Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (April 20, 2010) \u2013 A Midwest weekend in Nebraska along with events in Texas and Arizona sets the stage for the latest edition of Tuesday\u2019s Top Ten, chronicling ten random items of American Sprint Car Series significance.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Trip-T time again, proceed\u2026<\/p>\n
The sixth year of ASCS Midwest competition kicked off this past weekend with two stellar nights of competition at Nebraska Raceway Park\u2019s I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, approximately half way between Lincoln and Omaha.<\/p>\n
Thirty-four competitors from seven different states (Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, North Dakota, Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma) and one Canadian province (Manitoba) filled the pit area on Friday night with the Lone Okie in the field (Dustin Morgan) taking the win.<\/p>\n
A handful of Friday racers were missing on Saturday including Don Droud, Jr., Mike Boston and Danielle Ossenfort, each of whom encountered engine issues, Josh Higday (invaded Burlington) and Jay Russell, who was fortunate enough to celebrate his 27th birthday yesterday after he and a crew member were found unconscious on Saturday morning with carbon monoxide poisoning. It seems that fumes from a generator somehow leaked into the toter home, leaving both Russell and his crew member with what was termed \u201clethal\u201d amounts of carbon monoxide. Transported to an Omaha hospital just in time, both have recovered and the Elwood, KS, racer will be back in action.<\/p>\n
Clint Garner joined in on Saturday to make for 30 and finished third behind Jack Dover and Chad Humston after a spirited mid-race joust for the point with Dover.<\/p>\n
Tulsa\u2019s Morgan and Springfield\u2019s Dover both have 750 of the rarely seen bills of the two dollar variety to disperse after weekend wins at I-80.<\/p>\n
After lending a hand in the pits at Lone Star Speedway a week earlier, Wayne Johnson jumped in a second Brian Parker entry and drove it to victory lane at Heart O\u2019 Texas for his second ASCS triumph of the year after driving a second Glenn Styres mount to Rebel glory in East Bay\u2019s Ronald Laney Memorial. Car owner Parker was 17th on Friday night.<\/p>\n
Caught in the middle, Heart O\u2019 Texas goes both ways. In addition to Friday\u2019s Lone Star card, the track will also host the Gulf South Region next month. Those two events give both Regions\u2019 contenders a feel for the track prior to the Gulf South vs. Lone Star showdown at Heart O\u2019 Texas in July.<\/p>\n
The only Sooner rep in Midwest action at I-80 Speedway, Dustin Morgan captured his first career Sprint Car feature win. To the south, Wayne Johnson was just one of three Oklahoma drivers in the Lone Star field along with Brian McClelland Andrew Marshala. While Johnson won, McClelland was 20th in his first start of the year for Ronnie Davis and Marshala flipped to 23rd.<\/p>\n
With the first of four scheduled Lone Star outings at Cowtown rained out on Saturday and Morgan\u2019s luck souring when he was collected in an opening lap tangle in Nebraska, Glenpool\u2019s Covington kept the Sooner state in the win column by tuning up for this weekend\u2019s Rock \u2018N Roll 50 by wiring the weekly field at Riverside Speedway in West Memphis.<\/p>\n
Gary Swenson has been fielding winning Sprint Cars for four decades or so, winning at least one feature per year over the that span. But after Brian Brown put the No. 24a in Belleville victory lane in 2007, Swenson\u2019s victory string was snapped with a winless 2008.<\/p>\n
The Dover and Swenson combo finally began clicking late last year though, with Dover taking a Wichita win last October. The duo broke out of the gates quickly in 2010, with Friday\u2019s runner-up finish to Morgan followed up by Dover\u2019s first feature win of the year on Saturday. It was the 20-year-old\u2019s sixth career ASCS Midwest win and eleventh overall ASCS triumph.<\/p>\n
With the USA win, Davis joined Wayne Johnson and Tim Shaffer as the only drivers to post multiple ASCS feature wins thus far in 2010 with 17 events completed.<\/p>\n
Wolfgang, inducted in 2003, was mentoring 17-year-old son Robby, who drove the Williams No. 7k to 12th on Friday and then a strong sixth-place showing on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Part of the induction class of 2005, Woodruff wrenched Dustin Morgan to victory lane on Friday night. \u201cHe\u2019s already changed almost everything on the car, I can tell a big difference,\u201d Morgan commented prior to Friday\u2019s action. He showed that difference soon after, getting Woodruff in more victory lane photos.<\/p>\n
Long-time car owner Howells, for whom Wolfgang drove at times in his storied career, landed in the Hall in 2008. Howells now fields a car for grandson Lee Grosz. The two-time Northern Plains champ that drives with more body English than most was third on Friday and was chasing Dover in Saturday\u2019s feature until the steering locked up.<\/p>\n
Another Hall of Famer, 2006 inductee Rickey Hood, was in action with the ASCS Canyon Region on Saturday night. Hood missed the feature cut in his third ASCS start of the year in Arizona.<\/p>\n
Pelkey added a third-place run on Saturday to previous fifth and second-place showings, while Sherman followed third and fourth-place runs with a fifth-place finish.<\/p>\n
But in the championship points race, they\u2019re both still chasing Charles Davis, Jr., who has followed up a sixth-place opening night finish with a pair of wins.<\/p>\n
Billy Alley (2005), Toby Chapman (2006), Jack Dover (2008) and Jason Danley (2009) were in competition, while Kenny Woodruff wrenched Natalie Sather to the 2007 crown.<\/p>\n
Sporting a black No. 22 rather than yellow, Alley was literally wheels-off on Friday night, taking the lead just a couple of laps before a broken spindle sent front tire flying. An \u201cAdult Contemporary\u201d version of Alley in Saturday heat race action (fourth) was replaced with a more familiar \u201cRock \u2018N Roll\u201d style Billy Alley that charged from 15th to fourth in \u201cA\u201d Main action.<\/p>\n
Chapman made an early exit from Friday\u2019s feature along with A.J. Selenke before missing Saturday\u2019s main, while Danley missed Saturday\u2019s cut as well after a top-ten showing on Friday.<\/p>\n
Dover and Woodruff exploits have previously been chronicled.<\/p>\n
The ASCS Southwest Region has added a two-night stand at Show Low, Arizona\u2019s Thunder Raceway on September 25-26. It will mark the return of the winged Southwest Region to Show Low for the first time since a Ben Gregg win in May of 2008.<\/p>\n
More recently added and coming up sooner, the ASCS Lone Star Region will take to Texarkana\u2019s 67 Speedway on Friday night, May 21. There are always plenty of sights to be seen in Texarkana.<\/p>\n
2010 TTT Edition VIII is done. Next stop: Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, AR, for the Second Annual Rock \u2018N Roll 50. You know you want to be there, so just do it.<\/p>\n
Until next time, find what you need in terms of ASCS info at www.ascsracing.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"