4/14/2014
Sprint Source
Blue River Classic Shatters I-44 Riverside Records
Hard to do it much bigger than I-44 Riverside Speedway did Saturday night. Gathering all 7 classes capable of racing to raise autism awareness and packing the venue on both sides of the fence.
Approximately 167 entries signed in to race in the Inaugural Blue River Classic headlined by the Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget Series.
-Lucas Oil POWRi West Midgets: 16
-Outlaw: 16
-A Class*: 44
-Non Wing*: 38
-Restricted*: 25
-Turf Tire: 16
-Junior Sprints: 12
*TOWR vs. Riverside vs. Now600 Oklahoma vs. Texas showdown
Built in 1999, I-44 Riverside Speedway has featured Saturday night open wheel action weekly for 15 years. At 167 entries, this was easily the biggest one day show in the history of I-44 Riverside. Several two day shows have amassed that number or higher, but never had there been a Saturday night solo like this.
This wasn’t just a race, it was a happening - as nearly 500 fans arrived eager to take in a show that took open wheel racing to a whole new level. A staggering number of loyal race fans considering all had to bring their own seating as I-44 Riverside boss Mark Banister and his crew continue their campaign to assemble the new grandstand structure.
Also on hand was a three way showdown between the Texas Open Wheel Racing Association, the Riverside natives, and the Tulsa-based Now600 in the A Class, Non Wing, and Restricted divisions. The Outlaw, Turf Tire, and Junior Sprints also amassed to deliver a thrilling show, as well.
Such a huge, landmark event for the speedway, our biggest since reopening after the May 20 tornado. Only real downfall of the evening was the damn windstorm and how it sealed the track over after hot laps. Seriously - Mark Banister sowed an extreme amount of moisture in it for the four days before the race, even another small pond on raceday - but against 30mph sustained winds gusting to 40+ that never ceased - track sealed over after hot laps. Mark took some equipment to it Sunday and found all that moisture still there after cutting just below the surface.
All the collective frowns over tire bills is likely equal to how Mark felt when the surface sealed over after spending so much time getting moisture sowed into it. After cutting into it Sunday and seeing all the moisture underneath, we all shook our heads. At the same time several hundred folks were still washing the dirt off just about everything. But, it’s spring time in Oklahoma. Do the best with what you can. Thanks to everyone who understands - and hey we had a heck of a show. It was a blessing to receive such support from our teams and to continue to meet our growing and expanding racing family. Forecast for next Saturday is much improved, too.
Before jumping in to the rundown, a few announcements.
The first - All four makeup features for the 13th Annual Ryan Craighead Memorial will be made up at the start of this week’s program (April 19th). The Non Wing division was halfway through their feature when the rains came back on April 5th. We will pick up where we left off halfway through that Non Wing A Main. The Restricted, Turf Tire, and A Class make ups will follow. Following a short break we will unleash full program of heats and features in all five weekly classes. All classes have established a point average so no more draws/passing points (finally!). Lineups for all four Ryan Craighead Memorial makeup features will be posted early this week on I-44 Riverside outlets.
So this is effectively a 5th consecutive special that boasts 9 “A” Features.
Saturday, April 26th will make it a cool half dozen as the Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget Series returns for their second of 9 outings at I-44 Riverside Speedway. Approx. 27 teams competed in the opening POWRi West standalone weekend. Attrition had a severe effect following the Friday night event, as 11 of the 24 were unable to make it River-side. Several new teams are expected as well, among them I-44 Riverside local racer and Anadarko native Ryan Padgett. We aim for a couple dozen Midgets in two weeks.
The second, while I-44 Riverside wishes the best for the Now600 Series, Now600 participation in the June 7th and September 6th Oklahoma vs. Texas events has been cancelled. Both events will still feature the Texas Open Wheel Racing series taking on the 405/580 native warriors.
And third and finally, this week’s practice has been moved to Wednesday, April 30. No practice this week folks, we have to get our loyal fans some stands! Thanks in advance for patience and understanding.
The official post race review of Saturday’s Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget event can be viewed at www.powri.com or on the POWRi West Facebook page.
On with the rundown of the remaining half dozen classes at I-44 Riverside’s Inaugural Blue River Classic.
OUTLAW
The Outlaw class was originally scheduled to compete in the Red Dirt Nationals, as they compete in each two day show at I-44 Riverside Speedway. However, as the lack of seating led to the cancellation of the Midget action that weekend, the Outlaw class was also picked off in the process.
So we were itching for some Outlaw action at I-44 Riverside Speedway. And despite some late week meddling - 16 entries from four states still checked in for the $500 to win special. Enough to consider the prospects for another Outlaw outing next month on May 10th. For it? Against it? Let us know!
Piedmont’s Grady Chandler started pole position with El Reno’s Josh Toho alongside after Mustang’s Bobby Springer elected to tag the tail of the field.
