From Lonnie Wheatley
BEAUMONT, Texas (May 28, 2010) – Chris Morgan made the most of his first American Sprint Car Series start of 2010, stealing the lead away from Skip Wilson in the final corner to win Friday night’s 25-lap ASCS Gulf South main event at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.
The dramatic triumph after a “B” Main win that put Morgan in the 15th starting position marked the Topeka, Kansas racer’s second career ASCS triumph and the first since an ASCS Midwest victory at Cameron, MO, in September of 2006.
After the initial start to the feature event was derailed by a six-car pileup, Larry Howery paced the opening nine circuits before Skip Wilson took command.
Gunning for his second career ASCS Gulf South triumph, Wilson held the point until the final corner when Morgan’s challenges finally paid off in traffic with a charge on the high side to take the checkered flag by just a car-length.
Wilson settled for runner-up honors, with 13th-starter Ray Allen Kulhanek, 16th-starter Aaron Reutzel and Scottie McDonald rounding out the top five.
Michael Lang was sixth, with Eric Baldaccini, Howery, Beau Smith and Wes Miller completing the top ten.
Brandon Berryman, McDonald, Gary Watson and Jimmy Brooks topped heat race action for Friday night’s 31-car field before Morgan began his heroics with a “B” Main win.
ASCS Gulf South Region Results from Golden Triangle Raceway Park:
Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 31-Brandon Berryman, 2. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 3. 15T-Travis Elliott, 4. 8b-Bruce Crockett, 5. 51w-Wes Miller, 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 16-Koty Adams.
Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 88-Scottie McDonald, 2. 61-Travis Knighton, 3. 14-Michael Lang, 4. 5c-Chris Coker, 5. 35-Greg Rilat, 6. 85-Tommy Bryant, 7. 25-Steve Hubbard, 8. 96-Rod Craddock.
Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 3-Gary Watson, 2. 65-Skip Wilson, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 93-Chris Sweeney, 5. 0-Chris Morgan, 6. 99-Ray Stevison, 7. 52-Roger Oakes, 8. 3T-Tyler King.
Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 69-Larry Howery, 4. 51s-Beau Smith, 5. 61j-Jerrod Ponder, 6. 19-Klint Angelette, 7. 30x-Bean Elliott.
First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 0-Chris Morgan, 2. 51w-Wes Miller, 3. 85-Tommy Bryant, 4. 5c-Chris Coker, 5. 52-Roger Oakes, 6. 16-Koty Adams, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 3T-Tyler King. DNS: 61j-Jerrod Ponder.
Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 30x-Bean Elliott, 3. 35-Greg Rilat, 4. 93-Chris Sweeney, 5. 96-Rod Craddock. DNS: 99-Ray Stevison, 19-Klint Angelette, 25-Steve Hubbard.
“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 0-Chris Morgan, 2. 65-Skip Wilson, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 5. 88-Scottie McDonald, 6. 14-Michael Lang, 7. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 8. 69-Larry Howery, 9. 51s-Beau Smith, 10. 51w-Wes Miller, 11. 31-Brandon Berryman, 12. 15T-Travis Elliott, 13. 35-Greg Rilat, 14. 8b-Bruce Crockett, 15. 30x-Bean Elliott, 16. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 17. 61-Travis Knighton, 18. 85-Tommy Bryant, 19. 3-Gary Watson, 20. 12b-Logan Bledsoe.
ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Brandon Berryman 692, 2. Aaron Reutzel 690, 3. Ray Allen Kulhanek 667, 4. Scottie McDonald 662, 5. Tommy Bryant 608, 6. Greg Rilat 547, 7. Wes Miller 546, 8. Travis Elliott 522, 9. Logan Bledsoe 516, 10. Travis Knighton 513.