August 13 , 2011 (McCool Junction, Nebraska)
Henderson, Colorado’s Kelly Boen won Friday night’s Lucas Oil MLRA feature in thrilling fashion over Marquette, Nebraska’s Kyle Berck. The win came by half of a nose for Boen. “I want to thank Greg Lee, he pieced this car together for us,” Boen said to the fans following the race. “We hadn’t been racing our own stuff for a long time. Now, we decided to go back and race our own stuff for a while. Terry Pannell, the guy that was letting me drive his other car, he’s been such a great guy, and I want to thank him.”
This was Boen’s 7th win in the last 10 MLRA races at Junction Motor Speedway. However, it was his race car’s first win at the York County oval. “It’s pretty good,” said Boen of his Rocket Chassis. “I’ve got to believe if we’re going to win tomorrow, we’re going to have to get a little faster. “Kyle made it a little too interesting at the end.”
Berck was pleased with his performance. He now has three runner up finishes in Lucas Oil MLRA competition this season. “I got a little rhythm going on the bottom,” Berck said of his late race charge to get around Dave Eckrich. “I kept eyeballing that top side. I wanted to go up there so bad, but the car didn’t want to. That last lap I thought, he’s protecting. He hasn’t been up there. I just gritted my teeth going down the back straightaway and I said, I’m going to beat him off turn four. We needed about 50 more horsepower to do that. We had a good run. It was fun, I really thought I had him. That’s as close as it gets and we’ll try again tomorrow night.” Berck firmly holds third place in the championship standings.
The 25 lap feature had several cautions sprinkled throughout. A lap 8 incident involving multiple cars, included series point leaders Al Purkey and John Anderson. Anderson received the more serious damage of the two. He went to the pits a couple of times for work, before retiring to an 18th place finish. Purkey had some rear sheet metal damage and stuck it out for a 12th place finish, gaining 14 points over Anderson in the process. This now pushes Purkey’s lead to 34 points over Anderson.
Dave Eckrich had one of his stronger runs of the season tonight. He went from 5th to 2nd immediately, and wound up 3rd. Mike Collins and Travis Dickes finished 4th and 5th.
Heat race wins went to Dean Moore, Travis Dickes and Kelly Boen.
Saturday evening, action will continue at Junction Motor Speedway. Pits open at 4:00 PM and grandstands open at 5:00 PM. Racing starts at 7:00 PM. Admission is $15. Kids 6-12 are $4 and 5 and under are free. Pit passes are $20 for NASCAR members and $30 for non-NASCAR members.
Lucas Oil MLRA Contingency Awards
Performance Bodies: Joe Kosiski
KRC Hard Charger: Mike Collins
KRC Hard Luck: John Anderson
Weld Wheels: Mike Wiarda
BSB Manufacturing: Kyle Berck
R2C Performance Filters: Dave Eckrich
Keizer Wheels: Jase Kaser
Saferacer.com: Al Humphrey
Racing Optics: Dustin Walker
Rod End Supply: Brian Kenkel and Troy Daly
Race Results Friday August 12, 2011
Lucas Oil Products Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. Dean Moore 2. Joe Kosiski 3. Bill Leighton 4. Bo Egge 5. Mike Collins 6. Andrew Kosiski 7. Vince Wagoner 8. Dwayne Poposil 9. JT Botts
Impact Signs Awnings and Wraps Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1.Travis Dickes 2. Kyle Berck 3. Dave Eckrich 4. Al Purkey 5. Jase Kaser 6. Steve Kempt 7. Robbie Anderson 8. Dustin Walker 9. Troy Daly
Afco Racing Products Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. Kelly Boen 2. Matt Furman 3. Al Humphrey 4. John Anderson 5. Brian Kenkel 6. Scott Koskovich 7. Mike Wiarda 8. Brad Wagoner 9. Steve Kempt
Lucas Cattle Company A Feature (25 Laps): 1.Kelly Boen 2. Kyle Berck 3. Dave Eckrich 4. Mike Collins 5. Travis Dickes 6. Joe Kosiski 7. Bill Leighton 8. Bo Egge 9. Dean Moore 10. Scott Koskovich 11. Al Purkey 12. Steve Kempt 13. Al Humphrey 14. Robbie Anderson 15. Andrew Kosiski 16. Dustin Walker 17. Brad Wagoner 18. John Anderson 19. Matt Furman 20. Jase Kaser 21. Brian Kenkel 22. Mike Wiarda 23. Troy Daly
Current Lucas Oil MLRA points standings will be available on www.MLRAracing.com.
The Lucas Oil MLRA (Midwest Latemodel Racing Association) sanctions regional Super Dirt Late Model touring series events in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Iowa.
For all the latest news and information on the Lucas Oil MLRA please visit us on the web at www.MLRAracing.com or by calling the series office at (816) 650-5063 or (816) 305-6572.
The Lucas Oil MLRA would like to thank the sponsors of the 2011 Tour including Lucas Oil Products, AAA Missouri, Hoosier Race Tires, Lucas Cattle Company, Hatfield Racing Engines, Larry Shaw Race Cars, AFCO Racing Products, GRT Race Cars, Powertrain Industries, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bodee’s Race Bodies, Outpace Racing Products,Fast Track Photos, Weld Racing Wheels, Impact Signs and Lighting, Rod End Supply, Racing Optics, Schoenfeld Headers, Kluhsman Racing Components, Performance Bodies, ATL Fuel Cells, Bilstein Shocks, RacinDirt.com, BSB Manufacturing, MasterSbilt, R2C Performance Products, SAFERACER, Keizer Wheels,