SPRINGFIELD, MO (Aug 12, 2012) – Steve Muilenburg Takes Hard Earned Back To School Night USRA Feature At Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, MO (Aug 12, 2012) – With cooler temps and over 95 race teams in the pits, Springfield Raceway and Pepsi presented back to school night as veteran USRA Modified driver Steve Muilenburg took advantage of the redraw to lead all 20 laps of the Budweiser USRA Modified feature, but it wasn’t without a struggle.

Muilenburg, currently ranked in the top 10 in USRA National points found Bobby Pearish and John Yeoman on his bumper all night long and then had Jackie Dalton charging late in the feature in taking his first Springfield win of the season.

Muilenburg and Yeoman brought the field to the green flag with Muilenburg quickly going to the middle groove as high point car Bobby Pearish shot from his 5th starting spot to 3rd place. The top 7 drivers quickly were pulling away which also included co-point leaders Jackie Dalton and Mitch Keeter along with Rob Muilenburg and Brian Green. Yeoman was applying pressure for the first 7 laps while Pearish was making runs on Yeoman. The 1st caution waved on lap 8 for a single car spin. On the restart, Pearish got the jump and moved into second and right on Muilenburg’s heels. Caution waved 1 lap later as Rex Merritt jumped the cushion in turn 3. On the restart, Pearish was right with Muilenburg as Dalton and Keeter were wagging a tight battle for spots. On lap 11 the final caution waved for debris on the track bunching the field again as Muilenburg brought them down with Pearish, Dalton, Keeter and Yeoman all together. On lap 15, Dalton shot around Pearish and set his sight on leader Muilenburg who had moved to the extreme top groove while Keeter and Pearish battled. On lap 17, a near miss by Keeter as he glanced off the way out of turn 4 losing several spots but gathered it back up. Dalton would make a late rally, but Muilenburg kept smooth and fast in taking his Ozark Tire/Mike’s Motor Machine/TRE to his first win of the season and adding his name to the new winners list. Following Muilenburg to the line was Dalton in the Doug’s Pro Lube/Garrison Performance/Hoffman while Pearish in the Pearish & Sons construction/Yeoman Engines/Hoffman, Yeoman in his Yeoman’s 25th Anniversary Engines/Hoffman and Jerry Lankton rallied from 16th tonight to finish 5th aboard his Lankton’s Welding/Yeoman Engines/Hoffman as 14 of the 16 starters finished on the lead lap.

Reliable Chevrolet GM Performance USRA B Modified action saw an opening lap incident involving Thomas Hylton, Jeff Scroggins and current point leader Scott Drake all get together in turn 4. Only Drake would continue at the rear of the 21 car field. On the restart, Andy Beauchamp shot to the opening lead with former champion Wayne Graybeal followed quickly while Blake Ellis followed. Beauchamp who was never won a Springfield “Quick-Quarter” feature event was pulling away from Graybeal as both drivers have had their fair share of bad luck this season. By lap 5, Beauchamp was smooth on the bottom groove while Graybeal found a pair of 160 cars coming quickly in Michael Maggard and defending track champion Bobby Maggard Jr. As the track stayed green, Beauchamp pulled away even more as the battle for 5th place was tight with young Ryan Hendrix and a fast moving Drake side by side. On lap 16, Graybeal’s good run ended in the infield with problems as Hendrix already with 1 win this season had charged to second place and was bringing Drake with him. Beauchamp would not be denied tonight as his Eagle Machine number 50 took the win with Drake edging out Hendrix for the runner up spot while Hendrix, Michael Maggard and Maggard Jr. completed the top 5 runners as the 20 lap feature was run caution free following the opening lap incident. 11 of the 21 starters completed the lead lap.
Wheeler Metals Legends again show the Springfield fans side by side action all feature long. Rod Baird grabbed the opening lead with Rex Merritt and Caleb McDugle following closely. On lap 2, Mike Hailmann began his high side groove charge to the front from his 7th starting spot tonight. With Baird setting a fast pace, Hailmann was playing a patient game as Merritt and Darrell McWhirter swapped positions. On lap 6 caution waved as Doug Wilson spun around bunching the pack up. On the restart, Hailmann made the winning pass around Baird to get back into the winner’s Circle as the race for second and beyond was tight. Current points runner-up Wayne Johnston had to hold off many charges by Baird to secure the second place spot with Baird, McWhirter and Park Jones in the top 5. 14 of the 15 starters finished on the lead lap.

The Williams Lawn Care and Preservation Street Stocks had a special paying feature tonight and the field was tight all feature long. The redraw tonight placed Kim Kaasa in the old historic 124 OK Automotive Chevy on the pole with many time track champion Robbie High on his outside. On the start, High shot to the lead with Kaasa a solid second place. On lap 3 Rex Sawyer along with Bryan Tillman, Shawn Schmidt and Kaasa were back and fourth as high had checked out. On lap 7, the only caution waved as High slowed in turn 3 with problems placing Sawyer in the lead as Tillman following. On lap 9, Tillman made the low groove pass on Sawyer to take the top spot as current point leader Jim Reid and Schmidt were side by side. Tillman pulled away in the closing laps to get back into victory lane as Sawyer, Schmidt,Reid and newcomer Rick Porter completed the top 5 runners.

