Deagele And Freeman Share Wins At Montana Roundup

By Gary Jacob

Great Falls, MT -- Rock Degele from Glasgow MT raced from fourth starting to score a $1000 win in the dirt late model feature Friday night as Electric City Speedway opened it’s season closing, $18,000 Montana Roundup weekend. The feature was lined up off the heat finishes and Degele’s second put him 4th. He passed Rich Herman, series champion Josh Adams and Dave Freeman for the $1000 win with Adams ending up the $750 second ahead of Herman’s $400 third. The 12 cars returned on Saturday night and Great Falls’ own Freeman got a clean sweep with a win in his heat and the $1000 main event win. Freeman suffered a broken shock in the race and he barely fought off the challenge of 8th starting Jody Kropp as Kropp ran a $750 second ahead of Billings MT charger Kelly Hample who won $400. Freeman topped the weekend’s money list with $1200, Degele got into the back wall on Saturday and had $1175 for the weekend with both Adams and Kropp at $1000. These two events closed the season for the Montana Outlaw Late Model Tour and Helena’s Adams ended up with the series title, 55 points ahead of rookie Herman and 87 in front of Jim Zaremski. Degele climbed to fourth in the final standings ahead of Rory Minster as Mike McCord was absent and dropped back to sixth place. Kropp, Degele and Freeman all did double duty in the dirt modifieds. Kropp won both nights, getting $325 on Friday night and $700 on Saturday night. Degele was a $330 second on Saturday night and

Freeman won $200 for second on Friday night.

The 12 car turnout included Ron Brisbois from Hinton, Alberta Canada. On Friday night, Herman won heat 1 from 2nd with 4th starting Freeman second over sixth starter Kropp. Adams won heat 2 from the pole and 4th starter Degele ran second over 2nd starting Minster. The feature lineup was straight up off the heat finish, but Degele was on fire as he raced to the win from 4th over 2nd starter Adams and pole starter Herman. Minster ran fourth ahead of Hample, Belgrade’s Bob Scott, Kropp and Zaremski. On Saturday night, Freeman won heat 1 from the pole with sixth starting Ron Fuller second over fifth starter Hample. Degele drew outside front row and won heat 2 over pole starter Warren Drazich and fourth starter Minster. In the feature, Degele made contact with the back wall and broke a lower control arm to end his night. Freeman built a huge lead from the pole, but slowed with the broken shock and Kropp nearly caught him. Hample came from fifth to third and 7th starter Scott ran fourth over 9th starting Herman, Fuller, 10th starter Adams and Minster. Brisbois combined an 11th and a 10th for the two nights.

Summary

Friday Heat 1-Rich Herman, Dave Freeman, Jody Kropp, Jim Zaremski, Ron Fuller. Heat 2-Josh Adams, Rock Degele, Rory Minster, Kelly Hample, Bob Scott. Main-Degele, Adams, Herman, Minster, Hample, Scott, Kropp, Zaremski, Warren Drazich, Freeman, Ron Brisbois, Fuller.

Saturday Heat 1-Freeman, Fuller, Hample, Scott, Herman. Heat 2-Degele, Drazich, Minster, Kropp, Adams. Main-Freeman, Kropp, Hample, Scott, Herman, Fuller, Adams, Minster, Drazich, Brisbois, Zaremski, Degele.

Two Win Weekend For Purkey As He Captures Belleville

By Gary Jacob

Belleville, KS -- Finishing off a two win weekend that virtually wrapped up the NCRA dirt late model championship, Al Purkey from Coffeyville KS drove his Larry Shaw mount to a $2000 win Sunday night at the Bellville KS high banks. Purkey won his heat race from 2nd starting, but that only earned him a second row assignment for the feature as both third ranked Tommy Rowe from Doniphan NEB and second ranked Kelly Boen from Henderson CO earned more points in the passing point system. Boen took a quick lead in the feature at his favorite track and Purkey settled into third behind Rowe. Purkey got second from Rowe on lap 5 and had chased down Boen when the Colorado driver coasted into the infield on lap 7 with a broken valve. Purkey led the remainder of the 20 lapper with former IMCA Modified car builder Kevin Larkins from Giltner NEB making a solid drive to second ahead of Rowe, Ryan McInanich from Kansas and Grand Junction CO long tow Dean Moore. Purkey came out of the weekend with six NCRA wins on the year and a healthy 224 point lead on championship rival Boen. Rowe is another 109 points back in third as Missouri's Jason Bodenhamer and Kansas racer Gary Gorby are dueling for fourth in points. Bodenhamer is only 28 points up on Gorby but 298 behind Rowe. Moore has climbed to 8th in points behind Ted Martin and Oklahoma's Joe Conway. Purkey's other weekend win came Saturday night at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, NEB.

Nineteen cars checked in for the night's racing and Rowe earned the pole for the feature by capturing the first heat race from sixth starting. Larkins ran second ahead of TORA star Delbert Smith and McAninch. Purkey won heat 2 from second, but Boen came from last to finish 2nd to rank second on the passing point charts. Rowe and Boen thus held down the front row for the 20 lap feature with Purkey right behind. On the start, it was Boen and his Rocket charging out front with Rowe settling into second ahead of Purkey. Delbert Smith settled into fourth ahead of Larkins and McAninch. In turn 2 on lap 5, Purkey was able to take second from Rowe and he had caught leader Boen when a broken valve parked Boen in the infield on lap 7. On lap 9, Delbert Smith took second from Rowe and Larkins passed Rowe for third on lap 11. The only yellow flag came on lap 12. On the restart, Purkey continued to command the action and Delbert Smith got shuffled from 2nd back to fifth as Larkins, Rowe and McAninch all got by him. Purkey's sixth win ties the NCRA single season record held by Tom Laster and he has an Oct 24th date in Enid Oklahoma to attempt to break the mark. Larkins ran second with McAninch challenging Rowe for third as the laps ran down. McAninch settled for fourth ahead of Moore, Lyle Shepard, Delbert Smith, Gorby, Bodenhamer and Brett LaFollette.

Summary Heat 1-Tommy Rowe, Kevin Larkins, Delbert Smith, Ryan McAninch, Mike Wiarda. Heat 2-Al Purkey, Kelly Boen, Dean Moore, Gary Gorby, Ted Martin, Lyle Shepard. Main-Purkey, Larkins, Rowe, McAninch, Moore, Shepard, Delbert Smith, Gorby, Jason Bodenhamer, Brett LaFollette, Danny McFadden, Herb Nagy, Robert Garst, Chris Mayes, Martin, Joe Conway, Boen, Daniel Smith.

