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Clint Smith, Bobby Martintoni & Robbie Eilers take I-55 Raceway Pepsi Nationals Victories!

Clint Smith CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM I-55 RACEWAY Pevely, MO (September 15, 2007) What do you get when you have a cool, crisp Missouri evening, spectacular track preperation, a pit area packed with 133 racecars, and a standing room only crowd? Answer: The 25th Annual Pepsi Nationals at I-55 Raceway that will have people talking for a long time! The World of Outlaw Late Model Series combined with the UMP DIRTcar Late Models were the headline event. Thirty-nine drivers from twelve different states signed in to compete for the $10,000 top prize. Steve Francis got the night started by setting fast time in qualifying with a lap of 12.377 seconds around the 1/3 mile high bank oval for an average lap speed of 96.857 miles per hour. Josh Richards claimed the first of four qualifying heat races as he topped Steve Francis, Chub Frank and Billy Moyer. The second heat race was won by Randy Korte over Jimmy Mars, Brian Shirley and Ron McQuerry. The third heat race went to Clint Smith as he topped Shannon Babb, Matt Miller and Will Vaught. The fourth and final heat was won by Brian Birkhofer over Darrell Lanigan, Shane Clanton and Rick Eckert. The two last chance consolation races were won by Michael Kloos and Brady Smith. Local favorite Randy Korte of Highland, Illinois started on the pole for the main event, but it was fast qualifier Steve Francis that jumped out to the lead at the drop of the green flag from the outside front row. Steve Francis' lead was short lived as Randy Korte would move past Steve Francis after just a few laps and set a blistering pace. Clint Smith would soon work his way past Steve Francis to move into the second position. Clint Smith would chase Randy Korte for the next twenty laps as Chub Frank and Shannon Babb began working their way towards the front. With about fifteen laps to go, Smith moved past Randy Korte to take the lead. Clint Smith would open up a fairly comfortable margin over Korte until the caution flew with just three laps remaining. On the restart, Shannon Babb found a very fast line and went front fifth to second in one lap. Shannon Babb was able to pull along side Clint Smith for the lead as they battled on the final lap. But Clint Smith powered through turns three and four to hold off Shannon Babb and earn the victory. Randy Korte crossed the line just a half-car length behind Shannon Babb to finish third. Chub Frank would finish in the fourth spot with Steve Francis rounding out the top five. A stellar field of fifty UMP DIRTcar Modifieds were on hand to battle for the $1,000 top prize. It was Bobby Martintoni of Livingston, Illinois putting on a dominating performance. Martintoni led all thirty laps of the main event enroute to the victory. The action was all behind him as no less than five cars battled and swapped around the second position. Ray Walsh charged through the field to finish in the second position after starting near mid pack. Walsh put on a great show as he used the high side to move up through the field. Matt Mevert crossed the line in third with Scott Weber finishing fourth and the 2007 I-55 Raceway modified track champion, Bobby Bittle finished fifth. Robbie Eilers of Highland, Illinois made a spectacular late race charge to earn the victory in the UMP DIRTcar Sportsman division. Nathan Schmitt led the early laps before 2007 I-55 Raceway sportsman track champion Troy Naeger took over the lead. Naeger led until the closing laps when