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Five Take Honors, Two Stars Emerge in Red Dirt Nationals Prelim
Cody Morris I44 Riverside Speedway Public Relations Friday, March 21st, 2014 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Red Dirt Masters Trilogy / Event 1 of 6 The 2014 season is officially underway at Central Oklahoma’s crown jewel of racing as 110 entries packed the pits for I44 Riverside Speedway’s Red Dirt Nationals.... The inaugural event also ignited the Red Dirt Masters Trilogy, a half dozen sub-series composed of each of Riverside’s two day shows (Red Dirt Nationals, Mini Sprint Nationals in August, Twister Nationals in October). Fun fact - in the history of the speedway that dates back to 1999, this is the earliest a season has begun. Indeed, the first event I44 Riverside has ever featured in the month of March. That’s……Madness. Night One weather was splendid (for March in Oklahoma) as I44 Riverside proudly waived the first competitive green for open wheel racing in the entire Sooner State. Several hundred fans packed the terraces of Lawn Chair Alley / Roughneck Row to see 15 qualifying heat races and 2 consolation features, before five prelims could etch five names into that most special sort of eternity as first time winners of the inaugural running of what will now be I44 Riverside’s annual opener. And the history that unfolded held the perfect variety. IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL TEAMS - The top 4 in each class are locked into Saturday’s main event redraw. They will be joined by the top 2 in passing points from Saturday’s heat races. We will hot lap the lock in teams right after heat races. AS SOON AS YOU ARE DONE HOT LAPPING - GO TO THE TURN 3 LINEUP BOARD TO RE-DRAW. All teams in heat race competition check the lineup boards to see if you are in the redraw. The re-draw will take place after the lock ins for each class have finished hot lapping. For those running in heat races - the top two in passing points will be in the redraw. Check the lineup boards to see if you are in the redraw. If you are, come to the turn three lineup board to do the re-draw as soon as the lock ins in your class have finished hot lapping. We will address this again at length in the driver’s meeting. It essential that this process take as little time as possible as we will not be taking several short breaks with the chilly temps tomorrow. So our Saturday night running order will go as follows: Non Wing Heats Junior Sprint Heats Restricted Heats Turf Tire Heats A Class Heats ------- Lock in Hot laps (in same order as heats) AND REDRAW AT TURN 3 LINE UP BOARD AS LOCK INS ARE DONE HOT LAPPING (top two in passing points join the 4 lock ins for re-draw) Non Wing B Feature Junior Sprint A Feature A Class B Feature INTERMISSION ------- Non Wing A Feature Restricted A Feature Turf Tire A Feature A Class A Feature Red Dirt Nationals Night 1 Rundown NON WING The reigning A Class champ by way of Fletcher, Oklahoma; Blake Dacus shed his wing and following a 5th-to-1st heat race run, earned the pole position starting spot for the Red Dirt Nationals Non Wing Prelim. El Reno’s Josh Toho is also no stranger to success, a Riverside Non Wing champ in his own right with an extensive list of accolades. Following a Cody Carter spin on the opening try, Dacus out dueled Toho for the early point with Pauls Valley’s feared ace Steven Shebester firing up from 8th to press the lead duo. The second slowdown came after contact between Nick Rummel and Kyle Keeler ended with a yellow and a black flag for Rummel. The fight up front jumped up a notch on the ensuing restart, with Toho and Shebester hounding Dacus for the point in all four turns. Shebester and Toho swapped the two spot several times, with both pulling alongside Dacus several times, challenges Dacus desperately repelled for several circuits. With Dacus staying on the low groove and Toho hungry on the high side, Shebester tactfully maneuvered both high and low with predatory prowess, eagerly searching for the combination that would rocket the Tulsa Shootout titlist into the lead. A third yellow flew with 13 rounds completed and Shebester made his move out of the restart, dispatching both Toho and Dacus in succession and leading the 15th circuit. Caution flags four and five would help many in the field, but nary a challenger could be found to Shebester’s precise run to the Red Dirt Nationals history books, scoring prelim triumph for the MelMark Pipe & Supply, Select Coating, and I Race TV sponsored no. 82 Concept powered by Metric Cycles and earning automatic transfer into the Saturday night main event redraw. McCloud’s