Bloomington Speedway -- July 22, 2005 Results
BLOOMINGTON SPEEDWAY www.bloomingtonspeedway.com !!! WILLIS WINS UMRA TQ FEATURE !!! MILES & PETRO WIN FIRST OF SEASON BLOOMINGTON, IN (JULY 23, 2005) - At Bloomington Speedway we believe that our regular program of sprint cars, O'Neal Wood Products/Monroe County Pizza Dept. modifieds, and Tire & Wheel Center super stocks is a program that offers our fans and competitors a great evening of racing. However, in order to insure that our special shows remain "special" we will vary our program to allow special programs at other tracks to remain special. This gives us the opportunity to bring other classes to our regular fans. Last night was one of those opportunities. We invited the folks from the United Midget Racing Association (UMRA) to bring their ¾ midgets to the red clay of Bloomington Speedway for the first time in a couple of years. The result was a great racing program that we hope that our fans will remember for a long time to come. UMRA's competitors are an interesting mix of guys who have been racing TQ's for years and guys who are beginning their careers and are getting the "seat time" that they need to prepare themselves for the next level. A young man who is getting started and can race wheel to wheel with racers like Terry and Oogie Goff, the Ambroses, or Robert Nichols has a good chance of moving to the next level; because he has tested himself against the best. Last night's program was a showcase of just this kind of competition. A.J. Nigh drove to victory from the outside of the first row in the first heat race. In the second heat Kenny Byrge drove the Teegarden TQ from outside the third row to win the second heat just ahead of polesitter Oogie Goff. In the third heat, young Jason Willis charged past polesitter Terry Goff to win the third and final heat race. Nick Speidel won the "B" feature with Jeremy Rainwater, Bobby Walton, Andrew Prather, Zach Coogil, and Ron Combs also transferring to the feature. When the time arrived for the feature event, Jason Willis again got the hole shot to take the lead on the first lap that he would hold until the checkered flag waved. It became apparent from the start that, barring some kind of mechanical failure or accident, the night was going to belong to Willis. All of Terry Goff's feature wins and championships were not going to wipe out the great night that Willis was having. Tad Cheek added insult to Terry Goff's injury when he passed Terry and forced Terry to settle for third. A.J. Nigh and Chad Hankins rounded out the top five. From victory lane it was clear that all was right with Willis' world. He commented, "Dad had the car set up on a rail tonight. It was perfect." When asked whether he had difficulty keeping up with the changing track, he replied, "The track hardly changed all night. This track is the best. It started to slick off a little toward the end of the feature, but not much." Tire & Wheel Center Super Stocks - Randy Petro of Columbus is a driver with a great heritage in racing. His uncle, Gene Petro, raced stock cars for many years including running some NASCAR. His father, Russ Petro, was a legend in dirt late model racing. Many said that he should have gone on to NASCAR too. However, Russ had a family to raise; and he knew that his career at Cummins Engine Company would insure that he could do that. However, Russ had to race too. Dirt late models let him race on the weekends and continue working at Cummins during the week. Randy finds himself in a position almost identical to his fathers. He has raced modifieds, super stocks, and even some dirt late models with considerable success. Like Russ, Randy has a career at Cummins in progress. That makes it impossible for him to compete at Bloomington Speedway very often. In addition to his own career and racing schedule, he is getting his son, Dustin's, racing career started racing pure stocks. Although Dustin is still in his early teens, he is showing that the gene pool is still plenty strong. Randy had last competed at Bloomington Speedway on July 8. Although that