night," as Johnson guns for his the top prize in Saturday night's $10,000 to win ASCS Knoxville Nationals finale.

While 20-year-old Missouri shoe Jonathan Cornell and two-time ASCS Knoxville Nationals champion Billy Alley of Lincoln, NE, led the 24-car feature field to the green flag, it was Jason Johnson making it a three-wide race off of turn two on the opening round for the lead.

Alley led the way down the backstretch, but "The Ragin' Cajun" slid ahead of Alley exiting turn four to take command for keeps aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle.

Johnson stretched out a half straightaway advantage over the initial handful of laps and maintained his advantage as lapped traffic came into play at the midway point.

"The main thing I was concerned about was making sure I didn't get my left rear tire too hot and blister it," Johnson explained.

The fast-paced affair was interrupted just once, with the caution flying three laps shy of the checkered flag when Bronson Maeschen came to stop on the frontstretch minus a right rear tire. Maeschen had a perfect night in progress before the feature started after setting a quick time of 16.320 seconds among the 50-car field and then winning his heat race.

Johnson broke away from the field on the final restart, charging to the checkered flag with a 1.707-second advantage.

"My crew is doing such a great job right now, they're making my job awful easy," Johnson commented.

Climbing from fifth, Travis Rilat took second away from Billy Alley on the fifth lap and tried unsuccessfully to chase down the leader. Rilat held the position until the final corner, when Alley slid back around the Texas racer to snare runner-up honors with Rilat settling for third.

Cornell held down the fourth position until the experienced trio of Tyler Walker, Terry McCarl and Zach Chappell go the better of him on the lap 18 restart. Walker crossed the stripe in the fourth position, while Chappell battled past McCarl on the final lap to round out the top five.

McCarl was sixth, with Cornell, Jonathan Allard, 24th-starter Scott Winters and 17th-starter Jake Peters completing the top ten.

Maeschen set quick time and then won the opening heat with ensuing heat races won by Cornell, Lee Sowell, Rilat and Johnson.

Cody Petersen won the "C" Main, with Gary Taylor prevailing in an early duel with Ricky Montgomery to win the 12-lap "B" Main.

Washington's Jared Petersen flipped during his qualifying effort and was done for the night.

18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Thursday Night Preliminary Results:

Qualifying:

1. 96-Bronson Maeschen (Pleasantville, IA) 16.320, 2. 24T-Tyler Walker (Los Angeles, CA) 16.341, 3. 0-Jonathan Allard (Chico, CA) 16.362, 4. 29T-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 16.393, 5. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 16.422, 6. 5*-Gary Taylor (Sapulpa, OK) 16.472, 7. 9m-Ricky Montgomery (Lakewood, CO) 16.477, 8. 29n-Larry Neighbors (Oklahoma City, OK) 16.560, 9. 10x-George White (Fort Worth, TX) 16.588, 10. 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA) 16.599, 11. 22-Billy Alley (Lincoln, NE) 16.609, 12. 28-Jonathan Cornell (Sedalia, MO) 16.647, 13. 53-Joe Beaver (Knoxville, IA) 16.648, 14. 39c-Jason Solwold (Burlington, WA) 16.684, 15. 00m-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL) 16.689, 16. 14-Randy Martin (California, MO) 16.707, 17. 23w-Scott Winters (Butterfield, MN) 16.735, 18. 4-Jon Agan (Knoxville, IA) 16.748, 19. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 16.764, 20. 4J-Lee Grosz (Harwood, ND) 16.781, 21. 4L-Brock Lemley (Bellingham, WA) 16.784, 22. 72-Glenn Borden (Raymond, WA) 16.786, 23. 51s-Lee Sowell (Nesbit, MS) 16.789, 24. 29-Russ Hall (Des Moines, IA) 16.799, 25. 11L-Larry Pinegar (Des Moines, IA) 16.799, 26. 7-Dustin Selvage (Indianola, IA) 16.809, 27. 57x-Jake Peters (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.865, 28. 7a-J.J. Hickle (Quilcene, WA) 16.870, 29. k9-Tim Sernett (Burnsville, MN) 16.877, 30. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL) 16.893, 31. Y2-Mike Houseman, Jr. (Des Moines, IA) 16.896, 32. 98r-Joe Ramaker (Choteau, MT) 16.897, 33. 22n-Nate Mosher (Prairie City, IA) 16.906, 34. 16p-Cody Petersen (Hermosa, SD) 16.911, 35. 26J-Jon Corbin (Kansas City, MO) 16.947, 36. 91-Derek Ingalls (Snohomish, WA) 16.965, 37. 9s-Scott Lehman (Hutchinson, KS) 16.997, 38. 10-Jeff Mitrisin (Oskaloosa, IA) 16.998, 39. 99v-Gordy Vogelaar (Worthington, MN) 17.050, 40. 75-Don Young (Bartlett, TN) 17.069, 41. 6-Danny Heskin (St. Michael, MN) 17.075, 42. 21b-D.J. Brink (Sturgis, SD) 17.184, 43. 85-Jerry Bell (Garland, TX) 17.189, 44. 2k-Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD) 17.353, 45. 24J-Justin Carver (Memphis, TN) 17.890, 46. 5ma-Mallory Armfield (St. Joseph, MO) 18.626, 47. 9p-Jared Peterson (Stanwood, WA) NT. Disqualified (Illegal tire): 9a-Steve Dyer (Vancouver, BC) 17.195, 2h-Jason Eckard (Okoboji, IA) 17.406, 5k-Kyle McCutcheon (Alamogordo, NM).


Heat Races (Top 4 Advance to "A" Main; Positions 5-8 to "B" Main; Positions 9-10 to "C" Main)

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 96-Bronson Maeschen, 2. 22-Billy Alley, 3. 7-Dustin Selvage, 4. 14-Randy Martin, 5. 5*-Gary Taylor, 6. 4L-Brock Lemley, 7. 91-Derek Ingalls, 8. 6-Danny Heskin, 9. 5ma-Mallory Armfield. DNS: Y2-Mike Houseman, Jr.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 28-Jonathan Cornell, 2. 57x-Jake Peters, 3. 24T-Tyler Walker, 4. 72-Glenn Borden, 5. 23w-Scott Winters, 6. 98r-Joe Ramaker, 7. 9m-Ricky Montgomery, 8. 9s-Scott Lehman. DNS: 21b-D.J. Brink, 9p-Jared Peterson.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 51s-Lee Sowell, 2. 53-Joe Beaver, 3. 7a-J.J. Hickle, 4. 0-Jonathan Allard, 5. 4-Jon Agan, 6. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 7. 22n-Nate Mosher, 8. 29n-Larry Neighbors, 9. 85-Jerry Bell, 10. 9a-Steve Dyer.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 29T-Travis Rilat, 2. 50z-Zach Chappell, 3. 29-Russ Hall, 4. 99v-Gordy Vogelaar, 5. 10x-George White, 6. 39c-Jason Solwold, 7. k9-Tim Sernett, 8. 2h-Jason Eckard, 9. 2k-Kevin Ingle, 10. 16p-Cody Petersen.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 4J-Lee Grosz, 3. 1m-Terry McCarl, 4. 19T-Matt Tiffany, 5. 26J-Jon Corbin, 6. 11L-Larry Pinegar, 7. 00m-Danny Martin, Jr., 8. 75-Don Young, 9. 24J-Justin Carver, 10. 5k-Kyle McCutcheon.

"C" Main - Top 2 Advance to "B" Main

"C" Feature (8 Laps): 1. 16p-Cody Petersen, 2. 2k-Kevin Ingle, 3. 85-Jerry Bell, 4. 24J-Justin Carver, 5. 5k-Kyle McCutcheon, 6. 9a-Steve Dyer, 7. 5ma-Mallory Armfield, 8. 21b-D.J. Brink. DNS: Y2-Mike Houseman, Jr., 9p-Jared Peterson.

"B" Main - Top 4 Advance to "A" Main

"B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 5*-Gary Taylor, 2. 39c-Jason Solwold, 3. 9m-Ricky Montgomery, 4. 23w-Scott Winters, 5. 29n-Larry Neighbors, 6. 00m-Danny Martin, Jr., 7. 4-Jon Agan, 8. 4L-Brock Lemley, 9. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 10. 75-Don Young, 11. 26J-Jon Corbin, 12. 11L-Larry Pinegar, 13. 91-Derek Ingalls, 14. 98r-Joe Ramaker, 15. 6-Danny Heskin, 16. 22n-Nate Mosher, 17. k9-Tim Sernett, 18. 9s-Scott Lehman, 19. 2h-Jason Eckard, 20. 2k-Kevin Ingle, 21. 16p-Cody Petersen, 22. 10x-George White.

18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Thursday Preliminary "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (20 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 22-Billy Alley, 3. 29T-Travis Rilat, 4. 24T-Tyler Walker, 5. 50z-Zach Chappell, 6. 1m-Terry McCarl, 7. 28-Jonathan Cornell, 8. 0-Jonathan Allard, 9. 23w-Scott Winters, 10. 57x-Jake Peters, 11. 39c-Jason Solwold, 12. 14-Randy Martin, 13. 5*-Gary Taylor, 14. 7a-J.J. Hickle, 15. 29-Russ Hall, 16. 19T-Matt Tiffany, 17. 4J-Lee Grosz, 18. 7-Dustin Selvage, 19. 99v-Gordy Vogelaar, 20. 72-Glenn Borden, 21. 9m-Ricky Montgomery, 22. 51s-Lee Sowell, 23. 53-Joe Beaver, 24. 96-Bronson Maeschen.

Lap Leaders: Jason Johnson 1-20.
 

Wayne Johnson Snaps ASCoT Slump with Lakeside Fireworks!

By Lonnie Wheatley,

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (July 4, 2008)  Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson snapped a victory drought spanning more than a year's length in O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National action by wiring the field in Friday night's 25-lap main event atop the ½-mile Lakeside Speedway clay oval.

The 2000 ASCS National champion muscled past Natalie Sather for the lead on the opening circuit and never looked back en route to his first ASCoT checkered flag since June 20 of last year in Brainerd, MN.

"It's about time," a relieved Johnson commented in victory lane. "It sure didn't hurt starting near the front either."

