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David Smith, Jr. NCRA Press Releases and Contingencies (405) 740-4769 Bruce Scores NCRA Sprint Victory at 81 Speedway FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 10, 2009 - Park City, Kansas - Hearing the need to change his line on the track, Tony Bruce, Jr. of Liberal, Kansas did that just in time Sunday night as he held off a hard charging Zach Chappell to pick up the O'Reilly/NCRA sprint car feature finale at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kansas. Bruce started third and drove underneath early race leader and pole sitter Chappell in turns three and four on lap two to take the lead and quickly stretched out to an eight car length lead. However his pace was slowed on lap three when Gavin Punch slowed to a stop at the top of turn two. On the restart, Bruce and his Maxim chassis pulled away from the field while behind him, Chappell and former series outlaw sprint car champion Terry Gray of Bartlett, Tennessee battled for the runner up spot. Garry Lee Maier and Jason Johnson also battled for position with the top five drivers using distinctive lines to keep their advantage on the track. Bruce, Chappell, Gray, Maier and Johnson all kept the top five positions to themselves the first seven laps of the event before the second caution fell when Aaron Berryhill spun to a stop in turn two. Two laps later a tangle between Steven Richardson and J.D. Johnson also brought a halt to the action. When the cautions decided to take a break, Bruce continued his lead up front but Chappell, aboard the Danny King owned #E85 Ethanol sponsored sprinter, used the cushion at top of the track to pull along side the leader several times. Gray kept to the bottom of the track to hold on to the third position but Johnson also found the top of the track to his liking to challenge for position. The top four showed their prowess over the rest of the field for six laps before the final caution fell on lap fifteen when 2008 series rookie of the year Koby Barksdale spun in turn two. Chappell tried the cushion to get around Bruce on the final restart but fell just a car length short for making the pass. Two laps later saw the leader move up the track in turns three and four, the same line Chappell had been using all race long. He found the line to his liking in the final laps and despite encountering lapped traffic with two laps to go, would hold on to take his second career NCRA victory and the early points lead after two events. "I thought I kept hearing somebody behind me and figured I needed to move up there," said a jubilant Bruce in victory lane. "I saw him (Chappell) a couple of times and really enjoy racing with him as he always races clean. I just had to move the car up there to block him." Chappell would hold on to second while ninth starting Johnson finally passed Gray late to finish third. Jack Dover used a late race charge from his twelfth starting position to round out the top five. Thirty-five drivers from six states took part in four, eight lap heat races which were won by Bruce, Mike Peters, Gray and Chappell. Aaron Berryhill and J.D. Johnson picked up the two, twelve lap "B" features. The next event for the O'Reilly/NCRA sprint car division will be the just added Monday night, May 25th Memorial Day event back at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kansas. Official 2009 NCRA Sprint Car Series Sponsors: O'Reilly Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tires, Sunoco Race Fuels, Cherokee Casino-Resort 2009 NCRA Sprint Car Contingencies: Brodix Cylinder Heads, Schoenfeld Headers, Maxim Chassis, Saldana Race Products, KSE Racing Products, QA1 Motorsports, The Brake Man, Rod End Supply, Outerwears Racing Accessories, Ultra-Shield Race Products, Racing Optics, Design 500, Taylor Cable Products, Vertex Magnetos, Design 500, Triple XXX Company, Arizona Sports Shirts, Winters Racing Products and Just Plugs --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 81 Speedway
Park City, Kansas
May 10, 2009
HEAT 1 - 1, Tony Bruce, Jr. 2, Stu Snyder. 3, Jason Johnson. 4, Andy Shouse. 5, Gavin Punch. 6, Luke Cranston. 7, Chad Corken. 8, Jake Martens. 9, Julee Jamison.
HEAT 2 - 1, Mike Peters. 2, Mike Chadd. 3, Marc Robe. 4, Aaron Berryhill. 5, Steven Richardson. 6, Jeff Stasa. 7, Kyle Merriman. 8, Jason Schroeder. 9, John O'Neal.
HEAT 3 - 1, Terry Gray.2, Garry Lee Maier. 3, Koby Barksdale. 4, A.J. Selenke. 5, Jon Freeman. 6, C.J. Johnson. 7, Kris Miller. 8, Corey Moore. 9, Roger Sundquist.
HEAT 4 - 1, Zach Chappell. 2, Brian Brown. 3, Jack Dover. 4, Patrick Stasa. 5, J.D. Johnson. 6, Scott Lehman. 7, Bob Schaeffer. 8, Rick England.
B FEATURE - 1, Aaron Berryhill. 2, Jon Freeman. 3, Gavin Punch. 4, C.J. Johnson. 5, Jake Martens. 6, A.J. Selenke. 7, Kyle Merriman. 8, Corey Moore. 9, Jeff Stasa. 10, Roger Sundquist. 11, Chad Corken.
B FEATURE - 1, J.D. Johnson. 2, Andy Shouse. 3, Patrick Stasa. 4, Bob Schaeffer. 5, Kris Miller. 6, Jason Schroeder. 7, Scott Lehman. 8, Luke Cranston. 9, Steven Richardson. 10, Rick England.
CHEROKEE CASINO-RESORT A FEATURE - 1, Tony Bruce, Jr. 2, Zach Chappell. 3, Jason Johnson. 4, Terry Gray. 5, Jack Dover. 6, Brian Brown. 7, Garry Lee Maier. 8, Aaron Berryhill. 9, Mike Chadd. 10, Andy Shouse. 11, Mike Peters. 12, Jon Freeman. 13, J.D. Johnson. 14, Stu Snyder. 15, Patrick Stasa. 16, Koby Barksdale. 17, Gavin Punch. 18, Bob Schaeffer. 19, Marc Robe. 20, C.J. Johnson.
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Current Point Standings after May 10, 2009: 1) Tony Bruce, Jr. 590 2) Zach Chappell 555 3) Mike Chadd 550 4) Mike Peters 545 5) Garry Lee Maier 540 6) Jon Freeman 500 7) Stuart Snyder, J.D. Johnson and Gavin Punch 495 10) J.D. Johnson 470
David Smith Jr.
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