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Michael Despain
BARDSTOWN, Ky. (April 18) - Bluegrass Speedway opened its gates for the 2009 season opening event on Saturday evening and Justin Rattliff of Campbellsville, KY scored the victory in the 44 Auto Mart Super Late Model feature event for his first career victory at the ½ mile Nelson County clay oval. Joey Kramer of Hanover, IN would score the win in the Modified feature event, while Pat Hagan of New Haven, KY would see the checkered flag first in the WBRT 1320-AM Sportsman feature, with Mike Cozzin, Jr. of Borden, IN the winner in the Street Stock main event.
Michael Chilton would grab the lead at the start of the 25 lap 44 Auto Mart Super Late Model feature event, with Jason Keltner, Justin Rattliff, Terry Casey, and Dustin Linville giving chase. Rattliff would charge from his third starting spot to grab second from Keltner on lap 2, with Casey scooting past Keltner for third one circuit later, while Tim Tungate would drive past Linville for fifth on the same lap. Rattliff would begin to pressure Chilton for the top spot and would grab the lead on lap 5. Keltner and Tungate would begin to duel for fourth, with Tungate taking the spot on lap 7, only to have his night end prematurely one lap later when the air cleaner came off his machine and the caution would wave for debris on the track. The restart would see Rattliff and Chilton quickly pull away from the field again, with Chilton nipping at Rattliff's heels, but not able to make a move. While the lead duo pulled away from the pack, Keltner and Casey would settle into a spirited door-to-door battle for the third position. The leaders would begin to battle slower traffic on lap 17, while the battle for third heated up even more between Casey and Keltner, with Keltner finally winning the battle for the three spot on lap 19. The final caution of the event would fly on lap 22 for a spin by Dylan Preston in turn two that also collected Kevin Colston, with both able to continue. The restart would see Rattliff get a bit of breathing room on the final lap and drive to the win in the seat of the MGL Auto Sales/Cox Wrecker Service/Campbellsville University/The Medicine Centre/Gowen's Auto Glass/Wilson Plumbing/Grant Lee Farms/JET Pressure Washing/Peterson Fluid Systems/ AFCO Racing Products sponsored #16 Rocket Chassis, Pro Power Race Engines machine. Chilton and Keltner would take second and third, with Linville nipping Casey at the checkered flag for fourth. The remainder of the top ten would be Ed Behn, Johnny Wheeler, Larry Greer, Bobby Carrier, Jr., and Kevin Colston. Chilton was the top qualifier among 14 entries with time of 16.012 seconds and would also win the dash, while Tungate would score the heat win.
SUMMARY-Bluegrass Speedway-Bardstown, KY-April 18, 2009
44 Auto Mart Super Late Models (14 entries)
Top Qualifier- Michael Chilton 16.012
Dash- Michael Chilton, Jason Keltner, Justin Rattliff, Terry Casey, Ed Behn, Johnny Wheeler
Heat- Tim Tungate, Dustin Linville, Larry Greer, Bobby Carrier, Jr.
Feature- Justin Rattliff, Michael Chilton, Jason Keltner, Dustin Linville, Terry Casey, Ed Behn, Johnny Wheeler, Larry Greer, Bobby Carrier, Jr., Kevin Colston, Dylan Preston, Terry Keltner, Tim Tungate, Joey Rigdon
Modifieds (15 entries)
Top Qualifier- Joey Kramer 17.231
Dash- Joey Kramer, Josh Lucas, Michael England, Benji Lee, Joe Mattingly, Randy Turpin
Heat- Robbie Gullion, Rocky Wilson, Dion Benningfield, Brad Schlosser
Feature- Joey Kramer, Michael England, Benji Lee, Randy Turpin, Rocky Wilson, Joe Mattingly, Dion Benningfield, Josh Lucas, Brad Schlosser, Randall Basham, Jeremy Hisel, Sam Huffer, Gary Parks, Joe David Humphrey (DNS-Robbie Gullion)
WBRT 1320-AM Sportsman (11 entries)
1st Heat- Avral Thompson, Bartley Grant, Jimmy Bryan, Joe Dunbar
2nd Heat- Pat Hagan, Barry Chesser, Roger Cecil, Elton Martin
Feature- Pat Hagan, Avral Thompson, Barry Chesser, Jimmy Bryan, Elton Martin, Roger Cecil, Joe Dunbar, Bartley Grant, Billy Rigdon (DNS-Paul Lewis, Sr., Robbie Settles)
Street Stocks (13 entries)
1st Heat- Brad Leake, Shane Lafollette, Mike Cozzin, Jr., Johnny King
2nd Heat- Timmy Glazer, Roy Skaggs, Johnny Cecil, Jason Bartley
Feature- Mike Cozzin, Jr., Shane Lafollette, Timmy Glazer, Brad Leake, Johnny Cecil, Roy Walker, Terry Bartley, Brian Derringer, Johnny King, Jason Bartley, Steve Thompson, Joe Walker (DNS-Willie Edelen)
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