Dakota Girard Takes Sport Compact Feature by a Nose, Fuqua, Galvan and O’Neal also Winners on Casey’s Night at the Races
Dakota Girard
By: Jacob Blair
(WINSTON, Mo.) – The Sport Compacts headlined Casey’s Night at the Races at I-35 Speedway with the 20 lap Mike Knight Memorial feature. The early portion of the race saw several strong competitors retire from the event with accidents or mechanical failures. That left Dakota Girard and David Miller III up front to battle for the win. Girard led for some laps before Miller used the top side to work around Girard. Girard stayed patient, kept working the bottom of the speedway and made a run at Miller on the final lap. The two were door-to-door off turn four and Girard got the better drive to nose Miller at the line. Steven Bunton looked to have a say in the finish before a late race incident had him rallying for a third place finish. Josh Conrad ran fourth and Alvin Cooney finished fifth.
The three USRA classes put together some solid racing, while also dialing in the setups in preparation for the USRA Nationals on October 3-6.
National USRA Modified point-leader Darron Fuqua has been fast at any track he shows up to this season. That includes the I-35 Speedway as Fuqua was in a class all his own on his way to his second win at I-35 Speedway this season. From the moment the green dropped, everyone could tell the race was for second. Mark Schafman won that spot after a race-long battle with Terry Schultz and Tyler Hibner. Hibner finished third and Schultz fourth. Matt Johnson finished fifth in his first trip to I-35 Speedway this season.
Coleman Browning paced the early laps of the USRA B-Modified feature, before Sturgis Streeter used the bottom lane to power by. Streeter then led for a portion of the race, before Chase Galvan found the cushion had a ton of grip. Galvan charged from sixth to the lead in a few laps to take control of the race. In the late laps, the lead became the only safe place. 16th place starter Daniel Harris found trouble while running third. That set up a late race restart where Streeter spun the tires and stacked up the field resulting in a five-car pileup. With most of the top five involved, several drivers found themselves up front for the green-white-checkered finish. Galvan drove away for the win, while Colton Leal inherited second and finished there. Casey Burnett finished third, Ramon Ortega fourth and Streeter rallied for fifth.
The USRA Stock Cars witnessed another flash of brilliance from the young Austin O’Neal. In a race where the top line looked dominate, O’Neal proved it did not have to be. After starting fifth, O’Neal rolled the bottom, slowly inching forward. With a few laps to go, O’Neal cleared for the lead and eventual win. Tim Shields finished second, Billie Hoover third, Jeff Dixon fourth and Butch Bailey fifth.
Gary Ainsworth and Leroy Morrison put on a thrilling battle in the E-Modified feature. Morrison spent most of the race working the back bumper of Ainsworth. Ainsworth never budged and his steady pace equaled a trip to McCarthy Auto Group Winner’s Circle. Morrison finished second, with Sarah Martin persevering for third after being involved in an early race incident. John Ross finished fourth and Bubba Beam fifth.
The Pure Stocks saw Beau Wells go back-to-back. After winning last week, Wells used a front-row starting position to driver to the early lead. He never had much breathing room but also never made a mistake. Wells drove to his third win of the year with Cody King second, Travis Cadwallader third, Anthony Hill fourth and Rylee Fuller fifth.
In the Grand National feature, Colton Leal hold off Michael Leal for the win. Houston Johnson finished third, challenging early for the lead but faded late. John Hanson finished fourth and Chad Fuller fifth.
The Midwest Lightning Sprints put a familiar driver in victory lane as Bobby Layne bested Kyle Lewis for his seventh win this season. Lewis finished second with Jeff Bard third, Emma Martin fourth and Chris Schofield fifth.
The Show-Me Vintage Racers had Steve Hughes looking for a win but Damon Clevenger worked the bottom and put together consistent lap times to drive to the win. Rocky Rhodes followed Clevenger by Hughes for second. Hughes finished third with Dan Schmidt fourth and Doran Clevenger fifth.
