Franz Holds off McAninch for NCRA Modified Win at 81 Speedway
By Randy Fisher
PARK CITY,
Kan.
(July 5, 2008) -- Brian Franz
is tough to beat any time. But when you put him on the pole,
he’s even tougher.
Just ask Ryan McAninch, who unsuccessfully tried to chase
him down for 25 laps tonight at 81
Speedway.
“I sure wish it had been
him trying to pass me, rather than the other way around,” he
said.
Despite four restarts,
Franz led wire-to-wire for his second feature win of the
season in the O’Reilly NCRA Modified Series, presented by
ICM/Ethanol.
The five-time
defending series champion from Halstead,
Kan.,
started on the pole by virtue of winning his heat race from
eighth on the starting grid. McAninch, of
Wichita,
Kan.,
won his heat from the sixth spot and captured the outside
front row spot.
Franz kept the lead at the
green and not even four restarts could slow him down. He
would head up to the rim each time and keep McAninch, who
would look inside each time, at bay.
“I saw him and knew he was
coming,” Franz said. “I just drove in as hard as I could
comfortably.”
The duo broke away from
the field after the fifth lap and on all the ensuing
restarts, except for the last one with nine laps to go. On
that one, McAninch again looked down low but had to get out
of the gas and move back up. That initially caused
third-place Marc Hurd to check up a bit, but then he tried
to pass for second on the inside. McAninch held the position
but that little twitch was all Franz needed to pull away for
his 26th career NCRA modified win.
“Track conditions weren’t
conducive to passing late in the race,” said McAninch, the
1998 NCRA Late Model Series Rookie of the Year.
“The car was awesome,”
Franz said of his Bills Built machine. “It was a little
loose at first but the longer we ran, the better it got.”
Dan Daniels of
Humboldt,
Kan.,
entered the night with a slim 20-point lead in the
standings. After a disappointing 11th-place finish in the
feature, he will relinquish that lead to Marc Hurd, second
in points.
Hurd started fourth and
moved into third on the first lap, which is where he
finished. He held off late challenges from fellow
Wichitans Brian Powers and Nic Baalman, who
were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Three-time series champion
John Allen, Friday’s winner on the
Belleville (Kan.)
High Banks, was sixth. Rounding out the top 10 were Greg
Stephens, Allen Adams, Ross Shipman and rookie of the year
contender Brandon Morton.
Jeremy Massey, the winner when the series last visited 81
Speedway
on May 3, won the C feature. His fourth-place finish in the
B feature finish advanced him to the A, where he was 12th.
Stephens took the B feature checker and was seventh in the
A. In addition to McAninch and Franz, Hurd and Baalman also
won heat races.
The series returns to the track July 25-26 at the 52nd
annual Hutchinson (Kan.)
Grand National Auto Races at the Kansas State Fairgrounds.
Troy Gemmill of
Ponca City,
Okla.,
is the defending Nationals modified champion.
O'Reilly
Finish Line
Heat 1: 1.
Ryan McAninch, Wichita,
Kan.;
2. Brian Powers,
Wichita, Kan.;
3. Jimmie Hobbs, Wichita,
Kan.;
4. Tyler Davis,
Wichita, Kan.;
5. Dan Daniels, Humboldt,
Kan.;
6. Jordan Whitehead,
Andover,
Kan.;
7. Don Renfro, Wichita,
Kan.;
8. Jeremy Massey,
Park
City,
Kan.;
9. Travis Govern, Wichita,
Kan.;
10. Rick Leatherman,
Benton,
Kan.
Heat 2: 1.
Marc Hurd,
Wichita,
Kan.;
2. Marlin Farr, Nickerson,
Kan.;
3. John Allen,
Chanute, Kan.;
4. Jason Yager, El Dorado,
Kan.;
5. Kirk Coleman,
Wichita, Kan.;
6. Shawn Langhover,
Haysville,
Kan.;
7. Brendon Gemmill,
Ponca City,
Okla.;
8. Jim Johnson, Derby,
Kan.;
9. Tad Davis,
Mt.
Hope,
Kan.;
10. Troy Gemmill,
Ponca City,
Okla.
Heat 3: 1.