Moments after Johnson flashed underneath the checkered flag in Mike and Tim Hammers' Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises/Pearson Farms No. 94 Maxim, Jesse Hockett got a head start on the night's fireworks by plowing into the frontstretch wall exiting turn four while trying to dodge a disabled lapped car. Hockett climbed from his mangled and charred mount uninjured.

Still carrying 2008 ASCoT title aspirations, Johnson gridded the feature field inside the second row as reigning ASCS Midwest Region champion Sather led the way to the green flag with Chris Walker alongside on the front row.

While Sather gunned into the lead in the opening pair of corners, Johnson wasted no time making his move. First, Johnson disposed of Walker for second in turn one. Then, Johnson pounced on the 23-year-old Fargo lass, diving to the low side of turn three to take command on the opening round.

Setting a rapid tempo in front of Sather, Walker and Zach Chappell, who rocketed from ninth to fourth in the opening circuits, Johnson's pace was interrupted after five rounds when fifth-runner Garry Lee Maier coasted to a stop in turn two with terminal problems.

On the restart, Chappell wasted no time blasting past Walker and Sather to take over second, setting his sights on Johnson in the process. Eighth-starter Jack Dover followed suit by climbing to third by the eighth round, with eighth-row starter Jason Johnson up to fourth by the time the red flag flew after nine laps for Jonathan Cornell's turn two flip. The current Winged Outlaw Warriors point leader walked away from his twisted machine unharmed.

With the final 16 circuits run in non-stop fashion, Johnson simply checked out on the field. Slicing through lapped traffic over the final ten rounds, Johnson lapped all the way up to eighth by the time he took the checkered flag with nearly a straightaway advantage.

In Johnson's wake, the battle for runner-up honors was a furious one between the threesome of Chappell, Dover and Jason Johnson.

Chappell ultimately topped the scrum for second place in the Legend's Bar-B-Que & Steakhouse No. 50z Maxim, with "The Ragin' Cajun's" drive from 16th culminating with a third-place showing aboard Lanny Row's The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle.

Dover settled for fourth aboard the Eckley-powered 3D Auto Transport No. 53 Eagle, while Gary Wright maintained an 18-point lead over Jason Johnson in the series $50,000 championship points chase by racing from 15th to round out the top five.

Current ASCS Midwest Region points leader Brian Brown was credited with sixth in the final run-down, with leading Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Eric Baldaccini in seventh.

On the charge from 18th, Hockett was trying to make a move around Wright for fifth in the final pair of corners. But when Curtis Evans clipped an infield tire and skittered to the topside exiting the final corner with a broken front end, Hockett ran out of real estate and slammed into the frontstretch wall in wide-open fashion. Hockett was scored as the final car on the lead lap in eighth.

Sather crossed the stripe ninth, with Jon Corbin completing the top ten.

Jack Potter, Mike Boston, Chris Walker, Sather, Wayne Johnson and Chappell topped heat race action for the rugged 53-car field.

Jay Russell fought off Randy Martin to win the first "B" Main, with Hockett surviving a close call with a lapped car to win the second "B" Main. Don Droud, Jr., wasn't as fortune, getting collected by the same car and then spinning while running second with just two laps to go.

O'Reilly ASCoT Results from Lakeside Speedway:

Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points to "A" Main; Balance to Two "B" Mains):

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 15-Jack Potter, 2. 4J-Jon Corbin, 3. 86-Don Droud, Jr., 4. 9-Gary Wright, 5. 2-Kenneth Walker, 6. 8-Jeff Wingate, 7. 9c-Tony Crank, 8. 51x-Mike Peters, 9. 97-Aaron Berryhill.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 51-Mike Boston, 2. 22-Billy Alley, 3. 53-Jack Dover, 4. 14-Randy Martin, 5. 1m-Terry McCarl, 6. 1k-Kim Kennedy, 7. 19s-Steven Cross, 8. 8b-Bobby Becker, 9. 14k-Kyle Bellm.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 18w-Chris Walker, 2. 28-Jonathan Cornell, 3. 76-Jay Russell, 4. 1p-Curtis Evans, 5. 32L-David Langford, 6. 72-Curtis Boyer, 7. 7J-J.D. Black, 8. 9m-Dale McCarty. DNS: 18-Tim Newman.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 94s-Natalie Sather, 2. 21-Brian Brown, 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. 00-Brad Foster, 5. 5*-Gary Taylor, 6. 33a-Austin Alumbaugh, 7. a12-John Pate, 8. 5ma-Mallory Armfield. DNS: 7c-Chris Morgan.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 3. 21L-Mike Lefholz, 4. 21h-Terry Hinck, 5. 15s-Nick Smith, 6. 86x-Josh Fisher, 7. 48-David Brown, 8. 91-Donnie Ray Crawford, 9. 43-Frank Brown.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 50z-Zach Chappell, 2. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 23F-Matt Fox, 6. 2d-Stu Snyder, 7. d12-Doc Sloan, 8. 13-Kathryne Minter.



"B" Mains - Top 3 From Each to "A" Main:

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 76-Jay Russell, 2. 14-Randy Martin, 3. 1m-Terry McCarl, 4. 1p-Curtis Evans, 5. 5*-Gary Taylor, 6. 21L-Mike Lefholz, 7. 51x-Mike Peters, 8. 1k-Kim Kennedy, 9. 19s-Steven Cross, 10. 48-David Brown, 11. 43-Frank Brown, 12. 32L-David Langford, 13. 72-Curtis Boyer. DNS: 2d-Stu Snyder, 5ma-Mallory Armfield, 97-Aaron Berryhill, 33a-Austin Alumbaugh, 91-Donnie Ray Crawford, 33a-Austin Alumbaugh.

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 75-Jesse Hockett, 2. 15s-Nick Smith, 3. 86x-Josh Fisher, 4. 2-Kenneth Walker, 5. 21h-Terry Hinck, 6. 00-Brad Foster, 7. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 8. 23F-Matt Fox, 9. 8b-Bobby Becker, 10. 86-Don Droud, Jr., 11. 13-Kathryne Minter, 12. 7c-Chris Morgan, 13. 9c-Tony Crank, 14. 8-Jeff Wingate, 15. 9m-Dale McCarty, 16. d12-Doc Sloan. DNS: a12-John Pate, 7J-J.D. Black.

 

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 50z-Zach Chappell, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 53-Jack Dover, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 21-Brian Brown, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 8. 75-Jesse Hockett, 9. 94s-Natalie Sather, 10. 4J-Jon Corbin, 11. 76-Jay Russell, 12. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 13. 22-Billy Alley, 14. 51-Mike Boston, 15. 14-Randy Martin, 16. 1p-Curtis Evans, 17. 15-Jack Potter, 18. 2-Kenneth Walker, 19. 1m-Terry McCarl, 20. 18w-Chris Walker, 21. 15s-Nick Smith, 22. 28-Jonathan Cornell, 23. 86x-Josh Fisher, 24. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 25. 13-Kathryne Minter.

Lap Leaders: Wayne Johnson 1-25.

Note: Kenneth Walker and Kathryne Minter utilized ASCoT provisionals and Curtis Evans utilized a WOW provisional to start the "A" Main.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 2,109, 2. Jason Johnson 2,091, 3. Wayne Johnson 2,033, 4. Zach Chappell 1,969, 5. Garry Lee Maier 1,860, 6. Eric Baldaccini 1,713, 7. Nick Smith 1,591, 8. Jack Dover 1,506, 9. Kenneth Walker 1,491, 10. Travis Rilat 1,364, 11. Kathryne Minter 1,266, 12. Jason Sides 1,130, 13. Gary Taylor 1,117, 14. Aaron Berryhill 1,054, 15. Don Droud, Jr. 902.

ASCS Midwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Brian Brown 446, 2. Jack Dover 426, 3. Natalie Sather 420, 4. Billy Alley 400, 5. Mike Boston 396, 6. Bobby Becker 378, 7. Jay Russell 284, 8. Gregg Bakker 274, 9. Don Droud, Jr. 270, 10. Ryan Anderson 262.
 

Late Move Nets Jason Johnson ASCoT Loot at Huron!

By Lonnie Wheatley,

HURON, S.D. (June 28, 2008) - The annual ASCS Northern Swing ended in spectacular fashion on Saturday night as Jason Johnson nabbed his sixth O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National victory of the year with a late move in traffic to top the 25-lap feature event at Dakota State Fair Speedway.

Johnson snared the point from race-long leader Garry Lee Maier on the 23rd lap and then fought off Maier as well as Wayne Johnson over the final two circuits to claim his 34th career ASCS National Tour feature win aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle.

Maier and Jason Johnson led the feature field to the green flag, with Maier gunning into the early lead and pacing the early rounds aboard Scott Brown's ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 11x Maxim.

The initial ASCS National champion never could rest easy though, as Jason Johnson kept the pressure on throughout. In fact, Johnson briefly took the lead away from Maier on the ninth lap when he slid into the top spot in turns one and two. Maier wasted little time returning the favor however, racing back into the lead a half lap later in turns three and four.

While Maier and Jason Johnson diced for the point, Wayne Johnson was on the move from the eighth position in Mike Hammers' H&H Enterprises No. 94 Maxim. The 2000 ASCS National champion needed just two laps to climb to fourth and had taken third from 2001 champ Zach Chappell by the time the race's final caution flew with eleven laps in the books.

With Maier setting the pace ahead of the pair of unrelated Johnson's, action simmered to a boil as lapped traffic once again became a factor over the final seven circuits.

The slightest of hesitations in traffic by Maier on the 23rd lap was all Jason Johnson needed to scoot into the lead. But with a pair of lapped cars directly in front of the battling lead trio as the white flag flew, the victory wasn't in the bag yet.

With Maier and Wayne Johnson side-by-side and right on Jason Johnson's tailtank exiting turn two on the final lap, "The Ragin' Cajun" split the pair of lapped cars in a mad dash down the backstretch and into the final pair of corners to essentially put the win away.

Jason Johnson flashed under the checkered flag with a two car-length advantage for his second ASCoT win in as many tries at Dakota State Fair Speedway, as Maier nipped Wayne Johnson at the line for runner-up honors. Wayne Johnson settled for show honors, with four-time and reigning series champion Gary Wright climbing from 12th to finish fourth in the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction No. 9 Maxim. Wright escaped the Northern Swing with a 22-point advantage over Jason Johnson in the series $50,000 championship chase.