I-35 Speedway Race Results 9-22-2018
USRA Modifieds
Start # Finish Fullname City/State Points
1 87 1 Darron Fuqua Mayetta, Ks. 100
3 34 2 Mark Schafman Edwardsville, Ks. 95
10 89 3 Tyler Hibner Chillicothe, Mo. 91
7 90 4 Terry Schultz Sedalia, Mo. 87
11 1T 5 Matt Johnson Archie, Mo. 84
12 29 6 Dennis Elliott Mt. Ayr, Ia. 81
6 21T 7 Lance Town Wellsville, Ks. 78
2 97 8 Houston Johnson Kansas City, Mo. 76
13 99 9 Lee Hibner 74
5 11 10 Darren Shaw Lawson, Mo. 72
15 4M 11 Manlee Lamar Polo, Mo. 70
4 2H 12 John Hanson Stewartsville, Mo. 68
9 33C 13 Cole Moore Kansas City, Mo. 66
8 17$ 14 Shane Lawson Stewartsville, Mo. 64
16 5 15 Kevin McGinnis Edwardsville, Ks. 62
18 4 16 Tony Manley Osborn, Mo. 60
17 31 17 David Coates Bethany, Mo. 58
14 98 18 Austin Johnson Kansas City, Mo. 56
USRA Stock Cars
5 1 1 Austin O’Neal Kearney, Mo. 100
1 42T 2 Tim Shields Kansas City, Mo. 95
4 63X 3 Billie Hoover Stewartsville, Mo. 91
3 88 4 Jeff Dixon Trenton, Mo. 87
6 111 5 Butch Bailey Novelty, Mo. 84
8 55T 6 Mich Ross Maysville, Mo. 81
7 S20 7 Gene Stigall Winston, Mo. 78
2 6K 8 Brad Whitney Trenton, Mo. 76
9 417 9 Kevin Anderson Kansas City, Mo. 74
USRA B-Modifieds
5 0 1 Chase Galvan Kansas City, Ks. 100
20 18 2 Colton Leal Yutan, Ne. 95
8 23B 3 Casey Burnett Cameron, Mo. 91
12 17R 4 Ramon Ortega St. Joseph, Mo. 87
6 34S 5 Sturgis Streeter Topeka, Ks. 84
21 22B 6 Mitch Booher Bethany, Mo. 81
10 69 7 Tyler Cadwallader Amazonia, Mo. 78
15 99M 8 Skyler Nolker Richmond, Mo. 76
14 81 9 Austin Charles Basehor, Ks. 74
3 57 10 Randy Ainsworth Excelsior Springs, Mo. 72
18 14K 11 Michael King Warrensburg, Mo. 70
17 62 12 Casey Cooper 68
4 91 13 Eddie Schwope, Jr St. Joseph, Mo. 66
13 4 14 Chris Mercer Excelsior Springs, Mo. 64
1 83 15 Coleman Browning Cameron, Mo. 62
11 15XL 16 Jared Hillyard Pleasant Valley, Mo. 60
2 17X 17 Clint Baker Meadville, Mo. 58
9 2T 18 Todd Luke St. Joseph, Mo. 56
19 3D 19 Jonathon Barnett St Joseph, Mo. 55
7 41 20 Chris Dishong Atchison, Ks. 54
16 07 21 Daniel Harris Excelsior Springs, Mo. 53
Sport Compacts
5 0 1 Dakota Girard Moberly, Mo. 100
11 55 2 David Miller Iii Saint Joseph, Mo. 95
12 95 3 Steven Bunton Saint Joseph, Mo. 91
13 08 4 Josh Conrad Leavenworth, Ks. 87
8 69 5 Alvin Cooney Mexico, Mo. 84
6 7 6 Jason Teel Hiawatha, Ks. 81
10 7S 7 Scott Beagle Everest, Ks. 78
9 7T 8 Toby Teel Hiawatha, Ks. 76
7 16 9 Franklin Reed Jr. 74
4 15 10 Joseph Mick St. Joseph, Mo. 72
15 1/2CR 11 John Willard St. Joseph, Mo. 70
2 8P 12 Isaiah Penton Huntsville, Mo. 68
1 78 13 Will Guthrie Independence, Mo. 66
3 00 14 Rick Girard Moberly, Mo. 64
14 00X 15 Kyler Girard Moberly, Mo. 62
E-Modifieds
1 14 1 Gary Don Ainsworth Excelsior Springs, Mo. 100
5 50 2 Leroy Morrison Raymore, Mo. 95
10 99 3 Sarah Martin Independence, Mo. 91
3 64 4 John Ross Kansas City, Mo. 87
7 74 5 Brandon (bubba) Beam St. Joseph, Mo. 84
6 CB3 6 Charlie Browne Leavenworth, Ks. 81
2 09 7 Shaunie Lanning Kansas City, Mo. 78
9 5J 8 Jeff Goepferich Sr. Kansas City, Mo. 76
8 8S 9 Caleb Pugh Cameron, Mo. 74
4 1L 10 Bobby Lopez Kansas City, Mo. 72
Pure Stocks
1 555 1 Beau Wells Chillicothe, Mo. 100
2 29 2 Cody King Jamesport, Mo. 95
4 69er 3 Travis Cadwallader Amazonia, Mo. 91
6 124 4 Anthony Hill Lathrop, Mo. 87
5 17R 5 Rylee Fuller Savannah, Mo. 84
3 72 6 Ron Hill Turney, Mo. 81
7 23 7 Jason Carney Lathrop, Mo. 78
8 F86 8 Jim Nolker Richmond, Mo. 76
9 M87 9 Mallory Stiffler Hoyt, Ks. 74
Grant Nationals
2 13JR 1 Colton Leal Yutan, Ne. 100
1 13 2 Michael Leal Pacific Junction, Ia. 95
4 97 3 Houston Johnson Kansas City, Mo. 91
6 2H 4 John Hanson Stewartsville, Mo. 87
5 20 5 Chad Fuller Savannah, Mo. 84
7 99L 6 Michael Johnson Jr. 81
3 6 7 Chris Kline Kearney, Mo. 78
Midwest Lightning Sprints
3 01 1 Bobby Layne Kansas City, Mo.
1 2 2 Kyle Lewis Spring Hill, Ks.
2 71 3 Jeff Bard
6 2L 4 Emma Martin Independence, Mo.
4 4m 5 Chris Schofield Raymore, Mo.
5 5 6 Tyler Murrey
Show-Me Vintage Racers
2 6 1 Damon Clevenger Parkville, Mo.
3 8 2 Rocky Rhodes Independence, Mo.
1 5 3 Steve Hughes Lathrop, Mo.
4 6x 4 Dan Schmidt
5 1 5 Doran Clevenger
6 20 6 Mike Johnson
Category: Missouri
