Elliott, Anderson and Noll Steady a Wild Night on Trailer Town Night at the Races
By: Jacob Blair
USRA B-Modified Feature Winner Ed Noll in McCarthy Auto Group Winner’s Circle
WINSTON, Missouri – First to take to I-35 Speedway on a special Memorial Day weekend race night were the Sport Compacts as they still had to make up their feature from May 5. John Willard got out front early and stayed there, picking up the win. David Miller III finished second, with Steven Bunton third, Rocky Rhodes fourth and Dave Petty Jr. fifth.
The Show-Me Vintage Racers marked the start of the regularly scheduled features. Ray Hughes took the lead early but never had too much breathing room as Daniel Clevenger posed several threats to the leader. Clevenger tried to take the lead, but Hughes hung on and made his way to McCarthy Auto Group Winner’s Circle. Clevenger finished second, while Rocky Rhodes, Mickey Fleetheart and Steve Hughes rounded out the top five.
The Pure Stocks put on another thriller as Ron Hill and Beau Wells fought each other all race long for the win. Both used the top side of the speedway with Wells peeking his nose under Hill several times. Although, Wells could never get enough momentum to make a pass and Hill picked up another feature win. Wells finished second, Rylee Fuller third and Cody Herpel fourth.
The Grand National class provided some excitement for fans as they combined their race with the Midwest Outlaw Vintage Racers. As new cars and old fought for position, the race came down to a restart. Leader Chad Fuller had the lead when Houston Johnson used the cushion and made his move, taking the lead and eventually the win. Fuller finished second, Billie Hoover third, John Hanson fourth and Lee Costner fifth. In the Vintage portion, Dennis Fair took home the hardware with Steve Tanner second, Dave Petty Sr. third and Chris Heitman fourth.
The award for closest race of the night went to the E-Modifieds. Young Destyn Whitney took the lead early but ran into trouble when he spun from the lead. Gary Ainsworth inherited the lead and learned quickly he needed to fight hard if he wanted to stay there. Caleb Pugh, last week’s feature winner, had worked his way through the field and got to the back bumper of Ainsworth. He looked to both the high side and low side of the track, but Ainsworth made his car as wide as he could. On the final lap, Ainsworth left enough room on the high side and Pugh took it, rolling to victory lane with a last lap pass. Ainsworth finished second while for third Eddie Ingram and Leroy Morrison threw sliders and crossovers all race long for that position. Ingram finished third, Morrison fourth and Justin Marrant grabbed the last spot in the top five.
After the E-Modifieds, I-35 Speedway tried something new and for the first time held a figure eight feature race. Houston Johnson dominated and won the race. Billie Hoover finished second, Lee Costner third and John Hanson fourth.
For the second time of the night, the Sport Compacts hit the track for feature racing. Alvin Cooney went where no other Sport Compact would go, putting his car right up against the cushion. He built up the momentum and shot around front row started Rick Girard for the lead. Cooney had his car working and sailed to the win, even with multiple late race restarts. Rick Girard finished second, while John Willard, Dakota Girard and Dave Petty Jr. rounded out the top five.
Another stout field of 19 USRA B-Modifieds took to the dry slick speedway. The USRA B-Modifieds are one of the most competitive classes at I-35 Speedway, although Ed Noll proved too much for everyone else on this night. He had both speed and luck on his side as he picked up his third win of the season. Noll took the lead into turn one, lap one, and started running the low side of the track. Daniel Harris found the high side had more speed and started picking drivers off. Corey Myers followed suit and when the yellow flew for Harris midway through the race, Myers found himself in prime position to sneak around Noll. On the restart, Myers worked his way to the outside of Noll, but the yellow flew keeping Noll out front. Under the yellow, Myers developed a rear end issue and his night ended. Noll now knew the high side had speed and, on the restart, changed lines and ran away with the win. Eddie Schwope Jr. and Jason Billups stayed out of trouble, finishing second and third. Chase Galvan battled back from an early race spin to finish fourth, while Doug Keller rounded out the top five.
The USRA Stock Cars brought one of the best fields of the year for the class as drivers begin to prepare for the Gary Davis Super 66 Stock Car race on June 16. Kevin Anderson took the lead early, controlled his five-car length lead all race long and won the race. After sliding over the berm and flipping once in his heat, Dean Wray repaired his car and finished second in the feature. Current I-35 Speedway points leader Jeff Dixon finished third, with Sam Scott fourth and Gene Stigall fifth.