Casey’s General Stores Midwest Modz action was a little rough at the opening laps but really came strong in the end. Brad Graves jumped to the opening lead and was surviving early caution laps for several issues as Bobby Gough had secured a solid second place spot. The final caution waved on lap 6 for an incident involving Michael Cooper, Gary Krebs, Steve Bias along with Steve Moore. On the last restart,Graves had Gough on his bumper as Todd McGregor, point leader Trevor Drake and Rusty Forrest were 3 wide all over the track. McGregor shot by Gough on lap 11 and began to run down the leader Graves as Forrest began to follow Drake. On lap 13,Drake moved into second place but couldn’t catch the high flying Graves as Drake, Forrest, McGregor and Gough completed the top 5 runners. Graves car was 50 lbs. light at the scales following the feature and was disqualified placed Drake with the victory and moving Forrest, McGregor, Gough and Matthew Thulin in the top 5.
Pepsi Pure Stock action saw some great racing as rookie Tyler Thulin took the opening lead with lady driver Elizabeth Jolley a solid second. Current point leader Brett Testerman moved around Jolley on lap 2 and was running down Thulin with 3 wide action in the pack. On lap 4, caution waved as Mac Asbell spun in turn 4 closing the field up. Testerman would overtake Thulin on the restart as Mitch Hemphill was moving forward along with defending champion Jack Hamer and previous winner Philip Schloesser. Close quarter racing in turn 3 found Hamer and Schloesser going around on lap 5 bringing out the caution flag. Testerman was trying to pull away, but Thulin and Hemphill stayed close as Danny Vasquez was running strong tonight while Hamer and Schloesser were coming forward. A late caution bunched everyone up again as Hemphill and Thulin went to go side by side as Testerman was pulling away while Hamer always a front runner in area Pure Stocks was closing in also. Heading to the flags, Testerman took the win as Thulin almost got into the wall allowing Hemphill to secure second with Thulin, Hamer and Schloesser in the top 5.

Wheeler Metals Young Lions Legends saw another good run by the kids as Ty McWhirter grabbed the opening lead with point leader Wesley Smith on his bumper. Smith would take the lead on lap 3 only to see McWhirter back in lap 4 while Kylan Garner and Graysn Cox were in the shadows. With Smith applying pressure, McWhirter was holding off the charges lap after lap with Garner and Cox closing in late. Heading to the white flag, McWhirter was looking for his first ever win and Smith was coming off a Young Lions National Qualifying win. The lead duo made contact in turn 1 sending both youngsters spinning around and ending the nights. This placed Garner in the lead for the last lap finish as cox would get a last shot. Cox swung high in turn 2 as Garner was smooth out of the corners and captured the win with Cox, Lexy VanZandt, McWhirter and Smith the final rundown.

Action continues next Saturday night August 18th with the Transport Graphics Championship Chase featuring USRA Modifieds, USRA B Modifieds, Midwest Modz, Legends, Pure Stocks, Street Stocks and Young Lions with Racing at 7:30 Sharp. more information can be located at WWW.SpringfieldRaceway.Com or by contacting Jerry Hoffman at 417-673-7426 and be sure to visit and like the Facebook page.

Over $1,000 worth of school supplies were given out to kids 12 and under as 4 kids bikes were also given away in special drawings with Ron’s Racing Collectibles, Jackie Dalton Racing,& Doug’s Pro Lube, Yeoman’s Racing Engines, The Chainey Group, Andy’s Frozen Custard, Race Brothers Farm And home Supply, Auto Express in Joplin and Dirt works Race Cars and Hoffman Race Cars In Oronoco sponsoring the night.

Results-Pepsi Back To School Night

USRA Budweiser Modifieds
A Ft-1) Steve Muilenburg-Sparta 2) Jackie Dalton-Carthage 3) Bobby Pearish-Oronogo 4) John Yeoman-Joplin 5) Jerry Lankton-Lampe 6) Brian Green-Pierce City 7) Mitch Keeter-Webb City 8) Jody Tillman-Branson West 9) Rob Muilenburg-Sparta 10) Nick Whitehead-Nixa 11) Daniel Franklin-Eureka Springs, Arkansas 12) Danny DeMasters-Joplin 13) Scott Symmonds-Bolivar 14) Fred Slagle-Pierce City 15) John Briggs-Flippin, Arkansas 16) Rex Merritt-Billings
1st Ht-1) Pearish 2) Keeter 3) S Muilenburg 4) Yeoman 5) Merritt 6) Tillman 7) Franklin 8) DeMasters
2nd Ht-1) R Muilenburg 2) Whitehead 3) Dalton 4) Green 5) Briggs 6) Symmonds 7) Slagle 8) Lankton

