Ballou Earns $10K in O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Finale at Lakeside!
Lonnie Wheatley, KANSAS CITY, Kan. (August 16, 2008) – Robert Ballou cashed in on the biggest O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless payday of the week by snaring the win in Saturday night's 30-lap Ron Shuman Classic at Lakeside Speedway.
Ballou battled past Brady Bacon in the final circuits around the ½-mile clay oval to claim the $10,000 payday and the coveted pedal car trophy for the second year in a row aboard Dallas Mulvaney's MPHG Promotions No. 81 Maxim.
Rebounding from a wild heat race crash on Friday night, Ballou was the evening's top point earner and gridded the field sixth after Bryan Clauson edged Bacon for the top starting position with a victory in the Pole Dash.
Gunning for his fourth win in as many nights, Oklahoma's Bacon jumped into the early lead aboard Mike and Megan Eubanks' Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 5* Triple-X and stretched out nearly a straightaway advantage over second runner Dave Darland in the opening ten rounds.
Ballou was on the move though, taking fourth from Clauson by the seventh lap, disposing of Cole Whitt for third two laps later and then battling past Darland for the runner-up slot at the stripe on the tenth lap.
Bacon's advantage held up until soon after the midway point, when Ballou began eating away at his lead. By the 21st lap, Ballou had Bacon within striking distance and three laps later he had closed to his rear bumper before racing into the lead on the 25th round.
Bacon fought back by reclaiming the top spot on the 27th circuit, only to have Ballou return the favor the next time around as he led the final three circuits to post his second TNT win of the week.
Bacon held on to second, with Darland close third in Scott Benic's Gaerte-powered RWB No. 2b Maxim. Darland and Benic earned the $2,000 championship share of the Fourth Annual O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Swing point fund, which totaled $10,000.
Jesse Hockett crossed the stripe fourth in the VKCC Motorsports No. 75, with Cole Whitt rounding out the top five in the Red Bull No. 29w.
Casey Shuman turned in the race's top passing performance by charging from 20th to sixth, with 13th-starter Chris Windom, Darren Hagen, 16th-starter Charles Davis, Jr., and Clauson completing the top ten.
The entire 30-lap feature distance ran off in approximately eleven minutes without a single caution, capping a night of competition that included just one quick caution during heat race action.
Whitt, Hagen and Hockett earned heat race wins, with R.J. Johnson, Gary Taylor and Bret Mellenberndt victorious in qualifying races.
O’Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless Lakeside Speedway Ron Shuman Classic Results:
Top Four from Friday Night's Preliminary Feature Locked In:
99-Brady Bacon, 2b-Dave Darland, 71-Damion Gardner, 76-Bryan Clauson.
Heat Races:
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 29w-Cole Whitt, 2. 1k-Kim Kennedy, 3. 76bg-Mike Leslie, 4. 5*-Gary Taylor, 5. 92-Daron Clayton, 6. 15-R.J. Johnson, 7. 8-Jeff Wingate, 8. 24-Alan Billings.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 10-Darren Hagen, 2. 81-Robert Ballou, 3. 14-Coleman Gulick, 4. 67-Dustin Morgan, 5. 65-Chris Parkinson, 6. 71x-Robert Bell, 7. 1-Kevin Swindell, 8. 11-Hunter Schuerenberg.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 75-Jesse Hockett, 2. 17-Chris Windom, 3. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 4. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 5. 32-Casey Shuman, 6. 7c-Chris Morgan, 7. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 8. 69-Mike Moore.
Qualifying Races (Top 2 in Combined Passing Points from Heats & Qualifiers join Four Locked in Cars for Pole Dash; Positions 3-14 in Combined Points to "A" Main; Balance to "B" Main):
First Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 15-R.J. Johnson, 2. 81-Robert Ballou, 3. 67-Dustin Morgan, 4. 10-Darren Hagen, 5. 32-Casey Shuman, 6. 76bg-Mike Leslie, 7. 8-Jeff Wingate, 8. 24-Alan Billings.
Second Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 5*-Gary Taylor, 2. 92-Daron Clayton, 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 5. 17-Chris Windom, 6. 11-Hunter Schuerenberg, 7. 1-Kevin Swindell, 8. 71x-Robert Bell.
Third Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 2. 29w-Cole Whitt, 3. 14-Coleman Gulick, 4. 7c-Chris Morgan, 5. 1k-Kiim Kennedy, 6. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 7. 69-Mike Moore, 8. 65-Chris Parkinson.
Pole Dash (Finishing Order Determines Starting Order for Front Three Rows of "A" Main):
Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 76-Bryan Clauson, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 2b-Dave Darland, 4. 71-Damion Gardner, 5. 29w-Cole Whitt, 6. 81-Robert Ballou.
"B" "Main (Top 6 Advance to "A" Main):
"B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 2. 32-Casey Shuman, 3. 7c-Chris Morgan, 4. 11-Hunter Schuerenberg, 5. 1-Kevin Swindell, 6. 69-Mike Moore, 7. 8-Jeff Wingate, 8. 71x-Robert Bell, 9. 65-Chris Parkinson, 10. 24-Alan Billings.
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Lakeside Speedway Ron Shuman Classic "A" Main
“A” Main (30 Laps): 1. 81-Robert Ballou, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 2b-Dave Darland, 4. 75-Jesse Hockett, 5. 29w-Cole Whitt, 6. 32-Casey Shuman, 7. 17-Chris Windom, 8. 10-Darren Hagen, 9. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 10. 76-Bryan Clauson, 11. 15-R.J. Johnson, 12. 1-Kevin Swindell, 13. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 14. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 15. 92-Daron Clayton, 16. 67-Dustin Morgan, 17. 5*-Gary Taylor, 18. 71-Damion Gardner, 19. 14-Coleman Gulick, 20. 69-Mike Moore, 21. 76bg-Mike Leslie, 22. 7c-Chris Morgan, 23. 1k-Kim Kennedy, 24. 11-Hunter Schuerenberg.
Lap Leaders: Brady Bacon 1-24, Robert Ballou 25-26, Bacon 27, Ballou 28-30.
Final O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Swing Points (Top 15 drivers): 1. Dave Darland 864, 2. Jesse Hockett 820, 3. Brady Bacon 812, 4. (tie) Casey Shuman and Thomas Meseraull 790, 6. Gary Taylor 782, 7. Damion Gardner 770, 8. Robert Ballou 740, 9. Charles Davis, Jr. 737, 10. Coleman Gulick 724, 11. R.J. Johnson 719, 12. Bret Mellenberndt 706, 13. Darren Hagen 690, 14. Chris Windom 640, 15. Mike Leslie 604.
