Kenny Wallace

Kevin Montgomery, Promoter at USA Raceway reports that with the first half of the 4th Annual Wild West Shootout in the books and the grand finally starting tomorrow it is anyone’s guess of who the winner will be on Sunday’s championship night. There is only one guarantee for race fans, the racing action will be intense as the stars lay it all on the line for the final three nights!

Six different features have produced six different winners from five different states leaving races fans at odds of who will take the next one!

New Richmond, Wisconsin’s Pat Doar opened the shootout with a victory in the 25-lap Modified feature last Saturday. One of many drivers pulling double duty, Doar has finished in the top ten 5 out 6 races and is surely a contender
for a repeat Modifed feature win and could very well be the 4th winner to stand tall on the podium in Late Model action.

Las Cruces, New Mexico’s Bumper Jones took his Riley Hatfield tuned McDonalds ride to victory in night 2 of WWS Modified action. Jones fiercely battled Derek Ramirez for the entire 25-lap feature landing him a spot in victory lane and denying the Oklahoma shoe Ramirez a WWS win.

Ramirez answered back on day 3 with a 25-lap wire to wire feature capturing his first WWS victory holding off charges from Stormy Scott and Adam Crippen.

Picking up right where he left off the 2009 season, Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, WI wheeled his BSB Manufacturing / Chevytown / Deppe Enterprises / Wiles Driveshafts / Baileigh Industries / Pro Power Racing Engines / MB Customs Chassis to the opening night feature win of the 2010 Wild West Shootout. Mars has failed to finish out of the top 3 in three races and will be expected to return to victory lane at some point this weekend.

National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Billy Moyer responded to the 1st night dominance of Mars by leading all 30-laps of night 2 WWS Late Model feature action as he held off Mars for the win and picked up the $5000 check.

Terry Phillips, Wild West Shootout legend and all time feature win leader, thrilled the crowd with a late race battle between him and Moyer that ended with a spectacular pass on the last lap to retake the lead. Phillips now sits one
victory shy of double digit wins in his 4th appearance of the WWS.

The Wild West Shootout will again fire up this Friday night for the conclusion of the must see event. The best of the best in Super Late Models and Modifieds will tackle USA Raceway’s 3/8-mile clay oval for six days on January 9, 10, 13, 15, 16 and 17, with more than $150,000 in prize money to be distributed over the course of the blockbuster event. A $10,000 top prize awaits the shootout event finale, The Bill Cheesebourg Memorial, on January 17.

Ticket pricing and purchasing information can be found online at http://www.usaraceway.net/Uploads/WildWestShootoutTicketForm.pdf or by calling the USA Raceway office at 520-574-8515

Hotel Information can be found at www.usaraceway.net/lodging.php or by calling the Tucson Airport Courtyard by Marriott at 520-573-0000

Terry Phillips leads the Wild West Shootout win list capturing 8 out of 33 total events with Steve Francis in second with 4 total feature wins. John Anderson sits third for all time WWS victories with 3 wins.

Multiple winners have graced victory circle at the Wild West Shootout including Ken Schrader, Wendell Wallace, Billy Moyer, Jimmy Mars and Jack Sullivan.

More than 100 of the top cars and drivers will take to the track over the nine day event that begins on Saturday January 9th with the $3k to win Wild West Shootout opener and will conclude with the $10k to win Wild West Shootout “Bill Cheesbourg Memorial”.

USA Raceway is located east of Tucson off I-10 exit 268, then 1.6 miles south on Craycroft Road, which turns into Los Reales. For more information please, contact the track at 520-574-8515 or additional information regarding USA Raceway can be found at www.usaraceway.net

Jimmy Mars, Randy Korte and Kelly Boen

As reported by Ryan Neuharth Tucson, Ariz (January 9, 2010) Picking up right where he left off the 2009 season, Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, WI wheeled his BSB Manufacturing / Chevytown / Deppe Enterprises / Wiles Driveshafts / Baileigh Industries / Pro Power Racing Engines / MB Customs Chassis to the opening night feature win of the 2010 Wild West Shootout.

Mars would earn the pole for the night’s 30-lap, $3000 to win main event after starting last and winning his heat race, gathering the most passing points of the 52 competitors who filled the USA Raceway pit area. Mars would grab the lead at the drop of the green with six time SWDRA Champion Lonnie Parker, Jr taking second from his outside front row starting spot. John Anderson would slot third followed by Matt Aukland, and Randy Korte rounding out the top five.