Chris Cochran recovered from a heat race flip to storm from deep in the B Feature to 2nd transfer. Cochran started 18th in the Non Wing Prelim and turned in a classic Hard Charger run to finish second. Dalton Terrell started fourth and fluctuated among the upper half of the pack before earning the fourth and final automatic transfer to Saturday night’s Red Dirt Nationals Non Wing main event redraw. Friday’s top four will be joined by the top two in Saturday’s heat race passing points - and the six pilots will redraw to set the first three rows for Saturday’s highly anticipated Red Dirt Nationals Non Wing title. Oklahoma City native, but coast to coast wheel man, Trey Marcham earned the first of four transfers out of the 12 lap Non Wing B Feature. Sterling Hoff, Blake Dacus, Josh Toho, and Josh Marcham each scored heat race wins over the 29 car field. “Non Wing” A Feature (20 laps - top 4 lock in to redraw): 1. 82 Steve Shebester (8); 2. 7c Chris Cochran (18); 3. 97 Dalton Terrel (4); 4. 39 Sterling Hoff (5); 5. 32 Trey Marcham (17); 6. 8 Josh Marcham (6); 7. 111 Kaley Engstrom (20); 8. 25w Tommy White (19); 9. 27k Kyle Keeler (13); 10. 12s Drew Salisbury (16); 11. 24L Caleb Lovelady (15); 12. 50 Shelby Burk (10); 13. 007 Cody Carter (3); 14. P51 Aaron Dromgoole (9); 15. 29 Blake Dacus (1); 16. 82c Christian Kinnison (11); 17. 55 Josh Toho (2); 18. 98 Derrick McBride (7); 19. 72k Rick Kirkes (14); DQ - Nick Rummel Lap Leaders: Dacus 1-14; Shebester 15-20 A CLASS Following his runner up finish without the wing, Chris Cochran donned the wing and earned the pole position starting spot for the 20 lap Red Dirt Nationals “A Class” prelim by virtue of a sensational qualifying run from 8th to first in the third winged 600 heat. To his outside was Windthorst, Texas’ Sterling Hoff. A runner up in both winged and non-winged 600 action last season at Riverside, Hoff has quickly joined the ranks of favorites anytime the Texan signs in. ASCS sprint cars will find this out soon enough as Hoff will also pilot the Ronnie Davis no. 25 in select ASCS regional events this season. It was Hoff in his 39 that powered into the early lead however, with Cochran and Shebester giving fast chase. 18 of 20 laps went caution free with Hoff setting a torrential pace through lapped traffic, maintaining a 4-8 car length advantage through the maelstrom. The first yellow dropped on the last lap as Anadarko’s up and comer Ryan Padgett spun to a stop, setting up a presumed green-white-checker two lap dash with Hoff leading Cochran, Shebester, Josh Toho, and Mansfield, Texan Christian Kinnison. The restart wreaked havoc to several hopes however. Not sure how it started, but a six car pileup knocked out five gassers, unfortunately putting an end to both Toho and Kinnison’s bid for a automatic lock ins to Saturdays Red Dirt Nationals A Class main event. The final restart also offered more surprise and delivered one hell of an ending to I44 Riverside’s opening night of 2014 action. Sterling Hoff had led all 18 laps to that point, he would not lead them all though. Chris Cochran turned an excellent restart into a turns 3 & 4 slider that netted the 7c the lap 19 lead. Hoff powered back under the 7c with the pair side by side traversing the back chute on the final round, with Hoff in possession of the preferred lower line. Likely realizing the bonzai slider would be ill advised for night 1 weekly pay, Cochran did not repeat the slider and Hoff hurried by to take the score by a thin margin aboard the Cothran Trucking, Cecil’s Machine Shop, Merrit Industries, and I Race Tv supported #39. Cochran followed in the runner up spot with Shebester earning the show position. Reigning “A Class” champion Blake Dacus advanced five spots to earn the 4th and final automatic lock in to Saturday’s main event redraw. Newcastle’s Derrick McBride earned the first of four transfer spots out of the 15 lap “A Class” B Feature with Shebester, Hoff, Cochran, and Ryan Padgett earning heat race nods over the 33 car field. “A CLASS” A Feature (20 laps - top 4 lock in to redraw): 1. 39 Sterling Hoff (2); 2. 7c Chris Cochran (1); 3. 82 Steven Shebester (4); 4. 29 Blake Dacus (9); 5. 27k Kyle Keeler (7); 6. 22 Teri Burk (6); 7. 24L Caleb Lovelady (13); 8. 22R Ryan Padgett (5); 9. 14H Darren Wisely (14); 10. 26 Preston Williams (18); 11. 72k Rick Kirkes (11); 12. 55 Josh Toho (3); 13. 82c Christian Kinnison (8); 14. 25s Bobby Springer (20); 15. 7s Todd Schwartz (16); 16. P40 Aaron Dromgoole (19); 17. 95 Michael Hall (12); 18. 16x Danny Davidson (10); 19. 