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Voigt, Bittle, Harris & Turner take season opening wins at I-55 Raceway!

Mark VoigtBobby BittleTrey HarrisJeff TurnerCLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM I-55 RACEWAY!Pevely, MO (March 27, 2010) Even with the skies threatening rain all day long and the Mississippi River out of it's banks and quickly rising around the pit area, I-55 Raceway was still able to get their season opener completed. The racing wrapped up just in time as less than ten minutes after the final checkered flag fell, the skies opened up. Floodwaters also continued to rise had almost completely covered the pit access road in one area by the time the action had ended. However, those who decided not to venture out and enjoy the racing action missed alot of exciting action that featured two and three wide racing on a perfectly prepared smooth racing surface. In the UMP DIRTcar Late Model division, it was Tim Ratajczyk getting off to a blazing start as he dominated his heat race and then it looked like he was going to dominate the feature event as well. Ratajczyk took the lead at the drop of the green flag and held off an early challenge from Bryan Collins. By lap six, Ratajczyk had pulled away to a comfortable lead, however, Mark Voigt had found fast line around the top was beginning to work his way toward the front from his sixth place starting spot. Around lap ten, Mark Miner and Craig Smith would move past Collins to take over second and third while Voigt would soon move into the fourth spot past Collins as well. Voigt then made short work of Miner and Smith and moved into the second position and began to chase down Ratajczyk. With seven laps remaining, Voigt moved past Ratajczyk on the high side. Ratajczyk would fight back on the low side as the two worked lapped traffic. Voigt would prove too tough as he worked the highside and would take the win. Ratajczyk would finish a strong second with Tim Manville making a late race charge to finish third. Craig Smith would take the fourth spot while Michael Kloos edged out Miner for the fifth spot. This is Mark Voigt's 30th season of racing and he started the 2010 racing season off great with wins at I-55 Raceway and Belle-Clair Speedway.In the UMP DIRTcar Modified division, Rusty Griffaw and Bobby Bittle reversed their fortunes from the previous night at Belle-Clair Speedway. Griffaw edged Bittle out at Belle-Clair Speedway on Friday night, while tonight it Bittle edging out Griffaw for the win. Griffaw would jump out to the early lead and would lead the first five laps before he would make a mistake in turn four as he had to take evasive action to keep from getting into the outside wall and allow Bittle to take over the top spot. Bittle would proceed to lead the final fifteen laps of the main event to take the win. Griffaw stayed glued to his bumper but couldn't make the pass back for the lead and would settle for the second spot. Paul Bauman would finish third with Tim Hancock finishing fourth. Doug Wood rounded out the top five.Trey Harris would pace all fifteen laps to earn the win in the UMP DIRTcar/AARA Sportsman main event. Harris seemed to have things in check throughout most of the event. However, a late race caution with four laps to go allowed Jeff Herzog to make it interesting. Herzog worked the high side trying to move past Harris and the two battled side by side for much of the final four laps. Harris would hold him off and claim the win. Herzog took second while Troy Naeger finished third. Brad Paquet would finish fourth with Kent Nations fifth.Jeff Turner claimed his first ever feature win as he powered his UMP DIRTcar/AARA Pro 4 Stock to victory lane. Turner led flag to flag and dominated the main event. Jackie Buechting had her best ever feature finish as he took the second spot. Blake Jost would cross the line in third with Justin McCallister fourth. Justin Hall rounded out the top five.UMP DIRTcar Late Models - 27 EntriesHeat 11. 