First Win For Shad Karna At Black Hills

By Gary Jacob

Black Hills, SD -- Shad Karna from Custer SD had to fend off a fierce last lap challenge from Eric Mass to get an $800 win in the WISSOTA dirt late model 16 lap feature Friday night at Black Hills Speedway. The race was shortened from the usual 20 laps due to the 20 minute time limit in a caution filled affair. Karna’s first 2004 win led a GRT sweep as he, Gillette WY rookie dirt late model star Mass and South Dakota’s Tom Sires all wheel GRT mounts. Mass was rebounding from an early race flat tire for his $675 second and Sires won $550 for third. Some late race contact between Steve Neumiller and Nathan Kjerstad saw both drivers penalized two spots in the final standings with Kjerstad dropping back to 5th and Neumiller credited with 7th.

The 16 car turnout was split into three heat races. Neumiller won the first over Mass and Troy Leiker. Gillette WY’s Wes McKenney won heat 2 over visitor Todd Hansen and Morris Oberle. Karna enjoyed a big night as he also won heat 3 ahead of Sires and Nielsen. Dirt Modified star returned to the dirt late model action for the first time in 2004 and ran fifth in heat 2. For the second straight week, a fast, tacky track sent tempers soaring in the scheduled 20 lap feature. Mass had to pit with a flat tire early in the action, but he was ready to challenge Karna for the win at the white flag. Mass tried to make an outside groove run in the final two corners, but couldn’t get the necessary traction and settled for second. Neumiller and Kjerstad had banded into each other on the back stretch with a couple laps remaining and Neumiller delivered a retaliation shot in front of the grandstands after the checkered flag. Sires ran third and McKenney moved up to fourth with his Warrior with the penalties. Kjerstad was placed fifth ahead of Hansen, Neumiller, Casper WY senior citizen racer Forest Canipe, Doug Amick and Tony Leiker. Mike Stadel was 12th, John Bey 15th and Eddie Kirchoff did not race.

The next two Friday nights are huge for the dirt late model teams. The traveling WDRL Series from the Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin area invades on August 13 as part of the Sturgis SD bike week activities and the NAPA-MDA Series opens it’s final two race weekend on August 20th.

Summary Heat 1-Steve Neumiller, Eric Mass, Troy Leiker, Nathan Kjerstad. Heat 2-Wes McKenney, Todd Hansen, Morris Oberle, John Bey, Forest Canipe. Heat 3-Shad Karna, Tom Sires, Brent Nielsen, Mike Stadel, Tony Leiker. Main-Karna, Mass, Sires, McKenney, Kjerstad, Hansen, Neumiller, Canipe, Doug Amick, Tony Leiker, Troy Leiker, Stradel, Oberle, Nielsen, Bey, Chris Johnson.

Degele Gets Second Montana Tour Win

By Gary Jacob

Great Falls, MT -- Rock Degele from Glasgow joined series point leader Josh Adams as a multiple feature winner on the 2004 Montana Outlaw Late Model Tour with his $600 win at Electric City Speedway on Saturday night. The dirt late model portion of the show was hastily scheduled when Gallatin Speedway elected to make up a rainout on Friday night and Great Falls jumped in to give the teams two nights of action. The last minute scheduling limited the field to ten teams and the feature race had 9 starters after Len Brinlee scratched. Degele drove his Rayburn to the win with Great Falls own Rory Minster driving his Fegrs to the $450 runnerup slot. Bob Scott from Bozeman was third and Friday night Gallatin winner Adams ran fourth ahead of Gallatin fourth place finisher Dave Herman. Third paid $350, fourth $300 and fifth $250.

Adams went into the weekend as the point leader and his win and a fourth where the best combined effort of anyone on the weekend. Herman put together a 4th and a 5th. Jim Zaremski was only 11 points back of Adams starting the weekend, but he ran 7th and 8th on the two nights. Degele was only 13 points back of Zaremski and his fifth and a win will push him up to second place. Herman remains the other series title contender. Both Gallatin runnerup Mike McCord and third place Darryn Waldo were among the missing cars tonight. The feature track was extremely dry slick after unsual 100 degree daytime temperatures hit the area. Degele, Minster, Scott, Adams and Herman were trailed by John Dowson, Pee Wee Drazich, Zaremski and Dave Freeman tonight.

The Montana Outlaw Tour continues with co-sanctioned action at Gallatin and Billings on July 23-24. The Gallatin event has already announced a $1000 to win purse structure to draw more of the Wyoming and western South Dakota teams north.

Summary Main-Rock Degele, Rory Minster, Bob Scott, Josh Adams, Rich Herman, John Dowson, Pee Wee Drazich, Jim Zaremski, Dave Freeman.

Purkey Salvages Weekend With Belleville Win

By Gary Jacob

Belleville, KS -- Rebounding from a tough night in Nebraska, Al Purkey from Coffeyville KS was the $2000 winner in the 25 lap feature Sunday night at the famed Belleville High Banks as the NCRA dirt late models finished off a grueling three race weekend. Purkey's second win of 2004 in his Larry Shaw chassis leaves him 95 points back of season point leader Kelly Boen, who won the Wichita KS and McCool Junction NEB races to open the weekend. Purkey won his heat race from third starting and that earned him the pole position for the 25 lap feature. Boen crashed hard in the same heat race and had to do major repairs before lining up at the rear of the 20 car grid for the feature run. Doniphan NEB charger Tommy Rowe ran second and moved into fourth place in series points. Nebraska's Billy Murphy followed up a third at Junction Motor Speedway with another third this night and recent Belleville winner Mike Wiarda gave Nebraska racers the 2nd, 3rd and 4th spots. Boen made a hard charge to fifth to protect his point lead. Boen came out of the weekend with a 95 point lead on Purkey and 195 ahead of Jason Bodenhamer. Rose is just 35 points back of Bodenhamer and just 5 ahead of fifth ranked Gary Gorby from Kansas.

With 23 cars checking in, the teams were divided into three heat races and everyone was going to make the feature. Purkey won the first heat over Murphy and Grand Junction CO long tow Dean Moore. John Anderson, the runnerup on Saturday night ran fourth in this heat. On lap 6, Boen drove straight across the track and slammed into the turn 1 wall. TORA star Delbert Smith won heat 2 over Bodenhamer and Mike Conkwright. Hampton NEB's Wiarda won heat 3 over Earl Kinderknecht and Rowe. The feature was lined up using the passing points earned in the heat action and Purkey sat on the pole. Purkey took a quick lead over Wiarda and Smith. Smith edged ahead of Purkey on lap 2 only to push too high and hand the lead back to Purkey. Smith and Murphy also drove by Smith for the 2-3 slots. The first yellow flag fell on lap 13 and six cars got tangled on the restart for a red flag. Purkey paced the field on this next restart ahead of Murphy, Wiarda, Smith and Rowe while Purkey had charged from the rear to 8th. Another push in the corner cost Smith fourth to Rowe. Rowe then raced around Wiarda for third before the 14th lap finished. Kinderknecht replaced Smith in the top five and both Boen and Anderson passed Smith for the 6-7 slots on lap 15. Purkey held a strong lead as the laps ran down with Rowe passing Murphy on the final lap for second. Wiarda was a distant fourth and Boen's late charge netted him fifth over Kinderknecht, Anderson, Smith, Moore and Bodenhamer. Purkey credited Smith with showing him that bottom line early in the action. Purkey's two NCRA wins in 2004 have tied him with Larry McDaniels on the career win chart with 18 behind all time leader Larry Phillips who had 24. John Kuchar got 12th and Colorado point leader Gary Dechant 13th. Chris Mayes and Tony Gregg were both feature scratches. By racing the whole weekend with NCRA, Moore climbed to 12th in their point listing.

