Texas Speedzone - Icebreaker at Abilene Speedway, 2/25/06

Abilene, TX (February 27, 2006) - Despite less than ideal conditions nearly 240 race teams from 6 states rolled through the pit gates for the Annual Icebreaker on the 1/4 mile semi-banked clay oval.

Icebreaker at Abilene Speedway 2/25/06 By J M Hallas Abilene, TX (February 27, 2006) - Despite less than ideal conditions nearly 240 race teams from 6 states rolled through the pit gates for the Annual Icebreaker on the 1/4 mile semi-banked clay oval. This would be the IMCA points season opener for the Modifieds, Stock Cars, SportMods and Hobby Stocks, as well as the regular season start for the Abilene Speedway classes. Friday night’s portion of the show was canceled when rains fell across the area forcing track promoter Rob Poor to call off the night’s action. Poor joked, “We should rename this show the Drought Buster 2006. It’s been so dry around here, we haven’t even been allowed to have a barbecue grill lit.” Only through the diligent efforts of Poor, 281 Speedway promoter, Richard Snider and the Abilene Speedway crew was the track and pit area ready for Saturday night racing. The track was in excellent conditions and was the fastest and raciest in recent history. IMCA Modified Heats---Top 2 to A-main 1. 45 David Trauernicht, 911 Josh McGaha 2. 49 Vince Ogle, 18 Scotty Cook 3. 83 Darryl Campbell, 89 Bo Newton----Ben McVinua barrel rolls several times down back stretch, Driver ok. 4. 25 Dan Roberts, 718 Cody Smith 5. 777 Brandon Black, 44 Scotty Brown 6. 6 Jason Schoenberger, 41 Monte Bolton IMCA Sport Mods---Top 2 to A-main 1. 18 Tim Clonch, 22 Duain Pritchett 2. 4 Travis Evans , 23 Paul Martin----Bobby Gilmore flips on front stretch, Driver ok 3. 341 Tommy Kays, 991 Donnie Pederson 4. 44 Scotty Brown, 13 David Boggs 5. 24 Scott Pyle, 12 Jerry Graves 6. 131 Michael Martin, 30 Albert McCall IMCA Hobby Stock heats ----top 3 to A-main 1. 14 Duane Wolff, 97 John Wagonblast, 35 Noel Jones 2. 38 Allen Montgomery, 3 Paul Norman, 7 Dale Roys 3. 33 Charles Cosper, 135 John Davenport, 31 Mike Smith 4. 601 Nathan Sodek, 34 Ricky Turner, 83 Jim Bates IMCA Modified B-mains----Top 3 to A-main 1. 7 Steve Hayes, 07 Allen Williams, 19 David Elliott 2. 20 Mike Trigg, 31 Neal Debord, 12 Toby Hubbard 3. 90 Tommy Fain, 33 William Gould, 181 Tim Clonch IMCA Southern Sports Mods---Top 4 to A-main 1. 48 Bradley Poor, 2 Allen Colyer, 33 Ryan Lawler, 07 Robert Black 2. 46 Tom Earl Jr, 9 Gary Underwood, 71 Cody Frank, 63 Frank Groves Brown Best in Modified Bash Polesitter, David Trauernicht got the edge on Bo Newton at the start of the 21-car, 20 lap IMCA Modified Main event. Brandon Black and Cody Franks, from row two got hooked and fell back. Monte Bolton took second from Dan Roberts while Vince Ogle and Darryl Campbell were side by side for sixth. Josh McGaha, Newton and David Elliott tried to go three wide, but McGaha got kicked out of the fight and spun in turn 1. Back to green, Bolton was taking a peek on the high side of Trauernicht for the lead. Ogle grabbed third from Roberts when Toby Hubbard and Allen Williams got tangled in turn after Hubbard broke. On the restart, Trauernicht was able to get away from Bolton, but not for long as yellow was back for Tommy Fain who broke and stopped turn 4. The next try at a restart saw Roberts spin from third and Newton spin behind him. When they finally got back to racing, Trauernicht slid high giving Bolton the chance to