Sam Stoecklin
ULMA Media Relations
May 4, 2011

Rylan Long Becomes First Repeat Winner as Bob King Claims First ULMA Win of the Year

Another full weekend of Crawdad’s Classics Gourmet Hot Sauce ULMA racing is now in the books as all four sanctioned tracks were able to host a night of racing at their venues. ULMA member drivers claimed three of the four features contested. After the dust settled, Rylan Long and Bob King claimed the wins. All four ULMA tracks will be in action once again this weekend with an additional points-earning race to be held at 24 Raceway in Moberly, Missouri also scheduled.

At Lucas Oil Speedway last Saturday, Rylan Long, of Greenfield, Missouri, became the season’s first repeat winner as he claimed his second straight feature win. Long’s GRT by Phillips was able to hold off the charge of rookie of the year contender Chris Hawkins with Chris Morelock, Tommy Cordray, and Andy Kennedy leading an all ULMA-member sweep of the top five. Non-members R.D. Peterson and Rex Merritt were sixth and seventh while a trio of ULMA member drivers including Harlen Kennedy, Chris Cox, and James Stafford finished eighth thru tenth. There were 18 late models on hand, with 11 association members participating in the action. Racing resumes this Saturday, May 14 at Lucas Oil Speedway, check out all the latest news and information by logging on to www.lucasoilspeedway.com.

Central Missouri Speedway (CMS) in Warrensburg hosted its second night of action with 16 cars on hand, 13 member drivers were present. During the 20-lap feature event, Brett Wood pushed his machine hard on the low side at the start of the race to grab the lead over Bob King as the two waged a torrid battle for the lead; unfortunately Wood’s night came to an end with major damage after contact with the turn one uke tire. When racing resumed, it was King who powered his way to the lead in his Rocket chassis #45. Steve Clancy made things interesting midway through the event by grabbing the lead from King, only to have his night come to an early end as he left the track. Late in the race, Jason Bodenhamer used one of the multiple racing grooves to run even with King and appeared as if he might take his second win in a row on the high side; however, in the end, it was Independence, Missouri’s Bob King who secured his first ULMA win of the season over Bodenhamer in second, non-member Lane Ehlert was third, with Jon Binning fourth, Kevin Coyne fifth, and non-member Shawn Rayfield sixth. Allen Perryman posted his second-consecutive strong run and came away seventh with Danny Monroe also posted a solid top ten finish. Jeremy Watts ran consistent for his first top ten finish of the year in ninth while non-member Todd McCoin made his first-ever CMS appearance payoff with a tenth-place run. CMS is set to fire things up once again this Saturday, May 14, check out their website at www.centralmissourispeedway.net.

Non-member Brandon Imhoff won his second feature event last Friday at Callaway Raceway in Fulton, Missouri. ULMA member Zeke Langley posted his best finish of the young 2011 season by coming away with a runner-up finish in the main event. Bob Test was another driver who posted his strongest finish of the year as he wound up in the third position. Brett Wood, last week’s Callaway winner, appeared to be heading straight for his second-consecutive ULMA track win until he encountered problems charging his way to the front, but the Warrensburg driver was able to recover to finish a strong fourth. Leading rookie of the year candidate Jake Griffin finished fifth with James Stafford, Alan and Trace Westling, Chris Cox, and Gage Wineland rounding out the top ten. Callaway Racing resumes Friday, May 13. Log on to the tracks website at www.callawayraceways.com.

Jake Griffin and Danny Lorton posted finishes of second and fourth at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Missouri last Saturday evening with five cars present. Racing is scheduled to resume at the north-east Missouri track this Saturday, May 15, be sure to visit www.scotlandcountyspeedway.com for complete details.

ULMA Late Models will be on hand and member drivers will compete for association points at 24 Raceway in Moberly, Missouri, this Sunday, May 15. This weekend’s return to the high-banked speed plant marks the first of three points-earning appearances for ULMA participating member drivers with additional race dates falling on Sunday, May 29 and Sunday, July 24. According to www.24racewayinmoberly.com, gates open at 3 pm, hot laps begin at 5:30, and racing begins at 6 pm. There will be no track registration fee charged to late models for this event, which pays $500 to win if there are 15 cars or more on hand.

The early season point standings continue to shuffle around as drivers begin to record more finishes on their way to holding on to their 15 best finishes of the year to count towards the 2011 Crawdad’s Classics Gourmet Hot Sauce ULMA crown. Bob Test continues to lead the early charge with Chris Cox, Zeke Langley, James Stafford, and Jake Griffin in hot pursuit. Brett Wood, Rylan Long, and Steve Clancy continue to climb in the standings.

If you know the non-member drivers, please encourage them to join ULMA as a member driver and help the association support weekly late model racing at the tracks! It takes a total team effort between participating drivers, tracks, and ULMA to keep late models competing on a weekly basis and we should all act as a team to keep our sport thriving at the tracks! With memberships at just $50 for the entire year, in which a driver keeps his/her 15 best finishes, there are still well over 70 points-earning races to be contested! ULMA rules allow for a wide range of “limited” style late models to compete against one another; this includes CRATE late models, steel block late models, or spec motor late models. Rules may be found on the official ULMA web site by logging on to www.ulmaracing.com.

To join the association’s email group, send request to unitedlatemodelassociation@hotmail.com. ULMA thanks all 2011 business partners for their involvement. This year’s team consists of title sponsor Crawdad’s Classics Gourmet Hot Sauce, TCI® Automotive, Fast Shafts, Rod End Supply, SafeRacer.com, Kenny’s Tile, Racingjunk.com, Imhoff Construction, Kenny Johnson’s Race Replicas, D&L Motorsports, and InsuranceSpecialists.com.

1st      1      Bob Test      516
2nd      1T      Chris Cox      502
3rd      23Z      Zeke Langley      494
4th      98      James Stafford      476
5th      O8      Jake Griffin (R)      468
6th      7      Brett Wood      422
7th      20      Alan Westling (R)      324
8th      18L      Rylan Long      294
9th      5      Tommy Cordray      282
10th      12c      Steve Clancy      270
11th      25      Christopher Morelock      270
12th      0X      Justin Russell (R)      270

Upcoming Races as scheduled by the tracks. Always check with the speedway to ensure they are running!
Friday May 13
*Callaway Raceway (Weekly Race)
Saturday May 14
*Central Missouri Speedway (Weekly Race)
*Lucas Oil Speedway (Weekly Race)
*Scotland County Speedway (Weekly Race)
Sunday May 15
*24 Raceway in Moberly
Friday May 20
*Callaway Raceway (Weekly Race)
Saturday May 21
*Central Missouri Speedway (Weekly Race)
*Lucas Oil Speedway (Weekly Race)
*Scotland County Speedway (Weekly Race)
Friday May 27
*Callaway Raceway (Weekly Race)
Saturday May 28
*Central Missouri Speedway (Weekly Race)
*Scotland County Speedway (Weekly Race)
Sunday May 29
*24 Raceway in Moberly