Texas Speedzone - Tragedy strikes @ Southern Challenge Sunday 10/21/07

12th Annual Southern Challenge @ Abilene Speedway, 10/19-21/07
By J M Hallas

Abilene, Tx.(Oct. 21st, 2007) A weekend that began with great weather, great racing and fun for all, turned to sadness, sorrow and grief as Ryan Bard, a Southern SportMod driver from Farmington, NM. succumbed to injuries suffered when his car rolled over and within seconds erupted in flames. Despite the efforts of rescue crews, Parkland Hospital where he was Life-flighted to, the young driver took his final checkered flag.

Clonch Comes Through with IMCA Modified Main Win
Polesitter Rodney Sanders beat Greg Atwood into turn 1 at the start of the 20-car, IMCA Modified A-main event, shortened to 20 laps due to impending weather. Vince Ogle got hung out on the high side falling back several spots. Sanders quickly began to pull away, while Tim Clonch got past Atwood for second. Trevor Egbert brought out yellow on lap 3 when he spun between turns 1-2. On the restart Sanders and Clonch got away clear from Atwood, Ogle and J P Dowell. Dowell sliped too high on lap 5 giving fifth to Kevin Sustaire.

An infield tire kicked on the track brought out the yellow on lap 5. Once back to green Dowell was able to get back by Sustaire for fifth, with Jordan Grabouski following through to sixth. Sanders looked to be running away for the win, but bad luck struck on lap 9 when he broke and rolled to a stop. Clonch led the field on the restart and at the crossed flags, Atwood, Ogle, Dowell and Neal Flowers rounded out the top five. Bo Briley spun on lap 11 bringing out the final caution.

Clonch was able to get a big advantage once the green waved, while Ogle took a look inside Atwood for second. With five to go, Clonch was inreasing his lead over Atwod and Ogle. The last five laps saw the entire field sort out single file as they ran to the finish. At the checkers it was Clonch in the Bill Brown Racing, Smileys Racing Products, EQ Cylinder Heads, Jeffs Performance Engines, Skyrocket Chassis taking the win and the $3,000 payday.
“We mostly just tried to stay smooth once we got out front,” stated Clonch. “I didn’t know how hard it was going to be on the tires. I felt pretty comfortable. The track was similar to feel on Friday and I still had tires left. I didn’t feel tires would be problem after watching the other races. It rubbered up a little bit. We got the car steering good.”
“(Marcus) Sanders got out there and I was just trying to keep smooth and hoped he’d fade at the end or we’d be better. Just like at Kennedale, he broke again. That left us out there, so I tried to pick up the pace a little to make sure I wasn’t going to get any pressure. The motor felt, everything felt good. I knew that once he broke we’d be sitting where we needed to be.”

IMCA Modified Big A-main
1. 118 Tim Clonch
2. 23 Greg Atwood
3. 49 Vince Ogle
4. 715 J P Dowell
5.85 Neal Flowers
6. 707 P J Egbert
7. 717 G W Egbert
8. 186 Jordan Grabouski
9. 72 Charles Brewer
10. 59 Kelly Allen
11. 31 Robert Brinkman
12. 718 Cody Smith
13. 78 Trevor Egbert
14. 13 Jim Thorp
15. 0 Bo Briley
16. 71 Kevin Sustaire
17. 1 Keith White
18. 555 George Egbert III
19. 120 Rodney Sanders
20. 144 Scotty Brown

Flethcher Motorsports IMCA Modified heats, top 4 to Last Chance Qualifier
1. 59 Kelly Allen, 48 Danny Patterson, 01 Mark Patterson, 37 Ben Ketteman
2. 14 Dustin Miller, 97 Doug Lorenz, 129 Gary Hart, 03 Mike Hathcock
3. 79 Charlie Newton, 02 David Davis, 86 Brian Flowers, 131 Neal Debord
4. 45 Logan Cabbell, 771 Philip Houston, 741 Gary Simmerman, 66 Randy Yount
5. 69 Danny Hogue, 44 Trent Crawford, 2 Todd Short, 72 Charles Brewer
6. 766 Shane Priddy, 171 Chad Melton, 10 Trevan Pepper, 42 Kevin Kent
7. 763 Tony Keigley, 718 Cody Smith, 11 Robert Gallegos, 183 Chad Estes
8. 911 Josh McGaha, 145 Greg Dinsmore, 111 John McCormick, 82 Rick Green