After a $6,000 to win show at Mid-Nebraska Speedway on July 17, NCRA will combine forces with MLRA, WDRA and the Colorado Late Models for the third annual Rumble in the Rockies at Rocky Mountain National Speedway near Denver on July 23-24. Boen won the earlier race at Mid-Nebraska that opened the 2004 NCRA season.

Summary Heat 1-Al Purkey, Bill Murphy, Dean Moore, John Anderson, John Kuchar. Heat 2-Delbert Smith, Jason Bodenhamer, Mike Conkwright, Rusty Miller, Ted Martin. Heat 3-Mike Wiarda, Earl Kinderknecht, Tommy Rowe, Dan Topliff, Gary Dechant. Main-Purkey, Rowe, Murphy, Wiarda, Kelly Boen, Kinderknecht, Anderson, Smith, Moore, Bodenhamer, M Conkwright, Kuchar, Dechant, Topliff, Mike Martin, Gorby, Joe Conway, Dave Conkwright, T Martin, Miller.

Jim Davis Memorial Goes To Donny Raney

By Gary Jacob

Clovis, NM -- Donny Raney from Dumas TX won the first annual Jim Davis Memorial dirt modified special at the Ned Houk Motorsports Complex on Friday night. Running second in the all star 20 car feature was current track point leader Conner Pullen, a 14 year old rookie from Amarillo TX. With a dark weekend at his home tracks, current Barnett's Harley Davidson regional point leader Bumper Jones from Las Cruces made the long tow to Clovis. He beat out Lubbock TX star Monte Bolton for the $500 Dash for Cash win, then ran a solid third in the main event in his D&M; Performance mount. Terry Kaser, a long time driver for Davis, ran fourth and Bolton salvaged a fifth place run. Running one of the D&M; Performance house cars, Chub Daniels son-in-law Alan Sharpensteen rounded out the top six finishers.

The track has been averages less than 10 dirt modifieds a week, but a full lineup of 20 cars appeared for the special event. Amarillo star Kelly Cross ran 12th, Farmington NM long tow Brandon Carley was 15th and top charger Dee Gossett ran 18th. The Cortese family from Fort Sumner was in action with Knox Cortese in 9th and Luke Cortese finishing 14th. Locked in a battle with young Pullen for the track title, Doug Gillespie was missing from the event.

Summary Dash for Cash-Bumper Jones, Monte Bolton. Main-Donny Raney, Conner Pullen, B Jones, Terry Kaser, Bolton, Alan Sharpensteen, Tab Barnard, Mark Myers, Knox Cortese, Teddy Lindsey, Zach Gossett, Kelly Cross, Jerry Graves, Luke Cortese, Brandon Carley, Gene Weaver, Roger Dial, Dee Gossett, Dave Frusher, Steve Reeves.

McCormack, Allison And Lee Win Colusa Fair Features

By Gary Jacob

Colusa, CA -- Still a top feature winner despite not racing weekly at his home track in Lakeport, Noel McCormack enjoyed a $250 perfect night as the Colusa County Fair ran an special outlaw kart show for 125's and Box Stocks on a Thursday night. In the 125 action, McCormack won both of his heat races, then pulled a two for the feature inversion for all three classes. That put him outside front row for the 25 lap feature and he was never headed enroute to the solid payday. Kyle Larson grabbed second from pole starter Mason Moore on lap 17 and chased down McCormack, but McCormack skillfully handled the late lapped traffic for the win ahead of Larson, Cody Miller, Moore and Tristan Miller. The Box Stock 25 lapper had a wild conclusion as Tyler Reddick set the pace from lap 5 to a lap 24 yellow flag. On the restart, new runnerup Jake Cartwright got tangled up with Reddick as they raced out of turn 4 and Cyle Allison was in the right place at the right time as he drove by the melee for the $250 win. Rookie Alissa Geving from Santa Rosa ended up second ahead of David Lee. Garry Burdick came from 13th to place 4th to pocket the $100 award for improving the most spots. It was a big night for the Lee clan from Maxwell as David's little brother Devin Lee led the final 11 laps to win the 20 lap Beginner Box Stock feature. He was chased to the checkered flag by early leader Tanner Thomson and Katina Baker. This division doesn't race for money, but the top ten finishers all received trophies.

The 125s had 11 karts sign in, but Cycleland star Thomas Bruckenstein trailered after the first heat race due to the very bumpy track conditions. Eight year old Reddick tried racing in two classes, but the rough track took it's toll on his frail body and they elected to concentrate on the Box Stocks. The 8 year old is already the west's most active racer and he will expand on that schedule by flying to Charlotte NC for the next 15 weeks to race a Bandolero there on Monday and Tuesday nights in addition to his California Friday and Saturday outlaw kart racing. The Tuesday night shows will be televised on the Speed Channel on a delayed basis. This year, the Colusa event run by Bob and Nadine Strauss' Lakeport Speedway officials used a two heat format with the heat finishes added together. McCormack won both of his heat races while Moore combined a first and a second with Larson putting together a win and a third. C Miller had two seconds. The two kart inversion for the 25 lap feature put Moore and McCormack on the front row ahead of Larson, C Miller, Colby Copeland and T Miller. Mikey Lovell missed the preliminary action, but tagged the 9 kart feature race. He spun to force a restart and McCormack took a quick lead over Moore, C Miller and Larson. Larson gained third on lap 2 and Trevor Cristiani's race was over when he stalled for a lap 5 yellow flag. Copeland ran off the top of turn 2 for a lap 9 yellow and Lovell tangled with Ethan Rohner for a final yellow flag on lap 10. Larson got a high line dialed and he drove around Moore for second on lap 17. He appeared to be reeling in leader McCormack, but McCormack picked a faster line through the slower karts to protect his advantage. Moore got too high in turn 4 on lap 23 and lost third to C Miller. McCormack won ahead of Larson, C Miller, Moore, T Miller, Copeland and Rohner. No one improved by more than one position in the 25 lapper so I am not aware of who will get the $100 hard charger award.

