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Hughes takes 20 grand back to Oklahoma after winning U.S. Western Modified Nationals
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, CA - September 29, 2007...After making a miraculous charge from 20th to 2nd during the opening day preliminary main event held Friday afternoon, Colcord, Oklahoma’s Jason Hughes came back on Saturday and led the final 25 laps of the A-main to become the first winner of the $20,000 to win U.S. Western Modified Nationals. The driver of the Boom Drilling, Hughes Chassis No. 12h started from the inside of the second row on Saturday evening and played his cards right to get up into the top spot and held off a late charge by Salinas driver Bobby Hogge IV to pick up the huge win at the 1/3 mile clay oval Thunderbowl Raceway.
The 40 lap U.S. Western Modified Nationals main event presented by Budweiser began with the two preliminary night winners sharing the front row. On the pole was this year’s Western States Modified champion & prelim race #1 winner Tim Balding from Prunedale, CA; and on the outside was Batesville, Arkansas racer Richie Tosh who picked up the win in preliminary main event #2. When the green flag was waved by starter Willie Williams it was Tosh who jumped out into the lead aboard the Jeremy Newberry owned No. 62n. Tosh was shadowed by Balding however, and on lap five Balding would make the move off the second corner to claim the lead, but a caution would appear immediately thereafter and it put Tosh back into the top spot.
A couple more laps would be completed after going back green, before a red flag flew on lap seven. The restart order saw Tosh leading Balding, Jay Note Boom, Hughes and Kellen Chadwick who rounded out the top five. This is when Hughes made his move to the front as he took third from Note Boom on lap eight and dispatched of Balding for the runner up spot on the 11th circuit. There was no doubt that Hughes was the fastest car on the track at this point and he closed in quickly on Tosh. After running side by side on a couple different occasions, Hughes made the move in turn three to take over the top spot on lap 15. Balding followed suit and was also able to get by Tosh for second before Tosh slowed to a stop on lap 16 with a flat tire to end his bid at the $20,000.
The rest of the race saw Hughes have to deal with a handful of more caution periods which kept the rest of the field glued to his back bumper. Hogge IV made his presence known on lap 23 as he carved his way into the second spot and looked like he might have had something for the leader of the race. Hogge applied heavy pressure to the back of Hughes as the laps ticked off, but both competitors ran each other clean and showed a lot of respect for one another. Before the final caution of the night flew on lap 35, the battle for the lead had heated up and featured the top four cars running tightly bunched as they put on a great show for the lead. With a clear track ahead it made it tough task for Hogge and the rest of the field, but the Salinas driver gave it all he had with just a handful of laps remaining.
Hughes remained committed to the high side in turns three and four as Hoggue IV stuck to the low side. When the white flag was unveiled from the starter Hughes held a three to four car length advantage over second and as he rounded the final set of corners, Hoggue tried a final last ditch effort, but it came up short and Hughes took the checkered flag to pick up the first U.S. Western Modified Nationals. Hogge IV finished a very respectable second to earn $10,000 and the podium was rounded out by Hughes' teammate Tommy Weder Jr. from Woodward, OK. The Oklahoma team took home a whopping $25,000 for the evening of competition. Oakley, CA’s Kellen Chadwick finished the main event in fourth and 20th starter Alan Sharpensteen from Amarillo, TX completed the top five. Rounding out the top 10 were Bumper Jones, Balding, Rich Denman, Robert Miller and Steve Arpin. A total of 16 out of state drivers qualified for the A-main event on Saturday night.
The first ever U.S. Western Modified Nationals tire change challenge was held on Saturday afternoon and the $500 top prize sponsored by MTZ was won by the team of Chris Ennis. Showing great generosity the team donated $200 back to the Make A Wish Foundation.
The weekend as a whole was a learning experience for all involved and although there were some rocky moments, there were some very good ones as well and great racing was seen throughout the three days. With a few tweaks in the program, the U.S. Western Modified Nationals has the potential to become a huge dirt modified event and one of the biggest best in the country. Steve Faria and the Thunderbowl Raceway track crew have to be commended for their hard work in getting the track in excellent shape for Friday and Saturday’s racing program.
For more on the event log onto http://www.westernracer.com
Next up for the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway will be the Dave Helm Memorial on Saturday October 13 featuring the World of Outlaw Sprint Series. Tickets are going fast so call soon to get a seat for all the action. The number to call is 559-688-0909 and for more info visit http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com |
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