Dodge City Raceway Park

Thunder, DCRP-Style
by Ami K. Claussen, Track Press

Thunder rumbled at Dodge City Raceway Park Saturday night, but not from the skies. With the visiting class of NCRA Sprints and four weekly classes, even the clay rocked and rolled.

The Hornets buzzed the inner track to kick-start the action and stir the first dust. Levi Shirley (#18Y, Dodge City) snagged the lead on the low side of turn one, while behind him Russell Tipton (#39, Dodge City) and Jimmy Garcia, Jr. (#13, Garden City) made contact that resulted in a spin by Garcia. TK Burdett, advancing to the number two spot, spun, causing the only caution. Shirley remained in the lead on the restart, but received a solid tag on the back bumper from Burdett and nearly lost control. Burdett gained a momentary lead before Tipton cleared her and grabbed the front seat. Robbie Perkins (#55, Dodge City) stole second on the high side, and tried for the lead as Tipton tangled with the lapped Garcia. Three wide at the line, Tipton won by a nose.

The Super Hornets ran a heat with no cautions, but not for lack of trying. Allen Burdett (#13, Dodge City) shot ahead first, but Zach Crotts (#10, Dodge City), Alex Wessel (#7, Dodge City) and Tommy Wessel (#21, Dodge City) were right there to challenge him. T. Wessel and Burdett swapped paint on the back straight-away, and Wessel commandeered the lead. Brian Shirley got loose off turn four, and opted for a half-track grass pass to remain on the lead lap. Wessel cleared him, however, and took the checkered.

Super Stocks rolled onto the track next, with Jamie French (#76, Hugoton) and Scott Claussen (#4, St. John) vying for the lead. French pulled ahead, Joe Shoup (#6S, Lamar, CO), Rod Bencken (#7, Oakley) and Ryan Hill (#7, Liberal) closing fast. Bencken ran into trouble as he tried to get by Claussen off four, and spun onto the inner track. French led on the restart, while Shoup and Hill were side by side into turn one in a battle for second. Hill pulled ahead slightly, but, loose off turn two, Shoup blew by on the inside and went for French. French lost position to Hill and Bencken as well, Shoup the ultimate victor of round one.

Small numbers had the Modifieds running in one heat, but didn't decrease their drama. Chadd Brown (#B21, Great Bend) got the jump, and the field went three wide into turn one. Brad Keller (98K, Garden City) lost control and spun off three, bringing out the caution flag. Brown led the pack back to the green, but lost the lead with a spin on turn two. The pack did a superb job of avoiding him and a disastrous pile-up, and Clay Oakes (#210, Dodge City) took control of the pace. Dale Wanger (#D8, Ft. Supply, OK) and Scott Brown (#38, Great Bend) duked it out over the second spot, Wanger coming out on top. Bubba Harvey (#3, Kansas City) joined the tussle, and stole by low for third. Three wide off turn two, Wanger barreled through the middle of the sandwich made by Oakes and Harvey. Harvey stuck fast to Wanger's bumper, and slid by low on the back stretch. Keller, again with trouble on turn three, brought out the caution once more. Wanger returned to the front for the restart, and held off Harvey for the win.

The four heats of Sprints whetted the appetite for the feature to come. A.J. Selenke (#43, Wichita) got the jump on heat one, but Dennis Park (#1X, Liberal) was hot on his trail. Park looked low, saw his chance and took the lead off turn four. Selenke was solid in second, but couldn't come close to catching Park. Gary Maier (#11X, Cimarron) erupted off the line to start heat two, plowing into turn one while Gary Wright (#9, Hooks, TX) and Tony Bruce, Jr. (#18, Liberal) vied for second. Jeff Crook (#92, Garden City) had trouble off turn two, and brought the caution out with a spin. Bruce took second from Wright on the restart, sights set on Maier and the lead, but fell short of the win. Jake Martens (#48, Fairview, OK) started caution-free heat three, Gavin Punch (#81AU, Collinsville, OK) just behind in second. Punch got loose of two and spun, but gathered up his ride and returned to the race before the flagman remembered to breathe again. C.J. Johnson took over the second spot, unable to catch Martens before the checkered. Michael Woodruff (#17, Satanta) knocked life into heat four, and left J.D. Johnson (#98, Goddard) and Derek Drown (#26, Amarillo, TX) scrambling to keep up. Shane Bangerter (#31, Dodge City) had trouble with tricky turn two, spun into the grass, and found no traction in the slippery green stuff, either. The caution came out, and the field snugged up nose to tail for the restart. Woodruff set a blazing pace, straight to the checkered.

