WHEATLAND, MO. (Sept. 1, 2023) – Fourth-starting Tyler Stevens of Paragould, Ark., scored his first career Lucas Oil MLRA victory Friday night at Lucas Oil Speedway.

Stevens took the lead midway through the 30-lapper and went on to beat Chad Simpson on Night One of the Ron Jenkins Memorial Presented by Rugged Radios. Stevens earned $5,000 for the victory in dry-slick conditions.

Other feature winners on the first night of the special were Kris Jackson (Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods), Ryan Middaugh (Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modifieds) and Waylon Dimmitt (O’Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars).

There were 34 Late Models and 101 total entries in the pits on Friday night.

Stevens, a series rookie who came in ninth in points, chased down and passed Simpson on lap 16 as the leader got pinched in lapped traffic. Stevens called his win a much-needed boost to his team.

“We have had the worst luck this year,” Stevens said. “New car, new motor, new shocks, new everything. It feels good. I knew we had a heck of a hot rod, we just needed to put it all together.”

Simpson set fast qualifying time and won his heat to earn the pole. He capitalized on that by taking the lead from the start, with a one-second advantage over Stevens eight laps into the race.

Catching lapped traffic by lap 10, Simpson had to carefully pick his way through the slower cars and Stevens was able to pull alongside on lap 15 before taking the lead on lap 16 after Simpson had trouble navigating through turn two.

“I was worried I was gonna wear the right rear (tire) out, but the car was so good I could steer around there and didn’t have to really slide,” Stevens said. “I was pretty patient there, running up behind Chad. He was committed pretty much to the bottom and when he got into that lapped traffic, I knew if he didn’t work his way up and find that clean area of the race track, I thought I could roll by him here.

“The MLRA has some awesome racers. It feels good to be on top of the podium.”

Simpson, of Mount Vernon, Iowa, said the lapped traffic did him in but it was a good points night as he continued pursuit of his fourth MLRA championship.

“We had a good night, the car’s good, we just didn’t quite get tight enough for the main,” Simpson said. “I got beat in lapped traffic. I got one back home in lapped traffic a couple of weeks ago, so maybe that’s mine back.”

The new leader drove away to a 1.3-second lead with 10 to go as the race’s long green-flag run continued all the way to the finish. Meanwhile, as Stevens set the pace up front, Dillon McCowan got around Scott Crigler for third on lap 26.

Simpson came rolling in the final laps to make a run at Stevens, but settled for second just .328 seconds behind Stevens. McCowan wound up third with Crigler fourth and Logan Martin in fifth.

Chris Simpson, who began the night 165 points behind his brother Chad in the MLRA points chase, went to his backup car for the feature and started at the rear of the field. He finished 15th and lost considerable ground, falling to 240 points behind with just five events remaining.

McCowan, the popular local driver from nearby Urbana and the MLRA Rookie of the Year leader, scored his first MLRA podium finish. He moved to third in series points.

“It’s been a long, long last couple of month,” McCowan said. “Ever since the Show-Me (100) we’ve been battling this thing. The track was amazing. Smooth and slick. You could about race wherever you wanted.

“I guess I started driving it a little harder and it freed up the car a little bit and I was able to get around Crigler and start catching (Stevens and Simpson). A couple of more laps and I think we could have been dicing it up with them for the lead.”

Action resumes on Saturday night with first place worth $11,000 to the MLRA Late Model winner. The total includes a $1,000 bonus from Mary Jenkins Holt in memory of Ron Jenkins, original builder of Wheatland Raceway. Mary also will award a $500 bonus to fast-time qualifier on Saturday night.

Pit and spectator gates open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.

Jackson drives to B-Mod wins: Lebanon’s Kris Jackson picked up his 38th overall feature win in 2023 and fourth at Lucas Oil Speedway, leading the final 15 laps of Friday night’s Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod main event.

“This track was great for the feature,” Jackson said. “It kind of favored a person like me. I like the middle of the race track and it was probably the prime groove for the better part of the race.”

Jackson moved from his third starting position to challenge Newell for the lead on lap one, but Newell held him off and had a .720-second lead when the race’s first caution waved on lap five.

Jackson found traction in the low groove to pass Newell for the lead on lap six, but action was quickly slowed again just a lap later with another caution. Andy Bryant moved into second on the restart and stayed on the high side to battle it out with Jackson.

