By Brenda & Brandon David

USMTS Spring Nationals at Spoon River Speedway Friday, April 19, 2002 Saturday, April 20, 2002

Friday Friday night’s venue began with the E-mod heat race. The #30 of Rob Bauman had a very convincing win, leading the entire race. The #29 of Chad Twilliger had a strong 2nd place finish, followed by 3rd place #7W car of Mark Branch. Next on the agenda were the Modified heat races. During the first heat race, on the 7th lap, the #21 car popped an engine, and brought out the caution flag. The #64 of Gary Cook and the #74 of Mark Noble, who was one of the favorites to win the event, got tangled up when they checked up for the caution flag. Both had to restart from the rear, but it didn’t take Mark Noble long to work his way back up through traffic to finish 4th. The #21 of Tim Donlinger finished first, followed by the #40 & the #5. The second heat was under caution on the first lap for a car spinning in turn 2. There was a lot of good racing for the top 4 spots, but coming out in first place was the #71, followed by #29 and #72. The C40 of Mike Chasteen was also in this heat, but finished 10th. Mike won both USMTS events at Spoon River Speedway last season, so everyone really expected to see him up front most of the night. The third heat was especially exciting for all the “regular” SRS fans in attendance. Local driver, #97 Phil Johns, started on the pole, and he stayed there the entire race for a 1st place finish. Following Phil across the finish line were the #64, and the #B12 of Kevin Weaver. Modified heat #4 was just as exciting for local fans, with the #28 of “Jammin” Jimmy Hibser finishing in first place, followed by the #23. Collins in the #11 car collected a lot of passing point, coming from 10th spot all the way up to finish 3rd. Modified heat #5 top finishers were #10, #30, #22, and #69. The Late Model heat race ran next, with the #14 of Brett Nelson coming out on top, followed by the F13 of Dawn Mennel. The E-mod Dash was next. The #30 of Rob Bauman wasted no time moving WAY out front, and stayed there until the finish. The M3 of Chuck McDonald had some trouble in the heat, but had a strong 2nd place finish in the dash. The #29 and the #7 completed the top 4 spots. The Late Model Dash was won by the #68 of Alcorn, followed by the #14, #10, & #13. The modified “B” Mains started next. Our own Spoon River Speedway drivers dominated this race. The #25 of Butch Weisser had a strong first place finish, followed by the #31 of Mark Anderson for 2nd place. “B” Main #2 was won by the #3 of Kelly Shyrock, with the #65 of Tommy Meyer finishing 2nd, Both of these drivers are strong points contenders in the USMTS. The third “B” Main checkered flag belonged to the #B12 of Kevin Weaver, with the M1 of local driver Dale Munson coming in 2nd. The #5 finished 3rd, and the #292 of Bobby Allen, another local favorite, finished 4th. The highlight of the evening, the “A” Main event, was scheduled next. Only the top 8 finishers would be guaranteed a starting position in Saturday’s “A” Main. A total of 21 modifieds started the race. Spoon River “regulars” that made the line up included Dale Munson, Jimmy Hibser, Butch Weisser, Mark Anderson, and Phil Johns. A tough 3 way battle for the lead started right away with the #21 of Tim Donlinger and the #28 of Jim Hibser around the bottom side of the track, and the #B12 of Kevin Weaver making good use of the high side. The caution came out on lap #11 when Donlinger spun out trying to protect the lead. Weaver got into the rear of another car when the yellow came out, so both he and Donlinger were sent to the rear, putting “Jammin” Jimmy Hibser in 1st place, which is where he stayed for the rest of the race. The #74 of Mark Noble made an impressive charge to the front, giving Hibser a challenge for the lead, but Hibser was able to stay our front and win Friday’s “A” Main event. Mark Noble finished 2nd, followed by the #3 of Kelly Shyrock and the #65 of Tommy Meyer. Local driver Phil John finished 8th, guarantying him a spot in Saturday’s main event. Saturday Saturday’s weather, although a little less threatening, was much colder, but it didn’t take long for the events of the evening to start heating things up. The night began with a 10 lap Main for the Thunder Truck support class. The #28 of Ron Wilson started on the pole and stayed way up