DODGE CITY, Kan. – Jeff Kaup has done his fair share of winning at Dodge City Raceway Park in recent years.
However, on Saturday night, the Woodward, Okla., racer did it for the first time in the IMCA Stock Car Ranks by taking the $1,000 winner’s share in a hard-fought Stock Car Shootout presented by Winner’s Circle Feedyards and Factory Direct Fireworks atop the three-eights-mile DCRP clay oval.
While Kaup collected the big Stock Car loot, Koby Walters bested the DCRP Sprint Cars, Clay Sellard topped the IMCA Modifieds, Brett Berry was best in the IMCA Sport Modifieds and Trevor Schmidt collected IMCA Hobby Stock hardware as all five drivers posted their first DCRP wins of the 2020 campaign.
Kaup has accumulated 20 feature wins while earning six IMCA Sport Modified championships over the past seven years at DCRP. This year, Kaup is pulling double-duty in both the Sport Modifieds and Stock Cars.
With the big money on the line Saturday night, Kaup emerged from a wild battle to ultimately take the win in the 25-lapper.
With several contenders running afoul of misfortune throughout the first half of the race, it ultimately boiled down to a three-way battle between Chris Oliver, Shaylon Holloway and Kaup.
Oliver led much of the way while nursing a flattened left front tire until finally surrendering the point to Holloway on the 15th circuit. The trio continued to battle with Kaup making his way forward and finding his way to the lead for keeps on the 22nd lap.
Kaup held off Holloway over the final circuits to post the win with Marlin Hogie moving up to third and then Mike Burian and A.J. Finch rounding out the top five.
In the 20-lap Hambelton Racing DCRP Sprint Car feature, Liberal’s Koby Walters gunned into the lead at the outset and set the pace all the way for his first Dodge City win in more than two years.
Past track champions Luke Cranston and Taylor Velasquez gave chase throughout, pressuring for the point at times through traffic.
A late caution gave Walters the open track he needed for the final five circuits and he raced on to victory lane unabated in front of Cranston and Velasquez with Kyler Johnson and Brian Herbert rounding out the top five.
Bucklin’s Clay Sellard made the most of his first DCRP start of the year by racing to a convincing triumph in the 15-lap IMCA Modified feature event.
Sellard took command from defending track champion William Nusser on the third round stretched his lead out to nearly half a lap by the time the race’s only caution flew with just two laps to go. Sellard kept Nusser and company at bay David Solberg taking the show position ahead of Kale Beavers and Trent Gray.
Brett Berry took full advantage of a late caution to score his first DCRP win in the 20-lap IMCA Sport Modified feature.
With Monte Nordyke setting the pace from his front row starting position, Berry worked his forward from the tenth starting position into second by the midway point. Nordyke still had command when a caution flew with just four laps to go.
Hays’ Berry pounced to take the lead on the restart and then held off Jeff Kaup and Mike Lunow to post the win as Nordyke slipped to fourth with Mike Appel rounding out the top five.
Also hailing from Hays, Trevor Schmidt nabbed his first DCRP win as well by topping the 15-lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature.
Schmidt battled into the lead by the midway point and then fought off the challenges of Duane Wahrman and Tathan Burkhart to secure the win as Brett Copeland and Brooke Russell rounded out the top five.