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The night started with a solemn tribute to Jesse Hockett with a moment of silence and lowering of the track flags to half staff. Eagle Scout Greg Tull gave the invocation while his fellow Troop 54 Boy Scouts from Sedalia, MO and the First United Methodist Church presented the colors. C.J. Loehner, Santi Meza, London Moore, and Taylor Slawson, all Jefferson City High School choral members, belted out a powerful rendition of the National Anthem. All drivers in attendance gathered on stage for driver introductions and to pay tribute to Hockett, who was the previous feature race winner in the 360 Sprint division two weeks ago. Santa Claus was on hand for all the children for Christmas in June and Kid’s Night at the Speedway while the staff from Huntin’ and Fishin’ with Harry handed out kids goodie bags courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation. The W-K Modifieds then took to the speedway for their lone heat race of the night. Jason Thompson of Concordia scored a convincing win in the event over Austin Siebert, Dennis Walrath, and Jim Moody. With point leader Chad Lyle likely out for the remainder of the season, it was anyone’s guess who would be the next modified driver to visit victory lane. As the competitors made their way to the speedway for the 20-lap main event, fans were wondering if pole sitter Jason Thompson would come away with the victory. Although Siebert has been a consistent runner this season, the recent college graduate had yet to win a main event in his dirt modified. At the drop of the green flag, Siebert paced the field early on until a lap four caution flag for pole sitter Thompson waived over the speedway. Thompson was unable to continue on during the race after his car seemed to lose power in between corners one and two. Jim Moody of Odessa virtually had nowhere to go as the two got together with Moody spinning. Moody was able to restart at the tail of the field on the restart and began a torrid charge to the front of the pack. Meanwhile, former track champion Curt Potter of Boonville made his way to second position by lap five from his fifth starting position. Aaron Poe, who experienced a flat tire in his early night heat race, began charging through the field from his tenth starting position by racing his way to fourth by lap five. Moody recovered to sixth position by lap six as the drivers found a nice rhythm until caution again waived on lap fourteen when Moody’s car came to a halt on the front stretch after losing power and ending an otherwise furious charge to the front. Once the race resumed, it was all Siebert as he cruised to his first-ever MSFS feature win in convincing form. Poe ran a superior race to bring his machine home in second place with former track champion Curt Potter in third. Columbia’s Howard Hall was fourth, Oak Grove driver Buddy Thompson finished fifth, followed by Slater, MO’s Sonny Kimberling in sixth In the Subway late models, sixteen competitors sorted out their heat races to determine the main event lineup for later in the evening. Chris Smyser started the night off strong with a victory in heat number one over Larry Clawson, and a pair of Marshall, MO drivers, Bryon Allison and Randy McGraw. For heat two, Matt Johnson took the win over David Turner, Jon Binning and Dave Meyer. By virtue of passing points, Johnson and Smyser started at the front of the field for the 20-lap feature event. Shortly after the green flag fell, Dustin Walker, Dick Weber and Alan Vaughn were all at the wrong place at the wrong time with Walker’s car taking the brunt of the damage after hitting the guardrail in turn one nearly head on to force a complete restart. Late arriving Alan Vaughn of Belton, MO experienced trouble from the get go and was not able to make repairs in time to compete in the feature race. With a fast and furious pace over the field, Johnson led from the onset and by lap four; the leaders were experiencing lapped traffic. The race was slowed a few times as Johnson continued to school the rest of the competition. Lancaster, MO’s Chris Smyser was up front with Johnson the entire race distance with Adrian’s David Turner holding down third. The three front-runners quickly distanced themselves over fourth-running Larry Clawson, who had his own hands full with Bryon Allison close behind. As the laps wore down and the lead trio experienced lapped traffic, it appeared that Smyser was ready to pounce; however, on this night it was Johnson’s win for the taking as he sailed onto victory with Smyser in second and Turner in third. Bryon Allison ran a very solid fourth position, which was his best run of the season after many weeks of disappointments. Dave Meyer moved up to take the fifth position from his eighth starting position, his best finish in the late model at MSFS this year. Larry Clawson crossed the Miller Lite finishing line in sixth at the conclusion of event The Rick Ball Ford 360 Sprint cars ran strong all evening long to thrill the fans in the Pepsi Grandstands. Randy Martin, Mark Shirshekan, Jonathan Cornell, and Kyle Hurst took the first four spots in the opening heat race. For heat two, Mike Trent, Rusty Potter, Steven Cross and Terry Hinck claimed the first four positions. Trent and Martin paced the field for the main event with Martin quickly gaining the lead and setting a blistering pace the entire race distance. Kyle Hurst, who was involved in a lap one excursion outside of turn one, restarted on the tail end of the race and feverishly ran to the front of the pack as laps wore down. With lapped traffic abound, Martin mastered the Historic Half Mile like only he can with Jonathan Cornell and Hurst in hot pursuit. Lap-after-lap Martin seemed to make it an easy task to lead the race and lapped the field up to fifth position to take a dominating win over of Cornell in second. Hurst, Shirshekan, Trent, and Brad Graham all found their way inside the top six by the conclusion of the race. Another week of racing action takes place again next Friday night, June 11th with the Rick Ball Ford 360 Sprints, Subway Late Models, and W-K Chevrolet Modifieds all set to compete. Who will be the next three drivers to visit the Specialty Sportswear Winner’s Circle at the Historic Half Mile? There’s only one way to find out, and that is to attend next weekend’s racing action in person! Admission and pit gates will open at 5; hot laps begin at 7, with the first heat races hitting the speedway at 7:30. Adult general admission is $12, senior citizens 65 and up, military, and college students w/I.D just $10, kids six to twelve $6, pit passes are $25. For detailed information bookmark the speedway’s official Web site at www.missouristatefairspeedway.com. You may join the speedway e-mail group by sending a request to PRatSFS@live.com or find the track on FaceBook by sending a friend request to Missouri State Fair Speedway. Full results will be posted at www.speednetdirect.com. The countdown is on for “Kasey’s King of Sedalia” presented by Budweiser World of Outlaws Sprint Car event on Wednesday, June 16 and tickets are on sale now for the third round of the Showdown for the Bud Crown. Star NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne, who is co-promoting the event in association with the World Racing Group, will also compete. Advanced reserved seats are $29 for adults and $9 for children twelve years and under, children under six are admitted free. Adult seats increase to $35 day of show – regardless of section. To purchase tickets visit www.worldofoutlaws.com/tickets or call (704) 795-7223. Same-day tickets are available at the Missouri State Fair Speedway ticket office.
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