front all the way to the checkered flag. The real battle was for 2nd place between the #41 of Tom Water and the #28 of Eric Wisher. Water won the battle for 2nd, followed by Wisher for 3rd. Next came the modified Heat races. Drivers earned passing points for the heat races, and the top 6 drivers with the most points from all the heats would advance to the “A” Main event. In Heat Race #1, the #11 of Collins and the #21 of Donlinger were racing for 1st & 2nd spots when they got into each other down the backstretch and spun out. With nowhere to go, the #25 of Butch Weisser had to spin to avoid the collision, and all three drivers were sent to the rear for the restart. Weisser was able to come all the way back up to 4th, collecting some valuable passing points. The #21 of Donlinger came all the way back to finish 1st. 2nd place finisher was the #6 of Dean McGee, followed by 3rd place Wes O’Dell. Modified Heat Race #2 collected local driver #292, Bobby Allen, when he suffered front end damage after getting caught up in an incident coming down the front straightaway. After the restart, the race became the 40 & 40 show, with Mike Chasteen & Mark Cochran moving out front. Chasteen seemed to have something go away on the car, and dropped back a few spots, which allowed the #19 of Peoria Speedway regular, Eric Bruce, to move into the 2nd spot. The M21 of Justin Munson got shoved off the high side on the back stretch and took a hard hit into a track tire, which brought out the caution once again. Whatever happened to Chasteen’s car must have “cured” itself, because after the restart he charged his way back up to the front, and Bruce wasn’t able to hold him off. Finishing in 1st was the #40 of Cochran, followed by Mike Chasteen for 2nd, and Eric Bruce in 3rd. Modified Heat Race #3 started with an up front battle between the #3D of Dan Daniels and the #43 & #23 cars. Fighting for 2nd and 3rd spots, they spun each other and had to go to the rear, and opened the door for local drivers #26 JD Beal and the M1 of Dale Munson, moving them into 3rd and 4th spots. Caution #2 came out when the #43 spins and gets hit hard when #64, Gary Cook, is left with nowhere to go. Daniels also gets sent to the rear for getting into the rear end of another car, which moves Beal into 2nd. JD makes a strong challenge and takes the lead away from the J1. A last lap pass by the #23 of Joey Kates wins the race, with the #26 of JD Beal coming in 2nd, and the 3D of Doug Daniels battling his way all back up to 3rd. Modified heat Race #4 started with local favorite, Phil Schnarr #28, trying the high side, but not being able to gain much ground up there. A lot of close racing from 3rd on back allowed the #56 of Chris Spieker and the #19 of Terry Lawson pull ahead of the rest of the pack, and they held on to finish 1 & 2. The #2 of Rick Hickson came out on top in Modified Heat #5, with another local favorite, the #31 of Mark Anderson, finishing 2nd. Next on the agenda was the E-mod “A” Main. The #30 of Rob Bauman started up front and stayed there all the way through the race. There was a good battle going on for 2nd place between the M3 of Chuck McDonald and the #29 car, which allowed the #7W of Mark Branch to sneak up and take the spot away. Bauman, who dominated the race, pulled off the track with 2 laps to go, obviously something going away on his car. The #29 of Chad Twilliger hung on for the victory, with the &W finishing 2nd, followed by the M3. The Pro Street “A” Main event was won by the #18 of Terry Pratt. 2nd place finishes was the #31K of ken Grissom, followed by the #67 of John Large. The top 8 finishers from the previous night, Jim Hibser, Mark Noble, Kelly Shyrock, Tommy Meyer, Kevin Peters, Jeff Labob(sp?), Kevin Weaver & Phil Johns were then allowed to come on the track for Hot laps while the officials tallied up all the points from the Heat Races. During this time, the drivers were lining up in the staging area for tonight’s “B” Main events. Only the top 2 spots from each “B” Main would advance to the final event, so everyone wanted to get up front, and get up there fast! Modified “B” Main #1 turned ugly right from the start. Someone got sideways coming out of turn #4 for the start and picked up six unsuspecting victims with nowhere to turn. Local driver #82, Floyd Jordan, Jr., sustained a LOT of damaged and had to be