After missing Friday’s card to attend Dave Calderwood’s funeral in California, Hines picked off his third consecutive USAC feature win at Dodge City after sweeping both nights of USAC National Sprint Car action last August.

“I’m starting to like this place,” Hines commented as he pulled into victory lane.

While Hines took top Midget honors, Brendon Gemmill picked off his second IMCA Modified feature win in as many nights with Jeff Kaup triumphant in the United Wireless Sport Modifieds and Perry Misner snaring his second consecutive IMCA Stock Car win.

With Hines gridding the feature field fourth aboard the Toyota-powered Parker Machinery No. 24 Spike, Chris Windom and Brad Kuhn led the way to the green flag.  Kuhn gunned into the lead at the outset with Hines and fellow second-row starter Bryan Clauson quickly moving in to challenge for the point.

Kuhn worked the upper shelf in the early rounds with Hines working the low side as Clauson, Windom and Bobby East gave chase.  Hines finally edged into a lead he wouldn’t relinquish exiting turn four on the eighth round, with defending series champion Clauson giving up the chase one lap later with engine woes.

Kuhn kept the heat on Hines until the midway point when Hines began to open up an advantage in traffic.  With Hines nearly a half straightway ahead over the final ten circuits, Friday night winner Kyle Larson was on the move from his 13^th starting position.

Larson cracked the top five by the midway point and then disposed of Windom and East for third by the 25^th round.  Larson wasted little time reeling in Kuhn for second and took the spot exiting turn two on the final lap.

Hines was out of reach by that time though, taking the checkered flag with a ten car-length advantage over Larson in the Toyota-powered Keith Kunz Motorsports No. 71 Bullet.  Kuhn settled for the show position in the RW Motorsports Fontana-powered No. 17 Beast with East fourth in the Klatt Enterprises Chevy-powered No. 4 Beast.

Darren Hagen made a late move around Windom to round out the top five in the RFMS Esslinger-powered No. 3 Spike, with Windom, Levi Roberts, Rico Abreu, Levi Jones and Caleb Armstrong completing the top ten.

For the second night in a row, Roberts set the standard in qualifying with a quick time of 15.937 seconds with C.J. Johnson, Brady Bacon and Hagen winning the heat races.

After picking off his first IMCA Modified feature win of the year at Dodge City Raceway Park the previous night, defending track champion Brendon Gemmill made it two in a row with a late move around Jesse Smith to take top honors in the 20-lapper.

While Gemmill started 12^th, Jack Kirchoff and Tad Davis swapped the point several times over the early rounds as Gemmill worked his way up to third by the midway point behind Davis and Smith, who took the lead away from Davis on a lap nine restart.

Gemmill wrestled the lead away from Smith on the 14^th round, only to jump the cushion in turns three and four to relinquish the lead.  Gemmill battled back and took the lead for keeps on the white flag lap.  “I thought I gave that one away when I jumped the cushion, that was a tough one,” Gemmill explained.

Gemmill took the checkered flag ahead of Smith, with Mike Martin, Casey Jo Wanger and Kevin Gray rounding out the top five.

Jeff Kaup and Josh Appel battled side-by-side in the early rounds of the 12-lap United Wireless IMCA Sport Modified feature before Kaup slipped away to take the win over Clay Sellard, Bart Baker, Josh Appel and Mike Appel.

After topping the season opening IMCA Stock Car feature by mere inches two weeks earlier, Misner made a lap eight move around Cody Zimmerman en route to win number two in a row over Zimmerman, Mike Kennedy, Justin Tenaat and Reagan Sellard.

Next on the docket at Dodge City Raceway Park is weekly series action on June 2 with Modifieds, Sport Modifieds, Stocks, Thunder Cars and Hornets, with the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars then coming to town for the Boot Hill Shootout on June 22-23.

Dodge City Raceway Park Results (May 5, 2012):

USAC Mopar National Midgets:

Qualifying:  1. Levi Roberts, Tucker Racing/BCI 39, 15.937, 2. Bobby East, Klatt 4, 16.002, 3. Tracy Hines, Parker 24, 16.042, 4. Bryan Clauson, Kunz 67, 16.079, 5. Zach Daum, Daum 5d, 16.108, 6. Brad Kuhn, RW 17, 16.140, 7. Chris Deshon, Faith Motorsports 16.154, 8. Chris Windom, Wilke-Pak 11w, 16.166, 9. Darren Hagen, RFMS 3, 16.169, 10. Levi Jones, 5ive-6ix/3 Wide Networks, 16.235, 11. Rico Abreu, Kunz 67k, 16.241, 12. Jerry Coons, Jr., DL Motorsports 3nz, 16.273, 13. Kyle Larson, Kunz 71, 16.276, 14. Caleb Armstrong, C&A 7c, 16.345, 15. Tony Rossi, Rossi 14, 16.385, 16. C.J. Johnson, Johnson 45x, 16.394, 17. Brady Bacon, Wilke-Pak 11, 16.401, 18. Davey Ray, RayPro 33, 16.427, 19. Garett Hood, Two Hoods 11h, 16.522, 20. Patrick Stasa, SBR 19, 16.537, 21. Dalton Armstrong, C&A 7a, 16.570, 22. Dave Darland, Dooling 63, 16.586, 23. Riley Emmel, Ray 12, 16.823, 24. Randy Boyer, Boyer 69, 18.009, 25. Mario Clouser, RW 27, NT.

