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DTK6 Memorial @ I-37 Speedway, 10/31-11/2 2024

Late Model winner Talon Minten
Sport Compact winner Josh Jones

By JM Hallas
Pleasanton, TX.,(Nov. 1St, 2024) Honoring three great men…

Thanx to a large cast of sponsors, I-37 Speedway hosted its sixth annual DTK Memorial in remembrance track promoters Ray Doyon III and Michael Keylich fathers as well as Johnny Torres dad, Frank, who ran the track for years.

Friday was also a time to help a young race fan named Brendon who is fighting a rare disease, but loves his racing. I-37 Speedway will be donating $2.00 from each general admission sold Friday night, 3D Landscaping will match that dollar amount and drivers would pass the helmet during intermission.

The six regulars classes were all in action for the two-day show at the ¼ mile, semi-banked, dirt, oval just outside Pleasanton. Fireballs, Factory Stocks, Sport Mods & IMCA Modifieds will have heats & qualifiers on Friday night and then run LCQ's and an A-main on Saturday. Late Models and Sport Compacts will have a full show both nights!

Late Model Money to Missing Minten
It was a rocky start to the 20-lap Late Model main with Robert Liese ending up on top of Braydon Tumlinson in turn 3. On the second start Jared Maupin powered off turn 2 past Broc Bowen for the top spot. Bowen, Talon Minten, Chase Neill and Ryan Doyon sorted out in the top five. Bowen had just gotten a run on Maupin for the lead when Aaron Leddy spun on the front stretch.

On the restart Bowen got sideways collecting Kody Hardage and Neill, who got tipped over, for a lap 3 red flag. Maupin got away back under green with T. Minten and Ry. Doyon side by side for second. T. Minten got the spot while Ry. Doyon gave up third to Cody Leonard. T. Minten then ran down Maupin and got by off turn 4 for the lead on lap 7.

Leonard then caught Maupin and at halfway it was T. Minten, Leonard, Maupin, Ry. Doyon and Bowen, coming from the back, in the top five. Leonard reeled in T. Minten for the lead and took a look. But T. Minten would then start building a lead until Jason Kelly spun setting up a one lap shootout. T. Minten(Seguin), in the LMB Motorsports, 604 crate powered, Black Diamond Chassis would hold off Leonard while brother Robby Minten got by Bowen for fifth.

“The car was good out of the box,” explained Minten. “Ray and Michael just bought this car. I practiced last night and it was way off. We made some changes, and today the car was way better. I was pretty confident once I got the lead. I knew if I just stayed on the bottom, especially I (turns) 1-2 that I'd be hard to pass. They'd have to go up top to pass me.”

“This is a pretty big race for Ray(Doyon) and his grandpa. It's a memorial race for him. It's a big deal to win it. He's the one that got us into racing. So it feels good to win it.”

“The biggest thing we changed was stagger, it was way off. We opened it up more and changed some spacers around. It made a big difference. I'm starting to feel more comfortable in the car, too. I haven't really driven much in a Late Model.”

“I was going to watch (Jared) Maupin to see what he was doing. I watched the track and saw some moisture on the bottom in (turns) 1-2. Once the car started to hook up I stayed on the bottom. I knew the bottom was the place to be. Once I got around him I wasn't going to leave the bottom.”

“I was right behind Broc(Bowen) when he spun and missed that wreck. The yellow had already came out when Tumlinson and Liese got tangled and I was on the back stretch so I was pretty clear of that one.”

“I don't think we'll try anything different tomorrow. Qualifying in these cars is huge and where you start in the heat is a big deal. I like this format. We'll probably just change tires, check everything over and let 'er rip.”

Late Models by Nogalitos Gear
14t Talon Minten, 48 Cody Leonard, 91 Jared Maupin, 5r Ryan Doyon, 24 Robby Minten, 56 Broc Bowen, 53x Matt Fox, 12 Kody Hardage, 53 Chandler Fox, 08 Landon Sowder, 93 Aaron Leddy, 57 Jason Kelly, 87 Marcus Mikulencak, 416 Chase Neill, 89 Steven Whiteaker jr, 9r Ray Doyon III, x1 Braydon Tumlinson, 77x Robert Liese jr.