There were 19 Box Stocks and Cartwright paced the heat action with two wins. Both Jeremy Doss and Reddick combined a win and a second while Lakeport star Kyle Tellstrom had two seconds. Geving and James Edens put together a 2nd and a 3rd. Allison was relegated to the B Main as he broke leading his first heat and ran third in the other. The top ten point earners in the heat action advanced and five karts moved up from a B Main where last year's winner Kenny Allen beat Allison, Burdick, Brendon Lewis, Sean Martin and Nolan Tkachenko. The two kart inversion for the 25 lap feature put Doss and Cartwright on the front row ahead of Reddick, Tellstrom, Edens and Geving. Cartwright paced Reddick for the first 4 laps. Cameron Bartlett took third on lap 2 when Doss, Edens and Allison tangled. Reddick took the top spot from Cartwright on lap 5 and Allen moved into third on lap 8. Lewis and Jeremy Phillips tangled for a lap 12 yellow flag and third place duelers Allen and Bartlett tangled for a lap 13 yellow. Bartlett's race was over as the rim riding R J Johnson raced into third. Johnson had won his first heat, but struggled in heat 2. R Johnson gained second from Cartwright on lap 16 and Allison was now fourth ahead of Geving. Phillips ran off the end of the track for a lap 23 yellow flag. On this restart, Cartwright got into R Johnson and R Johnson spun to trigger the final restart with just one lap remaining. Cartwright had his shot at Reddick on this final green, but his inside bid as they accelerated off turn 4 saw them locked together on the infield berm with Allison racing past for the rich win. Geving ran second ahead of David Lee, Burdick, R Johnson, Doss, Allen and Edens. The disappointed Reddick was 9th and Cartwright ran 11th behind Lewis.

The Beginner Box Stock class fielded 13 karts. R J Phillips paced the heat action with two wins. Devin Lee had a win and a second and Tanner Thomson matched that record. Aaron Yetter had a 2nd and a 3rd. Devin Lee won his first heat by 1/3 lap, but got tangled up with Tyler Barnes leading in the other heat and settled for 2nd. Yetter flipped leading his second heat race. The two kart inversion put Thomson and Phillips on the front row ahead of Devin Lee and A Yetter. The 20 lap feature was run with just two yellow flags despite constant lapped traffic. Phillips led the first lap, but was passed by Thomson on lap 2. Lee settled into third and Barnes crashed for a lap 4 yellow flag. On lap 9, Devin Lee passed both Thomson and Phillips on the outside for the top spot. Phillips crashed in turn 4 and A J Sauer was out with a broken front end. Baker raced into second on this restart, but lost the spot back to Thomson on the final lap as Devin Lee won . Thomson ran second over Baker, Phillips, Zach Yetter and Taylor Miller.

In addition to the three classes that raced, four ultra beginner box stocks as young as 4 years old got some practice laps in a couple on track sessions. They included Wyatt Perry, Taylor Perry, Carley Costa and Riley Peacock.

Summary Beginner Box Stock Heat 1-Devin Lee, Tanner Thomson, Katina Baker, Tyler Barnes, A J Sauer. Heat 2-R J Phillips, Riley Matson, Aaron Yetter, Taylor Miller, Allison Costa. Heat 3-Thomson, Devin Lee, Zach Yetter, Baker, Barnes. Heat 4-Phillips, A Yetter, Miller, Matson, Costa. Main-Devin Lee, Thomson, Baker, Phillips, Z Yetter, Miller, Matson, A Yetter, Riley Peacock, Costa, Austin Mitchell, Sauer, Barnes. Box Stock Heat 1-Cameron Bartlett, Jeremy Doss, Alissa Geving, Garry Burdick, Bryce Perry. Heat 2-Jake Cartwright, Kyle Tellstrom, David Lee, Brandon Lewis, Garrett Peacock. Heat 3-R J Johnson, Tyler Reddick, James Edens, Jeremy Phillips, Kenny Allen. Heat 4-Doss, Geving, Sean Martin, Burdick, Perry. Heat 5-Cartwright, Tellstrom, Cyle Allison, David Lee, Nolan Tkachenko. Heat 6-Reddick, Edens, Phillips, Allen, Chris Starr. B Main-Allen, Allison, Burdick, Lewis, Martin, Tkachenko, Perry, Starr, G Peacock.A Main-Allison, Geving, David Lee, Burdick, Johnson, Doss, Allen, Edens, Reddick, Lewis, Cartwright, Tkachenko, Tellstrom, Phillips, Bartlett. 125 Intermediate Heat 1-Mason Moore, Colby Copeland, Kyle Larson, Tristan Miller, Thomas Bruckenstein. Heat 2-Noel McCormack, Cody Miller, Tyler Reddick, Ethan Rohner, Trevor Cristiani. Heat 3-Larson, Moore, T Miller, Copeland. Heat 4-McCormack, C Miller, Cristiani, Rohner. Main-McCormack, Larson, C Miller, Moore, T Miller, Copeland, Rohner, Mikey Lovell, Cristiani.

Dominating Win For Kelly Boen In Kansas

By Gary Jacob

Dodge City, KS -- Leading all 50 laps from the pole after he had won his heat race from 4th starting, Kelly Boen from Henderson CO drove his Rocket to a $4000 win as the $33,000 1st Annual Midwest Outlaw Late Model Shootout ended it's two night run at the newly clay surfaced Dodge City Raceway Park on Saturday night. Boen had won $900 for his third place finish in the 25 lap preliminary night feature on Friday and his quick pace in the caution free 50 lapper saw him lap everyone except the top five finishers. Boen's effort is crew chiefed by engine expert Doug Hoffman and sponsored by Roadrunner Fabrication. It was the second win of 2004 for the traveling racer as he also won the CLMA season opener in Fort Morgan, CO. Missouri star Terry Phillips came from 9th starting to pocket $2000 for his second place run in a GRT. Friday night winner Al Purkey from Kansas came from sixth starting to win $1250 for third and Missouri MLRA ace Alan Vaughn won $1100 for fourth. Fifth place was worth $1000 for TORA star Delbert Smith from Wichita KS. The two night special was sanctioned by WDRA, MLRA and NCRA. The 3/8 mile track previously was a paved track, but Colorado's Mike Mathis was brought in to get it switched over to a clay surface and the World of Outlaws sprint cars visit here later in June.

