2008mlra

From Lakeside Speedway PR
KANSAS CITY, Kans. (May 8) - The rains came down around Lakeside all day long. All day long the rains never hit at Lakeside Speedway. Many fans and competitors were scared off by the rain Wednesday afternoon. With several racers in the area for the Lucas Oil SuperClean Diamond Nationals, it could have been a large car count. For the fans that made the trip, they got to see one great race.

Clint Bowyer, a former track champion at Lakeside Speedway who is now on the NASCAR circuit, is coming off a win in the Sprint Cup last Saturday night. Fans of Lakeside came out to see their 'favorite son'. Not only did Bowyer show up, he brought with him, Shannon Babb. Babb drives for Bowyer's new dirt late model team. This past Saturday night, not only did Bowyer pick up a win, but Babb won a World of Outlaw Late Model race at I-44 Speedway. Needless to say, Clint Bowyer Racing is on a high at the moment.

In the first heat of the night. Al Purkey, a former MLRA Champion, took the early lead as Bowyer settled into the 2nd spot. David Turner made a move on Bowyer on the 3rd lap, but Bowyer would get him back on the outside and hold onto that 2nd spot. Alan Vaughn, last year's MLRA Champion, moved up to 3rd on the speedway by lap 7 of the 12 lap heat race. A yellow flag came out on lap number 10 for Bill Koons in turn 1.

Purkey, Bowyer and Vaughn would lead the field down to restart the race. The green flag dropped and Purkey jumped back into the lead. It would be short lived as debris on the front straight would bring out another yellow. On the restart Bryant Goldsmith would bring out another yellow. It appeared that David Turner got into him on the restart. Back to green and again it's Purkey to the front and Bowyer second. Purkey, Bowyer and Vaughn are your top 3 as the checkered flag drops.

The 2nd heat of the night contained another modified track champion at Lakeside Speedway, Tim Karrick. Chad Frewaldt is the leader in this heat early. Sonny Findling moved his way into the 2nd spot, while Jeremy Payne moved into 3rd on lap 5. Larry Clawson Jr. will bring out the caution and the field will have to bunch up again. Frewaldt, Findling, Payne, Brantlee Gotschall and Jerry Warner are your top 5. Tim Karrick has moved up to 4th on the speedway. From his last place starting spot. Karrick now moves into 3rd spot and Payne has rolled up to Frewaldt to battle for the lead. Clawson brings out another yellow. Karrick was thrown into duty when he got an offer from Denny Woodworth to drive his backup car. At this point he is looking good. Findling gets by Karrick on the restart and Payne takes over the lead. Payne now has a commanding lead at the white flag. Payne, Frewaldt and Karrick are the top 3 in this heat.

The 3rd heat is a stacked heat. Shannon Babb, John Anderson, Clint 'Cat Daddy' Smith, Joe Kosiski and Terry Phillips are all in this heat, the 3rd and final heat. Babb scoots out in front. Clint Smith, who picked up the WoO win at Lakeside in '07 is in 3rd spot and on the move forward. He will take 2nd from Tommy Elston and now John Anderson will put pressure on Elstun for 3rd. Terry Phillips and Anderson are in a tight battle for the 3rd position. The race is now up front between Babb and Smith. Smith to the inside and will take the lead from Babb on lap 10. White flag to Smith. Phillips goes by Anderson for 3rd. Smith, Babb and Phillips are your top 3.

Jermey Payne and Clint Smith will make up the front row for the 40 lap A Main event. Payne will get the early lead and Clint Smith gives chase in the 2nd spot.

Sonny Findling came to a rest up in turn 2 and it will bring out the first yellow of the night in this main event. Payne, Smith and Phillips are the top 3. Al Purkey holds down the 4th spot and rounding out the top 5 is Clint Bowyer.

Alan Vaughn is on the move through the field. He is hounding Bowyer at the moment.

Jeremy Payne enters lapped traffic on lap number 6. Smith is still within shouting distance of Payne as they march through the field.
Phillips has command of 3rd at the moment and Purkey and Bowyer are entangled in a battle for 4th at the moment.

A right rear flat on the Mark Voight will bring out the caution and take us back to lap 8. Up to this point, the feature has been moving along at a torrid pace. The current top 10 on the track, Jeremy Payne, Clint Smith, Terry Phillips, Al Purkey, Clint Bowyer, Alan Vaughn, David Turner, John Anderson, Shannon Babb and Denny Woodworth.

Payne brings them back to the restart. On the restart Babb jumps back up to the 7th spot. Payne still shows the way, with Smith in tow and his car owner, Terry Phillips, in 3rd.