It took four attempts to get a lap in after spins by Layne Heimbaugh and Christian Kinnison pancaked the second scramble between Tulsans Ty Hulsey and Travis Harris.
But once underway, Chandler was gone. Slowed only by a second Heimbaugh spin on the 11th round, Chandler was a lit fuse in the MelMark Pipe & Supply #00, taking the $500 score ahead of 2013 Mini Sprint Nationals Outlaw winner Nate Fleming, who made the haul all the way from Great Bend, Kansas to race for autism awareness!
918 racer Travis Harris rebounded from sour luck at the start, tearing through the field to finish third with Jeff Frey moving the Rick Myers owned #15 up four spots to score fourth. El Reno’s Kyle Keeler finished as he started in the five spot.
Outlaw A Feature (20 laps): 1. 00 Grady Chandler (1); 2. 16 Nate Fleming (7); 3. 155 Travis Harris (4); 4. 15 Jeff Frey (8); 5. 27k Kyle Keeler (5); 6. 17 Harlan Hulsey (11); 7. 27 Tuckey Klaasmeyer (12); 8. 95 Michael Hall (10); 9. 82c Christian Kinnison (13); 10. 3 Cory Wiegart (9); 11. 29 Blake Dacus (10); 12. 9 Layne Heimbaugh (14); 13. 55 Josh Toho (2); 14. 21H Ty Hulsey (3); 15. 25s Bobby Springer (15); DNS: Matt Nelson
Lap Leaders: Grady Chandler 1-20
NON WING* Oklahoma vs. Texas Open Wheel Racing
38 Non Wing entries battled for passing points in four heat races, with a 8 car redraw reshuffling the top four rows.
Thus, Dalton Terrell paced pole position for the 20 lap main event with Trey Marcham alongside. Marcham gunned into an early lead he would never relinquish.
Marcham led Texan Sterling Hoff and Terrel for most of a race that almost ended quickly. A trio of stoppages marred the conclusion in the final few laps, most notably a horrifying incident where Garrett Olson exited turn 4 in a single file restart and was tagged from behind and stuffed into the front straightaway wall.
All personnel rushed to the scene to a very shaked Olson, who needed a few minutes to gain his footing. Thankfully Garrett was not as injured as his #44 ride.
The final restart had some major reshuffling, but not for the win - that belonged to Trey Marcham, who put the RD Marcham Energy baby blue #32 in victory lane for the first time in 2014.
Marcham was chased by Sterling Hoff with Dalton Terrel settling for third. Aaron Dromgoole has more experience at Riverside’s 1/5th mile than any Texan with the exception of Sterling Hoff, and he turned that seat time into fourth place finish after starting 9th at the opening.
Arlington, Texan Anton Hernandez made it three Lone Stars in the top five, also earning the backup Hard Charger effort moving from 15th to complete the top five finishing order. Hard Charger status went to Lawton’s Brandon Boggs - who scurried from 20th to finish 8th.
Tim Kent and Josh Toho each earned winning transfers into the main event via twin 12 lap B Features.
Non Wing B Feature #1 (12 laps top 2 advance): 1. 79 Tim Kent (11); 2. 51B Bailey Felkins (2); 3. 32k Cory Kelley (3); 4. 93 Greg Emetario Jr. (5); 5. 25w Tommy White (8); 6. 29 Blake Dacus (9); 7. 88 Tony Penick (7); 8. 58 Philip Fessler (4); 9. 15x Keith Martin (10); 10. 18 Dillon Laden (6); 11. 118 Scott Evans (1)
Lap Leaders: Scott Evans 1-4; Bailey Felkins 5-12
Non Wing B Feature #2 (12 laps top 2 advance): 1. 55 Josh Toho (1); 2. 2B Brandon Boggs (3); 3. 31c Jason Collins (2); 4. 82c Christian Kinnison (7); 5. 96R Jeff Rury (5); 6. 21 Eddy Middleton (9); 7. 03 Kyle Hedrick (8); DNS: 57d Blaine Denny, 1 Johnny B, 15 Morgan Roan, 72 Mark Rogers
Lap Leaders: Josh Toho 1-12
Non Wing A Feature (20 laps): 1. 32 Trey Marcham (2); 2. 39 Sterling Hoff (5); 3. 97 Dalton Terrell (1); 4. P51 Aaron Dromgoole (9); 5. 25 Anton Hernandez (15); 6. 12 Gage Robb (14); 7. 82 Steven Shebester (7); 8. 2B Brandon Boggs (20); 9. 98 Derrick McBride (6); 10. 51B Bailey Felkins (19); 11. 50 Shelby Burk (13); 12. 44 Garrett Olson (16); 13. 7C Chris Cochran (8); 14. 007 Cody Carter (3); 15. 2D Dustin Davidson (12); 16. 79 Tim Kent (17); 17. 11J Joey Starnes (11); 18. 898 Ryan Padgett (10); 19. 55 Josh Toho (18); DQ 27k Kyle Keeler
Lap Leaders: Trey Marcham 1-20
A CLASS* Oklahoma vs. Texas Open Wheel Racing
A week after 40 strode into Riverside for the 13th Annual Ryan Craighead Memorial, 44 racers took part in the A Class portion of the Riverside vs. TOWR vs. Now600 action.