17m Mike Motherly (15); DNS: Derrick McBride Lap Leaders: Sterling Hoff 1-18, 20; Chris Cochran 19 RESTRICTED Texas gasser Sarah Walls earned the pole position starting spot for the 20 lap Red Dirt Nationals Restricted prelim by virtue of a third-to-first run in the second Restricted heat. Starting to her outside was 918 rep Cole Roberts. Walls dropped dime early, leading the first five recorded laps before Ryan Anderson tumbled high atop the turn 4 exit. Walls led Roberts and Bixby’s Quinton Standlee exiting the restart, a top three that held until the halfway point when Standlee battled by Roberts and began pressing Walls’ for the lead. The Pride of Bixby North waited patiently in the wings for Walls to wobble, and such occurred soon after as the 11 year Bixby, Oklahoman held to his low line and moved into the lap 12 lead. Standlee encountered heavy lapped traffic with 5 round remaining, seemingly opening the door for Bethany’s Matt Moore and a 2nd chance for Walls. Such could raise the nerves of an 11 year old searching for his momentous and elusive first career win. But Standlee stood firm, turning a very strong run into a most unforgettable memory. Several times has Standlee earned runner ups and podiums, several times close. What a night to earn a first career win, at I44 Riverside’s Inaugural Red Dirt Nationals. That cool career first that not only emblazons Standlee into I44 Riverside history books as Inaugural Red Dirt Nationals prelim victor, but the southwest OKC 1/5th mile will forever be the site of Standlee’s first score of a career that will surely be chalk full of them. Oh yea, Standlee is also locked into the Saturday night Red Dirt Nationals “Restricted” main event redraw. Quinton Standlee’s first career score was earned with Daniel’s Body Shop, Raid Outfitters, Rachel Standlee Dentistry, MC Company, Morrs Electric, Standlee Home Renovations, and Storey Wrecker support, with Metric Cycles power, and aboard a Factor 1 Racing mount. Bethany’s Matt Moore earned the runner up spot with reigning Riverside Non Wing champ and dad Greg Moore turning wrenches. Sarah Walls repped the Lone Star State to a third place finish and Tulsa area gasser Cole Roberts snared the 4th and final lock in to the Saturday main event reshuffle. Moore, Walls, and Roberts also earned heat race scores over the 18 car field. Justin, Texas’ Noah Key completed the top 5 running order. Noah Key is powered by the Key 2 Victory just like www.i44riversidespeedway.com. Thanks to Scott Key for the awesome website and their support of I44 Riverside Speedway, especially since last year’s storm. Side story - after Kennedale Speedway Park terminated their weekly mini sprint effort, Scott Key and some pals put their passion for mini sprint racing together and formed the Texas Open Wheel Racing series (TOWR). Already they have a sensational first season planned and we are proud to feature the TOWR series not once, but twice this season! Both events will be a three way battle between the Tulsa based NOW600 series, the Texas based TOWR series, and our rowdy bunch from Riverside. The first will be on April 12th - also that night is our first of 9 POWRi West Midget events. It will be a Saturday night special you won’t want to miss. A rather shameless plug this paragraph was right? But hey, it’s some great racing coming up in just a few short weeks! “RESTRICTED” A Feature (20 laps - top 4 lock in to re-draw): 1. 95 Quinton Standlee (7); 2. 9 Matt Moore (3); 3. 51 Sarah Walls (1); 4. 3 Cole Roberts (2); 5. 14 Noah Key (5); 6. 3G Garron Brimmer (10); 7. 99 Nathan Rainey (8); 8. 86 Carson Wilson (9); 9. 82 Seth Shebester (6); 10. 13 Blake Scott (12); 11. 3s Steven Smith (15); 12. 00R Ryan Anderson (13); 13. 14H Haley Hollan (11); 14. 7 Justin Rogers (4); 15. 14D Logan Davis (16); 16. 57T Kyle Thompson (14); DNS: Kenzie Laplante, Zach Riley Lap Leaders: Sarah Walls 1-11; Quinton Standlee 12-20 JUNIOR SPRINTS How could this class not be a fan favorite? It’s Rainey-less as the two time defending champ Nathan Rainey has graduated to Restrictor action. Bridge Creek’s Christopher Wells certainly enters the season as the odds on favorite after he turned his first career win into 7 in a row late last season. But there is a slew of young contenders in this class and some new ones too. It’s great to see the Junior Sprint scene both in OKC and Tulsa. We really hope our Riverside locals traverse the turnpike to take on the Tulsa teams and vice versa when both mini sprint ovals are off in support of the other’s specials. Stars are emerging left and right in these ranks. When you consider the future of racing is in this class, we love the forecast. Amazing group of young athletes and supportive families in the Junior Sprints! Just