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Owosso Speedway RESULTS Press Release - Saturday, September 12, 2009

Monday September 21, 2009

 

2009 Owosso Speedway Track Championships belong to Ed Young Jr., Bill
Luckhurst, Tony Basalone, Jimmy Stratton, and Shaun Conner.
By Matt Prieur and Chris Fobbe - Owosso Speedway

Ovid, Michigan (Saturday, September 12, 2009): It was the 2009 Season
Championships at the Owosso Speedway on Saturday, September 12th on
Sponsor Appreciation Night as a whopping 111 cars swelled the pits and
the very vocal and near capacity crowd on hand were treated to several
highlights including the crowning of Five Track Champions and Rookies
of the Year.

The Fast Track Promotions Sport Stocks were the first Season
Championship Feature to roll out as Bill McBride and Shaun Conner
started on the front row of their 20-lap main event for the four and
six cylinders division.

Prior to the feature, Conner, one of the only holdovers left from the
days of the Mini Stocks division prior to the class becoming the Sport
Stocks of today, had clinched the 2009 Track Championship in
Qualifying and scored a heat race win as well, his first of the season!

However, the Perry, Michigan driver was still in search of his first
career feature win and he would get the jump on McBride at the start.
Very quickly, 15-year-old Matt Vainner and Fast Qualifier Russ Potter
would slip into second and third respectively and took turns challenge
Conner for the top spot.

All the while, Conner would maintain the momentum up in the patented
second groove at the Big "O" and when all was said and done, Conner
would be able to hold off all challengers and would finally steer his
Shift Shop Transmissions Chevrolet into victory lane after winning his
first career Feature and stamping an exclamation point on his 2009
Track Championship in the caution free feature.

Potter would hold on for second over Vainner while 17-year-old Marq
Eaton and McBride finished off the top five. 2009 Rookie of the Year,
15-year-old Harley Smith finished in sixth place ahead of 14-year-old
Billy Luckhurst, Miles Abbott, 2008 Track Champion Dan Gokee, and Jeff
Aseltine who completed the top 10. Potter collected his third fast
qualifier award of the season with a 19.882 over the 17-car field
while Conner and Smith picked up heat race wins.


The second feature of the night was the 20-lap Season Championships
for the RacingPartSales.com Pure Stocks as current points leader,
Jimmy Stratton simply needed to finish 19th or better and the title
was his. Jim Bollinger and Leroy Whitaker led a stout 22-car field to
the green flag to begin the feature.

Whitaker got the jump on Bollinger and would lead the first two laps
until Bollinger regrouped and retook the lead on lap three. Bollinger
would then have to deal with Standley, who knew he needed to win to
have any chance at the 2009 title, but it would be Bollinger crossing
the line first.

Unfortunately at post-race tech, Bollinger was disqualified, giving
the win to Standley in his Elite Fleet Collision Chevrolet. The
Owosso, Michigan driver would score his career high fourth feature of
the season, but would settle for second in the final points standings!

2008 Track Champion, Kevin Adkins finished second ahead of his Father,
Hurley Adkins while Ricky Moore and Whitaker completed the top five.
Nick Johnston, in his first appearance of the season would finish
sixth over Eric Spencer and Jim Gokee.

Stratton finished ninth, which was good enough to give the Lennon,
Michigan driver the 2009 Track Championship! Anthony Jurek rounded out
the top 10. Despite dropping out earlier in the race, Ron Hart secured
enough points to win the 2009 Rookie of the Year title!

Duane Damon out qualified the 22-car field for his first fast
qualifier award of the season in his first appearance of the year as
he turned in a 19.418. Chris Wood, Gokee, and Standley won the heat
races.


The most intense feature of the night would be the Affordable Tire and
Service Center Pro Stocks 25-lap Season Championship Feature. Coming
into the event, Defending Track Champion, Leo Smith carried a slim
six-point lead over Tony Basalone, so every position in the feature
was critical.

Kevin Harder and Chet Allen led a stout field to the green flag to
begin the feature and Harder jumped out ahead of the field to claim
the early lead. Basalone, who started on the outside of the second
row, quickly drove by fellow second row starter, John Forsythe III and
then slipped underneath Allen to challenge Harder for the top spot.

Basalone would fight his way by Harder on lap 12 to take the lead, but
he brought Smith with him and the battle was on for the feature win
and the 2009 track championship! A caution flew on lap 15 to set up a
potential 10-lap shootout to decide the title. But it wasn't to be for
Smith, who lost a motor while the field was under caution and was done
for the night!