Just as Jackson opened up a 1.2-second lead on lap 11, another caution came out to bunch the field. Finally getting an extended green-flag run, Jackson drove away over the final nine laps for a 3.2-second win over Bryant with Eric Turner coming home in third, Robbe Ewing fourth and Newell finishing fifth.

USRA Modifieds victory goes to Middaugh: Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modified track champion Ryan Middaugh of Fulton led all but the first lap en route to his 17th overall victory of the season and sixth at Lucas Oil Speedway, beating Jared Russell and Jason Pursley.

Middaugh assumed the lead on lap two when he got around fellow front-row starter Pursley. Over the next several laps, Middaugh ran the low side as Pursley worked the high groove to break away from the third-place Russell by 1.5 seconds.

As the laps clicked by, regular-season track champion Middaugh gradually began to pull away to lead Pursley by 1.2 seconds by lap 12. The leader caught lapped traffic by lap 16 just as Russell moved around Pursley and into second.

Middaugh held on to beat Russell by 1.02 seconds at the finish with Pursley third, Robbie Reed fourth and Gunner Martin fifth.

“Lapped traffic got a little hairy there,” Middaugh said. “I wanted a caution, but I didn’t want a caution. I just wanted to see the checkered flag.”

Dimmitt rolls to USRA Stock Cars win: Camdenton’s Waylon Dimmitt earned his fourth O’Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars victory of the season, leading all 20 laps to top track champion Mason Beck.

Dimmitt started on the pole and set the early pace, with Pat Graham advancing from sixth to second by lap two and Beck running third. The trio broke away and it was well back to William Garner in fourth by lap 10.

Dimmitt was able to extend his lead to 1.5 seconds by lap 12 as Graham and Beck were dueling side by side behind him. Garner soon joined the battle to make it a three-way race for the runner-up spot.

Meanwhile, Dimmitt kept pulling away as the race stayed caution-free. He prevailed by 2.9 seconds at the finish with Beck edging past Graham for second on the final lap and Garner finished fourth.

“These are the kind of tracks we shine on,” Dimmitt said. “I hate racing in the mud. It was good and slick tonight. I kind of wish it was that way every night.”

Pit and spectator gates open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.

Dirt Track Saturday admission:

Advance Discount Tickets online only (16 and up) – $27

Adults (16 and up) – $30

Seniors (62 and up)/Military – $27

Youth (6-15) – $10

Kids (5 and under) – FREE

Family Pass – $70

Pit Pass – $45

(Admission free with Saturday drag boat ticket, or 2-day or 3-day drag boat passes)

LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (Sept. 1, 2023)

Lucas Oil MLRA Ron Jenkins Memorial

MLRA Late Models

A Feature – 1. 2-Tyler Stevens[4]; 2. 25-Chad Simpson[1]; 3. 8-Dillon McCowan[7]; 4. 12C-Scott Crigler[2]; 5. 36-Logan Martin[10]; 6. 93-Mason Oberkramer[3]; 7. 98-Justin Wells[14]; 8. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[5]; 9. 7B-Mark Burgtorf[8]; 10. 50-Kaeden Cornell[9]; 11. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[11]; 12. 8X-Matt Johnson[13]; 13. 15S-Clayton Stuckey[16]; 14. 7D-Dusty Leonard[17]; 15. 32S-Chris Simpson[24]; 16. 15-Justin Duty[20]; 17. 14G-Trevor Gundaker[22]; 18. 11H-Jeff Herzog[19]; 19. 45-Cole Wells[6]; 20. 26-Glen Powell[12]; 21. 1X-Aaron Marrant[23]; 22. 77-Jeremy Petty[15]; 23. 96-Dalton Imhoff[18]; 24. (DNF) 1A-Bryon Allison[21]

Fast Shafts B Main 1 – 1. 15S-Clayton Stuckey[4]; 2. 96-Dalton Imhoff[2]; 3. 15-Justin Duty[1]; 4. 14G-Trevor Gundaker[3]; 5. 33F-Rickey Frankel[7]; 6. 29-Chandler Moenning[6]; 7. 66-Eli Ross[8]; 8. (DNS) 19L-Thomas Langley; 9. (DNS) 10-Jacob Magee; 10. (DNS) 3-Joey Smith