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Bacon Cooks Up Sprint Bandits TNT Three-Peat in Lakeside Opener!
Lonnie Wheatley, KANSAS CITY, Kan. (August 15, 2008) – Oklahoma's Brady Bacon just found victory lane in the "traditional" 410-ci Sprint Car ranks two nights earlier.
Now, the third generation shoe seems to be unstoppable as he snared his third O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless Midwest Swing feature win in as many nights by topping Friday's 25-lap preliminary feature event at Lakeside Speedway.
Bacon took full advantage of a late caution to overtake race-long leader and current TNT points leader Dave Darland on the 21st lap, ultimately beating Darland to the checkered flag with Damion Gardner and Bryan Clauson taking the final two guaranteed starting berths in Saturday night's $10,000 to win Ron Shuman Classic.
"I made all the adjustments I could make on that last caution and it worked, this car is working so great right now it just seems like we can do no wrong," Bacon explained of Mike and Megan Eubanks' Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 99 Triple-X.
Working forward from the ninth position, the caution that proved to be Bacon's big break also negated Bryan Clauson's move around Darland on the high side for the lead and a possible win. Clauson still earned a lock-in position with a last-lap pass of R.J. Johnson for fourth in a wild scramble for position.
"A win tonight would have been nice, but at least we're locked in for tomorrow night, that's the one we want," Clauson commented.
While Darland outgunned polesitter Hunter Schuerenberg for the lead at the drop of the green flag, Bacon went to work from the fifth row and had cracked the top five after just a handful of circuits and was then fourth behind Darland, Clauson and R.J. Johnson after Schuerenberg spun to a stop along the frontstretch after ten laps.
Johnson and Bacon both charged around Clauson on the restart, with Arizona's Johnson using the low side of the track to pressure the rim-riding Darland for the lead as the caution flew after 16 laps.
Opting to protect the low line, Darland dropped to the bottom with Bacon surging past Johnson for second. With several front runners bottled up on the lower portion of the track, Clauson took full advantage by powering by on the top side of the backstretch on the 21st lap only to have a caution flag fly for Dustin Morgan's disabled mount on the backstretch.
With Clauson back to third behind Darland and Bacon on the restart, Darland moved back to the upper groove and Bacon gobbled up the lead on the lower portion of the track, holding it to the checkered flag.
Darland held on for second in Scott Benic's Gaerte-powered RWB No. 2b Maxim, while Damion Gardner gained three positions over the final five circuits to take the show position in the Leffler Racing Pace Lighting No. 71 Beast.
Clauson edged Johnson at the line for fourth in Kevin Montgomery's Kenz & Leslie No. 76 with Johnson rounding out the top five in the Arizona Race Mart No. 15 Maxim.
Cole Whitt notched a sixth-place showing in his first TNT outing of the week, with Darren Hagen, 14th-starter Gary Taylor, Charles Davis, Jr., and 20th-starter Chris Windom completing the top ten.
Dustin Morgan, Darland, Gardner and Whitt topped heat race action, with Mike Leslie, Clauson, Jesse Hockett and Thomas Meseraull winning the qualifiers. Daron Clayton won the 10-lap "B" Main.
The night ended early for several competitors, including Robert Ballou and Kevin Swindell (who both flipped on the final lap of the first heat race) and Zach Goulden (who flipped on the second lap of the fourth qualifying race). Dusty Murray took down some fence cables on the first attempt to start the "B" Main.
The Fourth Annual O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless Midwest Swing concludes with Saturday night's $10,000-to-win Ron Shuman Classic at Lakeside Speedway, with heat races set to fire off at 7:30 p.m.
O’Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless Lakeside Speedway Results:
Heat Races:
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 67-Dustin Morgan, 2. 5*-Gary Taylor, 3. 92-Daron Clayton, 4. 10-Darren Hagen, 5. 81-Robert Ballou, 6. 1-Kevin Swindell, 7. 24-Alan Billings.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 2b-Dave Darland, 2. 11-Hunter Schuerenberg, 3. 14-Coleman Gulick, 4. 7c-Chris Morgan, 5. 75-Jesse Hockett, 6. 76bg-Mike Leslie, 7. 8-Jeff Wingate.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 71-Damion Gardner, 2. 15-R.J. Johnson, 3. 32-Casey Shuman, 4. 99-Brady Bacon, 5. 1k-Kim Kennedy, 6. 71x-Robert Bell, 7. 46-Dusty Murray.
Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 29w-Cole Whitt, 2. 76-Bryan Clauson, 3. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 4. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 5. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 6. 49-Zach Goulden, 7. 65-Chris Parkinson.
Qualifying Races (Top 16 in Combined Passing Points from Heats & Qualifiers to "A" Main; Balance to "B" Main):
First Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 76bg-Mike Leslie, 2. 15-R.J. Johnson, 3. 67-Dustin Morgan, 4. 71-Damion Gardner, 5. 1k-Kim Kennedy, 6. 92-Daron Clayton, 7. 17-Chris Windom, 8. 24-Alan Billings.
Second Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 76-Bryan Clauson, 2. 2b-Dave Darland, 3. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 4. 32-Casey Shuman, 5. 8-Jeff Wingate. DNS: 1-Kevin Swindell, 81-Robert Ballou.
Third Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 75-Jesse Hockett, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 10-Darren Hagen, 4. 29w-Cole Whitt, 5. 14-Coleman Gulick, 6. 46-Dusty Murray, 7. 71x-Robert Bell.
Fourth Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 2. 11-Hunter Schuerenberg, 3. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 4. 5*-Gary Taylor, 5. 7c-Chris Morgan, 6. 65-Chris Parkinson, 7. 49-Zach Goulden.
"B" "Main (Top 6 Advance to "A" Main):
"B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 92-Daron Clayton, 2. 7c-Chris Morgan, 3. 14-Coleman Gulick, 4. 17-Chris Windom, 5. 1k-Kim Kennedy, 6. 71x-Robert Bell, 7. 8-Jeff Wingate, 8. 65-Chris Parkinson, 9. 24-Alan Billings, 10. 46-Dusty Murray. DNS: 49-Zach Goulden, 81-Robert Ballou, 1-Kevin Swindell.
