Ratajczyk, Whaley, Belken, Springer & Boyer earn victories at I-55!
Pevely, MO (August 24, 2002) The pit area was over flowing as 110 race cars rolled into the gate to compete at I-55 Raceway. The action on the track was fast and exciting with two feature events being decided by near photo finishes.
Ed Dixon took the early lead from the pole in the UMP Late Model division and appeared to be on his way to another victory. Don Klein, Steve Shive and Billy Faust battled for second during the early laps. But in the end, it was Tim Ratajczyk, who started eighth, that worked his way through all the traffic and was able to challenge Dixon at the end. Ratajczyk took over second place with just six laps remaining and began to reel in Dixon who had opened up a half-straightaway lead. Ratajczyk closed the gap quickly and took the lead from Dixon as they took the white flag. Dixon fought back hard on the final lap, scraping the outside wall through the turns, sending sparks showering through the air. As the pair came out of turn four to take the checkered flag, Ratajczyk held on to the win by just the nose of his car. Sixty-four year old Don Klein had another great run to finish third. Jeff Leka moved up from deep in the field to finish fourth and Dave Jumper completed the top five.
The UMP Modifieds didnÂ’t disappoint the fans either. Scott Weber was looking for another win as he assumed the lead from the pole position. Weber moved to the high side in an attempt to hold off the many challengers that were after him. Ray Wagner was the first to challenge, using the very bottom of the track to pull along side the leader. Meanwhile, Rich Whaley pulled right up on the back bumper of Weber and chased him around the top. Dean Hoffman and Rusty Griffaw moved up to join the fight as well. Hoffman made his way past Wagner on the low side and set his sites on Weber for the lead. With five laps remaining, Hoffman moved ahead of Weber, only to have a caution flag come out to negate the pass. On the restart, Weber moved to the low side to hold off Hoffman. It appeared Weber was going to pick up the win, but the caution flew again with just one lap remaining. On the final restart, Weber stayed on the bottom, allowing Whaley to take advantage of the high side. Whaley got a good run as they came out of turn four to take the checkered and Whaley beat Weber to the line by a half-car length. Hoffman took third, Griffaw was fourth and Ray Walsh fifth.
Paul Belken continues to master the AARA Sportsman division. Belken took the lead from Ricky Horton on lap six and went on to claim the victory. Horton took second, Scott Stuppy third, Todd McGraw fourth and Rick Edwards fifth.
Marty Boyer took the win in the RAMS Mini Stock division. Boyer took the lead from Rich Ruch who spun half-way through the main event. Boyer held off a late race challenge from Jathon Cruse, who was crowed the 2002 RAMS Mini-Stock Point Champion after the event. Third place went to Dave Wofford, Nick Payne was fourth and Bill Nickelson fifth.
Carl Springer II grabbed his third straight AARA Wannabee feature. Eugene Hoffman was second and Dave Birmingham third.
UMP Late Models
Heat 1:
1. 3D Jim Durbin
2. 51 Steve Shive
3. 28 Don Klein
4. 112 Tim Ratajczyk
Heat 2:
1. 50 Ed Dixon
2. 26 Billy Faust
3. 35 Cody Hupp
4. 87 Ken Rumble
Dash:
1. 50 Ed Dixon
2. 28 Don Klein
3. 51 Steve Shive
4. 26 Billy Faust