stick his nose out front for a second. It was then three wide for the lead between Bolton, Trauernicht and Ogle, with Trauernicht wrestling the spot back and Ogle spinning. Brown and Bolton were left wheel to wheel for second as Mike Trigg moved up to fifth on lap 6. Trauernicht was just starting to run off leaving Brown and Bolton to swap second, when Trigg expired a motor on lap 8. Trauernicht again edged away from Bolton on the restart, while Tim Clonch, who started dead last, moved into fifth getting by Campbell. Bolton and Brown were still trading places as the race came to halfway with the top five on Trauernicht, Bolton, Brown, Elliott, while Clonch and Cody Smith ran side by side for fifth. On lap 11 Smith got around both Clonch and Elliott for fourth. Trauernicht’s hopes for the win ended on lap when he broke and pulled off. This handed the lead over to Bolton on lap 13. Bolton continued to run the top groove and was looking to creep away. But Brown, on the bottom, caught Bolton on lap 14, while Clonch retook a spot from Smith. Brown wrestled the top spot away from Bolton after a brief wheel to wheel fight on lap 16. Clonch then caught Bolton for second as they ran side by side on lap 17 and 18. Just as looked like Brown was ready to take the checkers, yellow waved for William Gould who broke and stopped on track. Brown got a good jump on the restart and put a little distance on Clonch as the white waved. Brown cruised to the win ahead of the hard charging Clonch. “We got just got lucky,” stated Brown. “We broke a tie rod end on the last lap and couldn’t have made another lap.” “There’s probably 40 good cars here that could win on any given night, so our chances of doubling up are as good as theirs to win.” IMCA Modified A Main Pos./Car#/Driver/Start 1. 44 Scotty Brown, Dallas, Tx. (6) 2. 181 Tim Clonch, Quinlan, Tx (21) 3. 41 Monte Bolton, Lubbock, Tx (7) 4. 718 Cody Smith, Forney, Tx (4) 5. 83 Darryl Campbell, Everman, Tx (9) 6. 911 Josh McGaha, Brownwood, Tx (11) 7. 19 David Elliott, Eastland, Tx (19) 8. 18 Scotty Cook, Abilene, Tx (8) 9. 31 Neal Debord, Amarillo, Tx (17) 10. 251 Dan Roberts, Austin, Tx (5) 11. 89 Bo Newton, Bangs, Tx (2) 12. 33 William Gould, Broken Bow, Ok (18) 13. 777 Brandon Black, Lubbock, Tx (3) 14. 45 David Trauernicht, Beatrice, Nebr (1) 15. 20 Mike Trigg, Gardendale, Tx (14) 16. 49 Vince Ogle, Lubbock, Tx (12) 17. 6 Jason Schoenberger, Russell, Ks (10) 18. 90 Tommy Fain, Abilene, Tx (15) 19. 12 Toby Hubbard (20) 20. 07 Allen Williams, Hutto, Tx (16) 21. 7 Steve Hayes, Eastland, Tx (13) Earl Bests SportMod Field and Flu In the 20 car, 20 lap IMCA Southern SportMod A-main, Travis Evans beat Scott Pyle into turn 1 to get the lead. Duain Pritchett then got under Pyle for second but slipped up coming out of turn 2 giving Jeff Turner the chance to jump into second. On lap 2, Paul Martin and David Boggs ran side by side for fifth. Ahead of that duo, long time rivals Pritchett and Turner were wheel to wheel for second. By lap 5 Evans was pulling away from Pritchett, Turner and Pyle, but Robert Black tangled with Donnie Pederson and spun to bring out a caution and regroup the field. Evans got ahead quickly on green, while Turner and Pyle ran side by side for second. In the pack, Tom Earl jr. was working his way up taking fourth from Albert McCall. Tim Clonch was also headed forward getting Paul and Michael Martin for seventh. Pyle, Turner and McCall hooked up on lap 6 shuffling