5/23/2018
RacinBoys
'Cowboy Classic' highlights MLRA at Show-Me 100
By Billy Rock (Wheatland, MO) -- One of dirt late model racings biggest weekends awaits the Lucas Oil MLRA drivers as they will converge with their counterparts from the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) to battle for honor in the 26th Annual Show Me 100, Presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com.
PHOTO CREDIT: Lloyd Collins -- http://www.FastTrackPhotos.net
The weekends action from the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO will feature a trio of main events (May 24th - 26th) with Saturday Nights prime time event offering up a $30,000 pay day to the winner of the 100 lap finale.
Action will get underway on Thursday night with the 40 lap, $6,000 to win, "Cowboy Classic" A-Main event. This kick-off event pays heritage to Allen "Cowboy" Chancellor, longtime owner and promotor of the Lucas Oil MLRA Series.
Friday night will again feature a full $6,000 to win main event for the late model stars as they will look to accumulate valuable points to lock into Saturday night's weekend finale. "The Tribute to Don & Billie Gibson" will again feature a 40 lap A-Main, showcasing the founders of the original Show Me 100 held at the former West Plains Motor Speedway.
Heading into this weekend's action, Chad Simpson and his GATR Truck Center sponsored team sit atop the MLRA point standings with a 74 point advantage over Tony Jackson Jr. Through eight MLRA events, Simpson has managed seven top-five finishes along with a win at the Davenport Speedway. He is also fresh off of a podium finish this past weekend with the LOLMDS at the Deer Creek Speedway which will make him an early favorite in this weekend's Crown Jewel event.
Chad Simpson heads into the Show-Me 100 sporting the neon spoiler, signifying him as MLRA's leader of the Midwest Sheet Metal Point Leader Challenge. Photo-Mike Ruefer
Following Simpson and Jackson Jr. in the top five are a surging Will Vaught, who picked up a win in the most recent event at the LaSalle Speedway, and a pair of tough Sunoco Rookie of the Year Candidates in Payton Looney and Wisconsin's Mitch McGrath.
For Looney, the Show Me 100 serves as a homecoming of sorts, and a place where he hopes to start a new string of top finishes. Looney, who started out running in the ULMA series five short years ago at the Lucas Oil Speedway, will look to use that experience on his home track to his advantage this weekend.
The 2017 running of the Show Me was a roller coaster ride for the driver of the Atnip Motorsports entry. He led off both Thursday and Friday nights qualifying events with heat race wins and also captured the overall fast time award on Friday night. Looney said of last year's success, "It most definitely gives us some confidence, it's a tough task when your racing with those guys that do it every day of the week for a living, but were up for it."
Following a pair of solid qualifying finishes he found himself rolling off 6th in the Show-Me 100, but not before he ran into a pair of gremlins. After a broken motor on Friday the team was forced to go to a back-up engine for the finale, only to lose that motor on lap 12 while running inside the top ten with the nation's elite late model drivers.
After the weekend that started out so promising for Looney, it's devastating conclusion also brought his run with the MLRA to an early ending. "It was just one of those deals, and we ended up dropping off the MLRA tour and had to take a month or so to regroup and then we had a good solid end to the year. Losing a pair of motors was definitely the low spot to a really good weekend."
Fast forward to 2017 and he finds himself atop the MLRA's Sunoco Rookie standings and looking forward to another shot at the Show-Me. "You've got to have at least one good lap in qualifying and have a decent heat race each night. And if you can make both features (preliminary) on Thursday and Friday you have pretty well put yourself in a good position come Saturday, whether it's in the feature or starting front row in a "B". Making the show is a lot easier said than done," stated Looney.
Fans planning to attend this weekend's events at the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" are encouraged to visit http://www.LucasOilSpeedway.com for additional details.
"Cowboy Classic" -$6,000 to WIN: Race Day Info-- 5/24
Gates: 4:00 PM
Racing: Hot Laps - 6:30 PM, Races - 7:05 PM
Scheduled Events: MLRA/LOLMDS 40 lap A-Main, Plus USRA Modifieds
"Tribute to Don & Billie Gibson" -$6,000 to WIN: Race Day Info--5/25
Gates: 4:00 PM
Racing: Hot Laps - 6:30 PM, Races - 7:05 PM
Scheduled Events: MLRA/LOLMDS 40 lap A-Main, Plus USRA Modifieds
"Lucas Oil Show-Me 100" -$30,000 to WIN: Race Day Info-- 5/26
Gates: 4:00 PM
Racing: Hot Laps - 6:30 PM, Races - 7:05 PM
Scheduled Events: MLRA/LOLMDS B-Mains, Midwest Sheet Metal MLRA/LOLMDS Show-Me Challenge (20 laps), 26th Annual Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 Presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com--(100 Laps)
Support Action: USRA Modified Feature-$1,200 to WIN (30 Laps)
For all of the latest news and information fans are encouraged to visit the series website at http://www.MLRARacing.com.
Fans may also "like" the Lucas Oil MLRA Facebook page by clicking http://www.Facebook.com/lucasoilmlra or follow us on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/MLRA.
Submitted By: Kirk Elliott