14-Time Champion Could Leave Dallas Rehab Facility by Week’s End
 
 DALLAS, Texas – After consulting with crew chiefs, sponsors and other key team members, 14-time NHRA Funny Car Champion John Force announced Monday that Phil Burkart Jr. will be in the cockpit of the Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang for three days of open testing beginning Tuesday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
 
 Burkart will join Countdown to One qualifier Robert Hight, Rookie-of-the-Year contender Ashley Force and rookie-to-be Mike Neff in John Force Racing Ford Mustangs during three days of open testing on the same track that next week will play host to the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals.
 
 “For right now, with the approval of Castrol and our other sponsors, Phil Burkart will be driving my car in testing only,” Force said from his room at Baylor University Rehabilitation Center, where he continues to recover from hand, leg and foot injuries suffered in a Sept. 23 crash at the Texas Motorplex.
 
 “Burkart was the best fit for us,” Force said.  “He’s about my size, he’s experienced and he was available (but) no decisions will be made about which (of our) teams will be running the Las Vegas Nationals until after testing.  We’ll make that call after I talk to the crew chiefs.”
 
 Force also confirmed that if he continues to progress at his present rate, his doctors plan to release him for travel home to Southern California this Saturday.
 
 “My brother Walker is trying to find a place in Orange County where I can continue to do my physical therapy,” Force said.  “I told him I want to work with some young people who’ll push me.  That’s what I need to do to get back in my race car and nothing’s more important to me right now than that.  If everything goes well, I’ll come back to Dallas in four to six weeks for them to remove the pins from my (left) hand.
 
 “I want to apologize to the fans.  I know I said I was gonna drive at Richmond, but that was mainly the drugs talking.  I know now that I’m not going to drive the rest of this year. My real goal the last two weeks was to make it to Vegas,” Force said, “and that’s what I’m gong to do.  All my cars have been re-done at Murf McKinney’s with the latest changes and I want to thank Murf and his staff for all their extra work.  I can’t wait to get back to the races.  That’ll be the best therapy.”
 

   LAS VEGAS - The 2009 NASCAR season will bring a new era to Las
Vegas Motor Speedway.
   The speedway currently is marketing a multifaceted event
sponsorship opportunity that will begin with the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series event.  Officials from LVMS and the United Auto Workers have
agreed that the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup UAW-Dodge 400 will bring an end
to their eight-year agreement, marking a change to one of the
longest-running event sponsorships in the sport.
"We're very excited about seeking a partnership that will help us
continue taking our NASCAR Sprint Cup event to new heights," said Chris
Powell, LVMS general manager.  "For quite some time, potential sponsors
have expressed interest in this entitlement if it were to become
available.  Because of the popularity of our city and our facility -
including new grandstands and the state-of-the-art Neon Garage that
affords race fans unmatched access - we believe an event entitlement
here at LVMS is the most valuable in all of NASCAR racing."
Powell said the relationship with the United Auto Workers continues to
be beneficial for both parties.
"We're very grateful for the eight years of support we've received from
the Chrysler division of the United Auto Workers' National Training
Center," Powell said.  "Together we've overseen the growth of the Sprint
Cup race in Las Vegas into one of the marquee events on the NASCAR
schedule."
The race was known as the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 from 2001-2007. The
recent buyout of the Chrysler brand from DaimlerBenz by Cerberus Capital
Management necessitated the name change to UAW-Dodge 400 for 2008.
The March 2 race will mark the end of NASCAR's fifth-longest active
event sponsorship. Only Coca-Cola at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Food City at
Bristol, Save Mart at Infineon Raceway and Chevrolet at Richmond
predated the UAW agreement at LVMS.
   Tickets for the 2008 UAW-Dodge 400 and the Sam's Town 300 NASCAR
Nationwide (formerly Busch) Series event on March 1 are available
through the LVMS ticket office by calling 1-800-644-4444 or logging on
to www.lvms.com. Neon Garage, Lucky 7 Preferred Parking and Driver
Introduction passes also are available
   Las Vegas Motor Speedway is owned and operated by Speedway
Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE:TRK), a leading marketer and promoter of
motorsports entertainment in the United States. In addition to Las Vegas
Motor Speedway, SMI owns and operates the following premiere facilities:
Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Lowe's Motor Speedway at
Charlotte, Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., and Texas Motor Speedway.
SMI also provides event souvenir merchandising services through its SMI
Properties subsidiary, and manufactures and distributes smaller-scale,
modified racing cars through its 600 Racing subsidiary.
###

USAC NATIONAL FORD FOCUS CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 14, 2007  – Anderson, Indiana –  Anderson   Speedway

 

      QUALIFICATIONS: 1. James Robertson 1, Steele-12.295; 2. P.J. Stergios, 57, Stergios-12.330; 3. Tanner Swanson, 2, Trotter-12.344; 4. Michael Sboro, 24, Sboro-12.349; 5. Chett Gehrke, 93, Gehrke-12.415; 6. Chris Lamb, 19L, Lamb-12.448; 7. Alison MacLeod, 4, East-12.452; 8. Craig Haack, 8, Haack-12.467; 9. Andy Nock, 51, RPN-12.477; 10. Ryan Osborne, 38, Osborne-12.522; 11. Casey Riggs, 37, Indiana Underground-12.551; 12. Steven Intravaia, 73, Intravaia-12.584; 13. Caitlin Shaw, 89, Shaw-12.595; 14. Tyler Irwin, 21, Irwin-12.597; 15. Mario Clouser, 6, Clouser-12.606; 16. Michael Mohelski, 12x, Mohelski-12.630; 17. Robby Parish, 1T, Steele-12.683; 18. Eric Fehrman, 67, Fehrman-12.785; 19. Bill Kriegbaum, 12, Kriegbaum-13.316; 20. Jacob Moore, 03, Stigall-13.344; 21. Paul Crafton, 41, Griffith/Horn-14.566; 22. Scott Hunter, 44 Brown/Miller-NT; 23. Steven Mathews, 88, Mathews-NT; 24. #11 Trotter-NT. (Pennington, 55, Pennington-12.311 –Time Disallowed).

 

      FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Robertson, 2. Nock, 3. Shaw, 4. Gehrke, 5. Paris h, 6. Crafton. NT

 

      SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Fehrman, 2. Irwin, 3. Stergios, 4. Lamb, 5. Osborne, 6. Hunter. NT

 

      THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Clouser, 2. Swanson, 3. MacLeod, 4. Riggs, 5. Kriegbaum, 6. Mathews. NT

 

      FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Haack, 2. Pennington, 3. Intravaia, 4. Sboro, 5. Mohelski, 6. Moore . NT

 

      FIRST “A MAIN”: (25 laps) 1. MacLeod, 2. Robertson, 3. Nock, 4. Swanson, 5. Clouser, 6. Gehrke, 7. Shaw, 8. Parish, 9. Riggs, 10. Kriegbaum, 11. Crafton. NT

 

      SECOND “A MAIN”: (25 laps) 1. Pennington, 2. Fehrman, 3. Intravaia, 4. Sboro, 5. Stergios, 6. Lamb, 7. Mohelski, 8. Moore , 9. Irwin, 10. Haack, 11. Hunter. NT

 

      NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. James Robertson, 2. Alison MacLeod, 3. Tanner Swanson, 4. Andy Nock, 5. P.J. Stergios, 6. Steven Intravaia, 7. Scott Hunter, 8. Steven Mathews, 9. Chris Lamb, 10. Bill Kriegbaum, 11. Caitlin Shaw, 12. Tyler Irwn, 13. Eric Fehrman, 14. Robby Paris h, 15. Paul Crafton, 16. Jordan Pennington, 17. Jacob Moore, 18. Michael Sboro, 19. Chett Gehrke, 20. Casey Riggs, 21. Mario Clouser, 22. Michael Mohelski, 23. Craig Haack. NT

                                                                                                                                                                               

**Irwin flipped during the second “A Main.” Red flag on lap 4 of the feature, Mohelski hit wall in turn 4 and transported to a local hospital for observation.

 

FIRST “A MAIN ” LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 MacLeod.

SECOND “A MAIN ” LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Pennington.

 

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Nock, Laps 2-30 Robertson.

Courtesy USAC

USAC KENYON MIDGET CAR SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: October 14, 2007 – Anderson , Indiana – Anderson Speedway

 

      QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Cale Conley, 3, Conley-12.628; 2. Jacob Wilson, 07x, Wilson-12.652; 3. Tyler Cottongim, 28, Cottongim-12.817; 4. Jacob Thompson, 48, Thompson-12.820; 5. Dillon Welch, 14, Welch-12.831; 6. Clint Wilson, 07, Wilson-12.903; 7. Grant Galloway , 84, Galloway-12.913; 8. Ryan Miller, 00, Miller-12.945.

 

      HEAT RACE: (8 laps) 1. Thompson, 2. J.Wilson, 3. Welch, 4. Miller, 5. Cottongim, 6. Conley, 7. C.Wilson, 8. Galloway . NT

 

      FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Jacob Thompson, 2. Jacob Wilson, 3. Tyler Cottongim, 4. Cale Conley, 5. Clint Wilson, 6. Grant Galloway, 7. Ryan Miller, 8. Dillon Welch. NT

                                                                                                                                                                               

 

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: 1-25 Thompson.

Courtesy USAC

USAC CALIFORNIA PAVEMENT/UTAH FORD FOCUS (non-sanctioned) SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: October 13, 2007  –  Blythe ,  California  – Lucas Oil I-10 Speedway

 

      QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Daniel Adler, 8, Sutton-13.751; 2. Beau DeBard, 42, Sutton-13.863; 3. Mark Atkinson, 9, Sutton-13.892; 4. Ian Miille, 3, Miille-14.004; 5. Justin Hommel, 97, Hommel-14.018; 6. Bob Brewer, 5. Brewer-14.361; 7. Alex Bowman, 55, Bowman-14.456; 8. Kipp Posey, 37, Posey-14.532; 9. J.R. Williams, 74, Williams-14.666; 10. Jimmie Miller, 48, Miller-NT.

