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CJ Houseman Scores One for the Old Timers at Jacksonville!
(Bill W) August 21, 2009 - Though CJ Houseman is one of the up and coming
young drivers in sprint car racing, he scored one for the old timers on
Friday night at the Morgan County Speedway in Jacksonville, Illinois. The
young man who tows to the track on an open trailer as a teammate to his
brother, scored his first ever feature victory, as he topped the Ideal Ready
Mix Sprint Invaders to the tune of $1,200.
The extent of his operation is usually on the track at all times, and CJ
Houseman proved that trailers don't win races, by sweeping his heat and the
25-lap feature event. Starting from the pole, he led one lap before his
brother, Mike Houseman Jr., who was making his first start since suffering
extensive burns at the Knoxville Raceway in July, brought a caution out when
the car kicked out of gear. CJ led Justin Parrish, Jordan Goldesberry, Matt
Sutton and Dave Feese, who was racing for the second time in 2009 after
taking eleven years off.
On lap eight, Goldesberry ducked under Parrish for second, and began his
pursuit of the leader. At the halfway point, Sutton had moved into third,
with tenth starter, Joey Moughan assuming the fourth position. Sutton and
Moughan battled for third, with the latter getting by on lap 17.
One lap later, Matt Rogerson, who started the night 11 points behind series'
leader Bobby Mincer, spun in turn one. The last seven laps went non-stop. "I
got kind of nervous a couple of times," said CJ of his win. "I thought I
might hit the wall. I'm just happy to be here. I would like to thank Cliff
and Gina's Runnells Inn for helping me out too. We really could use some
more sponsors! I swear I heard somebody behind me the whole race!"
When the white flag came out, the butterflies hit for CJ. He got sideways in
one and two and sputtered on the bottom of three and four, but he beat
Goldesberry by two car lengths at the checkers. "I about spun out twice that
last lap," said the Norwalk, Iowa driver. "The top really slicked off going
into one. I definitely held my breath. The car was chugging a little when I
was sideways in one and two. I don't know what I would have done if I'd have
killed it."
Goldesberry was second in a strong run. "We'd been in a slump the past
month, and we finally got back on track after running the Knoxville
Nationals," said the Springfield, Illinois driver. "The car was working good
all night long. We really didn't make any adjustments. We were close on the
last lap, and I think with one more, we would have given him a run for his
money."
Joey Moughan completed his fine run in third. "I like the top, but most of
the guys were running up there," he said. "I was going through the middle of
three and four, and the bottom of one and two was good too. I just had to
take the top when I could get there. We got by (Matt) Sutton there going
into one before the last restart. We both just about flipped. He got
swallowed up a little more than I did. Sometimes it pays to be lucky."
Sutton and Mincer rounded out the top five. Jim Moughan Jr. was the
hard-charger moving up ten spots to sixth, with Ryan Jamison seventh, Donnie
Steward eighth, Russ Hall from 18th to ninth and Rogerson coming back to
complete the top ten.
Three-time 2009 series' winner Kaley Gharst suffered motor problems in the
Dash and was a scratch for the feature. Separate heat accidents claimed Tony
Davis and Ben Wagoner. CJ, Parrish and Mike Houseman Jr. won heats, while
Sutton took the Shake-Up Dash.
The Sprint Invaders hit the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa on Saturday
night, August 22, for Twin Features and the 2nd Annual Brian Hetrick
Tribute.
Results
Ideal Ready Mix 25-lap A main Finish (started): 1. 80x, CJ Houseman,
Norwalk, IA (1) 2. 65, Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL (6) 3. 8H, Joey
Moughan, Springfield, IL (10) 4. 3, Matt Sutton, Macomb, IL (3) 5. 15, Bobby
Mincer, Burlington, IA (7) 6. 1m, Jim Moughan Jr., Springfield, IL (16) 7.
51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (9) 8. 16HD, Donnie Steward, West
Burlington, IA (15) 9. 29x, Russ Hall, Des Moines, IA (18) 10. 29, Matt
Rogerson, West Burlington, IA (8) 11. 4J, Justin Parrish, Oquawka, IL (2)
12. 53H, Matt Harms, Morton, IL (11) 13. 40, Andy Huston, Roseville, IL (12)
14. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL (13) 15. 83, Dave Feese, Saybrook, IL (5)
16. 4m, Mark Tischer, Hannibal, MO (14) 17. Y2, Mike Houseman Jr., Des
Moines, IA (4) DNS - 14P, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL; 3D, Tony Davis,
Monmouth, IL; 84, Ben Wagoner, Emdel, IL. Lap Leader: CJ Houseman 1-25. Hard
Charger: Jim Moughan Jr.
Golden Eagle Distributors - Budweiser of Burlington Heat Race #1 (8 laps,
top two to Dash): 1. CJ Houseman (4) 2. Jordan Goldesberry (6) 3. Dave Feese
(3) 4. Joey Moughan (1) 5. Matt Harms (2) 6. Jim Moughan Jr. (7) 7. Tony
Davis (5)
Cole Implement of Media, IL Heat Race #2 (8 laps, top two to Dash): 1.
Justin Parrish (2) 2. Matt Sutton (5) 3. Matt Rogerson (4) 4. Ryan Jamison
(6) 5. Mark Tischer (7) 6. Donnie Steward (1) 7. Ben Wagoner (3)
Huston Land Improvement of Roseville, IL Heat Race #3 (8 laps, top two to
Dash): 1. Mike Houseman Jr. (4) 2. Kaley Gharst (6) 3. Bobby Mincer (3) 4.
Andy Huston (1) 5. Jimmy Davies (5) 6. Russ Hall (2)
The Links of Jacksonville Shake-Up Dash (6 laps): 1. Matt Sutton (2) 2.
Jordan Goldesberry (1) 3. CJ Houseman (6) 4. Justin Parrish (5) 5. Kaley
Gharst (4) 6. Mike Houseman Jr. (3)
Contingency Awards:
Rod End Supply: Mike Houseman Jr., Bobby Mincer
Saldana Racing Products: Matt Harms
Diversified Machine, Inc.: Mark Tischer
Hepfner Race Products: Donnie Steward
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