Feature:
1. 112 Tim Ratajczyk
2. 50 Ed Dixon
3. 28 Don Klein
4. 117 Jeff Leka
5. 2J Dave Jumper
6. 37 Brian Wolfmeier
7. 26 Billy Faust
8. 67 Mark Oller
9. 51 Steve Shive
10. 3D Jim Durbin
11. 9B Chuck Baird
12. 12 Mark Schaefer
13. 78 Ron Jarrell
14. 10 Andy Pryor
15. 82 Billy Laycock
16. 35 Cody Hupp
17. 47 Danny Haynes
18. 87 Ken Rumble
19. 10 Rodney Pense
UMP Modifieds
Heat 1:
1. 4J Scott Weber
2. 45M Eric Mabery
3. 56 Kevin Epperson
4. N1 Gary Archambault
Heat 2:
1. 3L Jeff Leka
2. 16 Rusty Griffaw
3. 166 Brian Worley
4. C4 Chris Soutiea
Heat 3:
1. 6 Ray Wagner
2. 1D Dean Hoffman
3. 70 Josh Russell
4. 14K Loren Knox
Heat 4:
1. 59 Rich Whaley
2. 95 Jerry Grither
3. 1W Ray Walsh
4. 18 Brent Thompson
Dash:
1. 4J Scott Weber
2. 6 Ray Wagner
3. 59 Rich Whaley
4. 3L Jeff Leka
Semi:
1. 14 Leroy Haney
2. 11Z Brian Collins
3. X1 Dave Sandage
4. 9 Doug Wood
5. 41 Larry Hull
6. 9D Dan Hoffman
7. 10 Todd Ferber
8. 51 John Hoffman
9. 20 Dave Henke
10. 34 Kevin Gegg
11. 28 Patrick Lawson
12. 22G Steve Grotz
13. 15 Doug Blair
DNS. 45M Eric Mabery
Feature:
1. 59 Rich Whaley
2. 4J Scott Weber
3. 1D Dean Hoffman
4. 16 Rusty Griffaw
5. 1W Ray Walsh
6. 70 Josh Russell
7. 95 Jerry Grither
8. 12 Tom Ratajczyk
9. 11Z Brian Collins
10. 18 Brent Thompson
11. 56 Kevin Epperson
12. N1 Gary Archambault
13. 6 Ray Wagner
14. X1 Dave Sandage
15. 166 Brian Worley
16. 41 Larry Hull
17. 21M Steve Myers
18. 9 Doug Wood
19. 14 Leroy Haney
20. 14K Loren Knox
21. C4 Chris Soutiea
22. 3L Jeff Leka
23. 3$ Dan Schlup
24. 8 Kirk Murphy
AARA Sportsman
Heat 1:
1. 00 Scott Stuppy
2. 10 Todd McGraw
3. D5 Dave Jenkins
4. 500 Dan Dixon
Heat 2:
1. 4 Ricky Horton
2. 99 Rick Edwards
3. 105 Matt Hancock
4. 75 Ron Imm
Heat 3:
1. 46 Paul Belken
2. 38D Mark Blanke
3. 15 Jim Troutman
4. 24 Paul Bauman
Dash:
1. 4 Ricky Horton
2. 00 Scott Stuppy
3. 46 Paul Belken
4. 10 Todd McGraw
Semi:
1. 497 Frank Melton
2. 6 Brian Noeth
3. 111 Zac Parks
4. 31P Prince
5. 27 Nathan Walsh
6. 8 Buddy Lowry
7. 49 Daniel Hancock
8. 22 Mark Foster
9. 411 Marty Heck
Feature:
1. 46 Paul Belken
2. 4 Ricky Horton
3. 00 Scott Stuppy
4. 10 Todd McGraw
5. 99 Rick Edwards
6. 24 Paul Bauman
7. 38D Mark Blanke
8. D5 Dave Jenkins
9. 3P Bob Prince
10. 146 Douglas Kim
11. 31P Prince
12. 98 David Bardin
13. 50 Dan Dixon (DQ-Light)
14. 497 Frank Melton
15. 7 Craig Wodicker
16. 105 Matt Hancock
17. 75 Ron Imm
18. 01 Steve Borgetti
19. 6 Brian Noeth
20. 15 Jim Troutman
21. 8 Buddy Lowry
22. D40 Ed DeMille
23. 111 Zac Parks
24. 27 Nathan Walsh
RAMS
Heat 1:
1. 42 Dusty Winick
2. 14 Keith Buckley
3. 17 Jathon Cruse
4. 21 Bill Nickelson
Heat 2:
1. 6 Rick Ruch
2. 25 Eric Bellew
3. 36 Marty Boyer
4. 52 Shannon Burch
Feature:
1. 36 Marty Boyer
2. 17 Jathon Cruse
3. 5 Dave Wolford
4. 32 Nick Payne
5. 21 Bill Nickelson
6. 52 Shannon Burch
7. 6 Rick Ruch
8. 14 Keith Buckley
9. 00 Carl Bellew
10. 94 James Hutchison
11. 47 Jeff Gibson
12. 13 Rusty Voyles
13. 42 Dusty Winick
14. 27 Jason Kelly
15. 37 Michael Dunlap
16. 66 Phillip Hannah
17. 25 Eric Bellew
18. 9 Mike Whitehead
AARA Wannabees
Heat 1:
1. 18 Dave Birmingham
2. 41 Carl Springer II
3. 01 Robert Denny
4. 12 Brian Garrett
Heat 2:
1. 57 Don Hoffman
2. 58 Eugene Hoffman
3. 8 Pat Brewer
4. 77 Ron Lyons
Feature:
1. 41 Carl Springer II
2. 58 Eugene Hoffman
3. 18 Dave Birmingham
4. 8 Pat Brewer
5. 21 Dave Heinrichs
6. 57 Don Hoffman
7. 49 Dennis Harris
8. 01 Robert Denny