had been his first visit of the season to the red clay, he won his heat race and battled with eventual winner, Gary Trammell for the entire race. Last night Randy finished fifth in his heat race to earn a berth in the feature; but he would have to start 14th. That is a long way back; but, if anybody could win from back there, Randy could. At the end of the second lap he was running 12th. By the end of the sixth lap he was running eighth. On the 11th lap Petro passed Terry Arthur to take third; and on the following lap he passed Kevin Arthur to take second. The 13th lap was lucky for Petro as he passed Greg Amick to take the lead that he would hold until Rusty Nunn's checkered flags acknowledged his victory. However, Randy was not yet done being a star last night. After receiving the winner's trophy, he handed it over to a young fan. Amick held on to finish second with Jeremy Hines, Kevin Arthur, and Danny Harris rounding out the top five. In preliminary action, Kevin Arthur, Greg Amick, and Jeremy Hines won the heat races while Terry Arthur took the "B" feature. Kevin Arthur prevailed in the dash. Miles & Cramer Steal the Show - Many of those present commented that the final five laps were the best that they have ever seen. There are always a few people who, for whatever reason, leave a little early. Those who did that last might well have missed the best racing that they would ever have seen. Jesse Cramer and John DeMoss found themselves on the front row by virtue of their performance in the dash. When the feature started it looked like it would Cramer and DeMoss to the end. The ran first and second until the 17th lap when Shelby Miles caught and passed DeMoss. On the 20th circuit John Davis passed John DeMoss to take third. But, for the final five laps, it was all Cramer and Miles. Miles had started in ninth place; and that is a very long way to come in a 25 lap race. However, Miles sliced through the field and caught Cramer with five laps to spare. From that point on they ran side by side, trading positions several times a lap. As they came down to take the checkered flag, Miles had pulled out to about a car length by the time that they passed under the checkered flags. The win was the first for Miles at Bloomington Speedway; and there is no question about whether or not he earned it. Jesse Cramer held second trailed by John Davis, Gary Barrow, and John DeMoss. In preliminary action, John DeMoss, John Davis, and Jesse Cramer took the heat races while Ralph Groomer won the "B" feature. Jesse Cramer took the dash. COMING EVENTS - July 29 City of Bloomington Employees Night - Sprint Cars - O'Neal Wood Products/Monroe County Pizza Dept. Modifieds - Tire & Wheel Center Super Stocks -- General Admission $10 - Pit Admission $20 August 5 South Central Building & Construction Trades Council Night - Tire & Wheel Center Indiana Super Stock Racers' Appreciation Night ($750 to win with proper decals) sponsored by West Auto Sales - sprint cars - O'Neal Wood Products/Monroe County Pizza Dept. modifieds - General Admission $10 - Pit Admission $20 August 12 17th Annual Sheldon Kinser Memorial - Sprint Cars - 40 Laps -- $3000 to Win -- $300 to Start Plus Lap Money Plus O'Neal Wood Products/Monroe County Pizza Dept Modifieds ($600 to win with proper decals) and Tire & Wheel Center Super Stocks ($600 to Win with proper decals) - General Admission $15 - Pit Admission $25 August 19 HARF Night - O'Neal Wood Products/Monroe County Pizza Dept. modified Racers' Appreciation ($750 to win with proper decals) sponsored by Erwin Dry Wall and Groomer Paving - sprint cars - Tire & Wheel Center super stocks - General Admission $10 - Pit Admission $20 RESULTS: UNITED MIDGET RACING ASSOCIATION (UMRA) TQ MIDGETS: Heat 1: 1.(2) A.J. Nigh, 2.(3) Tad Cheek, 3.(4) Brett Hankins, 4.(7) Pat Wolfe, 5.(8) Jason Goff, 6.(9) Will Nedderman, 7.(9) Nick Speidel, 8.(6) Jeremy Rainwater, 9.(1) Jamie Ross, 10.(11) Bill James, 11.(12) Jason Van Osdol, 12.(5) Wayne Harpring Heat 2: 1.(6) Kenny Byrge, 2.(1) Oogie Goff, 3.(4) Chad Hankins, 4.(7) Collin Ambrose, 5.