Shirley uncontested in Spring Nationals finale
Brian Shirley — Photo – Lloyd Collins
Wheatland, Missouri (April 9, 2016) – Brian Shirley and his team drove through the night, from Tennessee, to run in Saturday’s Lucas Oil MLRA Spring Nationals Presented by RacingJunk.com finale at Lucas Oil Speedway. The decision paid off as Shirley blistered the field to score his first ever Lucas Oil MLRA victory.
“It was really great,” stated Shirley in Andy’s Frozen Custard Victory Lane . “We’ve had Bob Cullen come on board, put together really every piece of the puzzle that we needed. I can’t even explain why I’ve been so lucky to be put in this situation. It (the car) was that good, it just made it real easy to control where I needed to be in lap traffic. I love coming to Lucas Oil. I’m so happy to be here and win my first race here.”
The feature ran caution free and Shirley won by nearly seven and a half seconds. There was an outstanding race among several cars behind him.
Oakwood, Illinois youngster Bobby Pierce started mid-pack and pushed forward. A late race surge moved him to second in the feature.
“I got held up in the beginning there,” said Pierce “We were really fast once the rear tires got going. It was a perfect track tonight. I would have liked to seen a caution. I’ve got a seven hour drive back home, I know I’m gonna be kicking myself in the butt praying for a caution the whole race. That is just the way racing goes.”
A new car, and a night under his belt, proved to be the magic formula for Nevada, Missouri’s Brantlee Gotschall. Starting sixth, he raced the entire feature around cars for position and in and out of lapped traffic. When the checkers flew he was third.
“We fought brake problems all night tonight and even in the a (feature) there,” commented Gotschall. “We struggled through it and ended up pretty good. It’s been a great night, a lot different than last night for sure.”
Rodney Sanders, Tony Jackson Jr., Jesse Stovall, Randy Timms and Brian Shirley were the five heat race winners. There were 47 cars in the pits tonight.
Next weekend the series heads to the Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Missouri for a Sunday afternoon event.
Lucas Oil Speedway Contingencies 4/8/16
Hooker Harness “11th Place” – Tony Jackson Jr.
Andy’s Frozen Custard Victory Lane – Billy Moyer
Fasttrack Photos – Billy Moyer
Crew Chief of the Race – Steve Norris
Casey’s General Stores “Hard Charger of the Race” – Jesse Stovall
Sunoco “Rookie of the Race” – Jason Papich
Real Racing Wheels – Josh Poe
Wehrs Machine – Austin Siebert
DirtonDirt.com “Pole Award”- Billy Moyer
Malvern Bank & Trust “Most Laps Led” – Billy Moyer
AR Bodies – Robert Baker
KRC – Tad Pospisil
Racingjunk.com “Hard Luck Award” – Tommy Weder Jr.
Landrum Springs “Top Performer” – Jason Papich
Performance Bodies “Performer of the Race” – Jesse Stovall
Lucas Oil Speedway Contingencies 4/9/16
Hooker Harness “11th Place” – Terry Phillips
Andy’s Frozen Custard Victory Lane – Brian Shirley
Fast Track Photos – Brian Shirley
Crew Chief of the Race – Bob Cullen
Casey’s General Store’s “Hard Charger of the Race” – Bobby Pierce
Sunoco “Rookie of the Race” – Tad Pospisil
Real Racing Wheels – Tad Pospisil
Wehrs Machine – Brandon McCormick
DirtonDirt.com “Pole Award”- Jesse Stovall
Malvern Bank & Trust “Most Laps Led” – Brian Shirley
AR Bodies – Jason Papich
KRC – Dave Eckrich
Racingjunk.com “Hard Luck Award” – JC Wyman
Landrum Springs “Top Performer” – Brantlee Gotschall
Performance Bodies “Performer of the Race” – Bobby Pierce
Lucas Oil Products A Feature (45 Laps): 1. Brian Shirley 2. Bobby Pierce 3. Brantlee Gotschall 4. Tony Jackson Jr. 5. Randy Timms 6. Jesse Stovall 7. Billy Moyer 8. Tyler Erb 9. Rodney Sanders 10. Tad Pospisil 11. Terry Phillips 12. Jeremy Payne 13. Brad Looney 14. Austin Rettig 15. Jason Papich 16. Kyle Beard 17. Gavin Landers 18. Chris Brown 19. Jack Sullivan 20. Dave Eckrich 21. Gordy Gundaker 22. Brandon McCormick 23. JC Wyman 24. Michael Kloos
Impact Signs, Awnings, Wraps B Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. Chris Brown 2. Jason Papich 3. Kyle Beard 4. JC Wyman 5. Tim Manville 6. Jimmy Mars 7. Austin Siebert 8. Reid Millard 9. Dalton Ragsdale 10. Mike Stadel 11. Curt Acker 12. Justin Reed 13. Kyle Berck 14. Jason Krohn 15. Payton Looney 16. Bill Leighton
Hoosier Racing Tires B Feature 2 (15 Laps): 1. Michael Kloos 2. Jack Sullivan 3. Gordy Gundaker 4. Brandon McCormick 5. Darrel Moser 6. Robert Baker 7. Tommy Weder Jr. 8. Jacob Magee 9. Matt Buller 10. Josh Poe 11. Chris Cox 12. Larry Jones 13. Bryon Allison 14. Dustin Walker
Bilstein Shocks Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. Rodney Sanders 2. Billy Moyer 3. Tyler Erb 4. Bobby Pierce 5. JC Wyman 6. Josh Poe 7. Bill Leighton 8. Tommy Weder Jr. 9. Justin Reed 10. Matt Buller
Casey’s General Stores Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. Tony Jackson Jr. 2. Terry Phillips 3. Brantlee Gotschall 4. Kyle Beard 5. Michael Kloos 6. Jacob Magee 7. Bryon Allison 8. Mike Stadel 9. Larry Jones 10. Curt Acker
Chix Gear Racewear Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. Jesse Stovall 2. Tad Pospisil 4. Chris Brown 5. Jason Papich 6. Austin Siebert 7. Reid Millard 8. Chris Cox 9. Payton Looney
Malvern Bank Heat 4 (10 Laps): 1. Randy Timms 2. Dave Eckrich 3. Jeremy Payne 4. Robert Baker 5. Kyle Berck 6. Jack Sullivan 7. Dustin Walker 8. Dalton Ragsdale
Sunoco Race Fuels Heat 5 (10 Laps): 1. Brian Shirley 2. Brad Looney 3. Gavin Landers 4. Darrel Moser 5. Gordy Gundaker 6. Tim Manville 7. Jason Krohn 8. Brandon McCormick 9. Jimmy Mars
For all of the latest news and information fans are encouraged to visit the series website at www.MLRARacing.com.
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