Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Speedway

Lucas Oil Speedway
Wheatland, MO

Gillmore earns USRA B-Mod feature win in Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Series opening-night headliner
601
4/21/2024

4/21/2024

Lucas Oil Speedway


Gillmore earns USRA B-Mod feature win in Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Series opening-night headliner

WHEATLAND, MO. (April 20, 2024) - Ryan Gillmore stalked the leader through numerous restarts due to cautions, then pounced with three laps remaining to capture the Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods feature Saturday night at Lucas Oil Speedway.

Gillmore, of Springfield, beat Nevada's Jon Sheets by just under one second to grab the headliner of the Big Adventure RV Weekly Championship Series opening-night program.

A total of 73 cars checked into the pits on a cool Public Telecommunicators Appreciation Night at the Races. Other feature winners included Derek Brown (O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars), Justin Wells (Hermitage Lumber POWRi Late Models) and Robbie Reed (Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds).

Gillmore had to patiently wait out a series of cautions and ensuing restarts to make his winning pass with three laps remaining in the 25-lap main event. He earned $750 for the victory.

Early on, Sheets used the high groove to pressure Tanner Kade for the lead by lap four, then made a pass out of turn four for the lead to complete lap five. He wasted no time opening up a one-second lead over pole-starting Kade with Gillmore running third.

The race’s first caution came on lap seven and bunched the field, just as Sheets was threatening to make it a runaway. Kade spun in front of several front-runners in turn two on the restart, eliminating himself and fifth-running JC Newell from contention. That allowed Gillmore and JC Morton to move into second and third.

Morton moved to the low side and worked into second by lap 15 after a fifth restart, but a lap later Gillmore was back chasing Sheets as Morton fell a spot. Sheets and Gillmore traded slide jobs on back-to-back laps until Gillmore finally worked himself into the top spot off turn four on lap 22.

"That was awesome," Gillmore said of the hot battle between himself and Sheets with Morton also in the mix. "JC was down there rolling the bottom and Sheets was just not messing up. I threw kind of a half-slider on him and it was game-on from there. Thanks to Jon for racing me clean. That was a lot of fun.

"The first time I tossed it in there, I wasn't 100 percent sure," Gillmore added of the sliders. "The second time I hit it a little harder and I hoped it was gonna be good. You have to be confident that you're gonna clear the car and respect who you're with and if they don't have respect for you, they're gonna show you."

Gillmore had a five-car-length lead when the race’s seventh caution appeared on lap 23 to set on a two-lap sprint to the finish. Gillmore had a great restart on the low groove and drove away, finishing eight car lengths in front of Sheets with Morton third.

"I kind of hated those cautions because my car wouldn't take off, it wasn't running the best," Sheets said. "I really wanted it to stay green. But congratulations to Ryan. That was a pretty good race there."

Defending track champion Bobby Williams wound up fourth with Travor Drake fifth.

Brown earns USRA Stock Cars win: Derek Brown of Stoutland took the lead for good on lap 15 and held off Jaylen Wettengel the rest of the way to grab the O’Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars feature win.

Rodney Schweizer started on the pole and led the opening two laps, but fifth-starting Johnny Fennewald was pressuring for the lead when a caution waved on lap four. One lap after the restart, Brown passed Fennewald for second place.

Brown continued his momentum and worked alongside Schweizer before passing on the outside coming off turn four for the lead on lap 10. But back came Schweizer, re-taking the top spot on lap 12.

Jaylen Wettengel joined the battle and it was a three-car tussle for the lead by lap 15, when Brown emerged the leader once again. The terrific battle was slowed for a caution on circuit 16 to set up a four-lap sprint to the finish.

Brown said the caution might have helped him as he noticed Wettengel running the low groove and making good time just prior to the yellow coming out.

"I saw him down there and I was a little confused where to go," Brown said. "I kind of stole his lane."

Brown maintained the lead from the low line as action returned to green, leading Wettenel and Fennewald when caution came out again with two laps left. Brown had a good restart and held off Wettengel for the victory by .670 seconds.

Fennewald wound up a close third with Waylon Dimmitt fourth and Schweizer finishing fifth.

Wells scores POWRi Late Model triumph: After dominating the Hermitage Lumber POWRi Late Model division in 2023, Justin Wells is at it again. Wells grabbed the lead on lap six and drew away for his second victory of the new season, outdistancing runner-up Kaeden Cornell in a caution-free 20 laps.