First Heat (8 Laps):  1. 45x-C.J. Johnson, 2. 71-Kyle Larson, 3. 67-Bryan Clauson, 4. 56-Levi Jones, 5. 39-Levi Roberts, 6. 51-Chris Deshon, 7. 63-Dave Darland, 8. 27-Mario Clouser, 9. 11h-Garett Hood.

Second Heat (8 Laps):  1. 11-Brady Bacon, 2. 7c-Caleb Armstrong, 3. 67k-Rico Abreu, 4. 4-Bobby East, 5. 11w-Chris Windom, 6. 5d-Zach Daum, 7. 12-Riley Emmel, 8. 19-Patrick Stasa.

Third Heat (8 Laps):  1. 3-Darren Hagen, 2. 24-Tracy Hines, 3. 33-Davey Ray, 4. 3nz-Jerry Coons, Jr., 5. 17-Brad Kuhn, 6. 14-Tony Rossi, 7. 7a-Dalton Armstrong, 8. 69-Randy Boyer.

“A” Feature (30 Laps):  1. 24-Tracy Hines (4), 2. 71-Kyle Larson (13), 3. 17-Brad Kuhn (2), 4. 4-Bobby East (5), 5. 3-Darren Hagen (9), 6. 11w-Chris Windom (1), 7. 39-Levi Roberts (6), 8. 67k-Rico Abreu (11), 9. 56-Levi Jones (10), 10. 7c-Caleb Armstrong (14), 11. 11-Brady Bacon (17), 12. 3nz-Jerry Coons, Jr. (12), 13. 5d-Zach Daum (7), 14. 33-Davey Ray (18), 15. 19-Patrick Stasa (20), 16. 45x-C.J. Johnson (16), 17. 7a-Dalton Armstrong (21), 18. 27-Mario Clouser (24), 19. 14-Tony Rossi (15), 20. 11h-Garett Hood (19), 21. 12-Riley Emmel (23), 22. 51-Chris Deshon (8), 23. 67-Bryan Clauson (3), 24. 69-Randy Boyer (22). DNS: 63-Dave Darland.

IMCA Modifieds:

First Heat (8 Laps):  1. 75-Tad Davis, 2. 13-Cole Traugott, 3. G3-Brendon Gemmill, 4. 01x-Beau Davis, 5. 62d-Derrick Dorbush, 6. 28-Seth Beard, 7. 22-Trent Gray.

Second Heat (8 Laps):  1. 01-Jesse Smith, 2. 21-Van Gemmill, 3. M15-Mike Martin, 4. 36-Travis Simmons, 5. 18-Austin Allen, 6. 57-Joel Lane, 7. 83-Michael Shenberger.

Third Heat (8 Laps):  1. 16-Kevin Gray, 2. A2-Randy Wilson, 3. 3c-Casey Jo Wanger, 4. 07-Shane Hutson, 5. 22n-Nick Shenberger, 6. 1n-Nick Link, 7. 7n-William Nusser.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps):  1. 3h-Ryan Heger, 2. 88j-Jack Kirchoff, 3. 1m-Cody Gearhart, 4. 98-Danny Keller, 5. 65T-Tim Lieker, 6. 99j-Justin Eisenhauer.

“B” Feature (10 Laps):  1. 01x-Beau Davis, 2. 18-Austin Allen, 3. 22n-Nick Shenberger, 4. 1n-Nick Link, 5. 28-Seth Beard, 6. 62d-Derrick Dorbush, 7. 36-Travis Simmons, 8. 57-Joel Lane, 9. 07-Shane Hutson, 10. 7n-William Nusser, 11. 22-Trent Gray, 12. 83-Michael Shenberger, 13. 65T-Tim Lieker, 14. 98-Danny Keller, 15. 99j-Justin Eisenhauer.

“A” Feature (20 Laps):  1. G3-Brendon Gemmill, 2. 01-Jesse Smith, 3. M15-Mike Martin, 4. 3c-Casey Jo Wanger, 5. 16-Kevin Gray, 6. 3h-Ryan Heger, 7. 18-Austin Allen, 8. A2-Randy Wilson, 9. 22n-Nick Shenberger, 10. 28-Seth Beard, 11. 62d-Derrick Dorbush, 12. 01x-Beau Davis, 13. 13-Cole Traugott, 14. 88j-Jack Kirchoff, 15. 75-Tad Davis, 16. 1m-Cody Gearhart, 17. 1n-Nick Link, 18. 21-Van Gemmill, 19. 36-Travis Simmons, 20. 57-Joel Lane.

United Wireless IMCA Sport Modifieds:

First Heat (8 Laps):  1. 92-Jeff Kaup, 2. 56m-Mike Appel, 3. 37-Bart Baker, 4. 10T-Toby Witthuhn, 5. 65-Josh Appel, 6. D8-Dale Wanger, 7. 85c-Clay Sellard, 8. 4p-Daylan Bergeron, 9. 42-Doug Byers, 10. 8-Larry Grady.

“A” Feature (12 Laps):  1. 92-Jeff Kaup, 2. 85c-Clay Sellard, 3. 37-Bart Baker, 4. 65-Josh Appel, 5. 56m-Mike Appel, 6. 10T-Toby Witthuhn, 7. D8-Dale Wanger, 8. 8-Larry Grady, 9. 42-Doug Byers, 10. 4p-Daylan Bergeron.

IMCA Stock Cars:

First Heat (8 Laps):  1. 20m-Perry Misner, 2. 2$-Reagan Sellard, 3. 88-Mel Law, 4. 55-Keith Riley, 5. 2z-Cody Zimmerman, 6. 19-Brett Copeland, 7. 07-Justin Tenaat, 8. 45-Mike Kennedy.

