2008msra

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2007 archives

Thanks to Ben Shelton for the results/stories below!
Ben Shelton, Owner
MSR Mafia
www.MSRMafia.com
The Midsouth Racing Scene
www.MidSouthRacing.com

Contact: Ben Shelton (901) 335-3037
September 12^th, 2008

Wendell Wallace Wins By A Nose in O’Reilly MSRA At PCR

Harrisburg, Arkansas (9/12/08) – Night #1 of the 2^nd Annual O’Reilly MSRA Dirt Track Championship was held last night at Poinsett County Raceway in Harrisburg, Arkansas with Wendell Wallace winning a thriller over Dane Dacus.

The 2^nd Annual O’Reilly MSRA Dirt Track Championship was originally scheduled to be a two day show with double heats on Friday night and consolation events and the a-main on Saturday night. However, with a threatening forecast for Saturday night courtesy of the remnants of Hurricane Ike, the O’Reilly MSRA staff and Poinsett County Raceway staff decided to modify the format. The revised format consisted of a complete show on Friday night, and a complete program on Saturday night as well. It was also determined that Friday night’s event would be the final point’s event with Saturday being an O’Reilly MSRA sanctioned, non-points event.

Thirty-Two Super Late Models, representing five states signed in for the event. After advancing from his 6^th starting position to take the win in his heat race, Dane Dacus earned the JFR Graphics Pole Qualifier Award. Wendell Wallace started in the second position for the main event. The initial start in the feature would be waived off as several cars piled up on the inside row forcing a complete restart. The next attempt to get the race underway would be successful with Wallace bolting to the lead with Dacus in tow.

Caution would fly again on lap two as Brian Ritchie rolled to a stop with a broken suspension assembly that was a product of the incident on the initial start. On the ensuing restart Wallace and Dacus began a battle for the top spot. The leaders would reach lapped traffic by lap 13 as things started to heat up throughout the field.

Dacus would chase Wallace through traffic for the next 17 laps as the duo lapped up to the 13^th place car. At the finish line Dacus made a bid at the lead but came up a few feet short as Wallace picked up the $2,000 payday, which was his second O’Reilly MSRA triumph of 2008. Jeff Floyd (started 12^th), Joey Mack (locked up 2008 O’Reilly MSRA Championship), and Billy Moyer rounded out the top five.

Four heats were held for the 32 car field. In heat race #1 Gary Beard rocketed to the lead early in the race before being sidelined with mechanical problems at the halfway point, ending his night. Michael Murphree inherited the lead and went on to win over Shane Stephens and seventh starting, Billy Moyer.

The second heat race saw Billy Moyer Jr. take the win from the pole with third starting Jack Sullivan and Steve Rushin rounding out the top three.

Heat race #3 would see third row starters, Joey Mack and Dane Dacus blasting their way to the front of the grid. Dacus would lead Mack and Jeff Floyd to the checkered flag.

In heat race #4, third starting Wendell Wallace took the lead early in the race and won over fourth starting Billy Peden and Justin Asplin.

Twin b-mains were held, and in the first last chance qualifier Kyle Beard took the win with Mike Bowers in the final transfer spot. Chris Jones won the second b-main with Jordan Jones earning the final transfer.

Randy Mitchell and Jeff Sloan utilized O’Reilly MSRA provisionals for the 30 lap feature event.

The 2^nd Annual Midsouth Dirt Track Championship will conclude on Saturday night, September 13^th with a complete $2,000 to win program for the O’Reilly MSRA Super Late Models. A full compliment of local divisions will accompany the program each night. For more information, please visit www.PoinsettCountyRaceway.com .

Notes:

Friday night was the official final O’Reilly MSRA point’s event for the 2008 season, and with his fourth place finish, Joey Mack from Benton, Missouri earned his second straight O’Reilly MSRA Championship. Joey Mack also won the JFR Graphics Pole Award for the 2008 season after earning the most O’Reilly MSRA feature pole positions.

Jeff Floyd from Walnut Ridge, Arkansas entered the night 2^nd in O’Reilly MSRA standings, just 21 points out of first place. He would start 12^th in the feature and drive an impressive race to a 3^rd place finish, but his counterpart, Mack, would finish only one spot back in the 4^th position, preventing Floyd from earning enough points to overtake the leader. Jeff Floyd earned the Larry Shaw Race Cars Hard Charger Award for charging from his 12^th starting position to a 3^rd place finish.

Brian Ritchie from Newport, Arkansas was the recipient of the Weld Racing Wheels Forge Ahead Award after a broken suspension part ended his night on lap one of the feature.