On a night that saw an abundance of yellow, the USRA Modifieds went 20 laps clean and green. Dennis Elliott continued his hot streak as he hit the setup again, leading all 20 laps in dominating fashion, picking up his third feature win of the year. Robbie Reed ran second, Chase Breid third and Darren Shaw finished fourth. Austin Johnson kicked the bad luck he has had to start of the season, finishing fifth, his first top five of the season.
At intermission, the up and coming racers in the Powerwheels also took the track. In the six-volt class, Weston Romesburg picked up the win. In the 12-volt class, Creed Wilson won the feature, with Bowen Brandt second, Hayden Romesburg third and Luke Hoover fourth.
Race Results 5-26-2018
Show-Me Vintage Racers
- #55 Ray Hughes
- #6 Daniel Clevenger (Heat Race Winner)
- #8 Rocky Rhodes
- #1 Mickey Fleetheart
- #5 Steve Hughes
- #22 Elmer Fudd
- #4J Shirley Nelson
- #11 Jeremy Turner
DNS – #30 Austin Johnson
Pure Stocks
- #72 Ron Hill (Heat Race Winner)
- #555 Beau Wells
- #17R Rylee Fuller
- #166 Cody Herpel
Grand Nationals
- #97 Houston Johnson
- #20 Chad Fuller (Heat Race Winner)
- #99L Billie Hoover
- #2H John Hanson
- #6 Lee Costner
Midwest Outlaw Vintage Racers
- #7F Dennis Fair
- #XX Steve Tanner
- #62 Dave Petty Sr. (Heat Race Winner)
- #39 Chris Heitman
E-Modifieds
- #8S Caleb Pugh
- #14 Gary Ainsworth
- #54 Eddie Ingram (Heat Race Winner)
- #50 Leroy Morrison
- #28 Justin Marrant
- #91J Josh Adkins
- #1L Bobby Lopez
- #12GA Jason Nelson
- #58 Destyn Whitney (Heat Race Winner)
- #95S A.J. Sayers
Figure 8
- #97 Houston Johnson
- #99L Billie Hoover
- #6 Lee Costner
- #2H John Hanson
DNS – #39 Chris Heitman, #72 Ron Hill
Sport Compacts
Make Up Feature 5-5-2018
- #1/2CR John Willard
- #55 David Miller III
- #95 Steven Bunton
- #8 Rocky Rhodes
- #6 Dave Petty Jr.
DNS – #33D Devin Schmidt, #81 Chris Lewis
Feature
- #69 Alvin Cooney
- #00 Rick Girard (Heat Race Winner)
- #1/2CR John Willard
- #0 Dakota Girard (Heat Race Winner)
- #6 Dave Petty Jr.
- #55 David Miller III
- #95 Steven Bunton
- #00X Kyler Girard
DNS – #8 Rocky Rhodes, #55X Alex Gilbertson
USRA B-Modifieds
- #15 Ed Noll (Heat Race Winner)
- #91 Eddie Schwope Jr.
- #2 Jason Billups
- #0 Chase Galvan (Heat Race Winner)
- #7 Doug Keller
- #16 Blake Pierce
- #32P Jeremy Pittsenbarger
- #22K Ashley Klick
- #15X Corey Myers
- #124 Anthony Hill
- #10H Garrett Hill
- #222 Dustin Crist
- #94 Jared Hillyard
- #07 Daniel Harris
- #22B Mitch Booher
- #2T Todd Luke
- #66 Ethan Isaacs
- #6 Lucas Isaacs
- #52M Dustin Miller (Heat Race Winner)
USRA Stock Cars
- #417 Kevin Anderson (Heat Race Winner)
- #77 Dean Wray
- #88 Jeff Dixon
- #93 Sam Scott (Heat Race Winner)
- #S20 Gene Stigall
- #40 William Dahl
- #111 Butch Bailey
- #75 Cletus Murray
- #21H Jeb Hayes
USRA Modifieds
- #29 Dennis Elliott (Heat Race Winner)
- #5 Robbie Reed (Heat Race Winner)
- #12B Chase Breid
- #11 Darren Shaw
- #98 Austin Johnson
- #17$ Shane Lawson
- #99J Billie Hoover
- #92 Tyler Grooms
- #2H John Hanson
- #99H Tyler Hibner
- #97 Houston Johnson
- #38 Anthony Logston
- #4M Manlee Lamar
DNS – #96 Danny Barker
Powerwheels
Six Volt
- #20X Weston Romesburg
12-Volt
- #75C Creed Wilson
- #8 Hayden Romesburg
- #3 Bowen Brandt
- #21 Luke Hoover
Category: Missouri