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Lakeside Speedway Preliminary "A" Main
“A” Main (25 Laps): 1. 99-Brady Bacon, 2. 2b-Dave Darland, 3. 71-Damion Gardner, 4. 76-Bryan Clauson, 5. 15-R.J. Johnson, 6. 29w-Cole Whitt, 7. 10-Darren Hagen, 8. 5*-Gary Taylor, 9. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 10. 17-Chris Windom, 11. 7c-Chris Morgan, 12. 75-Jesse Hockett, 13. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 14. 11-Hunter Schuerenberg, 15. 76bg-Mike Leslie, 16. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 17. 14-Coleman Gulick, 18. 1k-Kim Kennedy, 19. 92-Daron Clayton, 20. 67-Dustin Morgan, 21. 71x-Robert Bell, 22. 32-Casey Shuman.
Lap Leaders: Dave Darland 1-20, Brady Bacon 21-25.
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Swing Points (Top 15):
Drivers: 1. Dave Darland 720, 2. Jesse Hockett 678, 3. (tie) Gary Taylor, Thomas Meseraull and Brady Bacon 666, 6. Damion Gardner 656, 7. Casey Shuman 652, 8. Coleman Gulick 612, 9. Charles Davis, Jr. 605, 10. R.J. Johnson 591, 11. Robert Ballou 590, 12. Bret Mellenberndt 584, 13. Darren Hagen 556, 14. Chris Windom 504, 15. Mike Leslie 496.
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Bacon Outlasts Ballou in Explosive Sprint Bandits TNT Go at Creek County!
Brady Bacon makes it two straight in Sprint Banits TNT series.
Lonnie Wheatley, SAPULPA, Okla. (August 14, 2008) – The Fourth Round of the Fourth Annual O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless Midwest Swing evolved into a classic shootout between Oklahoma's Brady Bacon and California native Robert Ballou.
In the end, Bacon backed up his win one night earlier by emerging atop after a handful of lead exchanges in the final circuits of Thursday night's 30-lap main event atop the ¼-mile Creek County Speedway clay oval.
Bacon first surged in front on the 23rd lap but it wasn't until the 28th round that he put Mike and Megan Eubanks' Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 99 Tripe-X in front for keeps.
Bacon and Ballou were chased to the stripe by early leader Thomas Meseraull, who kept the Trucker's No. 10 in the title hunt by gaining ten points on TNT leader Dave Darland, with 17th-starter Daron Clayton and Jesse Hockett rounding out the top five.
"It was all about track position," Bacon commented of the lead exchanges leading up to his second win on as many nights atop Sooner soil. "I thought if I could run good, clean laps around the bottom that I could keep him behind me."
What eventually became a scintillating feature event got off to a rough beginning when second-row starter Kevin Swindell dumped his mount in turn four on the opening lap.
A plague of cautions ensued in the opening five circuits before the field settled in for the battle at hand, with just a brief interruption after the tenth lap slowing an otherwise fast-paced final 25 laps.
Meseraull, piloting the No. 10 rather than No. 10T due to Darren Hagen's one-night absence, earned the pole position for the main event and outgunned fellow front row starter Hockett for the early lead.
After wading through the early laps, Meseraull set the pace until the eighth circuit when ninth-starter Ballou battled into the lead.
As Ballou set the pace in Dallas Mulvaney's MPHG Promotions No. 81 Maxim, sixth-starting Bacon worked tirelessly to get around Meseraull, a feat he finally accomplished soon after the midway point.
Bacon reeled in the leader and took over the top spot through turns three and four on the 24th lap, only to have Ballou return the favor a lap later. The scenario repeated itself until Ballou finally ran afoul of a lapped car entering turn three on the 28th lap. Ballou kept his machine going, but lost more ground to Bacon in the process than he could make up over the final two circuits.
Bacon flashed underneath Will Hale's checkered flag before a standing room only crowd, with Ballou settling for runner-up honors as Meseraull posted his top finish of the week by claiming the show position.
After missing the scales following a qualifying race win, Missouri's Daron Clayton won the "B" Feature and then charged through the field to salvage his night with a fourth place finish.
Hockett claimed fifth in the VKCC Motorsports No. 75 to stay in contention for a second TNT title, with Oklahoma shoe Dustin Morgan racing from 18th to sixth. Damion Gardner and Dave Darland both rebounded from early incidents to finish seventh and eighth, respectively, with Casey Shuman and Chris Windom completing the top ten.
Coleman Gulick, Kevin Swindell, Bacon and Meseraull earned heat race wins, with Ballou, Bryan Clauson, Meseraull and Jesse Hockett picking up qualifying race victories.
Andrew Felker flipped in heat race action and returned to make the feature cut. Justin Melton and Henry Clarke both got upside down in qualifying race action and were done for the night.
The Fourth Annual O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless Midwest Swing moves on to Kansas City's Lakeside Speedway on Friday and Saturday night, with Saturday night's Ron Shuman Classic offering up a $10,000 winner's share.
O’Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless Creek County Speedway Results:
Heat Races:
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 14-Coleman Gulick, 2. 75-Jesse Hockett, 3. 32-Casey Shuman, 4. 55-Tony Everhart, 5. 11-Justin Melton, 6. 76bg-Mike Leslie, 7. 75x-Shane Pace, 8. 52-Frank Sudduth.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 1-Kevin Swindell, 2. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 3. 17-Chris Windom, 4. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 5. 5$-Danny Smith, 6. 4J-Jamie Passmore, 7. 21k-Henry Clarke. DNS: 9x-Larry Carter.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 99-Brady Bacon, 2. 2b-Dave Darland, 3. 67-Dustin Morgan, 4. 92-Daron Clayton, 5. 76-Bryan Clauson, 6. 5c-Cody Cordell, 7. 81-Robert Ballou, 8. 22-Koby Barksdale.
Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 10-Thomas Meseraull, 2. 71-Damion Gardner, 3. 15-R.J. Johnson, 4. 5*-Gary Taylor, 5. 71k-Alex Schutte, 6. 41-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 7. 61a-Andrew Felker.
Qualifying Races (Top 16 in Combined Passing Points from Heats & Qualifiers to "A" Main; Balance to "B" Main):
First Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 81-Robert Ballou, 2. 1-Kevin Swindell, 3. 5*-Gary Taylor, 4. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 5. 52-Frank Sudduth, 6. 11-Justin Melton, 7. 71-Damion Gardner. DNS: 76bg-Mike Leslie.
Second Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 76-Bryan Clauson, 2. 2b-Dave Darland, 3. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 4. 99-Brady Bacon, 5. 32-Casey Shuman, 6. 5c-Cody Cordell, 7. 22-Koby Barksdale, 8. 75x-Shane Pace.
Third Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 10-Thomas Meseraull, 2. 41-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 3. 71k-Alex Schutte, 4. 17-Chris Windom, 5. 61a-Andrew Felker, 6. 55-Tony Everhart, 7. 67-Dustin Morgan. DNS: 9x-Larry Carter.