Utah's Mike McGinn was the only car to not return for the Saturday racing and the 36 cars were divided into four qualifying heat races with the top 12 in the passing point accumulations advancing to the front half of the 24 car A Main lineup. Boen earned the pole for the 50 lapper by winning heat 1 from the pole as fellow Colorado traveler Ken Brack ran second ahead of front row starter Gary Gorby and Oklahoma's Eddie Tidwell. The second heat was stacked with nationally known stars as Vaughn won from the pole with third starter Phillips second ahead of 8th starting Purkey. Oklahoma City's Randy Timms won heat 3 from the pole with fifth starting Mike Wiarda from Aurora, Nebraska in second ahead of Brett LaFollette and David Turner. Smith won the fourth heat also from fourth with T J Kuykendall second ahead of 9th starting Ryan McAninch and Grand Juntion CO long tow Butch Clark. The 12 drivers to advance through the passing point system were front row earners Boen and Smith along with McAninch, Vaughn, Timms, Purkey, Wiarda, Brack, Phillips, Kuykendall, Clark and Gorby. The remaining cars raced in two B Mains with the top six advancing from each. Kansas City charger LaFollette won the first from the pole with sixth starting ageless Jim Clifton second ahead of Kansas chargers Rod Bencken and Ted Martin. Colorado ace Dave Garmann was fifth ahead of David Barker. Just missing the move up were Colorado racer John Kuchar and Kansas racer Chris Mayes. Dean Moore ran 9th. MLRA point leader Jason Bodenhammer won the 2nd B Main from third starting with pole starter David Turner second ahead of Nebraska racer Tommy Rowe and Colorado's Scott Lewis. Also moving up were Oklahoma charger Eddie Tidwell and Great Bend KS runner David Brock. Colorado's Kevin Lueck and Dodge City's own Mike Martin were next in line.

The talented 24 car grid managed to run the 50 lap distance without a single yellow flag and Boen led all the way from the pole. Phillips and Purkey provided a strong challenge over the closing rounds but settled for 2nd and 3rd ahead of Vaughn and Smith, the final lead lap finisher. McAninch ran sixth ahead of the Nebraska duo of Wiarda and Rowe. Timms was 9th ahead of Bodenhammer, Kuykendall, Gorby and LaFollette.

Summary Heat 1-Kelly Boen, Ken Brack, Gary Gorby, Eddie Tidwell, Scott Lewis. Heat 2-Alan Vaughn, Terry Phillips, Al Purkey, Ted Martin, Rod Bencken. Heat 3-Randy Timms, Mike Wiarda, Brett LaFollette, David Turner, Jason Bodenhammer. Heat 4-Delbert Smith, T J Kuykendall, Ryan McAninch, Butch Clark, Rusty Miller. 1st B Main-LaFollette, Jim Clifton, Bencken, Martin, Dave Garmann, David Barker, John Kuchar, Chris Mayes, Dean Moore, Joe Conway. 2nd B Main-Bodenhammer, Turner, Tommy Rowe, Scott Lewis, Tidwell, David Brock, Lueck, Mike Martin, Herb Nagy, Steve Lewis. A Main-Boen, Phillips, Purkey, Vaughn, Smith, McAninch, Wiarda, Rowe, Timms, Bodenhammer, Kuykendall, Gorby, LaFollette, Turner, Scott Lewis, T Martin, Garmann, Tidwell, Clark, Brock, Barker, Clifton, Brack, Bencken.

Al Purkey Wire To Wire In First Dodge City Dirt Show

By Gary Jacob

Dodge City, KS -- Al Purkey from Coffeyville KS led all 25 laps from his pole starting position in his Larry Shaw Chassis to score a $2000 win as the $33,000 1st Annual Midwest Outlaw Late Model Shootout opened it's two night stay at Dodge City Raceway Park on Friday night. The event was sanctioned by MLRA, NCRA and WDRA and was the first major event held since the 3/8 mile track switched from a pavement surface to a clay track under the leadership of former Rocky Mountain National Speedway manager Mike Mathis. Nearly 40 cars checked in and Purkey was chased to his feature win by Missouri ace Terry Phillips in a GRT and Henderson CO invader Kelly Boen in a Rocket. Phillips won $1100, Boen $900 and fourth place was fourth $750 for Missori MLRA racer Jason Bodenhammer. Fellow MLRA point title contender Alan Vaughn ran fifth for a $650 payday.

The cars were split into four qualifying heats and the top 12 passing point performances advanced to the front of the 24 car A Main grid. Front row starter David Barker from Missouri beat fellow front row starter T J Kuykendall, also from Missouri in heat 1 while Colorado's Scott Lewis edged out Kansas star Gary Gorby for third. Phillips drew the pole for heat 2 and won with third starter Boen second ahead of sixth starting Vaughn and Kansas ace Ted Martin. Bodenhammer put his GRT in the winner's circle in heat 3 ahead of Colorado stars Ken Brack and Butch Clark. Fourth place finisher Rod Bencken from Kansas ranked in the top 12 passing performances, but scratched from the A Main and the 25 lapper started a car short. Purkey put on a show as he won heat 4 from seventh starting to earn the pole for the 25 lapper. Kansas racer Ryan McAninch ran second ahead of Colorado's John Kuchar and Dodge City's own Mike Martin. Two B Mains advanced the top six finishers from each into the back half of the A Main grid. Gorby won the first from the pole as Grand Junction CO long tow Dean Moore, a winner in Colorado the previous weekend, came from fifth to place second in his Rayburn. Kansas City's Brett LaFollette ran third ahead of Nebraska star Tommy Rowe and Missouri's David Turner. Colorado star Dave Garmann got the last transfer as Oklahoma's Eddie Tidwell and Colorado veteran Jim Clifton just missed the move forward. Oklahoma City's Randy Timms came from 4th to win the second B Main ahead of fifth starting TORA star Delbert Smith, Ted Martin, Grand Junction's Clark, Nebraska's Mike Wiarda and Utah long tow Mike McGinn. McGinn had won the WDRA season opener in Price Utah in late May. Just missing the move up in this B Main were Mike Martin and Colorado's Kevin Lueck.

By scoring the most passing points, Purkey and Bodenhammer had the front row assignment for the 25 lapper ahead of Barker, Phillips, Kuchar, McAninch, Boen, Vaughn, Kuykendall and LaFollette. Purkey was never headed as he charged to the feature win with Phillips second ahead of Boen, Bodenhammer, Vaughn, McAninch, 13th starter Moore, Barker, Kuykendall and 17th starting Rowe. Brack and Kuchar rounded out the top 12.

The Saturday night finale will go 50 laps and pay $4000 to win, $200 for second and $1250 for third.

Summary Heat 1-David Barker, T J Kuykendall, Scott Lewis, Gary Gorby, Joe Conway. Heat 2-Terry Phillips, Kelly Boen, Alan Vaughn, Ted Martin, Randy Timms. Heat 3-Jason Bodenhammer, Ken Brack, Butch Clark, Rod Bencken, Jim Clifton, Eddie Tidwell. Heat 4-Al Purkey, Ryan McAninch, John Kuchar, Mike Martin, David Turner. 1st B Main-Gorby, Dean Moore, Brett LaFollette, Tommy Rowe, David Turner, Dave Garmann, Tidwell, Clifton, Conway, Randy Reynolds. 2nd B Main-Timms, Delbert Smith, Martin, Clark, Mike Wiarda, Mike McGinn, Martin, Kevin Lueck, Rusty Miller, Chris Mayes. Main-Purkey, Phllips, Boen, Bodenhammer, Vaughn, McAninch, Moore, Barker, Kuykendall, Rowe, Brack, Kuchar, Wiarda, Martin, Scott Lewis, Garmann, McGinn, Gordy, Clark, Turner, LaFollette, Smith, Timms.

