Derek Brown wins Street Stocks headliner as Lucas Oil Speedway opens season; Reed, Jackson and Cornell also prevail

 

WHEATLAND, Missouri (May 17, 2020) – Racing returned to Lucas Oil Speedway on Sunday night after a delayed start of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Derek Brown celebrated the night by capturing the O’Reilly Auto Stocks Street Stocks main event, the spotlight class of the night.

 

Other feature winners on Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Night at the Races Presented by OzarksFIRST.com included Robbie Reed (Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds), Kris Jackson (Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods) and Kaeden Cornell (Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models).

 

Brown, of Stoutland, led all 25 laps of the Street Stocks feature to earn the $750 prize. Brown said he knew it was going to be a good night from hot laps on.

 

“It was pretty good all night,” said Brown, who also rolled to a win in his heat race in a new car he spent the winter preparing. “I didn’t have to work on it and just mainly drove it.”

 

Brown, a former track champion, said Street Stock drivers always have an eye on October’s Big Buck 50 Presented by Whitetail Trophy Hunt. He certainly has that race circled on his calendar and plans to be ready for it with more track time at Lucas Oil Speedway that he’s had the last couple of years.

 

“I’m actually planning on running a full season here,” Brown said. “I’m not gonna miss a race and hopefully I’m better prepared for the Big Buck because of that.”

 

Brown was fast from the time he unloaded, clearly hitting on the right set-up in the long-anticipated first race of the season. He said the track condition was to his liking, despite lots of rain over the last week.

 

“It wasn’t bad,” Brown said of the track surface. “There were a few ruts, but that’s to be expected. For the most part it was really good.”

 

Brown started outside of pole-starter Ted Welschmeyer and quickly grabbed the lead at the start with Poe, who started fourth, climbing into second in just three laps.

 

The only thing the kept it close for a while were numerous caution flags, but Brown used a series of green-flag laps to open a 2.3-second led by lap 14. Two more cautions soon thereafter bunched things again before Brown cruised as the race went green the final seven laps to win by 2.088 seconds over Zach Zeugin.

 

Zeugin, of Fair Play, passed Poe on the final lap for the runner-up spot. Defending track champion Toby Ott was fourth with Tyler Worley finishing fifth.

 

Reed uses late pass for Modified win: Robbie Reed of Mexico, Missouri, started defense of his Pitts Homes USRA Modified track championship in a big way, making a pass with one lap to go and then holding off Terry Schultz for the feature win.

 

Schultz, from Sedalia, started on the pole and led the first 18 laps before Reed slipped past coming to the white flag. A caution before the final circuit could be completed led to a one-lap shootout for the win and Reed was up to the challenge, holding off Schultz by 1.125 seconds at the finish.

 

Reed started fifth and advanced into the top-three by lap 11 of the 20-lap race, behind Schultz and Duvall. Reed – who matched his feature win total at Lucas Oil Speedway form a year ago – moved past Duvall into the second spot by lap 17 and  set his sights on the leader.

 

Duvall finished third with Dustin Hodges fourth and Lucas Gibbs in fifth.

 

Jackson begins title defense with B-Mod win: Kris Jackson of Lebanon started the new season like he finished the old one. The reigning Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod track champ and USRA B-Mod national champion captured the feature with a 2.4-second triumph over runner-up Ryan Gillmore of Springfield.

 

Jackson, starting fourth, passed front-row starting Andy Bryant of Fort Scott, Kansas, on the fourth lap to take the lead and he never gave it back. He earned eight feature wins in 2019 at Lucas Oil Speedway.

 

Bryant slipped back to fourth a lap later before passing Gillmore and Turner and rallying back into second by lap 12 when a caution flew.

 

As Jackson opened up a comfortable lead once the race resumed, eighth-starting Gillmore regained second and Dillon McCowan of Urbana went around Bryant for third with two laps remaining and held that position to the finish. Eric Turner rounded out the top five.

 

Cornell grabs ULMA Late Model victory: Kaeden Cornell scored a flag-to-flag victory in the Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Model feature, leading all 20 laps and holding off Cole Henson.

 

Cornell, of Willard, got the jump on fellow front-row starter Henson and he set a blistering pace through 12 green-flag laps, opening a 3.1-second lead over Johnny Fennewald and Henson.

 

Fennewald, the three-time reigning track champion from Appleton City, had just passed Henson when his car ignited into flames on lap 12. He rolled to a stop in turn two and climbed out before safety crews quickly put out the fire.

 

As the race went back to green, Cornell led the rest of the way but it wasn’t easy. Henson, of Russellville, pulled alongside a couple of times with four laps to go, but Cornell was able to regain command and wound up about three car lengths in front at the finish.

 

Larry Ferris finished third with Shawn Strong fourth and Aaron Marrant fifth.