Late Model qualifying
91 Jared Maupin 15.160,416 Chase Neill 15.232, 5r Ryan Doyon 15.356, 56 Broc Bowen 15.395, 14 Talon Minten 15.479, 48 Cody Leonard 15.561, 87 Marcus Mikulencak 15.578, 12 Kody Hardage 15.593, 24 Robby Minten 15.698, 89 Steven Whiteaker jr. 15.771, 9r Ray Doyon III 15.965,53x Matt Fox 15.993, x1 Braydon Tumlinson 16.020, 08 Landon Sowder 16, 194, 93 Aaron Leddy 16.233, 57 Jason Kelly 16.567, 53 Chandler Fox 16.654, 77x Robert Liese jr 16.764

Late Model heats;
Heat 1; 91 Jared Maupin, 14 Talon Minten, 5r Ryan Doyon, 87 Marcus Mikulencak, 9r Ray Doyon III, 53 Chandler Fox, 93 Aaron Leddy, x1 Braydon Tumlinson, 24 Robby Minten

Heat 2; 56 Broc Bowen, 416 Chase Neill, 48 Cody Leonard, 12 Kody Hardage, 89 Steven Whiteaker jr., 53x Matt Fox, 08 Landon Sowder, 57 Jason Kelly, 77x Robert Liese jr.

Leonard Likes the High Side
Dean Abbey got the lead on the initial start, but David Gibson spun for a yellow and a second try. This time Ryan Slott was first into turn 1 trailed by Abbey, Logan Dinsmore, Cody Leonard and Steven Whiteaker jr. Leonard found the high side first and charged to the front getting by Slott after halfway. In the final laps, Leonard(Sinton) had to hold off a late charge by Abbey to secure the victory.

IMCA Modifieds by Eastside Hot Rods qualifier(Top 8 to A-main)
12 Cody Leonard, 26 Dean Abbey, 8jr Logan Dinsmore, 49 Ryan Slott, 89 Steven Whiteaker jr., 91 Jared Maupin, 8g Greg Dinsmore, 5r Ryan Doyon, 8js Cameron Starry, 11 Brian Harbison, 77x Rob Liese jr., 366 David Gibson, 22 Darrell Boyd, 37 Bill Pittaway

IMCA Modified heats;
Heat 1; 49 Ryan Slott, 8jr Logan Dinsmore, 8g Greg Dinsmore, 5r Ryan Doyon, 8js Cameron Starry, 77 Robert Liese jr., 366 David Gibson

Heat 2; 26 Dean Abbey, 12 Cody Leonard, 89 Steven Whiteaker jr., 91 Jared Maupin, 11x Brian Harbison, 22z Darrell Boyd, 137 Bill Pittaway

Beaver Best in Limited Modified qualifier
Trent Beaver(China Grove) fended off young gun Nathan Titzman at the start of the Limited Modified qualifier, with JJ Jennings and Johnny Torres on their tails. Beaver would be able to pull away to a big lead while Torres, Titzman and Jennings battled for position.

Limited Modifieds by Iron Horse RV qualifier(Top 8 to A-main)
14 Trent Beaver, 66 Johnny Torres, 1t Nathan Titzman, 26g JJ Jennings, 14 James Cole, 148 Max Calles-McDonald, 91 Jared Maupin, 88 Steven Whiteaker III, 87 Lawrence Mikulencak', 00k Oliver Billingsley, 79 David Meredith

Limited Modified heats;
Heat 1; 14 Trent Beaver , 26 JJ Jennings, 66 Johnny Torres, 91 Jared Maupin, 88 Steven Whiteaker III, 00k Oliver Billingsley

Heat 2; 1t Nathan Titzman, 14c James Cole, 79 David Meredith, 148 Max Calles-McDonald, 87 Lawrence Mikulencak

Gaither Grabs Top Spot
The Factory Stock qualifier was chock full of twists. At the start John Lieta and Johnny Torres stayed door to door with J. Torres getting ahead on lap 1. Lieta came back to get the point on lap 2 while Dillon Gaither got by Allen Torres for fourth. Nathan Rachui took second from J. Torres as Gaither continued his march forward getting third from J. Torres, then second from Rachui.

Gaither then began to pressure Lieta for the lead while the Torres brothers and Rachui scrapped for third. At halfway It was side by side for the lead when Mason Casteneda went around for a yellow. Coming to green on the restart Lieta spun and collected Rachui, ending both their nights. Green waved again with Gaither(San Antonio) now out front putting a little gap on the Torres brothers for the win.

Factory Stocks by All in Design qualifier(Top 8 to A-main)
41 Dillon Gaither, 51 Johnny Torres, 94 Allen Torres, 53k Kasey Krauss, 26 Grant Wollam, 41s Joey Heinaman, 14t Trey Heald, 28m Mason Casteneda, 174 Riley Heil, 2k Kiehl VanBlarcum, 10 Scott Jerkins, 44k Michael Keylich, 24 John Lieta, 25r Nathan Rachui, 35 GW Hessong---dns

Factory Stock heats;
Heat 1; 24John Lieta, Nathan Rachui, 25r, 41 Dillon Gaither, 26 Grant Wollam, 2k Kiehl VanBlarcum, 14t Trey Heald, 174 Riley Hiel, 10 Scott Jerkins

Heat 2; 51 Johnny Torres, 94 Allen Torres, 53k Kasey Krauss, 41s Jory Heinaman, 28m Mason Casteneda, 35 GW Hessong, 44k Michael Keylich

Dancer Dominates Fireball Q-1
The Fireballs were split into two qualifiers that saw AJ Dancer(Red Rock) lead flag to flag in the first of the two. Dancer was chased by GW Hessong throughout the race while the battle for the other transfer spots between Howie Marcx, Ryker Hernandez, Evahdent Ivy and Sammy Smith raged throughout the 15-laps.

