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Williams Collects Emotional Win in the Ozark’s Asphalt Late Model Series

The longest race of the season for the Ozark’s Asphalt Late Model Series is officially in the books. Last Saturday night. June 1st, 2019, the Ozarks Asphalt Late Model Series ran 110 laps in honor of the legendary Roper family. Championship battles are now beginning to take shape as there are only two races left for the Ozarks Asphalt Late Model Series and seven races left for the weekly classes. If you missed any of last weekend’s action, we will help you get caught up right here!
Hornets
Mason Mundy came out swinging last Saturday night picking up his second consecutive heat race win in the Hornet division. The invert shuffled Mundy back to 5th position for the feature. At the drop of the green, Justin Gannt took off with the lead for the first three laps until Jeffery Albright was able to make the pass and take the lead early on. Behind him, Chris Albright, Mason Mundy, and Ricky Barker put on a spectacular race for second place. Barker and Mundy passed each other back and forth a couple of times while each of them tried to get to the Albright brothers. But as the battle for second ensued, this allowed Jeffery Albright to build up a lead as he went on to pick up his first feature win at Lebanon I-44 Speedway with his brother Chris Albright in second and Mason Mundy in third. Chirs Albright now has just a one-point lead in the Championship over his brother Jeffery.
Street Stocks
Last weekend the Street Stock division was swept by the No. 67 of Matt Pilant. Pilant and Aaron Douglas put on a great show in the heat race as they duked it out for 8 laps and nearly finished side by side. The feature was shaping up to be very similar with Pilant leading and Douglas in second until Douglas snapped an axle which ended his night early. Trevor Icenhower inherited the second position and did all he could to make the move on Pilant, but just couldn’t get there this time. Pilant went on to take the win with Icenhower in second and Tony Johnson in third. Pilant currently has the points lead over Icenhower by just 6 points in the Championship.
Modifieds
The Ground-pounding Modifieds were on hand on Saturday night as well. Richard Lewis went on to grab the heat race win and showed some serious speed. In the feature, Chris Johnson, out of Lebanon, took the early lead with his teammate, Michael Juergenson, in second. While Juergenson was looking for a way around Johnson, Brian Brown was looking for a way around both of them. Brown eventually made his was to the lead and put a straightaway lead on the field until a mid-race caution brought the field back together. On the restart, Brown was now under fire from Richard Lewis. Lewis worked the inside on Brown for 3 or 4 laps and was able to make the pass and went on to take his second feature win of 2019. Brian Brown came home second, and Chris Johnson was third. Richard Lewis now has a 24-point lead over Michael Juergenson as Ricky Icenhower was unable to attend last weekend’s races.
Big 10 Late Models
The Big 10 Late Model Series has grown into one of the best races to watch each night at Lebanon I-44 Speedway. The creator of this class, Ken Dickinson, picked up the win in the first heat race, while the 12-year-old Rookie driver, Charlie Keeven, took home the second heat race. In the feature, JC Newell brought the field to the green flag and led the opening laps of the race. Justin Blake then made the pass to take over the lead and Ken Dickinson moved into second. While these two battled up front, Jimmy Fohn was working his way through traffic as he had to start at the back because he won the last feature. Fohn had now moved into third, but Justin Blake continued to throw down solid laps. Fohn and Dickinson battled hard for second, but in the end, it was Justin Blake taking home his first win of 2019 with Fohn second and Dickinson third. Three nights of racing and three different winners in the Big 10 Late Model class. Justin Blake is the new points leader with a two-point gap over Fohn and an 8-point gap over Dickinson.
Ozark’s Asphalt Late Model Series
Finally, the Ozark’s Asphalt Late Model Series took to the track for the Roper Classic 110. In qualifying, Cole Williams threw down the fast lap of the season and collected his third pole award of this season. The field then underwent a four-row invert which put the No. 67 of Jimmy Vanzandt on the pole with Terry Limberopolous on his outside. Vanzandt fired off strong and led the first 10 laps of the race until Limberopolous made his way by followed by the No. 14 of Tim Swearengin and the No. 56 of Tony Jackson Jr. Jackson Jr. quickly made his way around both cars and stole the lead. Behind him, a hornet’s nest of cars battled for the remaining spots. Up front, Jackson Jr. continued to lead with Swearengin in second and Cole Williams in third. On lap 30, Williams moved into the second position and went to work on catching Jackson Jr. 60 laps later, Williams was able to catch and pass Jackson Jr. for the lead. At this time, Corey Deuser, who is also from Indiana along with Cole Williams, was able to pass Tim Swearengin for third after a hard-fought battle. At the end of the long, caution free, 110-lap feature, it was all Cole Williams picking up his first win of 2019 and a special one as this was his first race after the passing of his grandfather. Tony Jackson Jr. ended the night in 2nd, Corey Dueser was 3rd, and the Carmichael Motorsports teammates rounded out the top 5 with Tim Swearengin 4th and the Rookie, Dylan Bates, in 5th. Tony Jackson Jr. now has a 24-point lead over Cole Williams and Tim Swearengin who are tied for 2nd in the Championship.
The next race at Lebanon I-44 Speedway will be held on June 15th. The Hillbilly Classic will host Pro Late Models, Big 10 Late Models, Modifieds, Street Stocks and Hornets as well as a Power Wheel race for kids 12&under! The Ozark’s Asphalt Late Model Series will take the week off and will be back in action on July 3rd for the annual Salute to 75 and firework extravaganza! We hope to see all of you there, but until then check out our website, i44speedway.net, or our Facebook page to keep up with track news and updates!
By Dylan Bates

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