 

      DASH: (4 laps) 1. Atkinson, 2. DeBard, 3. Adler, 4. Miille. NT

 

      HEAT RACE: (8 laps) 1. Hommel, 2. Miille, 3. Po sey, 4. Adler, 5. Brewer, 6. Atkinson, 7. DeBard, 8. Williams, 9. Bowman, 10. Miller. NT

 

        FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Daniel Adler, 2. Ian Miille, 3. Justin Hommel, 4. Mark Atkinson, 5. Beau DeBard, 6. Alex Bowman, 7. Kipp Posey, 8. Bob Brewer, 9. J.R. Williams, 10. Jimmie Miller. NT

                                                                                                                                                                               

 

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-10 Hommel, Laps 11-22 Miille, Laps 23-30 Adler.

 

NEXT CALIFORNIA FORD FOCUS RACE (Paved): November 22 – Irwindale (CA) Speedway – “ Turkey Night”

Courtesy USAC

Jason Johnson Completes Sweep of 34th Annual Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals
 

Lonnie Wheatley, MESQUITE, Texas (October 13, 2007) – Louisiana's Jason Johnson emerged from a wild, multi-car scramble for the lead through lapped traffic on Saturday night to complete a sweep of the weekend's O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National action at the 34th Annual Devil's Bowl Speedway Winter Nationals.

 

Johnson battled into the lead on the 10th of 25 rounds and led the rest of the way to secure the $5,000 victory atop the fabled ½-mile clay oval, adding his name to a prestigious list of Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals winners that includes the likes of Sprint Car legends including Jan Opperman, Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell and Doug Wolfgang among others.

 

Johnson took his ninth O'Reilly ASCoT National win of the season, and 17th overall, aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle in front of Wayne Johnson and Gary Wright, marking the sixth time this season that the power trio has claimed each of the podium positions in ASCS National competition.

 

"The Ragin' Cajun" had to work for this one though.

 

With Friday's top four feature finishers, including Jason Johnson, Gary Wright, Wayne Johnson and Nick Smith, locked into the Pole Dash, Nebraska's Jack Dover and New Mexico's Lorne Wofford earned Dash positions as well by accumulating the most passing points through heat race action.

 

The 17-year-old Dover won the Dash and then led the first lap of the feature before front row outside starter Wayne Johnson motored into the lead.  Wayne Johnson led the early rounds in front of Dover and fourth-starter Jason Johnson, with lapped traffic coming into play by the sixth round.

 

In traffic, Jason Johnson quickly disposed of Dover for second and surged ahead of Wayne Johnson in turns one and two on the seventh round only to have Wayne Johnson battle back ahead through turns three and four.

 

The pair swapped the point at least two more times before Jason Johnson took command on the tenth round, with fifth-starter Wright following suit on the same lap to take over second.  Wayne Johnson raced back around Wright moments later for second, as Johnny Miller, Nick Smith and Dover closed in on the lead trio in search of an opening in traffic.

 

Wayne Johnson briefly raced back ahead of Jason Johnson on the 12th circuit, but the Louisiana Johnson was up to the task and rallied back ahead. 

 

By the time the race's first caution flew after 16 laps for Jeff Mitrisin's stalled mount off turn two, Jason Johnson had put a lapped car between himself and Wayne Johnson.

 

With action back under way, Jason Johnson led the way with Wayne Johnson and Wright in tow.  And just as lapped traffic was about to again become a factor, the second and final caution flew when Darren Stewart came to a stop in turn four with Zach Chappell stopping turn two with front end damage at the same time.

 

There was no match for Jason Johnson over the final three-lap dash to the stripe, with Wayne Johnson in Tim and Mike Hammers' Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Eagle and Wright in the Wesmar-powered Whiteco Commercial Funding/Richwood Construction No. 9 Maxim taking second and third, respectively.

 

With the third place finish, Wright put a virtual lock on a fourth consecutive ASCS National championship, a $50,000 prize.  Wright escaped the night with a 68-point lead over Wayne Johnson and can secure the title by simply taking a green flag on both his preliminary night and the final night of I-30 Speedway's $20,000-to-win Short Track Nationals on October 25-27.

 

Johnny Miller posted his best ASCS National finish of the year by advancing from eighth to fourth in Jamie Downing's Tim's Engines Smiley's Racing Products No. 64J Maxim, with Nick Smith rounding out the top five in the Wesmar-powered Sooner Network Solutions No. 15s J&J.

 

After leading his first lap in ASCS National competition, Dover matched his best career National finish by claiming sixth, with former ASCS Rocky Mountain Region champion and midget ace Gary Taylor posting a career-best ASCS National finish of seventh in just his fifth National feature start.

 

Travis Rilat raced from 14th to snare eighth, with 20th-starter Kevin Ramey and Kenny Adams completing the top ten.

 

Dover, Wofford, Trey Robb, Miller and Adams topped heat race action, with Zach Chappell and Kolt Walker winning a pair of tumultuous "B" Mains that were both marred by major opening lap melees.

 

The First "B" Main immediately went red when ASCS Rocky Mountain Region champion C.J. Johnson and current ASCS Rebel Region points leader T.J. Winegardner touched on the frontstretch, with the ensuing tangle ensnaring nine of the 14 starters.  Eight cars were eliminated.

 

In the Second "B" Main, second row inside starter Brandon Berryman, the ASCS Gulf South champion, tagged an infield tire and broke a front end after polesitter Justin Melton got off to a big jump, triggering a pileup that included seven of the 15 starters.  ASCS Patriots champion Chuck Hebing got the worst of it, jumping a wheel and flipping hard over the turn four wall, destroying his mount in the process.

 

There were no injuries.

 

The O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series wraps up the season in spectacular fashion with I-30 Speedway's 20th Annual Short Track Nationals on October 25-27, with $20,000 up for grabs to the winner of the prestigious event.

 

O’Reilly ASCoT Saturday Results from the 34th Annual Devil's Bowl Speedway Winter Nationals:

 

Locked in from Friday's Preliminary Feature:  41-Jason Johnson, 9-Gary Wright, 94-Wayne Johnson, 15s-Nick Smith.

 

Heat Races (Top 14 in Passing Points to "A" Main; Balance to Twin "B" Mains):

 

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps):  1. 53d-Jack Dover, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 4. 45x-C.J. Johnson, 5. 65-Skip Wilson, 6. 61J-Danny Jennings, 7. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 8. 53-Joe Beaver, 9. 11x-Garry Lee Maier.

 

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps):  1. 18-Lorne Wofford, 2. 25-Gary Taylor, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 3*-Kaley Gharst, 5. 29n-Larry Neighbors, 6. 20-Eric Lutz, 7. 11F-Foster Landon, 8. 71-Keith Rauch, 8. 2m-Dustin Daggett.

 

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps):  1. 1s-Trey Robb, 2. 91-Darren Stewart, 3. 31c-Matt Clevenger, 4. 50z-Zach Chappell, 5. 11T-T.J. Winegardner, 6. 2-Kenneth Walker, 7. 12x-Jason Martin, 8. 45-Chuck Hebing, 9. 4J-Lee Grosz.

 

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps):  1. 64J-Johnny Miller, 2. 22-Koby Barksdale, 3. 99-Justin Melton, 4. 21-Brian Brown, 5. 31-Brandon Berryman, 6. 45w-Kolt Walker, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 8. 14b-Robert Byrom, 9. 13m-Kathryne Minter.

 

Heat Five (8 Laps):  1. 4a-Kenny Adams, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 1w-George White, 4. 35-Jared Zimbardi, 5. 5x-Dave Glennon, 6. 94s-Natalie Sather, 7. 10L-Shane Liebig, 8. 71T-Chris Tarrant.

 

Pole Dash (Finishing Order Determines Front Three Rows of “A” Main):

 

Pole Dash (5 Laps):  1. 53d-Jack Dover, 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 18-Lorne Wofford, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 15s-Nick Smith.

 

"B" Mains (Top 3 From Each Advance to "A" Main):

 

First "B" Main (12 Laps):  1. 50z-Zach Chappell, 2. 21-Brian Brown, 3. 35-Jared Zimbardi, 4. 10L-Shane Liebig, 5. 4J-Lee Grosz, 6. 14b-Robert Byrom, 7. 45x-C.J. Johnson, 8. 65-Skip Wilson, 9. 11T-T.J. Winegardner, 10. 5x-Dave Glennon, 11. 94s-Natalie Sather, 12. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 13. 71-Keith Rauch, 14. 11x-Garry Lee Maier.  DNS: 11F-Foster Landon.

 

Second "B" Main (12 Laps):  1. 45w-Kolt Walker, 2. 3*-Kaley Gharst, 3. 2-Kenneth Walker, 4. 29n-Larry Neighbors, 5. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 6. 12x-Jason Martin, 7. 2m-Dustin Daggett, 8. 61J-Danny Jennings, 9. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 10. 53-Joe Beaver, 11. 71T-Chris Tarrant, 12. 99-Justin Melton, 13. 20-Eric Lutz, 14. 31-Brandon Berryman, 15. 45-Chuck Hebing.

