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The “Coleman Comet” Curtis Roberts Wins First Ever American Ethanol Tour Event

Rothbury, Michigan (Friday, June 5th, 2015): This Past Friday the fans at the fast 3/8ths (0.375) mile high banked dirt oval of Winston Speedway in Rothbury, Michigan were treated to a thrilling 7 in 1 racing program. The show was headlined by the inaugural show for the American Ethanol Late Model Tour bringing the best Dirt late model drivers in the state to the track for a special $2000 to win show. They were joined by the UMP DIRTcar Modifieds, Michigan Dirt Modifieds, Street Stocks, Bombers, Four-Cylinder Warriors, and Young Guns.

The Young Guns were the first feature to hit the racing surface for what was a 10-lap A-Main. Ronnie VanNatter and Gabe Flores were on the front row. VanNatter would be in the lead when the checkered flag dropped and he would get the win. The victory marked his third win of the year in his #36. Flores finished second, Madison Crane, and Heidi Barnhard rounded out the field. VanNatter also won the heat race.

Out next was the Four-Cylinder Warriors special led by the front row of Dave Redmon and Terry Woodard. The 15-lap feature kicked off with Redmon taking the early advantage. Ryan Hamm would take the lead away in the middle of the event. However in the late stages Redmon would regain the lead and go on to pick up the win. This was Redmon’s second win of the year. Buck Spencer was the second place finisher. Ryan Hamm, Katie Whelpley, and Gary Larabee capped off the top five. The Heat races were won by Larabee and Hamm.

The Bombers feature was lead out by Kevin Rake and Mike Epplett. The green flag waved and it didn’t take long for the defending track champion Dan Wilson Jr. to weave his way after starting sixth to the front of the pack and never looking back from there going on to get the win. This was the Muskegon, Michigan native’s first win of the year. Epplett finished second. Robb Sternberg, Mike DeJonge, and Mike Fekken finished the top five. Epplett and Wilson won the heats.

Josh Grabe won the Michigan Dirt Modifieds main event. The win marked the Muskegon, Michigan driver’s third win of the season. He won over Steve McClees who finished just behind in second. Brett Strunk and Joe Carmean completed the field.

The 40-lap $2000 to win feature event for the American Ethanol Late Model Tour was out next. Steve Fairbanks and C.J. Heskett led the field of 21 down to the green flag. Fairbanks took the lead right away while everyone else shuffled for position behind him. He would lead for the first ten laps, then the “coleman comet” Curtis Roberts would make the pass for the lead. Even after going through several restarts, Roberts would maintain the hold on the top position and would go on to take home the checkered flag.

This marks the first win of the season at Winston for the native of Coleman, Michigan.Two time UMP DIRTcar Michigan State Champion Eric Spangler was the runner up finisher. Six time and Defending track and defending UMP DIRTcar Michigan State champion Rich Neiser, Fairbanks, and Dona Marcoullier completed the top five. Bill Bray, Heskett, Mike Wilbern, and Spangler won the preliminary heat races. 2012 UMP DIRTcar Michigan state champion Brandon Thirlby won the B-Main. Thirlby was also the fast qualifier with a time of 14.611.
The UMP DIRTcar Modifieds A-Main made its way out onto the track. When the 25-lap race was completed, it was Jeff Erickson Jr. who made the trip to victory lane after leading the entire event from start to finish. Steve McClees was the second place finisher. Aaron Morey, Greg Smith, and Kevin Cavanaugh made up the top five. Erickson also was the winner of the lone heat race.

Finally, the Street Stocks rolled out to compete in their 20-lap feature event. Paul Namey and 2013 track champion Sadie Klein led the field to the start. Klein jumped out to the lead, and she would end up going on to pick up the win. This marked the Muskegon, Michigan driver’s first win of the season. Derek Poland finished second. Robbie Sternberg, Chuck Smith, and Josh Sternberg rounded out the top five.

