Post by Dirt Master on Feb 4, 2006 21:46:52 GMT -5
Columbus, MS - The 2006 racing year kicked off Saturday night, January 21st at Columbus Speedway with the 6th Annual Carl Hogan Honda Winter Classic. Columbus Speedway's lone daytime event of the season featured the $3,000-to-win Super Late Model Winter Classic along with the Stormpay.com Crate Racin' USA Late Models racing for $2,000-to-win, Open Wheel Modifieds competing for $1,000-to-win, and Late Model Stocks with a $500-to-win event.
Vintage "Baddest Bullring in the South" would be on display as the lightning-fast track offered up exciting, breakneck racing action throughout the afternoon and evening. In Super Late Model action, 2005 Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series champ David Breazeale would pull into the pits after hot laps, roll onto the track "cold turkey", and set fast time with a 13.86-second lap, placing him ahead of a rejuvenated Anthony Rushing in the first group. 2005 Magnolia State 100 winner Chris Wall would top World of Outlaws Late Model defending champion Billy Moyer in the second group. B-Mains wins would be taken by John Gill and Ross Martin, leading the group of last-chance qualifiers into the main event field.
As the 40-lap feature event field rolled under the green flag, Wall shot to the rim with Breazeale below and Rushing diving to the hub. Wall would leave Breazeale and Rushing to duel for second, with Moyer moving in on Rushing on the superfast tacky track as the first caution flew on lap 3 for Tombo Callahan. Wall would lead Breazeale, Rushing, Moyer, and Jeff White to the restart, and the running order would remain the same as a large wreck on the next lap involving Stacy Holmes collected Tony Morris, Bub McCool, Callahan, Wiley Williams, and Roger Shirley.
Scott Slay made his return to action (Photo by Scott Oglesby)
Rushing would assume his normal running line on the cushion of the track and go outside Wall as the race restarted, the two blasting side-by-side around the turns until Wall closed the door on the next lap. Jeff White would move into 3rd place on lap 6 as Breazeale's promising run ended and his popular #54 rolled to the infield with driveline failure. Lap 10 would bring out another caution and mark the end of the race for Scott Slay, back in action for the first time after recovering from serious injuries sustained in 2005.
White would challenge Rushing for second place on the restart as Wall soared ahead, but Rushing would hold on and leave White to battle Moyer. Moyer would go outside and take over 3rd place once again on lap 11 while the former Dirt Track World Champion Ronnie Johnson and Neil Baggett battled for 5th. Baggett would hold off Johnson and take 4th from White on lap 14 as the top three charged ahead out in front of the field, Wall reaching lapped traffic on the 16th circuit.
Rushing would close quickly on Wall as the leaders carved through the backmarkers, and Moyer would also join the fray until a lap 27 caution fell with Wall, Rushing, and Moyer holding their positions in the top three. Rushing charged the rim hard on the restart, going outside of Wall and taking the lead in classic form as he rocketed down the backstretch. As White moved back into third place, and Moyer battled Baggett for 4th, Rushing began to flash the Bullring domination of days not so long ago as he quickly pulled away from Wall until the race was broken up with cautions on laps 30 and 31, the final yellow flags of the event.
White drove under Wall, who raced underneath Rushing as the leaders fanned out three wide in turns 1 and 2 on the final restart, but Rushing would sail ahead down the backstretch as Wall fought off White for second place. Wall would then do what only a short while seemed improbable and slowly reeled Rushing back in as Moyer drove outside White to once again pick up the battle for third place, reclaiming the position for the final time on lap 36.
Keith Flurry & Ronnie Johnson battle for position (Photo by Scott Oglesby)
As Moyer settled into third place, Wall would drive to the hub below the cushion-pushing Rushing. For the last three laps, the two would go side-by-side in both the turns and the straightaways, dashing under the white flag virtually even at the flagstand. Nothing changed until the final turn as Rushing jumped the cushion at the exit in a final valiant effort aimed at putting the deep-diving Wall behind him. Wall would fly out of the hole exiting turn 4 to take the checkers as Rushing survived a brush with the front stretch wall and quickly recovered to a second-place finish. Moyer would lead White and Johnson across the line to round out the top five, with Joey McKinney, Baggett, Todd Hall, Ross Martin, and Roger Shirley fighting their way across the line in a pack to earn top-ten honors.
Mike Head works around Columbus Speedway during the StormPay.com Crate Late Models (Photo by Woody Hampton)
The Stormpay.com Crate Late Model series would follow the Super Late Model event on the track, with many familiar names on the roster of participants for the fast-growing class. David Gentry would race door-to-door with Ronnie Johnson in the early laps, with Gentry taking the lead on the second lap as the pair drove into turn 3. Gentry continued to hold on following a lap 3 caution, but as the pair navigated lapped traffic Johnson would switch lines and move outside to pass Gentry and take over the lead on lap 10 of the 40-lap event.