"This track was picture-perfect," Wells said, praising the new dirt surface this season. "I haven't raced on something like this in a long time. The (MLRA) Spring Nationals was awesome last week, but I think this was better yet. It was a driver's track."

Tucker Cox started up front and led the first two laps before Greenway paced the next three. The fourth-starting wells moved into second place on lap four and was able to pass Jim Greenway for the lead coming off turn two on lap six.

An 11-time winner at Lucas Oil Speedway in 2023, Wells opened a two-second lead by lap 10. With the race remaining caution-free, Wells continued to roll and extend his margin over the field.

The veteran from Aurora finished the race 3.7 seconds in front of Kaeden Cornell. Cox was third with JC Morton fourth and Kyle Graves fifth.

While it was opening night for three of the classes, Wells posted his second feature win of the Lucas Oil Speedway season. He prevailed on April 6 on the Easter Bowl Enduro 150 program.

Reed wins USRA Modifie feature in a runaway: Robbie Reed of Mexico, Mo., started up front and led all 20 laps, beating runner-up Dean Wille by 6.3 seconds in the Arctic Food Services USRA Modified feature.

Reed and Middaugh started on the front row and Reed set the early pace, running off to a 2.5-second lead over Dean Wille by lap five with Middaugh in third.

Reed, the Lucas Oil Speedway track champ in 2019 and 2020, had a full straightaway margin over Wille by lap 13 and, without any cautions, made it a rout.

Reed said he was driving a new DK Chassis race car that was on the dirt for the first time.

Wille was a solid second with Middaugh, the reigning track champ, settling for third. Chase Sigg wound up fourth and Jason Pursley was fifth.

LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (April 20, 2024)

Big Adventure RV Weekly Championship Series

Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods

A Feature - 1. 66-Ryan Gillmore[2]; 2. 8S-Jon Sheets[3]; 3. 18-JC Morton[6]; 4. 1B-Bobby Williams[4]; 5. 7L-Trevor Drake[10]; 6. 99T-Eric Turner[12]; 7. 11L-Logan Smith[9]; 8. 24L-Dakota Lowe[21]; 9. 24T-Ed Griggs[14]; 10. 94C-JT Carroll[18]; 11. 2-Quentin Taylor[5]; 12. 91-Jaylen Wettengel[17]; 13. 19-Tanner Kade[1]; 14. 24D-Donnie Fellers[11]; 15. 8SC-Clayton Smith[13]; 16. 27-Terry Williams[22]; 17. 711-TJ Yount[25]; 18. (DNF) 56-Hoyt Miller[15]; 19. (DNF) Y23-Ethan Young[16]; 20. (DNF) 37-Wesley Long[19]; 21. (DNF) 32-Brent Fielder[8]; 22. (DNF) 28-Shane Creech[24]; 23. (DNF) 83-JC Newell[7]; 24. (DNF) 42J-Donnie Jackson[20]; 25. (DNF) 03-TC Hambrick[27]; 26. (DNS) 10P-Dayton Pursley; 27. (DNS) 44T-Casey Thomas

Heat 1 - 1. 8S-Jon Sheets[2]; 2. 1B-Bobby Williams[5]; 3. 2-Quentin Taylor[8]; 4. 24D-Donnie Fellers[3]; 5. 8SC-Clayton Smith[1]; 6. Y23-Ethan Young[7]; 7. 42J-Donnie Jackson[6]; 8. (DNF) 10P-Dayton Pursley[9]; 9. (DNS) 03-TC Hambrick

Heat 2 - 1. 66-Ryan Gillmore[4]; 2. 32-Brent Fielder[1]; 3. 7L-Trevor Drake[3]; 4. 83-JC Newell[9]; 5. 24T-Ed Griggs[5]; 6. 91-Jaylen Wettengel[7]; 7. 37-Wesley Long[8]; 8. (DNF) 28-Shane Creech[2]; 9. (DNF) 44T-Casey Thomas[6]

