By BRETT BOWMAN
Tribune columnist
October 03, 2007 12:38 am
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Robert Ballou made it seven in a row aboard his No. 81 MPHG sprint car in the $3,000-to-win Midwest Sprint Car Series (MSCS) event at the Florence (Ky.) Speedway Saturday night.
Ballou, who captured a late-season feature win at the Kokomo Speedway, held off the always hard-charging Daron Clayton to post the win, his second big money win in seven days. He also won the sprint car portion of the 4-Crown Nationals at the Eldora Speedway the previous weekend.
Jon Stanbrough came up short in giving the Fox Brothers No. 53 team its 30th win of the season with his third-place showing. Stanbrough has found victory lane 28 teams aboard the car and twice in the Baldwin Brothers No. 5. Shane Cottle was also victorious at Gas City in the Fox car, giving the team 29 wins so far this season.
Chris Windom finished fourth and Jeff Bland Jr. fifth. Hud Cone took sixth while Kyle Cummins was seventh after starting outside the eighth row. Darren Hagen and Cottle rounded out the top 10.
Cottle was piloting the second of the Roger Tapy-owned Trucker’s 24-Hour No. 10 cars as a teammate to Clayton. The No. 10T had been piloted by Hunter Scheurenberg for the better part of the 2007 season, however the talented youngster and the Trucker’s team opted to go their separate ways following Friday night’s race at the Gas City I-69 Speedway.
Peru drivers Russ Gamester and Marc Arnold were also in the feature. Gamester was 16th and Arnold 19th in the talent-laden field.
It appears that the “silly season” for sprint cars is coming sooner than expected as Hagen was behind the wheel of the famed Hoffman Racing/Mopar/Kroger/Pringles/Folgers No. 69 that Jerry Coons Jr. has been piloting all season with the exception of a few events.
Coons was taking part in the Weld Racing USAC Silver Crown race at the Kansas Speedway. With Scheurenberg departing the Trucker’s team, it would appear that several drivers might be sending Tapy their resume, as the team is considered among the top teams in the Midwest.
Rumblings around the pit area at Gas City on Friday night indicated that by the time 2008 rolls around, most fans will definitely need a driver roster. Talk among most car owners and drivers was that there would be many high profile changes taking place during the winter months.
Yeley bags big money
Former USAC standout and current Nextel Cup driver J.J. Yeley garnered quite a payday with his win in the Weld Racing USAC Silver Crown event Saturday at the Kansas Speedway.
Yeley led from green to checkered in the 67-lap event aboard A.J. Foyt’s Greer Special No. 14 to take home $26,067. Wayne Reutiman was second and Cameron Dodson third. Coons and Bud Kaeding rounded out the top five.
With just the Copper World Classic remaining on the schedule Nov. 8, Kaeding holds a 54-point lead over Reutiman in his bid to repeat as series champion. Mat Neely is third in the title chase with 439 markers.
Schatz wins Outlaw competition
North Dakota’s Donny Schatz proved to be the class of the field by capturing his fourth Williams Grove National Open at the Williams Grove Speedway Saturday night.
Schatz, who earlier this season was signed by Tony Stewart to replace Paul McMahan in the Bass Pro Shops No. 20, was the fourth-quick qualifier in his family-owned No. 15. The talented driver then captured his heat race and the Crane Cams Dash, which determined the first 10 starting positions in the feature event.
Schatz was never headed in the 40-lap A-main as he pocketed $50,000 for the win. Todd Shaffer was second and Pennsylvania Posse member Lance Dewease third. Danny Lasoski and Greg Hodnett rounded out the top five.
In Friday night’s preliminary feature, Chad Layton, like Schatz on Saturday, pulled a clean sweep of racing activities. Layton won his heat, the Crane Cams Dash, then led all 25 laps of the feature event. T.J. Stutts was second and Australian Kerry Madsen third. Schatz was fourth after starting 21st and Jeff Shepard fifth.
Miami County
Second-generation racer Stephanie Mockler held off Sam Kimmel and Blane Culp to win the Open Class feature event Saturday night at the Miami County Speedway.
Everett Liggett Jr. was fourth behind the trio and Wes McIntyre fifth. McIntyre, Richard Smith and Mockler each took heat race wins while Culp captured the Dash.
Braxton Hanft topped Tyler Marsh to earn the victory in the Restrictor Class main event. Brent Busz, Cody Fogelsong and Jim Angel rounded out the top five. Hanft and Fogelsong each won their heats and Fogelsong took the Dash.
Sam Kimmel took the checkered flag in the Stock Class main event after early leader Halen Shafer had to pull pitside after a broken panhard bar denied the local racer a bid for his 15th win of the season. John DeGood II was second, Mike Duhamel third, Ben Gaerte fourth and Tyler Courtney fifth. Taylor High School student Drew Salisbury was eighth while Shafer settled for 11th.
Ben Taylor, Mike Braden and Kimmel each won heats and Jacob Kincaid won the Dash.
With 34 cars taking part, Sonny Marlowe scored a well-deserved victory. Marlowe had David Herron chasing him to the checkered flag while Chris Smith was third. Mark Lambert and Cole Ketchum rounded out the top five. Kokomo’s Kylee Brown (13th), Doug Edison (15th) and Ryan Kline (18th) all made the feature event.
Marlowe, Mike Haley, Smith and Kline each took heat wins. Herron won the Dash and Tim Connor the B-main.
Kolt Kinsler topped Addison True to win the Junior Class main event. Trenton Bitzel was third, Danny Gibson fourth and Bayli Fearnow fifth. Kinsler and True each won heats while Kinsler made it a sweep of the night by capturing the Dash.
The season finale is slated for Saturday night at the track with the 5th-Annual Outlaw Challenge. The Open division and Non-Wing division each will pay $500 to win and $40 to start for the special show. The Restrictor Class will be racing for a $300 to win, $30 to start purse while the Junior Division will pay $100 to win, $30 to start.
The rain date for the event will be Sunday.
Brett Bowman covers auto racing for the Tribune. He may be reached by e-mail at brettbowman29@aol.com.
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