Ronnie Johnson won the StormPay.com Crate late Model feature by a matter of feet over David Earl Gentry (Phot by Scott Oglesby)
The leaders would make their way through heavy traffic until lap 13 caution halted the action with Johnson, Gentry, Jeff Smith, Matthew Turner and Frankie Beard making up the top five just ahead of dirt racing legends Jeff Purvis and Mike Head. Johnson would stretch his legs a bit on the restart, and Gentry would separate himself from the pack led by third-place Smith. The leaders once again reached lapped traffic on lap 18, with Gentry closing on Johnson just before cautions on lap 26 and 29 sorted the field back out. Johnson would again run ahead of Gentry on an open track as the race resumed for the final time.
Gentry would claw his way back up to make one last attempt to wrestle the lead from Johnson as the last laps ticked away, going to the inside on lap 38. Door-to-door the two raced for the last two laps, and Gentry stuck a slidejob exiting turn four that gave him the lead heading to the checkers. Not to be denied, Johnson throttled hard back under Gentry, and the two crossed the finish line in what appeared to be a dead heat. Johnson would take the win by mere inches, with Gentry, Smith, Beard, and Head in the top five.
Jeremy Shaw won the Open Wheel Modified feature (Photo by Scott Oglesby)
Jeremy Shaw would take the lead of the 20-lap Modified feature event from Ben Stephens on the first lap and hold on through a rapid series of cautions as Stephen and Shane Harris swapped second place back during the short dashes between yellow flags. On lap 11, the race found solid ground and went all the way to finish as Shaw built a hefty lead despite fighting broken suspension components.
Todd Bates would move around Stephens into second place on lap 14 and showed some strength as he pulled away from the rest of the pack and chased the leader, but he would be afforded no chance to see if he could handle "The Shawtown Flyer" as Shaw drove on to the win. Bates led Stephens, Lee Ray, and brothers Bryan and Jason Brock across the line in the top five.
Danny Christian won the Late Model Stock feature (Photo by Scott Oglesby)
Danny Christian would lead every lap of the Late Model Stock event, holding off Shawn Edwards in the first half of the 20-lap event on after contender Ruble Maxey planted his machine in the turn 1 wall during the early going. Christian took the win with Richard West moving up to claim second place over hard-charging TK King. Tony Shelton and Mike Shirley completed the top five.
Columbus Speedway returns to action on March 5th with opening night. March 10th and 11th marks the 5th Annual Brown Engineering Rebel Challenge featuring Super Late Models racing for $2,000-to-win on Friday night (MSCCS) and $8,000-to-win on Saturday night. Stop by www.ColumbusSpeedway.net for details as well as the full 2006 racing schedule.
Vintage "Baddest Bullring in the South" would be on display as the lightning-fast track offered up exciting, breakneck racing action throughout the afternoon and evening. In Super Late Model action, 2005 Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series champ David Breazeale would pull into the pits after hot laps, roll onto the track "cold turkey", and set fast time with a 13.86-second lap, placing him ahead of a rejuvenated Anthony Rushing in the first group. 2005 Magnolia State 100 winner Chris Wall would top World of Outlaws Late Model defending champion Billy Moyer in the second group. B-Mains wins would be taken by John Gill and Ross Martin, leading the group of last-chance qualifiers into the main event field.
As the 40-lap feature event field rolled under the green flag, Wall shot to the rim with Breazeale below and Rushing diving to the hub. Wall would leave Breazeale and Rushing to duel for second, with Moyer moving in on Rushing on the superfast tacky track as the first caution flew on lap 3 for Tombo Callahan. Wall would lead Breazeale, Rushing, Moyer, and Jeff White to the restart, and the running order would remain the same as a large wreck on the next lap involving Stacy Holmes collected Tony Morris, Bub McCool, Callahan, Wiley Williams, and Roger Shirley.
Scott Slay made his return to action (Photo by Scott Oglesby)
Rushing would assume his normal running line on the cushion of the track and go outside Wall as the race restarted, the two blasting side-by-side around the turns until Wall closed the door on the next lap. Jeff White would move into 3rd place on lap 6 as Breazeale's promising run ended and his popular #54 rolled to the infield with driveline failure. Lap 10 would bring out another caution and mark the end of the race for Scott Slay, back in action for the first time after recovering from serious injuries sustained in 2005.
White would challenge Rushing for second place on the restart as Wall soared ahead, but Rushing would hold on and leave White to battle Moyer. Moyer would go outside and take over 3rd place once again on lap 11 while the former Dirt Track World Champion Ronnie Johnson and Neil Baggett battled for 5th. Baggett would hold off Johnson and take 4th from White on lap 14 as the top three charged ahead out in front of the field, Wall reaching lapped traffic on the 16th circuit.