Fourth Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 75-Jesse Hockett, 2. 5$-Danny Smith, 3. 14-Coleman Gulick, 4. 4J-Jamie Passmore, 5. 15-R.J. Johnson, 6. 21k-Henry Clarke, 7. 92-Daron Clayton (Disqualified: Failed to report to scales after finishing first).
"B" "Main (Top 6 Advance to "A" Main):
"B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 92-Daron Clayton, 2. 67-Dustin Morgan, 3. 5c-Cody Cordell, 4. 4J-Jamie Passmore, 5. 61a-Andrew Felker, 6. 22-Koby Barksdale, 7. 76bg-Mike Leslie, 8. 52-Frank Sudduth, 9. 75x-Shane Pace, 10. 71k-Alex Schutte, 11. 55-Tony Everhart. DNS: 15-R.J. Johnson, 11-Justin Melton, 21k-Henry Clarke, 9x-Larry Carter.
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Creek County Speedway "A" Main
“A” Main (30 Laps): 1. 99-Brady Bacon, 2. 81-Robert Ballou, 3. 10-Thomas Meseraull, 4. 92-Daron Clayton, 5. 75-Jesse Hockett, 6. 67-Dustin Morgan, 7. 71-Damion Gardner, 8. 2b-Dave Darland, 9. 32-Casey Shuman, 10. 17-Chris Windom, 11. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 12. 5*-Gary Taylor, 13. 5c-Cody Cordell, 14. 4J-Jamie Passmore, 15. 22-Koby Barksdale, 16. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 17. 14-Coleman Gulick, 18. 76-Bryan Clauson, 19. 5$-Danny Smith, 20. 61a-Andrew Felker, 21. 41-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 22. 1-Kevin Swindell.
Lap Leaders: Thomas Meseraull 1-7, Robert Ballou 8-23, Brady Bacon 24, Ballou 25, Bacon 26, Ballou 27, Bacon 28-30.
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Swing Points (Top 20):
2B Racing #2b (Dave Darland) 574
Trucker's #10 (Hagen / Meseraull) 564
VKCC #75 (Jesse Hockett) 552
Rex Foster #32 (Casey Shuman) 546
Tel-Star #5* (Gary Taylor) 532
Tel-Star #99 (Brady Bacon) 516
MPHG Promotions #81 (Robert Ballou) 515
Leffler Racing #71 (Damion Gardner) 512
Hazardous Motorsports #14 (Coleman Gulick) 496
Mark Swanson #21s (Charles Davis, Jr.) 473
Mellenberndt #97 (Bret Mellenberndt) 466
Ricky Johnson #51 (R.J. Johnson) 451
Triple Crown Racing #1 (Jones / Swindell) 447
Kruseman Racing #21k (Kruseman / Clarke) 406
Trucker's #10T (Thomas Meseraull) 398
Kevin Montgomery #76bg (Mike Leslie) 376
Windom Racing #17 (Chris Windom) 374
Cordell #5 (Cody Cordell) 362
Kruseman Racing #71k (Alex Schutte) 321
Kruseman Racing #41k (Henry Clarke) 307
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Bacon Sizzles in Sprint Bandits TNT Round Three at OKC!
Brady Bacon takes night three of Sprint Bandit Tour at OKC!
Lonnie Wheatley, OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (August 13, 2008) – Brady Bacon rarely gets the opportunity to race in his native state of Oklahoma. In fact, prior to Wednesday night, he hadn't ever raced a non-wing 410-ci Sprint Car in the Sooner State.
The third generation shoe made the most of his initial opportunity by capturing his first career feature win in the "traditional" 410-ci ranks by racing to victory lane in the O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless Midwest Swing 30-lap main event at State Fair Speedway.
Bacon battled past former TNT champion Jesse Hockett on the 18th lap to become the race's fourth different leader en route to capturing the checkered flag aboard the Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 99 Triple-X entry owned by Mike and Megan Eubanks, who also fielded the Midget race car in which Bacon captured his first Midget win in 2005.
"There's been a lot of seconds and thirds, it's nice to finally get this one," Bacon commented after becoming the third different in as many nights of TNT action.
With Bacon starting five rows deep in the ninth position, it was Tuesday night winner Dave Darland leading the way to the green flag with Arizona's R.J. Johnson alongside.
A prohibitive favorite to win his second feature in as many nights after collecting five feature wins over the previous eight nights and winning both his heat and qualifying races over the first three legs of TNT competition, Darland bicycled his car through turns one and two on both of the opening pair of circuits and fell to eighth by the time the first caution flew for Casey Shuman, who spun to a stop off the exit of turn four after contact.
After leading the initial three circuits, Johnson surrendered the point to Gary Taylor, who led three rounds as well until Hockett powered past for the lead.
Meanwhile, Bacon had cracked the top five by the fifth lap and was up to third behind Hockett and teammate Taylor by the tenth round. Bacon slipped by Taylor for the runner-up spot on the 13th round and promptly turned up the heat on Hockett before ducking underneath entering turn one for the lead on the 18th lap.
Bacon quickly fled the scene, leaving Hockett, Taylor and a surging Damion Gardner to dice for second. That battle through thick traffic soured on the 24th lap, when Gardner cut a right front tire in turn three following contact after working his way up to second. As Gardner tried to maneuver out of harm's way on the frontstetch, Dustin Morgan climbed his right rear tire and flipped to bring out a red flag with seven laps to go.
Bacon checked out on the final restart, racing to the checkered flag by a comfortable margin over Hockett's VKCC Motorsports No. 75. Mired in sixth prior to the red flag, Darland made a late charge to snare the show position aboard Scott Benic's No. 2b Maxim.
Norman, Oklahoma teen Koby Barksdale raced among the top five the entire distance before finishing fourth, with Darren Hagen recovering from an incident in the second heat race that sent five of eight starters pitside to charge from 17th to fifth aboard the Trucker's 24-Hour Road Service No. 10 DRC.
Nipped at the line by his teammate, Thomas Meseraull claimed sixth, with Taylor slipping from third to seventh in the final seven laps. New York native Coleman Gulick climbed from 15th to eighth, with Shuman recovering from the early spin to finish ninth. Charles Davis, Jr., completed the top ten.
R.J. Johnson, Chris Windom, Shuman and Darland topped heat race action, with Bryan Clauson, Darland, Gardner and Hockett victorious in the qualifying races. Hagen won the 12-lap "B" Main.
Kerry McAlister and Cory Kruseman both got upside down in the five-car tangle in the second heat. Kevin Swindell went for a wild ride in turn three in the second qualifying race, with Henry Clarke tumbling through turn two in spectacular fashion in the fourth qualifier. There were no injuries.