Leading Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Eric Baldaccini posted his second fifth-place finish in as many South Dakota starts over the week in the Smiley's Race Products No. B4 Maxim, with Zach Chappell next across the stripe in sixth. Minnesota's Gordy Vogelaar claimed seventh, with Jody Rosenboom, Chad Meyer and Kenneth Walker completing the top ten.

After holding down the fifth position over the first half of the race, Jack Dover retired to the infield with mechanical woes after 14 laps. The Dover team had already changed engines following a second-place heat race finish.

After coming to a stop with one lap in the books, Shawn Van Wyhe exited four laps later to become the race's first casualty.

The second and final caution flew after eleven laps when Dave Glennon's mount went up in smoke. Kathryne Minter and Chuck Swenson retired to the pit area under the ensuing caution period. Earlier, Swenson had surrendered his seventh starting position when he required a second push as the feature field aligned.

Wayne Johnson, Chappell and Jason Johnson topped Saturday night's heat race action.

O'Reilly ASCoT Results from Dakota State Fair Speedway:

Heat Races:

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 7m-Chad Meyer, 3. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 4. 9-Gary Wright, 5. 2i-Kevin Ingle, 6. 15s-Nick Smith, 7. 30-Ron Rosenboom, 8. 76-Dustin Evink.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 50z-Zach Chappell, 2. X-Chuck Swenson, 3. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 27-Jody Rosenboom, 5. 2-Kenneth Walker, 6. 5-Eric Lutz, 7. 13x-Jordan Martens. DNS: XXX-Ricky Sammons.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 53-Jack Dover, 3. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe, 4. 99v-Gordy Vogelaar, 5. 4J-Lee Grosz, 6. 13-Kathryne Minter, 7. 2k-Chad Chenoweth, 8. 5x-Dave Glennon.

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 3. 94-Wayne Johnson, 4. 9-Gary Wright, 5. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 50z-Zach Chappell, 7. 99v-Gordy Vogelaar, 8. 27-Jody Rosenboom, 9. 7m-Chad Meyer, 10. 2-Kenneth Walker, 11. 4J-Lee Grosz, 12. 15s-Nick Smith, 13. 30-Ron Rosenboom, 14. 5-Eric Lutz, 15. 13x-Jordan Martens, 16. 76-Dustin Evink, 17. 2k-Chad Chenoweth, 18. 2i-Kevin Ingle, 19. 53-Jack Dover, 20. X-Chuck Swenson, 21. 13-Kathryne Minter, 22. 5x-Dave Glennon, 23. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe. DNS: XXX-Ricky Sammons.

Lap Leaders: Garry Lee Maier 1-22, Jason Johnson 23-25.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 1,969, 2. Jason Johnson 1,947, 3. Wayne Johnson 1,883, 4. Zach Chappell 1,823, 5. Garry Lee Maier 1,754, 6. Eric Baldaccini 1,577, 7. Nick Smith 1,479, 8. Kenneth Walker 1,416, 9. (tie) Travis Rilat and Jack Dover 1,364, 11. Kathryne Minter 1,191, 12. Jason Sides 1,130, 13. Gary Taylor 1,042, 14. Aaron Berryhill 979, 15. Chris Tarrant 861.

ASCS Northern Plains Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Lee Grosz 414, 2. Eric Lutz 408, 3. Wade Nygaard 292, 4. Chad Meyer 284, 5. Jody Rosenboom 280, 6. Gordy Vogelaar 276, 7. Chuck Swenson 270, 8. Natalie Sather 260, 9. Jason Tostenson 258, 10. Kevin Ingle 256.
 

O'Reilly ASCoT Stats

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (May 8, 2008) - With the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series set to put the wraps on four consecutive weekends of racing action with this weekend's Red River Shootout at Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway on Friday night and then Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX, on Saturday night, a look at the season's driver stats through 11 nights of action is in order.

Nine different drivers have already reached O'Reilly ASCoT victory lane through the series initial eleven features of 2008, with 49 different drivers taking at least one checkered flag in some form of heat or feature action.

A total of 171 drivers have competed in at least one O'Reilly ASCoT National event thus far in 2008, with the series averaging 46.4 cars per night.

O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour 2008 Stats:

Heat Race Winners (41 winners in 62 Heat Races): Jack Dover 5, Zach Chappell 3, Garry Lee Maier 3, Kenny Adams 2, Eric Baldaccini 2, Brian Brown 2, Dave Calaman 2, Tim Crawley 2, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 2, Jason Johnson 2, Wayne Johnson 2, Danny Lasoski 2, Dustin Morgan 2, Jason Sides 2, Nick Smith 2, Don Young 2, Koby Barksdale 1, Aaron Berryhill 1, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Matt Covington 1, Don Droud, Jr. 1, Terry Gray 1, Josh Higday 1, J. Kinder 1, Greg Leonard 1, Eric Lutz 1, Danny Martin, Jr. 1, Kathryne Minter 1, Daryn Pittman 1, Kevin Ramey 1, Travis Rilat 1, Trey Robb 1, Ryan Roberts 1, Joey Saldana 1, Brian Smith 1, Danny (IN) Smith 1, Gary Taylor 1, Kenneth Walker 1, Scott Winters 1, Gary Wright 1, Joe Young 1.

B Feature Winners (22 Winners in 26 "B" Mains): Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 2, Jason Johnson 2, Wayne Johnson 2, Greg Leonard 2, Aaron Berryhill 1, Brian Brown 1, Zach Chappell 1, Don Droud, Jr. 1, Lewis Jenkins, Jr. 1, Randy Martin 1, Dustin Morgan 1, Daryn Pittman 1, Kevin Ramey 1, Travis Rilat 1, Robert Sellers 1, Tim Shaffer 1, Jason Sides 1, Marshall Skinner 1, Chuck Swenson 1, Scott Winters 1, Gary Wright 1, Don Young 1.

A Feature Winners (9 Winners in 11 "A" Mains): Jason Johnson 3, Kenny Adams 1, Aaron Berryhill 1, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Danny Lasoski 1, Terry McCarl 1, Nick Smith 1, Skip Wilson 1, Gary Wright 1

A Feature Lap Leaders (300 Feature Laps Completed): Jason Johnson 108, Tony Bruce Jr. 41, Gary Wright 29, Skip Wilson 25, Danny Lasoski 23, Nick Smith 23, Terry McCarl 18, Brian Brown 11, Kenneth Walker 7, Kenny Adams 4, Aaron Berryhill 3, Daryn Pittman 3, Trey Robb 3, Garry Lee Maier 2.

A Feature Positions Gained (Top 20): Wayne Johnson 78, Jason Johnson 63, Zach Chappell 47, Gary Wright 41, Travis Rilat 37, Don Droud, Jr. 36, Jason Sides 33, Garry Lee Maier 30, Terry McCarl 26, Eric Baldaccini 21, Kenneth Walker 20, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 18, Greg Leonard 18, Daryn Pittman 18, Aaron Berryhill 13, Andy Shouse 13, Sport Allen 12, Tim Montgomery 12, Nick Smith 12, Tim Shaffer 11.

2008 O'Reilly ASCoT National Points (Top 20 Drivers):

1. 9 / 01-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,277
2. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 1,221
3. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 1,271
4. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 1,131
5. 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 1,084
6. 11x-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS) 1,072
7. B4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) 980
8. 15s-Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 948
9. 2-Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK) 904
10. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN) 888
11. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE) 827
12. 53-Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 751
13. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX) 748
14. 5*-Gary Taylor (Sapulpa, OK) 699
15. 71-Chris Tarrant (Greenville, TX) 641
16. 21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 593
17. 97-Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK) 560
18. 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX) 522
19. 75-Don Young (Bartlett, TN) 463
20. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND) 459

2008 O'Reilly ASCoT National Points (Top 20 Car Owners):

1. Wright-Cooper Motorsports 9 / 01 - 1,277
2. Mike Hammers 94 - 1,221
3. Lanny Row 41 - 1,217
4. David Chappell 50z - 1,131
5. Travis Rilat 29 - 1,084
6. Scott Brown 11x - 1,072
7. Harry Baldaccini B4 - 980
8. Bobby Sparks 91 - 963
9. Kip Smith 15s - 948
10. Sandra Walker 2 - 904
11. Sides Motorsports 7s - 888
12. Lori Dover 53 - 751
13. Tracy Minter 13 - 748
14. Mike Eubanks 5* - 699
15. Scotty Dobbs 71 - 641
16. Aaron Berryhill 97 - 635
17. Tim & Gina Doogs 21 - 593
18. Sam Hafertepe 15 - 522
19. Cliff Young 75 - 463
20. Brad Sather 94s - 459

The O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series is currently slated for 42 nights of racing action at 22 different tracks throughout a dozen different states, with more than $1,000,000 in purse money and point fund to be distributed during the 2008 season.

The nation's most prominent Sprint Car sanctioning body with a dozen different Regions throughout the United States in addition to the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series, the American Sprint Car Series' (ASCS) 17th year of activity will include approximately 250 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks throughout 28 different states and Canada.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at http://www.ascsracing.com/.
 

Crawford Lands ASCoT Ride; Makes First Start Friday in OKC

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (May 7, 2008) - There will be a new face in the pit area when the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series rolls into Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway this Friday night for the opening leg of the Red River Shootout, as third-generation racer Donnie Ray Crawford has been named the new driver of the Bobby Sparks No. 91 entry.

Following Friday night's card, the Broken Arrow, OK, racer will follow the series to Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX, on Saturday night before finishing out the balance of the season with Sparks on the ASCS National Tour.

The 20-year-old Crawford joins a stellar core group of 13 full-time travelers on the O'Reilly ASCoT National series that includes past champions Gary Wright, Travis Rilat, Zach Chappell, Wayne Johnson and Garry Lee Maier, along with two-time series runner-up Jason Johnson and 2006 Brodix Rookie of the Year Nick Smith. Crawford joins a rookie crop that includes Eric Baldaccini, Kenneth Walker, Gary Taylor, Kathryne Minter and Chris Tarrant.

