‘Smokin’ Joe Walker Takes Home the Modified Big Money at Central Missouri Speedway!

By Sam Stoecklin
CMS Announcer/PR
Warrensburg, Missouri
May 26, 2008

Not even a one-day delay, the threat of rain, or several hot-shoe drivers could prevent Harrisonville, Missouri driver ‘Smokin’ Joe Walker from besting a field of modified aces for his tenth-ever feature race win at Warrensburg’s Central Missouri Speedway (CMS) Sunday night.  Walker grabbed the checkers and the $2,000 first-place money in front of an enthusiastic crowd after battling several laps with Tim Karrick before going on to victory.  A total of seventy-seven drivers signed in for competition in the fifteen-race program, which was over and done with by 10:20, allowing the great race fans and drivers to return home at a decent hour for their Memorial Day weekend.   Jason Bodenhamer continued his hot streak by grabbing his third feature-race victory of the year in ULMA Late Model Action.  In the Street Stocks, Brian Johnson once again prevailed with his third feature win of the year while Scotty Martin grabbed his fourth main event win in a row in the B-Modifieds.

Due to wet grounds at the speedway on Saturday, the first CMS big-money race of the year was delayed one day for an unusual Sunday night at the high-banked bullring.  Many spectators and drivers spent their evening at the track and ultimately witnessed one of the best big-money modified races ever held at the high-banked facility.  Twenty-five drivers competed in three heat races and the main event during the race program.  Qualifying heat races kicked off the night as the ‘mighty’ ones started the program off.  Tim Karrick bested Tom Charles and Terry Schultz in heat one; ‘Fast’ Richard Layne held off Johnny Fennewald and Doug Walrath in heat two; and Lee Hibner held off Aaron Marrant and Dustin Boney to take heat race three.  For the 40-lap main event the heat race winners took the top three starting positions as the rest of the field lined up behind them based upon their heat-race finishes.  Karrick and Layne brought the field down the front chute to kick off the race as the fans enthusiastically cheered on their favorite drivers.  After a quick re-start at the onset of the race, Karrick shot out to an early lead.  ‘Movin’ Dave Meyer, last year’s winner of the spring modified special, had his night come to an early end off of corner four and was relegated to a twenty-fourth place finish.  Two time spring race winner Gary Blackburn, Jr. of Fulton, Missouri had a scary moment nearly getting upside down in the Meyer incident but continued on, eventually finishing eleventh.  Tom Charles, Lee Hibner and Justin Johnson all fell out of the race by lap four.  Layne left the race on lap seven with Paul Knight, Joey Lile, and Terry Schultz all had to exit the race by lap twenty.  Up front, Karrick got out to a fairly comfortable lead until Walker seemed to be shot out of a cannon and grabbing the lead by the midway point of the race.  Lap-after-lap Walker, Karrick, and Dustin Boney raced high and low, weaving in and out of lapped traffic and dicing for position in front of the enthusiastic crowd.   Not long after the halfway point, Aaron Marrant began his charge to the top three.  Behind Marrant, Chad Lyle of Lone Jack, Missouri put on a driving clinic by racing his way from the twenty-fifth starting position all the way to the top five!  Boney’s night came to an early end as did Johnny Fennewald’s, Clay Langley, Jr.’s and Jason Bodenhamer’s in the late stages of the race.  With only a few laps remaining, and while battling Walker for the win, Karrick’s car began to lose power and sparks were flying from his car off of corner four as Walker led the field with two to go.  Marrant got around the ailing Karrick machine and began his bid for the win with a late-race surge off of corner four at the checkered flags.  In the end, Walker narrowly edged out Marrant in a classic battle of two previous track champions for the win.  Karrick salvaged a third-place run as Lyle made his way all the way to fourth at the line.  Jim Moody, who started eighteenth, brought his ride home in fifth with Joshua Stephens, Lucas Conley, Dean Wille, David Chapman and Tim Billings rounding out the top ten.  It was Walker’s second big-money win ever at the speedway.  Over the last decade, thirty-one special event races have been held for the modifieds at CMS.

