Gundaker and Smith grab wins; Earnhardt, Schrader and Wallace highlight evening!
PEVELY, MO (June 6, 2001) It was a special night at I-55 Raceway, three NASCAR stars were on hand to sign autographs and a full field of race cars provided some great racing. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace signed autographs for two hours before the races started, then Schrader and Wallace buckled into UMP Late Models and raced with some of the top late model drivers in the Midwest. A huge crowd filled the grandstands and witnessed some excellent racing. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also commented that he will be back at I-55 Raceway next year and that he would race a late model.
Thirty-six UMP Late Models signed in to race. Kevin Gundaker took the lead from Matt Taylor on lap three, and then had to hold off defending UMP Late Model National Champion Ed Dixon and Tim Ratajczyk for the win. It appeared Gundaker was going to run away with the lead early on, but Dixon started reeling him in and the two raced side-by-side until a mid-race caution slowed the field. On the restart, Gundaker opened up the lead again, only to have Dixon and Ratajczyk reel him in again. The three raced side-by-side for the final three laps with Gundaker winning by a half-car length over Dixon who was a half-car length ahead of Ratajczyk. Clay Baumann and Matt Taylor rounded out the top five. Baumann, Taylor, Justin Allgaier and Gundaker won the qualifying heats.
The winged sprint cars provided some exciting action as well. Jerrod Hull took the early lead from his second row starting spot and it appeared that he was going to dominate the event. A mid-race caution bunched the field up and on the restart; IndianaÂ’s Danny Smith took the lead away from Hull and drove away. A few laps later, the caution light was on again, this time for HullÂ’s flat tire. After the restart, Smith had to hold off a hard-charging Jim Moughan to pick up the win. Moughan was able to get along side Smith with two laps remaining, but Smith was able to work through lapped traffic and pick up the win. Following Smith across the line were Moughan, Richard Gaines III, Kriag Kinser and Tim Montgomery. Robbie Standridge, Steve Zelch, Jr., Jerrod Hull and Tim Montgomery won the qualifying heats.
UMP LATE MODELS
HEAT 1:
1. 77 Clay Baumann
2. 50 Ed Dixon
3. 71 John Bohn
4. 78 Chad Zobrist
HEAT 2:
1. 117 Matt Taylor
2. 112 Tim Ratajczyk
3. 27 Rodney Melvin
4. 30 Mark Voigt
HEAT 3:
1. 1a Justin Allgaier
2. 16 Mike Hammerle
3. 67 Mark Oller
4. 56 Gary Webb
HEAT 4:
1. 11 Kevin Gundaker
2. 51 Steve Shive
3. 32 Danny Maguire
4. 25 Frankie Martin
SEMI #1:
1. 2J Dave Jumper
2. 47 Danny Haynes
3. 4Q Scott Geashel
4. 23 Brian Garner
5. 69 John Scott
6. 62 Leo Kiefer
7. 51K Bob Klausner
DNS. 24J Jim Burwell
SEMI #2:
1. 7 Rick Bayer
2. 16 John Hobson
3. 36 Ron Sensel
4. 20 Mark Gansmann
5. 12 Wayne Downing
6. 98 Kenny Wallace
7. 36 Danny Green
8. 5 Dan Jacober
FEATURE:
1. 11 Kevin Gundaker
2. 50 Ed Dixon
3. 112 Tim Ratajczyk
4. 77 Clay Baumann
5. 117 Matt Taylor
6. 32 Danny Maguire
7. 51 Steve Shive
8. 16 Mike Hammerle
9. 78 Chad Zobrist
10. 27 Rodney Melvin
11. 51 Mark Faust
12. 99 Ken Schrader
13. 2J Dave Jumper
14. 56 Gary Webb
15. 25 Frankie Martin
16. 71 John Bohn
17. 16 John Hobson
18. B1 Bob Brown
19. 30 Mark Voigt
20. 21 Kerry Gaultney
21. 47 Danny Haynes
22. 1A Justin Allgaier
23. 67 Mark Oller
24. 7 Rick Bayer
Sprint Cars
Heat 1:
1. 2B Robbie Standridge
2. 1M Jim Moughan
3. 11K Kraig Kinser
4. 007 Josh Revelle
Heat 2:
1. Z34 Steve Zelch, Jr.
2. 95 Tommy Rockwell
3. 83 Bob Hawks
4. 11G Richard Gaines III
Heat 3:
1. 51 Jerrod Hull
2. 4S Danny Smith
3. 97 Tommy Worley
4. 25J Jay Landolt
Heat 4:
1. 32 Tim Montgomery
2. 0 Bryan Smith
3. 71M Paul May
4. 14S Wayne Sternbergh
Semi:
1. 10 Ron Standridge
2. 88 Terry Babb
3. 29 Curt Trainer
4. 5 Kevin Briscoe
5. 77U Chris Urish
6. 28K Jason Keith
7. 20M Robbie Neubauer
8. 3H Andy Holden
9. 4B Tom Busch
Feature:
1. 4S Danny Smith
2. 1M Jim Moughan
3. 11 Richard Gaines III
4. 11K Kraig Kinser
5. 32 Tim Montgomery
6. C21 Joey Montgomery
7. 1F Blake Feese
8. 10 Ron Standridge
9. 71M Paul May
10. 83 Bob Hawks
11. 51 Jerrod Hull
12. 5 Kevin Briscoe
13. 2B Robbie Standridge
14. 0 Bryan Smith
15. 14S Wayne Sternbergh
16. 29 Curt Trainer
17. 8 Steve Short
18. 14R Todd Rowland
19. Z34 Steve Zelch, Jr.
20. 95 Tommy Rockwell
21. 97 Tommy Worley
22. 28K Jason Keith
23. 88 Terry Babb
24. 007 Josh Revelle