 

Lucas Oil Speedway results (May 17, 2020)

Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series

Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds

A Feature: (20 Laps): 1. 5-Robbie Reed[5]; 2. 90-Terry Schultz[1]; 3. 91-Joe Duvall[6]; 4. 22H-Dustin Hodges[2]; 5. 51G-Lucas Gibbs[9]; 6. 55X-Nathan Hagar[13]; 7. 1X-Matt Johnson[4]; 8. 227-Chase Domer[15]; 9. 21R-Rusty Skaggs[16]; 10. 21-Ryan Middaugh[3]; 11. 38C-Jason Pursley[8]; 12. 134-Robert Heydenreich[11]; 13. 12M-JC Morton[19]; 14. 7-Daniel Franklin[21]; 15. 24D-Donnie Fellers[23]; 16. 13-Shawn Whitman[17]; 17. 292-Kyle Thompson[25]; 18. 93D-Josh Dugan[20]; 19. (DNF) 155-Terry Kirk[7]; 20. (DNF) 55-Colson Kirk[12]; 21. (DNF) 20-Bob Kerbs[24]; 22. (DNF) 03-Chase Jones[10]; 23. (DNF) 98D-Paden Phillips[14]; 24. (DNF) 112-Justin Moon[22]; 25. (DNF) 8X-Robby Love[18]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 22H-Dustin Hodges[3]; 2. 21-Ryan Middaugh[6]; 3. 38C-Jason Pursley[4]; 4. 55X-Nathan Hagar[1]; 5. 134-Robert Heydenreich[8]; 6. 227-Chase Domer[9]; 7. 7-Daniel Franklin[5]; 8. 112-Justin Moon[2]; 9. 20-Bob Kerbs[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 90-Terry Schultz[5]; 2. 155-Terry Kirk[1]; 3. 91-Joe Duvall[6]; 4. 51G-Lucas Gibbs[7]; 5. 21R-Rusty Skaggs[4]; 6. 13-Shawn Whitman[3]; 7. 12M-JC Morton[2]; 8. 24D-Donnie Fellers[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 5-Robbie Reed[1]; 2. 1X-Matt Johnson[6]; 3. 03-Chase Jones[2]; 4. 98D-Paden Phillips[4]; 5. 55-Colson Kirk[8]; 6. 8X-Robby Love[5]; 7. 93D-Josh Dugan[3]; 8. (DNF) 292-Kyle Thompson[7]

 

O’Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks

A Feature: 1. 11-Derek Brown[2]; 2. 35Z-Zach Zeugin[3]; 3. 45-Aaron Poe[4]; 4. 27OTT-Toby Ott[6]; 5. 66-Tyler Worley[13]; 6. 21W-Ted Welschmeyer[1]; 7. 04-Cody Frazon[7]; 8. 111-Tim Brown[8]; 9. 74-Scott Stuart[10]; 10. 27B-John Brooks[16]; 11. 7X-John Scott[11]; 12. 44S-Steve Scott[17]; 13. 41-Michael Terry[22]; 14. (DNF) 22T-Timothy Petty[5]; 15. (DNF) 54LM-Bobby Brown[20]; 16. (DNF) 73-Francisco Escamila[24]; 17. (DNF) 69-Brian Brown[12]; 18. (DNF) 67-Jeff Leonhard[19]; 19. (DNF) 327-Bob Barnett[9]; 20. (DNF) 35-Johnny Coats[18]; 21. (DNF) 7M-Scott Johnson[14]; 22. (DNF) 28-Andrew Roark[23]; 23. (DNS) 2-Colton Bourland; 24. (DNS) 22-Joey Holdren II; 25. (DNS) 356-Reggie Jackson; 26. (DNS) 7C-Collin Parmer

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 11-Derek Brown[3]; 2. 21W-Ted Welschmeyer[8]; 3. 74-Scott Stuart[2]; 4. 111-Tim Brown[9]; 5. 356-Reggie Jackson[7]; 6. 27B-John Brooks[1]; 7. 54LM-Bobby Brown[5]; 8. (DNS) 7C-Collin Parmer; 9. (DNS) 2-Colton Bourland

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 35Z-Zach Zeugin[2]; 2. 04-Cody Frazon[3]; 3. 27OTT-Toby Ott[7]; 4. 7M-Scott Johnson[1]; 5. 69-Brian Brown[8]; 6. 35-Johnny Coats[5]; 7. 67-Jeff Leonhard[4]; 8. 28-Andrew Roark[6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 45-Aaron Poe[1]; 2. 22T-Timothy Petty[4]; 3. 327-Bob Barnett[5]; 4. 7X-John Scott[6]; 5. 66-Tyler Worley[8]; 6. 44S-Steve Scott[2]; 7. 22-Joey Holdren II[7]; 8. 41-Michael Terry[3]; 9. 73-Francisco Escamila[9]

 

Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods

A Feature (20 Laps): 1. 65-Kris Jackson[4]; 2. 66-Ryan Gillmore[8]; 3. 8-Dillon McCowan[5]; 4. 28-Andy Bryant[1]; 5. 99T-Eric Turner[6]; 6. 83N-JC Newell[13]; 7. 22C-Cole Campbell[16]; 8. 18M-JC Morton[7]; 9. 32-Robbe Ewing[3]; 10. 4B-Brayton Skaggs[15]; 11. 30-Mark Long[2]; 12. 84-Dayton Newell[18]; 13. 46-Brice Gotschall[9]; 14. 1F-Mitchell Franklin[25]; 15. 21F-Hannah Frazee[11]; 16. 11-Jimmy Willis[26]; 17. 57J-John Fellers[24]; 18. 56H-Scott Hall[23]; 19. (DNF) 8S-Jon Sheets[10]; 20. (DNF) 17-Earl Roark[14]; 21. (DNF) 77-Koby Chadd[22]; 22. (DNF) 1-Kurt Sledd[21]; 23. (DNF) 10P-Dayton Pursley[17]; 24. (DNF) 28B-Wesley Briggs[20]; 25. (DNF) 18-Austin Joplin[12]; 26. (DNF) 30H-Rex Harris[19]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 65-Kris Jackson[2]; 2. 8-Dillon McCowan[4]; 3. 18M-JC Morton[7]; 4. 8S-Jon Sheets[5]; 5. 83N-JC Newell[6]; 6. 22C-Cole Campbell[8]; 7. 30H-Rex Harris[9]; 8. 77-Koby Chadd[1]; 9. 57J-John Fellers[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 30-Mark Long[4]; 2. 46-Brice Gotschall[3]; 3. 32-Robbe Ewing[9]; 4. 21F-Hannah Frazee[1]; 5. 17-Earl Roark[5]; 6. 10P-Dayton Pursley[8]; 7. 1-Kurt Sledd[6]; 8. 56H-Scott Hall[2]; 9. (DNF) 11-Jimmy Willis[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Andy Bryant[8]; 2. 99T-Eric Turner[4]; 3. 66-Ryan Gillmore[7]; 4. 18-Austin Joplin[3]; 5. 4B-Brayton Skaggs[5]; 6. 84-Dayton Newell[1]; 7. 28B-Wesley Briggs[2]; 8. (DNF) 1F-Mitchell Franklin[6]

 

Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models

A Feature (20 Laps): 1. 50-Kaeden Cornell[2]; 2. 31C-Cole Henson[1]; 3. 51-Larry Ferris[4]; 4. 14S-Shawn Strong[8]; 5. 1X-Aaron Marrant[5]; 6. 1T-Tucker Cox[6]; 7. 42H-Chad Richwine[12]; 8. 27-Derek Henson[14]; 9. 1A-Bryon Allison[9]; 10. (DNF) 15-John Aitken[15]; 11. (DNF) 21-Johnny Fennewald[3]; 12. (DNF) 12J-Justin Russell[13]; 13. (DNF) 66-Matt Becker[7]; 14. (DNF) 69-Walt Imhoff[16]; 15. (DNF) 14W-Dustin Walker[11]; 16. (DNF) 0X-Jason Sivils[10]; 17. (DNF) 16-Ashlee Lancaster[17]

Cedar Creek Beef Jerky Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 50-Kaeden Cornell[2]; 2. 1T-Tucker Cox[1]; 3. 14S-Shawn Strong[4]; 4. 0X-Jason Sivils[5]; 5. 12J-Justin Russell[6]; 6. 16-Ashlee Lancaster[3]; 7. (DNS) 1X-Aaron Marrant

Cedar Creek Beef Jerky Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 31C-Cole Henson[4]; 2. 51-Larry Ferris[3]; 3. 1X-Aaron Marrant[6]; 4. 14W-Dustin Walker[2]; 5. 69-Walt Imhoff[1]; 6. (DNS) 27-Derek Henson

Cedar Creek Beef Jerky Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 21-Johnny Fennewald[1]; 2. 66-Matt Becker[2]; 3. 1A-Bryon Allison[3]; 4. 42H-Chad Richwine[4]; 5. 15-John Aitken[5]
Racing resumes next Saturday: The Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series is back in action next Saturday. Ozarks FOX presents the program which finds the Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds the featured class, running a 25-lap, $1,000-to-win main event. Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models, Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods and O’Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks also will be in action.

Lorton said due to continued COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, entries in each of the four divisions again will be limited to 30 and all preregistration must be done via MyRacePass. Beginning on Monday, those in the top 15 of each class from the 2020 Lucas Oil Speedway points standings can preregister and those drivers have till midnight on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, starting at noon, all other drivers can preregister via MyRacePass. They will be entered in the order received until the limit of 30 is reached per class.

All drivers are reminded when they pre-register the first email confirmation they will receive is just stating your registration has been confirmed with MyRacePass. This does not mean they are locked into the event. As entries are processed, Pit Office Manager Amber Hoeschler will add them to the event date and drivers’ names will appear on the May 23 race event in the class they entered.

Gates are scheduled to open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and opening ceremonies at 7.

 

For fans, due to COVID-19 precautions, social distancing of 6 feet will be required for the grandstands, though families are allowed to sit together. Fans should leave at least one space between vehicles in the parking lot. Drivers in the pit area will be required to leave one pit stall between haulers.
For ticket questions or information for any event this season, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or email her at nichole@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information.

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Category: Missouri