 

O’Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Results from 34th Annual Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals:

 

“A” Feature (25 Laps):  1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 9-Gary Wright, 4. 64J-Johnny Miller, 5. 15s-Nick Smith, 6. 53d-Jack Dover, 7. 25-Gary Taylor, 8. 29-Travis Rilat, 9. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 10. 4a-Kenny Adams, 11. 31c-Matt Clevenger, 12. 1s-Trey Robb, 13. 2-Kenneth Walker, 14. 22-Koby Barksdale, 15. 11F-Foster Landon, 16. 3*-Kaley Gharst, 17. 1w-George White, 18. 18-Lorne Wofford, 19. 45w-Kolt Walker, 20. 50z-Zach Chappell, 21. 91-Darren Stewart, 22. 35-Jared Zimbardi, 23. 27-Andy Shouse, 24. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 25. 21-Brian Brown.

 

Lap Leaders:  Jack Dover 1, Wayne Johnson 2-9, Jason Johnson 10-25.

 

O’Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Twenty):  1. Gary Wright 4,280, 2. Wayne Johnson 4,212, 3. Jason Johnson 4,176, 4. Travis Rilat 3,976, 5. Foster Landon 3,477, 6. Darren Stewart 2,697, 7. Nick Smith 2,290, 8. Eric Baldaccini 1,851, 9. Andy Shouse 1,740, 10. Kenneth Walker 1,723.

Wright On for ASCS/Wesmar Challenge Score!
 

Lonnie Wheatley, MESQUITE, Texas (October 13, 2007) – A total of $47,770 worth of merchandise was doled out in the inaugural ASCS/Wesmar Challenge held at the 34th Annual Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals over the weekend, and the big winner at the event's conclusion was none other than Gary Wright.

 

Wright accumulated the most points through the three segments of the race contested over Friday and Saturday night and came away the winner of a new Wesmar Racing Engine, valued at approximately $32,000, the biggest single-event prize awarded in ASCS history.

 

The ASCS/Wesmar Challenge victory capped off what should prove to be a lucrative weekend for "The Texan", as he also put a virtual lock on a fourth consecutive O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National championship over the weekend, a title that is worth another $50,000 in cash.

 

Contested in three segments that totaled 40 laps, Wright earned the pole position for Saturday night's 16-lap final segment by posting finishes of second in both 12-lap Friday night segments.

 

With a finish of third or better in the final segment good enough to secure the big prize, Wright posted a third consecutive second-place finish to take the Wesmar powerplant by just 4.5 points over Jason Johnson, who won both the second and third segments.  Johnson picked up a new Maxim chassis to go along with his $5,000 victory in the O'Reilly ASCoT Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals finale.

 

Twenty-two of the 26 drivers that earned invitations, including the top contenders from the O'Reilly ASCoT National series and two representatives from each ASCS Region, took part in the event.

 

In Friday night's opening two legs, the field drew for starting position in the first 12-lap segment with the lineup fully inverted for the second 12-lap segment.  What ensued was some of the most spectacular racing of the weekend.

 

Wright was the one on the move throughout, racing from seventh to finish behind Wayne Johnson in the first segment and then charging from 15th to second behind Jason Johnson in the second segment.

 

The opening segment of the ASCS/Wesmar Challenge ran off in non-stop fashion.  The second segment had just one caution, that occurring when Brian Brown spun to a stop in turn two after three laps.  Saturday's third and final segment had just one caution as well when ASCS Gulf South champion Brandon Berryman spun in turn four.

 

Segment One:

 

Starting from the pole position, ASCS Rocky Mountain Region champion C.J. Johnson led the opening five rounds of the first segment before fifth starter Travis Rilat charged into the lead.  Rilat's lead was shortlived however, as fourth-starter Wayne Johnson surged into the lead the next time by in a wild four-car scramble through the lead with heavy lapped traffic in play.

 

Wayne Johnson held off Wright the rest of the way in Segment One, with Rilat, 12th-starter Jason Johnson and C.J. Johnson rounding out the top five.

 

Segment Two:

 

In the second segment, leading Brodix Rookie of the Year candidate on the O'Reilly ASCoT National Tour, Foster Landon, gunned into the lead at the outset and held a commanding lead in the early rounds.

 

But eighth-starter Jason Johnson soon reeled him in, and after dicing for the point for a couple of rounds, Jason Johnson took command.  Charging from the eighth row, Wright followed suit and kept the pressure on the rest of the way before settling for second, with Landon, Jack Dover and Eric Lutz rounding out the top five.

 

Segment Three:

 

Lined straight-up according to points earned in Friday night's two 12-lap segments, Wright led the way to the green flag with Jason Johnson alongside in the final 16-lap portion on Saturday night.

 

After Johnson jumped the gun early on the first attempted start with an itchy trigger foot, the second start was clean with Johnson once again gaining the upper hand.

 

Despite reaching lapped traffic at the midway point, Johnson led the distance virtually unchallenged.  It wasn't enough to take the power from Wright though, as he cruised in second to take the Wesmar Engine.

 

"I knew on the start that Jason was too fast, so I just knew I had to make sure to finish in the top three," Wright explained.  "I've just got to really thank Bob (Westphal) and Dan (Gentrup) for doing this, it's something that's never been done and it really is a special deal."

 

Behind Johnson and Wright, Wayne Johnson slipped around Travis Rilat on the eleventh round for third, with Rilat holding off Kenny Adams to the line to claim third in overall ASCS/Wesmar Challenge points, a finish worthy of a new Eagle frame.

 

Each of the 22 competitors in the ASCS/Wesmar Challenge came away with some valuable supplies from the well-received event in front of a large Devil's Bowl Speedway crowd.

 

ASCS / Wesmar Challenge Results:

 

Segment One (12 Laps – Starting Position in Parenthesis):  1. 94-Wayne Johnson (4), 2. 9-Gary Wright (7), 3. 29-Travis Rilat (5), 4. 41-Jason Johnson (12), 5. 45x-C.J. Johnson (1), 6. 21-Brian Brown (9), 7. 5x-Dave Glennon (3), 8. 4a-Kenny Adams (16), 9. 7m-Kevin Ramey (6), 10. 31-Brandon Berryman (8), 11. 45-Chuck Hebing (11), 12. 64J-Johnny Miller (10), 13. 87-Brian McClelland (13), 14. 11F-Foster Landon (21), 15. 2m-Dustin Daggett (15), 16. 53d-Jack Dover (19), 17. 35-Jared Zimbardi (18), 18. 71-Keith Rauch (14), 19. 4J-Lee Grosz (2), 20. 20-Eric Lutz (20), 21. 11T-T.J. Winegardner (17).  DNS: 7-Michael Herrington.

 

Segment Two (12 Laps – Starting Position in Parenthesis):  1. 41-Jason Johnson (8), 2. 9-Gary Wright (15), 3. 11F-Foster Landon (2), 4. 53d-Jack Dover (3), 5. 20-Eric Lutz (1), 6. 4a-Kenny Adams (5), 7. 29-Travis Rilat (17), 8. 35-Jared Zimbardi (4), 9. 2m-Dustin Daggett (7), 10. 7m-Kevin Ramey (16), 11. 45-Chuck Hebing (11), 12. 64J-Johnny Miller (10), 13. 21-Brian Brown (13), 14. 94-Wayne Johnson (18), 15. 45x-C.J. Johnson (21), 16. 11T-T.J. Winegardner (9), 17. 87-Brian McClelland (12), 18. 71-Keith Rauch (6), 19. 31-Brandon Berryman (14), 20. 5x-Dave Glennon (19), 21. 4J-Lee Grosz (20).  DNS: 7-Michael Herrington.

 

Segment Three (16 Laps – Finishing Points Only/No Passing Points in Effect):  1. 41-Jason Johnson (2), 2. 9-Gary Wright (1), 3. 94-Wayne Johnson (5), 4. 29-Travis Rilat (3), 5. 4a-Kenny Adams (4), 6. 11F-Foster Landon (6), 7. 53d-Jack Dover (10), 8. 21-Brian Brown (9), 9. 64J-Johnny Miller (11), 10. 7m-Kevin Ramey (7), 11. 2m-Dustin Daggett (12), 12. 45x-C.J. Johnson (8), 13. 35-Jared Zimbardi (14), 14. 4J-Lee Grosz (16), 15. 31-Brandon Berryman (15), 16. 20-Eric Lutz (13).  DNS: 45-Chuck Hebing, 5x-Dave Glennon, 71-Keith Rauch, 11T-T.J. Winegardner, 87-Brian McClelland, 7-Michael Herrington.

 

Inaugural ASCS/Wesmar Challenge Final Results:

 

Position - ## - Name (Hometown - Region) – Point Total - Prize

1.       9-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX - National) 318.0 – Wesmar Racing Engine

2.       41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA - National) 313.5 – Maxim Chassis

3.       29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX - National) 285.0 – Eagle Frame

4.       94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 265.5 – Set of Brodix Cylinder Heads

5.       4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL – Southern/Rebel) 264.0 – Set of Brodix Cylinder Heads

6.       11F-Foster Landon (Collinsville, OK - National) 249.0 – Set of Brodix Cylinder Heads

7.       53d-Jack Dover (Springfield, NE – Midwest) 232.5 – Set of Brodix Cylinder Heads

8.       21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO – Midwest) 232.5 – Set of Brodix Cylinder Heads

9.       7m-Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth, TX - Sooner) 231.0 – Simpson Voodoo Helmet

10.   45x-C.J. Johnson (Quinter, KS – Rocky Mountain) 222.0 – Set of Pro Shocks

11.   64J-Johnny Miller (Burleson, TX – Gulf South) 210.0 – MPD Right Rear Wheel

12.   2m-Dustin Daggett (Portland, MI – Sprints on Dirt) 204.0 – MPD Left Rear Wheel

13.   35-Jared Zimbardi (Salamanca, NY – Patriots) 196.5 – Two MPD Front Wheels

14.   20-Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD – Northern Plains) 186.0 – Hoosier Tires & Weld Certificates

15.   31-Brandon Berryman (Missouri City, TX – Gulf South) 177.0 – Hoosier Tires & Weld Certificates

16.   45-Chuck Hebing (Ontario, NY – Patriot/Mid-Atlantic) 177.0 – Hoosier Tires & Weld Certificates

17.   5x-Dave Glennon (Casselton, ND – Northern Plains) 162.0 – Hoosier Tires & Weld Certificates

18.   87-Brian McClelland (Tulsa, OK - Sooner) 153.0 – Hoosier Tires & Weld Certificates

19.   4J-Lee Grosz (Harwood, ND – Northern Plains) 147.0 – Hoosier Tires & Weld Certificates

20.   71-Keith Rauch (Thornton, CO – Rocky Mountain) 135.0 – Hoosier Tires & Weld Certificates

21.   11T-T.J. Winegardner (Pierson, FL - Rebel) 132.0 – Hoosier Tires & Weld Certificates

22.   7-Michael Herrington (Gonzales, LA - Coastal) 74.0 – Hoosier Tires & Weld Certificates

Francis Pads World of Outlaws Late Model Series Points Lead With ‘ Tennessee Fall Brawl 100’ Victory At Volunteer Speedway

 

BULLS GAP, TN – Oct. 13, 2007 – Steve Francis can taste the 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series championship.