Taking over the ride currently ranked eighth in ASCoT owner points, Crawford surrenders the ASCS2 Micro Sprint points lead in both the Multi and Non-Wing classes.

Taking top honors in Micro Sprint action at the Tulsa Shootout on a number of occasions in recent years, including besting fields of over 100 entries in both "A" Class and Non-Wing action in 2007, Crawford notched a top-five finish in the 2007 edition of the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in his Midget racing debut.

Crawford went on to rank second in 2007 SMRS Midget points, picking off his first feature win along the way at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, MO, on May 28.

This year, Crawford has jumped out to the early ASCS2 points lead in both the Multi and Non-Wing Micro Sprint classes, also adding an SMRS Midget win at Minneapolis (KS) Raceway last Friday night, May 2. Crawford's Midget win came aboard a Midget owned by Mike and Megan Eubanks, who also field Gary Taylor's ASCoT mount.

Crawford got his feet wet in the Sprint Car ranks with three starts in the latter portion of the 2006 season, making an ASCS Sooner Region feature start at Mid-America Speedway before taking in both nights of the Devil's Bowl Speedway Winter Nationals.

Crawford takes the wheel of the Wells-powered Sparks Construction/RESM Transport No. 91 Eagle that has been piloted over the past several years by Darren Stewart.

Sparks opened the season with Nebraska's Don Droud, Jr., at the helm. But after just one top-ten finish through the opening ten nights of action, the team parted ways prior to last Saturday night's event at Lake Ozark Speedway, where Missouri racer Tim Montgomery filled in for the night by charging from 19th to seventh.

Friday night's O'Reilly ASCoT action at Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway fires off at 7:30 p.m., with Saturday's second leg of the Red River Shootout at Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX, going green at 8:00 p.m.

The semi-banked, 3/8-mile State Fair Speedway clay oval is located on the Oklahoma State Fair Grounds near the intersection of N.W. 10th and May Avenue. For more information, contact the track at 405-948-6796.

The high-banked, ½-mile Devil's Bowl Speedway clay oval is located six miles east of Dallas' Loop I-635 on US 80, then three miles south on Lawson Road. For more information, contact the track at 972-222-2421.

The O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series is currently slated for 42 nights of racing action at 22 different tracks throughout a dozen different states, with more than $1,000,000 in purse money and point fund to be distributed during the 2008 season.

The nation's most prominent Sprint Car sanctioning body with a dozen different Regions throughout the United States in addition to the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series, the American Sprint Car Series' (ASCS) 17th year of activity will include approximately 250 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks throughout 28 different states and Canada.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
 

Nick Smith Captures Classic I-30 Speedway ASCoT Win

By Lonnie Wheatley,

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (April 26, 2008) - Oklahoma racer Nick Smith broke into O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National victory lane for the first time this season by emerging atop a classic I-30 Speedway duel on Saturday night.

Smith and Kenneth Walker traded the lead several times over the first half of the 30-lapper atop the ¼-mile clay oval before Smith took command for keeps on the 16th circuit, ultimately beating tenth-starter Tim Crawley and eighth-starter Gary Taylor to the checkered flag in Kip Smith's Wesmar-powered Sooner Network Solutions No. 15s J&J.

But, until the race's only caution flew after 26 laps, Smith rarely held an advantage of more than a couple of car lengths over a host of pursuers that included Wayne Johnson, Crawley, Kenneth Walker, Taylor and Garry Lee Maier.

After drawing the pole position for the feature, Walker outgunned Joe Young for the point at the drop of the green flag and led the opening circuit. Fourth-starter Smith was on the move on the top side of the track though, charging past Walker for the lead upon the completion of the second lap.

With Walker, third-starter Wayne Johnson and Maier in tow, Smith soon reached lapped traffic. And when he slipped off the backstretch exiting turn two on the tenth lap, Walker charged back into the lead.

"We were in traffic and I kept telling myself to hit my marks, hit my marks," Smith recalled afterward. "Then that lap I just slipped up a little too high and dropped right off the track."

Smith gathered it back up in time to retain second as he assumed the rule of chaser while Walker vied for his first career ASCS National Tour win aboard Sandra Walker's Wesmar-powered Action Auto Collision No. 2 J&J.

Dicing through heavy traffic, Smith closed in and slid back around Walker for the lead on the 16th lap with Wayne Johnson working past Walker for second three laps later.

Meanwhile, Crawley cracked the top five aboard Mike Ward's McCarver-powered Boater Sports No. 88 Maxim soon after the midway point. And with Taylor on his tailtank, the duo advanced past Maier for fourth and fifth, respectively, on the 20th lap.

Crawley continued marching, battling past Walker for third and setting his sights on the lead duo of Smith and Johnson.

With Smith holding a slim lead, Crawley pulled to Johnson's inside as the duo charged down the backstretch on the 27th lap. Johnson tried to close the door through turns three and four, spinning to a halt in turn four after the resulting contact and collecting fourth-runner Walker and rookie shoe Kathryne Minter in the mix. Johnson rejoined the chase at the tail while Walker's strong run came to a premature end.

With clear track ahead on the restart, the series 2006 Rookie of the Year slipped away and cruised over the final four laps to his third career ASCS National Tour feature win with Crawley settling for second.

"We could have done without that yellow," Crawley surmised. "I think we could have got that one more spot if we'd stayed in traffic."

Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Taylor posted his best career ASCS National Tour finish by claiming the show position aboard Mike and Megan Eubanks' Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 5* Triple-X, with Maier fourth in Scott Brown's ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service/Max Jantz Excavating No. 11x Maxim.

Zach Chappell rounded out the top five in the Legend's Bar-B-Que No. 50z Maxim, making a late pass of current series points leader Gary Wright, who settled for sixth. Jason Johnson climbed from 14th to finish seventh, with Travis Rilat, Jason Sides and Brad Bowden completing the top ten.

Young, Maier, Chappell and Wayne Johnson topped heat race action for the 34-car field, with Lewis Jenkins, Jr., and Marshall Skinner winning the twin "B" Mains.

Wade Oliver escaped injury after tumbling off the turn two banking in the second "B" Main.

O'Reilly ASCoT I-30 Speedway Results:

Heat Races (Top 14 in passing points to "A" Main; Balance to 2 "B" Mains)

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 12T-Joe Young, 2. 2-Kenneth Walker, 3. 9x-Justin Sturch, 4. 15-Brad Bowden, 5. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 6. 38-Rick Pringle, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 8. 8x-Chris Williams, 9. 13-Kathryne Minter.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 9-Gary Wright, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 91-Don Droud, Jr., 6. 51-Lee Sowell, 7. 95-Matt Covington, 8. 75-Don Young, 9. 5k-Jerry Kamer.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 50z-Zach Chappell, 2. 88-Tim Crawley, 3. 7s-Jason Sides, 4. 7h-Lewis Jenkins, Jr., 5. 26-Marshall Skinner, 6. 8z-Zach Pringle, 7. 1g-Cody Gardner, 8. 71-Chris Tarrant.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 15s-Nick Smith, 3. 5*-Gary Taylor, 4. 4-Tommy Snellgrove, 5. 01-Jeremy Newkirk, 6. 1-Andy McElhannon, 7. 58-Wade Oliver, 8. 11c-Dave Speer.

"B" Mains - Top 4 From Each Advance to ?A? Main

First "B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 7h-Lewis Jenkins, Jr., 2. 91-Don Droud, Jr., 3. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 4. 1g-Cody Gardner, 5. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 71-Chris Tarrant, 7. 13-Kathryne Minter, 8. 8x-Chris Williams, 9. 01-Jeremy Newkirk, 10. 51-Lee Sowell.

Second "B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 26-Marshall Skinner, 2. 8z-Zach Pringle, 3. 4-Tommy Snellgrove, 4. 95-Matt Covington, 5. 38-Rick Pringle, 6. 1-Andy McElhannon, 7. 5k-Jerry Kamer, 8. 75-Don Young, 9. 11c-Dave Speer, 10. 58-Wade Oliver.

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (30 Laps): 1. 15s-Nick Smith, 2. 88-Tim Crawley, 3. 5*-Gary Taylor, 4. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 5. 50z-Zach Chappell, 6. 9-Gary Wright, 7. 41-Jason Johnson, 8. 29-Travis Rilat, 9. 7s-Jason Sides, 10. 15-Brad Bowden, 11. 91-Don Droud, Jr., 12. 7h-Lewis Jenkins, Jr., 13. 26-Marshall Skinner, 14. 94-Wayne Johnson, 15. 9x-Justin Sturch, 16. 12T-Joe Young, 17. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 18. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 19. 1g-Cody Gardner, 20. 13-Kathryne Minter, 21. 95-Matt Covington, 22. 2-Kenneth Walker, 23. 8z-Zach Pringle, 24. 4-Tommy Snellgrove.

Lap Leaders: Kenneth Walker 1, Nick Smith 2-9, Walker 10-15, Smith 16-30.

Note: Eric Baldaccini and Kathryne Minter utilized O'Reilly ASCOT provisionals to start the "A" Main.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 1,131, 2. Wayne Johnson 1,081, 3. Jason Johnson 1,073, 4. Garry Lee Maier 997, 5. Zach Chappell 989, 6. Travis Rilat 950, 7. Jason Sides 888, 8. Eric Baldaccini 860, 9. Don Droud, Jr. 827, 10. Nick Smith 822, 11. Kenneth Walker 782, 12. Gary Taylor 699, 13. Kathryne Minter 673, 14. Jack Dover 613, 15. Brian Brown 593.
 

Skip Wilson Pulls Off O'Reilly ASCoT Surprise at Paris!

By Lonnie Wheatley,

PARIS, Texas (April 25, 2008) - Skip Wilson pulled off what ranks as perhaps one of the biggest upset wins in recent years of O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National competition by topping Friday night's 25-lap main event at Paris Motor Speedway.

Wilson survived some tense moments in lapped traffic to take his first career series win aboard J.B. Cook's Speed Specialties/Bubba's Plumbing No. 65 Avenger just ahead of past ASCS National champions Wayne Johnson and Tim Crawley.