Korte would jump from fifth to third on lap two as Kelly Boen swapped sixth with Rob Mayea and Billy Moyer made his way into the top 10 from twelfth. With five down Mars was quickly stretching his advantage as Parker, Jr and Korte battled high and low for the runner-up position while Heckenast, Jr now having cracked the top five. The races first caution would appear on lap six when Winnipeg, Manitoba driver Mike Balcean erupted in a cloud of smoke on the front stretch and ended his evening.

Mars lead the field back to green on the Delaware double file restart as Parker, Jr continued to hold off the charge of Korte. John Anderson still had a hold of the fourth position as Kelly Boen jumped from seventh to fifth and the series all-time winningest driver Terry Phillips was now 10th from 18th. The yellow would appear for the second time for a spinning Jeremy Payne on lap eight. On the restart, Korte made the move to second on lap nine as Boen now took the forth spot from Anderson and set his sights on the top three.

Terry Phillips was on the man on the move as the Springfield, MO pilot dispatched Matt Aukland on lap eight, Billy Moyer on lap nine and Heckenast, Jr on lap 10 to now find himself in seventh. That trio would race two and three wide for position as Boen now began to put serious heat on Parker, Jr for the number three spot. Boen would grab that spot on lap 13. Half way home Mars continued to lead followed by Korte, Boen, Parker, Jr, and Anderson rounding out the top five. A great four car battle for the sixth spot, now occupied by Phillips, was ragging as Moyer, Rob Mayea and Heckenast, Jr swapped seventh through ninth lap after lap.

Anderson and Parker, Jr would swap fourth twice on lap 16 and race side by side until Anderson finally secured that spot two circuits later, and Phillips moved Parker, Jr back another spot on lap 19 to now find his way into the top five with 10 to go. The battle was now on for sixth as both Moyer also found their way past Parker, Jr on lap 19 while Mayea and Heckenast, Jr staged their own personal battle to stay locked in the top ten with just ten laps remaining.

Mars began to encounter the back of the field as Boen moved ever closer to Korte and the two raced side by side to finish off the 20th circuit and begin lap 21. Boen would make the high side work to his advantage and was now in the lead chase position, slowly reeling in Mars as the top two picked their way through the slower lapped traffic. With just five to go Mars again stretched the advantage as Korte moved back in on Boen. Anderson, Phillips, Moyer, Heckenast, Jr, Parker, Jr and now Pat Doar from his 19th starting spot was ninth with Mayea rounding out the top ten.

Caution would appear once again on lap 28 for a slowing Lance Matthees, and again on the restart as Brad Looney and John Lowry founded themselves making contact and spinning in turn two. Moyer and Korte would jump to the outside on the restart and find it beneficial as Korte snagged second from Boen and Moyer jumped from sixth to fourth in a three wide fight with Anderson and Phillips. Up front it was all Jimmy Mars as he cruised to his first feature win of 2010 and his third career Wild West Shootout checker flag.

Former Wild West Shootout Late Model champion Pat Doar from New Richmond, Wisconsin survived several early event wrecks and then went on to dominate the Open Wheel Modified 25-lap feature event for his first career Wild West Shootout Modified win.

Veteran Sherman Barnett from El Paso, Texas ran away with the Super Stock main event.

Round 2 of the Wild West Shootout will fire up today at 4pm with the second night of full racing action. The best of the best in Super Late Models and Modifieds will tackle USA Raceway’s 3/8-mile clay oval for six days on January 9, 10, 13, 15, 16 and 17, with more than $150,000 in prize money to be distributed over the course of the blockbuster event. A $10,000 top prize awaits the shootout event finale, The Bill Cheesebourg Memorial, on January 17.

USA Raceway is located east of Tucson off I-10 exit 268, then 1.6 miles south on Craycroft Road, which turns into Los Reales. For more information please, contact the track at 520-574-8515 or additional information regarding USA Raceway can be found at www.usaraceway.net

Full Results:
A-Main: Mars, Korte, Boen, Moyer, Anderson, Phillips, Heckenast, Jr, Parker, Jr, Doar, Mayea, Turner, Aukland, Shannon, Daly, Williams, Shaw, Lowry, Looney, Mathees, McKay, Moriarty, Payne, Balcean, Kirby

Heat 1: Mike Balcaen, Chris Shannon, Terry Phillips, Jeremy Payne, Brad Seng, Bo Doard, Adam Crippen, Grant Junghans, Paul Mueller

Heat 2: Jimmy Mars, Clay Daly, Billy Moyer, Jr, Pat Doar, Will Vaught, Mark Carroll, Dan Henrickson, Logan Drake, Jeff Biffle

Heat 3: Rob Mayea, John Anderson, Matt Aukland, Joey Moriarty, Andrew McKay, Brad Williams, Art Lacy, Darrell Nelson, Blaine Doppler