 

A convincing $20,225 victory in Saturday night’s ‘Tennessee Fall Brawl 100’ at Volunteer Speedway allowed Francis to pad his points lead, putting him on the brink of a first career title with the nation’s premier dirt Late Model tour.

 

Francis, 40, of Ashland , Ky. , holds a 62-point edge over Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., who finished 11th, heading into the two A-Mains that comprise the ‘Outlaws World Finals’ on Nov. 1-3 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

 

“It ain’t over yet,” cautioned Francis, the WoO LMS points runner-up in 2004 and 2005. “I’m happy that we’re finishing the season strong, but we still have to put together two more good nights to finish the points deal up.”

 

Francis, who started from the outside pole, was flawless in the final event of the ‘Race to the World Finals.’ He passed polesitter Ray Cook of Brasstown , N.C. , for the lead on lap 22 and never looked back in his Valvoline Rocket No. 15.

 

After Jimmy Owens of Newport , Tenn. , saw his bid to overtake Francis end with apparent mechanical trouble on lap 62, the ‘Kentucky Colonel’ was essentially home free. He handled late-race lapped traffic and beat Cook’s MasterSbilt mount to the finish line by 2.473 seconds.

 

Randy Weaver of Crossville , Tenn. , advanced from the ninth starting spot to finish a close third in the D&R Racing GRT car, followed by 10th-starter Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg , Tenn. , in a ‘Team Zero’ chassis of his own design and third-starter Dale McDowell of Chickamauga , Ga. , in the Childress Vineyards Rocket.

 

Francis’s triumph was his fourth of the season on the WoO LMS and his first-ever at Volunteer Speedway, a four-tenths-mile, high-banked oval that he’s struggled to master. He did capture a 12-car charity Super Late Model race (worth $5,000) at the track on Aug. 21, but his ninth-place finish in the ‘Scorcher 100’ two days later left him uncertain about his chances on Saturday night.

 

“I wasn’t very confident coming here because I didn’t run good last time,” said Francis, who registered his 14th career WoO LMS victory. “I was just hoping to maintain what I had (as a points lead), so I’m just tickled to death to get something extra out of it.

 

“This is kind of the hometrack for Scott (Bloomquist), Jimmy (Owens) and those guys,” he added. “They come in and beat us at our hometracks a lot of times, so it feels good to finally get a win at their place.”

 

Francis was outgunned for the lead at the start of the 100 by Cook, but he soon realized that his Custom-powered machine wasn’t going to fade.

 

“Ray fired out there and I thought he was gonna be really, really good,” said Francis. “Then, all of a sudden, it looked like he got really loose. I got up to him and showed him the nose two or three times, and then he kinda moved down and gave me the top of (turns) one and two.

 

“My car was so good around the top of one and two, once I got out there we were able to clear him down the backstraightaway.”

 

Owens, who started fifth in the Reece Monuments Bloomquist No. 20, passed Cook for second on lap 27 and was closing on Francis when the race’s first of three caution flags flew on lap 45, for the stopped car driven by Knoxville , Tenn. ’s Mark Douglas. The ‘Newport Nightmare’ continued to challenge Francis until shortly after a lap-58 caution period for Donnie Moran of Dresden , Ohio , who slowed with a flat left-rear tire.

 

A wicked vibration in Owens’s car caused him to cede second back to Cook on lap 60, and two circuits later he slowed to bring out the race’s final caution flag. He pulled into the infield and didn’t return, derailing his hopes of duplicating his victory over Francis in last month’s UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned World 100 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg , Ohio .

 

“The car just got real loose in the corners,” said Owens, who came within five laps of winning the ‘Scorcher 100’ at Volunteer two months ago. “I thought it was the rearend, but it doesn’t look like that was the problem. I’m not sure what happened yet.”

 

Owens paused, and then jokingly added, “I’ve been known to pull in for no reason – and if I did it tonight, I’m gonna be sick. I think we had a good car and might’ve had a chance to get (Francis) in lapped traffic.”

 

Francis never knew that Owens drew close to him, but he wasn’t surprised to hear such a report following the race.

 

“When you get in lapped traffic at a high-speed place like this, I knew somebody had to be close to me,” said Francis. “I was just trying to make sure I never gave the bottom of (turns) three and four up.”

 

Actually, after Owens’s departure, no one threatened Francis. Cook spent the final laps holding off Weaver and Bloomquist, who slid by McDowell for fourth on lap 94 after spending more than 10 circuits battling for the position.

 

Cook, 36, earned $10,625 for his career-best WoO LMS finish, including the tour’s $500 ‘Bonus Bucks’ prize for being the highest-placing driver who isn’t ranked among the top 12 of the points standings and has never won a series event.

 

“It means a lot to get a good finish in one of these big shows,” said Cook, who used American Racer tires in a field dominated by Hoosier-shod cars. “We ran good in the Scorcher, and we brought that setup back and tried to build off of it.

 

“We got off to a good start, but I was getting a little loose in after a few laps. I just couldn’t drive up in there as hard as I wanted to, and of course, when you’re loose in, it makes you tight off.

 

“I feel like we had a third-place car,” he continued, “but a little luck got us into second.”

 

The 38-year-old Weaver also registered a career-high finish in WoO LMS competition.

 

“Halfway through the race I felt like we were better (than Cook), but I got together with another car trying to make a move on the outside and that messed up the tow on the car,” said Weaver. “I had to fight a little ill-handling car at the end. I could get to Ray, but unless he messed up, I wasn’t gonna get him.”

 

Bloomquist, meanwhile, felt he had a winning car, but he couldn’t get through traffic on the difficult track.

 

“Every time we had a lap in the clear, we were considerably quicker than the leader,” said Bloomquist, the 2004 WoO LMS champion. “I think Jimmy (Owens) and I were definitely the two fastest cars, but we just didn’t have a racetrack to prove it.

 

“You’ve never had to hook your left-side tires on the bottom in (turns) three and four at this place. It didn’t matter how good you were (running) high in one and two – if you got outside a guy, you couldn’t do nothing with him in three and four.

 

“It’s kinda hard to go from behind a guy to all the way in front of him in one end. You need the other end to at least be able to stay beside him.”

 

McDowell settled for fifth after running in fourth place for most of the distance. He flashed under the checkered flag several car lengths ahead of Chatham , Ill. ’s Brian Shirley, the WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender who enjoyed a strong run after failing to qualify for the ‘Scorcher 100.’

 

Shirley, 26, moved forward from the 14th starting spot to reach sixth at the finish.

 

“The bottom line is, we had a good car that was capable of running there until somebody made a mistake,” said Shirley, who drove Ed Petroff’s Rocket No. 3s. “If you didn’t have a real good handling car, you couldn’t hit the same line that you needed to every lap. My car was good enough that I could hit that line every lap and take advantage of other guys slipping up.”

 

Rounding out the top 10 was Rick Rogers of Knoxville , Tenn. , who earned the National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award on Friday night; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove , Ga. , who started and finished in the same position; Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; and Rick Eckert of York, Pa., who started 22nd after grabbing the final transfer spot in the second B-Main on the last lap.

 

Frank, who qualified through a B-Main after battling handling problems in Friday night’s heat action, settled for an 11th-place finish.

 

“We weren’t very good all night,” said Frank. “I don’t know what to do at this place.”

 

Three drivers – Josh Richards of Shinnston , W.Va. , Ricky Arms of Moss., Tenn. , and Roy Mitchell of Hobart, Ind. – pulled into the infield with mechanical trouble during the race’s pace laps. Only Richards was able to get back on the track – but after his crew hastily installed a new driveshaft in his car, he slid onto the track in turn one as the leaders completed the first lap and was immediately put down one lap.

 

After time trials and heats were contested on Friday night, Moran and Austin Dillon of Welcome, N.C. (the 16-year-old grandson of NASCAR team owner Richard Childress) won Saturday night’s 20-lap B-Mains.

 

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

 

Results of WoO Late Model Series (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):

 

1. (2) Steve Francis/100 $20,225

2. (1) Ray Cook/100 $10,625

3. (9) Randy Weaver/100 $6,000

4. (10) Scott Bloomquist/100 $5,000

5. (3) Dale McDowell/100 $4,000

6. (14) Brian Shirley/100 $3,250

7. (7) Rick Rogers/100 $2,850

8. (8) Shane Clanton/100 $2,500

9. (22) Rick Eckert/100 $2,300

10. (13) Clint Smith/100 $2,100

11. (20) Chub Frank/100 $1,900

12. (17) Donnie Moran/100 $1,800

13. (18) Austin Dillon/100 $1,700

14. (16) Josh Richards/98 $1,650

15. (12) Dan Schlieper/97 $1,600

16. (6) Vic Hill/70 $1,580

17. (5) Jimmy Owens/62 $1,560

18. (11) Darrell Lanigan/58 $1,540

19. (4) Michael England/52 $1,520

20. (15) Mark Douglas/47 $1,500

21. (23) Eddie Carrier Jr./43 $1,500

22. (21) Anthony White/29 $1,500

23. (19) Ricky Arms/0 $1,500

24. (24) Roy Mitchell/0 $1,500

 

Time of Race: 32 Mins., 59.858 Secs.

