From Lonnie Wheatley
WACO, Texas (July 29, 2011) – The current ASCS Lone Star points leader assumed the point on the 12th round and went on to post his second Regional triumph of the year aboard Dennis Marshala’s Wesmar-powered Oilfield Equipment & Manufacturing No. 11c Triple X.
While Covington started the feature field inside row two, two-time Gulf South champ Brandon Berryman outgunned pole starter Chris Sweeney for the lead at the drop of the green flag and paced the initial six rounds until sixth-starter Mike Goodman took command.
Covington took over second soon after and set sail after teammate Goodman, who surrendered the lead with a steering arm failure on the 12th round.
Covington raced on to his second ASCS Regional win of 2011 after posting a Sooner score earlier in the year, with Berryman taking runner-up honors.
Travis Rilat climbed from 12th to take the show position, with defending Lone Star champion Eric Baldaccini and 15th-starter Channin Tankersley rounding out the top five.
Sweeney crossed the stripe sixth, with current Gulf South points leader George White, 21st-starter Brian McClelland, Tommy Bryant and 20th-starter Claud Estes completing the top ten.
Bean Elliott, Ray Allen Kulhanek, Covington and Sweeney topped heat race action for the 35-car field, with Chad Wilson and Estes winning the “B” Mains.
The Oil Medics ASCS Lone Star Region vs. Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Heart O’ Texas Speedway:
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 30x-Bean Elliott, 2. 76-John Ricketts, 3. 14b-Robert Byrom, 4. 10-George White, 5. 15T-Travis Elliott, 6. 25-Brian McClelland, 7. 24-Brandie Jass. DNS: 52-Roger Oakes.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 11g-Mike Goodman, 4. 50-Cody Whitworth, 5. 51-Beau Smith, 6. 69-Larry Howery, 7. 11-Justin Melton, 8. 45-Martin Edwards, 9. 7w-Dustin Welch.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 11c-Matt Covington, 2. 54-Evan Pardo, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 71-Channin Tankersley, 5. 14-Michael Lang, 6. 30-Brandon Corn, 7. 36-John Pate, 8. 20-Chad Wilson, 9. 74x-Joshua Hodges.
Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 93-Chris Sweeney, 2. 28-Tommy Bryant, 3. 31-Brandon Berryman, 4. 19-Klint Angelette, 5. 25m-Michael McNeil, 6. 74e-Claud Estes, 7. 12-Dale Wester, 8. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr.
First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 20-Chad Wilson, 2. 25-Brian McClelland, 3. 15T-Travis Elliott, 4. 36-John Pate, 5. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 6. 69-Larry Howery, 7. 24-Brandie Jass, 8. 11-Justin Melton, 9. 52-Roger Oakes.
Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 74e-Claud Estes, 2. 30-Brandon Corn, 3. 45-Martin Edwards, 4. 12-Dale Wester, 5. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 6. 25m-Michael McNeil, 7. 35-Greg Rilat. DNS: 7w-Dustin Welch.
“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 11c-Matt Covington, 2. 31-Brandon Berryman, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 71-Channin Tankersley, 6. 93-Chris Sweeney, 7. 10-George White, 8. 25-Brian McClelland, 9. 28-Tommy Bryant, 10. 74e-Claud Estes, 11. 45-Martin Edwards, 12. 54-Evan Pardo, 13. 19-Klint Anglette, 14. 51-Beau Smith, 15. 76-John Ricketts, 16. 14b-Robert Byrom, 17. 50-Cody Whitworth, 18. 14-Michel Lang, 19. 30x-Bean Elliott, 20. 30-Brandon Corn, 21. 11g-Mike Goodman, 22. 15T-Travis Elliott, 23. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 24. 20-Chad Wilson.
Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. George White 2,000, 2. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,974, 3. Tommy Bryant 1,944, 4. Chris Sweeney 1,873, 5. Channin Tankersley 1,854, 6. Brandon Berryman 1,844, 7. Travis Elliott 1,807, 8. Aaron Reutzel 1,708, 9. Greg Rilat 1,698, 10. Beau Smith 1,645.
The Oil Medics ASCS Lone Star Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Matt Covington 1,692, 2. Eric Baldaccini 1,615, 3. Claud Estes 1,548, 4. Michael Lang 1,521, 5. Justin Melton 1,503, 6. John Ricketts 1,357, 7. Martin Edwards 1,344, 8. Robert Byrom 1,340, 9. Evan Pardo 1,085, 10. Chad Wilson 1,063.
