Gustin outduels Chris Simpson for Night 1 victory at MLRA Fall Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway
2024-10-04 19:01
dirtFan website https://dirtfan.com/dirtfan/assets/graphics/dirtfan-200x200.jpg
WHEATLAND, MO. (Oct. 3, 2024) - Ryan Gustin regained the lead for good on lap 21 and held off Chris Simpson over the final nine laps to find victory lane Thursday night in the Lucas Oil Speedway Fall Nationals opener at Lucas Oil Speedway.
Gustin, of Marshalltown, Iowa, picked up $5,000 for his 11th career MLRA feature win, five of which have come at Lucas Oil Speedway. He beat Simpson, of Oxford, Iowa, by half a second with local weekly track champion Justin Wells of Aurora improving 10 positions to capture third.
"It's a love-hate relationship here," Gustin said of his Lucas Oil Speedway MLRA history. "Sometimes we're almost unstoppable here and other times we don't make the show. Hopefully, we can just keep it rolling and be here the rest of the weekend."
The 8th annual Super Stocks Big Buck 50 Presented by Whitetail Trophy Hunt also got going Thursday night with practice and time trials to set the lineup for heat races and two dash races on Friday night. The MLRA also will have another full program on Friday, paying $5,000 to win.
Both divisions will wrap things up Saturday night with 50-lap, $10,000-to-win main events.
From the start of the MLRA feature, it was a battle between Gustin and Simpson. As the green flag flefw, Simpson led the opening lap, but inside front-row starter Jon Binning spun in turn two of lap two for the race's first caution. Several cars dodged Binning in what could have been a multi-car incident.
The restart saw Simpson off and running to a 1.1-second lead over Gustin by lap five with Stormy Scott third. The fourth-starting Gustin started to cut into the margin and was right behind Simpson by lap eight when the second caution appeared for a Jeff Herzog spin.
Gustin fired strong on the restart and took to the high side and was able to clear Simpson for the lead coming off turn two on lap 11. Simpson battled back on the inside and the two raced side by side for the next three laps before Gustin edged out to a three-car-length lead.
Simpson trailed by a half-second when the third caution waved on lap 16 as Chad Simpson, the MLRA championship leader, spun in turn two as he was running eighth.
Chris Simpson regained the top spot on lap 20, but Gustin went right back around him on the outside the next time around. That would be the final lead change as those two pulled away from the field as action remained green the rest of the way.
"I seen (Simpson's) signal guy move him down, so I figured we were just gonna crack the whip and run the cushion and hope for the best," Gustin said. "It all worked out."
"Ryan was below me and I was like if Ryan's good down there then I can be really good down there," Simpson said. "I moved down on that restart, but I probably should have run that top one lap, just to stop him from getting a run."
Gustin desperately held on as the duo dealt with lapped cars on the final lap. Simpson's momentum was stopped entering turn three by a slower car.
"Either way it was a good race," Simpson said. "I was a little better than him in (turns) three and four. I think we might have had something on that last lap, but (a car) was in the way. But we'll take it. It's a three-night weekend. To get second tonight is still a good night for us."
Gustin prevailed by two car lengths as the pivotal weekend in the MLRA championship chase began. Chris Simpson began the action third in points, 200 behind the leader, his brother Chad Simpson who settled for 14th after his spin.
Chad Simpson unofficially leads Tony Jackson Jr. by 55 and Chris Simpson by 130 with five series races remaining.
Wells, the Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Series Late Model champ, finished four seconds back in third. Wells beat Stormy Scott and Jackson, who were fourth and fifth.
Afterward, Wells told a story about running an MLRA race at Lucas Oil Speedway shortly after the track opened nearly 20 years ago. He led most of it before being passed late by Rex McCroskey, a two-time MLRA series champ, who died over the weekend.
"I led that thing almost to the end and No. 64 passed me," said Wells, who had a small No. 64 in blue over his larger, yellow No. 49 on his race car as a tribute to McCroskey. "I just want to say, 'Rex, thanks for being a good guy. We're gonna miss you.' He was a good racer."
Stormy Scott of Las Cruces, N.M., set fast overall qualifying time with a 14.793 on Group A. Chris Simpson's 15.155 paced Group B.
In the Super Stocks qualifying, both top qualifiers in the respective groups hail from Jonesboro, Ark. Jeremy Russell paced Group A with a lap time of 19.478 seconds and Jared Hays led Group B with the fast time overall at 19.130.
Sixty-three Super Stocks posted qualifying laps on Thursday night in the renewal of the Big Buck, which last was held in 2020.
LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (Oct. 3, 2024)
MLRA Fall Nationals/Super Stocks Big Buck 50 Presented by Whitetail Trophy Hunt
MLRA Late Models
A Feature - 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 2. 32-Chris Simpson[2]; 3. 49W-Justin Wells[13]; 4. 2S-Stormy Scott[5]; 5. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[11]; 6. 22H-Dustin Hodges[15]; 7. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[16]; 8. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[24]; 9. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[21]; 10. 15L-Payton Looney[8]; 11. 8-Dillon McCowan[23]; 12. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[17]; 13. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[22]; 14. 25-Chad Simpson[9]; 15. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[19]; 16. 1XMJ-Matt Johnson[12]; 17. 50C-Kayden Clatt[10]; 18. (DNF) 15T-Tyler Kuykendall[3]; 19. (DNF) 36M-Logan Martin[6]; 20. (DNF) 2T-Tyler Stevens[14]; 21. (DNF) 9G-Joseph Gorby[18]; 22. (DNF) 93-Brandon Overton[7]; 23. (DNF) 11-Jeff Herzog[20]; 24. (DNF) 65-Jon Binning[1]
Fast Shafts B Feature 1 - 1. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[2]; 2. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[1]; 3. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[4]; 4. 8-Dillon McCowan[9]; 5. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[3]; 6. 1S-Shawn Knuckles[7]; 7. 10M-Jacob Magee[5]; 8. (DNF) 1T-Tucker Cox[8]; 9. (DNF) 7W-Cole Wells[6]
Wieland B Feature 2 - 1. 9G-Joseph Gorby[8]; 2. 11-Jeff Herzog[2]; 3. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[5]; 4. 16-Rusty Griffaw[1]; 5. 29-Keith Hammett[6]; 6. 5V-Austin Vincent[3]; 7. 7M-Allan Middendorf[7]; 8. (DNS) 7J-Ryan Johnson; 9. (DNS) 15S-Clayton Stuckey
Flo Sports Heat 1 - 1. 65-Jon Binning[2]; 2. 2S-Stormy Scott[1]; 3. 25-Chad Simpson[3]; 4. 49W-Justin Wells[4]; 5. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[7]; 6. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[6]; 7. 10M-Jacob Magee[8]; 8. (DNF) 1S-Shawn Knuckles[9]; 9. (DNS) 8-Dillon McCowan
Simpson Racing Products Heat 2 - 1. 15T-Tyler Kuykendall[1]; 2. 93-Brandon Overton[5]; 3. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[2]; 4. 22H-Dustin Hodges[7]; 5. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[3]; 6. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[6]; 7. 7W-Cole Wells[8]; 8. 1T-Tucker Cox[4]
Earnhardt Technologies Heat 3 - 1. 32-Chris Simpson[1]; 2. 36M-Logan Martin[2]; 3. 50C-Kayden Clatt[3]; 4. 2T-Tyler Stevens[6]; 5. 16-Rusty Griffaw[5]; 6. 5V-Austin Vincent[4]; 7. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[7]; 8. 7M-Allan Middendorf[8]; 9. (DNS) 7J-Ryan Johnson
Lucas Oil Heat 4 - 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[2]; 2. 15L-Payton Looney[3]; 3. 1XMJ-Matt Johnson[1]; 4. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[5]; 5. 11-Jeff Herzog[7]; 6. 15S-Clayton Stuckey[6]; 7. 29-Keith Hammett[8]; 8. 9G-Joseph Gorby[4]
Group A My Race Pass Qualifying - 1. 2S-Stormy Scott, 00:14.793[6]; 2. 15T-Tyler Kuykendall, 00:14.890[15]; 3. 65-Jon Binning, 00:15.144[4]; 4. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr, 00:15.178[9]; 5. 25-Chad Simpson, 00:15.247[12]; 6. 1XM-Aaron Marrant, 00:15.310[14]; 7. 49W-Justin Wells, 00:15.339[17]; 8. 1T-Tucker Cox, 00:15.410[5]; 9. 8-Dillon McCowan, 00:15.454[13]; 10. 93-Brandon Overton, 00:15.464[11]; 11. 46-Earl Pearson Jr, 00:15.560[16]; 12. 11G-Gordy Gundaker, 00:15.594[1]; 13. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 00:15.645[8]; 14. 22H-Dustin Hodges, 00:15.651[2]; 15. 10M-Jacob Magee, 00:15.740[3]; 16. 7W-Cole Wells, 00:15.740[7]; 17. 1S-Shawn Knuckles, 00:16.341[10]