Margin of Victory: 2.473 Secs.

Yellow Flags: 3 (Laps 45, 58, 62)

Lap Leaders: Cook (1-21); Francis (22-100)

Provisional Starters: Carrier, Mitchell

Rookie of the Race: Brian Shirley ($250)

WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Ray Cook ($500)

National Interstate Insurance Fast Time Award: Rick Rogers ($100)

National Interstate Insurance Hard Luck Award: Jimmy Owens ($50)

Integra Shocks Crew Chief of the Race ($100): Lee Logan ( Steve Francis)

 

B-Main No. 1 (20 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Donnie Moran, 2. Ricky Arms, 3. Anthony White, 4. Bryan Hendrix, 5. Dan Stone, 6. Shane Roberts, 7. Michael Smith, 8. Herman Goddard, 9. Brandon Kinzer, 10. Shannon Buckingham (DNS) Roy Mitchell, Shannon Babb, Skip Arp, Damon Eller, Mike Jackson, Eric Wells, Jeff Neubert, Clint Solomon

 

B-Main No. 2 (20 laps – Top 3 Transfer): 1. Austin Dillon, 2. Chub Frank, 3. Rick Eckert, 4. Brady Smith, 5. Billy Ogle Jr., 6. Kerry Jones, 7. Brett Miller, 8. Eddie Carrier Jr., 9. Randy Davidson, 10. Chad Ogle, 11. John Blankenship, 12. Van Lester (DNS) Brad Neat, Brett Wyatt, Travis Fultz, David Crabtree, Steve Smith, Bobby Giffin

 

2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of Oct. 13 - 42 features completed (rank/driver/wins/top-5s/top-10s/earnings/points/deficit to leader):

 

1. Steve Francis 4-25-38-$135,950-5,688 (-0)

2. Chub Frank 6-19-34-$128,180-5,626 (-62)

3. Clint Smith 4-17-30-$119,625-5,576 (-112)

4. Shane Clanton 2-13-28-$89,747-5,496 (-192)

5. Rick Eckert 0-12-26-$79,110-5,480 (-208)

6. Josh Richards 4-11-25-$102,657-5,470 (-218)

7. Darrell Lanigan 2-10-27-$86,105-5,204 (-484)

8. Tim Fuller 1-10-15-$70,705-4,259 (-1429)

9. Brian Shirley 1-5-13-$61,754-4,070 (-1618)

10. Shannon Babb 5-13-17-$100,885-3,732 (-1956)

11. Eddie Carrier Jr. 0-2-5-$25,920-2,752 (-2936)

12. Roy Mitchell 0-0-0-$13,290-2,456 (-3232)

13. Chris Madden 2-8-12-$90,015-2,454 (-3234)

14. Billy Moyer 1-9-12-$42,575-2,448 (-3240)

15. Brian Birkhofer 0-1-8-$24,810-2,079 (-3609)

16. Jimmy Mars 0-5-7-$27,930-1,773 (-3915)

17. John Blankenship 0-0-0-$10,830-1,738 (-3950)

18. Dan Stone 1-1-3-$18,335-1,640 (-4048)

19. Brady Smith 0-2-5-$14,450-1,434 (-4254)

20. Dennis Erb Jr. 2-4-7-$33,000-1,433 (-4255)

 

LISTEN ONLINE: If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they can experience the excitement of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series live on DIRTvision.com through the DIRT Radio Network.

 

To listen to the free audio broadcasts, log on to www.dirtvision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo.

 

Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. For technical support or questions, e-mail [email protected].

 

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by several sponsors and partners, including National Interstate Insurance Company and contingency sponsors Wrisco Industries, Crane Cams, Ohlins Shocks, Quarter-Master, Hawk Brake, MSD Ignitions, Eibach Springs and Integra Shocks.

Kruseman Conquers in ASCS Western World Championship Finale!
 
Lonnie Wheatley, PHOENIX, Ariz. (October 13, 2007) – Ventura, California's Cory Kruseman added yet another feather to his cap by topping the inaugural Parker Stores ASCS Non-Wing Western World Championship in Saturday night's 30-lap feature atop Manzanita Speedway's ½-mile clay oval, a triumph worth $5,000.

 

After locking himself into Saturday night's finale with a fourth-place finish in Friday's preliminary event, "The Kruser" outdueled Friday night winner Charles Davis, Jr., to capture the win aboard the Ellis Racing/Star 21 Sportswear No. 21 entry.

 

Kruseman and Davis battled for the point throughout, with Kruseman working the low side and Davis on top.  Kruseman slipped away in the final rounds to take the checkered flag by a few car-lengths to snare his first American Sprint Car Series Canyon Region feature win.

 

Denied a sixth series win of the year, Davis settled for runner-up honors aboard Jim Massey's Arizona Race Mart No. 50 DRC.

 

While the lead pair battled all the way, there was plenty of action throughout the pack with Missouri's Jesse Hockett providing his share of fireworks by riding the cushion from the 21st starting slot to snare third in Jim Massey's second entry, the Arizona Race Mart No. 2az DRC.

 

Racing through the field with Hockett was R.J. Johnson, who used the low line to advance from 15th to fourth in the Weiler Farms No. 15.

 

After cutting down a tire in the early laps, current ASCS Canyon Region points leader Jeremy Sherman charged from the tail of the field to round out the top five in Fred Bryan's F&E Development No. 77 Maxim.

 

Casey Shuman snared sixth, with Chad Boat, 20th-starter Bill Rose, Mike Leslie and Mike Martin completing the top ten.  Martin raced from the 13th row after utilizing a promoter's option for the main event.

 

Nathan High, Jerry Coons, Jr., Shuman, Michael Bonneau and Jeremy Reagles topped heat race action, with Seainn Hendricsen, Shuman, Leslie, Johnson and Bret Mellenberndt winning the qualifying races.

 

Bobby Marcum and Bill Rose topped "B" Main action.

 

Parker Store ASCS Western World Championship Saturday Results from Manzanita Speedway:

 

Locked in From Friday's Feature:  50-Charles Davis, Jr., 77-Jeremy Sherman, 97x-Jon Stanbrough, 21-Cory Kruseman. 

 

Heats & Qualifiers (Top 14 in Combined Passing Points to "A" Main; Balance to Twin "B" Mains):

 

Heat One (8 Laps):  1. 0-Nathan High, 2. 30T-Jimmy Crawford, 3. 25-Jesse Dunham, 4. 85-Bobby Marcum, 5. 6-Bryan Swinehart, 6. 15-R.J. Johnson, 7. 5h-Dennis Krob, 8. F2-L.C. Kesterson.

 

Heat Two (8 Laps):  1. 17az-Jerry Coons, Jr., 2. 52-Josh Pelkey, 3. 34-Robert Ballou, 4. 62-Shon Deskins, 5. 2az-Jesse Hockett, 6. 611-Bill Rose, 7. 20L-James Aragon, 8. 48-Thomas Ogle, 9. 16-Mike Martin.

 

Heat Three (8 Laps):  1. 12b-Casey Shuman, 2. 61-Justin Fisher, 3. 76-Mike Leslie, 4. 26az-Bobby Taylor, 5. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 6. 51-Rusty Carlile, 7. 5x-Jody Wirth, 8. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 9. 74-Derek Williams.

 

Heat Four (8 Laps):  1. 29-Michael Bonneau, 2. 8-Bob Ream, Jr., 3. 30-Chad Boat, 4. 14-Bernie Smith, 5. 12-Jeff Henry, 6. 611x-Bo Baker, 7. 7x-Adam Wirth, 8. 45-Kevin Wolfe, 9. 7k-Bruce St. James.

 

Heat Five (8 Laps):  1. 44-Jeremy Reagles, 2. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 3. 33-Rick Ziehl, 4. 7-Chris Beal, 5. 32az-Matt Rossi, 6. 97x-Bret Mellenberndt, 7. 97-Brandon Lane, 8. 71-Scott Pasmore, 9. 55-Tony Everhart.

 

First Qualifier (8 Laps):  1. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 2. 52-Josh Pelkey, 3. 33-Rick Ziehl, 4. 34-Robert Ballou, 5. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 6. 14-Bernie Smith, 7. 7-Chris Beal, 8. 97-Brandon Lane.  DNS: F2-L.C. Kesterson.

 

Second Qualifier (8 Laps):  1. 12b-Casey Shuman, 2. 2az-Jesse Hockett, 3. 16-Mike Martin, 4. 44-Jeremy Reagles, 5. 85-Bobby Marcum, 6. 61-Justin Fisher, 7. 5h-Dennis Krob.  DNS: 32az-Matt Rossi, 94-Ronnie Clark.

 

Third Qualifier (8 Laps):  1. 76-Mike Leslie, 2. 12-Jeff Henry, 3. 51-Rusty Carlile, 4. 0-Nathan High, 5. 29-Michael Bonneau, 6. 6-Bryan Swinehart, 7. 20L-James Aragon, 8. 48-Thomas Ogle, 9. 74-Derek Williams.