112 Tim Ratajczyk2. b5 Brandon Sheppard3. 2j Dave Jumper4. 33 Tim Manville5. 7 Rich Lawson6. 86 Jason Crump7. 37 Danny Moser8. d9 David Dunn9. 3d Lou DreimeierHeat 21. 81 Craig Smith2. 30 Mark Voigt3. 11d Brian Diveley4. 6k Michael Kloos5. 87 Ken Rumble6. 95 Jeff Johns7. 80d Dylan Sharp8. 13 Dewayne Keifer9. 76 Butch KruckebergHeat 31. 78 Mark Miner2. 11z Bryan Collins3. 96 Cory Daugherty4. 1hr Ron McQuerry5. 7 Matt Weidner6. 27 Jeff Beyers7. 28b John Beck8. 16h Mike Hammerle9. 23 Paul Roider Semi1. 13 Dewayne Keifer2. 28b John Beck3. 80d Dylan Sharp4. 37 Danny Moser5. 16h Mike Hammerle6. 23 Paul Roider7. 76 Butch Kruckeberg8. d9 David Dunn9. 3d Lou Dreimeier Feature1. (6) 30 Mark Voigt2. (2) 112 Tim Ratajczyk3. (8) 33 Tim Manville4. (3) 81 Craig Smith5. (9) 6k Michael Kloos6. (4) 78 Mark Miner7. (5) 2J Dave Jumper8. (18) 27 Jeff Beyers9. (1) 11Z Bryan Collins10. (7) B5 Brandon Sheppard11. (14) 87 Ken Rumble12. (15) 7 Matt Weidner13. (20) 28B John Beck14. (19) 13 Dewayne Keifer15. (11) 96 Cory Daugherty16. (23) 16H Mike Hammerle17. (10) 11D Brian Dively18. (13) 7L Rich Lawson19. (24) 23 Paul Roider20. (22) 37 Danny Moser21. (12) 1HR Ron McQuerry22. (21) 80D Dylan Sharp23. (17) 95 Jeff Johns24. (16) 86 Jason CrumpUMP DIRTcar Modifieds - 18 EntriesHeat 11. 0 Tim Hancock2. 9w Doug Wood3. 36 Conrad Miner4. 78c Alan Conner5. 14 Rick Conoyer6. 86 Steve Shive7. 70 Josh Russell8. c4 Chris Soutiea9. 2 Robbie HelmsHeat 21. 89 Bobby Bittle2. 16 Rusty Griffaw3. 24 Paul Bauman4. 17 Brad Thurston5. 7 Mark Miner6. 3c Coody Conner7. 7z Matt Zimmerly8. 10 Jim Black9. 5w Ralph Wiltrout DNS Feature1. (1) 89 Bobby Bittle2. (2) 16 Rusty Griffaw3. (5) 24 Paul Bauman4. (6) 0 Tim Hancock5. (3) 9w Doug Wood6. (4) 36 Conrad Miner7. (10) 7 Mark Miner8. (8) 14 Rick Conoyer9. (12) 86 Steve Shive10. (13) 7z Matt Zimmerly11. (17) 2 Robbie Helms12. (7) 17 Brad Thurston13. (11) 3c Cody Conner14. (14) 70 Josh Russell15. (15) c4 Chris Soutiea16. (9) 78c Alan Conner17. (16) 10 Jim Black18. 5w Ralph Wiltrout DNS UMP DIRTcar/AARA Sportsman - 29 EntriesHeat 11. 57 Trey Harris2. 12 Troy Naeger3. 192 Mark Spraul4. 50 Kent Nations5. 16 Joe McCain6. 444 Marc Roberson7. 5h Scott Hammack8. 6 Rick Ruch9. 99 Chuck Adams10. 15b Matt BrucatoHeat 21. 8e Steve Edgecombe2. 49 Brad Paquet3. 18 Buddy Lowry4. 147 Kyle Stolzer5. 55k Jason Keller6. 327 Chuck Goodman7. t2 Grant Evans8. 10 Daryn Klein9. 8 Eddie Lowry10. 28 Tyson GeggHeat 31. 11 Jeff Herzog2. 87 Gary Haynes3. 3 Scott Hensler4. 59 Ryan Gegg5. 23 Kevin Mosier6. 16 Jake Buechting7. 65 Gary Range8. 68 Scott Bourland9. 54 Kevin Pontious Semi1. 16 Jake Buechting2. 5h Scott Hammack3. 99 Chuck Adams4. 65 Gary Range5. 10 Daryn Klein6. 8 Eddie Lowry7. 6 Rick Ruch8. 15b Matt Brucato9. 68 Scott Bourland10. 54 Kevin Pontious DNS11. 28 Tyson Gegg DNS Feature1. (2) 57 Trey Harris2. (6) 11 Jeff Herzog3. (3) 12 Troy Naeger4. (4) 49 Brad Paquet5. (5) 50 Kent Nations6. (7) 87 Gary Haynes7. (1) 8e Steve Edgecombe8. (9) 3 Scott Hensler9. (10) 18 Buddy Lowry10. (11) 147 Kyle Stolzer11. (13) 55K Jason Keller12. (15) 23 Kevin Mosier13. (19) 99 Chuck Adams14. (14) 16M Joe McCain15. (16) 444 Marc Roberson16. (18) 327 Chuck Goodman17. (23) 8L Eddie Lowry18. (8) 192 Mark Spraul19. (20) 5H Scott Hammack20. (17) 16B Jake Buechting21. (21) 10 Daryn Klein22. (22) 65 Gary Range23. (12) 59 Ryan GeggDNS. T2 Grant EvansUMP DIRTcar/AARA Pro 4 Stocks - 12 EntriesHeat 11. 49 Justin McAllister2. 667 Jackie Buechting3. 2s Philip Stuart4. 21 Tom Rorabacher5. 17w Brent Weaver6. 19 Jessica BuechtingHeat 21. 11 Jeff Turner2. 7j Blake Jost3. 28 Justin Hall4. 18 Aron Faulkner5. 01 Billy Lapaglia6. 62 Kelly Hebenstreit Feature1. 11 Jeff Turner2. 667 Jackie Buechting3. 7j Blake Jost4. 49 Justin McCallister5. 28 Justin Hall6. 21 Tom Rorabacher7. 2s Philip Stuart8. 01 Billy Lapaglia9. 62 Kelly Hebenstreit10. 18 Aron Faulkner11. 19 Jessica Buechting12. 17w Brent Weaver

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