Group B My Race Pass Qualifying - 1. 32-Chris Simpson, 00:15.155[7]; 2. 1XMJ-Matt Johnson, 00:15.231[2]; 3. 36M-Logan Martin, 00:15.283[10]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 00:15.352[6]; 5. 50C-Kayden Clatt, 00:15.455[9]; 6. 15L-Payton Looney, 00:15.463[11]; 7. 5V-Austin Vincent, 00:15.484[3]; 8. 9G-Joseph Gorby, 00:15.507[13]; 9. 16-Rusty Griffaw, 00:15.579[5]; 10. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain, 00:15.631[1]; 11. 2T-Tyler Stevens, 00:15.711[8]; 12. 15S-Clayton Stuckey, 00:15.750[12]; 13. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck, 00:15.818[14]; 14. 11-Jeff Herzog, 00:15.891[17]; 15. 7M-Allan Middendorf, 00:17.012[15]; 16. (DNS) 29-Keith Hammett, 00:18.000; 17. (DNS) 7J-Ryan Johnson, 00:18.000
Hickamo Super Stocks
Qualifying Group A - 1. KEG1-Jeremy Russell, 00:19.478[5]; 2. 4G-Gary Clark, 00:19.536[4]; 3. 94C-JT Carroll, 00:19.613[16]; 4. 73-Daniel Deason, 00:19.671[28]; 5. 251-Brian Schutt, 00:19.694[7]; 6. 94K-Kenny Carroll, 00:19.771[11]; 7. 27D-Derek Henson, 00:19.784[20]; 8. 69-Brian Brown, 00:19.879[25]; 9. 59R-Jacob Rexing, 00:19.898[9]; 10. C5-CLAUDIE COOK, 00:19.923[1]; 11. 2X-Whitney Nunally, 00:19.966[21]; 12. 12A-Scotty Allen, 00:19.971[17]; 13. 30C-Clayton Campbell, 00:19.989[12]; 14. 88-Jason Winkle, 00:20.051[19]; 15. 1J-Josh Jones, 00:20.070[31]; 16. 44-James Nighswonger, 00:20.106[10]; 17. 18-Jon Hays, 00:20.120[15]; 18. 1-Nick Gibson, 00:20.200[29]; 19. 67-Devin Irvin, 00:20.274[13]; 20. 1T-Bradley Tucker, 00:20.342[6]; 21. 56-Mark Davis, 00:20.376[3]; 22. 83-James Ellis, 00:20.432[27]; 23. 12J-Justin Jarrett, 00:20.440[18]; 24. 77-Jeff Douty, 00:20.533[8]; 25. 23N-Jase Nelson, 00:20.538[23]; 26. 88R-Alex Reddmann, 00:20.693[24]; 27. 18K-Kyle Cotter, 00:20.892[32]; 28. 43-Kevin Koontz, 00:21.700[14]; 29. 07-Peyton Taylor, 00:25.000[2]; 30. 116-Zack Smith, 00:25.000[22]; 31. 99W-Edwin Wells, 00:25.000[26]; 32. CU2-Jeremy Creasey, 00:25.000[30]
Qualifying Group B - 1. 4-Jared Hays, 00:19.130[21]; 2. 21-Darin Porter, 00:19.594[12]; 3. 69C-Caleb Brown, 00:19.693[19]; 4. 2-Colton Bourland, 00:19.739[8]; 5. 40-Taylor Carver, 00:19.769[5]; 6. B4-Terry Schultz, 00:19.775[6]; 7. 11T-Richie Tosh, 00:19.848[4]; 8. 216-Chris Junkersfeld, 00:19.880[27]; 9. 26M-Donnie Miller, 00:19.890[9]; 10. 66-Matthew Kay, 00:19.924[10]; 11. 11-Derek Brown, 00:19.967[17]; 12. 21W-Ted Welschmeyer, 00:19.999[11]; 13. G1-Tony Anglin, 00:20.014[1]; 14. 04-Blaine Ewing, 00:20.049[14]; 15. 12V-Nathan Vaughn, 00:20.096[30]; 16. GO-Jimmy Ngo, 00:20.122[31]; 17. 35-Johnny Coats, 00:20.138[15]; 18. 10K-Kyle Davis, 00:20.164[26]; 19. 219-Jared Neiswander, 00:20.173[18]; 20. 68-Dean Wille, 00:20.176[20]; 21. 27S-Will Smart, 00:20.187[3]; 22. 10-Steve Beach, 00:20.218[13]; 23. 53-Danny O'Neal, 00:20.297[2]; 24. 164-Michael Muskrat, 00:20.372[16]; 25. 28K-Chris Kircher, 00:20.398[25]; 26. 27B-Jerett Evans, 00:20.412[29]; 27. 15M-Michael Matthews, 00:20.635[7]; 28. 3-Dale Douty III, 00:20.730[28]; 29. 16-Logan Thompson, 00:20.739[24]; 30. 94-Elmo Floyd, 00:20.818[22]; 31. X221-Jerry Brown, 00:20.971[23]
Pits will open at 4 p.m. Friday with grandstands at 4:30, hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.