 

Fourth Qualifier (8 Laps):  1. 15-R.J. Johnson, 2. 30T-Jimmy Crawford, 3. 30-Chad Boat, 4. 62-Shon Deskins, 5. 611x-Bo Baker, 6. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 7. 5x-Jody Wirth, 8. 45-Kevin Wolfe, 9. 7k-Bruce St. James.

 

Fifth Qualifier (8 Laps):  1. 97x-Bret Mellenberndt, 2. 611-Bill Rose, 3. 17az-Jerry Coons, Jr., 4. 8-Bob Ream, Jr., 5. 26az-Bobby Taylor, 6. 25-Jesse Dunham, 7. 7x-Adam Wirth, 8. 71-Scott Pasmore.  DNS: 55-Tony Everhart.

 

Twin "B" Mains (Top 3 From Each to "A" Main):

 

First "B" Main (12 Laps):  1. 85-Bobby Marcum, 2. 2az-Jesse Hockett, 3. 97x-Bret Mellenberndt, 4. 16-Mike Martin, 5. 26az-Bobby Taylor, 6. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 7. 29-Michael Bonneau, 8. 611x-Bo Baker, 9. 51-Rusty Carlile, 10. 97-Brandon Lane, 11. 20L-James Aragon, 12. 45-Kevin Wolfe, 13. 7x-Adam Wirth, 14. F2-L.C. Kesterson, 15. 7k-Bruce St. James.  DNS: 94-Ronnie Clark.

 

Second "B" Main (12 Laps):  1. 611-Bill Rose, 2. 14-Bernie Smith, 3. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 4. 6-Bryan Swinehart, 5. 62-Shon Deskins, 6. 25-Jesse Dunham, 7. 48-Thomas Ogle, 8. 74-Derek Williams, 9. 7-Chris Beal, 10. 5h-Dennis Krob, 11. 71-Scott Pasmore, 12. 5x-Jody Wirth, 13. 61-Justin Fisher.  DNS: 32az-Matt Rossi, 55-Tony Everhart.

 

Parker Store ASCS Western World Championship "A" Main Event:

 

"A" Feature (30 Laps):  1. 21-Cory Kruseman, 2. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 3. 2az-Jesse Hockett, 4. 15-R.J. Johnson, 5. 77-Jeremy Sherman, 6. 12b-Casey Shuman, 7. 30-Chad Boat, 8. 611-Bill Rose, 9. 76-Mike Leslie, 10. 16-Mike Martin, 11. 0-Nathan High, 12. 33-Rick Ziehl, 13. 52-Josh Pelkey, 14. 8-Bob Ream, Jr., 15. 85-Bobby Marcum, 16. 12-Jeff Henry, 17. 6-Bryan Swinehart, 18. 30T-Jimmy Crawford, 19. 14-Bernie Smith, 20. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 21. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 22. 17az-Jerry Coons, Jr. 23. 97az-Jon Stanbrough, 24. 97x-Bret Mellenberndt, 25. 44-Jeremy Reagles, 26. 34-Robert Ballou (DNS).

 

Note: Mike Martin and Bryan Swinehart were awarded promoter's options to start the main event.

 

ASCS Canyon Region Points (Top Ten):  1. Jeremy Sherman 2,587, 2. Charles Davis, Jr. 2,446, 3. Mike Leslie 2,350, 4. Bob Ream, Jr., 2,336, 5. Josh Pelkey 2,292, 6. Seainn Hendricsen 2,173, 7. Shon Deskins 2,161, 8. Bernie Smith 2,155, 9. Andrew Reinbold 2,117, 10. Mike Martin 2,090.

 
Lonnie Wheatley, PHOENIX, Ariz. (October 13, 2007) – Ventura, California's Cory Kruseman added yet another feather to his cap by topping the inaugural Parker Stores ASCS Non-Wing Western World Championship in Saturday night's 30-lap feature atop Manzanita Speedway's ½-mile clay oval, a triumph worth $5,000.

 

After locking himself into Saturday night's finale with a fourth-place finish in Friday's preliminary event, "The Kruser" outdueled Friday night winner Charles Davis, Jr., to capture the win aboard the Ellis Racing/Star 21 Sportswear No. 21 entry.

 

Kruseman and Davis battled for the point throughout, with Kruseman working the low side and Davis on top.  Kruseman slipped away in the final rounds to take the checkered flag by a few car-lengths to snare his first American Sprint Car Series Canyon Region feature win.

 

Denied a sixth series win of the year, Davis settled for runner-up honors aboard Jim Massey's Arizona Race Mart No. 50 DRC.

 

While the lead pair battled all the way, there was plenty of action throughout the pack with Missouri's Jesse Hockett providing his share of fireworks by riding the cushion from the 21st starting slot to snare third in Jim Massey's second entry, the Arizona Race Mart No. 2az DRC.

 

Racing through the field with Hockett was R.J. Johnson, who used the low line to advance from 15th to fourth in the Weiler Farms No. 15.

 

After cutting down a tire in the early laps, current ASCS Canyon Region points leader Jeremy Sherman charged from the tail of the field to round out the top five in Fred Bryan's F&E Development No. 77 Maxim.

 

Casey Shuman snared sixth, with Chad Boat, 20th-starter Bill Rose, Mike Leslie and Mike Martin completing the top ten.  Martin raced from the 13th row after utilizing a promoter's option for the main event.

 

Nathan High, Jerry Coons, Jr., Shuman, Michael Bonneau and Jeremy Reagles topped heat race action, with Seainn Hendricsen, Shuman, Leslie, Johnson and Bret Mellenberndt winning the qualifying races.

 

Bobby Marcum and Bill Rose topped "B" Main action.

 

Parker Store ASCS Western World Championship Saturday Results from Manzanita Speedway:

 

Locked in From Friday's Feature:  50-Charles Davis, Jr., 77-Jeremy Sherman, 97x-Jon Stanbrough, 21-Cory Kruseman. 

 

Heats & Qualifiers (Top 14 in Combined Passing Points to "A" Main; Balance to Twin "B" Mains):

 

Heat One (8 Laps):  1. 0-Nathan High, 2. 30T-Jimmy Crawford, 3. 25-Jesse Dunham, 4. 85-Bobby Marcum, 5. 6-Bryan Swinehart, 6. 15-R.J. Johnson, 7. 5h-Dennis Krob, 8. F2-L.C. Kesterson.

 

Heat Two (8 Laps):  1. 17az-Jerry Coons, Jr., 2. 52-Josh Pelkey, 3. 34-Robert Ballou, 4. 62-Shon Deskins, 5. 2az-Jesse Hockett, 6. 611-Bill Rose, 7. 20L-James Aragon, 8. 48-Thomas Ogle, 9. 16-Mike Martin.

 

Heat Three (8 Laps):  1. 12b-Casey Shuman, 2. 61-Justin Fisher, 3. 76-Mike Leslie, 4. 26az-Bobby Taylor, 5. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 6. 51-Rusty Carlile, 7. 5x-Jody Wirth, 8. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 9. 74-Derek Williams.

 

Heat Four (8 Laps):  1. 29-Michael Bonneau, 2. 8-Bob Ream, Jr., 3. 30-Chad Boat, 4. 14-Bernie Smith, 5. 12-Jeff Henry, 6. 611x-Bo Baker, 7. 7x-Adam Wirth, 8. 45-Kevin Wolfe, 9. 7k-Bruce St. James.

 

Heat Five (8 Laps):  1. 44-Jeremy Reagles, 2. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 3. 33-Rick Ziehl, 4. 7-Chris Beal, 5. 32az-Matt Rossi, 6. 97x-Bret Mellenberndt, 7. 97-Brandon Lane, 8. 71-Scott Pasmore, 9. 55-Tony Everhart.

 

First Qualifier (8 Laps):  1. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 2. 52-Josh Pelkey, 3. 33-Rick Ziehl, 4. 34-Robert Ballou, 5. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 6. 14-Bernie Smith, 7. 7-Chris Beal, 8. 97-Brandon Lane.  DNS: F2-L.C. Kesterson.

 

Second Qualifier (8 Laps):  1. 12b-Casey Shuman, 2. 2az-Jesse Hockett, 3. 16-Mike Martin, 4. 44-Jeremy Reagles, 5. 85-Bobby Marcum, 6. 61-Justin Fisher, 7. 5h-Dennis Krob.  DNS: 32az-Matt Rossi, 94-Ronnie Clark.

 

Third Qualifier (8 Laps):  1. 76-Mike Leslie, 2. 12-Jeff Henry, 3. 51-Rusty Carlile, 4. 0-Nathan High, 5. 29-Michael Bonneau, 6. 6-Bryan Swinehart, 7. 20L-James Aragon, 8. 48-Thomas Ogle, 9. 74-Derek Williams.

 

Fourth Qualifier (8 Laps):  1. 15-R.J. Johnson, 2. 30T-Jimmy Crawford, 3. 30-Chad Boat, 4. 62-Shon Deskins, 5. 611x-Bo Baker, 6. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 7. 5x-Jody Wirth, 8. 45-Kevin Wolfe, 9. 7k-Bruce St. James.

 

Fifth Qualifier (8 Laps):  1. 97x-Bret Mellenberndt, 2. 611-Bill Rose, 3. 17az-Jerry Coons, Jr., 4. 8-Bob Ream, Jr., 5. 26az-Bobby Taylor, 6. 25-Jesse Dunham, 7. 7x-Adam Wirth, 8. 71-Scott Pasmore.  DNS: 55-Tony Everhart.

 

Twin "B" Mains (Top 3 From Each to "A" Main):

 

First "B" Main (12 Laps):  1. 85-Bobby Marcum, 2. 2az-Jesse Hockett, 3. 97x-Bret Mellenberndt, 4. 16-Mike Martin, 5. 26az-Bobby Taylor, 6. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 7. 29-Michael Bonneau, 8. 611x-Bo Baker, 9. 51-Rusty Carlile, 10. 97-Brandon Lane, 11. 20L-James Aragon, 12. 45-Kevin Wolfe, 13. 7x-Adam Wirth, 14. F2-L.C. Kesterson, 15. 7k-Bruce St. James.  DNS: 94-Ronnie Clark.