And the win occurred in an event that nearly never happened, as torrential rains drenched much of North Texas in the late afternoon. While the storms narrowly missed Paris Motor Speedway, several teams turned back towards home certain of a rainout.

"We almost didn't come," Wilson explained of the last minute decision. "I'm glad we did though."

A second place heat race finish put Wilson seventh in passing points and into the redraw. And by the time his turn to draw came around, two pills remained: the one and the two. Wilson drew the pole position, with Wayne Johnson slotted into the front row outside.

Twenty-five lightning fast laps later, the Mesquite, TX, veteran racer was standing in victory lane, commenting that, "I'm just kind of amazed right now."

While Wilson led all 25 laps, he had to work for it as several of the nation's top Sprint Car shoes nipped at his heels all the while.

The initial attempt to start the feature was waved off when top heat race passing points earner Don Young bicycled off the top of turn one from his eighth starting slot. Young exited to the pit area before the green flag flew again.

And when the green flag reappeared, it was non-stop for 25 laps.

"My arms were getting awful heavy there at the end, I was getting tired," Wilson explains.

Jumping into the lead at the outset in front of Johnson and fourth-starter Crawley, Wilson set a quick pace and reached traffic just prior to the midway point. And when he got to Justin Sturch in the latter stages, Johnson and Crawley sensed opportunity and moved in for the kill.

"I got hung up there a little, he was just racing his race," Wilson stated. "I thought I saw someone's nose under me in that one corner, then I got around him and I really felt like I got a little faster those last few laps."

And that was the case, as Johnson poked his nose underneath Wilson in the final handful of laps. But when Wilson got around the lapped car, he broke away to a six car-length advantage that he held to the checkered flag as he raced in open track over the final circuits.

After swapping a hurt Fisher powerplant for a healthy Wesmar after heat race action, Johnson took runner-up honors in Mike and Tim Hammers' H&H Enterprises/Pearson Farms No. 94 Maxim, with Crawley right on his tailtank in third aboard Mike Ward's McCarver-powered Boater Sports No. 88 Maxim.

Jason Johnson battled past Gary Wright for fourth on the 19th lap and kept Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle there the rest of the way, with Wright maintaining his current series points lead by rounding out the top five in the Wright-Cooper Motorsports Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction No. 9 Maxim.

Travis Rilat crossed the stripe sixth, wit Nick Smith, Garry Lee Maier, Zach Chappell and Kenneth Walker completing the top ten.

Young, Jason Johnson and Maier topped heat race action.

John Ricketts flipped in the second heat, but was able to return for the feature event.

O'Reilly ASCoT Paris Motor Speedway Results:

Heat Races:

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 75-Don Young, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 9-Gary Wright, 4. 50z-Zach Chappell, 5. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 71-Chris Tarrant.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 65-Skip Wilson, 3. 94-Wayne Johnson, 4. 15s-Nick Smith, 5. 9x-Justin Sturch, 6. 76-John Ricketts.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 2. 88-Tim Crawley, 3. 5*-Gary Taylor, 4. 2-Kenneth Walker, 5. 13-Kathryne Minter, 6. 91-Don Droud, Jr.

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 65-Skip Wilson, 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 88-Tim Crawley, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 29-Travis Rilat, 7. 15s-Nick Smith, 8. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 9. 50z-Zach Chappell, 10. 2-Kenneth Walker, 11. 5*-Gary Taylor, 12. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 13. 9x-Justin Sturch, 14. 13-Kathryne Minter, 15. 76-John Ricketts, 16. 75-Don Young, 17. 71-Chris Tarrant. DNS: 91-Don Droud, Jr.

Lap Leaders: Skip Wilson 1-25.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 993, 2. Wayne Johnson 959, 3. Jason Johnson 937, 4. Garry Lee Maier 855, 5. Zach Chappell 849, 6. Travis Rilat 816, 7. Eric Baldaccini 785, 8. Jason Sides 756, 9. Don Droud, Jr. 699, 10. Nick Smith and Kenneth Walker 672, 12. Jack Dover 613, 13. Kathryne Minter 598, 14. Brian Brown 593, 15. Gary Taylor 555.
 

Shuman Snags ASCS Canyon Region Loot on Last Lap

By Lonnie Wheatley,

PHOENIX, Ariz. (March 22, 2008) - Casey Shuman captured his first career Discount Tire Co. American Sprint Car Series Canyon Region feature win by topping Saturday night's 30-lap feature atop Manzanita Speedway's 1/3-mile clay oval.

And he did in spectacular fashion by wrestling the lead away from 19-year-old Jeremy Reagles on the final lap.

Shuman started the feature from the front row outside, but it was Reagles racing into the lead in short order after staring in the third row as he pursued his first career ASCS feature win after ranking as the top rookie with the ASCS Canyon Region in 2007.

But Shuman had other ideas, charging into the lead on the checkered flag lap to take the win. Reagles settled for second, with Josh Pelkey taking the show position. Nathan High advanced from a mid-pack starting position to snare fourth, with Charles Davis, Jr., rounding out the top five.

Defending series champion and current point leader Jeremy Sherman was sixth, with Shon Deskins, R.J. Johnson, Bernie Smith and Thomas Ogle completing the top ten.

Bob Ream, Jr. earned Hard Charger honors by racing from 23rd to 12th.

Johnson, Pelkey and Reagles topped heat race action, with Justin Fisher winning the "B" Main. High won the Trophy Dash.

Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region Results from Manzanita Speedway:

Heat One: 1. 15-R.J. Johnson, 2. 62-Jeff Henry, 3. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 4. 77-Jeremy Sherman, 5. 29-Mike Bonneau, 6. 16-Mike Martin, 7. 2-Mike Colegrove, 8. 78-Chris Bonneau, 9. 7-Steve Tellas.

Heat Two: 1. 34-Josh Pelkey, 2. 76-Mike Leslie, 3. 32-Casey Shuman, 4. 48-Thomas Ogle, 5. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 6. 61-Justin Fisher, 7. 14-Bernie Smith, 8. 9-Ryan Linder.

Heat Three: 1. 44-Jeremy Reagles, 2. 97-Brandon Lane, 3. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 4. 20-Shon Deskins, 5. 12-Nathan High, 6. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 7. 26az-Bobby Taylor, 8. 8-Bob Ream, Jr.

Trophy Dash: 1. 12-Nathan High, 2. 15-R.J. Johnson, 3. 78-Chris Bonneau. DNS: 77-Jeremy Sherman.

"B" Feature: 1. 61-Justin Fisher, 2. 78-Chris Bonneau, 3. 14-Bernie Smith, 4. 2-Mike Colegrove, 5. 26az-Bobby Taylor, 6. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 7. 8-Bob Ream, Jr., 8. 9-Ryan Linder, 9. 7-Steve Tellas.

"A" Feature: 1. 32-Casey Shuman, 2. 44-Jeremy Reagles, 3. 34-Josh Pelkey, 4. 12-Nathan High, 5. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 6. 77-Jeremy Sherman, 7. 20-Shon Deskins, 8. 15-R.J. Johnson, 9. 14-Bernie Smith, 10. 48-Thomas Ogle, 11. 62-Jeff Henry, 12. 8-Bob Ream, Jr., 13. 61-Justin Fisher, 14. 16-Mike Martin, 15. 78-Chris Bonneau, 16. 2-Mike Colegrove, 17. 9-Ryan Linder, 18. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 19. 29-Mike Bonneau, 20. 76-Mike Leslie, 21. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 22. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 23. 97-Brandon Lane, 24. 26az-Bobby Taylor.

Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Jeremy Sherman 288, 2. Nathan High 284, 3. R.J. Johnson 278, 4. (tie) Shon Deskins and Jeremy Reagles 268, 6. Bob Ream, Jr. 262, 7. (tie) Bernie Smith and Thomas Ogle 260, 9. (tie) Josh Pelkey, Justin Fisher and Chris Bonneau 258.
 

Grable is Able in ASCS Southwest Opener

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TUCSON, Ariz. (March 22, 2008) - Don Grable captured the inaugural American Sprint Car Series Southwest Region feature win as the series contested its first event at USA Race Park on Saturday night.

Grable took command when early pacesetter Rick Ziehl was forced pitside with engine woes and charged to the checkered flag in the 25-lapper aboard the Casey Minks-owned No. 29x entry.

The El Paso racer was chased to the line by Ronnie Clark, with Steve Martin, Mike Rux, Jr., and Hawaii's Dennis Krob rounding out the top five.

Ohio's Rich Boughan was sixth, with Ben Gregg rebounding from a heat race flip to snare seventh. Cody Cambensy crossed the line eighth, with Joshua Williams and Bobby Marcum completing the top ten.

John Gaston got upside down to bring out an early red flag in the feature, with Shawn Sander eliminated in the incident as well.

Sander, Marcum and Martin topped heat race action.

ASCS Southwest Region Results from USA Race Park:

Heat One: 1. 48-Shawn Sander, 2. 29x-Don Grable, 3. 33-Rick Ziehl, 4. 5az-John Van Horn, 5. 22b-Ben Gregg, 6. 41-Joshua Williams.

Heat Two: 1. 85-Bobby Marcum, 2. 22J-John Gaston, 3. 22-Mike Rux, Jr., 4. 5h-Dennis Krob, 5. 66-Jessica Van Dyke, 6. 57-Steve Stone.

Heat Three: 1. 20az-Steve Martin, 2. 94-Ronnie Clark, 3. 4c-Billy Chester III, 4. 42-Rick Boughan, 5. 94T-Cody Cambensy, 6. 55-R.C. Whitwell.

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 29x-Don Grable, 2. 94-Ronnie Clark, 3. 20az-Steve Martin, 4. 22-Mike Rux, Jr., 5. 5h-Dennis Krob, 6. 42-Rick Boughan, 7. 22b-Ben Gregg, 8. 94T-Cody Cambensy, 9. 41-Joshua Williams, 10. 85-Bobby Marcum, 11. 33-Rick Ziehl, 12. 66-Jessica Van Dyke, 13. 4c-Billy Chester III, 14. 48-Shawn Sander, 15. 22J-John Gaston, 16. 57-Steve Stone. DNS: 55-R.C. Whitwell, 5az-John Van Horn.

