TRACKS: Briscoe, Hobbs, and Boknecht shine on Bloomington red clay
10 June 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
BLOOMINGTON, IN. --When the green flag fell to start the Pennzoil Cup Sprint Car feature event Brad Fox darted from his outside second row starting position to engage in a very heated battle with Levi Jones for the lead. Jones was able to hold the lead until near the halfway point in the race when everything fell apart in the middle of the pack. Kevin Miller and Jared Fox tangled and flipped wildly going into the first turn. Cars scattered attempting to avoid the carnage in front of them. Most of them were successful; but Brian Tyler wasn't so lucky. He too got on his lid. Several other cars were force to stop at the accident site; and they too went to the tail. Fortunately, nobody was injured in the melee.
When racing resumed after the red flag, Pennzoil Cup Sprint Car points leader Kevin Briscoe had worked his way up from his seventh place starting position to fourth. He got a good restart and took third on the first circuit following the restart. On the following lap he took the lead and was never again threatened.
The issue then became who would finish second. Levi Jones continued to run strong; and it looked like he might hold off the more experienced Brad Fox. Lap after lap Fox tried to find his way around; and, on the next to last lap, Fox got the job done. Jone held on for third followed by Chris LaFollette and Justin Marvel.
Prior to the start of the feature, each driver in the first two rows was given the opportunity to try for the Gambler's Choice $1500 bonus sponsored by Ed Evans' Race Car Mueseum in Bedford. A driver who chooses to accept the challenge starts the feature on the tail. If he is able to win from there, he gets an extra $1500. However, the four driver eligible to contend for the prize all said that it was hard enough to win a race at the highly competitive Bloomington Speedway from the front. They felt fortunate to be up front; and they weren't about to accept that kind of handicap that going to the tail would represent.
The evening got off to a rough start when Jason Setser and Tyler Waltz tangled trying to win hot laps. They collected Jason Knoke. Setser, driving the car owned by Greg Staab, promoter of Lawrenceburg Speedway, got the worst of the deal. His car was loaded directly from the wrecker into the trailer. The damage to the front of the Staab car was simply to great to repair in time for even the "B" main. When the loading was complete, Setser walked dejectedly from the pits with his lady by his side. Both Waltz and Knoke were able to answer the bell for their heat race.
Although it ended just fine, Briscoe's evening didn't start off very well either. It didn't sound good in hot laps; however, they managed to get it running well enough to qualify a respectable seventh. His bad luck revisited him in the heat race; and he finished a disappointing eighth. He won the "B" Main handily. His transfer to the feature earned him his qualification time back and put him in a position to win his second Pennzoil Cup Sprint Car feature of the season.
Defending Pennzoil Cup Sprint Car champion Derek Scheffel was, again, in his Competition Welding sprinter; and it really wasn't competitive. They are working hard to get their new Maxim put together; but it wasn't ready for tonight. That fact cost Derek in his campaign to win a third Pennzoil Cup championship.
SCRA competitor made an early visit to Bloomington Speedway to get some laps on the famous red clay prior to Sprint Car Week.
The heat races were won by Scheffel, Dickie Gaines, and Brad Fox
Lee Hobbs earned the pole position in the feature by winning the Reed and Son Construction Dash. For the Super Stock and stayed there. Greg O'Neill came home second ahead of Trent Niflis, Steve Hunt
The O'Neal Wood Products Modified feature may well have been the best race of the night. From the start a great battle unfolded among Ray Humphrey, Kerry Norris, and Matt Boknecht. About midway through the race Humphrey fell off the pace; but Norris and Boknecht continued to battle for the lead with Boknecht edging Norris out as the checkered flags fell. Adam Sasser, Lee Hobbs, and Humphrey rounded out the top five.
Ray Humphrey won the pole starting position for the feature by besting other heat winners Norris, Boknecht, and Don Fleetwood in the Blackwell Trucking Dash. Richie Lex won the "B" Main.
RESULTS:
Pennzoil Cup Sprint Feature: Kevin Briscoe, Brad Fox, Levi Jones, Chris LaFollette, Justin Marvel, Jeff Wilson, Derek Scheffel, Butch Winings, Jason Knoke, Troy Link, Dave Peperak, Kevin Chambers, Josh Cunningham, Rocky Thickstun, Jared Fox, Kevin Miller, Brian Tyler, Mike English, Buddy Cunningham, and Dickie Gaines
Fast Qualifiers: Miller, Marvel, Brad Fox, LaFollette, Jones, and Jared Fox
Sprint Heat 1: Derek Scheffel, Chris LaFollette, Buddy Cunningham, Brian Tyler, Kevin Chambers
Sprint Heat 2: Dickie Gaines, Levi Jones, Dave Peperak, Butch Winings, Jeff Wilson
Sprint Heat 3: Brad Fox, Jason Knoke, Troy Link, Jared Fox, Mike English
Sprint "B" Main: Kevin Briscoe, Kevin Miller, Justin Marvel, Josh M Cunningham, Rocky Thickstun, Danny Holtsclaw, Bill Boggs, Chris Schepper, Tyler Waltz, John Dick
Tire & Wheel Center Super Stock Feature: Lee Hobbs, Greg O'Neill, Trent Niflis, Steven Hunt, Brad Cummings, Greg Kendall, Danny Harris, Gerald Todd, Bob Bex, Steve Hollars, Lou Catellier, Terry Arthur, Brandon Short, Michael Purtlebaugh, Tom Plotz, Aaron Zellers, Brady Short, Mike Beatty, Jack Frye, and Travis Todd
Super Stock Heat 1: Brandon Short, Niflis, Cummings, Hollars
Super Stock Heat 2: Hobbs, O'Neill, Purtlebaugh, and Brady Short
Super Stock Heat 3: Hunt, Gerald Todd , Kendall, Arthur
Super Stock Heat 4: Frye, Plotz, Catellier, Zellers
Reed & Son Construction Super Sock Dash: Hobbs, Hunt, and Frye
Super Stock "B" Main: Harris, Bex, Beatty, Travis Todd
O'Neal Wood Products Modified Feature: Matt Boknecht, Kerry Norris, Adam Sasser, Lee Hobbs, Ray Humphrey, John DeMoss, Joe Godsey, Gary Trammell, Troy Jarvis, Richie Lex, Clint DeMoss, J.D. Francis, Brian Campbell, Rodney Harris, Jr., Matt Tiller, Allen Barr, Ryan Blevins, Charles Phillips, and Don Fleetwood
Modified Heat 1: Humphrey, Campbell, Allen Barr, John DeMoss
Modified Heat 2: Fleetwood, Don Shoulders, Phillips, Francis
Modified Heat 3: Norris, Hobbs, Sasser, Harris
Modified Heat 4: Boknecht, Godsey, Tiller, Jarvis
Blackwell Trucking Modified Dash: Humphrey, Norris, Boknecht, and Fleetwood
Modified "B" Main: Lex, Trammell, Blevins, Clint DeMoss, Roy Bruce, Jr., Brian Sullivan, Brent Payne, Roy Ritter, Mike Hicks, Beau Hendrich, Brett Barr, Josh Wells, John Phillips, Allen Adams, Mike Tuell, Warren Hopkins, and Brandon Anderson
Text provided by Tim McKinney
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