From Bryan Hulbert
WHEATLAND, MO (September 18, 2021) – Laying eyes on Lucas Oil Speedway for the first time on Thursday, it didn’t take long for J.J. Hickle to add the “Diamond of Dirt Tracks” to his win list, as the Washington shoe rocketed into the lead on Lap 33 and never looked back en-route to a $10,000 score in the Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial.
“This is awesome. Jesse Hockett was a guy that I really looked up to, and Roger Crockett is a guy that’s been beating me my whole life, so this is a big one. This is special,” said an overjoyed J.J. Hickle. “I can’t thank this team enough. Ivan worked his butt off all day. Hunter, Jimmy, Jane, just everyone who gives me the opportunity to do this.”
Hickle’s fourth SawBlade.com A-Feature win of the season, Saturday, was his 14th podium finish in his 65th A-Feature appearance.
Working through cautions and an open red in the early stages of Saturday’s 40-lap affair, Hickle battled early on for second with Derek Hagar. Getting clear of the No. 9jr, Hickle chased Roger Crockett into traffic on Lap 15.
Able to keep his distance at first, traffic began playing to the advantage of the chasers, with Hickle moving in to take the lead on Lap 24. Unable to complete the lap before the red lights came on for Matt Covington, the last fully completed lap put Crockett’s Rocket Designs No. 11 back to the point.
Back into traffic on Lap 30, Crockett had amassed over a half straightaway advantage. Quickly reduced to car lengths as the leaders contented with lapped cars, a slip through the cushion in the second turn put the leaders three-wide in traffic, and Hickle able to shoot the middle for the lead.
Asked about the pass, Hickle replied, “Roger isn’t going to make any mistakes on open track and just made one in traffic. He’s good, no doubt. It was a matter of being able to catch him in traffic and make the right moves at the right time, and tonight it worked out.”
Held up by slower cars as well, Hickle was finally able to clear and put time between himself and Crockett, who was under pressure from Scott Bogucki and Blake Hahn.
Able to catch a break in traffic, Hickle pulled away to win by 0.890-seconds. Roger Crockett held on for second, with Scott Bogucki fending off Blake Hahn through the final laps. Howard Moore completed the top five.
Racing from 11th, Kyle Bellm made it to sixth with Joe B. Miller in seventh. Garet Williamson, who was slated to start 19th, had to start at the tail for needing a second push before the race, was able to charge from 26th to eighth. Coming from a B-Feature, Ryan Timms made it to ninth from 20th, with Ayrton Gennetten making moves from 17th to tenth.
Saturday was setup up by event points through Thursday and Friday with drivers not locked into the A-Feature racing through four Qualifiers, taking the top two from each. The remainder rolled into a trio of BMRS B-Features. Qualifier wins went to Blake Hahn, Matt Covington, Kyle Bellm, and Jack Dover. B-Features were topped by Ayrton Gennetten, Austin O’Neal, and Garet Williamson. The weekend saw 68 drivers in action.
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by MAVtv / ASCS Sooner Region / ASCS Warrior Region
11th Annual Jesse Hockett / Daniel McMillin Memorial
