6/20/2024
Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Speedway Spotlight: Sheets having a season worth dancing about in USRA B-Mods
WHEATLAND, MO. (June 20, 2024) - Not much is keeping Jon Sheets away from victory lane in the USRA B-Mod division this season as the Nevada driver has eight feature victories at seven different tracks.
Sheets' latest came last Saturday at Lucas Oil Speedway when not even a mid-race mishap courtesy of a lapped car, which resulted in major body damage to Sheets' machine, could stop him from driving to the latest Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mod triumph.
That meant another dancing celebration for Sheets - at least digitally. Videos of Sheets or another crew member - or in the latest case Sheets and father-in-law Kevin Morrow - have become popular on the Reels portion of the Morrow Sheets Facebook page.
Despite being encouraged by flagman/victory lane interviewer Mike Striegel, Sheets declined to dance in real time.
"That is 110 percent my wife (Kayla)," Sheets said of the creative video work. "She made the first one for our crew guy, 'Bub.' He works his butt off for us in the shop every week. I’d hate to know the number of tires he always has done this year.
"We were having fun with him and it got a lot of feedback and she’s kept it going. It’s a pretty cool little deal. People talk about it any way. It’s all in fun. We like to keep it light and have a good time."
Sheets looks to put his dancing shoes on again Saturday night when it's Ozarks Food Harvest Food Drive Night at the Races at Lucas Oil Speedway. Fans bringing four non-perishable food items will be admitted free.
Racing action resumes on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Speedway with the O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock cars headlining the Big Adventure RV Weekly Championship Series program, running a 25-lap, $750-to-win feature. Fans also have a chance to help those in need at the annual Ozarks Food Harvest Food Driver Night at the Races. Those bringing four non-perishable food items to the front gate will be admitted free to the grandstands.
Sheets credits a good race car for much of his success. He's driving a new J2 chassis with just eight nights of action on it after selling the J2 he began the season in to Jake Richards. He began driving a J2 midway through the 2022 season and has found big success ever since.
“Right when I got one mid-year the first year they started building them, it was kind of an instant success," Sheets said. "We won like our third week in with it and kind of kept momentum the whole time and never really hit a slump."
After eight feature victories in 2023, Sheets is on pace to surpass that this season.
“It's just a well-balanced car with a lot of good minds behind it with Kris (Jackson) and Tony (Jackson Jr.). Kris’ track record at Lucas isn’t bad and when you have somebody with his experience giving you advice and helping you keep things tuned in, it never hurts anything."
It almost didn't matter how good the car was last weekend when Sheets made heavy contact from a slowing car. He was able to keep it rolling to avoid having to restart at the rear of the field and maintained his lead the rest of the way.
"We got back in the shop and surprisingly enough, it wasn’t too bad on bent parts," Sheets said. "The body was awfully tore up. After that caution, I couldn’t stick the right rear quite like I could before. I credit a lot of that to the body damage. As much as people don’t think so, I think aero (aerodynamics) plays a pretty good role into these things any more.
"But for the most part, we got out of there pretty lucky because that could have gone disastrous for us pretty quick.
Sheets, 30, is in his 17th year of racing after his dad, Monte, got him a Street Stock as a 13-year-old. He soon moved into Modifieds and, other than a brief stint in a ULMA Late Model in 2015, he's become known as one of the area's top B-Mod drivers.
"I really liked driving them," Sheets said of the Late Model, "but at that time having two cars really wasn’t working. We dropped back to what we knew, which was the Modified and have been there ever since."
Sheets hopes there are more trip to victory lane - and more dancing videos - to come. There's nothing like positive attention to boost morale and increase sponsors' profiles.
“There’s a lot of people that help us," Sheets said. "Any sort of spotlight that we can put on the team which brings attention to our sponsors, that’s big. Without them we couldn’t get up and down the road."
Team sponsors include J2 Race Cars by MSR, Eagle Machine, Reed Environmental, Elite Auto Complex LLC, Herren Construction, Wosoba Trucking LLC, Klingaman Fencing, Nevada Westside Laundry, Signature Event Rentals and Coordinating, Morrow Show Steers, Ricketts Southside Plaza, Allen's Automotive Inc., and RCR Designs.