 

Second "B" Main (12 Laps):  1. 611-Bill Rose, 2. 14-Bernie Smith, 3. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 4. 6-Bryan Swinehart, 5. 62-Shon Deskins, 6. 25-Jesse Dunham, 7. 48-Thomas Ogle, 8. 74-Derek Williams, 9. 7-Chris Beal, 10. 5h-Dennis Krob, 11. 71-Scott Pasmore, 12. 5x-Jody Wirth, 13. 61-Justin Fisher.  DNS: 32az-Matt Rossi, 55-Tony Everhart.

 

Parker Store ASCS Western World Championship "A" Main Event:

 

"A" Feature (30 Laps):  1. 21-Cory Kruseman, 2. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 3. 2az-Jesse Hockett, 4. 15-R.J. Johnson, 5. 77-Jeremy Sherman, 6. 12b-Casey Shuman, 7. 30-Chad Boat, 8. 611-Bill Rose, 9. 76-Mike Leslie, 10. 16-Mike Martin, 11. 0-Nathan High, 12. 33-Rick Ziehl, 13. 52-Josh Pelkey, 14. 8-Bob Ream, Jr., 15. 85-Bobby Marcum, 16. 12-Jeff Henry, 17. 6-Bryan Swinehart, 18. 30T-Jimmy Crawford, 19. 14-Bernie Smith, 20. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 21. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 22. 17az-Jerry Coons, Jr. 23. 97az-Jon Stanbrough, 24. 97x-Bret Mellenberndt, 25. 44-Jeremy Reagles, 26. 34-Robert Ballou (DNS).

 

Note: Mike Martin and Bryan Swinehart were awarded promoter's options to start the main event.

 

ASCS Canyon Region Points (Top Ten):  1. Jeremy Sherman 2,587, 2. Charles Davis, Jr. 2,446, 3. Mike Leslie 2,350, 4. Bob Ream, Jr., 2,336, 5. Josh Pelkey 2,292, 6. Seainn Hendricsen 2,173, 7. Shon Deskins 2,161, 8. Bernie Smith 2,155, 9. Andrew Reinbold 2,117, 10. Mike Martin 2,090.

CONCORD, N.C. - Jeff Gordon, driving the No. 24 DuPont Chevy out of Hendrick Motorsports' stables, won the Bank of America 500 race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The race was slowed by fifteen cautions, including a red flag, most of them for spins and crashes off of the fourth turn. Clint Bowyer finished second, then Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards completed the top five.

CONCORD, N.C. – The Bank of America 500 didn’t get one lap on the chart under green before David Reutimann slid high in the third turn and brought out a caution on the first lap, putting the race under caution immediately. A fairly short caution ensued, with Ryan Newman leading Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Bobby Labonte and Kurt Busch to the restart.

On the race start, Dale Earnhardt Jr. jumped to the outside, only inches off the wall, and passed at least two rows in front of him. He continued to run the high line on the restart, still passing cars.

McMurray moved up almost even with Newman, racing a lower line than Newman and eventually making the pass on the tenth lap, as Jimmie Johnson moved up to challenge Newman for second, taking the position a lap later. Just three turns later, Newman’s teammate, Kurt Busch, passed for third. Newman is reporting on his radio that the car is very loose entering the turns.

Not many more laps passed before McMurray yielded the lead to Johnson, steadily opening the lead over McMurray and Busch. The second caution of the race came out on lap 20 when David Ragan slammed into the wall in Turn One, mangling the right-front corner of the No. 6 car after Bryan Clauson moved outside of him and Ragan moved up, pivoting the No. 6 Ford into the wall. “We were backing up a little bit,” reported Ragan. Our AAA Ford was a little free and you’re just trying to bide time waiting for the first caution and we’re very disappointed to be the first caution.

“I guess the 41 (Sorenson) had a good run on the outside. I didn’t know he was there, just pinched him up into the wall. I really feel bad to hurt his day,” concluded the rookie.

Jimmie Johnson won the race on pit road, followed by Newman, McMurray, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch. Kyle Petty and Robby Gordon stayed out on the track during the caution, leading the pack to the green but Petty dropped to fourth on the first lap, then McMurray got around Gordon on the next lap.

Kevin Harvick pitted on lap 31, complaining of a flat right-side tire and going a lap down to the leaders. He continued to have the problems, pitted again and the crew discovered a flat left-rear tire. He’s shown as four laps down to the leader, as Jimmie Johnson now leads.

At the 65-lap mark, Johnson continues to lead Kurt Busch, followed by Clint Bowyer, McMurray and Matt Kenseth. Earnhardt has been running an extremely high line in the turns, looking more like the old days of Harry Gant’s high lines on the old track. The caution came out on lap 66 when Reed Sorenson, also running a high groove, had his right front tire blow, sliding the car into the wall and flattening the entire right side. All the leaders stop now for fuel and four tires. Kurt Busch led the pack off of pit road, with Kenseth next, Johnson, Bowyer and Kyle Busch. Dave Blaney stayed on the track to lead and earn points, but Jeff Green was just in front of him but nearly a full lap down. For the restart, Green dropped down to the inside lane, a lap down.

On the restart, Kurt Busch leaped out to the lead, followed by Kenseth, Johnson, Bowyer and the younger Busch brother. Kenseth wasted no time in diving low and getting around Busch for the lead, but Kenseth has already suffered from an alternator problem, requiring that he switch to a backup battery, via a dashboard switch. The team hopes that the second battery will last long enough

In Turn Four, Tony Raines pivoted around and backed into the outside wall, bringing out the race’s fourth caution. Yet another round of pit stops follows, with Tony Stewart, among other drivers, complaining of a tight-handling car. During this caution, the crew on Greg Biffle’s No. 16 3M Ford adjusted the rear axle forward slightly, hoping the change makes the handling more to the driver’s preference.

Earnhardt tried a low line in one turn but Jeff Gordon tapped the No. 8 car, causing a slight bobble and dropping the leader of the “Red Nation” back a spot to eighth. At 90 laps out of the 334 scheduled, the top ten are: Johnson, Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt, Labonte, Gilliland and Newman.

Debris on the track off of Johnny Sauter’s car caused the fifth caution, on lap 119, slowing the field with Johnson leading Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Kenseth and Bowyer. All the leaders pit, with Johnson’s crew adding a spring rubber to the rear end as he complains of a tight condition. Kenseth leads Kyle and then Kurt Busch off of pit road, then Earnhardt, Johnson Bowyer and Jeff Gordon. Gilliland, Hamlin and Burton finish the top ten under the caution. Kasey Kahne lined up at the head of the inside row for the restart after another four laps under yellow.

Robby Gordon’s No. 7 Ford caused the sixth caution of the race, coming on lap 136, when he spun in the high line of Turn Four, banging both sides of the car and scattering debris along the track.

Bowyer leads the race off pit road, gaining four spots, as Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Jeff Burton are the rest of the top five out of the pits. The caution lasted four laps, from lap 138 through lap 141. Bowyer led but Kurt Busch moved low and got around for the lead with Johnson close behind Bowyer for only a couple of laps before taking the position.

Tony Stewart’s crew has been working on the No. 20 Chevy, making only incremental changes and the last changes look like they have made the difference, as he has moved into sixth place, less than five seconds back of the leader. Johnson took the lead from Busch on lap 152, but Jeff Gordon is closing, moving around Earnhardt and Newman in the same lap to take seventh place, just behind Jeff Burton.

Matt Kenseth crashed out of 15th place on the start-finish line when the car spun out, possibly doe to a right-rear tire losing pressure. He backed down the track and then spun back up into the outside wall, smashing the rear end. Bowyer again beat the field off of pit road, this time with Bobby Labonte second, Mark Martin third, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton and Ryan Newman the first ten cars out of the pits. Labonte and Martin both took on two tires instead of all four.

On the restart, Labonte seemed able to hold pace with Bowyer at least for one lap, but then Bowyer pulled ahead to a lead of over a half second in just a couple of laps. At the halfway point in the race, the top ten were: Bowyer, Labonte, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, McMurray, Johnson, Stewart, Kyle Busch, Burton and Newman.

Elliott Sadler’s slam into the outside wall in his No. 19 Dodge brought out the eighth caution of the race, sending the leaders all to the pits, with teams all choosing different strategies. A fuel only stop by Tony Stewart’s crew may have backfired, with contact between his No. 20 Chevy and Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 Dodge denting the right front fender and knocking the front end alignment out. Stewart barely missed slamming into Paul Menard as the Home Depot car left his pit and the Menard’s car entered his. Stewart made several pit stops for adjustments during the caution and the green flew again on lap 180 with Bowyer leading Kyle Busch, McMurray, Kurt Busch and Johnson under the flag stand.

Yet another caution flew when Bill Elliott slammed the wall at lap 189, with Casey Mears following so closely that he drove into the wall. Kurt Busch, stopping in the first pit stall, took only fuel and then had his right-front fender clipped by Mark Martin as the No. 01 Chevy entered his pit stall. Jimmie Johnson led the charge under the green flag, followed by his car owner Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray after another four laps under caution.

Kurt Busch’s car is sparking at times possibly as a result of the damage in the pits. Earnhardt is still running very high, but is complaining about the car bottoming out the front springs in “coil bind” and sounding like Morse code.