All Basalone had to do at this point was to finish 15th or better and
the title was his. The Gaines, Michigan veteran wouldn't fall back the
rest of the way as the 26-year veteran in his Ken Lee Well Drilling
Chevrolet would pull away from the rest of the field to win his third
feature of the season and clinch the 2009 Track Championship!

2005 Track Champion, Tom Stone finished second ahead of Forsythe III
as 2009 Dixie Motor Speedway Sportsmen Track Champion, Don Riley was
fourth over 2009 Dixie Motor Speedway Street Stocks Track Champion, Ed
Newman Jr., who completed the top five.

Chris Begg, who had spent most of the season in a Pro Late Model,
brought his Pro Stock out for the first time this season and finished
sixth ahead of Harder, Curt Olar, Eric Olsen, and Joe Cunningham, who
started 21st after transferring into the feature from the B Main,
rounded out the top 10. 13-year-old Erik Jones, who finished 11th,
wrapped up the 2009 Rookie of the Year title two weekends ago after
winning his first career feature!

Smith out-qualified the 25-car field and won his ninth fast qualifier
award of the season with a 17.128 while Jordan Harvey, Steve Oberst,
and Forsythe III won the heat races. John Eastman scored the win in
the 12-lap B Main over Harvey, Cunningham, and Andrew Clark to
transfer into the Season Championship Feature.


There were no dramatics in the 30-lap Wieland Contracting Modifieds
Season Championships Feature as Ovid's own; Bill Luckhurst would
clinch his unprecedented seventh consecutive and 11th overall Track
Championship by winning his heat race earlier in the evening.

Steve Rollins and Laci Donnert, two former Street Stocks (Now Pro
Stocks) Track Champions, led a strong Modifieds field to Chief
Starter, Doug Allen's green flag and it would be Donnert pacing the
field for the first three laps. Luckhurst, who started on the outside
of the second row, quickly got up to Donnert and just as fast, took
the lead on lap four.

 From their, it was all Luckhurst as the Ovid, Michigan veteran would
stamp his own exclamation point on the 2009 title as the driver of the
Jet's Pizza of Owosso Chevrolet would win his fourth feature of the
season going away to officially lock up his seventh consecutive and
11th overall Owosso Speedway Modifieds Track Championship!

Donnert fought off a determined Larry Wallace to finish second while
Wallace held off a determined Harry Parish, the last driver not named
Luckhurst to win a Championship at the Big "O" back in 2002. Jeff
Reamer completed the top five.

Steve Bates Jr., finished sixth in the talent laden field while Mike
Piette, Chuck Silva, two-time Super Late Models Track Champion, Jon
McNett, and Rollins would wrap up the final top 10. 16-year-old Kenton
Taylor, who dropped out early in this race, secured the 2009 Rookie of
the Year title back in Mid-August!

Scott Lamp won his first fast qualifier award of the season over a
stout 25-car field as he toured the 3/8s (0.375) mile high-banked
paved oval at a 16.100. Don Gilbert, Silva, and Luckhurst won heat
races while 2009 Dixie Motor Speedway and Whittemore Speedway Rookie
of the Year, 18-year-old John King won the 12-lap B Main over Timmy
Near, Joe Morisette, and Skip DeForest to transfer into the Season
Championship Feature.


To close out the night, the Drive Train Specialists rolled out for
their 30-lap Season Championship Feature as 2001 Track Champion, Ed
Young Jr., clinched the 2009 title by merely pulling onto the grounds
on this night after winning his first career Pro Late Models Feature a
week ago.

1998 Track Champion, Jay Reinbold and 2003 Super Late Models Rookie of
the Year, Jimmy O. Smith led a strong field of Pro Late Models to the
green flag and it would be Reinbold, driving Timmy Near's Pro Late
Model that Near had been piloting this season at Owosso's sister track
to the Northeast, Dixie Motor Speedway, taking the early lead.

Reinbold paced the field with a host of talented drivers all taking
there turn at the crafty veteran. Finally, Jason Felver maneuvered his
way into the second spot and hounded Reinbold all over the 3/8s mile
oval when a caution came out with four laps to go to set up a four lap
dash to the finish.

Unfortunately for Reinbold, he cut down a right front tire and was
forced to retire from the race, handing the lead over to Felver who
now had 2009 Track Champion, Ed Young Jr., on his back bumper.

Young Jr., tried to build the momentum up in the second groove at the
start, but Felver was in the same piece of real estate each time and
the Owosso, Michigan driver in his Component Coatings Pontiac fought
off Young Jr., to win his second feature of the 2009 racing season.

