Aaron Marrant Solidifies Run for Mighty Modified Championship, Binning Repeats, and Tammy Korff and Bryan Montgomery Nail Down First-Ever CMS Feature Victories!

By Sam Stoecklin
Track Announcer/PR
Warrensburg, MO
June 7, 2008  

Eighty-one drivers filled the pits for another weekly race event at Warrensburg’s Central Missouri Speedway for Pepsi night at the races.  When it was all said and done, two first-time winners as well as two repeat winners headlined the evening.  On another smooth, but sometimes tricky track, the race fans witnessed a total of ten qualifying heat races, one b-main event and four feature races on a windy and hot night at the track for all four racing divisions.  

Aaron Marrant took his #70 ‘Mighty’ Modified to victory lane during the final event of the evening ahead of 25 other talented racers.  Marrant started the night off with a convincing win in heat race number one ahead of Paul Knight and Jimmy Dowell.  In heat number two, Terry Schultz, who drove the #23 car of Steve Twenter as a backup ride, beat Dave Meyer and Doug Walrath to the line to take the win.  Heat three went to Jason Bodenhamer ahead of Lee Hibner and Jake Richards.  Marrant and Schultz brought the 25 starters to the line at the start with Marrant quickly shooting out to the early lead.  In what turned out to be a race slowed by several cautions thrown for various reasons, Schultz never let Marrant out of his sight as Bodenhamer also ran strong in third for most of the race.  Time and time again on the restarts Marrant stayed on the throttle and maintained his lead over Schultz and Bodenhamer.  Behind the lead trio, Jim Moody, Jimmy Dowell, Tim Karrick, and Curt Potter battled for positions four through seven.  Turn four proved to be the trickiest turn of the night for several drivers all through the race but even after several restarts, the race came to an end shortly after 10:30 with Marrant grabbing his second victory of the year.  Schultz ran as smooth as he always does and brought home a strong second-place effort ahead of Bodenhamer in third.  Moody was able to grab fourth position at the conclusion of the event in a classic battle with Dowell, who finished fifth, one spot ahead of Karrick in sixth.  Potter brought his #11p home seventh with Donnie Dannar, Buddy Benedict and David Chapman rounding out the top ten.  

In just two weeks ULMA late models will be the main attraction at the speedway as they compete in the annual CMS late model special for $800-to-win and $120-to-start the main event.  A few new names popped up this week as drivers try to get two starts in before the June 21 race.  Drivers who compete twice at CMS prior to the special event will be able to avoid paying an entry fee for the event.  Jon Binning, the current track point leader, capped off his night by racing his way to his second-consecutive and third overall feature race victory of the year.  His arch competitor at the track this year has been Jason Bodenhamer, who pressured Binning all night long for the win.  Two heat races determined the feature-race lineup earlier in the evening with Binning grabbing heat one over Allen Perryman and Bodenhamer.  In heat two, Brett Wood secured the win over David Barker and Jerry Lee Henson, Jr., of Belton, Missouri with a strong showing in third.  Binning and Wood, both from Warrensburg, led the field for the start of the 15-lap main event with Binning quickly finding the right line in his #65 machine.  Three cautions slowed the event, but on each occasion Binning’s strong starts proved crucial in maintaining his lead.  Wood stayed right with the leader and Bodenhamer to maintain a top-three run while ‘Flyin’ Mike Ryun looked strong, making his way up to fourth.  Binning did all he could to keep Bodenhamer behind him as the two ran nose-to-tail on several different occasions with Binning prevailing at the conclusion of the event.  Bodenhamer ran second with Wood bringing home third.  Ryun maintained his fourth-place position with newcomer Jake Williams, all the way from Lockwood, Missouri, having a strong run to fifth from his ninth starting position.  Walt Imhoff, also making his first CMS appearance this year, rebounded for a nice sixth place run ahead of Jamie Wineland, David Angell, Henson and Randy Ainsworth in the top ten.  