Still another caution comes out for Michael Waltrip’s spin off of Turn Four. Matt Kenseth slowed in reaction and got slammed into by John Andretti, whose car ended up hitting the front straight wall and unable to continue. Andretti crawled out of the wrecked No. 49 Dodge and walked to the ambulance to be checked and released at the track’s medical center. “We had to pit again because we had a fender touching,” reported Andretti, “and we got p in the back. I didn’t even know the caution was out. I came wide open around the corner and there somebody was sitting, so at that point it was almost too late to miss anything. I feel really bad about hitting him, I don’t even know who it was it happened that fast.”

Jeff Gordon led Bowyer to the green, followed by Kyle Busch, McMurray and Gilliland. Kevin Harvick fought to stay inside Gordon and get one of his laps back but Gordon proved too strong and pulled ahead. Ricky Rudd, in the No. 88 Ford from Robert Yates’ shops, ran sixth at the restart, but soon got passed and dropped back in the top ten.

Matt Kenseth’s night took another turn for the worse, when, running as the car eligible for a free pass back onto the lead lap, he spun in Turn Two, crashing backwards into the wall and then flattening the right side bodywork against the wall on lap 223. The caution started on lap 224, ending with the green to start lap 228, as Bowyer led Scott Riggs, Newman, Jeff Gordon, McMurray and the rest down to the green.

This green flag period lasted only a very brief time as Jimmie Johnson spun in Turn Two, tapping the right rear corner of the No. 48 Chevy against the outside wall before spinning down the back straight to bring out the twelfth caution of the race.

Bowyer, Riggs, Newman, Gordon, McMurray and Kurt Busch were the top half-dozen at the restart but Riggs battled side-by-side with Bowyer for the lead after he got the free pass on lap 77 to get back on the lead lap. The Bahama, N.C. native has stayed out of trouble since then. Riggs’ mount lacked the speed to keep position, as e dropped to seventh, nearly nine seconds back in the next 25 laps.

Jeff Gordon got around Bowyer to take the lead on lap 271, with Newman, then the Busch brothers in fourth and fifth, followed by Bobby Labonte, Riggs, McMurray, Burton and Martin Truex, newly in the top ten. McMurray led the first of the leaders down pit road, hoping that the track stays green long enough for the rest of the field to have to stop under green. Kurt Busch was next in, taking on fuel and four fresh tires,

Juan Pablo Montoya’s No. 42 car and the No. 10 of Scott Riggs, bring out the next caution with 55 laps to go. The replay showed that Montoya’s car suffered a blown right front tire, with the Colombian’s Dodge taking out Riggs’ car - the impact between the Havoline and the Valvoline cars.

Jeff Gordon and fellow Hendrick driver Kyle Busch had a drag race out of the pits, with Busch nipping Gordon by a scant couple of inches at the marker line at the exit of pit road. Ryan Newman held third at the restart, with Labonte fourth and Bowyer fifth. Friday night’s Busch Series winner Jeff Burton ran sixth, followed by Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex, Dave Blaney and Carl Edwards.

Busch led the field under the green flag with 51 laps left to run but just one lap later, Gordon swept low and around for the lead, increasing the lead steadily. Bowyer moved easily around Labonte, followed by Burton just a couple of turns later.

Bowyer wasted little time in getting around Newman for second, but Gordon, last week’s winner at Talladega, is consistently the fastest car on the track.

With 30 laps left to run, Gordon led Bowyer by over four and a half seconds, followed by Kyle Busch Newman, Hamlin, Burton, Labonte, Edwards, Blaney and Johnson in the top ten. The best race in the top of the field is between Bowyer and Busch, for second, with Busch finally getting second with a pass in the low line.

With twenty laps to run, the order is Gordon, Busch, Bowyer, Newman, Hamlin, Burton, Labonte, Johnson, Edwards and Blaney. Three of the top ten drivers are in cars out of the Hendrick shops, just a couple of miles from the track’s front gate.

With 13 laps to run, Bobby Labonte pulled into the pits, Jeff Green slowed, streaming smoke and Johnny Sauter spun, bringing out another caution to tighten up the field. Later video replays show fluids coming out of the No. 66 Green car. NASCAR threw the red flag, stopping the field on the back straight, with ten laps to run, allowing the track’s cleanup crew to do a more thorough job of absorbing the oil and fluids. The restart will be single-file, with Gordon, Busch, Bowyer, Newman, Burton, Johnson, Edwards, Truex, Blaney and Rudd in the top ten positions as the field await the restart.

The field has restarted after the red flag, with owner Rick Hendrick telling his teams “no wrecks” over the team radio. Twenty cars are shown on the lead lap. As the field pass pit in, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kurt Busch and more all pit for new tires and adjustments. Earnhardt’s car looks more like a car from Darlington in the 60s, with the entire right side scraped and flattened.

Gordon led the field around the track behind the pace truck with 21 cars in the lead lap. The single-file restart saw five laps left with the field spreading out and Ryan Newman rocketing around everyone else on the high side as Gordon and Busch battled, with Bowyer tailing Gordon but Newman running out to a half-second lead before spinning in turn two with a flat left front tire from smashing into the wall. Gordon reported that his car was sputtering and he slowed slightly on the restart, balking Busch and letting Newman around on the high side. Gordon and Busch ran the caution laps low on the apron of the track, hoping to stretch their fuel to the end as the field approach the single green-white-checker restart for the finish of the race. (This is the fifth green-white-checker finish of the 2007 season.)

As the pace truck pulls off, Gordon led the field to the green flag and Bowyer almost tapped him, Gordon getting a better restart than the last time. Gordon dropped to the bottom of the track, approaching the white flag and pulling ahead by three-tenths of a second. Gordon finished his first race here at LMS in three years with a victory over Bowyer, Busch, Burton, Edwards, Blaney, Stewart, Kahne, Stremme and Waltrip.

“It’s a great win and I’m just glad it’s over,” said winning team owner Rick Hendrick.

“I’m fired up about this,” said Gordon after the race. “I mean, I was fired up last week. Now because this is the final, last duel, and this week, it’s Charlotte…. It hasn’t been since ’99 that we’ve won, and just all the different obstacles that we had to overcome tonight, it really truly made this one very, very special.”



Unofficial Finish, Bank of America 500:
Fin, St, Driver, Car, Pts/Bns, Laps, Status
 1,  4, Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, 190/5, 337, Running
 2, 25, Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet, 175/5, 337, Running
 3, 13, Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet, 170/5, 337, Running
 4, 27, Jeff Burton, No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet, 160/0, 337, Running
 5, 18, Carl Edwards, No. 99 Office Depot Ford, 155/0, 337, Running
 6, 34, Dave Blaney, No. 22 Caterpillar/ CatUsed.com Toyota, 155/5, 337, Running
 7, 29, Tony Stewart, No. 20 The Home Depot Chevrolet, 146/0, 337, Running
 8,  5, Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Mopar/Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, 142/0, 337, Running
 9, 28, David Stremme, No. 40 Target Dodge, 138/0, 337, Running
10, 19, Michael Waltrip, No. 55 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, 139/5, 337, Running
11, 33, Ricky Rudd, No. 88 Snickers Ford, 130/0, 337, Running
12,  3, Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Cheerios Racing/Pink for the Cure Dodge, 127/0, 337, Running
13, 39, J.J. Yeley, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, 124/0, 337, Running
14,  2, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, 131/10, 337, Running
15, 30, A.J. Allmendinger *, No. 84 Red Bull Toyota, 118/0, 337, Running
16, 12, Mark Martin, No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet, 115/0, 337, Running
17, 32, Martin Truex Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet, 112/0, 337, Running
18, 42, Kyle Petty, No. 45 Tire Kingdom Dodge, 114/5, 337, Running
19, 22, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet, 106/0, 337, Running
20, 11, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Kinko's Chevrolet, 103/0, 337, Running
21,  9, Casey Mears, No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet, 100/0, 336, Running
22, 17, Paul Menard *, No. 15 Rain-X/Menards Chevrolet, 97/0, 336, Running
23, 23, Johnny Sauter, No. 70 Yellow Trans. Chevrolet, 94/0, 336, Off Track
24,  6, Jamie McMurray, No. 26 Crown Royal Ford, 96/5, 336, Running
25, 21, David Gilliland, No. 38 M&M's/Susan G Komen for the Cure Ford, 88/0, 335, Running
26,  8, Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, 90/5, 335, Running
27, 10, Greg Biffle, No. 16 3M Ford, 82/0, 334, Running
28,  1, Ryan Newman, No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge, 84/5, 334, Running
29, 20, David Reutimann *, No. 00 Dominos.com Toyota, 76/0, 333, Running
30, 26, Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Fujifilm Dodge, 73/0, 333, Running
31, 41, Tony Raines, No. 96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet, 70/0, 331, Running
32, 37, Jeff Green, No. 66 Best Buy/Garmin Chevrolet, 67/0, 330, Running
33, 24, Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet, 64/0, 330, Running
34,  7, Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Carhartt for Women Ford, 66/5, 283, Running
35, 35, Bill Elliott, No. 21 Ore-Ida Extra Crispy/Heinz Ford, 58/0, 282, Running
36, 14, Scott Riggs, No. 10 Stanley Tools/Valvoline Dodge, 55/0, 279, Out of Race
37, 36, Juan Montoya *, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge, 52/0, 274, Out of Race
38, 40, Robby Gordon, No. 7 Motorola Digital Audio Players Ford, 54/5, 270, Running
39, 38, Jeremy Mayfield, No. 36 360 OTC Toyota, 46/0, 254, Running
40, 31, David Ragan *, No. 6 AAA Ford, 43/0, 231, Running
41, 16, Elliott Sadler, No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, 40/0, 228, Off Track
42, 43, John Andretti, No. 49 Paralyzed Veterans of America Dodge, 37/0, 207, Out of Race
43, 15, Ward Burton, No. 4 Lucas Oil/State Water Heaters Chevrolet, 34/0, 84, Out of Race
*: Rookie