Young Jr., the 2001 and now 2009 Track Champion, finished second while
Jimmy O. Smith was third ahead of Fast Qualifier, Leo Smith, who once
again pulled double duty and for the second time of the night, wrapped
up a runner-up finish in the final points standings. 2007 Track
Champion, Mark Welch completed the top five.

Russ Cords finished sixth as Nate Freel, 19-year-old Justin Parish,
Brad Bilacic, and Jim Hardy finished off the top 10. With his 10th
place finish, Hardy clinched the 2009 Rookie of the Year title!

Smith won his first fast qualifier award of the season in a Pro Late
Model over the 22-car field and second fast time of the night as he
went a 16.284 while 16-year-old Dillon Bigos, Bilacic, and Jimmy O.
Smith won the heat races.


The 2009 Track Championships are now wrapped up, but that doesn't mean
the season is over as there's still two more pivotal weeks remaining
on the 2009 schedule beginning with this Saturday, September 19th as
the rescheduled 1st annual Heritage 100 for Outlaw Bodied Super Late
Models will highlight the card.

The high-powered Super Late Models will help celebrate the tracks'
68th Anniversary with an expected field of 35-40 of the premiere
Outlaw Super Late Models in the Midwest as this is the one and only
Super Late Model event of the 2009 racing season at the Big "O"

The Super Late Models will follow the procedures and rules used in the
Dixie Cup Triple Crown Series at Owosso's sister track to the East,
the Dixie Motor Speedway in Birch Run, Michigan. Just go to:
www.dixiemotorspeedway.com and go to the "Rules" page for more
information.

Registration Forms are also available. Just go to the "Forms" page and
once there, scroll down to "1st annual Heritage 100 Registration Form"
Print it out, fill it in, and bring it with you on race day!

The 100-lap feature for the Super Late Models will have a unique
twist; A Mandatory Caution Flag on lap 93 in honor of the late Dave
Grosjean, a close friend of the Fast Track Promotions family, who
passed away on August 3rd after a lengthy battle with Hodgkin's
Lymphoma, a form of Cancer. He was 28 years old.

The caution will come out on Lap 93 and there will be a special
tribute in honor of the late Grosjean. This will then set up a
thrilling seven (7)-lap shootout to decide the inaugural winner of the
Heritage 100.

Grosjean originally from Capac, Michigan, was a competitor over the
last five seasons in the Street Stocks division primarily at the
Whittemore Speedway and had planned on racing at the Owosso Speedway
in the tracks Affordable Tire and Service Center Pro Stocks division
towards the end of this racing season. His car number was 93.


Also on the card will be the second and final appearance by the
Otsego, Michigan based Great Lakes Super Cup Series. In addition,
it'll be the Owosso Fall Nationals Tune-Up for the RacingPartSales.com
Pure Stocks and Fast Track Promotions Sport Stocks as those two
divisions gear up for the 14th annual Owosso Fall Nationals, which are
set for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, September 25-26-27th.

NOTE: The Pure Stocks and Sport Stocks will Qualify, run a B Main (If
Necessary), and a 20-lap Feature ONLY.... NO Heat Races will be
conducted for either division on September 19th)

To end the night, a brand new division will introduced to the fans of
the Owosso Speedway as the first Big "O" Front Wheel Drive Enduro
Series race will be conducted. A 100-lap feature will close out the
evening in preparation for the big 200-lap Enduro that will conclude
the 2009 racing season on Sunday, September 27th during the 14th
annual Owosso Fall Nationals.

The new Front Wheel Drive Enduro Series will utilize Kalamazoo
Speedway procedures and rules with minor adjustments made to coincide
with the Owosso Speedway. The complete 2009 / 2010 rules and payouts
for the two Enduros in 2009 are available at the column titled; 2009 /
2010 Big "O" Front Wheel Drive Enduro Series


For Saturday, September 19th, the Pit Gates open at "High Noon"
12:00p.m., Rotating Practice begins at 2:00p.m., while the Grandstand
Gates swing open at 4:00p.m. Qualifying starts at 5:00p.m., and Racing
is set for 7:00p.m.

General Admission Prices for Saturday, September 19th are: Adults
(18-59): $20.00 - Seniors (60 and Up): $18.00 - Students (9-16):
$15.00 - Kids (8 and Under) are always FREE. Pit Passes will remain
$25.00.

For more information about the Owosso Speedway, log onto
the website as well at: www.owossospeedway.com So come out to the
track where Legends are Born, Stars Shine, and Young Lions Roar, only
at the Owosso Speedway.

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This report was provided by an outside PR source and posted by Beth Lunkenheimer.

 

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