Broken Arrow’s Jason McDougal paced the pole of the 20 lapper with TOWR Texan Dustin Davidson to his right. McDougal from the pole is a recipe for domination.
And it was. McDougal simply whipped the field, stamping his Factor One Racing #73 in the rubber and running away with the win. The only stoppage came on the 12th round and did nothing to change the battle up front.
Marcham eyed a stock sweep, but had to settle for runner up from sixth with the wing. Chris Cochran advanced 1 spot to claim third. Mansfield, Texas TOWR racer Keith Martin advanced from 9th to close the 20 lapper in the 4 spot while Dustin Davidson added another Texan to the top five finish. El Reno’s Blake Dewberry earned a share of the Hard Charger label in a run from 14th to sixth.
Trey Robb and Dean Drake both earned winning transfers into the main event via twin 12 lap B Features.
A Class B Feature #1 (12 laps top 2 advance to A Feature): 1. 28c Chris Lloyd (6); 2. 22 Teri Burk (4); 3. 51B Bailey Felkins (2); 4. 98 Derrick McBride (5); 5. 31c Jason Collins (3); 6. 36 Lloyd Smith (7); 7. 37 CJ Brewer (9); 8. 7s Todd Schwartz (12); 9. 12T Trey Robb (1); 10. 27 Tucker Klaasmeyer (11); 11. 1 Johnny B (13); 12. 22R Ryan Padgett (10); 13. 32k Cory Kelley (8); 14. 24N Matt Nelson (14)
Lap Leaders: Trey Robb 1-8, Teri Burk 9-10, Chris Lloyd 11-12
A Class B Feature #2 (12 laps - top 2 advance to A Feature): 1. 77D Dean Drake (1); 2. 57d Blaine Denny (3); 3. 44 Garrett Olson (2); 4. 57 Mark Frymire (4); 5. 58 Philip Fessler (5); 6. 74E Jessica Estes (6); 7. 2B Brandon Boggs (10); 8. 7D Sierra Davis (11); 9. 11 Michael Kearnes (12); 10. 51c David Conley Jr. (9); 11. 13 Chelsea Martin (8); 12. 777c David Conley; DNS: 4T Caleb Thompson, 45B Jeremy Butler
A Class A Feature (20 laps): 1. 73 Jason McDougal (1); 2. 32 Trey Marcham (6); 3. 7c Chris Cochran (4); 4. 15x Keith Martin (9); 5. 2D Dustin Davidson (2); 6. 29D Blake Dewberry (14); 7. 118 Scott Evans (15); 8. 17m Mike Motherly (8); 9. 29 Blake Dacus (5); 10. 25s Bobby Springer (11); 11. 82c Christian Kinnison (7); 12. P40 Aaron Dromgoole (12); 13. 15 Morgan Roan (3); 14. 77D Dean Drake (18); 15. 71 Weston Gorham (16); 16. 39 Sterling Hoff (10); 17. 28c Chris Lloyd (17); 18. 79 Tim Kent (13); 19. 22 Teri Burk (19); 20. 57d Blaine Denny (20)
Lap Leaders: Jason McDougal 1-20
Hard Charger: Dewberry, Evans +8
RESTRICTED* Oklahoma vs. Texas Open Wheel Racing
Newcastle’s Layden Pearson started pole postion of the 20 lap A Feature after 2012 Riverside Restricted champ Tanner Conn was docked a row after being deemed to jump the initial start. Reigning Riverside Restricted champ and Carnegie, OK native Logan Davis started outside front row.
Pearson dropped the quick dime for the early lead, although Bethany’s Matt Moore moved up from fifth, steadily gaining ground each lap and catching the leader just as the red flag flew at the halfway point as Stephen Smith tumbled hard after contact with Kyle Thompson. Smith emerged safely from the fiasco and the halfway order ran Pearson-Matt Moore-Logan Davis-Tanner Conn-Taylor Reimer.
That top three would never change as Pearson wired the field for the score. Colby Stubblefield moved up late in the race to claim fourth for the Texans and Tulsan Cole Roberts completing the top five finishing order.
Kaylee Cole led the first of four transfers out of the 12 lap B Feature. 25 Restricted checked in for action.