Wendell Wallace from Batesville, Arkansas was the recipient of the COMP Cams Winner’s Circle Bonus. With the win he became only the fourth driver in 2008 to make it into victory lane more than once. With the accomplishment he joined Kyle Beard, Ray Moore, and Jack Sullivan as multi-time winners on the 2008 O’Reilly MSRA campaign.

Kyle Beard from Trumann, Arkansas won the COMP Cams Winner’s Circle Bonus for the 2008 season after picking up more feature wins (three) than any other O’Reilly MSRA member. Beard finished 5^th in the final O’Reilly MSRA standings.

Jon Kirby from Russellville, Arkansas won the 2008 O’Reilly MSRA Kuntz & Company Rookie of the Year honor. He also finished 3^rd in the final O’Reilly MSRA point standings.

Billy Moyer Jr. from Batesville, Arkansas finished 4^th in the final O’Reilly MSRA point standings.

Poinsett County Raceway co-owner, Terry Butler, did a fantastic job of prepping the ¼ mile oval for Friday’s event as the track was racy top to bottom with some four wide racing throughout the night.

The O’Reilly MSRA would like to thank O’Reilly Auto Parts, their Associate Sponsors- GRT Race Cars, Hoosier Racing Tires, COMP Cams, Larry Shaw Race Cars, Weld Racing, Kuntz & Company, JFR Graphics, RiceTec, ASI Racewear, ROCKHARD Powdercoat, Inc., MSR Mafia.com Marketing Services; and their contingency sponsors - Scott Wire, Duralite Racing Wheels, Suspension Spring Specialists, BSB Manufacturing, AP Racing, Wiles Drive Shafts, Boston's Restaurant and Sports Bar Pizza, Joe Gibbs Racing Oil, Schaeffer Oil, & FSR Products.

For the latest information on the O’Reilly MSRA Super Late Model Series, please visit www.MSRADirt.com .

O’Reilly MSRA Super Late Model Results – September 12^th, 2008
2^nd Annual Midsouth Dirt Track Championship
Poinsett County Raceway – Harrisburg, Arkansas

Feature Finish:
1. Wendell Wallace
2. Dane Dacus
3. Jeff Floyd
4. Joey Mack
5. Billy Moyer
6. Michael Murphree
7. Kyle Beard
8. Jon Kirby
9. Shane Stephens
10. Jack Sullivan
11. Billy Moyer, Jr.
12. Steve Rushin
13. Billy Peden
14. Mike Bowers
15. Jordan Jones
16. Chris Jones
17. Justin Asplin
18. Jeff Sloan
19. Randy Mitchell
20. Brian Ritchie

Entries: 32 (representing five states: AR, TN, TX, OK, MO)

Cautions: 2
Red Flags: 0

Leaders: Wendell Wallace (1-30)
COMP Cams Winner’s Circle Bonus: Wendell Wallace

JFR Graphics Pole Qualifier: Dane Dacus
Larry Shaw Race Cars Hard Charger: Jeff Floyd (12^th to 3^rd)
Weld Racing Wheels Forge Ahead Award: Brian Ritchie
Provisionals: Jeff Sloan, Randy Mitchell

DNQ: Jeff Wells, Jr., David Thomas, Enik Sanders, Michael Leal, Blake Lane, Gary Beard, Charlie Cole, Robert Lovette, Gary Scott Christian, Jeremy Ball, Allen Murray

For the latest information on the O’Reilly MSRA Super Late Model Series, please visit www.MSRADirt.com .

Contact: Ben Shelton (901) 335-3037
September 9^th, 2008

O’Reilly MSRA Midsouth Dirt Track Championship This Weekend

Beebe, Arkansas (9/09/08) – The 2008 O’Reilly MSRA Super Late Models season will conclude with a huge event this weekend, September 12^th – 13^th as the tour invades Poinsett County Raceway in Harrisburg, Arkansas for the 2^nd Annual Midsouth Dirt Track Championship.

Heading into the season’s finale, 15 events have been held in 2008 with an incredible ten drivers finding victory lane during the course of the season. Billy Moyer, Jeff Floyd, Terry Phillips, Kyle Beard, Ray Moore, Jack Sullivan, Jesse Stovall, Jeff Taylor, Dane Dacus, and Wendell Wallace have all picked up feature wins during the course of the 2008 season with Moore, Beard, and Sullivan being the only repeat winners on the tour.

