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While areas just to the southeast of the track were inundated with heavy rain and large hail on Friday night, L A Raceway racing action did not receive a drop of moisture and the track remained heavy and fast through sunshine, clouds and cooling temperatures.

 The Pitts Homes of Warsaw A Modifieds were a little short in number but made up for that with exciting action as Jason Thompson ( Concordia) held off a last lap challenge from Chad Lyle (Oak Grove).  Thompson dominated most of the race but as his tires went away, Lyle made an unsuccessful attempt to take the lead on the final lap.  Following Thompson and Lyle across the finish line were Terry Schultz, Justin Moon and Christopher Moon, all of Sedalia.

More new drivers again dotted the field of the Gill Signs 305 Sprints, as their numbers continue to climb.  Mitchell Moore (Edgerton,KS) showed his dominance again as he was chased aggressively by Brian Grimes (Slater).  Grimes has been driving the #63 sprinter for the last two events after an injury to its owner and normal driver, Tom McGarry (Alma), has him sidelined for a while.  Grimes said that he missed the setup and could not mount any successful challenge to Moore.  Several drivers behind them were coming on strong , Brian Beebe  (Oak Grove), Mike Schouten  (LaMonte) and Andrew Turley (Sedalia) as they just ran out of laps to change the outcome.  Several female sprint drivers are showing that this is not just a ‘man’s sport’, as Christy Hoenshell (Greenwood), Casey Baker (Lone Jack), Lacy Harrison (LaMonte), and Lauren Klem (Basehor, KS) have joined the 305 Sprint action.

Tyler Lewis (Columbia) took home the KOKO 1450/KWKJ 98.5 Winner’s Circle Trophy again for the second week in a row in the Pitts Homes of Warsaw B Modifieds as he fought off the challenges of Justin Metzner (Sedalia).  Completing the top five were Chad Lebsock (Centralia), Bob Russell (Lees Summit) and Josh Calvert (Hallsville).

The Jim’s Tire Service Hobby Stock’s exciting feature was won by Ron Livengood (Sedalia) as new driver Jeff Buford (Alma) along with John Simpson, Will Register and Joey Arnold all of Sedalia let him know that he would not win easily. 

The Xtreme Motors Street Stocks have been fighting low car numbers but do not lack in racing action as Allen Perryman (Belton) signed in to show them how its done.  Finishing in second was last week’s winner, Jay Prevete (Windsor) and following Prevete were Marc Carter (Warrensburg) who has been fighting engine problems, Terry Schmidt (Nortonville, KS) and Kevin Perkins (Sedalia).

Next Friday, June 17 will be the Pitts Homes of Warsaw night at the races and will again feature all five exciting racing divisions.  Coming up on June 24 will be the return of an ‘All Sprint’ Show with the ASCS Warrior 360 Sprints headlining.  For more information go to laraceway.com. 

This article was written by the L A Raceway PR Team on June 11th, 2011.

Friday night’s racing at L A Raceway was dedicated to the men and women of the Armed Forces who have served the United States in state, federal and overseas missions.

“We feel the military is a major part of our community and has been for as long as we can remember since we reside so close to Whiteman Air Force Base,” said Carolyn White, promotions manager for L A Raceway.

Mike White, track owner, is also a Vietnam Veteran and it gives the White family a great appreciation for what the military does and they always do their best to show that support.

“We also feel that military appreciation night also makes everyone think about what we owe the members of our military and hopefully the military members feel that support,” said White.

Things were a little rough in the Gill Signs/Specialty Sportswear 305 Sprint car feature. In the start of the race, Lacy Harrison and Andrew Turley got hooked up. Turley grazed the front stretch wall and Harrison’s sprinter bouncing off all four tires in disconnected patterns resulting in Harrison’s sprinter ending up on its side.

When racing resumed, Schlender took the lead with Mitchell Moore right on his tail. Both racers are no stranger to victory circle. Moore has won two features this season, Schlender has picked up one and Matt Close claimed the other.