ASCS Southwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Don Grable 150, 2. Ronnie Clark 146, 3. Steve Martin 144, 4. Mike Rux, Jr. 142, 5. Dennis Krob 140, 6. Rick Boughan 138, 7. Ben Gregg 136, 8. Cody Cambensy 134, 9. Joshua Williams 132, 10. Bobby Marcum 130.
 

Lasoski Edges Maier for First ASCoT Win in OKC Opener

By Lonnie Wheatley,

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (March 21, 2008) - Danny Lasoski emerged from a wild scramble through lapped traffic in the closing laps to win Friday night's 25-lap O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series feature event on the opening night of State Fair Speedway's Spring Nationals.

In the process, he denied Garry Lee Maier his 38th career ASCS National Tour feature win after the series' initial champion battled into the lead with just three laps to go, only to get bottled up behind a lapped car with the white flag in sight.

Lasoski took quick advantage and recaptured the point to secure his first career ASCS National Tour feature win aboard the Kistler-powered American Compressed Steel No. 5 JEI. Maier settled for second, with Daryn Pittman in third. Jason Johnson rallied from the tail of the field to snare the fourth and final transfer to Saturday night's Spring Nationals finale.

Friday's 25-lap feature distance ran in non-stop fashion once it finally got under way. It just took a couple of extra tries to get things going.

On the initial start, Chris Lloyd looped his machine harmlessly in turn one. But as the leaders raced into turn three at the same time, polesitter Dustin Morgan hooked the cushion and flipped wildly. Maier assumed the pole position and outgunned fellow front row starter Lasoski for the lead on the restart, only to have the caution fly when Jamie Passmore spun to a stop in turn three.

The next try went red as well when Sam Hafertepe, Jr., got upside down entering turn one. There were no injuries, with only Morgan and Hafertepe done for the night.

With the initial carnage out of the way, Lasoski gunned into the lead and paced the early rounds in front of Maier and Jack Dover, with Pittman battling past Eric Baldaccini and Brian Brown to take over fourth by the fifth lap.

Lapped traffic came into play in short order, as Lasoski reached the tail of the field by the sixth lap. Maier kept "The Dude" in sight all the way and closed in on Lasoski's tailtank at the halfway point.

Lasoski never could break away from Maier by more than a few car-lengths and when a gaggle of lapped cars appeared before the leaders in the final handful of laps, Maier moved in on his prey and found the opening he needed when Lasoski bicycled in turn three on the 22nd lap.

Maier motored to the low side and beat Lasoski into turn one to take command aboard the ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service/Max Jantz Excavating No. 11x Maxim. But a lapped car would prove costly for the Kansas shoe, as Maier's command lasted only a lap and a half before he ran afoul of Eric Badaccini entering turn three as the leaders approached the white flag.

A solid tap of Baldaccini's tailtank from Maier's front bumper slowed the leader's progress just enough to allow Lasoski to sneak back by. Lasoski then held off Maier over the final round to secure the win as Maier settled for runner-up honors.

Dover, the 18-year-old from Nebraska, held down the third position for 15 laps until losing three positions in the final rounds. Pittman took over third on the 16th lap and held the position the rest of the way aboard the Titan Racing No. 21 Maxim.

After winning the night's second "B" Main, Jason Johnson gridded the field fourth aboard Lanny Row's The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle. But after making a trip to the work area after one of the waved off starts, "The Ragin' Cajun" tagged the field and proceeded to turn in the drive of the night.

Johnson was ninth by the tenth lap and then sixth by the 15th round. When Dover nearly dumped it in turn three on the 20th lap, Johnson scooted by both Gary Wright and Dover to take over the fourth and final lock-in to Saturday night's feature.

Wright picked off a handful of positions to round out the top five aboard the Wright-Cooper Motorsports Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction No. 9 Maxim, extending his record streak of top-five finishes in ASCS National Tour action to 19 in a row.

Dover settled for sixth, with 20th-starter Wayne Johnson, Brian Brown, Andy Shouse and Eric Baldaccini completing the top ten.

Baldaccini, Pittman, Brown, Lasoski, Dover and Morgan topped heat race action for the 52-car field, with Robert Sellers, Jason Johnson and Sam Hafertepe, Jr., winning the "B" Mains.

Eric VanderPloeg flipped in turn one on the opening lap of the sixth heat and was able to return for "B" Main competition.


O'Reilly ASCoT State Fair Speedway Spring Nationals Preliminary Event Results:

Heat Races (Top 14 in passing points to "A" Main; Balance to 3 "B" Mains)

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 86-Josh Fisher, 3. 5*-Gary Taylor, 4. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 5. 94-Wayne Johnson, 6. 29-Travis Rilat, 7. 51-Foster Landon, 8. 95-Matt Covington, 9. 13-Kathryne Minter.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 21T-Daryn Pittman, 2. 9-Gary Wright, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 24-Terry McCarl, 5. 91-Don Droud, Jr., 6. 50z-Zach Chappell, 7. 92-Mike Sitzmann, Jr., 8. 2x-Josh Higday, 9. 81au-Gavin Punch.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 4. 94s-Natalie Sather, 5. 22-Billy Alley, 6. 20s-Sheldon Barksdale, 7. 77-Colt Treharn, 8. 15s-Nick Smith, 9. 71-Chris Tarrant.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 5-Danny Lasoski, 2. 2-Kenneth Walker, 3. 5$-Danny Smith, 4. 4J-Jamie Passmore, 5. 45x-C.J. Johnson, 6. 7s-Jason Sides, 7. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 8. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 9. 26-Dalton Steed.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 61J-Danny Jennings, 3. 28-Chris Lloyd, 4. 25-Robert Sellers, 5. 43x-Brent Swift, 6. 59-Dex Eaton, 7. 11F-Darrell Fletcher, 8. 01-Brandon Jennings.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 8h-Dustin Morgan, 2. 87-Brian McClelland, 3. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 4. 1-Derek Drown, 5. 43-A.J. Selenke, 6. 15k-Kerry McAlister, 7. 23F-Matt Fox, 8. 10-Eric VanderPloeg.

"B" Mains - Top 2 From Each Advance to "A" Main

First "B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 25-Robert Sellers, 2. 28-Chris Lloyd, 3. 22-Billy Alley, 4. 91-Don Droud, Jr., 5. 15k-Kerry McAlister, 6. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 7. 43-A.J. Selenke, 8. 10-Eric VanderPloeg, 9. 92-Mike Sitzmann, Jr., 10. 2x-Josh Higday, 11. 71-Chris Tarrant. DNS: 5*-Gary Taylor, 23F-Matt Fox.

Second "B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 24-Terry McCarl, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 94s-Natalie Sather, 5. 1-Derek Drown, 6. 95-Matt Covington, 7. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 8. 59-Dex Eaton, 9. 77-Colt Treharn, 10. 13-Kathryne Minter, 11. 45x-C.J. Johnson, 12. 50z-Zach Chappell. DNS: 26-Dalton Steed.

Third "B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 7s-Jason Sides, 4. 51-Foster Landon, 5. 81au-Gavin Punch, 6. 5$-Danny Smith, 7. 15s-Nick Smith, 8. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 9. 43x-Brent Swift, 10. 20s-Sheldon Barksdale, 11. 01-Brandon Jennings. DNS: 11F-Darrell Fletcher.

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 5-Danny Lasoski, 2. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 3. 21T-Daryn Pittman, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 53-Jack Dover, 7. 94-Wayne Johnson, 8. 21-Brian Brown, 9. 27-Andy Shouse, 10. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 11. 7s-Jason Sides, 12. 50z-Zach Chappell, 13. 2-Kenneth Walker, 14. 86-Josh Fisher, 15. 28-Chris Lloyd, 16. 4J-Jamie Passmore, 17. 61J-Danny Jennings, 18. 87-Brian McClelland, 19. 24-Terry McCarl, 20. 25-Robert Sellers, 21. 8h-Dustin Morgan, 22. 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr.

Lap Leaders: Danny Lasoski 1-21, Garry Lee Maier 22-23, Danny Lasoski 24-25.

Note: Jason Sides and Zach Chappell utilized provisionals to start the "A" Main.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 579, 2. Wayne Johnson 547, 3. Jason Johnson 495, 4. Jason Sides 474, 5. Garry Lee Maier 457, 6. Zach Chappell 451, 7. Eric Baldaccini 448, 8. Travis Rilat 420, 9. Don Droud, Jr. 382, 10. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 380, 11. Jack Dover 347, 12. Nick Smith 341, 13. Kenneth Walker 333, 14. Brian Brown 319, 15. Tony Bruce, Jr. 296.
 

"Ragin' Cajun" Crowned King of the 360's at East Bay

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TAMPA, Fla. (February 2, 2008) - Following on the heels of runner-up finishes in O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National points over each of the past two years, Jason Johnson kicked off his pursuit of the series' 2008 championship with a resonant victory in the Tenth Annual "King of the 360's" Nationals finale at East Bay Raceway Park's 32nd Annual Winter Nationals.

Hailing from Eunice, LA, "The Ragin' Cajun" paced all 40 laps of Saturday night's Ronald Laney Memorial to notch the $10,500 triumph, with the posted $10,000 winner's share bolstered by a $500 bonus from C&B Mushroom Farms.

"I'm proud of this win, this is one of the big races," Johnson commented after the victory aboard Lanny Row's The Shop Diesel Service/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle. "Lapped traffic was my biggest worry there for a while, you just never how close someone is behind you."

After finishes of sixth on Thursday and then second in Friday night's preliminary action, Johnson gridded Saturday night's feature field outside the front row alongside reigning O'Reilly ASCoT National champion and defending race winner Gary Wright.

"We changed the car every time we hit the track this weekend, we kept adjusting on it and never had the same setup twice," Johnson explained. "It was about perfect for the feature."

Johnson outgunned Wright for the lead at the drop of the green flag, only to have action interrupted after two laps when Greg Leonard spun in turn one and collected Matt Tiffany. Both drivers were done for the night.

The yellow lights flickered again a lap later when Don Droud, Jr., came to a stop on the frontstretch. Droud made a quick trip to the work area before returning to action, while Joey Saldana also ducked into the work area to replace a flat left rear tire.