Monday night winner Robert Ballou was caught up in the Clarke incident and scratched for the night with excessive damage.
The Fourth Annual O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless Midwest Swing continues Thursday night at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, OK, before culminating with two nights of action at Kansas City's Lakeside Speedway.
O’Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless State Fair Speedway Results:
Heat Races:
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 15-R.J. Johnson, 2. 76-Mike Leslie, 3. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 4. 1-Kevin Swindell, 5. 71-Damion Gardner, 6. 67-Dustin Morgan, 7. 76bg-Mike Leslie, 8. 55-Tony Everhart.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 17-Chris Windom, 2. 22-Koby Barksdale, 3. 5c-Cody Cordell, 4. 15k-Kerry McAlister, 5. 21k-Cory Kruseman, 6. 41x-Brent Swift, 7. 41k-Henry Clarke, 8. 10-Darren Hagen.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 32-Casey Shuman, 2. 5*-Gary Taylor, 3. 81-Robert Ballou, 4. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 5. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 6. 41-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 7. 25-Jeff Leep. DNS: 9x-Larry Carter.
Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 2b-Dave Darland, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 27-Andy Shouse, 4. 75-Jesse Hockett, 5. 14-Coleman Gulick, 6. 61J-Danny Jennings, 7. 71k-Alex Schutte.
Qualifying Races (Top 16 in Combined Passing Points from Heats & Qualifiers to "A" Main; Balance to "B" Main):
First Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 67-Dustin Morgan, 2. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 15-R.J. Johnson, 5. 76-Bryan Clauson, 6. 25-Jeff Leep. DNS: 15k-Kerry McAlister, 9x-Larry Carter.
Second Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 2b-Dave Darland, 2. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 3. 61J-Danny Jennings, 4. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 5. 27-Andy Shouse, 6. 71k-Alex Schutte, 7. 1-Kevin Swindell. DNS: 21k-Cory Kruseman.
Third Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 71-Damion Gardner, 2. 14-Coleman Gulick, 3. 22-Koby Barksdale, 4. 76bg-Mike Leslie, 5. 17-Chris Windom, 6. 5c-Cody Cordell, 7. 55-Tony Everhart. DNS: 41x-Brent Swift.
Fourth Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 75-Jesse Hockett, 2. 5*-Gary Taylor, 3. 10-Darren Hagen, 4. 32-Casey Shuman, 5. 41-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 6. 41k-Henry Clarke, 7. 81-Robert Ballou.
"B" "Main (Top 6 Advance to "A" Main):
"B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 10-Darren Hagen, 2. 61J-Danny Jennings, 3. 71k-Alex Schutte, 4. 76bg-Mike Leslie, 5. 5c-Cody Cordell, 6. 41-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 7. 15k-Kerry McAlister, 8. 25-Jeff Leep, 9. 55-Tony Everhart, 10. 9x-Larry Carter. DNS: 1-Kevin Swindell, 81-Robert Ballou, 41k-Henry Clarke, 21k-Cory Kruseman, 41x-Brent Swift.
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT State Fair Speedway "A" Main
“A” Main (30 Laps): 1. 99-Brady Bacon, 2. 75-Jesse Hockett, 3. 2b-Dave Darland, 4. 22-Koby Barksdale, 5. 10-Darren Hagen, 6. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 7. 5*-Gary Taylor, 8. 14-Coleman Gulick, 9. 32-Casey Shuman, 10. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 11. 76-Bryan Clauson, 12. 71k-Alex Schutte, 13. 15-R.J. Johnson, 14. 27-Andy Shouse, 15. 61J-Danny Jennings, 16. 41-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 17. 76bg-Mike Leslie, 18. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 19. 17-Chris Windom, 20. 71-Damion Gardner, 21. 67-Dustin Morgan, 22. 5c-Cody Cordell.
Lap Leaders: R.J. Johnson 1-3, Gary Taylor 4-6, Jesse Hockett 7-17, Brady Bacon 18-30
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Swing Points (Top 15): 1. Dave Darland 440, 2. Darren Hagen 420, 3. Casey Shuman 414, 4. Jesse Hockett 412, 5. Gary Taylor 406, 6. Thomas Meseraull 398, 7. Coleman Gulick 380, 8. (tie) Damion Gardner and R.J. Johnson 376, 10. Robert Ballou 369, 11. Brady Bacon 366, 12. Alex Schutte 352, 13. Bret Mellenberndt 348, 14. Charles Davis, Jr. 345, 15. Cory Kruseman 331.
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Darland Collects Fist Full of Sprint Bandits TNT Dollars in Husker Nationals!
Dave Darland on his was to winnng the Sprint Banits tour stop in Nebraska on Tuesday night.
Lonnie Wheatley, GREENWOOD, Neb. (August 12, 2008) – For the second year in a row, Indiana's Dave Darland left Nebraska Raceway Park's I-80 Speedway with a fistful of two-dollar bills.
Two thousand of them to be exact, as he collected the $4,000 winner's share by topping the second round of the Fourth Annual O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless Midwest Swing in Tuesday night's 30-lap Husker Nationals main event.
Darland fought off Brady Bacon much of the way, then survived a late restart to take the checkered flag in front of Damion Gardner, Robert Ballou, 13th-starter Darren Hagen and Charles Davis, Jr.
Darland did more than "survive" the final caution that set up a three-lap dash to the checkered flag, as he checked out to take the checkered flag aboard Scott Benic's Gaerte-powered RWB No. 2b Maxim with a 0.852-second advantage to claim Husker Nationals honors for the second year in a row, delivering car owner Benic his sixth career TNT feature win in the process.
"That was a lot of fun," Darland exclaimed after his fifth overall victory in the past eight nights. "In one and two the top was the way to go, and in turns three and four the bottom was the quickest. I kept seeing a nose under me from time to time so I knew I had to keep hustling."
Darland earned the front row outside starting position for the main event, but it was Oklahoma's Brady Bacon outdueling Darland for the point on the opening round from the pole position in Mike and Megan Eubanks' Tel-Star Communications No. 99 Triple-X.
Bacon's lead was short-lived however, as Darland slid in front to take command upon the completion of the third lap. Darland was unable to shake Bacon though, with the young shoe keeping the pressure on as Gardner and Ballou battled for position close behind with Jesse Hockett next in the chase as the top five separated themselves from the field.
Working through heavy traffic, Darland cleared a group of cars on the 20th lap to break away from his chasers. And when the race's first caution flew on the 24th lap, Darland had already lapped up to ninth place and had a cushion of three lapped cars between himself and Bacon with another pair of lapped machines between Bacon and the battling duo of Ballou and Gardner.
