Dodge City Raceway Park

Gettin' Busy at DCRP
by Ami K. Claussen, Track Press

The first official points race at DCRP was Saturday, April 30, and it kicked off with a roar. The rescheduled sprint car feature from the "Pepsi Ice Breaker" was the first show, and the night was all up from there. 88 (Steve King, Jetmore) was first into action, and set a furious pace for the 11X (Garry Maier, Cimarron) to follow. Maier peeked low and almost got by King, but lapped traffic foiled his attempt. 92 (Paul Flynn, Abilene) suffered difficulties, and brought about the first caution. King led on the restart, and held for the win.

Regular class action started with the Pure Stocks, a new addition to the show this season. 82 (Robin Bailey, Dodge City) grabbed the early lead, but spun off turn two for a caution. 17 (William Price, Meade) set the pace on the restart, but was quickly outmatched by the 31 (Raymond Blackburn, Dodge City). Half-track ahead of the rest, he took the checkered.

The first heat of Street Stocks was chock-full of the drama fans have come to expect. 12T (George Tyler, Dodge City) was first off the line. J14 (William Joyce, Sublette), who really appeared to be fighting his car, got loose off turn three and spun. The 15 (Ben Gordon, Cimarron) had nowhere to go, and couldn't avoid drilling the stalled car in the front quarter panel. Both were able to clear the track ahead of the field, and no caution flag was thrown. Number 17 (Shannon Maughlin, Dighton) snagged the second spot, glued to Tyler's bumper off the restart. Maughlin grabbed the lead on the low side of turn three, and held for the win. Heat two was uneventful compared to the first heat, the number 18 (Chris Schultz, Dodge City) grabbing the early lead. Number 4 (Scott Claussen, St. John) secured the number two spot, and held for second to Schultz's win.

The Hornets were up next, taking the small oval in two heats. 90 (Stephen Dent, Larned) got the jump on the field, 44 (Jordan Herrera, Dodge City) just behind. 18 (Levi Shirley, Dodge City) looked for second on the high side. Squirrelly off turn three, Herrera gathered up Shirley in a minor tangle, but managed to hold on to second. Shirley got by on the white flag lap, second to Dent's first. Heat number two showed the 07 (Roderick Baker, Dodge City) first out of the chutes, who gained a sizeable lead quickly. The 51 (Sean Labelle, Ashland) got by the 39 (Russell Tipton, Dodge City) for second, while Baker held for the win.

The Super Hornets rounded out the inner-track heat action, the number 1 (John Wessel, Dodge City) up to set the pace, 21 (Tommy Wessel, Dodge City) on his tail. The 79 (Heath Koehn, Montezuma) got sideways off turn three, but corrected quickly and prevented a caution. T. Wessel looked high for the lead to challenge J. Wessel for a side by side finish, J. Wessel the victor. Number 61 (David Guinn, Dodge City) grabbed the early lead of heat two, the 48 (Eric Holderness, Montezuma) charging hard on the high side. Just behind were the 7 (Alex Wessel, Dodge City) and the 18 (Brian Shirley, Dodge City), both just as hungry for the lead. Holderness stole the lead on the high side of turn one, Wessel and Shirley by low. Loose on the front stretch, Wessel opted for a wide pass through the grass to hold on to second. Holderness grabbed the checkered.

Exploding into action as usual were the Modifieds, number 44 (Mike Lunow, Dodge City) with the early lead. Loose of turn two, Lunow lost the lead to the 03 (Matt Rucker, Dodge City) on the low side. The two tangled going into turn four, and Rucker skated up the track into the wall. Under caution, the field lined up behind the 38 (Scott Brown, Great Bend). Lunow blew by him on the high side, Brown battling to keep the 98 (Danny Keller, Dodge City) at bay. Rucker, loose once more, slid up the track and spun, causing caution two. Sent off-track for a second offense, Rucker headed for the pits as Lunow led the restart. Three wide through the turns, Lunow couldn't hold off Brown and Keller who blew by on the front stretch. The back right tire on Lunow's machine exploded, sending rubber shrapnel into the main grandstands and bringing out the caution flag for a third time. Brown held on the restart for the win. The second heat had pole-sitter 210 (Clay Oakes, Dodge City) in the lead, the 21Z (Mark Zorn, Russell) up to second. K98 (Brad Keller, Garden City) spun going into turn two, and out came the caution. Oakes set the pace again on the restart, but lost it to Zorn who shot by low. The 42 (John Fabrizius, Colby) grabbed the number two spot on the front straight-away, but couldn't catch Zorn before the checkered flag dropped.