Sunoco B Main 2 – 1. 7D-Dusty Leonard[1]; 2. 11H-Jeff Herzog[4]; 3. 1A-Bryon Allison[5]; 4. 42-Johnathan Huston[6]; 5. 14R-Jeff Roth[7]; 6. 23-Chad Walter[2]; 7. (DNF) 1X-Aaron Marrant[3]; 8. (DNS) 22H-Dustin Hodges; 9. (DNS) 19L-Thomas Langley

Swift Springs Heat 1 – 1. 25-Chad Simpson[1]; 2. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[3]; 3. 7B-Mark Burgtorf[6]; 4. 26-Glen Powell[8]; 5. (DNF) 15-Justin Duty[2]; 6. (DNF) 14G-Trevor Gundaker[5]; 7. (DNF) 3-Joey Smith[7]; 8. (DNF) 33F-Rickey Frankel[4]; 9. (DNS) 10-Jacob Magee

MD3 Heat 2 – 1. 93-Mason Oberkramer[4]; 2. 32S-Chris Simpson[2]; 3. 36-Logan Martin[1]; 4. 98-Justin Wells[3]; 5. 96-Dalton Imhoff[5]; 6. 15S-Clayton Stuckey[7]; 7. 29-Chandler Moenning[8]; 8. 66-Eli Ross[6]

Midwest Sheet Metal Heat 3 – 1. 12C-Scott Crigler[2]; 2. 45-Cole Wells[1]; 3. 50-Kaeden Cornell[3]; 4. 8X-Matt Johnson[4]; 5. 7D-Dusty Leonard[5]; 6. 1X-Aaron Marrant[6]; 7. 1A-Bryon Allison[7]; 8. 14R-Jeff Roth[8]; 9. 19L-Thomas Langley[9]

Hooker Harness Heat 4 – 1. 2-Tyler Stevens[1]; 2. 8-Dillon McCowan[3]; 3. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[5]; 4. 77-Jeremy Petty[6]; 5. 23-Chad Walter[8]; 6. 11H-Jeff Herzog[4]; 7. 42-Johnathan Huston[7]; 8. (DNF) 22H-Dustin Hodges[2]

Qualifying Group A – 1. 25-Chad Simpson, 00:15.591[7]; 2. 36-Logan Martin, 00:15.672[6]; 3. 15-Justin Duty, 00:15.792[16]; 4. 32S-Chris Simpson, 00:15.827[3]; 5. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck, 00:15.961[1]; 6. 98-Justin Wells, 00:16.055[9]; 7. 33F-Rickey Frankel, 00:16.204[8]; 8. 93-Mason Oberkramer, 00:16.211[2]; 9. 14G-Trevor Gundaker, 00:16.358[4]; 10. 96-Dalton Imhoff, 00:16.376[15]; 11. 7B-Mark Burgtorf, 00:16.447[12]; 12. 66-Eli Ross, 00:16.513[5]; 13. (DNS) 3-Joey Smith; 14. (DNS) 26-Glen Powell; 15. (DNS) 15S-Clayton Stuckey; 16. (DNS) 29-Chandler Moenning; 17. (DNS) 10-Jacob Magee

Qualifying Group B – 1. 45-Cole Wells, 00:15.734[5]; 2. 2-Tyler Stevens, 00:15.786[7]; 3. 12C-Scott Crigler, 00:15.853[3]; 4. 22H-Dustin Hodges, 00:15.856[11]; 5. 50-Kaeden Cornell, 00:15.862[17]; 6. 8-Dillon McCowan, 00:15.958[1]; 7. 8X-Matt Johnson, 00:16.040[8]; 8. 11H-Jeff Herzog, 00:16.104[13]; 9. 7D-Dusty Leonard, 00:16.323[14]; 10. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr, 00:16.543[15]; 11. 1X-Aaron Marrant, 00:16.591[9]; 12. 77-Jeremy Petty, 00:16.675[4]; 13. 1A-Bryon Allison, 00:16.704[2]; 14. 42-Johnathan Huston, 00:17.085[16]; 15. 14R-Jeff Roth, 00:17.124[12]; 16. 23-Chad Walter, 00:17.182[6]; 17. 19L-Thomas Langley, 00:17.234[10]

Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods

A Feature – 1. J2-Kris Jackson[3]; 2. 28B-Andy Bryant[6]; 3. 99T-Eric Turner[4]; 4. 32-Robbe Ewing[1]; 5. 83-JC Newell[2]; 6. 42-Casey Thomas[7]; 7. 17C-Henry Chambers[13]; 8. 94C-JT Carroll[10]; 9. 7-Colson Kirk[21]; 10. 10P-Dayton Pursley[8]; 11. 11L-Logan Smith[20]; 12. 2-Quentin Taylor[15]; 13. 15S-Kody Bray[18]; 14. 3D-Dexton Daniels[9]; 15. 91-Hoyt Miller[12]; 16. 58-Chad Reid[19]; 17. 76-KC Mullin[22]; 18. 17-Blake Beal[23]; 19. 96-Dylan Daniels[14]; 20. (DNF) 17B-Jace Boney[16]; 21. (DNF) 79-Kyle Slader[11]; 22. (DNF) 15-Nick Drew[24]; 23. (DNF) F1-Mitchell Franklin[5]; 24. (DNF) 8S-Jon Sheets[17]

B Feature – 1. 8S-Jon Sheets[13]; 2. 15S-Kody Bray[1]; 3. 58-Chad Reid[3]; 4. 11L-Logan Smith[2]; 5. 7-Colson Kirk[12]; 6. 76-KC Mullin[5]; 7. 17-Blake Beal[7]; 8. 15-Nick Drew[4]; 9. 28-Wesley Briggs[10]; 10. 2X-Cole Hamilton[11]; 11. 08-Chad Neill[9]; 12. (DNF) 2G-Eric Graves[6]; 13. (DQ) 19B-Kaleb Bray[8]

Heat 1 – 1. 32-Robbe Ewing[3]; 2. 3D-Dexton Daniels[1]; 3. 99T-Eric Turner[8]; 4. 17B-Jace Boney[5]; 5. 15S-Kody Bray[7]; 6. 17-Blake Beal[4]; 7. 2X-Cole Hamilton[6]; 8. (DNF) 7-Colson Kirk[2]

Heat 2 – 1. 28B-Andy Bryant[3]; 2. 94C-JT Carroll[1]; 3. 79-Kyle Slader[4]; 4. 2-Quentin Taylor[6]; 5. 11L-Logan Smith[7]; 6. 76-KC Mullin[2]; 7. 08-Chad Neill[5]

Heat 3 – 1. 83-JC Newell[1]; 2. J2-Kris Jackson[6]; 3. 96-Dylan Daniels[3]; 4. 91-Hoyt Miller[7]; 5. 15-Nick Drew[4]; 6. 2G-Eric Graves[2]; 7. (DNS) 8S-Jon Sheets

Heat 4 – 1. F1-Mitchell Franklin[1]; 2. 42-Casey Thomas[3]; 3. 10P-Dayton Pursley[6]; 4. 17C-Henry Chambers[7]; 5. 58-Chad Reid[2]; 6. 19B-Kaleb Bray[4]; 7. 28-Wesley Briggs[5]

Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modifieds

A Feature – 1. 21M-Ryan Middaugh[1]; 2. 4R-Jared Russell[3]; 3. 38C-Jason Pursley[2]; 4. 5-Robbie Reed[5]; 5. 22B-Gunner Martin[7]; 6. 151-Lucas Gibbs[8]; 7. 712-Trevor Hughes[18]; 8. 33-Jaren Martin[12]; 9. 24C-Brandon Conkwright[11]; 10. 18-Chad Lyle[4]; 11. 73-Mickey Burrell[9]; 12. 23-Lucas Dobbs[6]; 13. C3-Chad Staus[17]; 14. 29-Shelby Stucky[13]; 15. 4B-Eric Brady[14]; 16. (DNF) 21W-Tracy Wolf[19]; 17. (DNF) 21-Greg Scheffler[10]; 18. (DNF) 98-Jeff Cutshaw[16]; 19. (DNF) 14-Kameron Grindstaff[15]

Heat 1 – 1. 38C-Jason Pursley[9]; 2. 5-Robbie Reed[3]; 3. 23-Lucas Dobbs[1]; 4. 151-Lucas Gibbs[5]; 5. 73-Mickey Burrell[8]; 6. 21-Greg Scheffler[10]; 7. 29-Shelby Stucky[4]; 8. (DNF) 14-Kameron Grindstaff[2]; 9. (DNF) C3-Chad Staus[6]; 10. (DNF) 21W-Tracy Wolf[7]