As Darland took off on the restart, Bacon's mount stumbled and he pulled pitside moments later with fuel pickup problems.
On the move was Gardner, who blasted past Ballou and then cleared the five lapped cars before the red flag flew after 27 laps for Mike Leslie's turn four tumble. Leslie walked away uninjured.
While Gardner restarted on Darland's tailtank, he was no match this time as Darland breezed to victory lane. Gardner settled for runner-up honors in the Pace Lighting/Team ASE No. 71 Beast, with Ballou taking show honors in the MPHG Promotions No. 81 Maxim.
Darren Hagen raced from 13th to snare fourth in the Trucker's 24-Hour Road Service No. 10 DRC, with Charles Davis, Jr., climbing a handful of positions to round out the top five in Mark Swanson's No. 21s.
Casey Shuman crossed the stripe sixth, with Hockett, Cory Kruseman and Chris Windom the final cars on the lead lap. Gary Taylor climbed from 21st to complete the top ten.
Bret Mellenberndt, Darland and Shuman topped heat race action with Gardner, Ballou and Darland victorious in the qualifying races.
The Fourth Annual O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless Midwest Swing moves on to Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway on Wednesday night, with ensuing stops at Creek County Speedway near Tulsa (Thursday) and then Kansas City's Lakeside Speedway (Friday and Saturday).
O’Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless I-80 Speedway Husker Nationals Results:
Heat Races:
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 2. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. 17-Chris Windom, 5. 76-Mike Leslie, 6. 14-Coleman Gulick, 7. 71x-Robert Bell, 8. 83-Tim Kaeding.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 2b-Dave Darland, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 71-Damion Gardner, 4. 81-Robert Ballou, 5. 21k-Cory Kruseman, 6. 71k-Alex Schutte, 7. 77-John Klabunde.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 32-Casey Shuman, 2. 15-R.J. Johnson, 3. 1-Levi Jones, 4. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 5. 10-Darren Hagen, 6. 5*-Gary Taylor, 7. 41k-Henry Clarke.
Qualifying Races:
First Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 71-Damion Gardner, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 10-Darren Hagen, 4. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 5. 15-R.J. Johnson, 6. 83-Tim Kaeding, 7. 76-Mike Leslie, 8. 71x-Robert Bell.
Second Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 81-Robert Ballou, 2. 75-Jesse Hockett, 3. 1-Levi Jones, 4. 71k-Alex Schutte, 5. 32-Casey Shuman, 6. 14-Coleman Gulick, 7. 77-John Klabunde.
Third Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 2b-Dave Darland, 2. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 3. 17-Chris Windom, 4. 21k-Cory Kruseman, 5. 41k-Henry Clarke, 6. 97-Bret Mellenberndt. DNS: 5*-Gary Taylor.
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits I-80 Speedway Husker Nationals "A" Main
“A” Main (30 Laps): 1. 2b-Dave Darland, 2. 71-Damion Gardner, 3. 81-Robert Ballou, 4. 10-Darren Hagen, 5. 21-Charles Davis, Jr., 6. 32-Casey Shuman, 7. 75-Jesse Hockett, 8. 21k-Cory Kruseman, 9. 17-Chris Windom, 10. 5*-Gary Taylor, 11. 15-R.J. Johnson, 12. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 13. 1-Levi Jones, 14. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 15. 71k-Alex Schutte, 16. 14-Coleman Gulick, 17. 41k-Henry Clarke, 18. 71x-Robert Bell, 19. 83-Tim Kaeding, 20. 76-Mike Leslie, 21. 99-Brady Bacon, 22. 77-John Klabunde.
Lap Leaders: Brady Bacon 1-2, Dave Darland 3-30.
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Swing Points (Top 15): 1. Dave Darland 296, 2. Robert Ballou 294, 3. Casey Shuman 282, 4. Darren Hagen 280, 5. Gary Taylor 270, 6. (tie) Damion Gardner, Levi Jones and Jesse Hockett 266, 9. Thomas Meseraull 260, 10. Cory Kruseman 256, 11. R.J. Johnson 252, 12. Coleman Gulick 246, 13. Tim Kaeding 238, 14. Bret Mellenberndt 234, 15. Henry Clarke 232.
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Ballou Best In O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Opener at Lucas Oil Speedway
Lonnie Wheatley, WHEATLAND, Mo. (August 11, 2008) – Robert Ballou opened up the 2008 edition of the O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless Midwest Swing in the same way that he finished out the 2007 version; by standing in victory lane.
Ballou wrestled the lead away from Dave Darland on the 21st lap and went on to capture his fifth career TNT feature win in Monday night's 30-lap main event at Lucas Oil Speedway, cashing in on a $4,000 payday aboard Dallas Mulvaney's Don Ott-powered MPHG Promotions No 81 Maxim.
Darland chased Ballou to the stripe, with Casey Shuman, Levi Jones and Gary Taylor rounding out the top five.
"Even though we argue all the time, we've still got a great team," Ballou joked in victory lane referring to the relationship between himself and crew chief Jimmy Jones. "The car just kept getting better and better as the race went on."
It was a significant reversal of fortune at Lucas Oil Speedway for the 19-year-old Rocklin, CA, native, who endured a grinding crash during TNT action two years ago at "The Diamond of Dirt Tracks". Ballou explained that, "It destroyed everything on that car and made for a long day in the parking lot the next day. I'm liking this a lot better."
Ballou came from the fourth row outside to cool off the red-hot hand of Dave Darland, who was gunning for a fifth Sprint Car feature win over the past seven days.
And he did it without the benefit of a caution. After the initial start was waved off for a turn one scrum that ultimately sent Alex Schutte tumbling off the turn one embankment aboard one of three Cory Kruseman entries, the entire 30-lap distance ran off in non-stop fashion.
Past TNT Midwest Swing champion Jesse Hockett led the feature field to the green flag from the pole position after accumulating the most points through heat and qualifying race action, but it was front row outside starter Darland battling into the lead on the opening lap in front of Hockett and Casey Shuman, with Ballou up to fourth on the opening round.
Hockett tried to take the lead away from Darland in the early circuits, but Darland soon opened up a bit of breathing room, leaving Hockett, Shuman and Ballou to dice for position in his wake.
Ballou seemingly took command of second on the fifth round, but Shuman battled back two laps later to regain the spot. It wasn't until the race's midway point that Ballou finally recaptured second and set his sights on Darland.
With lapped traffic becoming a factor, Ballou reeled in Darland and raced by on the low side of turns one and two to take command on the 21st circuit. Darland tried to rally back to the front for several rounds before Ballou finally escaped over the final handful of laps to take the checkered flag with nearly a half straightaway advantage.