In late model action Centerview, Missouri driver Jason ‘Bodee’ Bodenhamer had to work hard for his third CMS victory and series-leading fifth overall ULMA feature race victory.  A total of twelve late models competed in two early evening heat-races as Jon Binning grabbed heat one over long-distance traveler Rylan Long of Greenfield, Missouri and Brett Wood.  ‘Flyin’ Mike Ryun of Pleasant Valley, Missouri outran David Angell and Bodenhamer to earn the second heat race victory.  With Binning and Ryun leading the charge to the green flag, the rest of the field watched the lead duo race side-by-side for the first nine laps in some exciting door handle to door handle racing.  Binning stayed to the low side for the majority of the race with Ryun up high.  Long, no stranger to ULMA victory lane this year with three victories, had a variety of problems with some sheet metal issues early on but looked good on the track for his first-ever visit to CMS.  Zach Green had his new late model on hand but mechanical troubles prevented him from starting the main event.  Randy Ainsworth and Dave Baldwin both exited the race early as the action up front never ceased with Binning and Ryun.  On lap ten Bodee saw an opening between the lead pair as the long-time late model pilot grabbed the lead.  Behind Bodee at the finish Binning came home second ahead of Ryun, Long, Wood and Angell at the finish line.

Fifteen Street Stocks raced their way into the main event through two qualifying heat races.  The Street Stocks were last to go out on the night in the line-up roster but still looked good out on the track trying to earn feature-race starting spots.  ‘The Bandit’ Chad Eickleberry took home the victory in heat one ahead of Herb Dannar and Tammy Korff while defending track champion Brian Johnson led Adam Bush and Thomas Roberts to the checkered flag in heat two.  For the fifteen-lap main event, Eickleberry and Johnson started side-by-side and battled each other high and low for several laps throughout the early laps of the race.  Korrf, Bush, and John Miller saw their nights come to early ends due to mechanical problems and flat tires.  A flat tire also put Eickleberry out for the night as he and Johnson were battling for the lead on lap ten.  This left Herb Dannar to give chase to Johnson late in the event.  Johsnon’s car began to appear unstable late in the race and Dannar closed right up underneath him on the white-flag lap heading into corner three.  There was no room for both cars in the corner and contact between the two leaders left Dannar sitting on the infield as Johnson stayed low to capture his third win of the year and tenth win of his career at CMS.  Scotty Dukes from Odessa, Missouri charged from his eighth starting position to finish second at the line.  Bush had a great run to third with Nic Bennett fourth.  Michael Mullins drove in the Street Stocks and B-Modifieds during the night and came home fifth with Roger Stone rounding out the top six at the finish.

For the first time in many years a driver has now captured four feature race wins in a row.  Independence driver Scotty Martin bested a stellar field of B-modified competitors and won his seventeenth main-event win at CMS over the last two years in the process.  Martin started at the tail of heat one and quickly made his way to the front ahead of Rusty Trimble and Michael King.  Jeremy Lile led Bobby Raybourn and Cliff Owings to earn the victory in heat two.  Shawnee, Kansas driver Joshua Jacobs held off Bryan Montgomery and Owen Evinger for the win in heat race three.  Martin kept his car on the low side at the start and paced the field early on in the main event with King, Trimble and Lile in tow.  Various troubles forced Charlie Palmer, Josh Calvert, Lucas and Ethan Isaacs, Rusty Trimble and Lile to leave the track prior to the end of the race.  Behind Martin a great run by Michael King, who started seventh, took place as the rookie driver made his way all the way to second and was close to the leader by the conclusion of the event.  Odessa driver Bobby Raybourn had a strong run to the front as did Mark Evinger and Brian ‘Ziggy’ Ziegler, who had transferred from the b-main event to earn a starting position.  In the end, Martin held on for the win as his car appeared to also slow towards the end of the race.  King was right with the leader at the line but settled for second ahead of Raybourn, Mark Evinger, Ziegler and Cliff Owings, who rounded out the top six.

All four classes return again next week for another exciting night of stock-car racing for KIX 105.7 FM Radio race night at the speedway.  CMS also welcomes Batliner paper recycling to the speedway for the night’s racing program.  Pitside gates open at 4:30, admission gates swing open at 5, hot laps begin at 7 and racing hits the track at 7:30.  Tune in to KOKO 1450 AM radio on Wednesday nights for the CMS Track Talk show at 5:30.  You can also check out the live CMS Webcast on Thursday nights at 7 on www.racinboys.com for a complete recap of all the weekend events.  For the 2008 schedule, results and point standings visit the CMS Web site at www.centralmissourispeedway.net or call the Track Report line at (660) 747-2166.