Returning to the asphalt for pint-sized pandemonium, the Hornets took center stage as the first feature. The green flag flew and a scramble for the lead began, Garcia taking it on the outside of the back stretch. Tipton got into Edgar Delacruz (#11, Dodge City), got him sideways, and brought out the first caution. Tipton led on the restart, inches ahead of a battle for second between Garcia and Perkins. Clear of Garcia, Perkins attempted to challenge Tipton, but with no success. Burdett, a solid and steady presence at the front, snagged another trophy for the Youths.

Burdett led the charge as the Super Hornets fought over turn one, but suffered a Wessel Wrestle as both Tommy and Alex took a shot at the sweet spot. Alex got by first, followed by Tommy. The back bumper bailed on Burdett, and the caution was out. Chad Kerr (#11, Dodge City) stole by Tommy on the restart, but lasted only a moment before Tommy returned the front of the field to a brother's duel. Alex held him off for the win.

The Sprints tossed out a teaser to the fans in the form of two pole dashes, a precursor to the twin features almost in sight. Martens and Johnson went neck and neck into turn one, which resulted with Martens in the lead and Johnson in the in-field grass. Wright took over the second spot, but had no time to catch Martens. Pole dash two was a two-car tag show as Maier and Park chased each other through the turns. Maier almost grabbed the lead on the low side of three, but Park was faster to the finish.

A Super Stock showdown got underway next, a battle of the "sevens" as Hill and Bencken fought over the lead. French and Shoup stayed close behind, but Claussen lost a lower ball joint and left the track with the bottom A-arm in tow. No caution heralded Claussen's departure, and Bencken widened the gap between his black bullet and the knotted up threesome of Hill, French and Shoup. Brian Peterson (#18, Dodge City) lost control on the back straight-away, and brought out the caution. The pause meant nothing to Bencken as he blazed his way from yellow to checkered.

The first of two consolation features brought out the Sprints, all of them antsy off the line. Two returns to the original line-up convinced the leaders of first B-Main to get their take-off right. Bruce jumped forward, Natalie Sather (#94S, Fargo, ND) and Mark Walindar (#6, Usa) hot for second. Sather secured the number two spot as Crook spun off turn three. Bruce led the restart, and took the win. The edginess continued into the second B-Main as Preston Peebles (#11P, Lubbock, TX) jumped the gun and cancelled the green. Not everyone observed the continued caution, and the pack balled up as it plowed into turn three. Bangerter spun, but recovered his position on the original restart. Peebles again grabbed the lead, but a spin by Johnson sent the field back into a double-file line-up. Abe Sherwood (#44, Drumright, OK) and Kerry McAlister (#15, Mustang, OK) made contact off the restart, sending Sherwood into a sickening air ballet. The red flag came out as safety personnel flew to the scene from all directions. Sherwood emerged from the slaughter shaken but sound, and racing resumed once the track was free of debris. Allan Unruh (#57, Valley Center) grabbed the lead on the restart, but lost it to Peebles on the back stretch. Peebles held it for the win.

The Modified feature was just as action-packed, Oakes the first to clear the line as the field went three wide into turn one. Wanger and S. Brown slammed each other for the second spot while Harvey and Mark Zorn (#21Z, Russell) went door to door for third. Wanger edged past Brown, and turned his attention to Oakes. Keller brought out the caution after a spin off turn three, just as Oakes rounded the curve to the checkered. A three-lap shoot-out was set to follow, but C. Brown got into Kevin Hoeme (#44K, Hays) and spun off two. Hoeme drove up over Harvey on the front stretch as he tried to slow for the caution. Oakes led the survivors back to the green, and held for the win.

The fireworks started on the Sprint A-Main as Martens shot out of the chute. Unhappy with the start, the flagman withheld the green and sent the field into a restart. Maier challenged Martens for the lead, and speeds soared as the flagger turned them loose. Walindar got squirrelly off four, spun, and collected Johnson, Woodruff, Peebles, and Steve King in his wake. Maier got the jump off the double-file restart, and Selenke went to work on Martens for second. The field stretched to a full-track spread as Maier flew through the turns, but the caution came out for debris off Geoff Dodge's machine (#7, Colorado Springs, CO) and the line tightened. Drown had trouble off the restart and smacked the back stretch wall, and the caution flew once more. Tempers high and tension higher, Wright edged out Martens as racing resumed. Plowing into lapped traffic with the lead four, Martens tangled with a rear-field car and became the second of the evening to become airborne. Martens shook it off, but accepted a ride to the pits from safety personnel. The end in sight, Maier rounded four for one last restart. Wright closed in fast, and stole by through the final turns to edge Maier out of the win.

More nail-biting action is still to come at DCRP during the 2005 racing season. Don't miss a minute of it!