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Strong, Cutshaw and Poe join Ott as Lucas Oil Speedway Midseason champions

By Lyndal Scranton (Wheatland, MO) -- Putting the wraps on a spectacular first half of the 2017 season, Wheatland's Toby Ott rolled to victory in Saturday night's featured Big O Tires Street Stocks main event at Lucas Oil Speedway.

PHOTO: Shawn Strong's Ozark Golf Cars B Mod feature win propelled him past Andy Bryant for the Midseason Championship.--CREDIT: Kenny Shaw photo

Ott, who had never won a feature in his career at his hometown track prior to 2017, earned his third feature triumph of the year and wrapped up the midseason championship in a program Presented by the Bolivar Herald-Free Press.

Other feature winners in the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series included Lance Town (Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds), Shawn Strong (Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods) and Johnny Fennewald (Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models.

The Midseason Championship program was Presented by the Bolivar Herald-Free Press. Midseason points leaders each received a $500 bonus, courtesy of Victory Lane "Track Action Review" and Lucas Oil Speedway.

Joining Ott as midseason champs were Jeff Cutshaw (Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds), Strong (Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods) and Aaron Poe (Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models).

There were no doubt about Ott's run to the midseason title as he led all 25 laps for his latest victory, finishing well in front of second-place James Flood with Johnny Coats in third.

Ott said the original lineup had him starting on the outside, but he wound up going from the pole and jumped to an immediate lead.

"I knew when we took off up through there ... that was a big plus and the bottom (of the track) was going to be the place to be," Ott said. "I was able to keep it there and it all worked out well.

"I have a bunch of people who have helped me out," added Ott, who said a General Motors 604 crate engine has been a key to his success.

"That (motor) and the car works great together," Ott said. "I want to promote the crate. It's a very cost-effective way to be out here on the race track."

The race had only one caution, after lap one, and Ott was never threatened after that re-start.

Town wires field: Lance Town of Wellsville, Kan., from his pole-position starting spot, led all 20 laps to capture the caution-free Pitts Homes USRA Modified feature.

Town's first feature win of the season at Lucas Oil Speedway was by a comfortable margin over runner-up Phil Dixon of Crosby, Texas, with Fennewald, doing double driving duty, in third.

"Starting up front helps a lot," Town said. "My first race here was in '13 and I used to drag race. Watching this happen (back then) it seemed like 'this isn't very hard, but it's harder than it looks."

Cutshaw's fourth-place finish was good enough to wrap up the midseason championship. The Bolivar driver is the three-time defending track champion in the division.

"It's not enough as far as I'm concerned," Cutshaw said of finishing fourth, adding that he's been a bit off since Show-Me 100 weekend in late May. "Right now, we're a fourth or fifth-place car. We're gonna work on it."

Strong doubles up: Shawn Strong's victory over runner-up Andy Bryant propelled Strong to the midseason title. Strong began the night four points behind Bryant, of Fort Scott, Kan. Strong prevailed by one point over Bryant.

"Lucas Oil Speedway, for the B-Mods, has the best competition in the country," Strong said. "Mike Striegel, Andy Bryant, Kris Jackson ... all those guys, they're tough to beat. I had two wins, two seconds and a fourth and I won this thing by one point. Kudos to this place."

Bryant led the first eight laps before Strong took the lead coming out of turn two on lap No. 9. Strong, of Republic, Mo., withstood multiple restarts following cautions to prevail with Bryant finishing second, Jackson third and Striegel in fourth.

Strong paid tribute to Wanda Gilman, who along with husband Bill, are supporters of his over the last few years. Wanda Gilman is going through some health issues and Strong dedicated the win - and the midseason title - to her.

"Bill and Wanda Gilman moved up here from Texas several years ago for racing," Strong said. "Without their support, I could not be where I am today."

Fennewald prevails as Poe takes midseason title: Johnny Fennewald of Appleton City, Mo., led the final seven laps to earn his second feature win of the season in the Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Model division.

