Midseason champs Beck, Middaugh and Wells roll to Lucas Oil Speedway feature wins as Jackson also visits victory lane
Justin Wells Late Models – Lucas Oil Speedway Photo
WHEATLAND, MO. (June 17, 2023) – One week ago, Mason Beck was unable to celebrate his Lucas Oil Speedway O’Reilly Auto Parts Stock Cars Midseason Championship on the track due to a rainout.
The 20-year-old from Urbana made sure to properly relish the accolades on Saturday night, capturing the headline feature of the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series at Lucas Oil Speedway.
Beck picked up $750 for the victory, in which he led all 25 laps and took a big first step toward a season championship. Unofficially, he’s 67 ahead of second-place Mason Garner.
Other winners on the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series program presented by Thunderburst Media were Ryan Middaugh (Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modifeids), Kris Jackson (Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods) and Justin Wells (Hermitage Lumber Late Models).
Beck, who finished just two points in front of Rob White to claim the midseason title, posted his second feature win of the Lucas Oil Speedway season. He beat Waylon Dimmitt by .981 seconds.
“We’ve had a pretty good weekend,” Beck said. “We went over to Bolivar last night and won and slung a new set of shocks on. We came here and decided to try them again and got her done again.”
Beck joked that he forgot to shop for his dad, Philip Beck, for Father’s Day
“There’s your gift,” Beck said, with a laugh.
Dean Wille passed Christopher Sawyer on a lap-three restart to move into second as Beck drove out to a one-second lead after starting on the pole. Four laps later, Dimmitt used the high groove to go around Willie for second.
Meanwhile, Beck stayed on the low side as Dimmitt cut into his lead and pulled within a car length to complete lap 11. Those two dueled for the lead until a lap-17 caution slowed the action with Beck continuing to hang on.
Beck seemed to find an extra bit of speed after the restart as he opened a five-car-length lead by lap 21. Beck hung on from there to beat Dimmitt by nearly one second.
Garner rallied from 10th to finish third with Wille fourth and James McMillin coming home in fifth.
Middaugh cruises to USRA Modified win: Another midseason champion, Ryan Middaugh of Fulton, took control early and cruised to his second Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modified feature victory of the season, beating runner-up Robbie Reed by 3.7 seconds.
“It’s been a good weekend,” Middaugh said, noting a win on Friday at his hometown Callaway Raceway. “It’s good to get the midseason points, but we’re here to win races. The first step toward winning a championship is winning races.”
Middaugh, who started from the inside of row two, rolled past Jason Pursley and into the lead on lap two. Pursley started on the pole and led the first three laps before Middaugh got position on the inside headed into turn one and made the pass for the lead.
Jeff Cutshaw, a four-time track champion, took over the second position on lap six but Middaugh already had a two-second lead by that point. His cushion grew to 2.4 seconds by lap 10 when Cutshaw spun in turn four to bring out the caution.
From there, the race remained caution-free and it was all Middaugh as he drove away from the field to pick up his eighth feature win overall in 2023. He is leading the USRA Modifieds National points chase.
Reed passed Chase Jones on the final lap to grab the second position. Pursley wound up fourth and Reggie Jackson was fifth.
USRA B-Mod victory goes to Jackson: Seven-time Lucas Oil Speedway track champion Kris Jackson of Lebanon led all the way to capture his second Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod feature win of the season.
“The car was pretty good tonight,” Jackson said. “It was a really good race track. It came in really nice and you could race all over it.”
Ryan Gillmore, who started fourth, sailed around the outside of Jackson for the lead on lap four. However, a caution flag waved as three cars spun in turn four, reverting the order to the previous lap which meant Jackson would lead Gillmore as the race returned to green.
Jackson opened up a one-second lead after the restart, but Gillmore began to close in. The two were separated by .426 seconds when the caution flew on lap 14, setting up a six-lap shootout for the win.
Two laps after the restart, Gillmore was in hot pursuit – but too hot as it turned out as he slipped high and over the cushion in turn four. That dropped the two-time feature winner back to eighth and left Jackson in command.
Jackson continued on to win by three seconds over Ryan Edde. Overall, it was Jackson’s 21st victory of the season in 29 attempts in the J2 Race Car chassis that he owns and helped develop.