Eilers found a fast line around the top to take over the lead. Eilers went on to lead the final two laps and earn the victory. Naeger crossed the line second with Jimmy Cummins taking third. Schmitt took fourth with Paul Bauman rounding out the top five. World of Outlaw/UMP Late Models - 39 Entries Qualifying 15 Steve Francis 12.377 28 Jimmy Mars 12.431 18 Shannon Babb 12.435 25 Shane Clanton 12.480 1 Josh Richards 12.487 00 Randy Korte 12.488 44 Clint Smith 12.494 15B Brian Birkhofer 12.532 1* Chub Frank 12.539 55 Jeep VanWormer 12.581 7 Matt Miller 12.654 29 Darrell Lanigan 12.708 21 Billy Moyer 12.748 3S Brian Shirley 12.756 1V Will Vaught 12.775 24 Rick Eckert 12.860 33 Tim Manville 12.861 24T Dick Taylor 12.931 11Z Bryan Collins 12.964 2J Dave Jumper 12.968 6K Michael Kloos 12.986 95 Jeff Johns 13.014 2 Brady Smith 13.031 25H Kerry Hansen 13.047 30S Craig Smith 13.058 13 Dewayne Keifer 13.064 92B Billy Faust 13.069 30 Mark Voigt 13.106 67 Mark Oller 13.125 1HR Ron McQuerry 13.210 11D Brian Diveley 13.218 50 Ed Dixon 13.226 78 Chad Zobrist 13.236 27 Mike Schulte 13.286 76 Butch Kruckeberg 14.667 31 Brent Helmkamp 14.943 66H Allen Hammond 14.997 93 Roy Mitchell 15.803 41 Brad Neat No time Heat 1 - Top 4 Advance to Feature 1. 1 Josh Richards 2. 15 Steve Francis 3. 1* Chub Frank 4. 21 Billy Moyer 5. 6K Michael Kloos 6. 33 Tim Manville 7. 67 Mark Oller 8. 30S Craig Smith 9. 78 Chad Zobrist 10. 66H Allen Hammond Heat 2 - Top 4 Advance to Feature 1. 00 Randy Korte 2. 28 Jimmy Mars 3. 3S Brian Shirley 4. 1HR Ron McQuerry 5. 13 Dewayne Keifer 6. 27 Mike Schulte 7. 24T Dick Taylor 8. 93 Roy Mitchell 9. 55 Jeep VanWormer 10. 95 Jeff Johns Heat 3 - Top 4 Advance to Feature 1. 44 Clint Smith 2. 18 Shannon Babb 3. 7 Matt Miller 4. 1V Will Vaught 5. 2 Brady Smith 6. 92B Billy Faust 7. 11Z Bryan Collins 8. 11D Brian Diveley 9. 76 Butch Kruckeberg Heat 4 - Top 4 Advance to Feature 1. 15B Brian Birkhofer 2. 29 Darrell Lanigan 3. 25 Shane Clanton 4. 24 Rick Eckert 5. 30 Mark Voigt 6. 2J Dave Jumper 7. 50 Ed Dixon 8. 25H Kerry Hansen 9. 31 Brent Helmkamp Semi 1 - Top 3 advance 1. 6K Michael Kloos 2. 55 Jeep VanWormer 3. 13 Dewayne Keifer 4. 33 Tim Manville 5. 67 Mark Oller 6. 27 Mike Schulte 7. 78 Chad Zobrist 8. 30S Craig Smith 9. 95 Jeff Johns 10. 66 Allen Hammond 11. 24 Dick Taylor DNS 12. 93 Roy Mitchell DNS Semi 2 - Top 3 advance 1. 2 Brady Smith 2. 92B Billy Faust 3. 11Z Brian Collins 4. 2J Dave Jumper 5. 25 Shane Clanton 6. 11D Brian Diveley 7. 76 Butch Kruckeburg 8. 31 Brent Helmkamp 9. 30 Mark Voigt 10. 50 Ed Dixon Feature 1. 44 Clint Smith (3) 2. 18 Shannon Babb (8) 3. 00 Randy Korte (1) 4. 1* Chub Frank (9) 5. 15 Steve Francis (2) 6. 24 Rick Eckert (16) 7. 21 Billy Moyer (13) 8. 25 Shane Clanton (12) 9. 15B Brian Birkhofer (5) 10. 3S Brian Shirley (10) 11. 29 Darrell Lanigan (6) 12. 55 Jeep VanWormer (19) 13. 1 Josh Richards (7) 14. 7 Matt Miller (11) 15. 2 Brady Smith (18) 16. 11Z Brian Collins (22) 17. 13 Dewayne Keifer (21) 18. 1V Will Vaught (15) 19. 92B Billy Faust (20) 20. 1HR Ron McQuerry (14) 21. 6K Michael Kloos (17) 22. 28 Jimmy Mars (4) 23. 93 Roy Mitchell (23) 24. 25H Kerry Hansen (24) UMP Modifieds - 50 Entries Heat 1 1. 89 Bobby Bittle 2. 22C Brandon Lennox 3. 9W Doug Wood 4. 29 Jeff LeBaube 5. 47 Thomas Vogt 6. 0 Jeff Ely 7. 11S Jason Sinn 8. 21 Dennis Richards 9. 4S Justin Smith Heat 2 1. 22 Matt Mevert 2. 48 Bobby Martintoni 3. 77 Dick Taylor 4. 69 Jeff Hall Jr. 5. C12 Jeffery Curl 6. 31P Mitch Parmeley 7. 99 Robbie Helms 8. 72X Gregg Sinn DNS 9. 4S Justin Smith DNS Heat 3 1. 51 Timmy Hill 2. 72L Brian Lynn 3. 0 Steve Picou 4. 27X Joe Pendergrass 5. 