Rushing would close quickly on Wall as the leaders carved through the backmarkers, and Moyer would also join the fray until a lap 27 caution fell with Wall, Rushing, and Moyer holding their positions in the top three. Rushing charged the rim hard on the restart, going outside of Wall and taking the lead in classic form as he rocketed down the backstretch. As White moved back into third place, and Moyer battled Baggett for 4th, Rushing began to flash the Bullring domination of days not so long ago as he quickly pulled away from Wall until the race was broken up with cautions on laps 30 and 31, the final yellow flags of the event.
White drove under Wall, who raced underneath Rushing as the leaders fanned out three wide in turns 1 and 2 on the final restart, but Rushing would sail ahead down the backstretch as Wall fought off White for second place. Wall would then do what only a short while seemed improbable and slowly reeled Rushing back in as Moyer drove outside White to once again pick up the battle for third place, reclaiming the position for the final time on lap 36.
Keith Flurry & Ronnie Johnson battle for position (Photo by Scott Oglesby)
As Moyer settled into third place, Wall would drive to the hub below the cushion-pushing Rushing. For the last three laps, the two would go side-by-side in both the turns and the straightaways, dashing under the white flag virtually even at the flagstand. Nothing changed until the final turn as Rushing jumped the cushion at the exit in a final valiant effort aimed at putting the deep-diving Wall behind him. Wall would fly out of the hole exiting turn 4 to take the checkers as Rushing survived a brush with the front stretch wall and quickly recovered to a second-place finish. Moyer would lead White and Johnson across the line to round out the top five, with Joey McKinney, Baggett, Todd Hall, Ross Martin, and Roger Shirley fighting their way across the line in a pack to earn top-ten honors.
Mike Head works around Columbus Speedway during the StormPay.com Crate Late Models (Photo by Woody Hampton)
The Stormpay.com Crate Late Model series would follow the Super Late Model event on the track, with many familiar names on the roster of participants for the fast-growing class. David Gentry would race door-to-door with Ronnie Johnson in the early laps, with Gentry taking the lead on the second lap as the pair drove into turn 3. Gentry continued to hold on following a lap 3 caution, but as the pair navigated lapped traffic Johnson would switch lines and move outside to pass Gentry and take over the lead on lap 10 of the 40-lap event.
Ronnie Johnson won the StormPay.com Crate late Model feature by a matter of feet over David Earl Gentry (Phot by Scott Oglesby)
The leaders would make their way through heavy traffic until lap 13 caution halted the action with Johnson, Gentry, Jeff Smith, Matthew Turner and Frankie Beard making up the top five just ahead of dirt racing legends Jeff Purvis and Mike Head. Johnson would stretch his legs a bit on the restart, and Gentry would separate himself from the pack led by third-place Smith. The leaders once again reached lapped traffic on lap 18, with Gentry closing on Johnson just before cautions on lap 26 and 29 sorted the field back out. Johnson would again run ahead of Gentry on an open track as the race resumed for the final time.
Gentry would claw his way back up to make one last attempt to wrestle the lead from Johnson as the last laps ticked away, going to the inside on lap 38. Door-to-door the two raced for the last two laps, and Gentry stuck a slidejob exiting turn four that gave him the lead heading to the checkers. Not to be denied, Johnson throttled hard back under Gentry, and the two crossed the finish line in what appeared to be a dead heat. Johnson would take the win by mere inches, with Gentry, Smith, Beard, and Head in the top five.
Jeremy Shaw won the Open Wheel Modified feature (Photo by Scott Oglesby)
Jeremy Shaw would take the lead of the 20-lap Modified feature event from Ben Stephens on the first lap and hold on through a rapid series of cautions as Stephen and Shane Harris swapped second place back during the short dashes between yellow flags. On lap 11, the race found solid ground and went all the way to finish as Shaw built a hefty lead despite fighting broken suspension components.
Todd Bates would move around Stephens into second place on lap 14 and showed some strength as he pulled away from the rest of the pack and chased the leader, but he would be afforded no chance to see if he could handle "The Shawtown Flyer" as Shaw drove on to the win. Bates led Stephens, Lee Ray, and brothers Bryan and Jason Brock across the line in the top five.
Danny Christian won the Late Model Stock feature (Photo by Scott Oglesby)
Danny Christian would lead every lap of the Late Model Stock event, holding off Shawn Edwards in the first half of the 20-lap event on after contender Ruble Maxey planted his machine in the turn 1 wall during the early going. Christian took the win with Richard West moving up to claim second place over hard-charging TK King. Tony Shelton and Mike Shirley completed the top five.
Columbus Speedway returns to action on March 5th with opening night. March 10th and 11th marks the 5th Annual Brown Engineering Rebel Challenge featuring Super Late Models racing for $2,000-to-win on Friday night (MSCCS) and $8,000-to-win on Saturday night. Stop by www.ColumbusSpeedway.net for details as well as the full 2006 racing schedule.