9/24/2022
Sooner Late Model Series
Hughes dominates Thunderbird for 4th Sooner Series victory, veteran Bill Frye returns and finishes 6th
John Rittenoure - MUSKOGEE, Okla. (September 23, 2022) - Kip Hughes returned to the winners circle Friday night at Thunderbird Speedway picking up his fourth Complete Well Testing Sooner Late Model Series victory of the season in convincing fashion.
Hughes, who won at Thunderbird on April 22, felt this win my have been his best so far due to some chassis adjustments made before the race.
“We tried some different stuff on our setup and it worked for us,” said Hughes of his cars handling.”It is a good night to pull a win off and I am more happy that we find something that fixed the problems with our car. We are still learning about the Rocket (chassis) stuff so we are gaining on it.”
Hughes gunned his late model into the early lead with Hayden Ross and Troy Bynum giving chase. Ross stayed within a few car lengths but could not close on Hughes and settled for second. Bynum followed in third. Rob Powell charged from 11th to finish fourth with Brett Hansen finishing fifth.
“We got lucky on the draw, kept our nose clean and clicked off laps,” Hughes said of his run out front.
Retired racer and 5-time MARS champion Bill Frye climbed behind the wheel of Hayden Ross’ backup car Friday night and raced to a sixth place finish.
“Brady (Ross) asked if I would play with the car and see how it went so we came out and gave it a whirl,” said Frye of his return to the drivers seat. “I thought I would try it one more time and see how it went.
“I enjoyed it. For me, if I don’t win I am a failure, but we had a good run.”
In the opening Matt’s ATV heat race Frye was running second but fell to third in the final two laps when Hansen found a burst of speed and took over second. In the feature Frye started fifth.
“ I was a little twitchy for a few laps, but it came back,” said Frye. “This is my favorite race track of all time. It has been 9 years since I raced a late model. I raced a modified three years ago.”
Complete Well Testing Sooner Late Model Series
Thunderbird Speedway - Muskogee, Oklahoma
September 23, 2022
Complete Well Testing A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 60-Kip Hughes[1]; 2. 66-Hayden Ross[3]; 3. 81-Troy Bynum[2]; 4. 25-Rob Powell[11]; 5. 7H-Brett Hansen[4]; 6. 66F-Bill Frye[5]; 7. 118-Mike Fenton[7]; 8. (DNF) 22AD-Jacob Ulrich[8]; 9. (DNF) 31-Gary Lowe[13]; 10. (DNF) 65-Eric Brill[9]; 11. (DNF) 0-Bubby Morgan[6]; 12. (DNF) 14-Ron Brown[10]; 13. (DNS) 1-Eddie Tidwell; 14. (DNS) 51-Eddie Martin
Matts ATV Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 81-Troy Bynum[1]; 2. 7H-Brett Hansen[6]; 3. 66F-Bill Frye[4]; 4. 118-Mike Fenton[3]; 5. 65-Eric Brill[5]; 6. 25-Rob Powell[7]; 7. 31-Gary Lowe[2]
Design One Racewear Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 66-Hayden Ross[6]; 2. 60-Kip Hughes[7]; 3. 0-Bubby Morgan[3]; 4. 22AD-Jacob Ulrich[4]; 5. 14-Ron Brown[5]; 6. 1-Eddie Tidwell[1]; 7. (DNS) 51-Eddie Martin
Lap Leaders: Kip Hughes 1-20
Margin of victory: 2.140 seconds
Top 10 Standings: 1. Hayden Ross 8940; 2. Kip Hughes 7715; 3. Eddie Martin 6850; 4. Brett Hansen 6125; 5. Kerney Weaver 5990; 6. Eric Brill 5865. 7. Richard Shepler 5865; 8. Eddie Tidwell 5350; 9. Troy Bynum 4815 10. Ron Brown 4435.
2022 Winners: 3/25 - Hayden Ross (Thunderbird Speedway); 3/26 - Brett Hansen (Thunderbird Speedway). 4/2 - Brett Hansen (Enid Speedway); 4/15 - Hayden Ross (Thunderbird Speedway); 4/22 - Kip Hughes (Thunderbird Speedway); 4/23 - Hayden Ross (Oklahoma Sports Park); 5/6 - Jamie Burford (West Texas Raceway); 5/7 - Jamie Burford (Route 66 Motor Speedway); 5/14 - Dustin Allen (Enid Speedway); 5/20 - Brett Hansen (Thunderbird Speedway); 5/21 - Hayden Ross (Thunderbird Speedway); 6/3 - Kip Hughes (Creek County Speedway); 6/4 - Dustin Allen (Enid Speedway); 6/11 - Brett Hansen (81 Speedway); 7/9 - Kip Hughes (Enid Speedway); 8/6 - Hayden Ross (Enid Speedway).; 8/13 - Dan Smith (81 Speedway); 8/26 - Brett Hansen (Tulsa Speedway); 8/27 - Clint McFadden (Caney Valley Speedway); 9/17 - Jason Redman (Oklahoma Sports Park); 9/23 - Kip Hughes (Thunderbird Speedway).
About Complete Well Testing
Based in Oklahoma, Complete Well Testing is a family owned and operated company specializing in hydrostatic tubing testing and EMI tubing scanning.
About Sooner Late Model Series
The Sooner Late Model Series was formed in 2016 by Enid Speedway co-promoter Mark Brill. Brill felt there was not many opportunities for late model competitors to race in Oklahoma and the Sooner Late Model Series was formed. Now the series has grown beyond the borders of Oklahoma with events held in the neighboring states of Kansas, Texas and Arkansas as well.
Article Credit: John Rittenoure
