Post by LMR on 10/08/11 at 11:41pm
UMP National Championships
Eldora Speedway
October 8, 2011
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Van Wormer flag to flag for UMP Nationals victory at Eldora Speedway
ROSSBURG, OH (Oct. 8) – Jeep VanWormer and Jeff Leka closed out the 2011 Eldora Speedway and UMP (United Midwestern Promoters) seasons in grand style Saturday night with victories.
VanWormer’s emotional win came on the heels on one of the most hotly contested Late Model events witnessed by the fans in many years; and his emotion in victory lane emphasized just that.
While the score sheets may reflect that VanWormer led all 40 laps around the high-banked one-half mile clay oval, that gives the race no justice. Not one of the 40 laps was easy, as the Pinconning, MI native had his hands full the for the entire distance that was slowed only one time.
That caution came on lap 29 when Scott James, who was in the hunt for the lead, smacked the turn four wall to end his strong night.
When the green flag dropped, VanWormer shot by pole-sitter Chad Smith, who was then able to hold back Frank Heckenast, Jr. for four laps. That trio was soon joined by Brian Shirley and Jason Feger to make an even stronger run for the front spot. And to tighten things up even more, the newly crowned UMP National Champion, Ryan Unzicker and James joined the fray as the large crowd began working themselves into a frenzy.
Smith began to fade as the others got stronger, all of them within striking distance of VanWormer.
Just near the mid-point of the event, Heckenast turned up the burner and shot by Shirley, with Feger and James now knocking on the door as well. With the top five under a virtual blanket, the complexion of the race changed somewhat on that lap 29 caution. Not only did James retire with damage, but Shirley dropped to the pit area with mechanical woes.
That left a classic three-way battle between VanWormer, Heckenast and Feger that included dicing between lapped traffic right to the checkered; where they finished in the order, less than seconds apart. Kevin Coles silently slipped up to fourth at the checkered, followed by Unzicker.
Like VanWormer, Leka was able to lead the entire distance to gather in his second career UMP win at Eldora. One of Eldora’s strongest runners, Brian Ruhlman, was in the hunt, but couldn’t must the power to dethrone the high-flying Leka. For Ruhlman, it was runner-up honors two years in a row as he finished second to Ken Schrader last season, but a mere one inch.
Leka and Ruhlman coasted to the checkered flag, but behind them the battle was hot right through the final lap, with Dean Hoffman, Bobby Kitchens and Bryan Barber completing the top five.
UMP Late Models - 50 cars
Top 3 Qualifiers: 1) Jon Henry - 15.654, 2) Kent Robinson - 15.670, 3) Scott James - 15.754
Race of Champions - (10 Laps)
1. 25-Jason Feger [4]; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr [7]; 3. 15-Jon Henry [3]; 4. 24-Ryan Unzicker [1]; 5. 5-Brandon Sheppard [5]; 6. 27-Eric Spangler [6]; 7. 91-Rusty Schlenk [2]
