Whitwell Breaks Through in Larry Phillips Memorial
Photo: Lloyd Collins
WHEATLAND, MO (September 5th, 2015) – It was an all rookie front row for the start of the Lucas Oil MLRA Larry Phillips Memorial Saturday evening at Lucas Oil Speedway. When the checkers fell, RC Whitwell hoisted the winners trophy in Andy’s Frozen Custard Victory Lane. The win is his first with the series.
Whitwell is campaigning a Victory Circle Race Car this season for Giltner, Nebraska based Al Humphrey Racing. He didn’t immediately jump to the lead though. Early in the feature, Jake O’Neil jumped out and set the pace. Once Whitwell got rolling, he pulled alongside O’Neil and then to the lead. Briefly, on lap 18, Whitwell lost the lead to eventual runner up Terry Phillips. However, on the following circuit, he took it back and never allowed Phillips closer than a car length for the rest of the feature.
“He (O’Neil) took off pretty fast there,” commented Whitwell. “It was awesome to have an all Tucson front row tonight. I just stayed calm and drove my race and stuck to it. This Larry Phillips Memorial race is awesome. Unfortunately I didn’t get to meet the guy. He’s a real special guy to racing, and won a lot of races and one that I look up too.”
Terry Phillips settled for second in a race that honored his late father. Driving a new Black Diamond Race Car, Phillips was complimentary of both his car and the event.
“I think we’ve got us a hot rod here,” said Phillips. “I don’t know a lot about it. This ain’t bad right off the block. We just had a few obstacles tonight I need to deal with. I thank everybody for coming out for this deal. This is the way it ought to be. I’m just really glad me and Dan got together and done this.”
O’Neil had another solid night behind the wheel of his Red Eye Radiator Club 29. Saturday’s third place finish is his second in a row.
Kenny’s Tile contributed an additional $500 to Whitwell. The evening’s Casey’s General Stores Hard Charger was Tony Jackson Jr. He secured a $500 bonus from Lawless Harley Davidson® along with a custom jacket and shirt.
Lucas Oil Speedway Contingency Awards 9/5/15
Andy’s Frozen Custard Victory Lane – RC Whitwell
AR Bodies – Jason Hughes
Casey’s General Stores Hard Charger – Tony Jackson Jr.
DirtOnDirt.com Pole Winner – RC Whitwell
Hooker Harness 11th Place – Jason Utter
KRC Hard Luck – Jason O’Brien
RacingJunk.com Hard Luck – Jason O’Brien
Landrum Springs Race Winner – RC Whitwell
Fast Track Photos – RC Whitwell
Performance Bodies Performer of the Race – RC Whitwell
RaceNote Crew Chief of the Race – Al Humphrey
Real Racing Wheels – Jake O’Neil
Sunoco Rookie of the Race – RC Whitwell
Wehrs Machine – Dave Eckrich
Larry Phillips Memorial (40 Laps): 1. RC Whitwell 2. Terry Phillips 3. Jake O’Neil 4. Jesse Stovall 5. Chad Simpson 6. Mark Burgtorf 7. Tim Manville 8. Scott Lewis 9. Tony Jackson Jr. 10. Jeremy Payne 11. Jason Utter 12. Brantlee Gotschall 13. Dave Eckrich 14. David Turner 15. Austin Siebert 16. JC Wyman 17. Dan Shepherd 18. Jacob Magee 19. Brandon McCormick 20. Dalton Ragsdale 21. Josh Hughes 22. Payton Looney 23. Jason O’Brien 24. Larry Ferris
HotRodProcessing.com B Feature (12 Laps): 1. Josh Hughes 2. Tim Manville 3. Larry Ferris 4. Tony Jackson Jr. 5. Brandon McCormick 6. Jacob Magee 7. Jason Hughes 8. David Ware 9. Larry Jones 10. Reid Millard 11. Austin Siebert 12. Dan Shepherd 13. RD Peterson 14. Tommy Fulton 15. Jim Shereck
Hoosier Raicng Tires Heat #1 (10 Laps): 1. Mark Burgtorf 2. Jake O’Neil 3. Jesse Stovall 4. Jason Utter 5. Tim Manville 6. Larry Jones 7. Dan Shepherd 8. David Ware
RacingJunk.com Heat #2 (10 Laps): 1. Dave Eckrich 2. Chad Simpson 3. Brantlee Gotschall 4. Payton Looney 5. Josh Hughes 6. Tony Jackson Jr. 7. Brandon McCormick 8. Tommy Fulton
G2 Gemini Apparel Heat #3 (10 laps): 1. Terry Phillips 2. Jeremy Payne 3. Scott Lewis 4. Dalton Ragsdale 5. Jason Hughes 6. Reid Millard 7. Austin Siebert 8. RD Peterson
Chix Gear Racewear Heat #4 (10 Laps): 1. RC Whitwell 2. JC Wyman 3. David Turner 4. Jason O’Brien 5. Larry Ferris 6. Jacob Magee 7. Jim Shereck
Category: Lucas Oil Speedway, Missouri