“A” Feature (12 Laps):  1. 20m-Perry Misner, 2. 2z-Cody Zimmerman, 3. 45-Mike Kennedy, 4. 07-Justin Tenaat, 5. 2$-Reagan Sellard, 6. 55-Keith Riley, 7. 19-Brett Copeland, 8. 88-Mel Law.

While Larson was victorious on the opening night of the two-night Boot Hill stand, other picking up wins including Brendon Gemmill in the IMCA Modifieds, Bart Baker in the United Wireless IMCA Sport Modifieds and Dan Rogers in the Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Cars.

With Larson starting third in the Midget feature, Mario Clouser and Levi Jones led the way to the green flag after original front row outside starter Bobby East tagged the tail of the field.  Defending Gold Crown Midget Nationals champion Jones of Olney, IL, gunned into the lead at the outset with third-starter Larson immediately moving into second.

Larson was already challenging Jones for the lead when the race’s first caution flew on the third round for a five-car melee in turn that sent Rico Abreu, Jerry Coons, Jr. and Dalton Armstrong pitside.  Tony Rossi and Chris Windom rejoined the action.

Action heated up on the restart, with Jones, Larson and Darren Hagen trading sliders in a wild three-way battle for the lead.  Larson ultimately got the edge on the 7^th round and left Jones and Hagen to battle with the likes of Bryan Clauson and Levi Roberts.

“That was wild early, it was a lot of fun,” Larson commented afterward.  “I just wanted to get out front, I knew if Hagen got out front he’d be tough to catch.”

Larson’s Keith Kunz Motorsports teammate Clauson took command of second by the midway point as Hagen’s powerplant began to sour and then closed in on the Elk Grove, CA, shoe in the race for the lead.

After a quick red flag for Rossi, who got upside down in turn three with just eight laps to go, another pair of cautions livened things up as 14^th-starter Kuhn entered the mix and was on Larson’s tailtank on the final restart with four laps to go.

Larson proved untouchable though, racing on to the checkered flag aboard the Toyota-powered Bullet chassis.  Kuhn settled for runner-up honors in the Fontana-powered RW Motorsports No. 27 Beast.

Defending series champion Clauson settled for the show position in the No. 67 Toyota-powered Bullet, with Windom bouncing back from the early tangle to take fourth in the Wilke-Pak Toyota-powered No. 11 Spike after apparent fourth-place finisher Levi Roberts came up light at the scales.

Jones rounded out the top five in the Esslinger-powered Three Wide Networks No. 56 Beast, with Patrick Stasa climbing from 19^th to sixth.  Davey Ray raced from 17^th to seventh, with Caleb Armstrong, Clouser and Garrett Hood completing the top ten.

Levi Roberts kicked the night off by establishing a quick time of 16.081 seconds in qualifying over the 26-car field, with Windom, Clauson, Ray and Coons, Jr., winning the heat races.

Brady Bacon lost an engine in qualifying and after scratching from his heat race, advanced from 18^th to fifth before exiting after the lap 22 restart.  East rallied from the tail into the top five as well before running out of fuel less than a handful of laps shy of the checkered flag.

Jeff Stasa’s night ended before it started when steering failure sent his machine into the third turn wall in the initial hot lap session.  Clint Schubert’s weekend also came to an early end when he detonated an engine in qualifying.

In the IMCA Modifieds, Brendon Gemmill took advantage of a lap six restart to break back into victory lane.  Gemmill took the lead away from Joel Lane en route to taking the checkered flag ahead of Mike Martin, Danny Keller, Cody Gearhart and Kevin Gray.

Bart Baker raced around Dale Wanger on the eighth round of the 12-lap United Wireless IMCA Sport Mod main event before taking the checkered flag ahead of defending track champion Clay Sellard, Wanger, Toby Witthuhn and Mike Appel.

After surrendering the lead late in the season opening Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Car main event, Dan Rogers took over early and held on all the way to win the night’s 15-lap feature over Reagan Sellard, Dustin Walker, Jakob Mankle and Dustin Carr.

Racing action continues at Dodge City Raceway Park on Saturday night with another full card of USAC Mopar National Midgets, IMCA Modifieds, United Wireless IMCA Sport Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars.

Dodge City Raceway Park Results (May 4, 2012):

USAC Mopar National Midgets:

Qualifying: 1. Levi Roberts, Tucker/BCI 39 16.081, 2. Darren Hagen, RFMS 3, 16.095, 3. Levi Jones, 5ive-6ix Inc. 56, 16.099, 4. Kyle Larson, Kunz 71, 16.222, 5. Rico Abreu, Kunz 67k, 16.238, 6. Bobby East, Klatt 4, 16.313, 7. Tony Rossi, Rossi 14, 16.314, 8. Mario Clouser, RW 27, 16.320, 9. Chris Windom, Wilke-Pak 11w, 16.325, 10. Dave Darland, Dooling 63, 16.367, 11. Chris Deshon, Faith Motorsports 51, 16.378, 12. Jerry Coons, Jr., DL Motorsports 3nz, 16.390, 13. Caleb Armstrong, C&A 7c, 16.433, 14. Bryan Clauson, Kunz 67, 16.438, 15. Dalton Armstrong, C&A 7a, 16.446, 16. Brad Kuhn, RW 17, 16.519, 17. Zach Daum, Daum 5d, 16.519, 18. C.J. Johnson, Johnson 45x, 16.538, 19. Davey Ray, Ray Pro 33, 16.609, 20. Brady Bacon, Wilke-Pak 11, 16.665, 21. Patrick Stasa, SBR 19, 16.746, 22. Garrett Hood, Two Hoods 11h, 16.933, 23. Riley Emmel, Ray 12, 17.366, 24. Randy Boyer, Boyer 69, 18.382, 25. Clint Schubert, Schubert 44, 18.589, 26. Jeff Stasa, SBR 91, NT.