Fennewald slid past Jon Sheets coming off turn two for the lead on lap 14. Sheets started from the pole and led the first 13 laps, but Fennewald took advantage of a restart after the race's second caution to get past Sheets.

Fennewald held on from there for the win with Todd Shute finishing second and Sheets in third.

"We were a tick off tonight and a little bit snug in the feature," Fennewald said. "You have to do what you have to do sometimes to win a feature."

Meanwhile, in a race within the race, Poe finished seventh just one spot behind Aaron Marrant to nip Marrant for the midseason championship.

"I knew if I could hang right with him and be on his bumper, we would be all right," Poe said of the battle with Marrant. "This year we really want to focus on getting this championship. With the midseason championship, I think we're on the right path."

Thursday Night Thunder next: The second half of the Weekly Racing Series season kicks off Thursday with a pre-holiday weekend Thursday Night Thunder program. It will be KY3 for Kids Night with a Bicycle Giveaway for youngsters and a huge fireworks program following the races.

Anyone interested in donating a new bicycle can drop it off at the speedway office during weekday business hours or contact assistant General Manager Danny Lorton via email at DLorton@lucasoilspeedway.com.

LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY RESULTS (June 24, 2017)

Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds

Feature - 1, Lance Town, Wellsville, Kan. 2, Phil Dixon, Crosby, Texas. 3, Johnny Fennewald, Appleton City, Mo. 4, Jeff Cutshaw, Bolivar, Mo. 5, Austin Siebert, Kansas City. 6, Jason Pursley, Hermitage, Mo. 7, Eric Turner, Hermitage, Mo. 8, Lucas Gibbs, Udall, Kan. 9, Kerry Davis, Parkville, Mo. 10, Jesse Willard, Prescott, Kan. 11, Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan. 12, Chase Domer, Nevada, Mo. 13, Donnie Fellers, Wheatland. 14, Tracy Wolf, Buffalo, Mo. 15, Daniel Wosoba, El Dorado Spirngs, Mo. DNS Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.

Heat one - 1, Austin Siebert. 2, Jeff Cutshaw. 3, Jason Pursley. 4, Tracy Wolf. 5, Kerry Davis. 6, Lucas Gibbs. 7, Adam Kates. 8, Eric Turner.

Heat two - 1, Lance Town. 2, Phil Dixon. 3, Donnie Fellers. 4, Paden Phillips. 5, Johnny Fennewald. 6, Jesse Willard. 7, Chase Domer. 8, Daniel Wosoba.

Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods

Feature - 1, Shawn Strong, Republic, Mo. 2, Andy Bryant, Fort Scott, Kan. 3, Kris Jackson, Lebanon, Mo. 4, Mike Striegel, Hermitage, Mo. 5, Kaeden Cornell, Willard, Mo. 6, Cody Brill, Harrisonville, Mo. 7, Robert Heydenreich, Bolivar, Mo. 8, Taylor Moore, Bois D Arc, Mo. 9, Bobby Williams, Hermitage, Mo. 10, Lexy Vanzandt, Billings, Mo. 11, Randy Gilmore, Flemington, Mo. 12, Jeremy Price, Blue Springs, Mo. 13, Andy Chrisenberry, Chilhowee, Mo. 14, Ricky Watkins, Brookline, Mo. 15, Evan McQuitty, Chilhowee, Mo. 16, Cullen Thompson, Hermann, Mo. 17, Jared Klick, Auxvasse, Mo. 18, Kenny Shaw, Fort Scott, Kan. 19, Casey Thomas, Camdenton, Mo. 20, Cody Admire, Eldon, Mo. 21, Robbe Ewing, Stockton, Mo. DNF Mark McGuire, Blue Springs, Mo.

Heat one - 1, Mike Striegel. 2, Kris Jackson. 3, Taylor Moore. 4, Lexy VanZandt. 5, Jeremy Price. 6, Jared Klick. 7, Cody Admire. 8, Mark McGuire DNS.