(11) Travis Stickles, 6.(9) Pat Brunes, 7.(3) Zach Cougill, 8.(12) Andrew Prather, 9.(5) Roger Ramsey, 10.(10) Scott Elderworth, 11.(2) Steve Leisure, 12.(8) Nate Brannum Heat 3: 1.(3) Jason Willis, 2.(1) Terry Goff, 3.(4) Mark Frazier, 4.(2) Scott Petry, 5.(5) Joey Paxson, 6.(9) Paul Leisure, 7.(12) Ron Combs, 8.(10) Bobby Walton, 9.(11) Mark Widener, 10.(7) Kevin Alford, 11.(6) Nelson Stewart, 12.(8) Rick Robinson "B" Feature: 1. Nick Speidel, 2. Jeremy Rainwater, 3. Bobby Walton, 4. Andrew Prather, 5. Zach Cougiss, 6. Ron Combs, 7. Mark Widener, 8. Jamie Ross, 9. Bill James, 10. Scott Elderworth, 11. Roger Ramsey, 12. Kevin Alford, 13. Nelson Stewart, 14. Nate Brannin, 15. Jason VanOsdol, 16. Steve Leisure, 17.Rick Robinson UMRA TQ Midget Feature: 1. 25 Jason Willis, 2. 2 Tad Cheek, 3. 1 Terry Goff, 4. 97 A.J. Nigh,. 5. 5 Chad Hankins, 6. 21 Nick Speidel, 7. 90 Pat Wolfe, 8. 80 Ron Combs, 9. 4 Pat Brunes, 10. 72 Scott Petry, 11. 0 Mark Frazier, 12. 13 Jeremy Rainwater, 13. 87 Travis Stickles, 14. 3 Paul Leisure, 15. 17 Will Nedderman, 16. 96 Oogie Goff, 17. 26 Bobby Walton, 18. 55 Kenny Byrge, 19. 95 Mark Widener, 20. 41 Brett Hankins, 21. 19 Jason Goff, 22. 92 Zach Cougill, 23. 16 Andrew Prather, 24. 93 Collin Ambrose O'NEAL WOOD PRODUCTS/MONROE COUNTY PIZZA DEPT MODIFIEDS -- Sons of the American Legion Heat 1: 1.(4) John DeMoss, 2.(10) Rodney Harris, Jr., 3.(5) Gary Barrow, 4.(3) Webb Lee, 5.(6) Jerry Crane, 6.(9) Jim Hume, 7.(2) Joe Gilbert, 8.(1) Lee Hobbs, 9.(7) Bobby McIntosh, 10.(8) Ralph Groomer Southside Storage Heat 2: 1.(2) John Davis, 2.(3) J.P. Hume, 3.(1) Bobby Davis, 4.(4) Josh Eads, 5.(5) Clint DeMoss, 6.(7) Chad Combs, 7.(10) Brad Brown, 8.(9) Mike King, 9.(6) Greg Deckard, 10.(8) Jared Bailey Buck -n- Dollar Store Heat 3: 1.(3) Jesse Cramer, 2.(5) Matt Boknecht, 3.(10) Shelby Miles, 4.(1) Ron Fedor, 5.(6) Ryan Lawrence,. 6.(2) Mike Phillips, 7.(4) Steve Hollars, 8.(7) Glenn Thompson, 9.(9) Michael Sterrett, 10.(8) Wendell Wisley Dash for Cash: 1.(2) Jesse Cramer, 2.(1) John DeMoss Bell's Exhaust "B" Feature: 1.(13) Ralph Groomer, 2.(3) Mike Phillips, 3.(12) Michael Sterrett, 4.(9) Glenn Thompson, 5.(5) Brad Brown, 6.(8) Mike King, 7.(10) Bobby McIntosh, 8.(11) Greg Deckard, 9.(6) Steve Hollars, 10.(4) Joe Gilbert Black Lumber/AMVETS Post 2000 Feature: 1.(9) 76 Shelby Miles, 2.(1) 12T Jesse Cramer, 3.(3) 27 John Davis, 4.(7) 14 Gary Barrow, 5.(2) 79d John DeMoss, 6.(16) 48 Ralph Groomer, 7.(6) 22 Matt Boknecht, 8.(4) 9H Rodney Harris, Jr., 9.(14) 78c Clint DeMoss, 10.(5) 5H J.P. Hume, 11.(11) 46 Josh Eads, 12.(18) M21 Michael Sterrett,. 13.(10) 66 Webb Lee, 14.(20) 73 Brad Brown, 15.(8) 32 Bobby Davis, 16.(13) 24c Jerry Crane, 17.(15) 8L Ryan Lawrence, 18.(12) 15F Ron Fedor, 19.(17) 11 Mike Phillips, 20.(19) 48x Glenn Thompson TIRE & WHEEL CENTER SUPER STOCKS -- Tree Expert Tree Service Heat 1: 1.(3) Kevin Arthur, 2.(2) Kent Robinson, 3.(7) Gary Trammell, 4.(5) Tom Ault, 5.(8) Jeff Bland, Jr., 6.(6) Gerald Todd, 7.(4) David Lawson, 8.(9) Josh Burton Traildust Heat 2: 1.(1) Greg Amick, 2.(2) Anthony Walker, 3.(5) Ben DuBois, 4.(8) Danny Harris, 5.(9) Randy Petro, 6.(6) Derek Groomer, 7.(4) Bill Brown, 8.(3) Randy Howe, 9.(7) Travis Howe Avers Pizza Heat 3: 1.(2) Jeremy Hines, 2.(3) Steve Hollars, 3.(7) Chris Hillman, 4.(4) Mike Jones, 5.(1) Winston Howe, 6.(8) Travis Todd, 7.(5) Terry Arthur Dash for Cash: 1.(1) Kevin Arthur, 2.(2) Greg Amick, 3.(3) Jeremy Hines Raintree 500 Muffler Shops B Feature: 1.(6) Terry Arthur, 2.(3) Travis Todd, 3.(8) Randy Howe, 4.(2) Derek Groomer, 5.(7) Josh Burton, 6.(4) David Lawson, 7.(5) Bill Brown K &S Rolloff Feature: 1.(14) 95 Randy Petro, 2.(2) 27A Greg Amick, 3.(3) 5H Jeremy Hines, 4.(1) 74 Kevin Arthur, 5.(11) 19 Danny Harris, 6.(8) 11 Chris Hillman, 7.(7) 55 Ben DuBois, . 8.(9) 1A Tom Ault, 9.(4) 81 Winston Howe, 10.(10) 70 Mike Jones, 11.(6) Steve Hollars, 12.(19) 48 Derek Groomer, 13.(17) T15 Travis Todd, 14.(10) 34 Gary Trammell, 15.(4) 7R Kent Robinson, 16.(5) 56 Anthony Walker, 17.(13) 57 Jeff Bland, Jr., 18.(20) 20B Josh Burton, 19.(18) 0.Randy Howe, 20.(16) 5 Terry Arthur