Bowyer pulls up on Purkey on lap 12, Shannon Babb pulls off the track. As he pulls off the track Bryant Goldsmith will bring out the caution with a motor that has let go. It brings out another yellow. The top 5 are the same on the speedway that was running at the last yellow flag break. Lights are out on the speedway and we are ready to go back racing.

Double file restarts are common place in the O'Reilly MLRA. On this restart Vaughn flies by Bowyer to take 5th. Payne and Smith are 1 and 2. Sixteen laps in and Payne still has control. Smith goes to the inside of Payne into turn one, but Payne takes the lead back out of two.

Payne, Smith, Phillips, Purkey, Vaughn, Bowyer and Anderson have broken away from the field. Lapped traffic comes into play once again. Smith will look to capitalize here. Looked like a puff of smoke from Payne, we will have to keep an eye on that at lap 22. Bowyer and Anderson are putting on a hard battle at the moment for the 6th position.

Payne, Smith and Phillips have now pulled a ways away from the rest of the field by lap 26. 3 Car battle for 5th. Vaughn, Bowyer and Anderson. The trio run nose to tail. Bowyer and Vaughn get caught up and Bowyer gets the best of it as he takes 5th position back.

Terry Phillips closes in on Clint Smith. Lapped traffic is coming into play with these two. Jeremy Payne is way out in front, he can put it on crusie control with 4 laps to go.

The track stays clean with two laps to go. Payne is still out in front. White flag to Payne.

Payne put together a great run on the evening. It will be a start to a weekend that could be very lucrative for some late model driver as the Lucas Oil Speedway presents the SuperClean Diamond Nationals Friday and Saturday night.

www.lakesidespeedway.net

Unofficial Top 7
1 74 Jeremy Payne Springfield, MO
2 44 Clint Smith Senoia, GA
3 75P Terry Phillips Springfield, MO
4 33 Al Purkey Coffeyville, KS
5 07 Clint Bowyer Emporia, KS
6 2 John Anderson Omaha, NE
7 15T David Turner Adrian, MO
8 45K Tim Karrick Kansas City, KS

Official results and updated points standings heading into the Diamond Nationals will be posted at www.mlraracing.com.

For all the latest news and information on the O'Reilly MLRA visit us on the web at www.mlraracing.com or by calling (816) 650-5063 or (816) 305-6572.

The O'Reilly MLRA would like to thank the sponsors of the 2008 Thunder Tour including O'Reilly Auto Parts, Midwest Walnut, Lucas Oil, Hoosier Race Tires, Hatfield Racing Engines, Larry Shaw Race Cars, Adrian Bank, Afco, GRT Race Cars, The Driveline Shop, Taylor Cable Products, Impact Racing Products, Sunoco Race Fuels, Weld Wheels, Bodee's Race Bodies, Outpace Racing Products, Duralite Racing Wheels, Impact Signs and Lighting, Rod End Supply, Racing Optics, Schoenfeld Headers, Kluhsman Racing Components, Performance Race Bodies, ATL Fuel Cells, Shepherd of the Hills Entertainment

O'Reilly MLRA at Lakeside Speedway tonight, May 7th 2008!

Buckner, MO (May 7th, 2008)-Clint Bowyer and Shannon Babb headline the list of "outsiders" looking to nab a win with the O'Reilly MLRA presented by Lucas Oil tonight at the Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. This highly anticipated event is a homecoming of sorts for former Lakeside Speedway Track Champion Bowyer. Having won the most recent Cup race at Richmond and sitting 4th in the Sprint Cup driver's standings, momentum is certainly on his side.

With a pair of World of Outlaws Late Model shows this past weekend in Southwest Missouri and the high profile Diamond Nationals coming up this weekend in Wheatland, MO, look for several high profile dirt late model teams to make an appearance at Lakeside to try and make an extra $3,000 before heading to the Lucas Oil Speedway.

McCarthy Chevrolet and GM Performance Accessories present the O'Reilly MLRA for a rare midweek show on May 7th at the Lakeside Speedway. Arizona native and current Springfield, Missouri resident Jeremy Payne leads the MLRA contingent into battle with a two point lead over 5-time MLRA Champ Al Purkey. David Turner, Terry Phillips, and Will Vaught round out the top 5 in points and are expected to be in action. Defending MLRA Champion Alan Vaughn will also look to rebound from a tough start to contend for the win. Other drivers expected to be in attendance include John Anderson, Denny Woodworth, Mark Burgtorf and Scott Drake.

Adult admission for the event is $15 in advance, $18 at the gate, with kids just $6. Gates open at 5:00pm, with Hot Laps at 7:00 and racing set to get underway at 7:30. The Lakeside Speedway is located north of the Kansas Speedway off of I-435 on Walcott Dr. in Kansas City, Kansas. For more information, please visit www.lakesidespeedway.net or call the track office at (913) 299-2040.