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 11w-Chris Windom, 2. 39-Levi Roberts, 3. 7c-Caleb Armstrong, 4. 19-Patrick Stasa, 5. 67k-Rico Abreu, 6. 5d-Zach Daum.  DNS: 44-Clint Schubert.

Second Heat (8 Laps):  1. 67-Bryan Clauson, 2. 45x-C.J. Johnson, 3. 4-Bobby East, 4. 3-Darren Hagen, 5. 63-Dave Darland, 6. 11h-Garrett Hood.  DNS: 91-Jeff Stasa

Third Heat (8 Laps):  1. 33-Davey Ray, 2. 7a-Dalton Armstrong, 3. 56-Levi Jones, 4. 51-Chris Deshon, 5. 14-Tony Rossi, 6. 12-Riley Emmel.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps):  1. 3nz-Jerry Coons, Jr., 2. 17-Brad Kuhn, 3. 71-Kyle Larson, 4. 27-Mario Clouser, 5. 69-Randy Boyer. DNS: 11-Brady Bacon.

“A” Feature (30 Laps):  1. 71-Kyle Larson (3), 2. Brad Kuhn (14), 3. 67-Bryan Clauson (12), 4. 11w-Chris Windom (9), 5. 56-Levi Jones (2), 6. 19-Patrick Stasa (19), 7. 33-Davey Ray (17), 8. 7c-Caleb Armstrong (13), 9. 27-Mario Clouser (1), 10. 11h-Garrett Hood (22), 11. 3-Darren Hagen (5), 12. 51-Chris Deshon (11), 13. 4-Bobby East (24), 14. 5d-Zach Daum (22), 15. 45x-C.J. Johnson (16), 16. 11-Brady Bacon (18), 17. 69-Randy Boyer (23), 18. 14-Tony Rossi (6), 19. 12-Riley Emmel (21), 20. 63-Dave Darland (8), 21. 67k-Rico Abreu (7), 22. 3nz-Jerry Coons, Jr. (10), 23. 7a-Dalton Armstrong (15), 24. 39-Levi Roberts (4). Note: Levi Roberts disqualified for failing to meet minimum weight after taking the checkered flag in fourth.

IMCA Modifieds:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 1m-Cody Gearhart, 2. 98-Danny Keller, 3. 22-Trent Gray, 4. 01-Jesse Smith, 5. 75-Tad Davis, 6. 3c-Casey Jo Wanger, 7. 36-Travis Simmons, 8. 7n-William Nusser.

Second Heat (8 Laps):  1. 96jr-Jon Herring, 2. 13-Cole Traugott, 3. 3h-Ryan Heger, 4. 28-Seth Beard, 5. 99j-Justin Eisenhauer, 6. 07-Shane Hutson, 7. 88j-Jack Kirchoff. DNS: 32-Jason Edwards.

Third Heat (8 Laps):  1. 21-Van Gemmill, 2. 16-Kevin Gray, 3. 57-Joel Lane, 4. G3-Brendon Gemmill, 5. M15-Mike Martin, 6. 01x-Beau Davis, 7. 18-Austin Allen, 8. 1n-Nick Link.

“A” Feature (20 Laps):  1. G3-Brendon Gemmill, 2. M15-Mike Martin, 3. 98-Danny Keller, 4. 1m-Cody Gearhart, 5. 16-Kevin Gray, 6. 3c-Casey Jo Wanger, 7. 21-Van Gemmill, 8. 18-Austin Allen, 9. 75-Tad Davis, 10. 57-Joel Lane, 11. 13-Cole Traugott, 12. 1n-Nick Link, 13. 3h-Ryan Heger, 14. 01x-Beau Davis, 15. 7n-William Nusser, 16. 88j-Jack Kirchoff, 17. 99j-Justin Eisenhauer, 18. 22-Trent Gray, 19. 07-Shane Hutson, 20. 36-Travis Simmons, 21. 28-Seth Beard, 22. 96jr-Jon Herring, 23. 01-Jesse Smith. DNS: 32-Jason Edwards.

United Wireless IMCA Sport Modifieds:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 56m-Mike Appel, 2. 85c-Clay Sellard, 3. 37-Bart Baker, 4. D8-Dale Wanger, 5. 92-Jeff Kamp, 6. 65-Josh Appel, 7. 10T-Toby Witthuhn, 8. 40d-Stephen Dent, 9. 8-Larry Grady, 10. 15b-Andy Barton.

“A” Feature (12 Laps):  1. 37-Bart Baker, 2. 85c-Clay Sellard, 3. D8-Dale Wanger, 4. 10T-Toby Witthuhn, 5. 56m-Mike Appel, 6. 15b-Andy Barton, 7. 8-Larry Grady, 8. 40d-Stephen Dent, 9. 92-Jeff Kamp, 10. 65-Josh Appel.

Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Cars:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 91d-Cody Davis, 2. 007-Bryan Habiger, 3. 31d-Dustin Walker, 4. 2d-Derek McDonough, 5. 31-Raymond Blackburn, 6. 3m-Jakob Mankle, 7. 50-Steve Blackburn, 8. 5-Andre Kamphofer, 9. 66-Andy Davis.

