By Randy Fisher
BELLEVILLE,
Kan. (July 1, 2007) – John Allen started on the
pole and led flag-to-flag for the win Sunday at the famed
Belleville High Banks. It was Allen’s second victory of the
season in the O’Reilly NCRA Modified Series, presented by
ICM/Ethanol.
Allen, a two-time
champion from Chanute, Kan., started eighth in his heat and
finished first to give the others an indication of how
strong he was.
“I knew if we could
get the lead we would have a good shot at it and that’s what
I tried to do,” he said of the feature. “Get a good start
and just get out there and get to rolling.”
Allen easily kept the
lead as he stayed low at the green. But there were a couple
of young guns from Oklahoma who took a shot at the two-time
series champion.
Last year’s series
rookie of the year, Jason Teague from Tahlequah, started to
Allen’s right. Behind Teague was Brandon Gemmill, a
third-generation driver from Ponca City. They slid into line
to chase Allen, Teague in second and Gemmill third.
Early on, Teague,
Gemmill and the veteran Don Renfro diced for second, which
gave Allen a chance to slip away a bit. Gemmill took over
the position on lap three, which also saw Renfro, the
series’ first champion in 1998, bring out the first caution
with a flat. With Renfro out, Brian Franz and Greg Burt each
moved up a spot into fourth and fifth, respectively.
On lap 13, Casey
McClaskey slid head first into the turn 4 wall. While he was
sitting there, Teague clipped the tail of the stalled
racecar. McClaskey’s engine caught fire briefly, but long
enough to bring out a red flag. McClaskey pulled away from
the wall under his own power but Teague was done for the
night.
Heading into turn 2 on
the restart, the fifth-place driver Marc Hurd looked to the
inside of Burt but couldn’t make the pass. Hurd and Burt ran
side-by-side down the back straight before Hurd moved into
fourth coming out of turn 4.
Gemmill, who was
running second, saw his engine go away on lap 17. That
elevated Franz into second, followed by Hurd, Burt, and
Brian Casey.
Hurd continued his run
towards the front as he and Franz went neck-and-neck for
position on lap 17. Hurd made the pass stick at the end of
lap 18 and took over second.
But it was all Allen
as he won for the 10th time in his NCRA career. Hurd started
eighth and held on for second while Franz was third and Burt
fourth. Cody Gearhart of Turpin, Okla., passed Casey on lap
19 to finish fifth after starting 18th.
Franz, the four-time
defending series champion, added to his point lead with a
third-place finish. Second place Jeremy Massey blew the
engine in his heat race and couldn’t make the feature.
Massey was one of 10 drivers who blew engines during heat
races.
“It’s just real high
speed and puts a lot of load on a car,” Allen said of so
many expired motors. “You can run wide open around here.
There’s no other place like it.”
Jon Thompson and Mike
Jarvis won the two B features. Heat wins went to Allen,
Franz, Burt, Renfro, and Casey.
Allen, who is leading
in points at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., called
Belleville a “Lakeside on steroids.”
“It’s silly to race
here because it’s so hard on stuff but it’s just so much
fun,” he said. “It’s just really cool racing here. It gets
you all worked up.”
O'Reilly
Finish Line
Heat #1: 1. (98) John
Allen,
Chanute,
Kan.;
2. (721) Troy Gemmill,
Ponca City,
Okla.;
3. (10) Marc Hurd,
Wichita,
Kan.;
4. Jason Roe,
Wichita,
Kan.;
5. (87c) Marty Curry,
Haysville,
Kan.;
6. (31T) Tim Echevarria,
Junction City,
Kan.;
7. (29) Marlin Farr,
Nickerson,
Kan.;
8. (11) Steve Burch,
Junction City,
Kan.;
9. (15) Greg Stephens,
Wichita,
Kan.
Heat #2: 1. (86)
Brian Franz,
Halstead,
Kan.;
2. (G3) Brandon Gemmill,
Ponca City,
Okla.;
3. (12P) Jeff Herbers,
Holton,
Kan.;
4. (8) Justin Bell,
Omaha,
Neb.;
5. (93) Jeremy Massey,
Park City,
Kan.;
6. (12) Shawn Langhover,
Haysville,
Kan.;
7. (94) Dustin Huehl,
Salina,
Kan.;
8. (73) Dave Hardesty,
Minneapolis,
Kan.;
9. (50) Rodney Dodds, Haysville.