Darland settled for runner-up honors in Scott Benic's No. 2b entry, with Shuman holding on to the show position in Rex Foster's No. 32. Levi Jones climbed from ninth to finish fourth in Jack Yeley's No. 1, while Gary Taylor rebounded from an opening lap spin by charging from the tail of the field to round out the top five after originally starting the feature inside the second row.
Darren Hagen raced from 14th to sixth in one of the Trucker's entries, with Missouri teen Andrew Felker picking off a handful of positions to finish seventh in his first outing in a major non-wing 410-ci Sprint Car event.
Thomas Meseraull brought the second Trucker's car across the line in eighth, while Cody Cordell rebounded from a tumble in hot laps to finish ninth after starting 21st. Hockett slipped back to tenth in the final rundown.
Hockett, Darland and Ballou topped heat race action for the 27-car field, with Damion Gardner, Jones and Darland winning the qualifying races. Frank Brown won the 10-lap "B" Main.
Charles Davis, Jr., got upside down in turn one on the second lap of the opening heat race and then was forced to the infield on the opening lap of the "B" Main with front end woes after contact with another car.
The Fourth Annual O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless Midwest Swing moves on to Nebraska Raceway Park's I-80 Speedway on Tuesday night, with ensuing stops at Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway (Wednesday), Creek County Speedway near Tulsa (Thursday) and then Kansas City's Lakeside Speedway (Friday and Saturday).
O’Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless Lucas Oil Speedway Results:
Heat Races:
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 75-Jesse Hockett, 2. 5*-Gary Taylor, 3. 61a-Andrew Felker, 4. 99-Brady Bacon, 5. 14-Coleman Gulick, 6. 8-Jeff Wingate, 7. 9x-Larry Carter, 8. 76-Mike Leslie, 9. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 2b-Dave Darland, 2. 32-Casey Shuman, 3. 15-R.J. Johnson, 4. 71-Damion Gardner, 5. 10-Darren Hagen, 6. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 7. 55-Tony Everhart, 8. 19s-Steven Cross. DNS: 5c-Cody Cordell.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 81-Robert Ballou, 2. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 3. 83-Tim Kaeding, 4. 21k-Cory Kruseman, 5. 1-Levi Jones, 6. 41k-Henry Clarke, 7. 5k-Alex Schutte, 8. 3-Dustin Adams, 9. 43-Frank Brown.
Qualifying Races – Top 16 in Combined Passing Points from Heats & Qualifiers to "A" Feature; Balance to "B" Main
First Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 71-Damion Gardner, 2. 15-R.J. Johnson, 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. 81-Robert Ballou, 5. 99-Brady Bacon, 6. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr., 7. 8-Jeff Wingate, 8.76-Mike Leslie, 9. 55-Tony Everhart.
Second Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 1-Levi Jones, 2. 32-Casey Shuman, 3. 5*-Gary Taylor, 4. 61a-Andrew Felker, 5. 43-Frank Brown, 6. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 7. 14-Coleman Gulick, 8. 19s-Steven Cross, 9. 9x-Larry Carter.
Third Qualifier (8 Laps): 1. 2b-Dave Darland, 2. 83-Tim Kaeding, 3. 21k-Cory Kruseman, 4. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 5. 10-Darren Hagen, 6. 41k-Henry Clarke, 7. 5k-Alex Schutte, 8. 3-Dustin Adams. DNS: 5c-Cody Cordell.
"B" Main – Top 6 Advance to "A" Main
"B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 43-Frank Brown, 2. 8-Jeff Wingate, 3. 5c-Cody Cordell, 4. 5k-Alex Schutte, 5. 41k-Henry Clarke, 6. 55-Tony Everhart, 7. 3-Dustin Adams, 8. 76-Mike Leslie, 9. 19s-Steven Cross, 10. 9x-Larry Carter, 11. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr.
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Lucas Oil Speedway "A" Main
“A” Main (30 Laps): 1. 81-Robert Ballou, 2. 2b-Dave Darland, 3. 32-Casey Shuman, 4. 1-Levi Jones, 5. 5*-Gary Taylor, 6. 10-Darren Hagen, 7. 61a-Andrew Felker, 8. 10T-Thomas Meseraull, 9. 5c-Cody Cordell, 10. 75-Jesse Hockett, 11. 14-Coleman Gulick, 12. 83-Tim Kaeding, 13. 15-R.J. Johnson, 14. 21k-Cory Kruseman, 15. 71-Damion Gardner, 16. 43-Frank Brown, 17. 41k-Henry Clarke, 18. 8-Jeff Wingate, 19. 97-Bret Mellenberndt, 20. 55-Tony Everhart, 21. 99-Brady Bacon, 22. 5k-Alex Schutte.
Lap Leaders: Dave Darland 1-20, Robert Ballou 21-30.
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Swing Points (Top 10): 1. Robert Ballou 150, 2. Dave Darland 146, 3. Casey Shuman 144, 4. Levi Jones 142, 5. Gary Taylor 140, 6. Darren Hagen 138, 7. Andrew Felker 136, 8. Thomas Meseraull 134, 9. Cody Cordell 132, 10. Jesse Hockett 130.
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O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Fires Off Tonight at Lucas Oil Speedway
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (August 11, 2008) – The time has finally arrived, as the Fourth Annual O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless Midwest Swing fires to life tonight at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO.
The Monday night card at "The Diamond of Dirt Tracks" marks the first of six consecutive nights of non-wing, 410-ci Sprint Car racing action at five different tracks throughout Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas.
The opening leg of TNT, which annually draws the nation's top wingless Sprint Car stars, goes green at Lucas Oil Speedway at 7:30 p.m.
Following Monday's card, the Sprint Bandits TNT swing moves on to Nebraska Raceway Park's I-80 Speedway for the Fourth Annual Huskerland Non-Wing Sprint Car Nationals on Tuesday night.
The next two nights feature a pair of stops in the Sooner State, with the wingless wonders invading Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway on Wednesday night and then taking to the Creek County Speedway bullring near Tulsa on Thursday night.
The week of super charged action culminates with the annual two-night stand at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, KS, on Friday and Saturday, with Saturday night's Ron Shuman Classic main event winner pocketing a $10,000 winner's share.
A $10,000 points fund will be doled out among the week's top ten point earners, pushing the payout for the week to well over $100,000.
California natives Robert Ballou and Tim Kaeding reign as defending series co-champions after tying for top honors in 2007. Missouri's Jesse Hockett topped the TNT Midwest Swing in 2006, while Illinois shoe Levi Jones earned the inaugural TNT title in 2005.