Second Heat (8 Laps):  1. 58r-Reagan Sellard, 2. 22-Dan Rogers, 3. 75-Randle McRoberts, 4. 38-Scott Messino, 5. 25-Adam Duesing, 6. 87-Dustin Carr, 7. 006-Kim Frodin, 8. 7-Tom Reed. DNS: 57-Tanner Brunson.

“A” Feature (15 Laps):  1. 22-Dan Rogers, 2. 58r-Reagan Sellard, 3. 31d-Dustin Walker, 4. 3m-Jakob Mankle, 5. 87-Dustin Carr, 6. 006-Kim Frodin, 7. 50-Steve Blackburn, 8. 007-Bryan Habiger, 9. 75-Randle McRoberts, 10. 66-Andy Davis, 11. 38-Scott Messino, 12. 91d-Cody Davis, 13. 5-Andrew Kamphofer, 14. 25-Adam Duesing, 15. 31-Raymond Blackburn, 16. 2d-Derek McDonough, 17. 7-Tom Reed.

The USAC National Midgets will take to the 3/8-mile clay oval on both Friday and Saturday along with the IMCA Modifieds and United Wireless IMCA Sport Modifieds.  The Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Cars will round out Friday’s card, with the IMCA Stock Cars filling out Saturday’s action.

Mario Clouser, coming off his first career Midget win atop dirt last weekend in Illinois, enters the weekend atop USAC Midget National points after Bobby East and Darren Hagen split victory honors in the season-opening weekend double atop asphalt in North Carolina on the final weekend of March.

Slated for Indy 500 action later this month, reigning series champion Bryan Clauson will be looking for more Boot Hill success after sweeping through both nights of USAC Midget action at DCRP last year in front of East and Brady Bacon.

Quinter, Kansas’ will lead the local contingent into the weekend after picking off an NCRA Sprint Car win at Wichita’s 81 Speedway last Saturday night.

Four-time IMCA Modified National champion David Murray opened the DCRP season with an opening night win on April 21, with reigning IMCA Sport Mod National champion Bryan LaRiviere also taking top honors.  Cody Davis topped the season opening Thunder Car feature, with Perry Misner prevailing in a Stock Car photo finish.

USAC Midget qualifying will get under way at approximately 7:00 p.m. each night, with racing action set to get under way at 7:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Tickets are $20 for adults each night.  Seniors and Military receive a $5 discount, with children 11 and under admitted free if accompanied by an adult.  Pit passes are $30 each night.

Dodge City Raceway Park is located on the south edge of Dodge City, KS, on US 283, then 0.9 miles west on US 56, then 0.1 miles south.  For more information, contact the track at 620-225-3277 or check www.dodgecityraceway.com.

While that hasn’t necessarily rung true in the modern era, that will once again be the case this weekend when the USAC Mopar National Midget series takes to the dirt for the first time in 2012 with two full nights of wild racing action atop the 3/8-mile Dodge City Raceway Park in southwest Kansas.

Gearing up for the biggest month of his racing life, 22-year-old Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, IN, leads a stellar cast of competitors into this weekend’s double in the wild-west town famed for Boot Hill and other western legends.

Clauson, who swept through both nights of USAC Midget action at Dodge City Raceway Park last year en route to the series championship, will embark upon Rookie Orientation at Indianapolis Motor Speedway just a few short days after this weekend’s action in his effort to race into the Indy 500 field for the first time, a perk earned by earning last year’s overall USAC National Driver’s Championship.

While undefeated at Dodge City last year, Clauson will face a rugged field of competitors this weekend that includes Bobby East and Brady Bacon, who both reached the podium both nights as well in 2011, along with the likes of Kyle Larson, Darren Hagen, Chris Windom, Tracy Hines, rookie contender Rico Abreu and current series points leader Mario Clouser among many others.

The USAC Mopar National Midgets will be joined on both nights by the IMCA Modifieds and United Wireless IMCA Sport Modifieds.  The Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Cars will round out Friday’s card, with the IMCA Stock Cars filling out Saturday’s action.

Racing action is set to get under way at 7:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Tickets are $20 for adults each night.  Seniors and Military receive a $5 discount, with children 11 and under admitted free if accompanied by an adult.  Pit passes are $30 each night.

Dodge City Raceway Park is located on the south edge of Dodge City, KS, on US 283, then 0.9 miles west on US 56, then 0.1 miles south.  For more information, contact the track at 620-225-3277 or check www.dodgecityraceway.com.

Current USAC Midget points leader Mario Clouser and Rookie of the Year contender Rico Abreu both enter the weekend double coming off landmark triumphs this past weekend.

Clouser, the native of Auburn, IL, who emerged from the opening weekend of USAC National Midget action on asphalt in March atop the point charts in the RW Motorsports No. 27 entry, captured his first career Midget win on dirt this past Friday night in POWRi action at Jacksonville Speedway in Illinois.

Soon after and nearly 2,000 miles to the west in California, 20-year-old Abreu of Rutherford, CA, snared his first Sprint Car feature win by cracking victory lane at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway.

Clouser, who drove his own mount to victory lane this past weekend, holds a slim USAC National Midget points lead over Bobby East and Darren Hagen, who split victory honors at Ace Speedway in late March.

Abreu, aboard one of the potent Keith Kunz Motorsports entries for this weekend, made the cut for his first Chili Bowl main event to start the 2012 year and was a podium contender in both nights of Cowtown POWRi action in March before the USAC asphalt opener in North Carolina.

Clouser and Abreu will be among a stout field of entries this weekend vying to knock Bryan Clauson off the top step of the podium after the Noblesville, IN, shoe swept through both nights of USAC Midget action at Dodge City Raceway Park last year.

