June 23, 2013
www.xxspeedway.com
From Dean Reichel
Sunday Night Thunder rolled again at Double X Speedway in California, Mo this past Sunday, both in the sky and on the track. A brief late afternoon thunderstorm brought just a touch of rain but the racing
prevailed and the latest edition of racing rolled onto the track with anticipation in the air.
The winged sprint cars put on a race to remember with several top drivers visiting to challenge the Sunday night regulars. In the feature event Kyle “The Kid” Bellm put on an impressive show in the feature event. Piloting the Jerry and Jeff Smith 86, Bellm use his front row starting position to his advantage, running the cushion for the entire 25 laps to claim the victory. The race was not without challenges as Jason Johnson hounded Bellm for the entire race, closing to the rear of the Smith machine but was unable to mount a pass. Johnson was piloting the Jack Hockett Racing 77 on Sunday night. With Bellm and Johnson claiming the first two positions Tyler Blank finished a well-deserved third in his #75 sprinter. Blank overcame a flat left front tire on a lap 10 caution, which his crew changed, allowing Blank to rejoin the chase at the rear of the field. Using high and low lines Blank joined the top three at lap 20 but was unable to mount a challenge for the lead duo. Cody Baker ran a steady fourth and Josh Fisher completed the top five. Bryan Grimes finished sixth, Tyler Elliott was seventh, Taylor Walton was eighth, Lanny Carpenter ninth and AJ Wirts completed the top ten, Kelly Newcomb and pole sitter TJ Muths, the victim of an encounter with the turn three wall completed the field. Evan Martin was unable to start the main event. Winged sprint heat races were won by Muths and Bellm.