Heat 1 - (10 Laps)
1. 55-Jeep Van Wormer [2];2. 81-Scott James [4];3. 35-Derek Chandler [3];4. 81jr-Jason Riggs [1];5. 9r-Curtis Roberts [5];6. 15a-Phil Ausra [6];7. 33-Don Gordon [9];8. 89-Mike Spatola III [7];9. m14-Brandon Thirlby [8]
Heat 2 - (10 Laps)
1. 3s-Brian Shirley [2];2. 7r-Kent Robinson [4];3. 20-Matt Westfall [1];4. 33-Tim Manville [3];5. 18r-Chris Ross [6];6. 13-JR Hotovy [5];7. b7-Ben Adkins [7];8. 53-Hillard Miller [9];9. 34-Ky Harper [8]
Heat 3 - (10 Laps)
1. 24-Ryan Unzicker [4];2. 1-Casey Noonan [1];3. 3-Rick DeLong [6];4. 77-Steve Kester [7];5. 2d-Curtis Deisenroth [5];6. 91-Rusty Schlenk [3];7. 26-Bill Lewis [2];8. 88-Andrew Reaume [8]
Heat 4 - (10 Laps)
1. 99jr-Frank Heckenast Jr. [4];2. 99m-Devin Shiels [2];3. 49-Brian Ruhlman [3];4. 23v-Ryan VanderVeen [1];5. 21-Tom Sprague [7];6. 27-Eric Spangler [5];7. 21-Gregg Haskell [8];8. 27-Jeff Beyers [6]
Heat 5 - (10 Laps)
1. 25-Jason Feger [2];2. 81c-Kevin Cole [1];3. 77-Jason McBride [3];4. 11-Jeff Babcock [4];5. 58-Renton Hurley [5];6. 31-John Caldwell [6];7. 13-Mike Hudson [8];8. 95j-Jerry Bowersock [7]
Heat 6 - (10 Laps)
1. 19-Chad Smith [2];2. 11-Jon Henry [4];3. b5-Brandon Sheppard [1];4. 6-Dona Marcoullier [5];5. 11r-James Rice [6];6. 91t-Adam Thrush [7];7. 42-Bob Mayer [8];8. 28-Dennis Erb Jr. [3]
B Main - (12 Laps)
1. 33-Tim Manville [2];2. 9r-Curtis Roberts [4];3. 13-JR Hotovy [8];4. 81jr-Jason Riggs [1];5. 77-Steve Kester [3];6. 15a-Phil Ausra [7];7. b7-Ben Adkins [11];8. 18r-Chris Ross [5];9. 33-Don Gordon [10];10. 53-Hillard Miller [13];11. 2d-Curtis Deisenroth [6]
B Main 2 - (12 Laps)
1. 11-Jeff Babcock [2];2. 6-Dona Marcoullier [3];3. 11r-James Rice [6];4. 27-Jeff Beyers [13];5. 21-Tom Sprague [4];6. 42-Bob Mayer [12];7. 58-Renton Hurley [5];8. 31-John Caldwell [8];9. 13-Mike Hudson [11];10. 91t-Adam Thrush [9];11. 23v-Ryan VanderVeen [1]
A Main - (40 Laps)
1. 55-Jeep Van Wormer [2];2. 99jr-Frank Heckenast Jr. [4];3. 25-Jason Feger [3];4. 81c-Kevin Cole [11];5. 24-Ryan Unzicker [5];6. 49-Brian Ruhlman [16];7. 7r-Kent Robinson [8];8. 11-Jon Henry [12];9. 33-Tim Manville [19];10. 3-Rick DeLong [15];11. 19-Chad Smith [1];12. 99m-Devin Shiels [10];13. 1-Casey Noonan [9];14. 11-Jeff Babcock [20];15. b5-Brandon Sheppard [18];16. 35-Derek Chandler [13];17. 20-Matt Westfall [14];18. 77-Jason McBride [17];19. 23v-Ryan VanderVeen [26];20. 15a-Phil Ausra [28];21. 9r-Curtis Roberts [21];22. 6-Dona Marcoullier [22];23. 11r-James Rice [24];24. 13-JR Hotovy [23];25. 27-Eric Spangler [27];26. 81-Scott James [7];27. 3s-Brian Shirley [6];28. 91-Rusty Schlenk [25]
RESULTS NOT OFFICIAL***
UMP Modifieds - 109 cars
Top 3 Qualifiers: 1) Jacob Poel - 16.939 (NTR), 2) Jeff Babcock - 16.942, 3) Bart Hartman - 16.982
Race of Champions - (10 Laps)
1. 82-Jacob Poel [3]; 2. 78-Clint DeMoss [12]; 3. 14-Brian Lynn [8]; 4. 69-Jim Farris [10]; 5. 77-Ray Bollinger [5]; 6. 24-Mike Harrison [1]; 7. 65-Todd Sherman [4]; 8. 36-Jamie Lomax [7]; 9. 21-Nick Allan [2]; 10. 15-Clayton Miller [6]; 11. 3L-Jeff Leka [14]; 12. 24T-Randle Sweeney [11]; DNS - Gabe Menser