Schouten settled into third with the Arnold sisters, Haley and Miranda, behind him. With 10 laps complete, Matt McGarry and Randy Roberts got hooked together resulting in Roberts going for one heck of a ride crumbling his sprinter into a ball.

The single-file, bunched-upped restart is exactly what Moore need and Schlender didn’t want. Schlender drove the bottom and Moore sailed around the top of the track. When they entered turn three, Moore drove his car deep into turn three and slid up in front of Schlender making a little contact but took the lead.

Laps winded down as Schlender tried to catch Moore, but was unsuccessful. Schouten finished third with Haley and Miranda Arnold rounding out the top five.

There were several cautions in the Pitts Homes of Warsaw A Modified feature event Friday night that gave Stephen Muilenburg the edge he needed to pick up the win.

Rusty Weir began on the pole with Colson Kirk on the outside. With the drop of the green, Weir took the lead bringing Stephen Muilenburg with him. After completing lap one, Muilenburg made his move going into turn one and two and took the lead from Weir down the back stretch. Nathan Vaughn, last Friday night’s feature winner, settled into third with Terry Schultz breathing down his neck.

With six laps completed, Schultz had moved into third putting Terry Kirk on the rear bumper of Vaughn. Three laps later, Schultz took second from Weir. Jeremy Lile was the driver to watch as he started eleventh and was working his way one by one through the pack.

For several laps, Lile and Justin Moon were battling back and forth in mid-pack. On lap 11, Lile picked off Moon coming out of turn two and then took sixth from Christopher Moon coming out of turn four.

Justin Moon caused the fifth caution of the night when he slammed into the front stretch wall showering the front stretch with sparks and parts.

On lap 17 of racing, Weir was holding steady in third until he got his modified out of sync. He was able to gather it back together but forfeited three positions. A caution caused by Ralph King gathered the cars together again with just two laps left. On the restart, Weir ran over the cone sending him to the tail of the field.

Schultz found the cushion he wanted on the high side of the track while Muilenburg was running the low side. As the laps winded down, Muilenburg drifted up to make sure he could keep the lead over Schutlz, who is definitely no stranger to the winner’s circle or the 3/8-mile track for that matter.

Muilenburg held off Schultz for the feature win. Terry Kirk took third, Lile finished fourth and Vaughn finished fifth.

With the two spin rule in effect, accidents and malfunctions, the A Modified class started with 20 cars and ended with eleven crossing the finish line.

In the Xtreme Motors Street Stocks, Ted Welschmeyer started on the pole with Scott Krause on his right. Krause is a past fast track champion and wasn’t going to give up easily. Racing came to a halt after cars got crossed up in turn two resulting in Danny Carroll landing on his top.

Racing resumed and the battle for the lead was heating up. After a few laps, Krause took the lead and wasn’t going to let Welschmeyer have it. Krause had stretched his lead over Welschmeyer out but got dangerously high in turns three and four and had to back out of it.

A caution flew as David Thompson looped his street stock in the bottom of turn two with just two laps left, reeling Krause back in for Welschmeyer.

Welschmeyer tried to pick off Krause, but it was no good. The checkered flag flew and Krause took the feature win. Welschmeyer, Kevin Perkins, Allen Perryman and Jeremy Gordon finished in the top honors.

In the Pitts Homes of Warsaw B Modified, Chris Brockway and Colt Cheevers began on the front row after picking up the heat race wins of the evening.

Brockway and Cheevers went into turn one side by side, but Cheevers looked like he got “shot out of a colt gun,” according to track announcer Bob Ramey. Gary Lewis fell into third with Ernie Walker and Tyler Lewis in behind him.

By the completion of lap four, Cheevers had built up a strong lead over the battle for second. On lap 10, Gary Lewis pulled up beside Brockway as they raced down the backstretch. At the completion of the next lap, Lewis moved into second.

Cheevers took the checkered flag with about a half track lead over the second placed Lewis. Brockway finished third with Tyler Lewis and Dean Wille finishing in the top five. Tyler Lewis was unable to pass technical inspections after the race moving Wille into fourth and Walker into fifth.