IMCA Modified Last Chance Qualifiers, top 5 to back of Big B-main
1. 59 Kelly Allen, 79 Charlie Newton, 45 Logan Cabbell, 14 Rustin Miller, 02 David Davis
2. 44 Trent Crawford, 718 Cody Smith, 911 Josh McGaha, 171 Chad Melton, 72 Charles Brewer

IMCA Modified Big B-main, top ten to back of Big A-main
1. 717 G W Egbert
2. 1 Keith White
3. 31 Robert Brinkman
4. 78 Trevor Egbert
5. 144 Scotty Brown
6. 59 Kelly Alen
7. 186 Jordan Grabouski
8. 555 George Egbert III
9. 718 Cody Smith
10. 72 Charles Brewer
11. 79 Charlie Newton
12. 011 Justin Radcliff
13. 911 Josh McGaha
14. 45 Logan Cabbell
15. 171 Chad Melton
16. 14 Rustin Miller
17. 02 David Davis
18. 44 Trent Crawford
19. 19 David Eliott
41 Monte Bolton--DNS

White Whip 'em Again with 4th SSM Win in a row.
Keith White, winner of four post-season races in a row, proved once again why he was the two-time IMCA SSM Champion. White beat Steve Hayes to turn 1 as green waved on the 20-lap IMCA SSM A-main. In the pack Matt Mueller and Gabe Tucker tangled to bring about a complete restart. White, once again, outdueled Hayes to grab the point, with Hayes faling into second, Josh McGaha third and T J Huston fourth.

Tim Clonch ran down the pack running in the top five on lap 4, with the top six running nose to tail around the bottom. Johnny Torres broke into the top ten passing Duain Pritchett on lap 9. At halfway the top five were White, Hayes, McGaha, Huston and Jeff Turner, with Clonch hanging on to the pack and Todd Bartlett closing. The top four were able to put a little distance on the second group heaed by Turner with five to go.
Pritchett saw his night end on lap 15 when he had trouble, slowed and pulled off from the top ten. White got a couple car lengths on Hayes in the final laps, while Cloch got past Turner for fifth. As the checkers waved, it was White in the Tracy's Auto Sales, Belton Pipe & Steel, D&S Painting, Central Texas Pes Control, Finish Line Restoration, Dan Corbin & Associates, RC Racing Converters, Dan Corbin & Associates, Pflugervile Engine & Machine powered, Big Chief Chassis.
“I was able to start on the pole and get out front” said White. “The track got slicker with the dust blowing. I talked to Steve Hayes, he wanting to get to the bottom quick. He’s another class guy that races here every week. He was wanting to get in there and said he’d follow me and run second. I told him I’d run second to him if he got out front. It didn’t matter. It got slick. I was real, real cautious the whole time. When I knew I was going to catch lapped traffic I kind of pushed it a little to get a lead. I could hear that they were right there the whole time.”
“Steve’s a super guy, a real class act and it’s really great to run with people like that.”

“You’ve got think about your family, why we do this and we’re doing it to have fun,” added an emotional White. “I know Ryan(Bard) was his family and doing what he wanted to do. It’s tough, tough to keep doing it(racing). I’m sure that’s what he’d want me to do. It’s tough to put it out of your mind, but you have to. I met Ryan and his dad, Eddie(Martin) asked if I could help him since he has the same Big Chief Chassis that I have. He was a good kid.”

“Well, he didn’t make a mistake,” replied Hayes as he shrugged his shoulders. “I wasn’t going to take him out, I don’t race that way. He just didn’t make a mistake.”

IMCA Southern SportMod A-Main
1. 11 Keith White
2. 95 Steve Hayes
3. 911 Josh McGaha
4. 98 T J HUston
5. 118 Tim Clonch
6. 41 Jeff Turner
7. 690 Todd Bartlett
8. 2 Allen Colyer
9. 61 Johnny Torres
10. 29 Daryl Campbell
11. 23 Greg Atwood
12. 55 Justin Shaw
13. 48 Bradley Poor
14. 28 Gabe Tucker
15. 00 Mike Lay jr.
16. 18 David Phillips
17. 8 Matt Meuller
18. 22 Duain Pritchett
19. 71 Cody Smith
20. 4 Shane Priddy