This Friday June 12th the Winston Speedway will host another full 7 in 1 program headlined by a Bomber Special. UMP Late Models, UMP Modifieds, Michigan Dirt Modifieds, Street Stocks, Four-Cylinder Warriors, and Young Guns will be in action as well. Pits Open at 5:30pm, Grandstands open at 6:00pm, Hot Laps start at 6:30pm, and the green flag is set to fly at 7:30pm

Winston Speedway is located at 7834 South 72nd Avenue in Montague, Michigan. For more information, please call: 1 (231) 737-9223 or go to the website located at: www.racewinston.com You can also follow everything that is happening on and off the track by becoming a fan on the tracks Facebook Fan Page and following along on Twitter as well. Just go to: www.facebook.com/WinstonSpeedway and www.twitter.com/WinstonSpeedway and click on “Like" and “Follow” buttons today.

Results Summary:
Late Models -

Qualifying
1.M14-Brandon Thirlby, 14.611; 2.9R-Curtis Roberts, 14.867; 3.21S-Tom Sprague Jr, 15.121; 4.27-Eric Spangler, 15.132; 5.94-Bill Bray, 15.347; 6.6M-Dona Marcoullier, 15.356; 7.87-Richard Neiser, 15.364; 8.51-Steve Fairbanks, 15.478; 9.ID=36551- , 15.478; 10.17-Kevin Nelson JR, 15.501; 11.25-Eddie Reyes, 15.542; 12.ID=34175- , 15.542; 13.44-Rob Taylor, 15.584; 14.11cr-Carl Ries, 15.711; 15.X1-Juston Robinson, 15.720; 16.05-CJ Heskett, 15.730; 17.20-Mike Wilbern, 15.786; 18.79-Nick Kurtz, 15.803; 19.10-Tom Dusen, 15.862; 20.23V-Ryan VanderVeen, 15.880; 21.4-Jason Playter Jr., 15.957; 22.1-Eric Midkiff, 16.023; 23.11-Ryan Lanphierd, 16.197; 24.11S-Tim Stott, 16.197; 25.7-Matt Christiansen, 16.221; 26.64-Bob Shirk, 16.340; 27.87K-Josh Knoll, 16.479; 28.22-Kevin Juusola, 16.495; 29.ID=36554- , 16.495; 30.99-Larry Passenier, 16.594; 31.02-Jeramy Lange, 16.622; 32.30-Bob Bray, 16.764; 33.72-Kyle Borgman, 99.000;

Heat 1 - (10 Laps)

1. 94-Bill Bray[3] ; 2. 10-Tom Dusen[5] ; 3. 87K-Josh Knoll[6] ; 4. 17-Kevin Nelson JR[2] ; 5. M14-Brandon Thirlby[4] ; 6. 11-Ryan Lanphierd[8] ; 7. 30-Bob Bray[7] ; 8. X1-Juston Robinson[1]

Heat 2 - (10 Laps)

1. 05-CJ Heskett[1] ; 2. 9R-Curtis Roberts[4] ; 3. 25-Eddie Reyes[2] ; 4. 6M-Dona Marcoullier[3] ; 5. 23V-Ryan VanderVeen[5] ; 6. 72-Kyle Borgman[8] ; 7. 11S-Tim Stott[6] ; 8. 22-Kevin Juusola[7]

Heat 3 - (10 Laps)

1. 20-Mike Wilbern[7] ; 2. 21S-Tom Sprague Jr[3] ; 3. 87-Richard Neiser[2] ; 4. 99-Larry Passenier[6] ; 5. 4-Jason Playter Jr.[4] ; 6. 7-Matt Christiansen[5] ; 7. 44-Rob Taylor[1]

Heat 4 - (10 Laps)

1. 27-Eric Spangler[4] ; 2. 51-Steve Fairbanks[3] ; 3. 79-Nick Kurtz[1] ; 4. 11cr-Carl Ries[2] ; 5. 1-Eric Midkiff[5] ; 6. 64-Bob Shirk[6] ; 7. 02-Jeramy Lange[7]

B-Main 1 - (15 Laps)