“Our J2 Race Cars have taken off phenomenally,” Jackson said. “I’m proud of everything we’ve been able to do.”
JC Morton, after pitting early for a flat tire, rallied for third with JC Newell fourth and midseason champ Bobby Williams in fifth. Gillmore had to settle for eighth.
Wells scores 100th win his “Old Fathful” Late Model: Make it 100 victories for Justin Wells in his favorite race car. Wells earned his sixth Hermitage Lumber Late Model feature win of the season, outdistancing JC Morton by 3.4 seconds.
The midseason champ in the division scored feature win No. 100 in his 2006 TNT chassis with another dominating victory this season. He grabbed command from the beginning and led all 20 laps in a car he affectionately calls “Old Faithful.”
“I can’t believe it,” Wells said of a car he’s driven since 2008. “To have this car and for it to have 100 wins, it’s unbelievable.
“Whoever preps this track, he needs a raise,” Wells added. “This track was awesome. It’s a joy to be able to run all those grooves we ran tonight.”
Morton, who also had a third-place finish in his B-Mod, started fifth in the Late Model feature and advanced into second by lap three. He trailed Wells by 3.1 seconds when a caution appeared on lap six.
It didn’t take Wells long to drive away as action remaining under green-flag conditions the rest of the way as he won by about a quarter of a lap.
“I just wan to thank my family and friends, plus all those dads and moms that sat out here tonight,” Wells said.
Tommy Cordray finished third with Joe Walkenhorst fourth and Jon Rowland fifth.
LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (June 17, 2023)
Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series
O’Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars
A Feature – 1. 0F-Mason Beck[1]; 2. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[6]; 3. 7-William Garner[10]; 4. 68-Dean Wille[3]; 5. 8M-James McMillin[5]; 6. 2-Colton Bourland[12]; 7. 83-James Ellis[4]; 8. (DNF) 21D-Dalton Phillips[11]; 9. (DNF) 12-Christopher Sawyer[2]; 10. (DNF) 7X-John Scott[7]; 11. (DNF) 54-Gage Test[9]; 12. (DNF) 24-Blayne McMillin[8]
Bill Roberts Chevrolet Heat 1 – 1. 12-Christopher Sawyer[2]; 2. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[5]; 3. 7-William Garner[4]; 4. 83-James Ellis[1]; 5. 7X-John Scott[3]; 6. 21D-Dalton Phillips[6]
Bill Roberts Chevrolet Heat 2 – 1. 0F-Mason Beck[3]; 2. 68-Dean Wille[4]; 3. 8M-James McMillin[5]; 4. 24-Blayne McMillin[6]; 5. 54-Gage Test[2]; 6. (DQ) 2-Colton Bourland[1]
Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modifieds
A Feature – 1. 21M-Ryan Middaugh[3]; 2. 5-Robbie Reed[1]; 3. 03-Chase Jones[4]; 4. 38C-Jason Pursley[2]; 5. 356-Reggie Jackson[8]; 6. 14-Kameron Grindstaff[7]; 7. 98-Jeff Cutshaw[6]; 8. 23-Lucas Dobbs[5]; 9. 26-Eric Turner[10]; 10. 75L-Lane Whitney[12]; 11. 21-Greg Scheffler[9]; 12. (DNF) 21W-Tracy Wolf[11]; 13. (DNF) 155-Terry Kirk[15]; 14. (DNF) 9-Kenton Allen[13]; 15. (DNS) 127-Paden Phillips