Jeffs Performance IMCA Southern Sportmod heats, top 6 to Last Chance Qualifier
1. 1 Dustin, McGaha, 126 Jr. Robertson, 14 Kenneth Graves, 122 Tyler Young, 9 Gary Underwood, 26 Todd Poor
2. 18 David Phillips, 711 Gary Kerr jr., 224 Mike McDougal, 77 Tyler Fain, 01 Ryan Bard, 12 Gary Fox
3. 34 J D Berryhill, 19 Michael Sheen, 17 David Boggs, 45 Shane Wojtek, 8 David Feltner, 02 Frank Wright
4. 114 Zach Hamilton, 311 Brian Heard, 123 Tanner Cox, 7 Joe Colyer, 5 Larry Floyd, 0 Donnie Pederson

IMCA SportMod Last Chance Qualifiers, top 5 go to back of Big B-main
1. 1 Dustin McGaha, 18 David Phillips, 14 Kenneth Graves, 122 Tyler Young, 711 Gary Kerr jr.
2. 19 Michael Sheen, 7 Joe Colyer, 5 Larry Floyd jr., 311 Brian Heard, 45 Shane Wojtek

IMCA Southern SportMod Big B-main, top 10 toback of Big A-main
1. 2 Allen Colyer
2. 48 Bradley Poor
3. 38 Matt Meuller
4. 23 Greg Atwood
5. 4 Shane Priddy
6. 661 Johnny Torres
7. 28 Gabe Tucker
8. 00 Mike Lay jr.
9. 5 Justin Shaw
10. 18 David Phillips
11. 14 Kenneth Graves
12. 122 Tyler Young
13. 711 Gary Kerr jr.
14 5 Lary Floyd jr.
15. 45 Shane Wojtek
16. 7 Joe Colyer
17. 19 Michael Sheen
18. 311 Brian Heard
19. 1 Dustin McGaha
20. 91 Kyle Wisdom

Estes Dominates I-Stock Main
Polesitter Jason Gore got the early lead in the 20-lap IMCA Stock Car main, with Chad Estes grabbing second and Clonch falling in line third. Estes ducked under Gore going down the back stretch and took the top spot on lap 2. Clonch and Fred Wojtek were able to close on Gore who appeared loose out the turns. By lap 5 Estes had pulled ahead to half straight advantage, with little signs of slowing.

Clonch began to pressure Gore for second on lap 8, but was never able to get along side. At halfway Estes had a huge edge over Gore, Clonch, Wojtek and Scotty Brown rounding out the top five. Tim Pyle was on the move getting by Kelly Brown for seventh, then Allen Bradley a lap later for sixth. Clonch began to show a little smoke on lap 12, but never slowed as he kept the heat on Gore for second.

Estes had built a full straight margin over Gore, while Clonch, Wojtek, Brown and Pyle played a little bumper tag. Brown saw his top ten run end short of the finish when he pulled off on lap 17, while Jeremy Wooley was taking seventh from Bradley.When the checkers waved it Estes, in dominating fashion getting the win in the Dal-Tex Towing, Central Cities Auto Pool, Cen-Tex Motorsports powered, Victory Chassis.

IMCA Stock Car A-main
1. 83 Chad Estes
2. 25 Jason Gore
3. 6 Tim Clonch
4. 44 Fred Wojtek
5. 144 Scotty Brown
6. 34 Tim Pyle
7. 106 Jeremy Wooley
8. 26 Allen Bradley
9. 27 Randell Jones
10. 14 Jeff Turner
11. 16 Bobby Sikes Jr.
12. 3 Daniel Parker
13. 88 Lee Moss
14. 122 Bill Brzezinski
15. 7 Walter Freeman
16. 97 Tommy Dempsey
17. 4 Kelly Brown
18. 9 John Armstrong
19. 125 Terry Owen
21 Joe Colyer---DNS

Destroyer Chassis, IMCA Stock Car Last Chance Qualifier, top ten to back of Big B-main
221, Duain Pritchett, 3 Daniel Parker, 97 Jack Dempsey, 113 Wade Daniel, 07 Earl Johnson, 201 Cody Kays, 19 Jason Batt, 5 David Acosta

IMCA STock Car Big B-main, top ten to back of Big A-main
1. 34 Tim Pyle
2. 16 Bobby Sikes jr.
3. 106 Jeremy Wooley
4. 125 Terry Owen
5. 9 John Armstrong
6. 88 Lee Moss
7. 122 Bill Brzezinski
8. 97 Jack Dempsey
9. 3 Daniel Parker
10. 7 Walter Freeman
11. 91 Jerry West
12. 22 Billy Wade
13. 113 Wade Daniell
14. 47 Rex Higgins
15. 5 David Acosta
16. 49 Brandon Gage
17. 20 Cody Kays
18. 07 Earl Johnson
19. 66 Lance Shaw
20. 19 Jason Batt