Leading Wright and Friday night winner Terry McCarl on the lap four restart, Johnson set sail, opening up a half straightaway lead by the time he reached lapped traffic on the ninth lap. Navigating heavy traffic masterfully, Johnson stretched his lead to a full straightaway by the midway point.

While the battles for position raged in his wake, Johnson finally cleared traffic on the 30th lap and found himself with open track, only to have the caution fly when Garry Lee Maier spun to a stop in turn two.

"In Australia, they take the lapped cars out on restarts, so I kinda had to stop and remind myself where I was at under that yellow," Johnson commented after his first weekend of action back in the United States after spending the past several months "Down Under". "This is one of those times I was glad we leave the lapped cars in place here."

With four lapped cars separating the leader from his rivals on the final restart, there was no match for Johnson as he charged to the checkered flag to capture his 29th career ASCS National Tour feature win.

After starting from the pole position, four-time ASCS National champion Gary Wright held second until Terry McCarl slipped by on the fifth lap. Wright battled back around McCarl on the 12th circuit and fought off the Iowa shoe the rest of the way to snare runner-up honors aboard the Wright-Cooper Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Carry All Services No. 01 Maxim.

Wright's runner-up finish along with second and third-place finishes on Thursday and Friday extended his streak of ASCS National Tour top-five feature runs to 16 in a row (tying the series record) and allowed him to escape the East Bay triple with a mere one-point lead over Jason Johnson.

Crossing the stripe on Wright's rear nerf bar, McCarl settled for show honors aboard Mark Burch's Engler Tool & Machine No. 1m Wolfweld.

Just as Wright and McCarl battled for runner-up honors throughout, second-row starters Travis Rilat and Kenny Adams diced for fourth position all the way in the 40-lapper. Rilat finally took the position for keeps in the final laps aboard the F&J Construction No. 29 Triple-X, with Adams settling for fifth in the Don Ott-powered C&B Mushrooms/B&W Trucking No. 4a Shaw.

Zach Chappell advanced from tenth to finish sixth, with Jason Sides racing from 13th to seventh. Maier was the final car on the lead lap in eighth, with 17th-starter Daryn Pittman and 23rd-starter Wayne Johnson completing the top ten.

Greg Leonard, Don Young, Chappell, Sides and Dave Calaman topped Saturday night's heat race action, with Chuck Swenson and Tim Shaffer winning the 12-lap "B" Mains.

The night's only red flag flew in the second "B" Main when Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Eric Baldaccini tangled with a lapped car while contending for a transfer position and tipped over in turn four. Baldaccini's mount was reduced to scrap metal moments later when tagged by Canada's Michael Parent. There were no injuries.


O'Reilly ASCoT East Bay Raceway Park "King of the 360's" Nationals Ronald Laney Memorial Results:

Locked in from Thursday and Friday Preliminaries (Top Six in Total Points):

01-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA), 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR).

Heat Races (Top 12 in passing points to ?A? Main; Balance to 2 "B" Mains)

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 6-Greg Leonard (Apollo Beach, FL), 2. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 3. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 4. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK), 5. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX), 6. 34-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH), 7. 6s-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 8. 21T-T.J. Luedke (Plymouth, WI). DNS: 10-Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN).

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 75-Don Young (Memphis, TN), 2. 02-Gene Lasker (Tampa, FL), 3. 21-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK), 4. 12-Tim Kelly (Dundee, NY), 5. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 6. 3bx-Danny Biasi (Mary D, PA), 7. 97-Aaron Schipper (Plymouth, WI), 8. d12-Doc Sloan (Imperial, MO), 9. 63-Josh Weller (Mertztown, PA).

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 2. 11x-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 3. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 4. a12-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 5. 18x-Adam Gordon (Suffern, NY), 6. 14-Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY), 7. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 8. 4c-Tyler Godwin (Lutz, FL), 9. 51-John Sauermilch (Elkhart Lake, WI).

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 2. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 3. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 4. 15c-Anthony Cain (Fairfax, VT), 5. 11s-Brian Smith (Mooresville, NC), 6. 79-Dakotah Stephens (Brandon, FL), 7. 25-Michael Parent (Quebec, CAN), 8. 8x-Chris Williams (Memphis, TN).

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 5-Dave Calaman (Carlisle, PA), 2. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 3. 2-Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN), 4. 93-Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO), 5. 3x-Brian Maddox (Brandon, FL), 6. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 7. 29T-Leigh Thomas (Duluth, MN), 8. 00T-Thomas Selhorst (Clearwater, FL).

"B" Mains - Top 3 From Each Advance to "A" Main

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 2. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 3. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 4. 15c-Anthony Cain (Fairfax, VT), 5. 3x-Brian Maddox (Brandon, FL), 6. 6s-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 7. 12-Tim Kelly (Dundee, NY), 8. 34-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH), 9. 93-Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO), 10. 8x-Chris Williams (Memphis, TN), 11. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX), 12. 29T-Leigh Thomas (Duluth, MN), 13. 18x-Adam Gordon (Suffern, NY), 14. d12-Doc Sloan (Imperial, MO), 15. 63-Josh Weller (Mertztown, PA). DNS: 10-Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN).

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. a12-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 2. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 3. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK), 4. 3bx-Joey Biasi (Mary D, PA), 5. 11s-Brian Smith (Mooresville, NC), 6. 79-Dakotah Stephens (Brandon, FL), 7. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 8. 14-Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY), 9. 21T-T.J. Luedke (Plymouth, WI), 10. 97-Aaron Schipper (Plymouth, WI), 11. 51-John Sauermilch (Elkhart Lake, WI), 12. 00T-Thomas Selhorst (Clearwater, FL), 13. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 14. 25-Michael Parent (Quebec, CAN). DNS: 4c-Tyler Godwin (Lutz, FL).

Prevatt Farms Strawberry Dash:

Strawberry Dash (4 Laps): 1. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 2. 6s-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 3. 51-John Sauermilch (Elkhart Lake, WI), 4. 00T-Thomas Selhorst (Clearwater, FL).
 

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event - $10,000 to win Ronald Laney Memorial:

"A" Feature (40 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 2. 01-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), 3. 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA), 4. 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 5. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 6. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 7. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 8. 11x-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 9. 21-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK), 10. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 11. 75-Don Young (Memphis, TN), 12. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 13. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK), 14. 02-Gene Lasker (Tampa, FL), 15. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 16. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 17. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 18. a12-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 19. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 20. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), 21. 5-Dave Calaman (Carlisle, PA), 22. 2-Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN), 23. 6-Greg Leonard (Apollo Beach, FL), 24. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL).

Lap Leaders: Jason Johnson 1-40.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 143, 2. Jason Johnson 142, 3. Terry McCarl 139, 4. Travis Rilat 138, 5. Kenny Adams 132, 6. Wayne Johnson 127, 7. Daryn Pittman 121, 8. (tie) Don Droud, Jr., Tim Crawley and Garry Lee Maier 114, 11. Jason Sides 111, 12. Tim Shaffer 109, 13. Greg Leonard 103, 14. Matt Tiffany 100, 15. Zach Chappell 98.
 

McCarl the Master in Friday ASCS Prelim at East Bay

By Lonnie Wheatley, TAMPA, Fla. (February 1, 2008) - Iowa's Terry McCarl put himself in a strong position to capture a second "King of the 360's" Nationals crown by racing to victory lane in Friday night's 25-lap O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour Nationals series preliminary feature event at East Bay Raceway Park's 32nd Annual Winter Nationals.

Starting from the eleventh position, the 2006 event winner needed just eight laps to overtake early pacesetter Gary Wright before racing on to victory lane aboard Mark Burch's Engler Machine & Tool No. 1m Wolfweld.

With his sixth career ASCS National Tour feature win, McCarl climbed to fifth in points accumulated over the two preliminary events to lock himself into Saturday night's $10,000 to win Ronald Laney Memorial along with top point earner Gary Wright, Jason Johnson (second), Travis Rilat (third), Kenny Adams (fourth) and Tim Crawley (sixth).

The balance of the 55-car field will start from scratch, battling it out through a full card of heat races and "B" Mains to fill out Saturday night's 24-car starting field.

After accumulating the most passing points in heat race action, defending race winner Wright drew the pole position for the feature and led the field to the green flag with Nebraskan Don Droud, Jr., alongside.

Wright jumped into the lead at the drop of the green and led the opening lap in front of fourth-starter Travis Rilat, third-starter Garry Lee Maier, ninth-starter Wayne Johnson and Droud, with the red flag flying moments later when Terry Gray flipped in turn one. Gray was uninjured, but done for the night.

Picking off four positions on the opening circuit, McCarl was seventh on the restart and immediately began working forward as the final 24 circuits ran off in non-stop fashion.

McCarl battled past Jason Johnson and Droud for fifth on the second lap, and had made his way around Wayne Johnson and Maier to take over third by the fourth round.

Two laps later, McCarl disposed of Rilat for second and set his sights on Wright, who was running the low side of the clay oval. Working perfectly a couple of car-widths off the bottom groove, McCarl charged past Wright in turns one and two on the eighth lap and never looked back.

With McCarl working through lapped traffic most of the way, Jason Johnson began advancing through the field and was challenging Wright for second at the midway point. Johnson slipped around Wright for second on the 15th lap and closed in on McCarl on several occasions.

But on each occasion, McCarl made a timely move through lapped traffic to open up some breathing room, ultimately taking the checkered flag four car-lengths ahead of Johnson, who settled for second aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle.

Wright held the show position aboard the Wright-Cooper Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction No. 01 Maxim, with Wayne Johnson picking off a handful of positions to claim fourth aboard the Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Maxim.

Rilat rounded out the top five aboard the F&J Construction No. 29 Triple-X, with Tim Crawley and Garry Lee Maier next across the line in seventh and eighth, respectively. Droud was ninth at the stripe, with 18-year-old Matt Tiffany completing the top ten.

Droud, Brian Smith, Crawley, Kenny Adams, Rilat, Joey Saldana and Maier topped heat race action for Friday night's 53-car field, with Daryn Pittman, Jason Sides and Greg Leonard victorious in "B" Main action.