Heat 3 - 1. 19-Tanner Kade[6]; 2. 11L-Logan Smith[1]; 3. 18-JC Morton[8]; 4. 99T-Eric Turner[3]; 5. 56-Hoyt Miller[5]; 6. 94C-JT Carroll[7]; 7. 24L-Dakota Lowe[9]; 8. 27-Terry Williams[4]; 9. (DNF) 711-TJ Yount[2]

O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars)

A Feature - 1. 11B-Derek Brown[3]; 2. 91J-Jaylen Wettengel[4]; 3. 21-Johnny Fennewald[5]; 4. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[7]; 5. 74-Rodney Schweizer[1]; 6. 7-William Garner[10]; 7. 19-Mitch Keeter[11]; 8. 0F-Mason Beck[9]; 9. 05G-Grayson McKiney[2]; 10. 0-Chase Galvan[8]; 11. 5-Robert White[12]; 12. 34-Blake Bolton[16]; 13. 5DJ-DJ Barnes[18]; 14. 12-Christopher Sawyer[15]; 15. 22-Dawson Fennewald[17]; 16. (DNF) 41-Bryan White[6]; 17. (DNF) 24-Blayne McMillin[14]; 18. (DNS) 8M-James McMillin

Summit Racing Equipment Heat 1 - 1. 11B-Derek Brown[1]; 2. 21-Johnny Fennewald[2]; 3. 91J-Jaylen Wettengel[6]; 4. 0-Chase Galvan[3]; 5. 0F-Mason Beck[4]; 6. 19-Mitch Keeter[5]; 7. 8M-James McMillin[9]; 8. 12-Christopher Sawyer[7]; 9. 5DJ-DJ Barnes[8]

Summit Racing Equipment Heat 2 - 1. 05G-Grayson McKiney[2]; 2. 74-Rodney Schweizer[9]; 3. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[3]; 4. 41-Bryan White[8]; 5. 7-William Garner[4]; 6. 5-Robert White[5]; 7. 24-Blayne McMillin[6]; 8. 34-Blake Bolton[7]; 9. 22-Dawson Fennewald[1]

Hermitage Lumber POWRi Late Models

A Feature - 1. 98-Justin Wells[4]; 2. 50-Kaden Cornell[3]; 3. 1T-Tucker Cox[1]; 4. 72-JC Morton[6]; 5. 145-Kyle Graves[5]; 6. 85S-Tyler Shaw[9]; 7. 20-Alan Westling[11]; 8. 7J-Jake Morris[12]; 9. 12J-Justin Russell[7]; 10. 88-Jimmy Dowell[10]; 11. 21P-Darren Phillips[14]; 12. (DNF) 49-Andy Bryant[8]; 13. (DNF) 9XX-Dakota Dellinger[13]; 14. (DNS) 99-Larry Jones; 15. (DQ) 28-Jim Greenway[2]

Heat 1 - 1. 1T-Tucker Cox[7]; 2. 50-Kaden Cornell[4]; 3. 98-Justin Wells[6]; 4. 49-Andy Bryant[1]; 5. 85S-Tyler Shaw[3]; 6. 7J-Jake Morris[2]; 7. (DNF) 9XX-Dakota Dellinger[5]; 8. (DNS) 99-Larry Jones

Heat 2 - 1. 28-Jim Greenway[2]; 2. 145-Kyle Graves[1]; 3. 72-JC Morton[4]; 4. 12J-Justin Russell[6]; 5. 88-Jimmy Dowell[3]; 6. 20-Alan Westling[7]; 7. (DNF) 21P-Darren Phillips[5]

Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds

A Feature - 1. 5-Robbie Reed[1]; 2. 68-Dean Wille[6]; 3. 21M-Ryan Middaugh[2]; 4. 18JR-Chase Sigg[4]; 5. 38C-Jason Pursley[7]; 6. 98A-Kenton Allen[3]; 7. 55-Nathan Hagar[9]; 8. 98-Jeff Cutshaw[10]; 9. 73-Mickey Burrell[12]; 10. 18-Chad Lyle[5]; 11. 4B-Eric Brady[11]; 12. (DNF) 1-Jon Melloway[8]; 13. (DNF) 21-Greg Scheffler[13]

Heat 1 - 1. 21M-Ryan Middaugh[7]; 2. 98A-Kenton Allen[1]; 3. 18-Chad Lyle[5]; 4. 1-Jon Melloway[2]; 5. 55-Nathan Hagar[6]; 6. 4B-Eric Brady[3]; 7. 21-Greg Scheffler[4]

Heat 2 - 1. 5-Robbie Reed[2]; 2. 18JR-Chase Sigg[1]; 3. 68-Dean Wille[3]; 4. 38C-Jason Pursley[5]; 5. 98-Jeff Cutshaw[6]; 6. 73-Mickey Burrell[4]

Up next: The Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series resumes next Saturday, April 27 on Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Night at the Races. The O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars will run a special 25-lap, $750-to-win feature. The Hermitage Lumber POWRi Late Models, Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds and Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods also will be in action.