the field on the restart. Under green Clonch grabbed third Pritchett on the high side for third. At the midpoint it was Earl ducking inside to get the lead, with Earl, Clonch, Cody Frank and Pritchett in the top five. Ryan Lawler spun on lap 11 to bring out the yellow. Back to green, Evans slipped in turn 2 letting Clonch and Frank move up spots. Evans battled back the with the trio three wide for second on lap 12. Clonch secured the spot on lap 12, while Jerry Graves took fifth from Pritchett. Frank retook second from Clonch on lap 14 as Earl built his lead in the final laps. Pritchett and Graves continued to swap the fifth spot as the race wound down to the finish. Earl was able to snag the victory by a comfortable margin in the Ray Mac Racing Engines, North Texas Carpet Care, Mach 1 Racing, Performance Transmissions, Infinity Signs & Designs, Randy Adams Tattoos, Destroyer Chassis. “I wasn’t even going to come this weekend,” stated Earl. “I’ve been sick with the flu for the past few weeks and I really didn’t think I was going to make it.” IMCA Southern SportMods 1. 46 Tom Earl Jr, Duncanville, Tx (14) 2. 71 Cody Frank, Lorena, Tx (18) 3. 18 Tim Clonch, Quinlan, Tx (9) 4. 4 Travis Evans, Bullard, Tx (1) 5. 12 Jerry Graves, Lubbock, Tx (11) 6. 22 Duain Pritchett, Combine, Tx (4) 7. 48 Bradley Poor, Abilene, Tx (13) 8. 23 Paul Martin, Abilene, Tx (5) 9. 2 Allen Colyer, Abilene, Tx (15) 10. 131 Michael Martin, Kaufman, Tx (12) 11. 9 Gray Underwood, Abilene, Tx (16) 12. 07 Robert Black, Waco, Tx (19) 13. 30 Albert McCall, Red Oak, Tx (8) 14. 44 Jeff Turner, Seagoville, Tx (3) 15. 63 Frank Groves, Shallowater, Tx (20) 16. 991 Donnie Pederson, Lubbock, Tx (7) 17. 13 David Boggs, Pleasanton, Tx (6) 18. 24 Scott Pyle, Midland, Tx (2) 19. 33 Ryan Lawler (17) 20. 341 Tommy Kays, Hobbs, N.M. (10) Late Models Heats 1. 63 Michael Tennison 2. 25 Terry Owens IMCA Stock---Top 2 to A-main 1. 5 Kenny Timmons, 74 Kevin Hazelip 2. 111 Alex Reed, 007 Chris Meyers 3. 19 Kelly Sheen, 69 Dustin Schmidt 4. 81 Randy Killen, 221 Duain Pritchett 5. 34 Tim Pyle, 269 Timothy Hardman 6. 12 Bradford Benson, 14 Travis Evans Jr Mini Stock 1. 18 Jared York IMCA Hobby Stock heats ----top 3 to A-main 1. 14 Duane Wolff, 97 John Wagonblast, 35 Noel Jones 2. 38 Allen Montgomery, 3 Paul Norman, 7 Dale Roys 3. 33 Charles Cosper, 135 John Davenport, 31 Mike Smith 4. 601 Nathan Sodek, 34 Ricky Turner, 83 Jim Bates Pure Stocks 1. 462 Paul Cornell IMCA Stock B-mains---Top 3 to A-main 1. 441 Jeff Turner, 3 Josh Carpenter, 6 Jason Schoenberger 2. 83 Chad Estes, 692 Raymond King, 1 Don Killen 3. 197 Troy Attwood, 11 Dan Johnson, 121 Joe Colyer IMCA Hobby Stock---Top 4 to A-main 1. 55 Justin Shaw, 80 Jason Lingnau, 118 William Sheen, 4 Roy Polk 2. 01 James Lusk, 2 Frank Right, 0 Rodney Sparks, 07 Stephen Robison Limited Late Models At the start of the 16-car Limited Late Model feature, Robert Pittman and John Muhleman got together with Muhleman spinning and collecting Bill Poindexter and Billy Lindsey. On the second try the front row of Michael Tennison and Terry Owens were still door to door on lap 1. Owens got the advantage on lap 2 to secure the lead. The top three of Owens, Tennison and Shelby Scott then inched away from the Virgil Page and Billy Wilkinson. Billy Baumbach got around Wilkinson for fifth on lap 8, but the promptly spun himself out. By halfway the field had strung out around the track, with Owens going to the victory unchallenged. Limited Late Models 1. 