Finally…Peoria Invaders Round to Jamison
By Jake Croxton

PEORIA, ILL. (July 28, 2006) – After a championship and 56 previous A-Main attempts, Ryan Jamison can now call himself a feature winner with the Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders. The Mediapolis, Iowa driver exchanged slidejobs with pole starter Chris Urish and bolted to the $1,000 checkered flag first.

“Thank God…There for awhile, I was wondering if I still had it in me,” stated the jubilant race winner. “I had to get a little aggressive, but if I was going to sit around and wait, Mr. Nice Guy wasn’t going to win it.” The 2002 series champion remains the only driver to compete in every Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invader event since the series formed in 2002.

Jamison and Urish put on a show at the front of the field as the two traded lines and chrome over the first seven laps.

“I know my front bumper and his rear bumper met up a few times, but finally I was able to get into the corner a little faster and I at least got one good run, enough to get by him.”

A lap 6 caution put Urish back in the front of the Young’s Auto Mart / Buddy’s Trailer Sales / The Poverty Knob Farms, Inc. / F5 / Ostrich, but the determined Jamison executed a bold turn one pass on the tight Peoria Speedway ¼-mile and set sail.

Behind the leader, positions two through seven were anybody’s guess as points leader Matt Sutton worked from his eighth starting position to third, and eventually second. At one point, Sutton, Urish, Jayson Ditsworth, and Jimmie Davies were four abreast coming off turn four for second.

As Sutton settled in comfortably to second, it was Ditsworth’s night to shine. The Gladstone, Ill. driver earned his best career finish on tour with a third.

“We had the car working good tonight,” said the 2004 Rookie of the Year. “We changed quite a few things and it worked out well for us. We were kind of hoping that not too many cars were going to run the topside, but they did and…it was a good night.”

Ditsworth had one shot at Sutton on the lap 10 restart, but settled for third.

“(Sutton) moved up. He isn’t dumb, he’s going to move around and find where the best place is and I don’t know if he heard me back there and moved up, but
either way we’ll take third.”

Bobby Hawks and Davies rounded out the top five ahead of Urish, Bobby Mincer, Manny Rockhold, Korey Weyant, and youngster Bret Tripplett. The series will partake in the Knoxville 360 Nationals and the Brodix Tournament of Champions non-points events before returning to action at 34 Raceway on Saturday, August
19.

For event photos and other Sprint Invaders news, check out www.sprintinvaders.com.

Staats Awards Heat Race #1 (Top 7 Advance) – 1. Manny Rockhold, Pekin; 2. Dave Anderson, Burlington, IA; 3. Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA; 4. Jayson Ditsworth, Gladstone; 5. Randy Plath, Stronghurst; 6. Nick Eastin, W. Burlington, IA; 7. Bart Andrews, Muscatine, IA

Storm Steel / Abrasive Jet Technologies Heat Race #2
(Top 8 Advance) – 1. Brian Hetrick, Stronghurst; 2. Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA; 3. Matt Sutton, Macomb; 4. Korey Weyant, Springfield; 5. Robert Bell, Colfax,
IA; 6. Matt Harms, Chillicothe; 7. Travis Porter, East Moline; 8. Dan Avery, Burlington, IA

Rich DeReu Memorial Heat Race #3 (Top 7 Advance) – 1. Jimmie Davies, Oquawka; 2. Chris Urish, Elkhart; 3. Bobby Hawks, Jacksonville; 4. Bret Tripplett,
Middletown; 5. Bryan Mislich, Barrington; 6. Patrick Moore; 7. Justin Newberry, Burlington, IA

Mike Campbell’s Body Shop & Towing Shake-Up Dash – 1.Rockhold; 2. Anderson; 3. Jamison; 4. Urish; 5.Davies; 6. Hetrick

Peoria 25 – 1. Jamison; 2. Sutton; 3. Ditsworth; 4.Hawks; 5. Davies; 6. Urish; 7. Mincer; 8. Rockhold; 9.Weyant; 10. Tripplett; 11. Andrews; 12. Anderson; 13.
Newberry; 14. Harms; 15. Bell; 16. Mislich; 17.Porter; 18. Avery; 19. Eastin; 20. Plath; 21. Hetrick
DNS; 22. Moore DNS

Car Count – 22
Cautions – 2 (L5, 10)
Leaders – Urish 1-6, Jamison 7-25
Laps Led – Jamison 19, Urish 6
Highest Finishing Rookie – Dan Avery (18th)

Contingency:
QA1 Motorsports Feature Winner – Ryan Jamison
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger – Jayson Ditsworth
(Started 10th, Finished 3rd)
Design 500 5th Place – Jimmie Davies
Design 500 2nd Place – Matt Sutton
Weld Racing Products 3rd Place – Jayson Ditsworth
Rainbo Oil 8th Place – Manny Rockhold
Saldana Racing Products – Travis Porter
Ultra Shield Racing Products – Matt Harms
Jocko’s Sprint Parts – Bart Andrews
Rod End Supply – Korey Weyant
Brake Man – Robert Bell
M&W Aluminum Products – Bobby Hawks
Hepfner Racing Products – Dave Anderson
Velocity Wings – Bobby Mincer