Wright Wrangles O'Reilly ASCoT "Show-Me Showdown" Win at Sedalia
by: Lonnie Wheatley

SEDALIA, Mo. (July 3, 2007) – Gary Wright has claimed O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series victories at a lot of different tracks over the course of his career. But ASCS victory lane at Missouri's State Fair Speedway had eluded "The Texan" thus far.

That all changed on Tuesday night however, as Wright outdueled Brian Brown in the early stages and then survived some dicey moments in lapped traffic in the closing laps to beat Brown and Jason Johnson to the stripe in the 25-lapper to capture his 113th career ASCS National Tour win, with Missouri State Fair Speedway becoming the 44th different track at which "The Texan" has triumphed in ASCS competition.

"I bet you thought I wasn't ever gonna win one again," Wright laughed as he pulled into O'Reilly ASCoT victory lane for the seventh time this season, but the first time since May 12.

"We just had a great car tonight, it was working so well I could run it anywhere I needed to," Wright explained of his Wesmar-powered Whiteco Commercial Funding/Richwood Construction/Southwest Express No. 9 Maxim.

Starting on the front row outside, Wright outgunned polesitter Brian Brown for the early lead. But after a quick caution after four laps for California's Adam Main, who spun in turn two to miss another car, Brown went to work on Wright for the lead.

Brown stayed on Wright's bumper for a pair of laps before ducking underneath the rim-riding Wright entering turn three on the seventh circuit to briefly take command. Wright raced right back underneath Brown exiting turn four though to retain command.

Lap eight was an instant replay, with Wright and Brown trading the lead in turns three and four. A half lap later, Brown slid in front of Wright in turns one and two and held the lead as the pair raced down the backstretch. But Wright returned the favor in turns three and four to regain the lead once again.

"That was fun racing Brian like that, with him you know he'll slide you but he's not gonna wreck you," Wright explained. "He'd slide up there and I'd just ease off a bit and then drive right back under him coming off the corner."

As lapped traffic into play, Wright worked through traffic masterfully while seventh-starter Jason Johnson battled past Jesse Hockett for third on the tenth round and then charged past Brown for second soon after only to have the move negated when Hockett came to a stop on the backstretch with engines woes after eleven laps.

With clear racetrack ahead, Wright moved to the bottom of the track as Brown and Johnson battled for the runner-up position several car-lengths behind him. Johnson battled past Brown for second on the 12th lap, but Brown returned the favor five laps later.

Brown and Johnson were both poised to strike when Wright reached lapped traffic on the 19th lap. And a gaggle of eight lapped cars seemed to present a perfect opportunity. But Wright was simply flawless in working through traffic, finding open track once again on the white-flag lap.

Wright took the checkered flag in front of Brown, who settled for second aboard Tim and Gina Doogs' Ostrich-powered No. 21 Maxim. Finishing a close third was Johnson in Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle.

Battling forward from the tenth starting position, Wayne Johnson reached the fourth position when Hockett exited after eleven laps and held the spot the rest of the way aboard Tim Hammers' Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Eagle.

Rookie shoe Josh Fisher led the O'Reilly Winged Outlaw Warriors ranks by rounding out the top five in his O'Reilly ASCoT debut after starting eleventh. Earlier in the evening, Fisher led the opening seven laps of his heat race only to have Wright battle by on the final lap for a narrow win.

After winning the First "B" Main, Ricky Logan charged from 17th to finish sixth. Gabe Maycock was seventh, with Travis Rilat recovering from a trip to the work area after contact with the inside barrier on the 11th lap to claim eighth. Randy Martin was ninth, with Terry Hinck completing the top ten.

Maycock, Brown, Dustin Barks, Jason Johnson and Gary Wright topped heat race action for the 37-car field. Logan fought off a late bid from Adam Main to win the First "B" Main, with Foster Landon battling past Tyler Blank on the third round en route to winning the Second "B" Main.

The O'Reilly ASCoT "Show-Me Showdown" continues on Wednesday night with the First Annual Daniel McMillin Memorial at Double X Raceway in California, MO, then concludes on Saturday night at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, KS.

O’Reilly ASCoT Show-Me Showdown Results from Missouri State Fair Speedway:

Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points to "A" Main; Balance to Twin "B" Mains):

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 98-Gabe Maycock, 2. 14-Randy Martin, 3. 21h-Terry Hinck, 4. 3p-Rusty Potter, 5. 43-Frank Brown, 6. 18-Tim Newman, 7. 5am-Mallory Armfield, 8. 93-Steve Mahannah.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 75-Jesse Hockett, 3. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 7-Ricky Logan, 5. 11F-Foster Landon, 6. 04-Brad Graham, 7. 9m-Dale McCarty, 8. 12c-Faron Crank.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 22-Dustin Barks, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 23F-Matt Fox, 4. 75x-Tyler Blank, 5. 24L-Lanny Carpenter, 6. 72-Curtis Boyer, 7. 1p-Curtis Evans.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 73-Ed Wagner, 4. 35a-Adam Main, 5. 86-Jesse Giannetto, 6. 91-Nick Smith, 7. 48-David Brown.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 86x-Josh Fisher, 3. 14c-Mike Trent, 4. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 5. 41x-Scott Comstock, 6. 21L-Mike Lefholz, 7. 7h-Rob Hartman.

Pole Dash (Finishing Order Determines Front Three Rows of “A” Main):

Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 9-Gary Wright, 3. 22-Dustin Barks, 4. 75-Jesse Hockett, 5. 98-Gabe Maycock, 6. 14-Randy Martin.

"B" Mains (Top 3 From Each Transfer to "A" Main):

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 7-Ricky Logan, 2. 35a-Adam Main, 3. 72-Curtis Boyer, 4. 24L-Lanny Carpenter, 5. 43-Frank Brown, 6. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 7. 21L-Mike Lefholz, 8. 93-Steve Mahannah, 9. 48-David Brown. DNS: 9m-Dale McCarty, 12c-Faron Crank.

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 11F-Foster Landon, 2. 75x-Tyler Blank, 3. 86-Jesse Giannetto, 4. 91-Nick Smith, 5. 04-Brad Graham, 6. 5ma-Mallory Armfield, 7. 71x-Scott Comstock, 8. 7h-Rob Hartman, 9. 1p-Curtis Evans. DNS: 18-Tim Newman.

O’Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Results from Missouri State Fair Speedway:

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 21-Brian Brown, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 94-Wayne Johnson, 5. 86x-Josh Fisher, 6. 7-Ricky Logan, 7. 98-Gabe Maycock, 8. 29-Travis Rilat, 9. 14-Randy Martin, 10. 21h-Terry Hinck, 11. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 12. 22-Dustin Barks, 13. 14c-Mike Trent, 14. 35a-Adam Main, 15. 11F-Foster Landon, 16. 3p-Rusty Potter, 17. 23F-Matt Fox, 18. 86-Jesse Giannetto, 19. 75x-Tyler Blank, 20. 93-Steve Mahannah, 21. 75-Jesse Hockett, 22. 73-Ed Wagner, 23. 72-Curtis Boyer.

Lap Leaders: Gary Wright 1-25.

Note: Steve Mahannah used a Winged Outlaw Warriors provisional to start the main event.

O’Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Ten): 1. Gary Wright 2,682, 2. Wayne Johnson 2,668, 3. Jason Johnson 2,645, 4. Travis Rilat 2,561, 5. Foster Landon 2,254, 6. Darren Stewart 1,781, 7. Andy Shouse 1,559, 8. Chris Schmelzle 1,318, 9. Chuck Swenson 1,152, 10. Johnny Miller 1,047.