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Cody Morris, FORT COBB, OK (7-3-2011) - After being treated to a lightning fast opening night of Lucas Oil American Small Car Series at Dutton's Speedway, regional race fans once again congregated for a Sunday night finale to the Lucas Oil American Small Car Series Independence Day Showdown at Duttons Speedway.
With the skies seeming to threaten washout after heat race action and the wind shifting strongly out of the north, the skies would dry up along with the speedway clay. On a dry, but racy track surface a trio of regional mini sprint talents would take their first Lucas Oil American Small Car Series feature wins of the 2011 season.
After a runner up showing in Saturday night's preliminary action, 2009 Lucas Oil ASCS2 Outlaw Champion Kevin Bayer led the headlining 25 lap Lucas Oil ASCS2 Outlaw main event to its first green flag. It would be a lead the Bixby, Oklahoma native would never surrender.
Despite a couple of cautions early in the 25 lap main event, Bayer would blast away to nearly a full straightaway advantage in each restart, before ultimately claiming his first Lucas Oil ASCS2 Outlaw win of the 2011 campaign aboard the Factor One, Glazier Trucking, ARS Suspensions, and Fenton Graphics sponsored familiar red and white no. 91 Factor One machine.
On a racing surface with much rubber laid over the bottom third around the entire 1/6 track, Collinsville, Oklahoma's Layne Heimbaugh held down the 2nd spot until preliminary night winner Zach Alley nudged by at the halfway point of the event.
Unable to make serious assault on Bayer, Alley accepted runner up honors with Sapulpa, Oklahoma's reigning 2010 Lucas Oil ASCS2 Outlaw champion overcoming a rough preliminary night outing in making a late pass for the show position. Layne Heimbaugh and Will Harvey completed the top 5 running order.
Tyler Gordon and Blake Hahn took heat race wins over the 15 car Lucas Oil ASCS2 Outlaw field.
A Feature 1: Bayer, Kevin (91) 2: Alley, Zach (10) 3: Hahn, Blake (52) 4: Heimbaugh, Layne (94L) 5: Harvey, Will (2) 6: Hahn, Brandon (129) 7: Morton, Kade (8m) 8: Wiseley, Dalton (22) 9: Grissom, Cody (76) 10: Gordon, Tyler (8g) 11: Lewis, Harold (4) 12: Ramey, Kevin (7m) 13: Ward, Matt (51) 14: Venable, Brent (91)
Per usual, the Lucas Oil ASCS2 Non Wing division had plenty of tenacious action, although few could have predicted the finish to come. A winner in preliminary night Non Wing action, Oklahoma City's Shelby Byrd led the field to the start of the 25 lap Lucas Oil ASCS2 Non Wing main event.
Byrd led the first lap before local Anadarko, Oklahoma favorite and fellow front starter Brent Venables seized command. In customary fashion of caution free racing, Venables steadily built a sizeable lead, keeping the tight battles well in his rear.
Jim Woods advanced into the 2nd spot as Byrd began to falter. Woods began chipping away at Venables' once sizeable lead until beginning his challenge for the point with 5 laps remaining. However, this particular Lucas Oil ASCS2 Non Wing feature event held its' suprise nearly to the end.
With Woods catching Venables and both running the bottom groove of the 1/6 mile oval, Moore, Oklahoma's Derrick McBride had found a flawless line for his orange and blue 98 Wildcat Express machine.
Starting 12th in the Non Wing main event, McBride disposed of a handful of cars early in advancing to the fifth position halfway into the 25 lap affair and battling by Byrd and Dalton Terrell to the third position with 5 laps remaining.
As the lead pair of Venables and Woods began their battle well ahead of the field, McBride gracefully put his machine into a higher line few had any success with up to that point of the event. The lively crowd watched Woods' try to pry Venables off the bottom groove, but with an eye slanted on McBride's barnstorming charge to join them.
Any onlooker could easily see McBride's advance, but it appeared the distance was too great to make in five laps. In one of the most impressive Lucas Oil Non Wing runs of the 2011 season, Derrick McBride quite literally took it up a notch, thrilling race fans with a phenomenal late push for the lead.
As the flagman showed two laps remaining, McBride blazed to the high side and picked off both Woods and Venables coming out of turn 4. The 23 year old Moore, Oklahoma native never relented, advancing under green flag action from his outside sixth row starting position to take his first career Lucas Oil ASCS2 Non Wing feature victory aboard the orange and blue no. 98 Wildcat Express Machine with special thanks to Robert and Debbie McBride.