Heat 1 - (10 Laps)
1. 1d-Dean Hoffman [1];2. 13-Bart Hartman [3];3. 555b-Jeff Babcock [4];4. d1-David Daughtery [2];5. 2ts-Travis Stemler [5];6. 20d-Dan Delong [8];7. 0j-Bryce Jewell [6];8. 2nh-Nick Hoffman [11];9. 43-Brad Mcleod [7];10. 10-Brian Speelman [9];11. 97-Zach Walkup [13];12. 71e-Pat Ehlert [10];13. 62-Randy Shuman [12];14. 2ch-Cody Hood [14]
Heat 2 - (10 Laps)
1. 5x-Jerry Bowersock [2];2. 82-Jacob Poel [4];3. 03-Benji Lee [6];4. 00w-Kody Weisner [8];5. 75e-Elliott Despain [7];6. 2h-Brian Hayden [5];7. 30a-John Allen [9];8. 83-Kasey Schrock [10];9. 32dk-Dustin King [11];10. 65-Todd Sherman [3];11. 1g-Devin Gilpin [1];12. 12-Buzz Jacobs [12];13. 14tg-Trent Green [13];14. 21s-Denny Schwartz [14]
Heat 3 - (10 Laps)
1. 36l-Jamie Lomax [2];2. 88-Scott Orr [3];3. t9-Ryan Thomas [5];4. 15-Nick Katterhenry [4];5. 41m-Brent Mullins [7];6. 77jr-Joe Rokos [14];7. 21d-Danny Schwartz [6];8. 25-Charles Patrick [8];9. 1p-Chris Puskas [12];10. 01-Travis Fleshman [13];11. 43km-Kevin Miller [11];12. 20-Josh Morton [1];13. d48-Derek Groomer [9];14. 22t-Tony Anderson [10]
Heat 4 - (10 Laps)
1. 10bb-Bryan Barber [4];2. 2jf-Josh Ferguson [3];3. 45p-Brian Post [2];4. 188-Aaron Orr [1];5. 05-David Smith [5];6. 8-Corey Bevard [9];7. 20-Brad Hess [7];8. 92-Lynn Johns [14];9. 22-Schuyler Nahre [10];10. 4-Mike Chrisman [12];11. 26-Mike Dirksen [6];12. 4j-David Treon Jr. [11];13. 21t-Tom Treon [11];14. 39-Kevin Gummere [8]
Heat 5 - (10 Laps)
1. 49-Brian Ruhlman [4];2. 11-Ed Roley [3];3. 14bl-Brian Lynn [1];4. 15j-Jimmy Hayden [6];5. 25-Tyler Niely [7];6. 11a-Collin Thirlby [8];7. 3b-Rob Trent [5];8. 36f-Jim Fletcher [9];9. 22-Clayton Smith [11];10. 88d-Jordan Danford [14];11. 48w-Bill Wagoner [10];12. 20-Brent Hess [12];13. 09d-Joel Dick [2];14. 33-Brandon Coles [13]
Heat 6 - (10 Laps)
1. 0-Brent Hole [1];2. 21a-Nick Allen [4];3. 24t-Randle Sweeney [5];4. 69jf-Jim Farris Sr. [2];5. 07-Rick Corbin [6];6. 51-Jimmy Westerfield [3];7. 77rb-Ray Bollinger [7];8. 95-Greg Socha [12];10. 10bd-Brent Davis [9];9. 31j-Ray Jackson [10];11. 99-Corey Partin [11];12. 4b-Brian Brindley [13];13. 7w-Bill Lewis [8]
Heat 7 - (10 Laps)
1. 3l-Jeff Leka [1];2. 24h-Mike Harrison [3];3. 78c-Clint Demoss [7];4. s8-Chris Stotts [9];5. 28-Frank Marshall [2];6. d1-Lance Dehm [4];7. 225-Jesse Bitterling [6];8. 67-Ed Shaner [10];9. 31jb-John Brooks [5];10. 555-Justin Coulter [8];11. 2-Josh Ulrich [13];12. 77l-Darrell Lowe [12];13. 20jd-Jeff Daniels [11]
Heat 8 - (10 Laps)
1. 131-Bobby Kitchen [4];2. 15cm-Clayton Miller [2];3. 50-Tyler Weiss [6];4. 7-Bobby Crego [12];5. 15cm-Tommy Beezley II [1];6. 15rr-Rick Robinson [7];7. 84-Tyler Deibert [11];8. 5-Curtis Coulter [10];9. 28-Chad Rosenbeck [8];10. 20h-Matt Westfall [3];11. 5x-Tim Richardson [5];12. 24-Terry Grilliot [13];13. 24f-Tony Frazier [9]
B Main - (15 Laps)
