By Alan Miller, PR /Track
Announcer
Warrensburg, MO
June 1, 2008
Mother
Nature almost caused another wash out at Central
Missouri Speedway, but most of the storms were well
south of Warrensburg on Saturday night. An
earlier strong storm along I-70 caused some minor
rain showers at the track, but it finally cooperated
and cleared out with the best track surface this
season on KIX 105.7 FM radio race night with Batliner
Recycling on hand. Several new ULMA drivers
showed up for the first time this season to ready
themselves for the June 21 ULMA special at CMS.
67 drivers were registered in the pits with many late
arriving to produce a great show in the four weekly
divisions with Jon Binning of Warrensburg taking the
ULMA Late Model feature checkers for the second time
this season. The fans were cheering on their
favorites in the “mighty” modified class
when Tim Karrick of Basehor, KS claimed the feature
event for his second CMS feature victory this
season. After three years out of racing, John
“the boomer” Brooks of Warrensburg won his
87th career victory at CMS in the Street Stock class
and Scotty Martin of Independence dominate again in
the b-modified division takes home his fifth
checkered flag this year.
A
special guest was on hand for the races from San
Clemente, California. Randy Lewis who is rated
at the world’s number one track chaser has seen
1,348 different tracks in the United States and in 15
foreign countries. You can visit his website at
ranlayracing.com and read about his adventures to
racing venues which now includes Central Missouri
Speedway. He is one of just six people to have
seen races in all 50 states and the District of
Columbia.
A
strong ULMA field in the pits included 11 late models
for first heat races of the evening with Jon Binning
winning again in the first heat race and James
Rutledge taking his first CMS victory this year in
the second heat. This was Rutledge’s first
CMS visit this year to battle head to head with the
ULMA point’s leader Jason Bodenhamer of
Centerview. The smooth tacky track was a
challenge during the first feature after intermission
with some threatening skies to the south. After
a second re-start due to several cars sliding off the
track, Binning and Rutledge went hard into the first
turn, but Binning pushed into the early lead.
Then Rutledge and Bodenhamer were in the mix for the
second spot and showed their veteran skills with
side-by-side action around the high banks.
Jerry Lee Henson Jr and Zack Green found the front
wall on lap 10 and were both finished for the
night. Binning then jumped out to a strong lead
on the re-start and held off Bodenhamer and Rutledge
for his second CMS feature this season to maintain
his point’s lead. Bodenhamer passed
Rutledge for the second spot later in the race.
Rutledge hangs on in third with Brett Wood finishing
fourth and during his first visit at CMS this year;
Allen Perryman of Belton comes home in fifth.
The
21cars signed in for the ‘mighty’ modified
division battled in three heat races to set the field
for the feature event. The talented pool of the
best modified drivers in the area also started their
race preparations for the 4th of July $5,000 to win
special during the racing events on Saturday night.
Tim Karrick, Aaron Marrant of Orrick and Jason
Bodenhamer, pulling double duty in his modified won
their respective heat events to set the front rows
for the feature. At the start, Karrick and
Marrant put on a show for the crowd with both leading
several laps until Karrick slipped into the lead
after Marrant’s slight bobble on the high
side. In the meantime Joe Walker and Terry
Schultz were in a battle for the third and fourth
positions with Walker prevailing. On lap 9
several drivers were caught up in a turn 4 melee with
Dave Meyer and Jake Richards taking some
damage. Richards with the worst damage had to
depart immediately with Meyers leaving the track
later in the race. Joe Walker then started to
move up and seemed to have saved his equipment for
the finish. He challenged for several laps, but
Karrick holds on for the checkered flag with Walker
finishing a strong second. Marrant had a solid
run into third, Bodenhamer stayed up front with a
fourth place finish and Terry Schultz of Sedalia in
fifth.
19
B-modifieds filled the pits and contested three heats
to fill out the starting lineup for the
feature. Rusty Trimble of KCK, Scotty Martin
from Independence and Michael Mullins of Kingsville
won the three heat races. Martin once again
jumps into the early lead and stays up front for the
remainder of the race. Trimble started up front
and makes a good showing with a second place finish
after rookie driver; Michael King spins to give up
the battle for second. Bryan Montgomery of
Bates City starts in the 13th spot and moves all the
way up into a third place finish. Bobby
Raybourn of Holden started in the eighth position and
with a consistent and smooth ride moves into a fourth
place finish. Lucas Issacs the young gun driver
from Bonner Springs, KS held on for a solid fifth
place. This was Martin’s fifth feature win
this season to hold a dominating lead in the
b-modified division point’s race.
The
street stocks ran another tight side-by-side feature
race which produced some exciting high and low side
racing on the high banks. John Brooks of
Warresnburg reasserted his veteran skills along with
a total of 16 drivers registered to race. Herb
Danner from Holden and Brooks won the heat races to
start at the front of the field. Brooks led the
first lap and no one really challenged him for the
lead after multiple yellows in the street stock
feature. Danner looked real strong in second
place, but could not work his way up to and around
Brooks. Chad Eickleberry had another
high-quality finish in third after a feature win on
Friday night. Nick Bennent had a solid top five
run with a fourth place finish and John Miller worked
his way up into the fifth spot. The feature
victory for John Brooks was his 87th career win at
Central Missouri Speedway along with multiple track
championships over the years. He commented
after the race he would visit again later in the
season to attempt another feature win.
Next
Saturday night will be Pepsi Race Night at CMS.
Be sure to watch the four regular divisions
which will be racing for the checkers on the CMS high
banks. Pit gates will open at 4:30 with
admission gates opening at 5. Hot laps begin at
7 and racing hits the track at 7:30. For track
information and up to the minute race status call the
track report line at (660) 747-2166. For
complete race results, photos from John Lee of
Highflyn Photos, point standings, admission
information and much more, be sure to visit the
track’s Website at
www.centralmissourispeedway.net.
