5/30/04
Butler County Speedway
Rising City, NE
Sprint Bandits
21 cars
When one drives 6 1/2 miles on gravel to get to a track that is by some standards, in the middle of nowhere (or not far from it), expectations are lowered. Nothing could be farther from the truth. BCS is a fine facility that is good to fans and racers alike. The night's activities resulted in the best racing I have witnessed this year to date. The high banked 3/8 mile track could be one of the best kept secrets in the midwest.
Heat one (started): 1. Danny Jennings 61J (3) 2. Zach Chappell 50z (6) 3. Ryan Anderson 71R (4) 4. Robert Bell 71 (7) 5. Jason Martin 36 (5) DQ - Shane Stewart 4m (1), Colin Northway 60 (2)
Stewart led the distance with Northway in tow, but both failed to report to the scales afterwards and were disqualified. Martin left on lap two with motor problems.
Heat two (started): 1. Foster Landon 11F (1) 2. Larry Ball Jr. 7x (2) 3. Jason Johnson 50D (6) 4. Skip Jackson 2 (5) 5. Travis Rilat 29 (7) 6. JR Topper 92J (4) 7. Jesse Hockett 75 (3)
Landon led early, before Hockett's powerplant detonated on lap two, bringing out the yellow flag. Landon lead Ball, Jackson, Topper and Rilat back to the green flag. J. Johnson was on the move using the high side of the banked 3/8 mile facility. His pass of Jackson for third came in turn four of the final lap.
Heat three (started): 1. Aaron Berryhill 97 (1) 2. Mike Boston 51 (2) 3. Wayne Johnson 14AJ (4) 4. Terry McCarl 24 (5) 5. Jeff Lowery 45 (7) 6. Bryan Gossel 6 (3) 7. Buddy Johnson 114 (6)
Gossel, using a 360 engine, is a cousin to Marlon Jones, and towed from his home in Colorado to Eagle Raceway on Saturday night before the rains hit. He stuck around to run with the Bandits. Buddy was running a second FattFro car and pulled in as soon as he was lapped, in this case on lap four. Lowery and Gossel were surprisingly the only two cars going for the $500 bonus to the highest finishing 360. That car would take home a minimum of $1000. Gossel stopped on lap four while smoking to bring out the only caution. Berryhill led the distance, but McCarl and W. Johnson put on a heck of a show racing for third, swapping positions once.
Qualifier one (started): 1. Rilat (3) 2. Stewart (1) 3. W. Johnson (4) 4. Boston (5) 5. Berryhill (6) 6. Jennings (7) 7. Topper (2)
Topper got a jump on Stewart, before Rilat passed them both on lap two to cruise to victory. W. Johnson had a rough start, falling back to sixth. He came back strong getting by Berryhill and Boston late in the eight lapper.
Qualifier two (started): 1. Northway (1) 2. J. Johnson (6) 3. Chappell (7) 4. Jackson (4) 5. Ry. Anderson (5) 6. Lowery (3) 7. Gossel (2)
Northway led flag to flag. J. Johnson was the man on the move, again putting his right rear on the cushion and driving around people. Chappell followed him from the rear into third.
Qualifier three (started): 1. McCarl (3) 2. Ball (5) 3. Landon (6) 4. Bell (4) 5. B. Johnson (7) DNS - Hockett (1), Martin (2)
McCarl and Bell inherited the front row, when Hockett and Martin did not start with motor problems. McCarl had no peer once the green flag fell. B. Johnson pulled to the infield on lap seven.
A main (started): 1. Rilat (5) 2. W. Johnson (7) 3. J. Johnson (2) 4. Jennings (10) 5. Stewart (19) 6. McCarl (6) 7. Landon (4) 8. Northway (18) 9. Boston (8) 10. Jackson (12) 11. Martin (20) 12. Berryhill (9) 13. Lowery (14) 14. Bell (11) 15. Ry. Anderson (13) 16. Topper (16) 17. Gossel (17) 18. Chappell (1) 19. B. Johnson (15) 20. Ball (3) DNS - Hockett
Ball was to start inside row two in the 30 lapper, but moved to the rear after needing a second push in the pace laps. He would drop out early. B. Johnson elected to start at the rear and dropped out on lap seven. Chappell roared out to the early advantage with J. Johnson in tow. On lap three, Chappell hooked a rut very awkwardly in turn four and flattened his left front tire. J. Johnson ran over the same rut, and lost the lead to W. Johnson when the next lap was completed. Once the yellow was out for Chappell, W. Johnson led J. Johnson, Landon, Rilat and Boston back to the green flag. Chappell would eventually exit on lap 13. Berryhill hooked an infield barrier on lap eight and rolled over gently. He restarted after changing a top wing. Now W. Johnson was leading J. Johnson, Rilat who had got around Landon, Boston, and McCarl. W. Johnson was sailing and led the next ten laps before the next stoppage. Rilat managed to get under J. Johnson by that time as well. Bell brought out the caution with a spin. W. Johnson looked strong, leading Rilat, J. Johnson, Landon and Jennings, who had worked under McCarl for fifth. The final 12 laps were furious, especially back in the pack at fourth, fifth and sixth. Jennings, McCarl, Boston, Landon and then Stewart were putting on a great show for the fans, exchanging positions with every lap. Rilat saved his winning pass for the 28th lap, scoring his ninth victory of the year, and second win of the weekend. Stewart was the hard-charger, moving from the rear to fifth.