US36 Raceway 2003
6/6
US36 Raceway
Osborn, MO
21 cars
In the first show at the speedway to ever use time trials, Terry McCarl (18th car out) set the standard with a lap of 9.996 seconds on the high banked 3/8 mile circuit. Jesse Giannetto (10th car out) was second quick, followed by Brian Brown (1st), Wayne Johnson (14th), Colin Northway (12th), Skip Jackson (19th), Jesse Hockett (13th), Lowe Cannell (17th), Eric Vanderploeg (2nd) and Jaymie Moyle (7th). Tim Newman flipped hard in hot laps after running into the back of Moyle and was done for the night.
Heat one (started): 1. Northway 60 (2) 2. Vanderploeg 57a (3) 3. Mike Moore 69 (4) 4. JR Topper 92J (5) 5. McCarl 24 (1) DNS - Newman 18
Unfortunately for the fans, heats were lined straight up according to time and provided no passing. The result was single file parades that entertained no one. The top two drivers in each heat earned spots in two four car dashes determining their starting spot in the feature. These were also mainly uneventful. In the first heat McCarl was roasting the competition when he stopped on the backstretch on lap seven. He went pitside, surrendering his dash position.
Heat two (started): 1. Giannetto D1 (1) 2. Jackson 21x (2) 3. Moyle 10 (3) 4. Kim Kennedy 1K (4) 5. David Langford 32L (5)
Heat three (started): 1. Brown 6 (1) 2. Hockett 75 (2) 3. Derek Beckman 50D (3) 4. Marty Perovich 12 (4) 5. Bob Moore 71 (5)
Perovich, nicknamed "Muscles" was in his first outing in the Robuck 12 since coming across the pond from Australia.
Heat four (started): 1. Johnson 12x (1) 2. Cannell 2 (2) 3. Cameron (3) 4. Mike Lefholz 21 (4) 5. Jeff Osborn 0 (5)
Cameron lost his right front wheel on the backstretch on the final lap, but somehow crossed the finish line and held his spot.
Dash one (started): 1. Brown (2) 2. Northway (1) 3. Vanderploeg (3) 4. Hockett (4)
Dash two (started): 1. Johnson (2) 2. Giannetto (1) 3. Jackson (3) DNS - Cannell
A main (started): 1. Johnson (2) 2. Hockett (7) 3. Northway (3) 4. Giannetto (4) 5. Jackson (6) 6. Brown (1) 7. Vanderploeg (5) 8. Perovich (13) 9. M. Moore (9) 10. Kennedy (14) 11. Lefholz (16) 12. Topper (13) 13. Langford (18) 14. Osborn (20) 15. Moyle (10) 16. Cameron (12) 17. Beckman (11) 18. Cannell (8) 19. McCarl (17) 20. B. Moore (19) DNS - Newman
Brown jumped out to the early lead with Johnson in tow. Johnson was gaining in traffic when B. Moore flipped as a result of contact with Giannetto. At the time, Brown was leading Johnson, Giannetto, Northway and Vanderploeg. The restart saw Cannell flip in turn four. At this time, both McCarl and Beckman called it quits. Moyle changed a tire and restarted at the tail. The race would go green to checker, and it was a good one. Brown was dominant, but developed a vibration. On lap 13, Giannetto who was on a winning streak at the track took over the lead. Just three laps later in the 30 lapper, Johnson took the point in heavy traffic. Meanwhile, Hockett, who had been mired mid-pack, started to make his move on the high side. He picked off car after car until he was within striking distance of the lead with five to go. Though he appeared quicker than Johnson, he was foiled by lapped traffic on a pair of pass attempts. He would have to settle for second. Fourteen cars finished the race. Johnson's win was worth $2000.