81 Paul Bailey 6. 76 Eric Goetter 7. 78 Lenny Bryant 8. 14 Brad McKinnon 9. 88 Joe Puricelli Heat 4 1. 7Z Matt Zimmerly 2. 78C Alan Conner 3. 21J Jeff Vernier 4. 377 Casey Pearson 5. 30 Mike Nicholson 6. 5W Ralph Wiltrout 7. 87S Tony Patterson 8. 55 Marty Smith Jr. Heat 5 1. 166 Brian Worley 2. 7M Mark Miner 3. 12 Tim Ratajczyk 4. 7C Tommie Seets 5. 155 Chris Smith 6. 63 Doug Brewster 7. 8X James Reed 8. 15 Nick Todtenhaupt Heat 6 1. 4J Scott Weber 2. 11X Kyle Byerline 3. 1W Ray Walsh 4. 24 Paul Bauman 5. 46 Dave Wibbenmeyer 6. 4W David Shepard 7. 110 Todd McGraw 8. 83 Jay Johnson Semi 1 - Top 2 advance 1. 29 Jeff LeBaube 2. 81 Paul Bailey 3. 46 Dave Wibbenmeyer 4. 88 Joe Puricelli 5. 21 Dennis Richards 6. 87S Tony Patterson 7. 27X Joe Pendergrass 8. 30 Mike Nicholson 9. 31P Mitch Parmeley 10. 11s Greg Sinn 11. 15 Nick Todtenhaupt DNS Semi 2 - Top 2 advance 1. 7C Tommie Seets 1. 377 Casey Pearson 2. 8X James Reed 3. 76 Eric Goetter 4. 47 Thomas Vogt 5. 14 Brad McKinnon 6. 63 Doug Brewster 7. 5W Ralph Wiltrout 8. 83 Jay Johnson 9. 99 Robbie Helms 10. 72X Jason Sinn DNS Semi 3 - Top 2 advance 1. 24 Paul Baumann 2. 55 Marty Smith Jr. 3. 69 Jeff Hall Jr. 4. 110 Todd McGraw 5. 155 Chris Smith 6. 78 Lenny Bryant 7. 0 Jeff Ely 8. 4W David Shepard 9. C12 Jeffery Curl 10. 4S Justin Smith Feature 1. 48 Bobby Martintoni 2. 1W Ray Walsh 3. 22 Matt Mevert 4. 4J Scott Weber 5. 89 Bobby Bittle 6. 7 Mark Miner 7. 55 Marty Smith Jr. 8. 0 Steve Picou 9. 29 Jeff LeBaube 10. 24 Paul Bauman 11. 166 Brian Worley 12. 7C Tommie Seets 13. 72L Brian Lynn 14. 11X Kyle Byerline 15. 51 Timmy Hill 16. 81 Paul Bailey 17. 12 Tom Ratajczyk 18. 21J Jeff Vernier 19. 377 Casey Pearson 20. 78C Allen Conner 21. 7Z Matt Zimmerly 22. 77 Dick Taylor 23. 9W Doug Wood 24. 22C Brandon Lennox UMP/AARA Sportsman - 44 Entries Heat 1 1. 12 Troy Naeger 2. 3E Russell Eilers 3. 55 Jason Keller 4. M41 Steve Maisel 5. 32 Jerry Fleming 6. 811 Wade Sutter 7. 52 Billy Knebel Jr. 8. 48 Fred Mathias 9. 93 Kyle Wilde Heat 2 1. 19 Nathan Schmitt 2. 8E Steve Edgecomb 3. 17 Andy Casper 4. 47 Tom Vogt 5. 41J Rich Johnson 6. 147 Kyle Stolzer 7. 42 Mike Reed 8. 8H Scott Hensler 9. 71 Lee Clardy Heat 3 1. 128 Tyson Gegg 2. 11K Shannon Kuhn 3. 10 Dustin Homan 4. 36 Danny Ems 5. 23 Kevin Mosier 6. 81 Russell Eilers 7. 16 Joe McCain 8. 109 Jeff Robbins 9. 20 Robin Fee Heat 4 1. 19 Jimmy Cummins 2. 18 Paul Bauman 3. 87 Gary Haynes 4. 67 Ronnie Bader 5. 27 Adam Haas 6. 47R Kyle Roberts 7. 41 Stu Springer 8. 99 Gary Johnson 9. 444 Marc Roberson Heat 5 1. 62 Troy Medley 2. 56 Marty Kopp 3. 82 Pat Chalmers 4. 31 Brian Shuberg 5. 66 Sam Lopretta 6. 11 Jeff Herzog 7. 105 Matt Hancock 8. 50 Kent Nations Semi 1 1. 23 Kevin Moser 2. 16 Joe McCain 3. 105 Matt Hancock 4. 66 Sam Lopretta 5. 27 Adam Haas 6. 52 Billy Knebel Jr. 7. 8 Scott Hensler 8. 47 Kyle Roberts 9. 99 Gary Johson 10. 93 Kyle Wild DNS 11. 444 Marc Roberson DNS Semi 2 1. 36 Danny Ems 2. 81E Russel Eilers 3. 41 Stu Springer 4. 147 Kyle Stolzer 5. 109 Jeff Robbins 6. m41 Steve Maisel 7. 41j Rick Johnson 8. 42 Mike Reed DNS 9. 50 Kent Nations DNS Feature 1. 3E Robbie Eilers 2. 12 Troy Naeger 3. 19 Jimmy Cummins 4. 19S Nathan Schmitt 5. 18 Paul Bauman 6. 87 Gary Haynes 7. 128 Tyson Gegg 8. 55 Jason Keller 9. 81 Russell Eilers 10. 8E Steve Edgecomb 11. 11K Shannon Kuhn 12. 67 Ronnie Bader 13. 32 Jerry Fleming 14. 36 Danny Ems 15. 105 Matt Hancock 16. 56 Marty Kopp 17. 16 Joe McCain 18. 10 Dustin Homan 19. 82 Pat Chalmers 20. 66 Sam Lopretta 21. 31 Brian Shuberg 22. 62 Troy Medley 23. 41S Stu Springer 24. 23 Kevin Mosier

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