Heat 2 – 1. 4R-Jared Russell[1]; 2. 21M-Ryan Middaugh[2]; 3. 18-Chad Lyle[8]; 4. 22B-Gunner Martin[6]; 5. 33-Jaren Martin[4]; 6. 24C-Brandon Conkwright[9]; 7. (DNF) 4B-Eric Brady[3]; 8. (DNF) 98-Jeff Cutshaw[5]; 9. (DNF) 712-Trevor Hughes[7]

O’Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars

A Feature – 1. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[1]; 2. 0F-Mason Beck[6]; 3. 1G-Pat Graham[5]; 4. 7-William Garner[7]; 5. 24C-Brandon Conkwright[14]; 6. 7K-Doug Keller[3]; 7. 68-Dean Wille[12]; 8. 91-Johnny Fennewald[9]; 9. 1X-Mark Simon[8]; 10. 8M-James McMillin[2]; 11. 83-James Ellis[18]; 12. 50-Darrell Hurt[11]; 13. 21-Darren Phillips[10]; 14. 24M-Blayne McMillin[15]; 15. 23-Kevin Simon[16]; 16. 24-Craig Wright[17]; 17. (DNF) 34-Blake Bolton[4]; 18. (DNF) 5DJ-DJ Barnes[13]; 19. (DNS) 77-Zack Willis

Bill Roberts Chevrolet Heat 1 – 1. 1G-Pat Graham[5]; 2. 7K-Doug Keller[3]; 3. 8M-James McMillin[7]; 4. 50-Darrell Hurt[1]; 5. 68-Dean Wille[6]; 6. 24C-Brandon Conkwright[4]; 7. 23-Kevin Simon[2]

Bill Roberts Chevrolet Heat 2 – 1. 0F-Mason Beck[3]; 2. 7-William Garner[1]; 3. 91-Johnny Fennewald[4]; 4. 21-Darren Phillips[5]; 5. 5DJ-DJ Barnes[2]; 6. 24M-Blayne McMillin[6]

Bill Roberts Chevrolet Heat 3 – 1. 34-Blake Bolton[2]; 2. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[3]; 3. 1X-Mark Simon[5]; 4. (DNF) 24-Craig Wright[1]; 5. (DNF) 83-James Ellis[4]; 6. (DNF) 77-Zack Willis[6]

Diamond Drag Boat Nationals continue on Lake Lucas: Next door on Lake Lucas, the Kentucky Drag Boat Association-sanctioned 13th annual Diamond Drag Boat Nationals will be back in action with Saturday’s final day of qualifying prior to Sunday’s eliminations.

The tentative drag boat schedule finds registration, pit gates and spectator gates open at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday with racing at 9 a.m.

Divisions in action will be Top Alcohol Hydro, Pro Outlaw, Pro Modified, Quick Eliminator, Pro Eliminator, Pro Comp Flat, Top Eliminator, Mod Eliminator, Stock Eliminator and Personal Water Craft.

Check out kydragboat.com for more information on the series.

Diamond Drag Boat Nationals Saturday admission:

(All tickets include access to drag boat pits)

Advance Discount Tickets online only (16 and up) – $27

Adults GA/Pit Pass Combo (16 and up) – $30

Seniors (62 and up)/Military GA/Pit Pass Combo (62 and up) – $27

Youth GA/Pit Pass Combo (age 6 to 15) – $10

Kids GA/Pit Pass Combo (age 5 and under) – FREE

Family Pass GA/Pit Pass Combo (Includes Admission for 2 Adults and Up to 3 Kids Ages 6-15) – $70

Adult 2-Day GA/Pit Pass Combo – $45

Seniors (62 and up)/Military 2-Day GA/Pit Pass Combo – $42

Youth Ages (6-15) 2-Day GA/Pit Pass Combo – $25

(All Saturday, 3-Day and 2-Day tickets include entry to the Dirt Track event on Saturday night)

Diamond Drag Boat Nationals Sunday admission:

(All tickets include access to drag boat pits)

Age 6 and up GA/Pit Pass Combo – $15

5 and Under GA/Pit Pass Combo – FREE

For information on any event at Lucas Oil Speedway in 2023 contact admissions director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or email her at nichole@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information.

CONTACT:

Danny Lorton

Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager

Office: (417) 282-5984