O'Reilly ASCoT East Bay Raceway Park "King of the 360's" Nationals Preliminary Night Two Results:

Heat Races (Top 18 in passing points to "A" Main; Balance to 3 "B" Mains)

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 2. 01-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), 3. 14-Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY), 4. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 5. 20-Frank Carlsson (Oxford, FL), 6. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX), 7. 79-Dakotah Stephens (Brandon, FL), 8. 00T-Thomas Selhorst (Clearwater, FL).

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 11s-Brian Smith (Mooresville, NC), 2. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 3. 3x-Brian Maddox (Brandon, FL), 4. a12-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 5. 34-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH), 6. 93-Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO), 7. d12-Doc Sloan (Imperial, MO), 8. 15c-Anthony Cain (Fairfax, VT).

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), 2. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 3. 63-Josh Weller (Mertztown, PA), 4. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 5. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 6. 8x-Chris Williams (Memphis, TN), 7. 6s-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 8. 29T-Leigh Thomas (Duluth, MN).

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 2. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 3. 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA), 4. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 5. 3bx-Joey Biasi (Mary D, PA), 6. 21T-T.J. Luedke (Plymouth, WI), 7. 97-Aaron Schipper (Plymouth, WI), 8. 51-John Sauermilch (Elkhart Lake, WI).

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 2. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 3. 10-Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN), 4. 6-Greg Leonard (Apollo Beach, FL), 5. 4-Danny Smith (Danville, IN), 6. 5-Dave Calaman (Carlisle, PA), 7. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA).

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 2-Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN), 2. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 3. 21-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK), 4. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 5. 75-Don Young (Memphis, TN). DNS: 3b-Brad Greer (Coultierville, IL), 02-Gene Lasker (Tampa, FL).

Heat Seven (8 Laps): 1. 11x-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 2. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK), 3. 18x-Adam Gordon (Suffern, NY), 4. 25-Michael Parent (Quebec, CAN), 5. 18-Shane Butler (Bushnell, FL), 6 12-Tim Kelly (Dundee, NY), 7. 4c-Tyler Godwin (Lutz, FL).

"B" Mains - Top 2 From Each Advance to "A" Main

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 21-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK), 2. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 3. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK), 4. 75-Don Young (Memphis, TN), 5. 34-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH), 6. 5-Dave Calaman (Carlisle, PA), 7. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 8. 93-Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO), 9. 79-Dakotah Stephens (Brandon, FL), 10. 15c-Anthony Cain (Fairfax, VT). DNS: 14-Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY), 3b-Brad Greer (Coultierville, IL).

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 2. 63-Josh Weller (Mertztown, PA), 3. 3bx-Joey Biasi (Mary D, PA), 4. 8x-Chris Williams (Memphis, TN), 5. 18x-Adam Gordon (Suffern, NY), 6. 20-Frank Carlsson (Oxford, FL), 7. 18-Shane Butler (Bushnell, FL), 8. 29T-Leigh Thomas (Duluth, MN), 9. 12-Tim Kelly (Dundee, NY), 10. d12-Doc Sloan (Imperial, MO). DNS: 4c-Tyler Godwin (Lutz, FL).

Third "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 6-Greg Leonard (Apollo Beach, FL), 2. 4-Danny Smith (Danville, IN), 3. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 4. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 5. 25-Michael Parent (Quebec, CAN), 6. 21T-T.J. Luedke (Plymouth, WI), 7. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX), 8. 6s-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 9. 97-Aaron Schipper (Plymouth, WI), 10. 51-John Sauermilch (Elkhart Lake, WI), 11. OOT-Thomas Selhorst (Clearwater, FL).

Strawberry Dash:

Strawberry Dash (10 Laps): 1. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 2. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 3. 25-Michael Parent (Quebec, CAN), 4. 79-Dakotah Stephens (Brandon, FL), 5. 21T-T.J. Luedke (Plymouth, WI), 6. 3bx-Joey Biasi (Mary D, PA), 7. 93-Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO), 8. 29T-Leigh Thomas (Duluth, MN), 9. 15c-Anthony Cain (Fairfax, VT), 10. 12-Tim Kelly (Dundee, NY).

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

 

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA), 2. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 3. 01-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), 4. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 5. 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 6. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), 7. 11x-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 8. a12-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 9. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 10. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 11. 2-Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN), 12. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 13. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 14. 4-Danny Smith (Danville, IN), 15. 21-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK), 16. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 17. 6-Greg Leonard (Apollo Beach, FL), 18. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 19. 11s-Brian Smith (Mooresville, NC), 20. 63-Josh Weller (Mertztown, PA), 21. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 22. 3x-Brian Maddox (Brandon, FL), 23. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 24. 10-Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN).

Lap Leaders: Gary Wright 1-7, Terry McCarl 8-25.

Locked into Saturday night's feature (Top six in accumulated heat and feature points from Thursday and Friday): 1. Gary Wright 513.0, 2. Jason Johnson 498.0, 3. Travis Rilat 495.0, 4. Kenny Adams 486.0, 5. Terry McCarl 485.5, 6. Tim Crawley 482.0. Balance of the top 20 (start from scratch on Saturday night): 7. Wayne Johnson 480.5, 8. Danny Smith 470.5, 9. Daryn Pittman 469.5, 10. Don Droud, Jr. 466.0, 11. Matt Tiffany 462.0, 12. Garry Lee Maier 461.0, 13. Tim Shaffer 460.5, 14. Greg Leonard 451.0, 15. Jason Sides 448.5, 16. Josh Weller 437.0, 17. Chuck Swenson 432.0, 18. Joey Saldana 427.5, 19. Danny Martin, Jr. 422.0, 20. Terry Gray 420.0.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Ten): 1. Gary Wright 95, 2. (tie) Jason Johnson, Terry McCarl and Travis Rilat 92, 5. (tie) Wayne Johnson and Kenny Adams 92, 7. Tim Crawley 84, 8. Danny Smith 82, 9. Daryn Pittman 80, 10. Don Droud, Jr. 79.

 

Adams Aces O'Reilly ASCoT Opening Night at East Bay

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TAMPA, Fla. (January 31, 2008) - Florida ace Kenny Adams made a late move around four-time and reigning O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National champion Gary Wright to kick off East Bay Raceway Park's 32nd Annual Winter Nationals in dramatic fashion with a win in Thursday night's 25-lap "King of the 360's" Nationals preliminary feature event.

Adams rallied from the ninth starting position and made the big slide around Wright for the lead upon the completion of the 22nd lap as the O'Reilly ASCoT National series kicked off its season-opening three-night stand at East Bay Raceway Park, which culminates with Saturday night's $10,000 to win Ronald Laney Memorial.

Recording what unofficially ranks as his 200th career Sprint Car feature win, Adams scurried to the line over the final three circuits to post his second career ASCS National Tour victory aboard the Don Ott-powered C&B Mushrooms/B&W Trucking/Goodson Farms No. 4a Shaw, while Wright held off fellow Texas racer Travis Rilat for runner-up honors. Indiana's Danny Smith claimed fourth, with Oklahoma native Daryn Pittman rounding out the top five.

"When the race started, I really didn't think we could win from the fifth row," Adams explained afterward. "That caution (after 18 laps) probably helped us, that gave us some open track where we could put that slide on when we needed to without lapped cars in the way."

After winning his heat race from the pole position, Adams just missed the cut for the redraw by ranking ninth in passing points. Wright, the night's top points earner in heat race action, drew the front row outside while eighth point-earner Garry Lee Maier drew the pole position.

After a pair of attempted starts were waved off, including one that eliminated second-row starter Terry Gray and Gene Lasker, Wright got the jump on Maier and set sail around the Tampa clay in his first outing aboard the Wright-Cooper Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Carry All Services No. 01 Maxim.

Maier, fourth-starter Danny Smith and fifth-starter Dave Calaman chased Wright in the early rounds, while Adams cracked the top five after just three laps.

Lapped traffic came into play after just eight laps, with Maier moving in to challenge Wright for the lead on the tenth circuit. But Wright navigated his way around a pair of lapped cars to slip away from Maier as Adams battled with Smith for third at the midway point.

After making his way past Smith, Adams went to work on Maier for second and slid past the first ASCS National champion in turns three and four on the 14th lap, setting his sights on the fleet Wright, who had slipped away to nearly a half straightaway advantage.

But after Maier ran afoul of a lapped car and brushed the turn three wall on the 17th lap, he was forced to a stop with a broken front axle a lap later to bring out the race's only interruption.

With the lapped car of 2003 "King of the 360's" Nationals champion Sport Allen separating Wright from Adams on the restart, Wright set sail once again. Adams made quick work of Allen and reeled in the leader.

Adams executed the perfect slide job through turns three and four on the 22nd lap and went on to record the win, with Wright fending off Rilat for the runner-up position.

"We cut the right rear on something, it just had four pounds of the air at the finish so it was getting awful tight at the end," Wright commented.

Charging from 16th, Rilat cracked the top ten by the fifth round, was fifth at the 15-lap mark and was in third by the time the caution flew after 18 laps. Rilat challenged Wright on the final lap before settling for third aboard the F&J Construction No. 29 Triple-X.

Indiana shoe Danny Smith raced among the top-five all the way and took the checkered flag fourth aboard the Doug Williams Trucking No. 4, with Pittman climbing from eighth to round out the top five in the Titan Racing No. 21 entry.

Two-time ASCS National Tour points runner-up Jason Johnson climbed from 12th to sixth, with local shoe Greg Leonard charging from 21st to seventh. Terry McCarl, the 2006 "King of the 360's" Nationals winner, raced from 22nd to eighth, with 20th-starter Wayne Johnson and Tim Crawley completing the top ten.

Terry Gray, Wright, D. Smith, Adams, Danny Martin, Jr., Crawley and Calaman topped heat race action for the 55-car field, with Dustin Morgan, W. Johnson and Leonard winning the 12-lap "B" Mains.

Canadian Michael Parent turned over in turn three on the opening lap of the seventh heat race, but was able to return for "B" Main action. New York's Adam Gordon got turned upside down as the green flag flew on the third "B" Main, escaping injury as well.

Don Young checked out in the Strawberry Dash for Cash, leading a Memphis one-two sweep in front of Chris Williams.

Action at the Tenth Annual "King of the 360's" Nationals at East Bay Raceway Park's 32nd Annual Winter Nationals resumes on Friday night for the O'Reilly