Clauson was joined on the podium by Bobby East and Brady Bacon on both nights last year, with all three expected for this weekend’s action.

The USAC Mopar National Midgets will be joined on both nights by the IMCA Modifieds and United Wireless IMCA Sport Modifieds.  The Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Cars will round out Friday’s card, with the IMCA Stock Cars filling out Saturday’s action.

Racing action is set to get under way at 7:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Tickets are $20 for adults each night.  Seniors and Military receive a $5 discount, with children 11 and under admitted free if accompanied by an adult.  Pit passes are $30.

Dodge City Raceway Park is located on the south edge of Dodge City, KS, on US 283, then 0.9 miles west on US 56, then 0.1 miles south.  For more information, contact the track at 620-225-3277 or check www.dodgecityraceway.com.

The 3/8-mile clay oval located in Dodge City, KS, kicked off a 2012 slate of events that includes 16 nights of action over a dozen weekends this past Saturday night with 97 cars filling the pit area and taking to a new racing surface that drew rave reviews.

Now, with the newly added 400 loads of clay christened under improved Musco lighting, the stage is set for USAC Midget action next weekend.  Modifieds and United Wireless Sport Modifieds will be in action on both nights as well, with Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Cars filling out the Friday card and Stock Cars rounding out Saturday’s tilt.

Next weekend’s double will mark the first dirt track events of the season for the USAC National Midgets after opening the season on North Carolina asphalt on March 30-31.  While Darren Hagen and Bobby East split Ace Speedway victories, it is Mario Clouser of Auburn, IL, out to the early points lead over East, Hagen, Caleb Armstrong and Bobby Santos.

Bryan Clauson, who cracked victory lane during both nights of USAC Midget National action at Dodge City Raceway Park last year, enters next weekend’s action ranked eighth in points after finishes of tenth and ninth in North Carolina.

Both the May 4 and Cinco de Mayo cards at Dodge City Raceway Park are set to go green at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $20 for adults each night.  Seniors and Military receive a $5 discount, with children 11 and under admitted free if accompanied by an adult.  Pit passes are $30.

Dodge City Raceway Park is located on the south edge of Dodge City, KS, on US 283, then 0.9 miles west on US 56, then 0.1 miles south.  For more information, contact the track at 620-225-3277 or check www.dodgecityraceway.com.

While Murray topped the IMCA Modified main event, Wichita’s Bryan LaRivere topped the United Wireless IMCA Sport Mods, Garden City’s Perry Misner prevailed in a photo finish in IMCA Stock Car action, Bucklin’s Cody Davis surged into a late lead to win the Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Car main event and Spearville’s Brandon Sprott held off a late charge to win the Hornet feature.

With David Murray working forward from the tenth starting position in the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature, front row outside starter Jason Edwards paced the initial rounds in front of Randy Wilson and Van Gemmill.

Murray worked through the field and was challenging Edwards for the point before a caution after eight laps and then charged into the lead in turns three and four on the lap nine restart.

While the turns one and two cushion nearly sucked Murray into the wall a time or two over the final circuits, he went on to claim his first DCRP triumph since a BST score a handful of years ago in front of reigning track champion Brendon Gemmill, who took second from Edwards in the final pair of circuits after starting 13^th.

Edwards crossed the stripe third behind Murray and B. Gemmill, with Cody Gearhart and Randy Wilson rounding out the top five.

Bryan LaRivere showed exactly why he ranks as the reigning IMCA Sport Mod National champion with a convincing victory in the 12-lap United Wireless Sport Mod main event.  LaRivere took the checkered flag ahead of defending track champion Clay Sellard, with Bart Baker, Mike Wadel and Dale Wanger rounding out the top five.

After leading from the outside front row from the outset of the IMCA Stock Car feature, Perry Misner found himself ebroiled in a fierce three-car battle with Rod Wadel and Nick Tubbs over the final half of the 20-lapper after a mid-race caution.

With the lead trio swapping positions, Misner ultimately took the checkered flag by less than a bumper over Tubbs, with Wadel, B.J. Wagoner and Jeff Tubbs rounding out the top five.

After pacing the initial six circuits of the Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Car feature, Cody Davis surrendered the point to Dan Rogers with a turn two bobble on the seventh round.  But, with traffic a factor in the non-stop 20-lapper, Davis surged back into the lead on the 18^th round to snare the checkered flag in front of Rogers with Jordan Randles, Cody Orth and W.D. Matteson rounding out the top five.

After battling side-by-side with Dewayne Bowman over the initial half of the 12-lap Hornet feature, Brandon Sprott slipped away only to have a fast-closing Jaret Lunow nearly steal the win away after starting ninth.  Sprott finished just ahead of Lunow at the line, with Bowman, Jarred Nightingale and Kenneth O’Hair rounding out the top five.

Action resumes at Dodge City Raceway Park on the weekend of May 4-5 with two full nights of USAC National Midget racing action.  Modifieds and Sport Modifieds will be in action on both nights as well, with Thunder Cars joining in on Friday festivities and then Stocks on Saturday night.

Dodge City Raceway Park April 21 Results:

IMCA Modifieds:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. A2-Randy Wilson, 2. 32-Jason Edwards, 3. 22-Trent Gray, 4. 98-Danny Keller, 5. 3c-Casey Jo Wanger, 6. 38-Scott Brown, 7. 36-Travis Simmons, 8. M15-Mike Martin, 9. 01-Jesse Smith.

