From Lonnie Wheatley
BAYTOWN, Texas (June 18, 2011) – Gary Wright bounced back from a Friday night miscue to post a convincing $3,000 triumph in Saturday night’s 30-lap Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South main event at Royal Purple Raceway.
Wright took the lead away from defending series champion Ray Allen Kulhanek on the sixth round and went on to post his fourth ASCS Gulf South win of the year and sixth overall ASCS triumph of 2011 in his No. 9 Maxim.
A night earlier, Wright was credited with 19th-place at Golden Triangle Raceway Park after making an early exit following a spin in the main event.
Weathering a pair of red flags over the last half of the feature for flips by Klint Angelette and Brandon Berryman, Wright cruised to the checkered flag unabated.
Kulhanek chased “The Texan” to the stripe for runner-up honors, assuming the series points lead in the process after George White blew an engine in hot laps and was unable to make the call for the feature.
Aaron Reutzel claimed the show position behind Wright and Kulhanek, with Travis Elliott and Tommy Bryant rounding out the top five. Wes Miller was sixth, with Michael McNeil, Scottie McDonald, John Pate and Bean Elliott completing the top ten.
Travis Elliott, McNeil, Logan Bledsoe and Wright topped heat race action.
Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Royal Purple Raceway:
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 15T-Travis Elliott, 2. 36-John Pate, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 2-Wes Miller, 5. 30x-Bean Elliott, 6. 24-Brandie Jass, 7. 96-Rod Craddock.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 25m-Michael McNeil, 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 3. 31-Brandon Berryman, 4. 71-Channin Tankersley, 5. 8b-Bruce Crockett, 6. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 7. 69-Larry Howery.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 2. 19-Klint Angelette, 3. 88-Scottie McDonald, 4. 51s-Beau Smith, 5. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 6. 10-Mike Trent.
Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 28-Tommy Bryant, 3. 35-Greg Rilat, 4. 5c-Chris Coker, 5. 3-Gary Watson, 6. 93-Chris Sweeney.
“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 28-Tommy Bryant, 6. 2-Wes Miller, 7. 25m-Michael McNeil, 8. 88-Scottie McDonald, 9. 36-John Pate, 10. 30x-Bean Elliott, 11. 51s-Beau Smith, 12. 93-Chris Sweeney, 13. 5c-Chris Coker, 14. 35-Greg Rilat, 15. 69-Larry Howery, 16. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 17. 24-Brandie Jass, 18. 8b-Bruce Crockett, 19. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 20. 3-Gary Watson, 21. 31-Brandon Berryman, 22. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 23. 19-Klint Angelette, 24. 71-Channin Tankersley.
Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,530, 2. George White 1,517, 3. Tommy Bryant 1,503, 4. Chris Sweeney 1,402, 5. Brandon Berryman 1,388, 6. Channin Tankersley 1,350, 7. Aaron Reutzel 1,337, 8. Travis Elliott 1,333, 9. Greg Rilat 1,292, 10. Gary Watson 1,228.