Restricted B Feature (12 laps - top 4 advance to A Feature): 1. 72c Kaylee Cole (1); 2. 21k Kobe Simpson (2); 3. 88k Kelsey Gray (7); 4. 13 Blake Scott (4); 5. 14 Noah Key (8); 6. 99B Brittney Bryant (6); 7. 7m McKenzie Laplante (5); 8. 22 Trent Griggs (3); DNS 44c Cody Price
Restricted A Feature (20 laps): 1. 11 Layden Pearson (1); 2. 9m Matt Moore (5); 3. 14D Logan Davis (2); 4. 2 Colby Stubblefield (9); 5. 3 Cole Roberts (7); 6. 12s Sarah Walls (10); 7. 78 Tanner Conn (3); 8. 99 Nathan Rainey (14); 9. 25 Taylor Reimer (8); 10. 86 Carson Wilson (11); 11. 88k Kelsey Gray (19); 12. 57T Kyle Thompson (4); 13. 00R Ryan Anderson (13); 14. 82s Seth Shebester (16); 15. 13 Blake Scott (20); 16. 21K Kobe Simpson (18); 17. 15 Jase Randolph (6); 18. 3$ Steven Smith (12); 19. 72c Kaylee Cole (17); 20. 56 Zach Riley (15)
Lap Leaders: Layden Pearson 1-20
Hard Charger: Kelsey Gray +8
TURF TIRE
Mustang’s Jeremy Morris paced the pole of the 20 lap main event with Enid’s Nick Rummel to his right for the 20 lap Turf Tire main event.
Morris led early with Rummel in tow before a lap 8 yellow for Junior Vickman’s stranded #28v.
Rummel used the restart to his advantage and stole a lap 9 lead. Turf Tire rookie Brian Penick brought out the final stoppage as smoke poured from his #33.
Rummel held off Morris for the win, while Mike Robertson took third ahead of Mike Daft and Jeremy Penick.
Sixteen Turf Tire’s checked in, the most in several years. However, much carnage was left in the infield as at least 7 were sidelined in the infield as the checks flew. Combined with an upcoming marriage - come on guys pull out all the stops to keep the streak of double digit shows going! Lol.
Turf Tire A Feature (20 laps): 1. 45x Nick Rummel (2); 2. 93 Jeremy Morris (1); 3. 30 Mike Robertson (4); 4. 21D Mike Daft (6); 5. 28 Jeremy Penick (12); 6. C3 Bobby Chapa (3); 7. 75 Willie Vickman (11); 8. 14J Marcus Giles (14); 9. 28v Junior Vickman (9); 10. 14v Zach Van Zant (8); 11. 33 Brian Penick (15); 12. 17 Bob Poplin (16); 13. 1 Nelson Norman (7); 14. 5m Scott Patraw (10); 15. 21 Josh Bigger (5); 16. 20x Dusty Devine (11)
Lap Leaders: Jeremy Morris 1-8, Nick Rummel 9-20
Hard Charger: Jeremy Penick +7
JUNIOR SPRINTS
Bryce Barnett started pole position for the 15 lap Junior Sprint main event with Jordan Williams alongside. Barnett held the point for five turns until Jacob long zoomed past to lead laps 2 and 3.
But Lawton’s Dylan Pendergrass is streaking and overpowered Long to lead the fourth round. Pendergrass went on to score his fourth consecutive victory ahead of a rising Ryder Laplante.
Bridge Creek’s Christopher Wells took the Hard Charger effort moving from 10th to the show position. Tulsan Kale Drake and Kayden Cole completed the top five finishing order.
Junior Sprint A Feature (15 laps): 1. 22 Dylan Pendergrass (7); 2. 88R Ryder Laplante (8); 3. 72 Christopher Wells (10); 4. 77 Kale Drake (5); 5. 72c Kayden Cole (4); 6. 1 Bryce Barnett (1); 7. 05c Jordan Williams (2); 8. 37 Jack Hall (1); 9. 16 Brant Woods (6); 10. 007 Jacob Long; DNS: 15J Joey Gray, 28 Connor Thompson
Lap Leaders: Bryce Barnett 1, Jacob Long 2-3, Dylan Pendergrass 4-15
Hard Charger: Christopher Wells +7
Much news and points to emphasize, but this writing has reached its’ limit. Follow I-44 Riverside outlets for word concerning this Saturday’s race/make-up race information.
Thanks to our racing family, every member from the teams and their families, friends, supporters and our many fans. It was a memorable night for a great cause and with an air that was simply ecstatic. After a day of much needed rest, we’re back at it and can’t wait to do it again this coming Saturday, April 19th.
Cody Morris
I-44 Riverside Speedway Public Relations
Saturday, April 12th, 2014
I-44 Riverside Speedway / Oklahoma City, OK
Blue River Classic / Champions Cup Event 2 of 22
Submitted By: Admin Account