Second Heat (8 Laps):  1. 97m-David Murray, 2. 1m-Cody Gearhart, 3. 94-Jim Graves, 4. 6x-Jason Schoenberger, 5. G3-Brendon Gemmill, 6. 28-Seth Beard, 7. 88j-Jack Kirchoff. DNS: 911-Straun Taylor.

Third Heat (8 Laps):  1. 18-Austin Allen, 2. 21-Van Gemmill, 3. 51-Pat McVicker, 4. 75-Tad Davis, 5. 01x-Beau Davis, 6. 62d-Derrick Dorbush, 7. B21-Chadd Brown, 8. 57-Joel Lane.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps):  1. 13T-Cole Traugott, 2. 96jr-Jon Herring, 3. 65T-Tim Lieker, 4. 3h-Ryan Heger, 5. 17m-Shannon Maughlin, 6. 16-Kevin Gray, 7. 07-Shane Hutson, 8. 22k-Brad Keller.

“B” Feature 1 (10 Laps):  1. G3-Brendon Gemmill, 2. 6x-Jason Schoenberger, 3. 01-Jesse Smith, 4. 3c-Casey Jo Wanger, 5. M15-Mike Martin, 6. 98-Danny Keller, 7. 88j-Jack Kirchoff, 8. 36-Travis Simmons, 9. 28-Seth Beard. DNS: 38-Scott Brown, 911-Straun Taylor.

“B” Feature 2 (10 Laps):  1. 01x-Beau Davis, 2. 3h-Ryan Heger, 3. 17m-Shannon Maughlin, 4. 62d-Derrick Dorbush, 5. B21-Chadd Brown, 6. 07-Shane Hutson, 7. 57-Joel Lane, 8. 22k-Brad Keller, 9. 16-Kevin Gray, 10. 75-Tad Davis.

“A” Feature (20 Laps):  1. 97m-David Murray, 2. G3-Brendon Gemmill, 3. 32-Jason Edwards, 4. 1m-Cody Gearhart, 5. A2-Randy Wilson, 6. 6x-Jason Schoenberger, 7. 21-Van Gemmill, 8. 51-Pat McVicker, 9. 13T-Cole Traugott, 10. 65T-Tim Lieker, 11. 01-Jesse Smith, 12. 01x-Beau Davis, 13. 3h-Ryan Heger, 14. 62d-Derrick Dorbush, 15. 94-Jim Graves, 16. 22-Trent Gray, 17. 18-Austin Allen, 18. 96jr-Jon Herring, 19. 17m-Shannon Maughlin, 20. 3c-Casey Jo Wanger.

United Wireless IMCA Sport Modifieds:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 2-Bryan LaRivere, 2. 85c-Clay Sellard, 3. 37-Bart Baker, 4. 15-Larry Crouch, 5. 15b-Andy Barton, 6. 10T-Toby Witthuhn.

Second Heat (8 Laps):  1. 56m-Mike Appel, 2. 80m-Mike Wadel, 3. D8-Dale Wanger, 4. 65-Josh Appel, 5. 42-Doug Byers.

“A” Feature (12 Laps):  1. 2-Bryan LaRivere, 2. 85c-Clay Sellard, 3. 37-Bart Baker, 4. 80m-Mike Wadel, 5. D8-Dale Wanger, 6. 65-Josh Appel, 7. 15b-Larry Crouch, 8. 42-Doug Byers, 9. 10T-Toby Witthuhn, 10. 15b-Andy Barton, 11. 8-Larry Grady. DNS: 56m-Mike Appel

IMCA Stock Cars:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 95-Tyler Tipton, 2. 2s-Reagan Sellard, 3. 55-Keith Riley, 4. 2z-Cody Zimmerman, 5. 57-Josh Crombie, 6. 19-Brett Copeland, 7. 16-Brent Morris.

Second Heat (8 Laps):  1. 20-Perry Misner, 2. 60-Rod Wadel, 3. 37x-Jeff Tubbs, 4. 45-Mike Kennedy, 5. 88-Mel Law, 6. 10r-Rob Sellard.

Third Heat (8 Laps):  1. 737-Nick Tubbs, 2. 14-Brandon Fisher, 3. 51w-B.J. Wagoner, 4. 64-Shannon Orth, 5. 10T-Dusty Witthuhn, 6. 07-Justin Tremart.

“A” Feature (20 Laps):  1. 20-Perry Misner, 2. 737-Nick Tubbs, 3. 60-Rod Wadel, 4. 51w-B.J. Wagoner, 5. 37x-Jeff Tubbs, 6. 55-Keith Riley, 7. 14-Brandon Fisher, 8. 95-Tyler Tipton, 9. 2z-Cody Zimmerman, 10. 57-Josh Crombie, 11. 64-Shannon Orth, 12. 19-Brett Copeland, 13. 88-Mel Law, 14. 10r-Rob Sellard, 15. 07-Juestin Tremart, 16. 2s-Reagan Sellard, 17. 10T-Dustin Witthuhn, 18. 45-Mike Kennedy. DNS: 16-Brent Morris.

Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Cars:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 38-Scott Messino, 2. 87-Dustin Carr, 3. 31d-Dustin Walker, 4. 007-Bryan Habiger, 5. 31-Raymond Blackburn, 6. 5-Andre Kamphofner, 7. 72-Toby Schield.

Second Heat (8 Laps):  1. 25-Adam Duesing, 2. 64-Cody Orth, 3. 11m-W.D. Matteson, 4. 45p-Michael Penrod, 5. 3m-Jacob Manke, 6. 7-Tom Reed, 7. 75-Randle McRoberts.

