WHEATLAND, Mo. — Veteran Chris Simpson picked up his first career victory at Lucas Oil Speedway, winning Friday’s opening-night 10th annual Lucas Oil MLRA Ron Jenkins Memorial Presented by Rugged Radios.
Simpson took the lead on lap 11 of the 30-lapper and held off Billy Moyer to collect $7,000 and his 17th career MLRA victory. Simpson’s winning total included a $2,000 bonus from Mary Jenkins Holt in memory of Ron Jenkins, builder of the original Wheatland Raceway.
“We haven’t had a stellar year. We’ve had a pretty decent year, but nothing to be bragging about,’ said Simpson, who began the night 45 behind his brother, Chad, in the MLRA championship chase. “This points race is pretty tight. Me and my brother are probably gonna put on a hell of a show to end it.”
Moyer, driving a new Longhorn chassis from Double L Motorsports, said he’s still getting used to the car but was pleased with his result.
“We’re guessing at a lot of things we do,” Moyer said. “Now that we’ve got a night under our belts we can work on it a little bit and make it a little better.
“It was a good track,” Moyer added. “They did a good job with the weather. It was fun for everybody and Chris had the best car tonight. He got it done.”
Simpson started ninth and survived an onslaught of cautions to move into contention from his ninth-starting position.
Pole-starting Jeff Herzog led from the start, opening up a 1.5-second lead over Ryan Johnson by lap six. Chris Simpson got around Johnson for the runner-up spot a lap later and gave chase, with the event’s third caution flying on lap eight.
Johnson was running in the top four when he was part of a four-car tangle on lap nine to bring out a fourth caution. As the race struggled to get into any rhythm due to the excess of cautions, Herzog led Chris Simpson, Moyer and Chad Simpson to the restart.
Simpson grabbed the lead away from Herzog on lap 11 with an inside pass out of turn four. He was able to extend his lead to 1.6 seconds by lap 15 over Moyer, who moved into second that time around. But before another lap could be completed, Mason Oberkramer and Gordy Gundaker got together in turn four for caution No. 5.
Johnson spun and collected Brennon Willard on lap 18 to make it a half-dozen cautions. Chris Simpson led Moyer by just under a half-second with Chad Simpson in third with 12 laps remaining.
The race ran caution-free the rest of the way and Simpson dominated, rolling to a 2.7-second lead by lap 24 as Tony Jackson Jr. rolled into third behind Moyer. Simpson lost some ground over the final laps but held on for a comfortable 1.3-second win over Moyer.
“I didn’t know how the track was. They got a lot of rain,” Simpson said, noting a mid-afternoon thunderstorm that soaked the speedway. “The bottom was so greasy during our heat races, we couldn’t even touch it. We had to run the middle there.
“It was a good track. I had to move up there at the end. Chad, my crew guy, told me Moyer was coming on the top so I moved up and kind of sailed from there.”
Jackson finished third with MLRA points leader Chad Simpson fourth and Herzog fifth.
Kayden Clatt set the fast overall qualifying lap, at 15.914 seconds, to earn a $500 bonus courtesy of Mary Jenkins Holt, again in Ron Jenkins’ memory. Clatt and Dillon McCowan tangled in turn four on the opening lap and McCowan, fourth in season points, was unable to continue while Klatt wound up 14th.
The finish: 1. 32-Chris Simpson[9]; 2. 21M-Billy Moyer Sr[2]; 3. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[8]; 4. 25-Chad Simpson[5]; 5. 11-Jeff Herzog[1]; 6. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[4]; 7. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[15]; 8. 15L-Payton Looney[16]; 9. 43-Derrick Stewart[23]; 10. 15T-Tyler Kuykendall[13]; 11. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[17]; 12. 33F-Rickey Frankel[10]; 13. 22H-Dustin Hodges[11]; 14. 50C-Kayden Clatt[6]; 15. 1AU-Joe Chalmers[25]; 16. 78S-Steve Stultz[24]; 17. 7D-Dusty Leonard[19]; 18. 14W-Dustin Walker[26]; 19. 67-Jimmy Vanzandt[20]; 20. 7J-Ryan Johnson[3]; 21. 19L-Thomas Langley[28]; 22. (DNF) 128-Kylan Garner[14]; 23. (DNF) 3W-Brennon Willard[21]; 24. (DNF) 93-Mason Oberkramer[22]; 25. (DNF) 65-Jon Binning[18]; 26. (DNF) 26G-Glen Powell[27]; 27. (DNF) 11K-Shannon Kuhn[12]; 28. (DNF) 8-Dillon McCowan[7]
Spalding Rolls To USRA Modifieds Win
Chris Spalding of Montgomery City, Mo., led the final 17 laps for the Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modified victory, beating runner-up Jeff Cutshaw.
Spalding took the lead away from fellow front-row starter Chase Sigg on lap 4 as the pair came out of turn four. Spalding opened a 1.5-second lead by the midway point on lap 10 Cutshaw in third.
Sigg’s car lost power on lap 12 and he slowly rolled to the track exit, but not before a caution came out. Spalding had a four-second lead over Cutshaw at the time, with Dean Wille in third.
Spalding held on from there to beat Cutshaw by 1.8 seconds for his first Lucas Oil Speedway victory.
“I didn’t think I was gonna win, so I don’t know what to say,” Spalding joked in victory lane. “I’ve struggled here bad. The track was fantastic and we did get lucky with the starts, with our starting position, but we’ll take it however we can get ’em.”
Paden Phillips finished third with Wille fourth and Henry Chambers fifth.
USRA B-Mods Win Goes To Williams
Bobby Williams of Hermitage led all the way to take a decisive feature in the Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods, his first Lucas Oil Speedway victory of the season.
There were three cautions before one lap was officially completed. Williams beat Keeper in a battle of front-row starters for the early lead – but they only were at full speed for two laps before another yellow.
Williams had a 1.7-second lead over Keeper when the race’s sixth caution slowed things again on lap 8. Keeper was passed on the restart by Tyler Potter and Robbe Ewing as Williams drove away to a three-second lead in just four laps.
Williams poured it on as the race remained green the rest of the way. He beat Potter at the checkers by 6.1 seconds. Ewing held on for third with Jordan Jones fourth and Chase Jones finishing fifth.
Jordan Earns SMVR Victory
Brandon Jordan led all 15 laps, holding off Jim Thorne at the finish, to win the Show-Me Vintage Racers feature. Jordan started eighth, but wasted no time getting to the lead and staying there, despite some challenges.
Jordan earned his second SMVR win of the season at Lucas Oil Speedway.
Andy Wiles, who started 27th, charged into second on lap 10 when the sixth caution of the event came out. That yellow wiped out Jordan’s lead which was nearly two seconds.
Wiles spun on lap 12 as he was trying to make an inside pass for the lead in Turn Two. That was all Jordan needed to take in the final three laps to pick up the victory.
“He was coming hard, maybe a little too hard that one lap,” Jordan said of Wiles. “We was able to have to hustle there.”
Chad Eickleberry finished third with John Martin third and Brian Cox fifth.