Drew County Speedway

Contact: DCS Race Results / Jayme Lawson
Email: PR@DrewCountySpeedway.net  
March 8, 2009

“Findley finds win in DCS season opener”

Monticello, Arkansas USA

Perfect weather conditions greeted the near-capacity crowd as Western Sizzlin presented the H&R Block Season Opener at the Drew County Speedway.  The action was non-stop with several lead changes and carnage.  Thankfully, everytime the dust settled, everyone emerged unscathed.  From start to finish, numerous battles unfolded throughout the evening.

Racefans returned to the track Saturday, curious of the changes in place at DCS since new owner Rodney Box had taken the reins. H&R Block of Monticello sponsored the event; Representative Amanda Nall spoke of the positive feedback she had heard from fans throughout the night. “We are happy to have had the opportunity to sponsor this first race of the season; the fans have been telling me all night how much they love this track and how excited they are at the changes in place and improvements still to come.”

The buzz in the pits by returning racers was the smoothness and good condition of the track; even the dustiness of the air was noticeably lower than seasons past, and officials were diligent in moving quickly through cautions and keeping the events of the night running in a timely manner.

“There were a lot of wrecks, which meant a lot of cautions,” track manager Jeb Onwiler said. “As everyone knows, that makes it difficult to stay on schedule.  But I'm sure everyone’s opening night jitters will subside and future events will proceed as planned.”

The Cruiser class was the first to take the track during the feature, and within seconds of the green flag dropping, Donnie Summerford proved his #D13 car would be the one to beat as he made a line through the center of the field and soared from the third row to first , clearing the entire field before Turn 1. Fans were on their feet by the time the cars entered Turn 4, when Summerford drove high and spun in dust along the top end of the track, meeting the field head-on in a multiple car pile-up, putting Summerford out of competition. The race continued with lead changes between #26 driven by Brian Pharr and John Anthony in #311.  In the final laps, Pharr’s got loose and fell back through the field as #21 driven by Craig Williams took the lead, followed by #29 and #311 battling for second.

Again in the first laps of the Hobby stock class, more cars spun and the race restarted with Otto Adair in the #32 car and #7, driven by Casey Hobson, leading the field, with spun cars, #46 and #55j starting at the back. Hobson maintained his lead while #5 and Duffy Allen, #47, battled for second position. Hobson, Allen and Adair dominated most of the race, with Hobson and Allen lapping the rear of the field and taking first and second places, and Adair rounding out the top five.

Within the first four laps of the Street Stock Division, Jason Craig (#15) had cleared the #99 car of David Pearce, who began the race in the pole position, and #8n (David Nichols) followed in third, the cars leading the rest of the field by half a lap. Contact between #M98 (Clint Mashburn) and Larry Hale (#564), put Hale out of the competition and forced Mashburn to restart at the rear of the field. Pearce passed Craig for the lead, then Nichols secured second, with Craig finishing in third place.

Tensions were high and fans cheered relentlessly during the Sport Modified Division as one of the local favorites, Seth Reed (#8s), ran a head-to-head battle for a majority of the race for second position with Bryan James (#38) as #6volt driven by Cody Harger dominated first position. Slight contact was made several times between the racers, but the drivers maintained control of their cars and raced clean, making for an exciting finish. Gary Teeter (#5t) came into the battle for second late in the race, with the cars racing three-wide in final laps, finishing with Harger taking the win, followed by Reed, and a finish line pull for third that Teeter won over James.

The lighter Mini-Stock Division gave fans a momentary break from the roar of thunderous engines as four-cylinder cars took the track, with Eric Moss (#11x) holding the pole position, followed by #314 (Tyler Abbott) and Jeremy Tucker in the #9t car. #09 crashed head-on into the wall between Turns Three and Four, rendering the car disabled; the car had made the feature after it had been struck earlier in the heat races by Megan Ellis (#409), causing the car to come to a rest, overturned in the infield. Track officials turned the car right side up and minor damage was sustained.

Abbott cleared Moss to win the race, and a flat on Moss’ car left Ellis to finish in second place, with #8k finishing out the top three.
The main event of the evening, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Modified Division, was an exhilarating conclusion to the first race of the season, beginning with #15 taking first position from Casey Findley (#17f).

Following a caution for a spinout, the race restarted with three-ride racing through Turns One and Two and immediately followed with a pileup on the back stretch involving a majority of the field, including #48, #26, #23, #18a, and #15 when #401 crashed into the field. Most of the cars sustained minor damage and restarted at the rear of the field, with #15 regaining his position at the front of the pack.

#17f passed #15 for the lead with #90 taking second place and #F27 also driving into contention. Another crash left #15 out of the race with Findley winning, followed by Davidson in second and Lynnsee Provence (F27) taking third. 

Complete results are available at www.DrewCountySpeedway.net.
Next Saturday night, James Quick Print presents Holiday Inn Nite featuring the O’Reilly Modifieds, SportMods, Hobby Stocks, Street Stocks, Cruisers and Mini Stocks.

The pits open at 4:30pm, grandstands at 5:30pm, and the show starts at 7pm. 

Adults are $10.00, seniors and military are $8.00, juniors 6-14 are $6.00 and kids 5 and under are free.  Event parking is also free.  

OFFICAL DCS RESULTS (03.07.09)