Nic Baalman, Wichita,
Kan.;
2. Allen Adams,
Valley
Center,
Kan.;
3. Ross Shipman, Belle
Plaine,
Kan.;
4. Craig Miller, Hutchinson,
Kan.;
5. Tyler Propps,
Edmond, Okla.;
6. Cecil Dymond, Goddard,
Kan.;
7. Kevin Newell,
Wichita, Kan.;
8. Gary Kilbourn,
Hutchinson,
Kan.;
9. Jeremy Green,
Enid, Okla.
Heat 4: 1.
Brian Franz, Halstead,
Kan.;
2. Brandon Morton,
Broken
Arrow,
Okla.;
3. Greg Stephens, Wichita,
Kan.;
4. Casey McClaskey,
Ponca City,
Okla.;
5. Brian Casey, Hutchinson,
Kan.;
6. Rick Mueller,
Wichita, Kan.;
7. Shane Gerber, Wichita,
Kan.;
8. Scott Miller,
Hutchinson,
Kan.;
9. Bob Lane,
Andover, Kan.
C feature:
1. Jeremy Massey, Park
City,
Kan.;
2. Jordan Whitehead, Andover,
Kan.;
3. Jim Johnson,
Derby, Kan.;
4. Rick Mueller, Wichita,
Kan.;
5. Shawn Langhover,
Haysville,
Kan.;
6. Tad Davis, Mt. Hope,
Kan.; 7. Cecil
Dymond,
Goddard, Kan.;
8. Brendon Gemmill, Ponca
City, Okla.; 9. Troy Gemmill,
Ponca City,
Okla.; 10. Shane Gerber,
Wichita,
Kan.;
11. Scott Miller, Hutchinson,
Kan.;
12. Travis Govern,
Wichita,
Kan.;
13. Gary Kilbourn, Hutchinson,
Kan.;
14. Kevin Newell,
Wichita,
Kan.;
15. Don Renfro, Wichita,
Kan.
B feature:
1. Greg Stephens,
Wichita,
Kan.;
2. Casey McClaskey, Ponca
City, Okla.; 3. Jimmie Hobbs,
Wichita, Kan.; 4. Jeremy Massey,
Park
City,
Kan.;
5. Marlin Farr, Nickerson,
Kan.;
6. Brian Casey,
Hutchinson,
Kan.;
7. Jim Johnson, Derby,
Kan.;
8. Dan Daniels,
Humboldt, Kan.;
9. Tyler Davis, Wichita,
Kan.;
10. Kirk Coleman,
Wichita,
Kan.;
11. Jordan Whitehead, Andover,
Kan.;
12. Brendon Gemmill,
Ponca City,
Okla.;
13. Troy Gemmill, Ponca City,
Okla.;
14. Shawn Langhover,
Haysville,
Kan.;
15. Tad Davis,
Mt. Hope,
Kan.;
16. Rick Mueller, Wichita,
Kan.;
17. Cecil Dymond,
Goddard,
Kan.;
18. Shane Gerber,
Wichita,
Kan.;
19. Craig Miller,
Hutchinson,
Kan.
A feature: 1. Brian Franz, Halstead, Kan.;
2. Ryan McAninch,
Wichita, Kan.; 3. Marc Hurd, Wichita, Kan.;
4. Brian Powers,
Wichita, Kan.; 5. Nic Baalman, Wichita, Kan.;
6. John Allen, Chanute, Kan.; 7. Greg Stephens, Wichita, Kan.;
8. Allen Adams,
Valley
Center,
Kan.; 9. Ross Shipman, Belle
Plaine,
Kan.; 10. Brandon Morton, Broken Arrow,
Okla.; 11. Dan Daniels,
Humboldt, Kan.; 12. Jeremy Massey, Park
City,
Kan.; 13. Jim Johnson, Derby, Kan.;
14. Brian Casey,
Hutchinson,
Kan.; 15. Marlin Farr, Nickerson, Kan.;
16. Kirk Coleman,
Wichita, Kan.; 17. Casey McClaskey, Ponca City, Okla.;
18. Tyler Davis,
Wichita, Kan.; 19. Jason Yager, El Dorado, Kan.;
20. Jimmie Hobbs,
Wichita, Kan.
