Ponderosa Speedway
Contact- Michael Despain (Mdespain7@aol.com and/or dirttrackracing@hotmail.com)

Lee, Hines, Turpin, and Grant Honored at Ponderosa Speedway Championship Celebration

Junction City, KY-February 20, 2010- Track promoter Larry, Chad, and Sarah Yantz honored their season’s best on Saturday night and officially closed out the 2009 racing season for “Kentucky’s Baddest Bullring” with the Ponderosa Speedway Championship Awards Banquet at the National Guard Armory in Danville, KY.

Victor Lee of Stanford, KY would be honored as the ’09 Good Neighbor Pharmacy Super Late Model division track champion.  The second generation racer would score six feature event wins along the way to claiming the track championship.  For the first half of the season, Lee would pilot the Frank Revel owned Kentucky’s Best/Budda Bert Transmissions/American Racer Tires/Tim Logan Racing/Cash 4 Gold/Don’s Marathon/The Key Club/ADO’s Auto Parts sponsored #4 C.J. Rayburn Race Car, Jay Dickens Race Engines powered mount, while driving the Steve West and Gary Craig owned Quality Pawn/Advance Auto Parts/Kentucky’s Best/West Towing/American Racer Tires/PPM/Taylor Trucking/All Star Performance/Xtreme Style Signs and Graphics/JumpStart Communications sponsored #55 C.J. Rayburn Race Car, Corder Competition Engines powered mount the second half of the season.  Michael Chilton of Salvisa, KY would finish second in the track points for the second consecutive season, while Mike Marlar of Winfield, TN would nail down the third spot in points.  Defending track champion Dustin Linville of Bryantsville, KY and former track champion Bobby Carrier, Jr. of Harrodsburg, KY would complete the top five in division points.  The remainder of the top ten would be Justin Rattliff of Campbellsville, KY, David Webb of Nicholasville, KY, Jeff Watson of Campbellsville, KY, Dustin Neat of Dunnville, KY, and Johnny Wheeler of Campbellsville, KY.  The top ten drivers also received contingency awards from C.J. Rayburn Race Cars of Whiteland, IN as well.  Rayburn Race Cars lead the way for the season with eight feature event wins, while Jay Dickens Race Engines and Corder Competition Engines each won three feature events respectively.  Corder Competition Race Engines received the Chris Estes Memorial Engine Builder of the Year award and the trio of John Carrier, Randy Elam, and Ron “Old Man” Winstead received the Brad Pena Memorial Crew Chief of the Year award.  

Jeremy Hines of Seymour, IN would be honored as the track’s Kentucky National Guard Pro Late Model division track champion.  Also a second generation racer, Hines would grab two feature event victories on the way to his first track championship outside of the Hoosier state.  The title run for Hines came behind the wheel of the Jack Rainey owned Bedford Transport/Lineal Contracting/Indiana Monument/Eric Thompson Photography sponsored #49 C.J. Rayburn Race Car powered by a GM604 Performance Crate Engine.  Defending track champion Todd Coffman of Junction City, KY would claim track championship runner-up honors, with Kevin Colston of Frankfort, KY finishing third in the final points tally.  Zane Morgan of Junction City, KY and Clarence Belcher of Junction City, KY would round out the top five in Pro Late Model track points.  Completing the top ten for the division would be Gary Yeager of Harrodsburg, KY, Mike Covington of Stamping Ground, KY, Jeff Johnson of Junction City, KY, Daniel Hatcher of Campbellsville, KY and former track champion P.J. Feistritzer of Danville, KY.  Hines was unable to attend the ceremony due to prior racing commitments in Florida.  The top ten division finishers would also receive contingency awards from C.J. Rayburn Race Cars in Whiteland, IN as Rayburn Race Cars won every Pro Late Model feature event at the track in 2009 and all the winners were powered by GM604 Performance Crate Engines.

Randy Turpin of Lebanon, KY would receive the top honors as track champion in the Clayton Homes Modified division.  This would be the first ever track title for this seasoned veteran of racing in Central Kentucky.  Turpin would take two feature event checkered flags on his way to the ’09 track title for the open wheel division.  Turpin’s championship winning efforts came in the seat of the Randy and Josh Turpin owned Cedarwood Restaurant/Smith Service Company/
Thomas and Son Trucking/All About Hair and Nails/John Cox Martial Arts/Bell Machine and Fabrication/Williams Repair/Dr. Rod Coxon Chiropractic/Kay’s Barber Shop sponsored #99 Bandit Race Car, Dale Meers Race Engines powered machine.  Jason Wheatley of Loretto, KY would claim second in the final division points, while defending track champion Benji Lee of Loretto, KY would finish third in Modified track points.  Kevin Nesselhauf of Lancaster, KY would finish fourth, with J.T. Ayers of New Haven, KY completing the top five in points.  Rounding out the top ten point netters would be Elliott Despain of Campbellsville, KY, Michael England of Glasgow, KY, Todd Noel of Springfield, KY, Rocky Wilson of Hodgenville, KY, and Don Adams of London, KY.  Bandit Race Cars was the top chassis winner at the track for 2009 with seven feature event wins, with Dale Meers Race Engines the top winning engine builder for the class with six feature victories.

Bartley Grant of Berea, KY would be recognized for the second consecutive season as the Bob Allen Motor Mall Sportsman division track champion.  Grant would follow up his 2008 track title with eight feature event victories on the way to snagging the 2009 track championship title.  Grant would perform his duties aboard the Mistie and Tori Grant owned Cookie Monster Power Plants/Double J Cylinder Heads/D&H Heating and Air/Smokehouse Grill/Copper Creek Welding/ Troy’s Roofing/Xtreme Style Signs and Graphics/Linville’s Finish Carpentry/JumpStart Communications sponsored #1 Buick Regal.  Former track champion Rick King of Junction City, KY would score championship runner-up honors, with Gerald Haynes, Jr. of Somerset, KY finishing in the third position in division points.  Donnie Sullivan of Stanford, KY and Logan Whitis of Hustonville, KY would finish fourth and fifth respectively in the final points.  The final five positions in the top ten would fall to Darrell Baker of Waco, KY, Pat Hagan of New Haven, KY, Logan Preston of Berea, KY, Johnny King of Lancaster, KY and Troy Scott of Hustonville, KY and Todd Carmickle of Stanford, KY would finish tied for tenth.

Track co-promoter Chad Yantz would close out the evening by discussing the 2010 race season schedule and also taking about the track’s Open Wheel Modified and Sportsman divisions being sanctioned by the UMP DirtCar organization for the 2010 racing season.   A pair of open practice sessions are scheduled for Saturday March 20 and Friday March 26, while the racing season gets going the first weekend in April with the Spring 30 on April 2 and the Chris Estes/Brad Pena Memorial event on Saturday April 3.

Ponderosa Speedway is located off of Phillips Lane, just outside of Junction City, KY.  Larry, Chad, and Sarah Yantz are the track promoters and present dirt track sports entertainment on Friday evenings from April through early October.  For more information about Ponderosa Speeday, visit the track’s website at www.ponderosaspeedway.net.