The semi-banked, 3/8-mile Lucas Oil Speedway is located in Wheatland, MO, 0.2 miles south of US 54 on SR 83. For more information, contact the track at 417-282-5984.
The semi-banked, 4/10-mile I-80 Speedway dirt oval is located in Greenwood, NE, between Lincoln and Omaha off I-80 Exit 420, then 0.4 miles north on SR 63, then west. For more information, contact the track at 402-944-2233.
The slightly-banked, 3/8-mile State Fair Speedway clay oval is located in Oklahoma City, OK, on the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds near the intersection of N.W. 10th and May Avenue. For more information, contact the track at 405-948-6796.
The semi-banked, ¼-mile Creek County Speedway dirt oval is located southwest of Tulsa, OK, off I-44 Exit 211, then 0.3 miles south on SR 33, then one mile west on SR 66, then south. For more information, contact the track at 918-247-6675.
The semi-banked, ½-mile Lakeside Speedway dirt oval is located in Kansas City, KS, off I-435 Exit 18, then one mile northwest on SR 5. For more information, contact the track at 913-299-2040.
Additional information regarding the O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless series is available at www.sprintbandits.com.
O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT 2008 – The Tracks…
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (August 5, 2008) – Each year, they meet in the middle. The nation's top wingless Sprint Car drivers converge upon the nation's mid-section for a full week of O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless competition.
This year is no different, as drivers from the Hoosier State of Indiana and surrounding "traditional" areas will take on the best the West can offer for six consecutive nights throughout Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas, beginning next Monday night, August 11. And it's all on tracks that only host the wingless warriors once a year. It's the closest thing to neutral turf to be found.
Some of the locals even clip their wings to take on the wingless professionals. One of those, Jesse Hockett of Warsaw, MO, further proved his wingless prowess when he captured the 2006 Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Swing championship. The versatile racer had already topped Lakeside Speedway's $10,000 wingless classic two times previous to TNT honors.
The previous year, Illinois shoe Levi Jones ignited with the TNT title. And then last year, West Coast natives Robert Ballou and Tim Kaeding tied for top TNT honors.
This year, five tracks are set to host the series, with Lucas Oil Speedway opening up the six-night set with ensuing events at Nebraska Raceway Park's I-80 Speedway, Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway, Sapulpa's Creek County Speedway and then Kansas City's Lakeside Speedway.
Round One – Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, MO)
When: Monday, August 11
Description: 3/8-mile semi-banked dirt oval
Location: 0.2 miles south of US 54 on SR 83
Times: Pits open at 4:00 p.m. Racing begins at 7:30 p.m.
Mufflers: No
Track Phone: 417-282-5984
Notes: "The Diamond of Dirt Tracks" rejoins the TNT trail. Dickie Gaines scored his lone career TNT victory at Lucas Oil Speedway in 2006, fending off a serious bid for the win by Jesse Hockett.
Round Two – I-80 Speedway (Greenwood, NE)
When: Tuesday, August 12
Description: 4/10-mile semi-banked dirt oval
Location: Between Omaha and Lincoln off I-80 Exit 420, then 0.4 miles north on SR 63, then west
Times: Pits open at 5:00 p.m. Racing begins at 7:00 p.m.
Mufflers: No
Track Phone: 402-944-2233
Notes: I-80 Speedway has annually hosted some of the most competitive wingless action of the week. Levi Jones topped an action-packed 2005 TNT feature, Robert Ballou shocked the world with his first wingless win in 2006 and then Dave Darland gave the Trucker's Team their first TNT win when he nipped Tim Kaeding at the line by 0.052 seconds last year.
Round Three – State Fair Speedway (Oklahoma City, OK)
When: Wednesday, August 13
Description: 3/8-mile slightly-banked clay oval
Location: At the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds near the intersection of N.W. 10th and May Avenue
Times: Pits open at 4:00 p.m. Racing begins at 7:30 p.m.
Mufflers: Schoenfeld 112535
Track Phone: 405-948-6796
Hotels: Roadway Inn at I-40 and Rockwell, $42.99, 405-787-1350 and Travelodge at I-40 and MacArthur, $45.00, 800-578-7878
Notes: There is an abundance of history in the air at the Fairgrounds Speedway that has hosted auto racing for more than half a century, but this will be the first wingless Sprint Car race since Levi Jones topped the TNT forces in 2005. Prior to that, the last 410-ci wingless Sprint Car race was a 1988 classic in which Lealand McSpadden wore out the outer guard rail on the old half-mile to beat Shane Carson and Ron Shuman.
Round Four – Creek County Speedway (Sapulpa, OK)
When: Thursday, August 14
Description: ¼-mile semi-banked clay oval
Location: Southwest of Tulsa off I-44 Exit 211 then 0.3 miles south on SR 33, then one miles west on US 66
Times: Pits open at 3:00 p.m. Racing begins at 7:00 p.m.
Mufflers: Yes
Track Phone: 918-247-6675
Hotels: Days Inn at I-44 and Yale in Tulsa, $58 Sprint Bandits rate, 918-496-9300 and Holiday Inn Select at I-44 and Yale in Tulsa, $75, 918-622-7000
Notes: The bullring hosted non-wing 410-ci Sprint Cars for the first time last year and lived up to all expectations with Robert Ballou besting a field of 42 entries with the first of three consecutive TNT wins.
Rounds Five & Six – Lakeside Speedway (Kansas City, KS)
When: Friday and Saturday, August 15-16
Description: ½-mile semi-banked dirt oval
Location: Off I-435 Exit 18, then one mile northwest on SR 5
Times: Pits open at 5:00 p.m., racing begins at 7:30 p.m. on both nights
Mufflers: No
Track Phone: 913-299-2040
Hotel: Hampton Inn, Lakeside rate, 913-328-1400
Tickets: $16 on Friday and $18 on Saturday if ordered in advance by calling the track, $20 and $25 on race days. Kids 8-14 just $8 each night.
Notes: After four nights of $4,000 to win events, the week culminates with Lakeside Speedway's $10,000 to win Ron Shuman Classic on Saturday night, August 16. The top four finishers in Friday night's preliminary feature are locked into the finale. Robert Ballou took last year's $10,000 top prize along with the coveted pedal car, joining a prestigious list of past event winners including Brad Sweet (2006), Bud Kaeding (2005 and 2002), Jesse Hockett (2004 and 2003), Troy Rutherford (2001) and Tony Elliott (2000).
Additional information regarding the O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless series is available at www.sprintbandits.com.
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O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Detonates Soon