Lucas Oil Speedway
Wheatland, Missouri
Saturday, September 19, 2021
LCQ 1 (12 Laps)
1. 52-Blake Hahn[1]
2. 2C-Chase Porter[2]
3. 1X-Tim Crawley[4]
4. 5D-Zach Daum[3]
5. 84-Brandon Hanks[6]
6. 22S-Slater Helt[5]
7. 86-Timothy Smith[7]
8. 12J-Josh Grady[10]
9. 17B-Ryan Bickett[9]
10. 44R-Ronny Howard[12]
11. 2-Jason Billups[11]
12. 72-Gary Floyd[13]
13. 45X-Kyler Johnson[8]
DNS: 1V-Brent Crews
DNS: 47-Dale Howard
LCQ 2 (12 Laps)
1. 95-Matt Covington[2]
2. 7M-Chance Morton[4]
3. 14-Jordon Mallett[3]
4. 4-Evan Martin[6]
5. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[5]
6. 36-Jason Martin[1]
7. 10-Landon Britt[9]
8. 5T-Ryan Timms[7]
9. 8M-Kade Morton[10]
10. 88-Travis Reber[8]
DNS: 15-Jase Randolph
DNS: 7B-Ben Brown
DNS: 97-Kevin Cummings
DNS: 73-Samuel Wagner
DNS: 90-Lance Norick
LCQ 3 (12 Laps)
1. 14E-Kyle Bellm[2]
2. 77X-Alex Hill[3]
3. 24-Garet Williamson[1]
4. 22-Riley Goodno[5]
5. 21-Gunner Ramey[4]
6. 9$-Kyle Clark[7]
7. 57-Billy Butler[9]
8. 26-Marshall Skinner[10]
9. 97M-Scotty Milan[11]
10. 28C-Jonathan Cornell[6]
11. 187-Landon Crawley[12]
12. 0-Jake Griffin[8]
13. 95X-Asa Swindell[13]
DNS: 77-Jack Wagner
DNS: 11X-Blake Jenkins
LCQ 4 (12 Laps)
1. 53-Jack Dover[2]
2. 98P-Miles Paulus[1]
3. 9-Chase Randall[3]
4. 11A-Austin O’Neal[6]
5. 1-Brenham Crouch[9]
6. 7F-Noah Harris[8]
7. 75-Tyler Blank[4]
8. 27-Austin Wood[11]
9. 55B-Brandon Anderson[7]
10. 9H-Emilio Hoover[12]
11. 94-Jeff Swindell[5]
12. 13C-Chase Howard[10]
13. 33Z-Alan Zoutte[13]
14. 15D-Andrew Deal[14]
15. 44-Jared Sewell[15]
B-Main (15 Laps)
1. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[4]
2. 5T-Ryan Timms[8]
3. 22-Riley Goodno[3]
4. 7F-Noah Harris[6]
5. 1X-Tim Crawley[1]
6. 0-Jake Griffin[13]
7. 187-Landon Crawley[12]
8. 22S-Slater Helt[5]
9. 17B-Ryan Bickett[9]
10. 57-Billy Butler[7]
11. 95X-Asa Swindell[14]
12. 9-Chase Randall[2]
13. 55B-Brandon Anderson[10]
14. 28C-Jonathan Cornell[11]
B-Main 2 (15 Laps)
1. 11A-Austin O’Neal[3]
2. 14-Jordon Mallett[1]
3. 5D-Zach Daum[2]
4. 21-Gunner Ramey[4]
5. 36-Jason Martin[5]
6. 94-Jeff Swindell[12]
7. 75-Tyler Blank[7]
8. 26-Marshall Skinner[8]
9. 13C-Chase Howard[13]
10. 44R-Ronny Howard[10]
11. 9H-Emilio Hoover[11]
12. 33Z-Alan Zoutte[14]
13. 86-Timothy Smith[6]
14. 8M-Kade Morton[9]
B-Main 3 (15 Laps)
1. 24-Garet Williamson[1]
2. 1-Brenham Crouch[4]
3. 9$-Kyle Clark[5]
4. 97M-Scotty Milan[9]
5. 10-Landon Britt[6]
6. 12J-Josh Grady[7]
7. 88-Travis Reber[10]
8. 27-Austin Wood[8]
9. 4-Evan Martin[2]
10. 2-Jason Billups[11]
11. 72-Gary Floyd[12]
12. 84-Brandon Hanks[3]
13. 45X-Kyler Johnson[13]
A-Main (40 Laps)
1. 63-JJ Hickle[5]
2. 11-Roger Crockett[2]
3. 28-Scott Bogucki[6]
4. 52-Blake Hahn[9]
5. 3M-Howard Moore[3]
6. 14E-Kyle Bellm[11]
7. 51B-Joe B Miller[4]
8. 24-Garet Williamson[19]
9. 5T-Ryan Timms[20]
10. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[17]
11. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[8]
12. 98P-Miles Paulus[14]
13. 55B-Brandon Anderson[26]
14. 9JR-Derek Hagar[1]
15. 21-Gunner Ramey[25]
16. 53-Jack Dover[10]
17. 11A-Austin O’Neal[18]
18. 14-Jordon Mallett[21]
19. 17B-Ryan Bickett[23]
20. 2C-Chase Porter[13]
21. 95-Matt Covington[16]
22. 77X-Alex Hill[15]
23. 88-Travis Reber[24]
24. 7M-Chance Morton[12]
25. 1-Brenham Crouch[22]
26. 10C-Jeremy Campbell[7]