Friday admission:
Advance Discount Tickets online only (13 and up) - $27
Adults (13 and up) - $30
Seniors (62 and up)/Military - $27
Youth (6-12) - $10
Kids (5 and under) - FREE
Family Pass - $70
Pit Pass - $40
Saturday admission:
Advance Discount Tickets online only (13 and up) - $27
Adults (13 and up) - $30
Seniors (62 and up)/Military - $27
Youth (6-12) - $10
Kids (5 and under) - FREE
Family Pass - $70
Pit Pass - $45
Camping:
Reserved with Electric and Water - $40/Night (Limited Availability) Reserved Dry Spots - $25/Night (Limited Availability) Dry Camping - $15/Night
For ticket or camping information on any Lucas Oil Speedway event, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or via email at nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com.
For information about Lucas Oil Speedway, including schedules, point standings and other news, please visit LucasOilSpeedway.com.
CONTACT:
Danny Lorton
Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager
Office: (417) 282-5984
DLorton@lucasoilspeedway.com
# # #
Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate, this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience.
For ticket and camping information and everything about the Show-Me 100 event, visit www.LucasOilSpeedway.com for all the information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.
In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on X, clicking "Like" at www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway
Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and schedules can be found by visiting LucasOilSpeedway.com.
About Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top five racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Missouri, approximately an hour from Springfield, Missouri, and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" lives up to its title.
Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the 12th season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, "Lake Lucas." New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring a host of regional events.
Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, POWRi Midget National Series, Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, United States Modified Touring Series, ASCS Sprint Cars and the Lucas Oil MLRA.
In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Racing Series features the Late Models, USRA Modifieds, USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods.
2024 Official Lucas Oil Speedway Marketing Partners
Arizona Sport Shirts
"The Official Merchandise Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Bill Roberts Chevrolet
"The Official Truck" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Dixie Chopper
"The Official Mowers of Lucas Oil Speedway"
General Tire
"The Official Tire" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Products
"The Official Oil" of Lucas Oil Speedway
MAVTV
"The Official Television Network" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper
"The Official Soft Drink" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Rugged Radios
"The Official 2-Way Communications Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Summit Racing Equipment
"The Official Sponsor" of Lucas Oil Speedway
Sunoco Race Fuels
"The Official Fuel" of Lucas Oil Speedway
2024 Lucas Oil Speedway Supporters Include:
AM Pyrotechnics, Alliance Sport Marketing, Arctic Food Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts, Berry Tractor and Equipment Co., Big Adventure RV, Bill Roberts Chevrolet, Bolivar Auto Sales & Detailing, Bolivar Farmers Exchange-MFA, Boone's BBQ Barn, Boubin Tire/American Racer, Bridal Cave, BWI Sanitation, Candlelight Creations-Dick's Wild Root Horseradish, Casey's, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, City Magnet, Clearlight Inn, Dixie Chopper, Eibach Springs, Farmers Insurance Agent Kristy Reynolds, Fast Shafts by Axle Exchange, Foley Equipment-Cat Rental Store, Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, Hermitage Lumber, HICKAMO Country Store, Hobbytime Motorsports, Iconic Apparel, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps, In the Garden of Eden, KC Bobcat, Kluhsman Racing Components, Kona Ice, Lucas Cattle Company, MD3, Midwest Sheet Metal, Miller Welding, Missouri Division of Tourism, MyRacePass, Nutrien Ag Solutions, OakStar Bank, O'Bannon Bank, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Ozark Golf Cars, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper, Ozarks Community Health Center, PEM, Pitts Homes, Pitts Realty, Pitts Cattle, Pomme de Terre Resort, Proboat, ProThings Apparel, RACEceiver, Racinboys.com, RacinDirt.com, Rains Ice Company, RCR Designs, Real Racing Wheels, Rod End Supply, Ron Jenkins Accounting & Tax Service, Rugged Radios, Ryan E. Murphy Law Firm LLC, SBU Athletics, Safety Kleen, Scott Furniture, Sidetrack RV Park, Simpson Racing Products, Southwest Electric Cooperative, State Tech, Stillwater Resort, Summit Racing Equipment, Sunoco Race Fuels, Turn 1 Bar & Grill, US Army Corps of Engineers-Pomme de Terre, Vietti Marketing Group, Wheatland Motel, White's Marine Center, Wieland, Wild Animal Safari, Woods Supermarkets.