In the Jim’s Tire Service Hobby Stocks, the young and talented Luke Skidmore once again picked up a feature win at L A Raceway this season. Skidmore made his third trip this season to the winner’s circle Friday night only being beat out last week by Jay Prevete.

With the start of the race, Skidmore and Prevete began battling where the left off last week until Prevete began losing part to his left rear wheel.

When racing resumed, Michael Tyler stepped up to pressure Skidmore for the trophy. With four laps remaining, Skidmore had stretched the lead out over Tyler by a full straight away.

Taking third in the feature was Douglas Coffey. Steven Tyler and Ronnie Livengood rounded out the top five for the event.

The Missouri National Guard provided military vehicle displays and Soldiers to present the trophies to the night’s winners.

This article was written by Rachel Knight on June 4th, 2010.

L A Raceway had 74 cars Friday night checking in for five classes of racing. John Brooks, of Warrensburg; Jason Thompson, of Concordia; Ted Welschmeyer, of Tebbetts; Luke Skidmore, of Green Ridge; and Ryan Schlender, of Sedalia, picked up feature wins during The Bar 98.50/KOKO 1450 night at the races.

In the Pitts Homes of Warsaw B Modified feature event, Gary Lewis started on the pole after Bob Russell opted to start tailback. Lewis quickly took the lead bringing John Brooks with him leaving Tyler Lewis, who started outside row one, in third.

Colt Cheevers took third from Tyler Lewis through turns one and two on the second lap of the race. Brooks made his move for the lead over Gary Lewis that same lap going into turn three.

Brooks stretched his lead over the second place battle between Gary Lewis and Cheevers. It looked like Cheevers would accomplish his mission on lap six but had to get on the brakes to keep from spinning in turn three.

A caution caused by Christie Thomason was just the remedy that Cheevers was looking for. On the restart of lap nine, Cheevers sailed around the high side of turns one and two passing Gary Lewis and moving into second.

Cheevers was gaining ground on Brooks and just as the white flag was over the field of cars, Brooks got into lap traffic going into three and it looked like Cheevers was going to get the break he needed. Brooks gathered it back up and flew right under the lapped car. He took the feature win with Cheevers in close second. Gary Lewis finished third, Darin Claxton in fourth and Chris Brockway rounded out the top five.

After several complete restarts in the Pitts Homes of Warsaw A Modified feature event, Scotty Allen took the lead after starting in the pole position. Ed Griggs came up with the lead once out of five restarts but the one that counted wasn’t the one he lead.

Griggs fell into second for two laps until Thompson was able to move around him. Aaron Poe and Griggs battled back and forth for third place. Poe had comfortably settled into third by lap eight and Nathan Vaughn held onto fifth.

A few cautions gathered the field of cars back up but the top three cars were steady. James McMillin took fifth from Vaughn on lap 13 going into turns one and two. He took fourth from Griggs two laps later. Terry Schultz began to charge as well after having a rough start earlier in the race.

The white flag flew over the field when McMillin drove his modified in deep into turn one and made contact with Poe. This resulted in Poe spinning around and coming to a halt in top of the turns. He was finished for the night.

Racing resumed and Thompson continued to space himself from the rest of the cars. Schultz had moved into fourth behind McMillin for a brief moment until he used horsepower to drive around McMillin coming out of two. Vaughn and Terry Kirk followed Schultz.

Thompson took the checkered flag with Allen, Schultz, Vaughn and Kirk rounding out the top five.

In the Xtreme Motors Street Stocks, the nine-car field was able to finish the feature event with only one caution after the completion of lap one.

Welschmeyer took the lead over Carter and kept adding space. Dean Wille was sitting in third as the top three cars spaced themselves from the pack and each other.

Jeremy Gordon was holding solidly onto fourth until lap eight when Kevin Perkins and Scott Krause joined in to take over fourth position.

Welschmeyer crossed the finish line with a sizeable lead over the rest of the street stocks. Carter took second with Wille, Perkins and Krause rounding out the top honors.

