By Dewain Hulett
for MOWA
NEW FLORENCE, Mo. (May 18, 2013) – A.J. Bruns and Jimmy Hurley had an epic battle during MOWA’s first visit to Montgomery Motorsports Park, Saturday, as the pair swapped the lead a handful of times with wild slide jobs as they battled through lapped traffic. Bruns would eventually lead the final two circuits, after passing Hurley in heavy lapped traffic, to pick up his first win of 2013. Bruns is the only MOWA member to finish in the top five at all three MOWA shows this season. He had a fourth place finish at 34 Raceway and a third place finish at Vermillion County Speedway.
Hurley started inside the front row after winning the Tri-State Diesel Trucks Dash, while Bruns started outside the front row. While cars deep in the field moved forward, it was the Bruns/Hurley show out front, as the pair mixed it up with slide jobs galore throughout the event. The track slicked off from top to bottom with a nice cushion at the top, and allowed three grooves of racing with a great surface for slide jobs, and especially Bruns took advantage.
The event was slowed twice for a pair of red flags. The first one came with one lap in the books when Alex Shanks got together with Ben Wagoner and got all four wheels off the ground doing a spin on his tale tank. Wagoner would stop, but amazingly Shanks kept rolling when the car landed on all four wheels.
It was lap 13 when Ryan Kempin got together with another car as the leaders worked through lapped traffic. Kempin took a nasty tumble, flipping over the wall in turn 2. He was OK, but the car suffered significant damage.
It was green to checkered over the final 12 laps, with Bruns and Hurley running the final 8 laps in heavy lapped traffic. Trouble struck for Hurley after the race, however, as one of his muffler inserts was lost during the race, which resulted in a disqualification, relegating him to the 20 position, an unfortunate end to a wonderful race for the Springfield, Ill., driver.
Joey Moughan, who finished third on the track, was also disqualified for no mufflers and given the 21st position.
That made the final, official, top five after Bruns of Brad Loyet, Jim Moughan, Brad Graham and Adam Jones. Jim Moughan was the BMRS hard charger on the night moving to third from his 16th starting spot.
Kempin was the Keizer Wheels Hard Luck Award Winner.
Kody Kinser was the only other car to get upside down on the night, taking a nasty spill in turn two. He was able to put the car back together and start the feature event, but was not competitive. Racing action, Friday, May 17, was postponed do to a 5 p.m. rain shower that dumped about a half-inch of rain on the Jacksonville Speedway grounds. The Mary Lee Standridge Memorial has been rescheduled for May 31. Racing action kicks off again this coming weekend for the MOWA series, as the 410 sprints invade I-55 Raceway, Pevely, Mo., on Saturday, May 25, and then moves up to Quincy Raceways, Quincy, Ill., Sunday, May 26. For more
information on either even t check out www.midwestopenwheel.com, www.quincyraceways.com, or www.i55raceway.com.
Results
Feature: 1. A.J. Bruns, 2. Brad Loyet, 3. Jim Moughan, 4. Brad Graham, 5. Adam Jones, 6. Mike Hess, 7. Kyle Belm, 8. Jeremy Standridge, 9. Logan Faucon, 10. Jimmy Davies, 11. Robbie Standridge, 12. Paul Nienhiser, 13. Alex Shanks, 14. Cory Bruns, 15. Caleb Wankel, 16. Jerrod Hull, 17. Ben Wagoner, 18. Ryan Kempin, 19. Kody Kinser, 20. Jimmy Hurley, 21. Joey Moughan.
Tri-State Diesel Trucks Dash: 1. Hurley, 2. A.J. Bruns, 3. Hull, 4. Loyet, 5. Hess, 6. Moughan, 7. Graham, 8. Wagoner.
Bland Brothers Enterprises Heat 1: Hurely, 2. Hess, 3. Faucon, 4. Korey Weyant, 5. Jim Moughan, 6. Cory Bruns, 7. Kinser, 8. Robbie Standridge.
Midland Performance Parts Heat 2: 1. Loyet, 2. A.J. Bruns, 3. Wagoner, 4. Kempin, 5. Shanks, 6. Jones, 7. Davies, 8. Wankel.
SuperShox Heat 3: 1. Hull, 2. Joey Moughan, 3. Jeremy Standridge, 4. Graham, 5. Nienhiser, 6. John Dines, 7. Belm.