1. M14-Brandon Thirlby[1] ; 2. 23V-Ryan VanderVeen[2] ; 3. 4-Jason Playter Jr.[3] ; 4. 11-Ryan Lanphierd[5] ; 5. 1-Eric Midkiff[4] ; 6. 7-Matt Christiansen[7] ; 7. 22-Kevin Juusola[14] ; 8. 64-Bob Shirk[8] ; 9. 30-Bob Bray[9] ; 10. 11S-Tim Stott[10] ; 11. 02-Jeramy Lange[12] ; 12. 72-Kyle Borgman[6] ; 13. 44-Rob Taylor[11] ; 14. X1-Juston Robinson[13]

A-Main 1 - (40 Laps)

1. 9R-Curtis Roberts[4] ; 2. 27-Eric Spangler[3] ; 3. 87-Richard Neiser[11] ; 4. 51-Steve Fairbanks[1] ; 5. 6M-Dona Marcoullier[14] ; 6. 21S-Tom Sprague Jr[7] ; 7. 94-Bill Bray[5] ; 8. 25-Eddie Reyes[10] ; 9. 20-Mike Wilbern[6] ; 10. M14-Brandon Thirlby[17] ; 11. 05-CJ Heskett[2] ; 12. 11-Ryan Lanphierd[20] ; 13. 79-Nick Kurtz[12] ; 14. 99-Larry Passenier[15] ; 15. 1-Eric Midkiff[21] ; 16. 17-Kevin Nelson JR[13] ; 17. 10-Tom Dusen[8] ; 18. 4-Jason Playter Jr.[19] ; 19. 11cr-Carl Ries[16] ; 20. 87K-Josh Knoll[9] ; 21. 23V-Ryan VanderVeen[18]

UMP Modifieds -

Heat 1 - (10 Laps)

1. 1E-Jeffery Erickson Jr[3] ; 2. 01-Steve McClees[1] ; 3. 2K-Aaron Morey[6] ; 4. 88-Greg Smith[4] ; 5. 14C-Kevin Cavanaugh[8] ; 6. 79-Kory Maurice[2] ; 7. 1S-Andy Sprague[9] ; 8. 46-Dave Schmidt[7] ; 9. 3-Mike Petersen[5]

A-Main 1 - (25 Laps)

1. 1E-Jeffery Erickson Jr[1] ; 2. 14C-Kevin Cavanaugh[2] ; 3. 2K-Aaron Morey[4] ; 4. 01-Steve McClees[3] ; 5. 88-Greg Smith[5] ; 6. 1S-Andy Sprague[7] ; 7. 79-Kory Maurice[6] ; 8. 3-Mike Petersen[9] ; 9. 46-Dave Schmidt[8]

Michigan Dirt Mods -

Heat 1 - (10 Laps)

1. G5-Josh Grabe[3] ; 2. 01-Steven McClees[2] ; 3. 7-Joe Carmean[4] ; 4. 5-Derek Polands[1]

A-Main 1 - (25 Laps)

1. G5-Josh Grabe[1] ; 2. 01-Steven McClees[2] ; 3. 5-Derek Polands[3] ; 4. 7-Joe Carmean[4]

Street Stocks -

Heat 1 - (10 Laps)

1. 13-Derek Poland[1] ; 2. 85-Chuck Smith[5] ; 3. 74-Paul Namey[2] ; 4. 26-Justin Giddings[3] ; 5. 18-Jeremy Holman[6] ; 6. 4-Duane Townsend[4]

Heat 2 - (10 Laps)

1. 73RJ-Robbie Sternberg[2] ; 2. 6-Mark Farber[1] ; 3. 8-Sadie Klein[3] ; 4. 83-Josh Sternberg[5] ; 5. 07-Billy Frey[4]

A-Main 1 - (20 Laps)

1. 8-Sadie Klein[2] ; 2. 13-Derek Poland[3] ; 3. 73RJ-Robbie Sternberg[5] ; 4. 85-Chuck Smith[4] ; 5. 83-Josh Sternberg[8] ; 6. 74-Paul Namey[1] ; 7. 18-Jeremy Holman[9] ; 8. 26-Justin Giddings[7] ; 9. 4-Duane Townsend[11] ; 10. 07-Billy Frey[10] ; 11. 6-Mark Farber[6]