Third Heat (8 Laps):  1. 22-Dan Rogers, 2. 91d-Cody Davis, 3. 3J-Jordan Randles, 4. 006-Kim Frodin, 5. 57-Tanner Brunson. DNS: 50-Steve Blackburn.

“A” Feature (20 Laps):  1. 91d-Cody Davis, 2. 22-Dan Rogers, 3. 3J-Jordan Randles, 4. 64-Cody Orth, 5. 11m-W.D. Matteson, 6. 31d-Dustin Walker, 7. 45p-Michael Penrod, 8. 38-Scott Messino, 9. 31-Raymond Blackburn, 10. 006-Kim Frodin, 11. 3m-Jacob Manke, 12. 7-Tom Reed, 13. 25-Adam Duesing, 14. 007-Bryan Habiger, 15. 57-Tanner Brunson, 16. 5-Andrew Kamphofner, 17. 87-Dustin Carr, 18. 72-Toby Schield, 19. 75-Randle McRoberts, 20. 50-Steve Blackburn.

Hornets:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 61-Dewayne Bowman, 2. 7-Jaret Lunow, 3. 20-Kenneth O’Hair, 4. 18-Brandon Sprott, 5. 19c-Cheryl Copeland, 6. 11m-James Phelps. DNS: 9-Derrick Sprott.

Second Heat (8 Laps):  1. 04-Jarred Nightengale, 2. 29-Brandon Bogman, 3. 15-Gage Barton, 4. 12-Brendon O’Hair, 5. 17-Paul Zimmerman, 6. 10-Marci O’Hair.

“A” Feature (12 Laps):  1. 18-Brandon Sprott, 2. 7-Jaret Lunow, 3. 61-Dewayne Bowman, 4. 04-Jarred Nightengale, 5. 20-Kenneth O’Hair, 6. 29-Brandon Bogman, 7. 9-Derrick Sprott, 8. 12-Brendon O’Hair, 9. 19c-Cheryl Copeland, 10. 15-Gage Barton, 11. 10-Marci O’Hair, 12. 17-Paul Zimmerman, 13. 11m-James Phelps.

Saturday night’s opener, which goes green at 7:30 p.m., features the track’s regular classes including the IMCA Modifieds, United Wireless IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Cars and Hornets.

Already considered among the top dirt track racing facilities in the nation, the 3/8-mile gem has been improved upon entering an ambitious 2012 season that includes 16 nights or racing action over a dozen different weekends.

Among the improvements is 400 loads of clay that were added to the racing surface upon the completion of the 2011 racing season.  And, in just the past couple of weeks, the Musco lighting has been upgraded to brighten up the action even more.

Saturday’s card kicks off the chase for the DCRP championship in each of the five classes, with the track’s next action featuring the USAC National Midget series on May 4-5.  Modifieds and Sport Modifieds will be in action on both USAC Midget nights, with Thunder Cars filling out the May 4 card and then Stock Cars rounding out the May 5 event.

Other special events on the 2012 slate of events at Dodge City Raceway Park include World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, USAC Sprint Cars, ASCS National Tour, NCRA Sprint Cars, URSS 305 Sprints and BST Modifieds.

Tickets to Saturday night’s season opener are just $12 for adults.  Seniors receive a $5 discount, with children 11 and under admitted free if accompanied by an adult.  Pit passes are $30.

Dodge City Raceway Park is located on the south edge of Dodge City, KS, on US 283, then 0.9 miles west on US 56, then 0.1 miles south.  For more information, contact the track at 620-225-3277 or check www.dodgecityraceway.com.

The 2012 season at Dodge City Raceway Park officially fires to life next Saturday night, April 21, with a full card of IMCA Modifieds, United Wireless IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Stocks, Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Cars and Hornets.  The green flag flies at 7:30 p.m.

Next on the docket is the USAC National Midget series on May 4-5, with other special events including World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, USAC Sprint Cars, ASCS National Tour, NCRA Sprint Cars, URSS 305 Sprints and BST Modifieds.

Dodge City Raceway Park is located on the south edge of Dodge City, KS, on US 283, then 0.9 miles west on US 56, then 0.1 miles south.  For more information, contact the track at 620-225-3277 or check www.dodgecityraceway.com.

The first of 13 United Wireless IMCA Sport Modified events at Dodge City Raceway Park will be a part of the Saturday night, April 21, season opener atop the 3/8-mile clay oval that will also include IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Cars and Hornets.

An offshoot of United Telephone, a service provider to a large portion of rural southwest Kansas since 1951, United Wireless was established in 2005 to bring customers the latest technology including both wireless and DSL internet services and United Cell phone services.

Today, United Wireless has 70 working tower sites in southwest Kansas and thousands of satisfied customers.

United Wireless home offices are located in Dodge City with two retail stores in Dodge City, one retail store in Garden City and one retail store in Liberal.  Voted number one in customer service in the latest area wide polling, United Wireless agents are located in 14 different southwest Kansas communities.

More information regarding United Wireless is available at www.unitedwireless.com.

The full 2012 slate of events for the United Wireless IMCA Sport Modifieds is available at www.dodgecityraceway.com along with the track’s entire slate of events that also includes World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, USAC Midgets, USAC Sprint Cars, ASCS National Tour, NCRA Sprint Cars, URSS 305 Sprints and BST Modifieds.

Dodge City Raceway Park is located on the south edge of Dodge City, KS, on US 283, then 0.9 miles west on US 56, then 0.1 miles south.  For more information, contact the track at 620-225-3277 or check www.dodgecityraceway.com.