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"The Show Stopper" Ray Walsh claims second straight victory at I-55 Raceway!

Ray Walsh CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM I-55 RACEWAY Pevely, MO (April 5, 2008) A strong field of forty UMP DIRTcar Modifieds were on hand for the $1,000 to win special being run in conjuction with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaw Sprint Car Series at I-55 Raceway. NASCAR driver and I-55 Raceway co-owner, Ken Schrader was also on hand with his Federated Auto Parts, Red Baron Pizza #9 UMP DIRTcar Modified to compete for the victory. For the second straight week, Ray Walsh of St. Louis, MO conquered the field and earned the UMP DIRTcar Modified victory. Walsh started on the pole for the main event and immediately jumped to the lead in front of outside front row starter Jeff Vernier with Matt Zimmerly, Ken Schrader and Scott Weber right on their heels. An early caution would fall on lap three when Matt Simpson slowed on the racetrack. During the caution period, second place runner Vernier would develop a mechanical problem with his rear suspension and have to retire early from the main event. That moved Zimmerly up to the second spot with Schrader, Weber and Bittle completing the top five. As the green flag fell, Schrader would move past Zimmerly for the second spot and close in on race leader Walsh. On lap six, Schrader would pull under Walsh going into turn one and pull into the lead as they exited turn two, but Walsh powered his way on the high side down the backstretch to take the lead back. The caution would fly again on lap nine as Rick Conoyer found the wall in turn two. On the restart, Schrader would slow as his right front tire went flat. Schrader would make it back out for the restart, but had to start all the way back in twentieth on the restart. As the green flag waved, Walsh held off an early challenge from Weber and then pulled away to a dominating win. Weber would take the second spot with Bittle crossing the line in third. Jerry Grither worked his way up to a fourth place finish and Zimmerly rounded out the top five. Schrader kept the fans on the edge of their seats as he screamed through the field using the low and high side to come back to a tenth place finish. Walsh has claimed both of the UMP DIRTcar Modified features held at I-55 Raceway this season! UMP DIRTcar Modifieds - 40 Entries Heat 1: 1. 21J Jeff Vernier 2. 89 Bobby Bittle 3. 14 Leroy Haney 4. 2F Todd Ferber Heat 2: 1. 29 Jeff LeBaube 2. 17 Brad Thurston 3. 48 Bobby Martintoni 4. 45 Dean Vickers Heat 3: 1. 44X Matt Simpson 2. 7M Mark Miner 3. 15 Jerry Grither 4. C4 Chris Soutiea Heat 4: 1. 7Z Matt Zimmerly 2. 1W Ray Walsh 3. 24 Paul Bauman 4. 12 Tom Ratajczyk Heat 5: 1. 9S Ken Schrader 2. 4J Scott Weber 3. 72X Jason Sinn 4. 31 Ricky Horton Semi #1: 1. 88 Joe Puricelli 2. 14 Rick Conoyer 3. 99 Robby Helms 4. 6 Ray Wagner 5. C4 Chris Soutiea 6. 5N James Reed 7. 3D Lou Driemeier 8. 31P Mitch Parmeley 9. 62K Leo Kiefer 10. 17M Matt Verbeck 11. 0 Scott White Semi #2: 1. 9W Doug Wood 2. 12 Tom Ratajczyk 3. 67 Todd McGraw 4. 78 Larry Hull 5. 59 Rich Whaley 6. 4UW Bobby Regot 7. 11K Kasey Burch 8. 22C Brandon Lennox 9. F5 Chris Fisher 10. 22M Chucky Milam 11. 51 Timmy Hill Feature: 1. 1W Ray Walsh 2. 4J Scott Weber 3. 89 Bobby Bittle 4. 15 Jerry Grither 5. 7Z Matt Zimmerly 6. 7M Mark Miner 7. 14 Leroy Haney 8. 9W Doug Wood 9. 48 Bobby Martintoni 10. 9S Ken Schrader 11. 99 Robby Helms 12. 45 Dean Vickers 13. 24 Paul Bauman 14. 12 Tom Ratajczyk 15. 31 Ricky Horton 16. 88 Joe Puricelli 17. 67 Todd McGraw 18. 17 Brad Thurston 19. 72X Jason Sinn 20. 29 Jeff LeBaube 21. 2F Todd Ferber 22. 14 Rick Conoyer 23. 44X Matt Simpson 24. 21J Jeff Vernier Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Hard Charger Winner ($200 Bonus): Doug Wood

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