USRA Reliable Chevrolet GM Performance B Mods
A Ft-1) Andy Beauchamp-Springfield 2) Scott Drake-Webb City 3) Ryan Hendrix-Joplin 4) Michael Maggard-Republic 5) Bobby Maggard Jr-Republic 6) Steve Muilenburg-Sparta 7) Don Luna-St James 8) Kaleb Copher-Webb City 9) Blake Ellis-Sarcoxie 10) Derek Watson-Willard 11) Jared Thulin- Miami, Oklahoma 12) Mike Mansker-Republic 13) Ken Scott-Willard 14) Dakota Maggard-Republic 15) Mike Watson-Springfield 16) Wayne Graybeal-Springfield 17) Jeremy Thulin-Miami, Oklahoma 18) James Redus-Springfield 19) Tyler Chainey-Springfield 20) Thomas Hylton-Avilla 21) Jeff Scroggins-Republic DNS-Michael Page-Webb City
1st Ht-1) Drake 2) Page 3) Hylton 4) M Maggard 5) Watson 6) D Maggard 7) Redus 8) Thulin
2nd Ht-1) Beauchamp 2) Graybeal 3) Hendrix 4) B Maggard Jr 5) Watson 6) Thulin 7) Mansker
3rd Ht-1) Ellis 2) Copher 3) Scroggins 4) Chainey 5) S Muilenburg 6) Luna 7) Scott

Wheel Metals Legends
A Ft-1) Mike Hailmann-Reed Springs 2) Wayne Johnston-Rolla 3) Rod Baird-Oldfield 4) Darrell McWhirter-Bentonville, Arkansas 5) Park Jones-Joplin 6) Justin Comer-Joplin 7) Caleb McDugle-Quapaw, Oklahoma 8) Rex Merritt-Billings 9) James McDugle-Quapaw, Oklahoma 10) Billy Cottrill-Joplin 11) Gary Hockman-Rolla 12) Calvin Garner-Sarcoxie 13) Matt Gruenberg-Joplin 14) Bill Cottrill-Joplin 15) Doug Wilson-Joplin
1st Ht-1) Comer 2) Jones 3) Merritt 4) McWhirter 5) Garner 6) Bill Cottrill 7) Hockman
2nd Ht-1) Hailmann 2) Baird 3) C McDugle 4) Johnston 5) Billy Cottrill 6) Gruenberg 7) Wilson 8) J McDugle

Williams Lawn Care And Preservation Street Stocks
A Ft-1) Bryan Tillman-Branson 2) Rex Sawyer-Ava 3) Shawn Schmidt-Springfield 4) Jim Reid-Springfield 5) Rick Porter-Springfield 6) Kim Kaasa-Springfield 7) Larry Whitworth Jr-Branson West 8- Robbie high-Springfield DNS-Daniel Deason-Bolivar, Aaron Porter-Springfield, Mike Hailmann-Reed springs
1st Ht-1) Schmidt 2) Tillman 3) Kaasa 4) R Porter 5) Deason DNS-Hailmann
2nd Ht-1) High 2) Sawyer 3) Reid 4) A Porter 5) Whitworth

Casey’s General Stores Midwest Modz
A Ft-1) Trevor Drake-Webb City 2) Rusty Forrest-Ozark 3) Todd McGregor-Clever 4) Bobby Gough-Joplin 5) Matthew Thulin-Miami, Oklahoma 6) Ty Jackson-Springfield 7) Craig Keeter-Webb City 8) Gary Krebs-Clever 9) Steve Moore-Springfield 10) Steve Bias-Everton 11) Austin Johnson-Joplin 12) Michael Cooper-Highlandville 13) Ken Walker-Springfield 14) Taylor Moore-Bois D’Arc 15) Dallas Scott-Springfield 16) Bob Harris-Springfield 17) Richard Sparks-Springfield DQ-Brad Graves-Bolivar-Light At Scales
1st Ht-1) S. Moore 2) Cooper 3) Jackson 4) Forrest 5) Johnson 6) Sparks
2nd Ht-1) Drake 2) Gough 3) McGregor 4) Krebs 5) Bias DQ-Graves-From Feature DQ
3rd Ht-1) Walker 2) Thulin 3) T. Moore 4) Scott 5) Keeter 6) Harris

Pepsi Pure Stocks
A Ft-1) Brett Testerman-Miami, Oklahoma 2) Mitch Hemphill-Miami, Oklahoma 3) Tyler Thulin-Miami, Oklahoma 4) Jack Hamer-Ava 5) Philip Schloesser-Everton 6) Danny Vasquez-Branson West 7) Tanner Sitton-Bolivar 8) Mac Asbell-Springfield 9) Elizabeth Jolley-Billings 10) Austin Gregory-Springfield DNS-Terry Williams-Springfield
1st Ht-1) Thulin 2) Schloesser 3) Hamer 4) Williams 5) Vasquez 6) Asbell
2nd Ht-1) Hemphill 2) Testerman 3) Gregory 4) Sitton 5) Jolley

Young Lions Legends
A Ft-1) Kylan Garner-Sarcoxie 2) Graysn Cox-Joplin 3) Lexy VanZandt-Springfield 4) Ty McWhirter-Bentonville, Arkansas 5) Wesley Smith-Nixa
Ht-1) Garner 2) Smith 3) McWhirter 4) Cox 5) VanZandt

Category: Missouri, News, Springfield Raceway