25 Terry Owens, Merkel, Tx 2. 63 Michael Tennison, Baird, Tx 3. 2 Shelby Scott, Merkel, Tx 4. 18 Virgil Page 5. 58 Billy Wilkinson, Abilene, Tx 6. 00 Mike Lay Jr, Abilene, Tx 7. 84 Ted Thomas, Post, Tx 8. 38 Matt Mueller, Stamford, Tx 9. 72 Billy Baumbach, Stamford, Tx 10. 12 Robert Barnett, Sweetwater, Tx 11. 8 Billy Lindsey, Merkel, Tx 12. 33 Bill Poindexter, Clyde, Tx 13. 3 John Muhleman, Abilene, Tx 14. 08 Robert Pittman, Abilene, Tx 15. 51 Charlie Underwood, Abilene, Tx 16. 09 Ronnie Johnson, Abilene, Tx Carpenter Captures I-Stock Clash Chris Meyers got the jump on the 21 car field at the start of the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car Main. Dustin Schmidt got by Alex Reed for fourth on lap 1, while the pack battled 2-3 wide behind them. Randy Killen and Kelly Sheen got by Reed for fifth and sixth on lap 2. R. Killen then was looking inside Schmidt on lap 3. Timothy Hardman took second from Tim Pyle on lap 4. Pyle and Hardman kept their battle going on lap 5 running door to door. Travis Evans and R. Killen were side by side for position on lap 6 when Sheen found the turn 1 wall. On the restart, Evans jumped into third, while R. Killen fell back in the pack. Evans worked his way to second on lap 7 getting by Hardman, while Josh Carpenter moved into the top five. Wasting little time, Evans was on Meyers for the lead, with Duain Pritchett getting by Carpenter for third. Evans secured the point on lap 9 with Pritchett getting another spot, snagging fourth from Pyle. At halfway the top five were Evans, Meyers, Hardman, Pritchett and Carpenter. Pritchett and Hardman were side by side for third in turns 1-2, Pritchett took the spot in turns 3-4 bringing Carpenter along to fourth. Lap 12 saw the leader, Evans get himself in trouble and spin in between turns 1-2, handing the lead back to Meyers. Back to green, Jeff Turner got around Hardman for fourth. Pritchett then began to pressure Meyers for the lead on lap 13 looking inside. Pritchett slid high in turn 2 letting Carpenter get past for second. Carpenter capitalized on the opportunity and got inside Meyers for the lead. The duo swapped a little paint out of turn 4, with Carpenter leading at the line and a four wide battle for second behind. Turner got spun out of that battle to bring out the yellow on lap 15 and giving the lead back to Meyers. On green Pritchett tried the high side on Carpenter, while Chad Estes worked his way into the top five getting by Hardman for fourth. Carpenter shook off Pritchett and was back under Meyers looking for and retaking the lead on lap 17. From there it was Carpenter, from Fairbury, Nebraska, hanging on to grab the victory in his Sasse Farms, The End Zone, Schmidt Machine, Weins Farms, Side Trek, Diode Communications, Triple S Cattle, Frerichs Trucking, Extreme Motorsports, Vans Waterproofing, Corner Bar, Jet Chassis. “This is my first time in this car and usually run on bigger tracks,”: replied Carpenter. “We came down here with Dustin(Scmidt) just to have fun and I was surprised to get the win.” IMCA Stock Cars 1. 3 Josh Carpenter, Fairbury, Nebr (16) 2. 221 Duain Pritchett, Combine, Tx (10) 3. 269 Timothy Hardman, Forney, Tx (4) 4. 83 Chad Estes, Troy, Tx (14) 5. 007 Chris Meyers, Eunice, NM (2) 6. 81 Randy Killen, Des Moines, Ia (8) 7. 6 Jason Schoenberger, Russell, Ks (19) 8. 69 Dustin Schmidt, Fairbury, Nebr (5) 9. 692 Raymond King, Mesquite, Tx (17) 10. 