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Belle Clair Speedway
BELLVILLE, Ill. (March 18) - Cloudy skies and an afternoon rain shower may have scared a few competitors away from making the trip to Belle-Clair Speedway for the Shamrock 40, but there were some good cars on hand that provided some great and exciting action.
Michael Kloos of Trenton, Illinois has become one of the toughest competitors at Belle-Clair Speedway in the UMP DIRTcar Late Model division. Over the last three seasons, Kloos has accumulated more feature wins at Belle-Clair Speedway than any other driver. Kloos didn't disappoint in the forty lap Shamrock 40 main event as he led the final thirty-eight laps enroute to the win. Frankie Martin jumped out to the early lead at the drop of the green flag, but Kloos only needed two laps to dispense of Martin and take over the top spot. Throughout much of the event Kloos pulled away and led comfortably as he worked lapped traffic. Randy Korte, who was making his first start in over a year after health problems kept him sidelined all of 2010, would move past Martin and take over the second spot on lap eleven. Korte was unable to track down Kloos for the top spot as he gave chase lap after lap. Meanwhile, the big mover through the field was Brent Kreke. Kreke started back in the eleventh starting position and methodically worked his way to the front, picking off cars lap after lap. Finally, with just six laps remaining, Kreke moved past Korte for the second spot and set his sights on Kloos. A lap later, the caution would fly for Korte as his power plant went sour and he pulled to a stop on the front stretch. That would give Kreke the break he needed as he would restart right on Kloos' rear bumper. On the restart, Kreke would try many different lines to move past Kloos for the lead. However, Kloos kept his machine glued to the bottom of the track and didn't allow Kreke to get underneath him. Kreke wouldn't make the high side work and couldn't get inside of Kloos and would have to settle for the second spot as Kloos raced to the win. Mike Hammerle would also have a great run as he would finish in the third spot, staying close to Kloos and kreke hoping they would make a mistake and allow him past the two of them. Frankie Martin would settle for the fourth spot while Cory Daughtery came on strong in the closing laps to round out the top five.
Defending UMP DIRTcar Modified National Champion Mike Harrison started on the front row pole for the Modified main event and it appeared he was going to dominate the feature event. However, a couple of other drivers had other ideas. Early on it would be Brian Bielong moving up to challenge Harrison for the top spot. Bielong would stay in Harrison's shadow but wouldn't be able to make a move for the lead. As the laps began to wind down, Dean Hoffman moved in on the leaders from his sixth place starting spot. Hoffman would get to the second spot and then a late race caution would close the gap and allow Hoffman to restart right on Harrison's bumper. Hoffman would use the low side to pull even with Harrison, but Harrison would power out of the turns on the high side past Hoffman on each straight-away. Harrison would hang on and get a close win over Hoffman. Brett Korves made a nice run from the seventh starting spot to finish third. Tim Hancock would come from the twelvth starting spot to take fourth. A late race flat tire would push Bielong back to a fifth place finish.
In the UMP DIRTcar/AARA Sportsman main event, Mike "Wahoo" Jones made short work of early leader John Schrand and powered his way to an impressive victory. Jones worked the lapped traffic flawlessly and opened up a comfortable lead enroute to the win. Schrand would hold on for a second place finish while Cory Ford and Denny Tribout battled in out for the third spot with Ford getting the better position. C.J. Simpson would complete the top five.
Belle-Clair Speedway takes next Friday (March 25th) off, before returning on April 1st with the regular season opener for all five divisions.
UMP DIRTcar Late Models - 19 Entries
Heat 1
1. 00 Randy Korte
2. 7 Matt Weidner
3. 95 Andrew Johns
4. 73 C.J. Simpson
5. 66 Jim Gibson
6. 77H Brandon Hogenson
DNS 12 Rick Standridge
Heat 2
1. 10 Andy Pryor
2. H16 Mike Hammerle
3. 2X Nick Lyons
4. 28 Rodney Standerfer
5. 27 Mike Schulte
6. 13 Dewayne Kiefer
Heat 3
1. 25 Frankie Martin
2. 6K Michael Kloos
3. 96 Cory Daugherty
4. 9999 Brent Kreke
5. 32 Vince Grondzki
6. 49 Steve Leach
Dash
1. 25 Frankie Martin
2. 6K Michael Kloos
3. 10 Andy Pryor
4. 7 Matt Weidner
5. 00 Randy Korte
6. H16 Mike Hammerle
Feature
1. 6K Michael Kloos
2. 9999 Brent Kreke
3. H16 Mike Hammerle
4. 25 Frankie Martin
5. 96 Cory Daugherty
6. 13 Dewayne Kiefer
7. 2X Nick Lyons
8. 7 Matt Weidner
9. 32 Vince Grondzki
10. 12 Rick Standridge
11. 73 C.J. Simpson
12. 00 Randy Korte
13. 28 Rodney Standerfer
14. 27 Mike Schulte
15. 95 Andrew Johns
16. 49 Steve Leach
17. 77H Brandon Hogenson
18. 10 Andy Pryor
19. 66 Jim Gibson
UMP DIRTcar Modifieds - 15 Entries
Heat 1 - 1. 4J Scott Weber 2. 24 Mike Harrison 3. 70 Brian Bielong 4. 25 Brett Korves 5. 77 Cody Conner 6. 55V Brad Venhaus DNS. N59 Chad Evans DNS. 808x Bob Simmons
Heat 2 - 1. 51 Paul Reinneck 2. 8B Bobby Martintoni 3. 1D Dean Hoffman 4. 89 Bobby Bittle 5. 50 Bobby Johnson 6. 0 Tim Hancock 7. 808 Kelby Simmons
Dash - 1. 24 Mike Harrison 2. 51 Paul Reinneck 3. 70 Brian Bielong 4. 8B Bobby Martintoni 5. 4J Scott Weber 6. 1D Dean Hoffman
Feature - 1. 24 Mike Harrison 2. 1D Dean Hoffman 3. 25 Brett Korves 4. 0 Tim Hancock 5. 70 Brian Bielong 6. 51 Paul Reinneck 7. 50 Bobby Johnson 8. 59 Chad Evans 9. 77 Cody Conner 10. 808 Kelby Simmons 11. 55V Brad Venhaus 12. 808X Bob Simmons 13. 89 Bobby Bittle 14. 4J Scott Weber 15. 8B Bobby Martintoni
UMP DIRTcar Sportsman - 14 Entries
Heat 1 - 1. 45 C.J. Simpson 2. 88 John Schrand 3. 17 Mike "Wahoo" Jones 4. 9S Brian Sinn 5. 10 Daryn Klein 6. 19 Jimmy Cummins 7. 67 Craig Monk
Heat 2 - 1. 192 Mark Spraul 2. 25 Denny Tribout 3. 84 Cory Ford 4. 12 Mark Schaefer 5. 34 Dave Armstrong 6. 168 Mike Armstrong 7. 44 Brian Eaves
Dash - 1. 88 John Schrand 2. 25 Denny Tribout 3. 17 Mike "Wahoo" Jones 4. 84 Cory Ford 5. 45 C.J. Simpson 6. 192 Mark Spraul
Feature - 1. 17 Mike "Wahoo" Jones 2. 88 John Schrand 3. 84 Cory Ford 4. 25 Denny Tribout 5. 45 C.J. Simpson 6. 34 Dave Armstrong 7. 12 Mark Schaefer 8. 9S Brian Sinn 9. 44 Brian Eaves 10. 168 Mike Armstrong 11. 67 Craig Monk 12. 19 Jimmy Cummins 13. 10 Daryn Klein 14. 192 Mark Spraul
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