Luke Skidmore started on the pole in the Jim’s Tire Service Hobby Stocks division with Harold Dump on the outside. Skidmore and Dump came out of turn two side by side during the start of the race. They make a little contact in the final turns on lap one and Dump came out with the lead.

On lap three, Skidmore took the lead running down the backstretch. Three laps later, Dump loses his wheel going into turn three and almost lost control of the car. He was towed to the pits and was done for the evening’s event.

This moved Michael Tyler up to battle Skidmore for the lead. Danny Crum, Stephen Tyler and Ronnie Livengood rounded out the battle for top five finishes.

Stephen Tyler took third from Crump going into turn one with just one lap left. Skidmore took the feature win by a full straight away lead. Michael Tyler, Stephen Tyler, Crum and Livengood finished in the top five.

Ryan Schlender started on the pole with Michael Schouten to his right in the Specialty Sportswear/Gill Signs 305 Sprints. Schlender quickly went to work leading the pack. Schouten and Lacy Harrison settled into the top three and were consistent throughout the race.

A couple of cautions gathered the sprinters back up but Schlender continued to pull away from the field. The second restart gave Chad Shields the advantage he needed to pass Harrison for third. Matt Close was sitting in fifth and began working on trying to get around Harrison. With only three more turns to go, Close drove his sprinter in deep on turn one and two and had to get on the brakes to not get into Harrison. He spun out and was unable to finish the race giving Cody Baker the fifth place finish.

Schlender picked up his second consecutive feature win at L A Raceway with Schouten, Shields, Harrison and Baker finishing in top honors.

Next Friday, June 25, is Pitts Homes of Warsaw night at the races. L A Raceway invites fans to come watch the A Modifieds, B Modifies, Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks and 305 Sprints hit the track to race towards the title of season champion.

This article was written by Rachel Knight on June 18th, 2010.

The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters is going to LA. L A Raceway in LaMonte, MO, that is, as the series has added another date to an already strong schedule of 2010 events.

The series will make its first ever stop at the 3/8-mile, semi-banked LA Raceway dirt oval on Friday night, July 30, the weekend in between the second annual visit to Oregon’s Cottage Grove Speedway on July 23-24 and Iowa’s 20th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals on August 5-7.

The July 30 card at L A Raceway will be the second of three scheduled Lucas Oil Sprint Car events in the Show Me State in 2010, with others including a June 26 event Eldon’s Lake Ozark Speedway and then a September 25 card at Wheatland’s Lucas Oil Speedway.

L A Raceway will be one of several tracks to host the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars for the first time in 2010, with others including Nebraska’s Eagle Raceway, Illinois’ Tri-City Speedway and Nevada’s Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Louisiana’s Jason Johnson, the 2008 Lucas Oil Sprint Car National champion, has topped three of the past five Lucas Oil Sprint Car feature events contested in Missouri, although reigning champion Shane Stewart reached victory lane in the most recent event, a September run at Lucas Oil Speedway.

The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for 37 nights of competition at 18 different tracks throughout 14 different states. The originally scheduled dates of March 26-27 at Oklahoma City’s State Fair Speedway have been removed from the schedule due to apparent closure of the facility by city officials.

The Lucas Oil Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters contenders will once again vie for a staggering $250,000 point fund with $60,000 earmarked for the series champion. The standard purse for one-night events and the final night of two-night stands includes a $6,000 winner’s share and $500 minimum to start the main event, with a healthy tow m oney package in effect for the top 15 in series points.

Bixby, Oklahoma’s Shane Stewart captured his first Lucas Oil National Sprint Car championship in 2009 aboard California car owner Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered No. 57 A.R.T. Chassis, edging 2008 champ Jason Johnson by just 25 markers for the crown.

Stewart kicks off his title defense at the 37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Speedway Spring Nationals on March 19-20, taking on a full assemblage of full-time Lucas Oil Sprint Car competitors along with a strong contingent of invaders atop the famed Mesquite, TX, clay oval and each ensuing stop along the way.

This article was written by Lonnie Wheatley on January 26, 2010.