Sam Stoecklin
ULMA Media Relations
July 21, 2010

Jason Bodenhamer Climbs ULMA Point Ladder with Fifth Victory

In the heat of summer the ULMA point standings are starting to reveal the title hopes of at least two drivers set to battle to the finish for this year’s years championship.  The 2008 champion, Jason Bodenhamer, of Centerview, MO rolled to his fifth overall victory of the year last weekend with a win at Central Missouri Speedway (CMS) and vaulted into second position in the standings as a result of his win.  Meanwhile, current leader Bob Test of Jefferson City, MO recorded two more top three finishes to maintain his lead.  Vance Wilson recorded his fifth straight ULMA win by claiming the checkers at Callaway Raceway.

Drivers use their 15 best finishes of the year to determine the overall title once the season concludes and from the looks of things Bodenhamer and Test for now appear to be the odds-on favorites down the homestretch.  If all goes as planned, Bodenhamer will recorded his fifteenth start this weekend while Test, who has been the road warrior this year, will record at least his 28th main event start by the time the weekend concludes.  Test will need to improve a 4th place run while Bodenhamer will first throw out a 3rd place finish to balance out fifteen starts on the year.  It’s certainly not too late for Jon Binning to get in the hunt but he will need to record solid runs at or near the top to get in the mix for the remaining races to challenge the two leaders.  The sleeper in this year’s point standings could be Vance Wilson, who has only amassed seven starts, two of which came on double point weekend.  If Wilson had joined ULMA at the beginning of the season he would have eleven wins on the season.  It is unknown whether Wilson will continue running enough ULMA events to get to the fifteen starts threshold.  

Last weekend at CMS, drivers kicked off their portion of the evening’s program with three heat races. Brett Wood of Warrensburg picked up a heat-race win over brother-in-law Jason Bodenhamer and O’Fallon Missouri’s Shawn Rayfield. Jon Binning of Warrensburg was also a heat-race winner over Bob Test and Steve Clancy. Come feature time, Bodenhamer swiftly moved into the second position with Kevin Coyne and Bob Test inside the top four. Lap-after-lap Bodee pressured leader Brett Wood for the lead but ‘Woody’ was able to keep him at bay for the first three quarters of the race.  The entire race went caution-free as drivers did a great job in keeping their cars in check with several battles throughout the field.  Coyne’s strong run came to an end with mechanical woes just as Test advanced to the third spot with Jon Binning moving up to take fourth by lap thirteen. On lap fifteen, Bodenhamer drove to the low side of Wood to claim the top spot and then was able to hold off his brother-in-law for his fifth feature win of the year.  Wood recorded his strongest finish this year in second with Test having a strong run to third.  Binning finished fourth at the line with Rayfield, Clancy, Joe Walkenhorst, and Brothers Brian and John Pipes rounding out the top ten.  There were 13 member drivers present among 15 competitors.  Another exciting weekend is on tap at CMS; check out all the details at www.centralmissourispeedway.net.  

Lucas Oil Speedway did not compete ULMA late models last weekend but will return to action this Saturday night for another week of championship racing at the ‘Diamond of Dirt Tracks’ in Wheatland, MO. The speedway has played host to strong late model car counts this year. Vance Wilson currently has three wins in a row at the track and if he shows again Saturday night he will likely be near or at the top of the standings when the night concludes. For a complete look at the remaining track schedule and event details be sure to visit the track’s website at www.lucasoilspeedway.com.  

Wilson is also the man to beat at Callaway Raceway and now has five straight wins dating back to mid June at the track in Fulton, MO. The last man to drive to victory lane before Wilson’s hot streak was Jeff Schlup of California, MO. Look for Schlup and Test to challenge for the win this weekend at the track.  Last weekend behind Wilson, Schlup came away second with Test third.  James Stafford, Chris Cox, Zeke Langley, Cliff Powell, and Robbie Wright also recorded finishes inside the top ten.  There were 8 ULMA member drivers present of 14 total competitors. Racing resumes this Friday at the track, for complete details visit the official website at www.callawayraceways.com.  

For complete standings and the remaining schedule visit www.ulmaracing.com. The ULMA points fund benefits by booking your lodging needs through the official ULMA website, savings await everyone using the link on the website by choosing from several quality hotel chains.  ULMA membership is available on site at each affiliated track for $50; ask for the track’s ULMA representative.  Driver and affiliate membership is also available via the Website. To join the association’s email group, send request to unitedlatemodelassociation@hotmail.com.  

POS CAR # NAME POINTS Starts
1st 1 Bob Test 1464 27
2nd 88B Jason Bodenhamer 1380 14
3rd 65 Jon Binning 1352 18
4th 7 Brett Wood 1322 17
5th 1T Chris Cox (R) 1314 19
6th 27 Danny Lorton 1210 16
7th 98 James Stafford 1188 18
8th 12c Steve Clancy 1169 14
9th 7W Trace Westling 1132 14
10th 22 Kevin Coyne 1104 15
11th 23Z Ezekiel Langley (R) 986 12
12th 21 Jeff Schlup 978 11
13th 25 Robbie Wright 965 13
14th 90 Joe Walkenhorst 840 10
15th 18R Shawn Rayfield 823 11
16th 28 Brian Pipes 810 10
17th 4W Dustin Walker 786 11
18th 16 Ashlee Lancaster (R) 784 10
19th 68 John Pipes 780 10
20th OO Zach Green 772 10