towed to his pit. After the restart, the #6 got sideways in turn #1, which brought out caution #2. restart #3 went much better. Peoria driver, #19 Eric Bruce, started 2nd, but was only able to hold onto that spot for a few laps. A big race for 3rd spot between Bruce and the #69 of Greg Gilmore allowed the leaders to pull farther away. Coming in 1st was the #56 of Chris Spieker, followed by 2nd place #7, Rodney Bowman. “B” Main #2 wasn’t nearly as eventful. The #C40 of Mike Chasteen started on the pole and flat “Checked Out!” Mike stayed up front all the way to finish 1st, followed by the #9 in second. “B” Main #3 showed the fans a lot of close racing. Local favorite, #292 Bobby Allen, started in 12th spot, but moved into 3rd place in a hurry. The caution came out for a car spinning in turn #2, and the restart collected several cars. The #28 of local Phil Schnarr came from deep in the pack up to a 5 car battle for 4th place, but in the end, the #3D of Dan Daniels was the 1st place finisher. Bobby Allen, #292, finished 2nd, followed by the 3rd place driver, J D Beal. The Late Model “A” Main event began with the #68 car spinning coming out of turn 4. The field was pretty spread out after the restart, with the #14 of Brett Nelson taking the checkered flag. 2nd place was #68, followed by last year’s Late Model Points Champion, #11 Brad Denney. The Main event of the evening, the Modified “A” Main, began with all the cars lining up on the track for driver introductions. A total of 53 modifieds competed over the course of the evening, with only 26 making the show. The starting line up included 6 Spoon River Speedway regulars. #28 Jimmy Hibser started on the pole after winning Friday night’s Main event. #97 Phil Johns, who also qualified on Friday night started in the 8th spot. The #31 of Mark Anderson, who qualified on passing points, started in the 13th spot. #292 Bobby Allen started in the 20th position. The #28 of Phil Schnarr and the #M1 of Dale Munson both drew provisionals and started 23rd and 24th. After introductions, each driver was given an American flag to hold out the window, and they began making parade laps around the track while the sound system boomed out Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to Be An American”. Everyone in the crowd was on their feet when the entire staring line up field made their final parade lap by splitting the field and coming down the front stretch 4 wide, American flags waving in the air! Hats off to USMTS for orchestrating such a spectacular sight!! It was AMAZING!! After the parade laps were over, and all the flags had been collected, it was time to go racing. This was the event that everyone had been waiting for all night. There were very few people in their seats when the pole sitter, #28 Jimmy Hibser, brought the field around for the green flag. Hibser beat #74, Mark Noble through turns 1 & 2, and through 3 & 4, but Noble got a great run coming out of turn #4 and pulled ahead of Hibser by a nose at the flag stand. Noble led Hibser around the track for lap #2, but something went away on Hibser’s engine coming out of turn #4, and he had to pull off the track. Kelly Shyrock, #3 moved into 2nd, followed by the B12 of Kevin Weaver. The caution came out on lap #2 when #28 Phil Schnarr got into trouble. After the restart, the #65 of Tommy Meyer showed Noble his nose a few times, but Noble answered by closing the door in front of him. Lurking right behind them, ready to take advantage of the slightest mistake was Shyrock. The yellow came out again on lap #18 when several cars got caught up in turn #4. After the restart, Noble was being closely followed by the #56 of Chris Spieker, the B12 of Kevin Weaver, Meyer, Shyrock, and the C40 of Mike Chasteen. Local driver, Phil Johns, was up front most of the race, running in 5th spot. Mark Noble got a great restart after the caution, and jumped out front, and he was able to hold everyone off the rest of the race, and took the #74 car to victory lane. The #65 of Tommy Meyer came in 2nd, and the C40 of Mike Chasteen finished 3rd. It was a GREAT night of racing! Fans had the opportunity to see the best modified drivers in the country battling it out! Hats off to all the Spoon River Speedway regulars who competed in the event. Our local drivers proved themselves to be great sportsmen as well as great competitors.