Things got interesting at the end of the night in the street stock division as a disqualification from the finishing order changed the finishing order of the feature race.  Prior to the conclusion of the night, the street stock contingent competed in two qualifying heat races with Chad Eickleberry grabbing the win in heat race number one over a strong-running Tammy Korff and Brian Johnson.  Marc Carter took heat number two ahead of Holden, Missouri driver Herb Dannar and Scotty Dukes of Odessa.  In the featured race of the night for the streets, Eickleberry and Carter headed the field off of turn four for Hershel Thompson’s green flag in pursuit of a feature race win.  Previous point-standings leader Brian Johnson once again did not finish, this time a flat tire sidelined the Independence driver.  Eickleberry spun while battling Carter for the lead and had to re-start at the tale of the field.  Eickleberry’s car never did get back to full song and was stuck in high gear for the duration of the time he stayed out on the track.  Track officials deemed his car too slow and he was brought in from the race but still was credited with a tenth-place finish.  Back up front, Carter continued to lead after a few mid-race yellow flags with Korff holding off Dannar and Nic Bennett for second. As the laps wound down, Carter had things well under control after the final caution and appeared to take his first win of the year.  Upon completing the victory lane interview, Carter’s car was summoned to the technical inspection area with the other top finishers; however, the car ultimately did not go through inspection, which led to Carter being disqualified from the results.  By virtue of her strong top-tier finish, Tammy Korff, all the way from Fulton, Missouri was declared the winner, claiming her first-ever CMS feature race victory.  Korff has finished runner up in the final standings for the street stocks before and has had several heat wins and strong feature finishes over the years, but the elated driver scored her first-ever feature win by being declared the winner after all was said and done.  Behind Korff, Herb Dannar barely held off Nic Bennett as the two ultimately finished second and third.  Dukes recovered from an early race spin for a nice fourth-place at the conclusion of the night.  Roger Stone, Darrin Christy of Kansas City, birthday boy Anthony Witham, John Miller, and Adam Bush rounded out the top nine.   

No other driver except Scotty Martin had visited victory lane at CMS in the B-Modified division this year.  However, by the end of this night’s competition a new name was able to claim the top prize.  Once again a strong field of 25 drivers was on hand for three heat races to sort out the main event starting positions.  Gary Akers was the first to visit victory lane as he bested Michael King and Brad Smith in heat one.  Lucas Isaacs had things under control in heat two ahead of Bryan Montgomery and Chris Brockway and Mark ‘the Mountain Man’ Evinger held off Bubba Kline and Martin to take the win in heat three.  In the b-main preliminary race, Michael Mullins and Jacob Ebert grabbed the two transfer positions and earned the final two starting spots for the feature race.  Twenty cars took the green flag for the 15-lap run to the checkered flags with Lucas Isaacs heading the field early on.  Isaacs held the point until he washed up in turn four, allowing Montgomery and Smith to go in front to battle for the lead.  Several cars were involved in early race incidents, including Martin, Kline, Brockway, King, Mark Evinger, and Rusty Trimble.  Isaacs continued his slide back until he left the track on lap seven, leaving Montgomery and Smith to battle for the win.  Another Isaacs’s brother, Ethan, had a fantastic run all the way from his sixteenth starting position up into the top five by avoiding many incidents, as did Mullins who at one point was all the way to fourth from his nineteenth-starting position, until being forced out of the race after contact with another driver.  Martin and Kline avoided several tricky situations to also climb near the top of the final rundown.  As the laps clicked by, second-year driver Montgomery held on to his race lead ahead of a stellar run by Ethan Isaacs and claimed the first-place trophy with Isaacs finishing second.  Martin recovered from third as Smith settled for fourth.  Joshua Jacobs finished fifth just ahead of Kearney, Missouri driver Bubba Kline, who finally shook his CMS bad luck by coming home with a strong run to sixth at the line.  Brian Ziegler, pole-setter Akers, Owen Evinger, and Steve Evans completed the top ten.  After several cars went through inspection, the finish was ultimately declared final and the finishing order stood.    

Be sure to join us again next Saturday night, June 14, for 98.5 FM Radio “The Bar” night at the races.  As usual pit gates swing open at 4:30, grandstand admission gates open at 5, hot laps go off at 7 and racing takes to the track at 7:30.  We would like to reminder drivers and fans that entry forms and 2-day admission tickets are available for the upcoming Tom Wilson Memorial BBQ bowl, which is just around the corner on Friday, July 4th and Saturday, July 5th.  Be sure to check out the information on the Web page in order to save money on admission prices for the weekend and driver entry forms for the modified and street stock special races for that weekend.  Late Model drivers who have only one start this year will want to race this coming weekend to get a second start in for the big late model special on June 21 in order to paying the extra money out for an event entry fee.  You can log on to the track’s official Web site by pointing your browser to www.centralmissourispeedway.net, where you will find full results and track information.  For up to the minute race status call the track report line at (660) 747-2166.  The track’s Web site also includes race results, photos from John Lee of High Fly’N Photos, point standings, admission information and much more.  Businesses interested in partnering with the track for sponsorship opportunities, especially for the July 4/5 races, in which high car counts and fans attendance are expected, are encouraged to call Susan Walls at (816) 229-1338.  See you next week at CMS!