Kaeding And Howard Share Calistoga Honors

By Gary Jacob

Calistoga, CA -- The annual two day Memorial Day weekend of Golden State Challenge winged 410 sprint car racing at Calistoga Speedway saw Tim Kaeding put on an outside groove exhibition on Saturday night to win the Walt Ross Memorial. T Kaeding started 9th in his winning drive and season point leader Jason Statler finished 2nd. Brad Furr returned to Golden State action and set fast time both nights, finishing third on Saturday night. The victory was T Kaeding's fourth in the ten appearances that he has made in the 13 completed races here in 2004. Sunday night saw a very emotional win as Sparky Howard from Santa Rosa achieved a 20 year dream of winning a feature race at his home track. Howard started on the pole for a second straight night and led every lap to win the Gary Patterson Memorial. Over the years, he has been fast qualifier at the lightning quick half-mile several times and once led a feature for 17 laps before losing his muffler. Third starting Blake Robertson and 12th starter Brent Kaeding put a lot of pressure on Howard in the closing laps, but settled for 2nd and 3rd. Howard has only made four appearances in the 13 races for the traveling series, but the win was his third top five finish as he ran fourth on Saturday night. T Kaeding had a tough Sunday night as he broke a motor in hot laps. After changing motors, he timed in 11th quick, but continued problems forced him to start last in the 23 car feature. He made it all the way to 6th before the new engine threw a rod with six laps to run.

The second car to run, Furr posted quick time on Saturday night with his 17.162 lap. That nipped the 17.249 that T Kaeding had posted as the first car out the gate. They easily outran third quick Andy Forsberg, who timed in at 17.507. With Dennis Moore Jr ready to return to action, the Morrie Williams team fielded two cars, one for Iowa's Moore and the other for Australian Trevor Green. Moore was fourth quick at 17.512 and Blake Robertson ran a 17.534. Jim Skinner, Brian Coelho and Statler rounded out the top 8 times in the 23 car field. Green won the first heat race from the pole with Calistoga's own Mike Benson second ahead of Coelho and Moore. Outside front row starter Jason York won heat 2 with T Kaeding charging from 6th to 2nd ahead of Statler and Robertson. Steve Kent also turned an outside front row start into a win in heat 3 as Sean Becker ran second ahead of Kevin Pylant, who won the previous Calistoga race. The fact that both Skinner and Johnny Key failed to finish top five in their heat races put 12th quick Howard on the pole for the 30 lap feature when a ten car inversion came up. B Kaeding won the B Main ahead of Key, Skinner and Craig Stidham, but all 23 cars on hand lined up for the 30 lap feature. Howard and Benson shared the front row ahead of Pylant, Statler, Coelho and Robertson. At the drop of the green flag, T Kaeding made a quick charge from 9th to fifth using the inside line. With the field racing nose to tail on the bottom line, T Kaeding decided to leap up high and it only took him four more laps to race into the lead. Statler was startled to see T Kaeding race around him up high, but he changed lines and hung on to finish second. Furr raced from 10th to finish third and pole starter Howard was fourth. Benson got his first top five of the season and Pylant ran sixth ahead of Forsberg, B Kaeding, Coelho, Kent, Skinner and York.

The track was quicker on Sunday night and Furr dipped into the 16's as the fourth car to time. His quick time was a 16.808. Kent had earlier posted a 16.815 and Coelho ranked third with his 16.842 run. The only other car in the 16's was Moore at 16.962. Andy Gregg appeared for the second day, but broke in hot laps to end his night. York was fifth quick ahead of Statler, Benson and B Kaeding. T Kaeding managed to get the car running long enough to time in 11th quick at 17.488. Outside front row starter Trevor Green won the first heat race ahead of pole starter Skinner and Benson. Pylant turned a pole start into a win in heat 2 ahead of B Kaeding, sixth starter Kent and York. Sean Becker won heat 3 from the pole as Howard ran second ahead of Robertson and Forsberg. Howard had timed in 15th quick, but problems for five teams in the heat action allowed him to be on the pole for the 30 lap feature for a second straight night. Coelho won the B Main ahead of Stidham, Wayne Williams and Key. The feature lineup had Howard, Green, Robertson, Forsberg, Benson and Statler in the front 3 rows and T Kaeding started dead last after failing to race in the heat or B Main. Howard was never headed in his charge from the pole this night. Third starter Robertson and 12th starting B Kaeding put heavy pressure on Howard as the laps ran down, but Howard was able to use a lapped car as a pick as they came off the final corner. The excited winner leaped from his car on the front stretch and ran up and down the track as he drew a standing ovation for the crowd. Robertson ran second and B Kaeding was disappointed that he was unable to pull off a win for his long time crew chief Billy Albini who was unable to be at the track due to a battle with cancer. Forsberg finished fourth ahead of Statler, Kent, Furr, Green, Moore, Becker, Pylant and Stidham. T Kaeding turned a lot of heads in his feature drive from 23rd to 6th before throwing a rod out of the new powerplant for the Beef Packers team.

The busy series sees two nights of racing at action filled small tracks to open June as they make their only visit to Watsonville Speedway on Friday, June 4th and then make their final 2004 visit to Placerville Speedway on Saturday, June 5th. With 9 top fives in the 13 races, Statler has built his point lead to 43 points over Forsberg. Robertson is another 31 points back in third, just 12 ahead of Becker. Pylant is just one point behind Becker and just 4 ahead of B Kaeding. Seventh ranked Stidham is 105 behind leader Statler and just 8 ahead of York. Williams and Skinner round out the top ten.

Summary

Saturday Fast Time-Brad Furr 17.162 Heat 1-Trevor Green, Mike Benson, Brian Coelho, Dennis Moore Jr, Furr. Heat 2-Jason York, Tim Kaeding, Jason Statler, Blake Robertson, Wayne Williams. Heat 3-Steve Kent, Sean Becker, Kevin Pylant, Sparky Howard, Andy Forsberg. B Main-Brent Kaeding, Johnny Key, Jim Skinner, Craig Stidham, Ivan Worden, Doug Lippincott, Rich Vant. A Main-T Kaeding, Statler, Furr, Howard, Benson, Pylant, Forsberg, B Kaeding, Coelho, Kent, Skinner, York, Becker, Stidham, Green, Moore, Williams, Lippincott, Key, Worden, Robertson, Vant.

Sunday Fast Time-Furr 16.808 Heat 1-Green, Skinner, Benson, Moore, Furr. Heat 2-Pylant, B Kaeding, Kent, York, Stuart Krum. Heat 3-Becker, Howard, Robertson, Forsberg, Statler. B Main-Coelho, Stidham, Williams, Key, Lippincott, Worden, Vant, T Kaeding. A Main-Howard, Robertson, B Kaeding, Forsberg, Statler, Kent, Furr, Green, Moore, Becker, Pylant, Stidham, Benson, Skinner, York, Coelho, Lippincott, Key, Worden, T Kaeding, Krum, Williams, Vant.