Pit gates open at 4 p.m. Saturday, with grandstand gates open at 4:30, hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.
Youngsters can sign up before 5 p.m. at the RCR Designs Jr. Fan Club for a chance to join a golf cart pit tour led by flagman Mike Striegel where they will meet drivers and collect autographs.
Saturday admission:
Advance Discount Tickets online only (13 and up) - $12
Adults (13 and up) - $15
Seniors/Military (62-and-over) - $12
Youth (ages 6-12) - $5
Kids - (5 and under) - FREE
Family pass - $35
Pit pass - $35
*Grandstand admittance free with four non-perishable food items
For ticket information on any Lucas Oil Speedway event, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or via email at nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com.
CONTACT:
Danny Lorton
Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager
Office: (417) 282-5984
DLorton@lucasoilspeedway.com
?Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate, this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience.
For ticket and camping information and everything about the Show-Me 100 event, visit www.LucasOilSpeedway.com for all the information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.
In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on X, clicking "Like" at www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway
Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and schedules can be found by visiting LucasOilSpeedway.com.
About Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top five racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Missouri, approximately an hour from Springfield, Missouri, and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" lives up to its title.
Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the 12th season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, "Lake Lucas." New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring a host of regional events.
Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, POWRi Midget National Series, Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, United States Modified Touring Series, ASCS Sprint Cars and the Lucas Oil MLRA.
In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Racing Series features the Late Models, USRA Modifieds, USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods.
2024 Official Lucas Oil Speedway Marketing Partners
Arizona Sport Shirts
"The Official Merchandise Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Bill Roberts Chevrolet
"The Official Truck" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Dixie Chopper
"The Official Mowers of Lucas Oil Speedway"
General Tire
"The Official Tire" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Products
"The Official Oil" of Lucas Oil Speedway
MAVTV
"The Official Television Network" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper
"The Official Soft Drink" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Rugged Radios
"The Official 2-Way Communications Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Summit Racing Equipment
"The Official Sponsor" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Sunoco Race Fuels
"The Official Fuel" of Lucas Oil Speedway
2024 Lucas Oil Speedway Supporters Include:
AM Pyrotechnics, Alliance Sport Marketing, Arctic Food Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts, Berry Tractor and Equipment Co., Big Adventure RV, Bill Roberts Chevrolet, Bolivar Auto Sales & Detailing, Bolivar Farmers Exchange-MFA, Boone's BBQ Barn, Boubin Tire/American Racer, Bridal Cave, BWI Sanitation, Candlelight Creations-Dick's Wild Root Horseradish, Casey's, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, City Magnet, Clearlight Inn, Dixie Chopper, Eibach Springs, Farmers Insurance Agent Kristy Reynolds, Fast Shafts by Axle Exchange, Foley Equipment-Cat Rental Store, Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, Hermitage Lumber, HICKAMO Country Store, Hobbytime Motorsports, Iconic Apparel, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps, In the Garden of Eden, KC Bobcat, Kluhsman Racing Components, Kona Ice, Lucas Cattle Company, MD3, Midwest Sheet Metal, Miller Welding, Missouri Division of Tourism, MyRacePass, Nutrien Ag Solutions, OakStar Bank, O'Bannon Bank, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Ozark Golf Cars, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper, Ozarks Community Health Center, PEM, Pitts Homes, Pitts Realty, Pitts Cattle, Pomme de Terre Resort, Proboat, ProThings Apparel, RACEceiver, Racinboys.com, RacinDirt.com, Rains Ice Company, RCR Designs, Real Racing Wheels, Rod End Supply, Ron Jenkins Accounting & Tax Service, Rugged Radios, Ryan E. Murphy Law Firm LLC, SBU Athletics, Safety Kleen, Scott Furniture, Sidetrack RV Park, Simpson Racing Products, Southwest Electric Cooperative, State Tech, Stillwater Resort, Summit Racing Equipment, Sunoco Race Fuels, Turn 1 Bar & Grill, US Army Corps of Engineers-Pomme de Terre, Vietti Marketing Group, Wheatland Motel, White's Marine Center, Wieland, Wild Animal Safari, Woods Supermarkets.
Article Credit: By Lyndal Scranton, Lucas Oil Speedway