a few years ago it was not uncommon to have just 4-5 entries in this class. The Red Dirt Nationals prelim now features the 11th consecutive outing the class has featured at least 12 entries. It’s an exciting growth and we strongly urge our young Juniors and their families to race as much as possible and share your experiences wide and far. Such a great group of Junior teams as we have in this state - a lot of young families would love to be involved! So Bridge Creek’s Chris Wells paced pole position with Lawton’s Dylan Pendergrass alongside, making for a Team Green front row in support of Jeramiah Green, whom we all missed tonight but can’t wait to race in honor of once more. Pendergrass moved into the early lead with Wells’ pressing at every chance. Tulsa area up and comer Shawn Mahaffey held third early ahead of another blossoming talent in Emme Johnson. Wells’ challenge was blunted as he exited turn 4 loose at the halfway point, allowing Johnson and Mahaffey to battle past. Jacob Long battled into the three spot shortly thereafter before disaster struck with three laps remaining. Connor Thompson spun to stop in turn three and both Johnson and Long were unable to avoid contact, resulting in hard contact and Long flipping several times. The trio of young pilots were unharmed, but Johnson and Long both had spectacular runs end early. Holleywood Hollan moved to first challenger to Pendergrass’ bid for his first career victory. Holleywood shadowed Dylan turn for turn, waiting to pounce on any slip. That slip never came as Lawton’s Dylan Pendergrass turned in a flawless run to earn his first career victory, a win Dylan dedicates to Jeramiah, while postponing a victory burnout until Champ can be trackside to enjoy it. Holleywood Hollan earned runner up rights aboard the 14H with Wells battling back up to the show position to lock in two for Team Green after some mid race woes. Calera’s Ryder Laplante advanced four spots to earn the fourth and final lock in to Saturday night’s Red Dirt Nationals Junior Sprint main event redraw. Holleywood Holley Hollan and Pendergrass each earned heat race wins over the 14 car field. “Junior Sprints” A Feature (15 laps - top 4 lock in to re-draw): 1. 22 Dylan Pendergrass (2); 2. 14H Holley Hollan (3); 3. 72 Christopher Wells (1); 4. 88R Ryder Laplante (6); 5. 9 Emilio Hoover (9); 6. 11 Shawn Mahaffey (4); 7. 28 Connor Thompson (8); 8. 1 Bryce Barnett (10); 9. 05c Jordan Williams (11); 10. 00 Preston Scheulen (12); 11. 12E Emme Johnson (5); 12. 007 Jacob Long (7); DNS: Reese Moran, Jack Hall Lap Leaders: Dylan Pendergrass 1-15 TURF TIRE Yukon’s Bobby Chapa paced pole position with what must have been a somewhat strange view of the mount he piloted to several wins in recent seasons’ alongside (driven by Mike Robertson). Chapa led the opening two laps before pulling to the infield with mechanical woes, handing the lead to Mustang’s Jeremy Morris. Morris moved out to nearly a full straightaway’s advantage over Robertson and El Reno’s Jeremy Penick. A two time Turf Tire champ at Dutton’s Speedway in Fort Cobb (RIP), Morris powered to his first win in nearly five years aboard the M&T Trucking and Meeks Diner no. 93. Robertson and Penick followed to fill the podium. Fletcher’s Phillip Giles advanced two spots to snare the fourth and final lock in to Saturday’s Red Dirt Nationals Turf Tire main event redraw. “Turf Tire” A Feature (15 laps - top 4 lock in to re-draw): 1. 93 Jeremy Morris (4); 2. 30 Mike Robertson (2); 3. 28 Jeremy Penick (5); 4. 14J Phillip Giles (6); 5. 28v Junior Vickman (8); 6. 14v Zach Van Zant (9); 7. 45 Sarah Hill (10); 8. 5m Scott Patraw (7); 9. 20x Dusty Devine (11); 10. 21 Josh Bigger (3); 11. C3 Bobby Chapa (1) Lap Leaders: Bobby Chapa 1-2; Jeremy Morris 3-15 So that wraps up the opening night to the Inuaugural Red Dirt Nationals and our first race of the season. An exiciting Saturday finale to the Red Dirt Nationals awaits. Lawn Chairs are a must until new stands go up next month, but please be strongly advised to have multiple layers handy for the Saturday night finale. Not the coldest race you will ever see, but still pretty chilly! Check out I44 Riverside Speedway on Facebook and at www.i44riversidespeedway.com for further details such as directions and ticket pricing. Saturday main event gates open at 4pm with hot laps at 6pm, followed immediately by a very important drivers meeting and the program goes live at 7pm. For live updates of the action - Like, and Follow the Oklahoma No Fender Network - our proud home of live racing action updates.
David Smith Jr.
www.oklahomatidbits.com
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