Heat #3: 1. (66) Greg
Burt,
Enid,
Okla.;
2. (5J) John Schwab, Liberal,
Kan.;
3. (1F) Jason Friesen,
Sutton,
Neb.;
4. (75T) Jon Thompson,
Superior,
Neb.;
5. (77) Mike Jarvis,
Wichita,
Kan.;
6. (C89) Mark Crough,
Hutchinson,
Kan.;
7. (88J)
Troy
Johnson,
Concordia,
Kan.;
8. (77B) Brad Johnston, Peck,
Kan.;
9. (2) Grant Junghans,
Manhattan,
Kan.
Heat #4: 1. (1d) Don
Renfro,
Wichita,
Kan.;
2. (117) Jason Teague,
Tahlequah,
Okla.;
3. (77K) Kurt Johnston,
Concordia,
Kan.;
4. (9) Brandon Blochlinger,
Concordia,
Kan.;
5. (09) Casey McClaskey,
Ponca City,
Okla.;
6. (d31) Troy
Davis,
Salina,
Kan.;
7. (J2) Micaah Johnson,
Courtland,
Kan.;
8. (L99) Loren Dauer,
Lindsborg,
Kan.;
9. (22) Brian McGowen,
Frontenac,
Kan.
Heat #5: 1. (22B)
Brian Casey,
Hutchinson,
Kan.;
2. (44) Brian Powers,
Wichita,
Kan.;
3. (19) Travis Govern,
Wichita,
Kan.;
4. (1m) Cody Gearhart,
Turpin,
Okla.;
5. (2c) Joe Cleveland,
Bennington,
Kan.;
6. (77JR) Jarrod Johnston,
Concordia,
Kan.;
7. (50x) Scott Smith,
Davenport,
Neb.;
8. (55) Tyler Frye,
Belleville,
Kan.
B feature #1 (top
five transfer):
1. (75T) Jon Thompson, 2. (77k) Kurt Johnston, 3. (9)
Brandon Blochlinger, 4. (09) Casey McClaskey, 5. (8) Justin
Bell, 6. (15) Greg Stephens, 7. (2c) Joe Cleveland, 8. (11)
Steve Burch, 9. (2) Grant Junghans, 10. (d31) Troy
Davis,
11. (29) Marlin Farr, 12. (c89) Mark Crough, 13. (50x) Scott
Smith, DNS: (88J)
Troy Johnson, (L99)
Loren Dauer.
B feature #2 (top
five transfer:
1. (77) Mike Jarvis, 2. (1m) Cody Gearhart, 3. (17)
Jason Roe, 4. (22) Brian McGowen, 5. (31T) Tim Echevarria, 6.
(87c) Marty Curry, 7. (77JR) Jarrod
Johnston,
8. (77B) Brad Johnston, DNS: (93) Jeremy Massey, (12) Shawn
Langhover, (94) Dustin Huehl, (J2) Micaah Johnson, (73) Dave
Hardesty, (55) Tyler Frye, (50) Rodney Dodds.
A feature (20 laps):
1. (98) John Allen, 2. (10) Marc Hurd, 3. (86) Brian Franz, 4.
(66) Greg Burt, 5. (1m) Cody Gearhart, 6. (22B) Brian Casey, 7.
(5J) John Schwab, 8. (75T) Jon Thompson, 9. (721)
Troy
Gemmill, 10. (77) Mike Jarvis, 11. (17)
Jason Roe, 12. (77k) Kurt Johnston, 13. (44) Brian Powers, 14.
(22) Brian McGowen, 15. (8) Justin Bell, 16. (09) Casey
McClaskey, 17. (G3) Brandon Gemmill, 18. (117) Jason Teague, 19.
(9) Brandon Blochlinger, 20. (31T) Tim Echevarria, 21. (19)
Travis Govern, 22. (1F) Jason Friesen, 23. (12P) Jeff Herbers,
24. (1d) Don Renfro.