Clean Sweep For Rock Degele As Montana Tour Visits Great Falls

By Gary Jacob

Great Falls, MT -- Rock Degele from Glasgow drove his Eugene's Pizza and Rock's Auto Plaza sponsored Rayburn to a $600 win as the Montana Outlaw Late Model Tour ran leg 2 of it's 17 race 2004 schedule Friday night at 3/10 mile clay Electric City Speedway. Degele also drives a dirt modified painted exactly like his dirt late model. He enjoyed a perfect night as he also won his heat race. He was chased to the checkered flag in the dirt late model feature by Molt's Mike McCord, Great Falls own Jim Zaremski and previous week Billings winner Josh Adams from Helena. McCord won $450, Zaremski $350 and Adams $300.

Nine of the 14 dirt late models that checked in for the race had run the Billings event the previous weekend. Bob Scott broke before the heat action. The cars were divided into a pair of heat races with wins going to Degele and 30 year racing veteran Ron Fuller from Whitehall. McCord and Russ Wolfe gained the second place finishes, but Wolfe was unable to start the main event leaving a dozen cars in the feature action. Zaremski and the Fegers chassis of Rory Minster gained third place heat runs. Degele was chased to his feature win by McCord, Zaremski, Adams, Minster, Darryn Waldo, Pee Wee Drazich, Rick Herman, Fuller and John Dowson. Adams is off to the fastest start with a win and a fourth while McCord has combined a 2nd and a 4th. Degele was 8th in the Billings opener.

The tour returns to BMP Speedway in Billings for a May 22nd race. The first two race weekend of 2004 will find them in Belgrade on June 11 and back here at Great Falls on June 12.

Summary Heat 1-Rock Degele, Russ Wolfe, Jim Zaremski, Tim Ames, Pee Wee Drazich. Heat 2-Ron Fuller, Mike McCord, Rory Minster, Josh Adams, Jody Kropp. Main-Degele, McCord, Zaremski, Adams, Minster, Darryn Waldo, Drazich, Herman, Fuller, John Dowson, Ames, Kropp.

Two Wins In The Same Day For Dan Fitzgerald

By Gary Jacob And Rich Baum

Fallon, NM -- Having won the IMCA Modified feature at Summit Raceway in Elko six hours earlier in the day, Dan Fitzgerald from Las Vegas NV tagged the field Saturday night at Rattlesnake Raceway's season debut event and drove to victory by passing the field. The busy Fitzgerald team wants to use 2004 as a year to do things that they missed while chasing points for so many seasons, but the lure of a four race weekend drew them to Northern Nevada. Fitzgerald maintains the Summit Raceway web site in addition to his racing and the Las Vegas school teacher won that track's 2004 season opener on Friday night. He stayed in the area to capture the Saturday daytime Founder's Cup race and then made the 250 mile dash across the state to Fallon. He arrived five minutes after the IMCA Modified heat races finished so he had to tag the ten car grid. He drove his Bellville Motorsports car to the feature win ahead of young Steve McGee and John Hill. On Sunday afternoon, Fitzgerald made it four wins in 48 hours as he ventured to Winnemucca's season opener and won again. Mike Darnall combined a heat and feature win in the street stock action with dash winner Rob Grace second ahead of Reno's Scott Deutsch. Kevin Boles from Minden took the bomber main event honors ahead of Ken Mayes and Wes Washburn. Rusty Baglin picked off heat and feature wins in the Gen X class. A special incentive I-80 Challenge Series has been established in 2004 to get drivers in Northern Nevada to visit other tracks and Jerry Roseland has shown his commitment to do that by racing to second in the Rattlesnake season opener after finishing 3rd at Reno-Fernley Raceway just minutes earlier on Saturday night.

Fitzgerald collected his trophy and money at Elko at 4:15 on Saturday afternoon and then made the high speed dash across the state, but fell five minutes of being able to tag heat 2. McGee beat Bill Smith III in heat 1 and Shawn Marlow outraced Robert Smotherman in heat 2. McGee and Smotherman were 1-2 in the dash. The opening night track was very rough in the heat action and the officials reworked the surface with the grader before the main event action. A better track resulted and the tacky quarter-mile found McGee and Marlow battling for the lead when both Bill Hiney and Smith spun off turn 4. Fitzgerald raced through the field into third. Racing between McGee and Marlow saw both briefly vacate the bottom groove and Fitzgerald ducked underneath to race into the top spot. Marlow had to pit with a flat tire and Smotherman's left front flat had slowed his pace. Fitzgerald paced the remainder of the race to win ahead of McGee, Hill and division rookie Dan Edgington. The flying Fitzgerald nearly lapped fourth place and Hiney ran fifth ahead of Smotherman and Allen Boles.

The street stocks split 9 cars into a pair of heat races. Mike Darnall outraced Brian Kerby in heat 1 and Rich Baum put his MoPar in the winner's circle of heat 2 ahead of Deutsch. Grace took dash honors after a third place heat run. In all the divisions besides the IMCA class, the track used the finishing order of last November's Kris Kringle Charity race to set the main event lineup order. Baum was on the pole, but Darnall turned his outside front row start into a big early lead on a wet track. Baum settled into second ahead of Grace. A huge oil leak ended up sidelining Baum and the flying Grace was able to cut Darnall's full straight lead down to just a car length. Darnall maintained his cool and picked off the feature win with Grace right behind. 2003 champion Deutsch was third ahead of ageless Willie Ferrier, Tom Haynes and Bob Fish.

The Bomber class had 13 cars and double division racer Ken Gotchal won heat 1 with his Dodge Dart over former street stock racer Bill Boucher. Brian Milburn outraced Lovelock's Mike Ellison in heat 2. Gotchal and Milburn ran 1-2 in the dash. Teammates Wes Washburn and Chris Jimenez had the front row for the feature due to their placings last November and Washburn raced into the lead. Wheeling a new GM Metric, Ellison overtook Washburn for the top spot. Running an outside line, Gotchal chased down Ellison and they briefly dueled side by side for the top spot. Both ended up with flat tires and Boles drove by both Washburn and Ken Mayes with his Chevy Nova for the opening night win. Mayes ran second ahead of Washburn, Boucher, Wade Lumsden, Jimenez and Ed Muise.

