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BELLEVILLE, Kan. (July 1, 2007) – John Allen started on the pole and led flag-to-flag for the win Sunday at the famed Belleville High Banks. It was Allen’s second victory of the season in the O’Reilly NCRA Modified Series, presented by ICM/Ethanol.
Allen, a two-time champion from Chanute, Kan., started eighth in his heat and finished first to give the others an indication of how strong he was.
“I knew if we could get the lead we would have a good shot at it and that’s what I tried to do,” he said of the feature. “Get a good start and just get out there and get to rolling.”
Allen easily kept the lead as he stayed low at the green. But there were a couple of young guns from Oklahoma who took a shot at the two-time series champion.
Last year’s series rookie of the year, Jason Teague from Tahlequah, started to Allen’s right. Behind Teague was Brandon Gemmill, a third-generation driver from Ponca City. They slid into line to chase Allen, Teague in second and Gemmill third.
Early on, Teague, Gemmill and the veteran Don Renfro diced for second, which gave Allen a chance to slip away a bit. Gemmill took over the position on lap three, which also saw Renfro, the series’ first champion in 1998, bring out the first caution with a flat. With Renfro out, Brian Franz and Greg Burt each moved up a spot into fourth and fifth, respectively.
On lap 13, Casey McClaskey slid head first into the turn 4 wall. While he was sitting there, Teague clipped the tail of the stalled racecar. McClaskey’s engine caught fire briefly, but long enough to bring out a red flag. McClaskey pulled away from the wall under his own power but Teague was done for the night.
Heading into turn 2 on the restart, the fifth-place driver Marc Hurd looked to the inside of Burt but couldn’t make the pass. Hurd and Burt ran side-by-side down the back straight before Hurd moved into fourth coming out of turn 4.
Gemmill, who was running second, saw his engine go away on lap 17. That elevated Franz into second, followed by Hurd, Burt, and Brian Casey.
Hurd continued his run towards the front as he and Franz went neck-and-neck for position on lap 17. Hurd made the pass stick at the end of lap 18 and took over second.
But it was all Allen as he won for the 10th time in his NCRA career. Hurd started eighth and held on for second while Franz was third and Burt fourth. Cody Gearhart of Turpin, Okla., passed Casey on lap 19 to finish fifth after starting 18th.
Franz, the four-time defending series champion, added to his point lead with a third-place finish. Second place Jeremy Massey blew the engine in his heat race and couldn’t make the feature. Massey was one of 10 drivers who blew engines during heat races.
“It’s just real high speed and puts a lot of load on a car,” Allen said of so many expired motors. “You can run wide open around here. There’s no other place like it.”
Jon Thompson and Mike Jarvis won the two B features. Heat wins went to Allen, Franz, Burt, Renfro, and Casey.
Allen, who is leading in points at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., called Belleville a “Lakeside on steroids.”
“It’s silly to race here because it’s so hard on stuff but it’s just so much fun,” he said. “It’s just really cool racing here. It gets you all worked up.”
Heat #1:
1. (98) John Allen, Chanute, Kan.; 2. (721) Troy Gemmill, Ponca City, Okla.; 3. (10) Marc Hurd, Wichita, Kan.; 4. Jason Roe, Wichita, Kan.; 5. (87c) Marty Curry, Haysville, Kan.; 6. (31T) Tim Echevarria, Junction City, Kan.; 7. (29) Marlin Farr, Nickerson, Kan.; 8. (11) Steve Burch, Junction City, Kan.; 9. (15) Greg Stephens, Wichita, Kan.
Heat #2:
1. (86) Brian Franz, Halstead, Kan.; 2. (G3) Brandon Gemmill, Ponca City, Okla.; 3. (12P) Jeff Herbers, Holton, Kan.; 4. (8) Justin Bell, Omaha, Neb.; 5. (93) Jeremy Massey, Park City, Kan.; 6. (12) Shawn Langhover, Haysville, Kan.; 7. (94) Dustin Huehl, Salina, Kan.; 8. (73) Dave Hardesty, Minneapolis, Kan.; 9. (50) Rodney Dodds, Haysville.
Heat #3:
1. Greg Burt, Enid, Okla.; 2. John Schwab, Liberal, Kan.; 3. Jason Friesen, Sutton, Neb.; 4. Jon Thompson, Superior, Neb.; 5. Mike Jarvis, Wichita, Kan.; 6. Mark Crough, Hutchinson, Kan.; 7. Troy Johnson, Concordia, Kan.; 8. Brad Johnston, Peck, Kan.; 9. Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
Heat #4:
1. Don Renfro, Wichita, Kan.; 2. Jason Teague, Tahlequah, Okla.; 3. Kurt Johnston, Concordia, Kan.; 4. Brandon Blochlinger, Concordia, Kan.; 5. Casey McClaskey, Ponca City, Okla.; 6. Troy Davis, Salina, Kan.; 7. Micaah Johnson, Courtland, Kan.; 8. Loren Dauer, Lindsborg, Kan.; 9. Brian McGowen, Frontenac, Kan.
Heat #5:
1. Brian Casey, Hutchinson, Kan.; 2. Brian Powers, Wichita, Kan.; 3. Travis Govern, Wichita, Kan.; 4. Cody Gearhart, Turpin, Okla.; 5. Joe Cleveland, Bennington, Kan.; 6. Jarrod Johnston, Concordia, Kan.; 7. Scott Smith, Davenport, Neb.; 8. Tyler Frye, Belleville, Kan.
B feature #1 (top five transfer):
1. Jon Thompson, 2. Kurt Johnston, 3. Brandon Blochlinger, 4. Casey McClaskey, 5. Justin Bell, 6. Greg Stephens, 7. Joe Cleveland, 8. Steve Burch, 9. Grant Junghans, 10. Troy Davis, 11. Marlin Farr, 12. Mark Crough, 13. Scott Smith, DNS: Troy Johnson, Loren Dauer.
B feature #2 (top five transfer:
1. Mike Jarvis, 2. Cody Gearhart, 3. Jason Roe, 4. Brian McGowen, 5. Tim Echevarria, 6. Marty Curry, 7. Jarrod Johnston, 8. Brad Johnston, DNS: Jeremy Massey, Shawn Langhover, Dustin Hill, Micaah Johnson, Dave Hardesty, Tyler Frye, Rodney Dodds.
A feature (20 laps):
1. John Allen, 2. Marc Hurd, 3. Brian Franz, 4. Greg Burt, 5. Cody Gearhart, 6. Brian Casey, 7. John Schwab, 8. Jon Thompson, 9. Troy Gemmill, 10. Mike Jarvis, 11. Jason Roe, 12. Kurt Johnston, 13. Brian Powers, 14. Brian McGowen, 15. Justin Bell, 16. Casey McClaskey, 17. Brandon Gemmill, 18. Jason Teague, 19. Brandon Blochlinger, 20. Tim Echevarria, 21. Travis Govern, 22. Jason Friesen, 23. Jeff Herbers, 24. Don Renfro.
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