Heat 4: Randy Korte, Billy Moyer, Lonnie Parker, Jr, Lance Matthees, Ronnie Rihn, Bucky Andrews, Jimmy Jelvik, Jack Sullivan, Rylan Long

Heat 5: Frank Heckenast Jr, , Don Shaw, Eric Turner, Mike Kirby, Cory Hemphill, Dean Moore, Rob Sanders, David Vennard

Heat 6: Kelly Boen, Brad Looney, Steve Drake, John Lowry, Jeremy Thornton, Bill Bartells, Tommy Hussek, Jamie Throckmorton

B-Main 1: McKay, Doar, Matthees, Payne, Moyer, Jr, Seng, Moore, Rihn, Crippen, Throckmorton, Hussek, Biffle, Vaught, Andrews, Lacy, Nelson, Sullivan, Long

B-Main 2: Phillips, Shaw, Lowry, Williams, Carroll, Thornton, Junghans, Mueller, Drake, Hemphill, Henrickson, Sanders, L. Drake, Bartells, Jelvig, Dord, Doppler, Vennard

Modified Event Results:

A-Main: Doar, Thomas, Jones, Ramirez, Jegtvig, Gallardo, Whitwell, Thornton Jr., N. O’Neal, J. O’Neal, Campbell, Scott, G. Junghans, Edginton, Wampole, Kokot, Ward, C. Junghans, A. Turnbull, Jorgenson, Seidler, Nelson, Crippen, Georges

Heat 1: Corky Thomas, Stormy Scott, Adam Crippen, Ron Kokot, Carl Trimmer, Marlyn Seidler, Mike Money, Terry Haven, Tim Ward

Heat 2: Grant Junghans, Dane Jorgenson, Shane Edginton, Jake O’Neal, Fito Gallardo, Tim Thomas, Dennis Haven, Cody Alvarez, Clay Daly, Jake Bitker

Heat 3: Darrell Nelson, Pat Doar, Blake Jegtvig, RC Whitwell, Aaron Turnbull, Shayne Laske, Scott Ward, Jeff Sires, Christy Georges, Jeff Schmate

Heat 4: Derek Ramirez, Bumper Jones, Brad Campbell, Jesse Williamson, Ricky Thornton Jr., Nick O’Neal, Dennis Gates, Hugh Hagerstrand, Ed Turnbull, Chase Junghans, Josh Wampole

B-Main 1: Gallardo, N. O’Neal, C. Junghans, Thornton Jr., T. Thomas, Sires, Hagerstrand, D. Haven, Williamson, Ward, Schmate, E. Turnbull

B-Main 2: Whitwell, Georges, Ward, Wampole, Laske, Alvarez, Daly, Trimmer, Gates, Money, T. Haven, Bitker

Super Stock Event Results:

A-Main: Sherman Barnett, Marty Hussak, Dana Boatwright, Josh Wampole, Lonnie Foss, Bryan Brown, Rod Heistand, David Nekula, Scott Steger, Larry Brigner, Tim Harris, Harland Morehart, Dwayne Hogan, John Buerger, Doug Porter

Heat 1: Brown, Hiestand, Foss, Brigner, Nekula, Hogan, Harris, Morehart

Heat 2: Barnett, Hussak, Wampole, Boatwright, Buerger, Brown, Steger

Dave Darland will return to USA Raceway to kick off the New Year and honor Tucson racing legend, Roger McCluskey. Darland will be aboard the BRAT Racing, Parker Store Maxim/Don Ott entry as he looks to start 2010 in the winners circle in America’s first sprint car race of the year.

Darland, who participated in the Western World Championships piloting The

Parker Store car, experienced engine troubles on his qualifying night. Starting deep in the field for Saturday’s B-Main, Darland put on a driving clinic as he made his way to the A-Feature and ultimately into the top five behind ASCS Canyon Region Champion Charles Davis Jr.

The Roger McCluskey Classic which takes place the first weekend of the New Year enters its 6th year and has grown into a must see event. Top traditional sprint car drivers will tackle USA Raceway’s 3/8-mile clay oval for two days on January 2nd and 3rd as they look to capture the inaugural 2010 victory and add their name to past champions that include Josh Pelkey, Jesse Hockett, Jerry Coons Jr., and Johnny Herrera.

While top sprint car drivers will be competing for $2k on the preliminary night and a $3k on the championship night, both X-Mods and Modlites will join the field for an unprecedented $1k winners share of the event. All three divisions will compete in full shows for both days and the champions will be crowned on Sunday evening.