An avid weekly supporter of Duttons Speedway, McBride's extremely impressive effort looks to turn heads in his quest to attain the sponsorship required to take his talent to racetracks across the region.
Anadarko's seasoned Non Wing veteran Brent Venables ultimately held off the Wood's challenge, having led 22 laps en route to his runner up finish with Woods claiming show position rights. Dalton Terrell crossed the stripe 4th with Oklahoma City's Trey Marcham completing the top 5 running order.
Marcham and Lone Star native Taylor Smitherman took heat race honors over the 20 car Lucas Oil ASCS2 Non Wing field.
A Feature 1: McBride, Derrick (98) 2: Venable, Brent (91) 3: Woods, Jim (83) 4: Terrell, Dalton (19T) 5: Marcham, Trey (321) 6: Skaggs, Kyle (16) 7: Keeler, Kyle (27) 8: Byrd, Shelby (5) 9: Smitherman, Taylor (21) 10: Robb, Gage (12) 11: Ramey, Kevin (7) 12: Dodson, Cord (7) 13: Roan, Johnathan (76R) 14: Alley, Zach (102) 15: Honkomp, T.J. (76H) 16: Hedrisk, Kyle (03) 17: Ward, Matt (51) 18: Berkley, Kirk (01) 19: Shebester, Steven (82)
The 20 lap Lucas Oil ASCS2 Restricted main event would also feature a first time Lucas Oil ASCS2 main event winner. Oklahoma City's Layden Pearson led a highly talented field of young talent to the start of the 20 lap Lucas Oil ASCS2 Restricted main event.
Battling thru 7 caution flag stoppages, fended off varies assaults from Colton Wisely, Austin Shores, and Chance Morton. The latest of which would test the 11 year old Pearson to the limit.
While Pearson led firmly since the start of the affair, Coweta, Oklahoma's current Lucas Oil ASCS2 Restricted point leader Chance Morton began his advance from the seventh starting spot and looking for his third consecutive Lucas Oil ASCS2 Restricted main event victory.
Morton would catch Pearson with 4 laps remaining and offer a persistent challenge to get underneath Pearson over the final two laps, but Pearson was equal to the tall task and battled back a final Morton assault en route to the first Lucas Oil ASCS2 Restricted main event win of his young career aboard the Select Coatings, Airways CP, Outlaw Wings, and Awesome Racewear sponsored no. 11 machine.
As Morton's bid ended in a runner up result, Atoka's Austin Shores continued his consistency with a third place finish. Nearby for Duttons Speedway location, Cyril native Cord Dodson crossed the stripe fourth with Lone Star native Dylan Fox completing the top 5 running order.
Colton Wisely, Dylan Fox, and Garron Brimmer each took heat race honors over the 21 car Lucas Oil ASCS2 Restricted field.
A Feature 1: Pearson, Layden (11) 2: Morton, Chance (7m) 3: Shores, Austin (8) 4: Dodson, Cord (7) 5: Keeler, Kyle (27) 6: Chandler, Grady (00) 7: Fox, Dylan (127) 8: Padgett, Ryan (898) 9: Harvey, Lyndon (99H) 10: Kinnison, Christian (82) 11: Boggs, Brandon (2B) 12: Davis, Logan (14) 13: Dromgoole, Aaron (P40) 14: McGuire, Mason (18) 15: Ball, Jay (2x) 16: Ramey, McKenzie (17m) 17: Lawrence, Zane (76) 18: Wiseley, Colton (20) 19: Wiseley, Brendon (21) 20: Brimmer, Garron (3)
The Lucas Oil American Small Car Series would like to extend the warmest thanks to Duttons Speedway for their outstanding efforts in hosting the Independence Day Special, as well as to the great support of regional racing teams and race fans. A polite nod could be given to mother nature as well, as this event was assaulted by rain each of the last two years.
The Lucas Oil American Small Car Series will fire back into action with a highly anticipated weekend of action at Tulsa, Oklahoma's famed Port City Raceway on July 22nd and 23rd.
For more information or updates regarding the Lucas Oil American Small Car Series, stay tuned to www.ascs2racing.com or contact ASCS Headquarters at 918.838.3777
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