Heat 1 – 1. 21M-Ryan Middaugh[4]; 2. 356-Reggie Jackson[6]; 3. 03-Chase Jones[3]; 4. 23-Lucas Dobbs[2]; 5. (DNF) 75L-Lane Whitney[7]; 6. (DNF) 9-Kenton Allen[1]; 7. (DNF) 127-Paden Phillips[5]; 8. (DNF) 155-Terry Kirk[8]
Heat 2 – 1. 38C-Jason Pursley[4]; 2. 14-Kameron Grindstaff[1]; 3. 5-Robbie Reed[5]; 4. 98-Jeff Cutshaw[6]; 5. 21-Greg Scheffler[3]; 6. 26-Eric Turner[7]; 7. 21W-Tracy Wolf[2]
Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods
A Feature – 1. J2-Kris Jackson[1]; 2. 15-Ryan Edde[2]; 3. 18-JC Morton[9]; 4. 83-JC Newell[4]; 5. 1B-Bobby Williams[13]; 6. 8S-Jon Sheets[22]; 7. 11S-Scotty Bough[5]; 8. 66-Ryan Gillmore[3]; 9. 10P-Dayton Pursley[11]; 10. 2-Quentin Taylor[19]; 11. 55-Colson Kirk[15]; 12. 24D-Donnie Fellers[10]; 13. 51-Brian Schutt[18]; 14. 24L-Dakota Lowe[12]; 15. 42J-Donnie Jackson[14]; 16. 0K-Tracy Killian[21]; 17. (DNF) 96-Cody Brill[7]; 18. (DNF) F1-Mitchell Franklin[8]; 19. (DNF) 23N-Kenny Nutter[17]; 20. (DNF) 17L-Chris Leathers[6]; 21. (DNF) 24-Jerry Ellis[16]; 22. (DNF) 2G-Eric Graves[20]
Heat 1 – 1. 17L-Chris Leathers[2]; 2. 11S-Scotty Bough[3]; 3. 24D-Donnie Fellers[1]; 4. 24L-Dakota Lowe[4]; 5. 1B-Bobby Williams[7]; 6. 51-Brian Schutt[6]; 7. 2-Quentin Taylor[8]; 8. 2G-Eric Graves[5]
Heat 2 – 1. 8S-Jon Sheets[1]; 2. 83-JC Newell[3]; 3. F1-Mitchell Franklin[4]; 4. 96-Cody Brill[5]; 5. 18-JC Morton[7]; 6. 42J-Donnie Jackson[6]; 7. 23N-Kenny Nutter[2]
Heat 3 – 1. 15-Ryan Edde[2]; 2. 66-Ryan Gillmore[5]; 3. J2-Kris Jackson[7]; 4. 10P-Dayton Pursley[3]; 5. 55-Colson Kirk[6]; 6. 24-Jerry Ellis[1]; 7. (DNF) 0K-Tracy Killian[4]
Hermitage Lumber Late Models
A Feature – 1. 98-Justin Wells[3]; 2. 72-JC Morton[5]; 3. 5-Tommy Cordray[7]; 4. 90-Joe Walkenhorst[4]; 5. 149-John Rowland[1]; 6. 21P-Darren Phillips[13]; 7. 13-Shawn Whitman[10]; 8. 60-Cody Nivens[9]; 9. 0X-Jason Sivils[8]; 10. 1A-Bryon Allison[6]; 11. 99-Larry Jones[11]; 12. 73-Francisco Escamila[14]; 13. 81-Jimmy Dowell[12]; 14. 6-Bob Cummings[15]; 15. (DNF) 15-Bobby Ruff II[2]; 16. (DNS) 31C-Cole Henson
Ozarks Coca-Cola Heat 1 – 1. 98-Justin Wells[2]; 2. 149-John Rowland[1]; 3. 0X-Jason Sivils[4]; 4. 5-Tommy Cordray[3]; 5. 60-Cody Nivens[6]; 6. 81-Jimmy Dowell[8]; 7. 73-Francisco Escamila[5]; 8. (DNF) 31C-Cole Henson[7]
Ozarks Coca-Cola Heat 2 – 1. 98-Justin Wells[2]; 2. 149-John Rowland[1]; 3. 0X-Jason Sivils[4]; 4. 5-Tommy Cordray[3]; 5. 60-Cody Nivens[6]; 6. 81-Jimmy Dowell[8]; 7. 73-Francisco Escamila[5]; 8. (DNF) 31C-Cole Henson[7]
Summer Thunder on Lake Lucas: The Kentucky Drag Boat Association’s Summer Thunder on Lake Lucas concludes on Sunday. Pits are scheduled to open at 7 a.m. with spectator gates at 8 and elimination rounds starting at 9.
KDBA Summer Thunder on Lake Lucas Sunday admission:
Adults (16 and over) – $15
Seniors (62 and up)/Military – $12
Youth (6-15) – $5
Kids (5-and-under) – FREE
Category: Missouri