Next up were the sprints, running in two heats for the evening's regularly scheduled event. Flynn hopped ahead, and the field went four wide into turn one. King plowed his way to second, sights set on the lead. 97 (Brian Herbert, Dodge City) spun off turn four for the first caution. Flynn led on the restart, and held off King for the win. Maier led the charge in heat two as the field scrambled for position behind him. The 48 (Jake Martens, Fairview, OK) spun going into turn four causing caution one. Maier led on the restart, a literal bullet at the drop of the green, second-spot number 1X (Dennis Park, Jetmore) just a speck in the mirror. Untouchable, Maier snagged the win.

Kick-starting the features, the Pure Stocks brought out the caution early as Blackburn, tapping on the bumper of pole-sitter 80 (Travis Figger, Dodge City), got hooked on the leader and dragged down the back stretch. Blackburn led on the restart, but the lead was short-lived as Bailey spun coming off turn three. Blackburn held on the restart while Bailey battled her way back to third. She snagged the second spot on the high side from Figger, crossing the line just after Blackburn.

Maughlin got the jump, taking the field three wide into turn one, and the Street Stock feature was underway. Tyler eased into second as the field jammed up at the rear. The 91 (Kevn Sprott, Dodge City) and the 69 (Danny Schulte, Dodge City) rubbed going into two, Schulte stalled, and the caution flew. Maughlin held on the restart, Tyler in the high groove trying for the lead. The 46 (Cole Wilson, Dodge City) smacked the turn two wall for caution two. Caution three interrupted Tyler's attempt to get past Maughlin as Schulte spun off of turn four. Caution four followed in the wake of Claussen's double 360s on the back stretch, Claussen managing to avoid the entire field and escaping without damage. Joyce got into Claussen's back bumper, and the caution flag flew a fifth time as Claussen left the track with a downed back left tire. Maughlin held off Tyler after the final restart for the win.

Hornet action had Baker in the early lead, the 55 (Robbie Perkins, Dodge City) up to second. Herrera took multiple side trips through the back stretch grass, and a spin off turn four, while Perkins tried for the lead on the low side without success. 84 (Jeff Schmidt, Kinsley) spun off turn three for the solitary caution, Baker holding on the restart for the win. Youth Hornet Shirley was the first across the line in his class.

Super Hornet Guinn again set the pace as Holderness and A. Wessel swapped some paint on the back stretch. Shirley joined the fray, and a three-way fight ensued for the second spot. T. Wessel got by all for the lead with his brother, A. Wessel, on his tail. A. Wessel got sideways off turn four and opened the door for Holderness, who got by on the low side of T. Wessel for the win.

Modifieds rolled onto the track next, D. Keller shooting to the front. He got loose off three and nearly lost it, Brown on his bumper and gaining fast. Oakes, Lunow and Rucker took things three wide for several turns before Rucker pulled ahead. Fabrizius snuck through for the lead, Brown in his wake. Rucker got past Brown on the low side, and Lunow, in trouble, brought out the caution. Fabrizius led on the restart, and held off Rucker for the win.

Winding up the features, the sprints poured onto the dirt. King and Maier duked it out early before the field spread out almost single file. King pulled away, and put several speedsters a lap down before Maier stole the hot seat. Quicker off the turns, Maier held for the checkered.

Racing action if just getting started at DCRP, so don't miss a single minute! Race times and ticket prices are available in local listings, and on the web at www.dodgecityraceway.com.