Heat two - 1, Shawn Strong. 2, Bobby Williams. 3, Robbe Ewing. 4, Randy Gilmore. 5, Kenny Shaw. 6, Casey Thomas. 7, Evan McQuitty.

Heat three - 1, Andy Bryant. 2, Robert Heydenreich. 3, Cody Brill. 4, Kaeden Cornell. 5, Andy Chrisenberry. 6, Ricky Watkins. 7, Cullen Thompson.
Big O Tires Street Stocks

Feature - 1, Toby Ott, Wheatland, Mo. 2, James Flood, Crane, Mo. 3, Johnny Coats, Joplin, Mo. 4, Bobby Barnett, Republic, Mo. 5, Kenny Carroll, Camdenton, Mo. 6, Jay Lammons, Savonbur, Kan. 7, Marc Carter, Warresnburg, Mo. 8, Ted Welschmeyer, Tebbetts, Mo. 9, Josh Halbrook, Springfield, Mo. 10, Chris Tonoli, Hermitage, Mo. 11, Larry Ferris, Kansas City, Mo. 12, Bradley Gideon, Ozark, Mo. 13, Rob White, Lebanon, Mo. DNF Scott Chism, Bolivar, DNS Eathan Lamons, Savonburg, Kan.

Heat one - 1, Toby Ott. 2, Johnny Coats. 3, Marc Carter. 4, Kenny Carroll. 5, Chris Tonoli. 6, Bradley Gideon. 7, Larry Ferris. 8, Eathen Lamons DNS.

Heat two - 1, James Flood. 2, Bobby Barnett. 3, Ted Welschmeyer. 4, Josh Halbrook. 5, Scott Chism. 6, Jay Lammons. 7, Rob White.

Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models

Feature - 1, Johnny Fennewald, Appleton City. 2, Todd Shute, Des Moines, Iowa. 3, Jon Sheets, Liberal, Mo. 4, Cody Holtkamp, Holts Summit, Mo. 5, Kanyan Methvin, Yellville, Ark. 6, Aaron Marrant, Richmond, Mo. 7, Aaron Poe, Warresnburg, Mo. 8, Larry Ferris, Nevada, Mo. 9, Larry Clawson, Pleasant Valley, Mo. 10, Tommy Cordray, Browning, Mo. 11, Lane Ehlert, Republic, Mo. 12, Daniel Jessen, Joplin, Mo. 13, Joe Walkenhorst, Flemington, Mo. 14, Dustin Hodges, Centralia, Mo. 15, Phil Edmondson, Marionville, Mo. 16, Garrett Essary, Crane, Mo. 17, R.D. Peterson, Springfield, Mo. 18, Cody Peck, Lincoln, Mo. 19, Bob Cumings, Sedalia, Mo. DNF Dylan Hoover Mexico, Mo. DNF Kaeden Cornell, Willard, Mo. DNF Shane Essary, Aurora, Mo. DNF Larry Jones, El Dorado Springs, Mo.

Heat one - 1, Johnny Fennewald. 2, Shane Essary. 3, Jon Binning. 4, Aaron Poe. 5, Kaeden Cornell. 6, Dylan Hoover. 7, Cody Peck. 8, Larry Jones.

Heat two - 1, Jon Sheets. 2, Cody Holtkamp. 3, Larry Clawson. 4, Larry Ferris. 5, Lane Ehlert. 6, Joe Walkenhorst. 7, Garrett Essary. 8, Dustin Hodges.

Heat three - 1, Todd Shute. 2, Kanyan Methviin. 3, Daniel Jessen. 4, Aaron Marrant. 5, Phil Edmondson. 6, Tommy Cordray. 7, Phil Edmondson. 8, Bob Cummings.

For ticket information on all all events at Lucas Oil Speedway, contact admission director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or by email at Nichole@LucasOilSpeedway.com.

For complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived stories, ticket info and the 2017 racing schedule, visit http://www.LucasOilSpeedway.com.

Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks.

Click http://www.LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.

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