1. 555b-Jeff Babcock [1];2. 03-Benji Lee [2];3. d1-David Daughtery [3];4. 2ts-Travis Stemler [5];5. 30a-John Allen [10];6. 43-Brad Mcleod [11];7. 0j-Bryce Jewell [9];8. 71e-Pat Ehlert [19];9. 32dk-Dustin King [14];10. 12-Buzz Jacobs [20];11. 75e-Elliott Despain [6];12. 2h-Brian Hayden [8];13. 20d-Dan Delong [7];14. 83-Kasey Schrock [12];15. 10-Brian Speelman [15];16. 65-Todd Sherman [16];17. 00w-Kody Weisner [4];18. 2nh-Nick Hoffman [13];19. 97-Zach Walkup [17];20. 1g-Devin Gilpin [18];21. 62-Randy Shuman [21];22. 14tg-Trent Green [22];23. 2ch-Cody Hood [23];24. 21s-Denny Schwartz [24]
B Main 2 - (15 Laps)
1. 41m-Brent Mullins [5];2. d48-Derek Groomer [21];3. 45p-Brian Post [2];4. 21d-Danny Schwartz [9];5. 77jr-Joe Rokos [7];6. 05-David Smith [6];7. 22-Schuyler Nahre [14];9. 4-Mike Chrisman [16];8. 1p-Chris Puskas [13];10. 8-Corey Bevard [8];11. 39-Kevin Gummere [24];12. 43km-Kevin Miller [17];13. 4j-David Treon Jr. [22];14. 92-Lynn Johns [12];15. 22t-Tony Anderson [23];16. 188-Aaron Orr [4];17. t9-Ryan Thomas [1];18. 15-Nick Katterhenry [3];19. 01-Travis Fleshman [15];20. 20-Brad Hess [10];21. 25-Charles Patrick [11];22. 26-Mike Dirksen [18];23. 20-Josh Morton [19]
B main 3 - (15 Laps)
1. 14bl-Brian Lynn [1];2. 69jf-Jim Farris Sr. [4];3. 51-Jimmy Westerfield [8];4. 07-Rick Corbin [6];5. 15j-Jimmy Hayden [3];6. 11a-Collin Thirlby [7];7. 95-Greg Socha [12];8. 36f-Jim Fletcher [11];9. 31j-Ray Jackson [14];10. 25-Tyler Niely [5];11. 09d-Joel Dick [21];12. 4b-Brian Brindley [20];13. 22-Clayton Smith [13];14. 48w-Bill Wagoner [17];15. 88d-Jordan Danford [15];16. 10bd-Brent Davis [16];17. 3b-Rob Trent [9];18. 24t-Randle Sweeney [2];19. 77rb-Ray Bollinger [10];20. 99-Corey Partin [18];21. 20-Brent Hess [19];22. 7w-Bill Lewis [22];23. 33-Brandon Coles [23]
B main 4 - (15 Laps)
1. 78c-Clint Demoss [1];2. 28-Frank Marshall [5];3. d1-Lance Dehm [7];4. 225-Jesse Bitterling [9];5. 20h-Matt Westfall [14];6. 15rr-Rick Robinson [8];7. 2-Josh Ulrich [17];8. 31jb-John Brooks [13];9. 7-Bobby Crego [4];10. 28-Chad Rosenbeck [16];11. 84-Tyler Deibert [10];12. 20jd-Jeff Daniels [21];13. 67-Ed Shaner [11];14. 5x-Tim Richardson [18];15. 24f-Tony Frazier [20];16. 50-Tyler Weiss [2];17. s8-Chris Stotts [3];18. 15cm-Tommy Beezley II [6];19. 555-Justin Coulter [15];20. 77l-Darrell Lowe [19]
A Main - (25 Laps)
1. 3l-Jeff Leka [2];2. 49-Brian Ruhlman [6];3. 1d-Dean Hoffman [4];4. 131-Bobby Kitchen [5];5. 10bb-Bryan Barber [8];6. 555b-Jeff Babcock [16];7. 13-Bart Hartman [9];8. 36l-Jamie Lomax [3];9. 24h-Mike Harrison [14];10. 51-Jimmy Westerfield [28];11. d48-Derek Groomer [21];12. 88-Scott Orr [10];13. 03-Benji Lee [20];14. 41m-Brent Mullins [17];15. 21a-Nick Allen [27];16. 2jf-Josh Ferguson [11];17. 69jf-Jim Farris Sr. [22];18. 0-Brent Hole [1];19. d1-David Daughtery [24];20. 11-Ed Roley [12];21. 5x-Jerry Bowersock [7];22. 14bl-Brian Lynn [18];23. 78c-Clint Demoss [19];24. 28-Frank Marshall [23];25. 15-Nick Katterhenry [26];26. 24t-Randle Sweeney [13];27. 15cm-Clayton Miller [15];28. 82-Jacob Poel [25]