For ticket information about any event on the 2024 Lucas Oil Speedway schedule, fans can contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or via email at nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information about any event on the 2024 Lucas Oil Speedway scheduled.

CONTACT:

Danny Lorton

Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager

Office: (417) 282-5984

DLorton@lucasoilspeedway.com

?Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and schedules can be found by visiting LucasOilSpeedway.com.

Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks.

Click LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984. The Lucas Oil Speedway EZ Texting number is (417) 804-4141.

In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on Twitter, clicking "Like" at www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway

About Lucas Oil Speedway

Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top five racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Missouri, approximately an hour from Springfield, Missouri, and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" lives up to its title.

Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the 12th season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, "Lake Lucas." New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring a host of regional events.

Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, POWRi Midget National Series, Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, United States Modified Touring Series, ASCS Sprint Cars and the Lucas Oil MLRA.

In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Racing Series features the Late Models, USRA Modifieds, USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods.

2024 Official Lucas Oil Speedway Marketing Partners

Arizona Sport Shirts

"The Official Merchandise Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Bill Roberts Chevrolet

"The Official Truck" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Dixie Chopper

"The Official Mowers of Lucas Oil Speedway"

General Tire

"The Official Tire" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Lucas Oil Products

"The Official Oil" of Lucas Oil Speedway

MAVTV

"The Official Television Network" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper

"The Official Soft Drink" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Rugged Radios

"The Official 2-Way Communications Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Summit Racing Equipment

"The Official Sponsor" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Sunoco Race Fuels

"The Official Fuel" of Lucas Oil Speedway

2024 Lucas Oil Speedway Supporters Include:

AM Pyrotechnics, Alliance Sport Marketing, Arctic Food Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts, Berry Tractor and Equipment Co., Big Adventure RV, Bill Roberts Chevrolet, Bolivar Auto Sales & Detailing, Bolivar Farmers Exchange-MFA, Boone's BBQ Barn, Boubin Tire/American Racer, Bridal Cave, BWI Sanitation, Candlelight Creations-Dick's Wild Root Horseradish, Casey's, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, City Magnet, Clearlight Inn, Dixie Chopper, Eibach Springs, Farmers Insurance Agent Kristy Reynolds, Fast Shafts by Axle Exchange, Foley Equipment-Cat Rental Store, Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, Hermitage Lumber, HICKAMO Country Store, Hobbytime Motorsports, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps, In the Garden of Eden, KC Bobcat, Kluhsman Racing Components, Kona Ice, Lucas Cattle Company, MD3, Midwest Sheet Metal, Miller Welding, Missouri Division of Tourism, MyRacePass, Nutrien Ag Solutions, OakStar Bank, O'Bannon Bank, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Ozark Golf Cars, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper, Ozarks Community Health Center, PEM, Pitts Homes, Pitts Realty, Pitts Cattle, Pomme de Terre Resort, ProThings Apparel, RACEceiver, Racinboys.com, RacinDirt.com, Rains Ice Company, RCR Designs, Real Racing Wheels, Rod End Supply, Ron Jenkins Accounting & Tax Service, Rugged Radios, Ryan E. Murphy Law Firm LLC, SBU Athletics, Safety Kleen, Scott Furniture, Sidetrack RV Park, Simpson Racing Products, Southwest Electric Cooperative, State Tech, Stillwater Resort, Summit Racing Equipment, Sunoco Race Fuels, Turn 1 Bar & Grill, US Army Corps of Engineers-Pomme de Terre, Vietti Marketing Group, Wheatland Motel, White's Marine Center, Wieland, Wild Animal Safari, Woods Supermarkets.


Article Credit: By Lyndal Scranton, Lucas Oil Speedway

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