The track was very encouraged to attract 15 cars for the Gen X season debut. First time racer Randy Sharp won heat 1 over Steve Singley. Former Sprint 100 racer Baglin took heat 2 ahead of Ken Gotchal's Ford Escort. Gotchal beat Sharp in the dash. Gotchal also appeared to have the main event in hand, but a flat tire took him out of contention and Baglin paced the remainder of the race. Roseland had tagged the field after making the quick tour from Fernley. Roseland won opening night in Fernley and placed third there earlier tonight. Roseland worked his way through the 13 car pack to challenge for the lead with Dodge 2.2 Charger. Baglin did lead lap 29, but Baglin retook the lead on the final lap for the win. Sam Cox ran third ahead of Sharp, Alex Thunder, Tori Edgington, Authrum Thunder and Cody Thunder. Both Brandon Thunder and David Vanzant were feature scratches.

May 15 will see not only a full night of racing, but Mud Bog action in addition. The track races twice on the holiday weekend with a destruction derby added to the Sunday night card.

Summary Gen X Dash-Ken Gotchal, Randy Sharp, Steve Singley. Heat 1-Sharp, Singley, Authrum Thunder, David Vanzant. Heat 2-Rusty Baglin, Gotchal, Sam Cox, Tori Edgington, Alex Thunder. Main-Baglin, Jerry Roseland, Cox, Sharp, Alex Thunder, Edgington, Authrum Thunder, Cody Thunder, Kevin Jeppsen, Gotchal, Todd Foreman, Patty Hish, Singley. Bomber Dash-Ken Gotchal, Brian Milburn, Bill Boucher. Heat 1-Gotchal, Boucher, Ken Mayes, Wes Washburn, Chris Jimenez. Heat 2-Milburn, Mike Ellison, Kevin Boles, Ed Muise, Wade Lumsden. Main-Boles, Mayes, Washburn, Boucher, Lumsden, Jimenez, Muise, Ellison, Silver Lovett, Gotchal, Ray Martz, Frankie Smith, Milburn. Street Stock Dash-Rob Grace, Scott Deutsch, Mike Darnall. Heat 1-Darnall, Brian Kerby, Willie Ferrier, Curtis Elliott. Heat 2-Rich Baum, Deutsch, Grace, Tom Haynes, Bob Fish. Main-Darnall, Grace, Deutsch, Ferrier, Haynes, Fish, Baum. IMCA Modified Dash-Steve McGee, Robert Smotherman, Heat 1-McGee, Bill Smith III, Bill Hiney, John Hill. Heat 2-Shawn Marlow, Smotherman, Dow Lazenby, Dan Edgington. Main-Dan Fitzgerald, McGee, Hill, Edgington, Hiney, Smotherman, Allen Boles, Smith, Marlow, Lazenby.

Pylant Wire To Wire From Pole

By Gary Jacob

Calistoga, CA -- Veteran Golden State Challenge Series competitor Kevin Pylant from Santa Cruz turned a pole position start into a feature win Saturday night as the Calistoga Fairgrounds Speedway half-mile opened it's 2004 season. Pylant became the sixth different winner in 8 races on the Golden State Challenge schedule in 2004 as only the absent Tim Kaeding has more than a single victory with three. Pylant outdueled fellow front row starter Andy Forsberg for the win with series point leader Jason Statler finishing 3rd after starting third. Fifth starter Brian Coelho and 7th starting Brent Kaeding rounded out the top five finishers.

Wheeling the Henderson mount, Steve Kent was quickest of the 24 cars on hand with a 16.893 clocking. The only driver to break into the 16's was Kaeding at 16.985. Friday night Chico winner Blake Robertson stood third at 17.082 and Coelho ran a 17.154. Jim Skinner was fifth at 17.160 and the top 8 was rounded out by Jason York, Statler and Forsberg. Pylant ranked ninth. Series point challenger Dennis Moore Jr had to race with a special arrangement on the car after a four wheeler accident during the week and he timed in 10th quick. The cars were divided into three invert six, take five heat races. Mike Benson won the first from the pole as fellow front row starter Sparky Howard ran second ahead of 4th starter Statler and Coelho. John Gray turned an outside front row start into a win in heat 2 as 4th starter Forsberg battled to 2nd ahead of fifth starter Skinner. Outside front row starter Doug Lippincott from Nevada won heat 3 with 4th starter Pylant second ahead of Craig Stidham. When York struggled to a sixth in this event, that allowed 9th quick Pylant to gain the pole for the feature race when the inversion option came up 8. Front row starters York and Moore ran 1-2 in the B Main ahead of Rob Johnson, Stuart Krum and Andy Gregg.

The A Main started all 24 cars and the 8 car inversion put Pylant, Forsberg, Statler, Skinner, Coelho, Robertson, Kaeding and Kent in the front four rows. Calistoga has dramatically improved it's lighting system for 2004 and turn 3 is no longer the black hole that it was. Pylant charged to the win with fellow front row starter Forsberg second. Statler's third place run allowed him to improve his point lead to 18 points over Moore Jr who ran to 15th place. Forsberg moved up into a tie with Robertson for third in points, just 22 tallies behind Moore Jr. Coelho was fourth in the feature ahead of Kaeding, Kent, Robertson and 9th starting York. The top 12 were rounded out by Stidham, Benson, Howard and Gray. With a 23rd place finish, Sean Becker dropped back into a tie with York for fifth in points, 15 behind the tied Robertson and Forsberg. Pylant is now 9th in points behind Stidham and the departed Tim Kaeding, who is now racing on the World of Outlaws series.

Next up for the Golden State Challenge Series is the prestigious Dave Bradway Memorial race in Chico which pays $4000 to win and $50 a lap to lead in the 40 lap main event. Many of the teams will also run the regular Friday night point show at Silver Dollar Speedway on May 7th before racing the Bradway event on May 8th.

Summary Fast Time-Steve Kent 16.893 Heat 1-Mike Benson, Sparky Howard, Jason Statler, Brian Coelho, Kent. Heat 2-John Gray, Andy Forsberg, Jim Skinner, Brent Kaeding. Heat 3-Doug Lippincott, Kevin Pylant, Craig Stidham, Blake Robertson, Shain Matthews. B Main-Jason York, Dennis Moore Jr, Rob Johnson, Stuart Krum, Andy Gregg, Ricky Richardson, Josh Blakely. A Main-Pylant, Forsberg, Statler, Coelho, Kaeding, Kent, Robertson, York, Stidham, Benson, Howard, Gray, Williams, Matthews, Moore, Lippincott, Blakely, Rob Johnson, Krum, Gregg, Richardson, Skinner, Sean Becker, Carl Enns.

Wheeler And Bordwine Open Grants With Feature Wins

By Gary Jacob

Grants, NM -- Former Duke City Raceway competitor Kenny Wheeler won the street stock main event ahead of John Baron and Cotton Gerald as the Uranium Capital Speedway opened it's 2004 season Saturday night. In the hobby stock class, Clyde Bordwine was the feature winner ahead of a pair of former Albuquerque racers Dan Harmon and Phil York. Buddy Allen beat Thomas Hunter in the thunder bomber action. The Duke City Raceway competitors were forced to find a new track to compete at after that facility and sold and closed as a racing venue this winter.