Fireballs by Winner Circle Transmission qualifier(Top 4 to A-main)
Qualifier 1; 49 AJ Dancer, four GW Hessong, 55 Ryker Hernandez, 13 Howie Marcx, 86 Sammy Smith, h2s Shane Stonebraker, 12 James Wofford, 7 Levi Hernandez, 64 Danny Dear, 81 Evahdent Ivy----DQ(no chip), 8 Zack Dodson---dns

Spreen Snags Second Fireball Qualifier
Brandon Spreen(Boerne) grabbed the early lead in qualifier 2 ahead of Daniel Lopez and Cody Earnhardt as the top three broke away. Behind them Michael Keylich, Joseph Montemayor, Dale Caswell and Joe Boop battled for the final spot. Spreen, who races several other classes, took the victory in his first Fireball ride.

Qualifier 2; 6 Brandon Spreen, 93 Daniel Lopez, 44k Michael Keylich, 18m Joseph Montemayor, 68 Cody Earnhardt, 1 Dale Caswell, 67 Joe Boop, 3 Abraham Mares, 8s Charles Earnhardt III

Fireball heats;
Heat 1; 49 AJ Dancer, 93 Daniel Lopez, 13 Howie Marcx, 88 Bobby Jack, 12 James Wofford, 44k Michael Keylich, 64 Danny Dear

Heat 2; 6 Brandon Spreen, 81 Evahdent Ivy, 18m Joseph Montemayor, four GW Hessong, 67 Joe Boop, h2s Shane Stonebraker, 8s Charles Earnhardt III

Heat 3; 55 Ryker Hernandez, 1 Dale Caswell, 86 Sammy Smith, 68 Cody Earnhardt, 7 Levi Hernandez, 3 Abraham Mares, 8 Zack Dodson

Joy for Jones
Josh Jones jumped out front of the Sport Compact feature trailed by Micharl Burris jr., Fons Ponsioen, Rod Tait and Donald Lewis. Jones got away a bit while Burris and Ponsioen ran side by side for second. Lapping began quickly as the laps clicked off coming to halfway with Jones, Burris, Ponsioen, Tait and Lewis in the top five.

Tait was able to take third from Ponsioen as Jones continued to hold a good advantage over Burris. Jones was forced to split the middle of two lapped cars giving Burris a chance to cut the gap. Burris got to within a couple car lengths, but it was Jones in the Keeping it Up Racing, D.A.M.M. Good Track Service, M&M Auto & Trucks Parts, K.P. NAPA, Sweet Texas Creations, Triple D Ranch, Talberts Shop, SBR Performance, 02 Chevy Cavalier 2.2 taking the victory.

“We had a pretty good groove,” said Jones. “I could feel to pressure. I could hear them. I knew they'd be trying high and low. I just found a good groove and stuck to it.”

“Lapped traffic was definitely a killer. I had a real workout. I've got to hand it to all the rookies out there. They did really good holding their line and listening to the raceciever. They held their line. We've got some good talent coming up.”

“I figured Michael(Burris) would be coming. I've raced with him for a few years. He's a good driver and I knew he was going to run Ronnie's(Schoenfeldt) old car as hard as he could. I could feel the pressure. I could hear him trying high and ow. I figured it was only a atter of time before I was going to see him. I was able to hold him off and use lapped cars to my advantage.”

“We'll definitely be back tomorrow night. We may make some slight changes. We'll have to see how the track works out. We'll see how the other classes and work the track in. If it's anything like it was tonight, I think I've got a pretty good chance.”

Sport Compacts by Johnson Supply
11j Josh Jones, 98 Michael Burris jr., 70 Rod Tait, 22 Fons Ponsioen, 76y Donald Lewis, 21 Jimmy McQueen, 8 Yesenia Ruiz, 3 Daelyn McQueen, 83 Christopher McQueen, 85 Michelle Conlee, 43 Jennifer Ashelin---dns, 38 Sonny Kinnaman---dns

Sport Compact heats;
Heat 1; 22 Fons Ponsioen, 98 Michael Burris jr., 85 Michelle Conlee, 83 Christopher McQueen, 8 Yesenia Ruiz, 38 Sonny Kinnaman---BF

Heat 2; 11 Josh Jones, 70 Rod Tait, 76y Donald Lewis, 43 Jennifer Ashelin, 21 Jimmy McQueen, 3 Daelyn McQueen

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