Despite not finding victory lane so far in 2008 on the tour, defending O’Reilly MSRA Champion, Joey Mack, from Benton, Missouri continues to lead the point standings as he has been a model of consistency each and every race night. He maintains a 21 point advantage over Jeff Floyd from Walnut Ridge, Arkansas heading into the finale. 2008 O’Reilly MSRA/Kuntz & Company Rookie of the Year, Jon Kirby is currently third in the point standings. 2007 O’Reilly MSRA Rookie of the Year, Billy Moyer Jr. continues to maintain the fourth position in the point standings. 2007 MidSouth Dirt Track Champion Kyle Beard (Arkansas) is fifth in the latest tour standings and has picked up two feature wins with the O’Reilly MSRA tour at Poinsett County Raceway in 2008.

A strong contingent of invading drivers will be looking for the big payday this weekend including Dewaine Hottinger (Arkansas), Jeff Sloan (Missouri), Jordan Jones (Arkansas), Randy Mitchell (Oklahoma), Charlie Cole (Arkansas), Justin Asplin (Missouri), Jessie Bailey (Tennessee), Gary Beard (Arkansas), Jeff Moss (Arkansas), Shane Stephens (Tennessee), and many more.

The unparalleled level of competition on the tour in 2008 will culminate this weekend in the $5,000 to win/$400 to start, 40 lap event at Poinsett County Raceway. Action gets underway on Friday night, September 12^th with double heat race action for the O’Reilly MSRA Super Late Model division. Drivers will draw a pill and run their respective heat races. Each heat race will then be completely inverted from the original starting line-up and a second set of heat races will be run. Passing points will be in effect for each set of heat races with the top twelve point’s earners locking into Saturday night’s program.

On Saturday night, September 13^th twin b-mains will be held with the top three finishers from each b-main transferring to the main event. Starting positions nineteen and twenty will be filled by series’ provisionals. The night will be capped off by the 40 lap, Midsouth Dirt Track Championship feature, which will reward $5,000 to win the winner. The 2008 O’Reilly MSRA Champion will be crowned as well.

A full compliment of local divisions will accompany the program each night. For more information, please visit www.PoinsettCountyRaceway.com .

For the latest information on the O’Reilly MSRA Super Late Model Series, please visit www.MSRADirt.com .

Contact: Ben Shelton (901) 335-3037

September 6th, 2008

Terry Phillips Becomes Tenth Different Winner on O’Reilly MSRA Tour in 2008

Pocola, Oklahoma (9/06/08) – On Saturday night, the O’Reilly MSRA Super Late Models tour went head-to-head with the Allstate DLRA Super Late Model tour at Tri State Speedway in Pocola, Oklahoma, and when the checkered flag fell on the feature event, Terry Phillips stood in victory lane as the 10th different winner on the O’Reilly MSRA tour in 2008.

The event marked the first and only event of the 2008 season for the O’Reilly MSRA tour at Tri State Speedway, and twenty-one of the areas top drivers signed in for the event. After accumulating the most passing points in heat race action, Dewaine Hottinger from Russellville, Arkansas earned the JFR Graphics Pole Qualifier Award for the 35 lap feature event. Outside front row starter, Terry Phillips took the lead at the drop of the green flag and would lead the early laps before third starter, Jeremy Payne, caught the leader by the race’s mid stages. The duo would battle for the lead with Payne taking control of the lead late in the race. On a late race restart Payne would take the white flag and look to be on his way to his first O’Reilly MSRA win of the year, but the Springfield, Missouri driver would check up allowing Phillips, Vaught, and Stovall to slip by as the field headed to the checkered flag.

Terry Phillips went on to pick up the win over Will Vaught, Jesse Stovall, Jeremy Payne, and Kyle Beard rounding out the top five.

Notes:

Beard’s top five finish was impressive as he had to start 21st on the grid after losing an engine in heat race action. For his efforts, the Truman, Arkansas’ native was awarded the Larry Shaw Race Cars Hard Charger Award for advancing 16 positions.

2008 O’Reilly MSRA Kuntz & Company Rookie of the Year, Jon Kirby, received the Weld Wheels Hard Luck Award after losing a radiator one lap into the feature event.

Terry Phillips received the COMP Cams Winner’s Circle Bonus.

Heat races were won by Jeremy Pane, Dewaine Hottinger, and Terry Phillips.

With one event remaining in the 2008 season, Joey Mack holds a 21 point advantage over second place Jeff Floyd.

The 2008 season for the O’Reilly MSRA Super Late Model tour will be held Friday and Saturday, September 12th-13th at Poinsett County Raceway in Harrisburg, Arkansas with the 2nd Annual Midsouth Dirt Track Championship. For more information, please visit www.MSRADirt.com or www.PoinsettCountyRaceway.com