Sewell Shows South can Win in Hobby Stock Main
Nebraska's Murray Haugen III and Seagoville's Bryan Sewell ran side by side on lap 1, as Justin Fowler fell back to third. Sewell, the 2007 IMCA Hobby Stock Rookie of the Year, edged ahead on lap 2 with a multi-car melee in turn 2 brought out yellow. Haugen took a look inside Sewell on the restart, with Steven Abbey got past Fowler for third. The front broke into two three-car groups of Sewell, Haugen and Abbey followed by Fowler, Matt Slemmons and Charles Cosper trailing.

Slemmons got past Fowler for fourth on lap 7 with Cosper trying to come along. The two ran door to door until Cosper got the pass on lap 9. At the midway point it Sewell, Haugen, Abbey, Slemmons and Cosper in the top five. Haugen then decided to try the top side to get by Sewell but lost ground falling back into the clutches of Abbey. In the pack Chris Ater was battling Stephen Robison for seventh finally getting by on lap 15. In the final laps Haugen continued to look for a way around Sewell, but came up short as Sewell in the B & B Redi-Mix, B&B Concrete Sawing, Cory's Rebar, Seagovile Used Cars, Motors by Clint, VooDoo Race Chassis grabbed the bigget win of his career.
This is a good capper to my season,” stated the IMCA Hobby Stock Rookie of the Year, Sewell. “This tops it off. We’ve had some bad luck at some of the year end shows. At TMS we had a couple laps car between us and the leader. Last week at Kennedale the radiator started blowing water on the right front while we were leading. This definitely feels good.
“I think he(Haugen) just ran up to the middle. I don’t know, maybe he’s never been here and know about the Southern Challenge. You better be on those tires come Sunday. He pushed up a little bit, and that’s all it took.”
“We just do the same stuff to the car that we do every week in and week out and race on.”

IMCA Hobby Stock A-main
1. 44 Bryan Sewell
2. 8 Murray Haugen II
3. 37 Steven Abbey
4. 18 Matt Slemmons
5. 33 Charles Cosper
6. 148 Justin Fowler
7. 17 Chris Ater
8. 07 Stephen Robison
9. 371 Lynn Gibson
10. 6 Caleb Stone
11. 73 Gene Hadley
12. 43 Barrett Hutchinson
13. 133 Jason Purvis
14. 12 Robert Barnett
15. 7 Dale Roys
16. 38 Allen Montgomery
17. 177 John Ross
18. 601 Randy Sodek
19. 1 Willie Free
20. 60 Nathan Sodek

Rhino Linings IMCA Hobby Stock Big B-main, top 10 to back of Big A-main
1. 133 Jason Purvis
2. 73 Gene Hadley
3. 07 Stephen Robison
4. 17 Chris Ater
5. 177 John Ross
6. 6 Caleb Stone
7. 1 Willie Free
8. 12 Robert Barrett
9. 371 Lynn Gibson
10. 43 Barret Hutchinson
11. 46 Billy Taylor
12. 56 Melvin Burrows
13. 118 James Robinson
14. 77 Tobie Talk
15. 102 Bryce Jenkins
16. 11 Roy Polk
5 Cody Hodges---DNS
16 Blake Hoten---DNS
0 Matt Drottz---DNS

Avis Lube Jr. Mini Stock State Championshp
C W Wright got the early lead in the Jr. Mini Stock feature followed by Devin Burgess and Kayla Maxie. Wright was black-flagged when officials noted fuel leaking from his car. Burgess inherited the lead on lap 5 as he and Maxie pulled away from Colton Monroe. Maxie tried to get by high on lap 10 with the two side by side until yellow waved for spin by Josh Pepper.

Burgess got clear of Maxie on the restart while Billy Briley was looking inside Monroe for third. At halfway Burgess held the edge over Maxie, Monroe, Briley and a mystery driver in the #14 car. Monroes race ended on lap 14 when he broke and pulled off. After a late restat for debris, Burgess held off Maxie for the victory.

Avis Lube, Jr Mini Stock A-main, 25 laps
1. 64 Kevin Burgess
2. 5 Kayla Maxie
3. 14 N/A
4. 21 Tyler Cook
5. 121 Bryce Pritchett
6. 25 Donny Baker
7. 17 Josh Pepper
8. 06 C W Wright
9. 05 Billy Briley III
10. 712 Colton Monroe