11 Dan Johnson, Sweetwater, Tx (18) 11. 111 Alex Reed, Rockwall, Tx (1) 12. 74 Kevin Hazelip, (11) 13. 1 Don Killen, Des Moines, Ia (20) 14. 121 Joe Colyer, Abilene, Tx (21) 15. 197 Troy Attwood, Nebr. (15) 16. 441 Jeff Turner, Seagoville, Tx (13) 17. 5 Kenny Timmons, East Tawakoni, Tx (12) 18. 14 Travis Evans, Bullard, Tx (9) 19. 34 Tim Pyle, Midland, Tx (3) 20. 19 Kelly Sheen, Lamesa, Tx (7) 21. 12 Bradford Benson II , Lewisville, Tx (6) Jr Mini Stock Jared York grabbed the top spot at the start of the six car Jr Mini Stock feature. Jeff Kinniard challenged York early but was unable to hang to the bumper of York who would go on to take the checkers. Jr Mini Stocks 1. 18 Jared York, Seagoville, Tx 2. 07 Jeff Kinnaird, Mansfield, Tx 3. 1 Corbin Taylor, Waco, Tx 4. 01 Hayden Lusk, Merkel, Tx 5. 6 Cody Campbell, Haskell, Tx 6. 7 Tyler Fain, Tuscola, Tx 7. 28 Trevor Reed, 8 Patrick Daley, Merkel, Tx. Montgomery Motors to Hobby Honors Ricky Turner and Nathan Sodek paced the 20 car IMCA Hobby Stock main to green with Turner getting out front. John Davenport challenged Turner, but spun in turn 4 collecting Sodek and Duane Wolff which started a melee in the back of the field on lap 1. John Wagonblast spun on the restart from fifth. Mike Smith took over the spot then promptly broke and pulled off under yellow. Back to green the top five run single file while Allen Montgomery and Dale Roys ran side by side for sixth. Montgomery, using the high side, picked them off one by one and was up to third on lap 5. Meanwhile at the front of the pack, Sodek was taking over the top spot. It wasn’t long until Montgomery was on Sodek and taking the point on lap 6. At halfway it was Montgomery, Sodek, Turner, Noel Jones and Charles Cosper in the top five. Jones and Cosper battled for the fourth spot in the final stages while Montgomery was motoring away. When the checkers waved it was Montgomery in the Ace Tire Service, QSD Graphics, Destroyer Chassis with the win. “It was too slick on the bottom for us,” said Montgomery. “I used the high side and got them one at time. Jerry(West) couldn’t be here because his dog got torn up, so we had to win one for him.” IMCA Hobby Stocks 1. 38 Allen Montgomery, Rhome, Tx (10) 2. 601 Nathan Sodek, Temple, Tx (2) 3. 34 Ricky Turner, (1) 4. 33 Charles Cosper, Belton, Tx (7) 5. 35 Noel Jones, Ft Worth, Tx (6) 6. 55 Justin Shaw, Sweetwater, Tx (13) 7. 7 Dale Roys, Merkel, Tx (11) 8. 83 Jim Bates, Breckenridge, Tx (9) 9. 01 James Lusk, Merkel, Tx (14) 10. 3 Paul Norman, Abilene, Tx (3) 11. 135 John Davenport, Iowa Falls, Iowa (4) 12. 80 Jason Lingnau, Abilene, Tx (15) 13. 07 Stephen Robison, Abilene, Tx (20) 14. 2 Frank Wright, Burleson, Tx (16) 15. 4 Roy Polk, Abilene, Tx (19) 16 0 Rodney Sparks, Abilene, Tx (18) 17. 118 William Sheen, Midland, Tx (17) 18. 31 Mike Smith, Marshalltown, Iowa (12) 19. 14 Duane Wolff, Ft Worth, Tx (5) 20. 97 John Wagenblast, Fairbury, Nebr (8) Pure Stock The 12 lap Pure Stock feature saw Paul Cornell get out to the early lead on the five car field. Lap 3 saw Cory Clinkenbeard get by Cornell to lead lap 4. The top three of Clinkenbeard, Cornell and Ric Butz were nose to tail in final half of the race with Butz challenging Cornell for second and getting by on the last lap. At the checkers it was Clinkenbeard scoring the win. Pure Stocks 1. 71 Cory Clinkinbeard, 2. 5 Ric Butz, Abilene, Tx 3. 462 Paul Cornell, Abilene, Tx 4. 87 Clint Culp, Abilene, Tx 5. 20 Scotty Brown, Clyde, Tx