Bombers -

Heat 1 - (8 Laps)

1. 99E-Mike Epplett[6] ; 2. 41x-Kevin Rake[1] ; 3. 70-Mike DeJonge[4] ; 4. 12D-Travis DeWitt[2] ; 5. 17-Chris Rogers[7] ; 6. 77-Robert Raugh[3] ; 7. 21-Mike Roe[5]

Heat 2 - (8 Laps)

1. 57-Dan Wilson Jr[1] ; 2. 34F-Mike Fekken[3] ; 3. 37S-Robb Sternberg[6] ; 4. 37-Morgan Smith[2] ; 5. 0?-Bethany May[4] ; 6. 5X-Trent Musk[7] ; 7. 436-Bruce Norwick Jr[5]

A-Main 1 - (15 Laps)

1. 57-Dan Wilson Jr[6] ; 2. 99E-Mike Epplett[2] ; 3. 37S-Robb Sternberg[5] ; 4. 70-Mike DeJonge[4] ; 5. 34F-Mike Fekken[3] ; 6. 21-Mike Roe[13] ; 7. 17-Chris Rogers[9] ; 8. 41x-Kevin Rake[1] ; 9. 37-Morgan Smith[8] ; 10. 77-Robert Raugh[11] ; 11. 0?-Bethany May[10] ; 12. 12D-Travis DeWitt[7] ; 13. 5X-Trent Musk[12] ; 14. 436-Bruce Norwick Jr[14]

Warriors -

Heat 1 - (8 Laps)

1. 5*-Gary Larabee[8] ; 2. 29-Brian Hammond[5] ; 3. 3-Terry Woodard[6] ; 4. 1K-Kristina Johnson[9] ; 5. 34-Katie Whelpley[4] ; 6. 1R-Kyle Woodard[7] ; 7. X-Derrick Stahl[10] ; 8. 117-Mike Shank Jr.[3] ; 9. 17-Josh Pulsipher[1] ; 10. 97-Chris Gagnon[2]

Heat 2 - (8 Laps)

1. 14-Ryan Hamm[8] ; 2. 2-Buck Spencer[6] ; 3. 10-Melissa Sprague[1] ; 4. 04-Dave Redmon[7] ; 5. 82-Mindi Holy[4] ; 6. 5-Randy Woodbury[3] ; 7. 42S-Shellbie Shank[5] ; 8. 77-Don Fenner[9] ; 9. 18-Chad French[2]

A-Main 1 - (15 Laps)

1. 04-Dave Redmon[1] ; 2. 2-Buck Spencer[8] ; 3. 14-Ryan Hamm[5] ; 4. 34-Katie Whelpley[3] ; 5. 5*-Gary Larabee[6] ; 6. 10-Melissa Sprague[7] ; 7. 3-Terry Woodard[2] ; 8. 1K-Kristina Johnson[4] ; 9. 82-Mindi Holy[9] ; 10. 1R-Kyle Woodard[11] ; 11. 29-Brian Hammond[10] ; 12. 117-Mike Shank Jr.[15] ; 13. X-Derrick Stahl[13] ; 14. 18-Chad French[18] ; 15. 77-Don Fenner[16] ; 16. 5-Randy Woodbury[12] ; 17. 17-Josh Pulsipher[17] ; 18. 42S-Shellbie Shank[14] ; 19. 97-Chris Gagnon[19]

Young Guns -

Heat 1 - (6 Laps)

1. 36-Ronnie VanNatter[4] ; 2. 16-Gabe Flores[3] ; 3. 12-Madison Crane[1] ; 4. 3-Heidi Barnhard[2]

A-Main 1 - (12 Laps)

1. 36-Ronnie VanNatter[1] ; 2. 16-Gabe Flores[2] ; 3. 12-Madison Crane[3] ; 4. 3-Heidi Barnhard[4]

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