byDean Reichel
Mother nature tried her best to put a damper on racing at Double X Speedway on Sunday morning, but finally she relented and provided some much needed sun to help Kyle Wirts and his track preparation crew get the venerable speedplant ready for the latest edition of “Sunday Night Thunder”. The three weekly classes were joined by the cars and stars of the Wingless Auto Racing (WAR) series to put on a great night of racing for the many fans in attendance. The evening began with the WAR drivers taking to the track for their time trial qualifications. First on the track was Edgerton, Kansas shoe Mitchell Moore. Piloting his yellow #51, Moore toured the quarter mile clay oval in 14.000 seconds to claim quick time for the 19 cars signed in for the event. Second quick was young Taylor Walton, a weekly competitor in winged sprints at Double-X.
After the WAR cars completed time trials it was back to business as usual for the street stock drivers at Double-X. Derek Henson continued his winning ways by claiming the heat race over Dale Berry, Ted Welschmeyer and Curt Turpin. This set the stage for the feature event with Henson and Berry on the front row. Henson took the lead at the drop of the green and opened a comfortable lead over the field only to see it erased as the caution flew on lap 7 as Berry spun in turn 1. On the restart Ted Welschmeyer pressured Henson on the low side until a flat tire brought the 21W to a stop and he retired to the pit area. The restart on lap 12 found Henson leading to the checkered followed by Berry who recovered from his earlier trouble to claim second, Curt Turpin ran a strong third followed by Jerry Unger, Andrew Roark and Keeth Strange.
A strong field of Hobby Stocks took the track for their events with the first heat claimed by Seth Jacobs in the black #25. The second qualifying heat was claimed by Chuck Coffey’s #171. For the feature event, Jacobs and Coffey would pace the field to the green. Jacobs would take the lead on the start and be pressured the entire race by Gage Wineland. Wineland would follow Jacobs the entire 12 lap feature never able to make the pass. Following the top two under the checkered flag were Will Register in third, AJ Wirts in fourth and Chuck Coffey rounded out the top five. Kevin Prall, Mike Schrader, Larry Dickson, Laura Atkinson and Rudy Wirts made up sixth through tenth. Jeremiah Wallingford and Joe Reed completed the field.
Third on the card were the WAR Sprint Cars. Two qualifying heats would help to set the field for their feature event. In the first heat, Adam Jones took a comfortable lead in his #1A machine. Jones continued the lead until mechanical misfortune befell him on lap 9. Cody Baker, filling in for his sister Casey in her #9 machine inherited the lead but the victory went to fast qualifier Mitchell Moore who started sixth in the heat. Following Moore and Baker under the checkers were Chad Goff, Chris Parkinson, and Chad Shields in the top five. The second heat saw rookie PJ Grimes and seasoned veteran John Helm leading the field to the green. Helm would lead early but contact with he and Austin Alumbaugh in turn one, which resulted in Alumbaugh turning over would relegate Helm to the rear of the field on the restart. Chris Morgan, returning to the drivers seat for the first time since a season ending crash in 2012, would inherit the lead and claim a strong victory in the event. Following Morgan were Brad Ryun, Taylor Walton, Chad Tye and Helm in fifth.
Feature time for the WAR field saw Brad Ryun and Chad Goff on the front row. Ryun led the opening laps but Goff would move to the lead with Walton in tow on lap 3. Goff continued at the point but Chad Shields was methodically sizing up Walton and took second on lap 10 and then passes Goff for the lead on the next lap. A lap 12 caution bunched the field and would see Shields continuing to lead until lap 17 when Taylor Walton made the pass and took the top spot until lap 23 when Chris Parkinson made the pass and led the remainder of the 25 laps to claim the victory. Following Parkinson under the checkers were Walton, Shields, Brad Ryun and CHris Morgan in the top 5. Rounding out the top ten were John Helm, Mitchell Moore, Chad Tye, Nathan Ryun and PJ Grimes.
The feature class at Double X since it’s beginning has always been the Winged Sprint Cars. The first heat saw California, MO shoe Tyler Blank claim the victory over Adam Jones, Bryan Grimes, Evan Martin and Randy Martin. The second heat rolled onto the track with Taylor Walton claiming the win followed by Cody Baker, Mitchell Moore, Curtis Evans and Andrew Turley. With the heat races in the books, the 25 lap feature event hit the track with Blank and Walton on the front row. Blank led from the outset and almost appeared on cruise control. After a lap 11 restart Blank slowed entering turn three, the victim of engine woes. This put Walton at the front with Randy Martin, in the David Brown #48, in second, Cody Baker in third, Evan Martin in fourth and Tyler Elliott in fifth. Walton was able to run the low groove consistently and led the remaining laps to claim the victory over Randy Martin, Adam Jones, Cody Baker and Evan Martin. Tyler Elliott, Bryan Grimes and Andrew Turley completed the field at the checkered.
“Sunday Night Thunder” continues next Sunday with the ULMA Late Models joining the three weekly classes. Be sure to come out and join us for a father’s day evening at the races. Admission for ULMA $12, pit pass $25. For points and current information go to www.xxspeedway.com. Also keep up to date with Double-X on Facebook or call 573-796-4694.
W.A.R. was brought to Double-X Speedway by Impact Signs Awnings & Wraps of Sedalia MO, Blank’s Backhoe Service of California MO and Putnam Chevrolet of California.