For all the latest news and information on the O'Reilly MLRA visit us on the web at www.mlraracing.com or by calling (816) 650-5063 or (816) 305-6572.

Buckner, MO (May 1st, 2008)-As unseasonably cool and rainy weather created havoc for racing schedules in the month of April, the O'Reilly MLRA presented by Lucas Oil looks to get back on track in May. The first stop of the month will take place on Wednesday night, May 7th at the Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas for a $3,000 to win show, followed by a two day visit to the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri on May 9th and 10th for the $40,000 to win Diamond Nationals.

McCarthy Chevrolet and GM Performance Accessories present the Bad Boyz of the O'Reilly MLRA for a rare midweek show on May 7th at the Lakeside Speedway. Clint Bowyer and Shannon Babb will be in attendance to challenge the MLRA in wheel to wheel dirt late model racing action. Arizona native and current Springfield, Missouri resident Jeremy Payne leads the MLRA contingent into battle with a two point lead over 5-time MLRA Champ Al Purkey. David Turner, Terry Phillips, and Will Vaught round out the top 5 in points and are expected to be in action. Defending MLRA Champion Alan Vaughn will also look to rebound from a tough start to contend for the win. Other drivers expected to be in attendance include John Anderson, Denny Woodworth, Mark Burgtorf and Scott Drake.

With a pair of World of Outlaws Late Model shows this weekend in Southwest Missouri and the high profile Diamond Nationals the following weekend, look for several high profile dirt late model teams to make an appearance at Lakeside and snare a share of the loot.

The event everyone is talking about takes place on May 9th-10th. Of course we are talking about the Super Clean Diamond Nationals at Forrest Lucas' "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" in Wheatland Missouri. With $40,000 on the line, huge car counts are expected along with capacity crowds. The event is co-sanctioned by the MLRA and by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The total purse for the event is over $160,000! The O'Reilly MLRA is also awarded two provisionals for this event so MLRA points are crucial heading into the weekend as nobody wants to be left out of the event. Please visit www.LucasOilSpeedway.com for detailed schedule and event information. The Lucas Oil Speedway can also be reached via phone at (417) 282-5984.

Two-Time NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion Randy Lajoie will be on hand both days with his Safer Racer Tour. The Lucas the Oil Race'n Ride Two-Seat Late Models will make appearances following racing action both nights.

In addition to the exciting action on the track there will be a special competition for the crews of the touring dirt late model race teams that compete at this event. On Friday May 9th a special "Integra Shocks Crew Chief Challenge" competition will take place in front of the main grandstands and will be taped for TV broadcast at a later date. The MLRA and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race teams will compete for cash awards presented to the top three fastest pit crews that complete a pit stop in a timed format. In the first round of competition each team will have their driver drive into a pit box where two crew members will service the car by changing the RR tire and sending their driver out of the pit box the fastest in the timed format. The three fastest race teams after the first round will return and compete against each other again but this time the crew must change a RF Shock and RF tire during the timed pit stop. The team that completes the pit stop the fastest will receive $1000 from Integra Shocks. Both second and third place teams will also receive a cash award.

For all the latest news and information on the O'Reilly MLRA visit us on the web at www.mlraracing.com or by calling (816) 650-5063 or (816) 305-6572.

Jack Vaughn Memorial Moved from May 3rd to May 17th

Buckner, MO (April 22nd, 2008)-The O'Reilly MLRA presented by Lucas Oil has announced that the Jack Vaughn Memorial Race originally scheduled for May 3rd at the Adrian Speedway has been rescheduled for May 17th. "Out of consideration for the Vaughn family, who were unable to attend the race as originally scheduled, we felt it best to move this race to another date" stated MLRA Promoter Harriet Chancellor.

The next stop on tour will now be on Wednesday night, May 7th at the Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas which will feature NASCAR Sprint Cup star Clint Bowyer dropping in to challenge the MLRA regulars. This will be followed up by the highest paying event of the year as the $40,000 to win Diamond Nationals, co-sanctioned by the MLRA takes place on May 9th-10th at The Lucas Oil Speedway.

The month of May will wrap up with the annual Alphabet Soup race at the I-80 Speedway at Nebraska Raceway Park in Greenwood, Nebraska on Sunday night May 25th as part of the Memorial Day Weekend festivities.

For all the latest news and information on the O'Reilly MLRA visit us on the web at www.mlraracing.com or by calling (816) 650-5063 or (816) 305-6572.

Dan Robinson

O'Reilly MLRA PR

For information on Lucas Oil please visit www.lucasoil.com.

For information on O'Reilly Auto Parts, please visit www.oreillyauto.com.