For
Immediate Release
March
19, 2007 Hendersonville, NC
Dennis Queen wins
The Bad Boy Mowers 150
The
location was Hickory Motor Speedway for the Bad Boy
Mowers 150 presented by Corriher Implement Company
where Mother Nature was proving her force. The
UARA-STARS parade came to town with the rains
falling with a vengeance on Friday causing
cancellation of the days planned activities. The
staff had hopes of setting up a new scoring system
and putting it thorough the test during the practice
session that was scheduled.
Saturday
dawns with sunny skies, bone chilling temperatures
and hang on to your hat type winds.
Harry
Gant and Dennis Setzer were both on hand for the
pre-race autograph session.
The fans
were in for a surprise when over the horizon a TV
production helicopter takes to the air filming the
race along with several camera operators scattered
all throughout the speedway.
Our
friends Marie Hopkins and Cathy Ward with the Mach 1
movie production were on hand with their sound
technician doing some final touches for “Short
Track” due out later this year. Mach 1 crews were
familiar faces to our racers last year being at
several locations filming for the movie.
Mother
Nature may have the upper hand on the weather but
the UARA-STARS racing action was hot.
The day
started with 45 late model stock cars on the grid
trying to land one of the coveted 28 starting
positions for the feature event.
Heat race
1 began the day with 9 cars taking the green. With
determination on their minds some very good drivers
try for the two transfer spots into the Bad Boys
Mowers 150. UARA regulars Clay Greenfield, Justin
Hill and Ross Furr find that March 17th
is one race day they would just as soon forget. The
action was fierce and the cosmetics of several cars
will need tending to after this heat race was
completed. Lap 8 finds the machines of Robbie
Ferguson and Ross Furr making contact. Furr will
end his day at this point. On lap 20 Brad Seagle
and Clay Greenfield have some contact and Seagle
will be finished from here but Greenfield will
continue ending just one spot shy of the transfer
position
Heat race
2 is no less competitive with some very good drivers
having that determination factor in high gear.
Johnny
Gottsacker and Chris Bowers find themselves involved
in a mishap on lap one. Gottsakcer will find
himself tangling with Mikey Kile on lap 9
After the
late model heat races the Thunder Roadsters get into
action with 12 cars taking to the grid. Rob Hall
was the winner of this race with Jesse Bunnell, Josh
Waring, Jim Fluharty and Jerry Lambert rounding out
the top five. The Thunder Roadsters were followed
by a field of 12 Legend cars. Kyle Beattie came
home winner followed by Michael Brown, Ty Dillon,
Tim Craver and Matt Lundstrum.
The
feature event starts with the fans huddled together
against the chilling winds. Mark Setzer takes the
lead for lap one with Jamie Yelton hanging right in
with him. Yelton will take over the lead on lap 2
and remains there until lap 22. Caution 1 of 7
falls on lap 6 with the car of Jesus Hernandez
spinning out in turn one. The field returns to
green with Setzer and Yelton giving the fans their
money’s worth of racing until the car of
Jeffery
Earnhardt spins in turn two on lap 18. Yelton has
his hands full of car as Setzer and Duncan
Molesworth both pass him on the backstretch on lap
22.
First
time UARA-STARS racers Coleman Pressley and Matt
DiBenedetto both Hickory regulars put on some great
racing and both are showing their grasp on the
speedway battling for position. These two young
guns show what professionals they are and come
through the night with great finishes. DiBenedetto
was the Melling Select Rookie of the Race having
committed to run the entire UARA-STARS season.
Pressley may possibly run some more but has not
committed to the whole 16 event schedule.
Around
lap 30 Jake Crum and Alex Yontz show their talent
battling for position and putting on a really good
show. The cars of John Staton and Roger Lee Newton
spin and bring out the caution on lap 42. Newton
and Jason McMahan pass the pace car during the
caution and will find themselves penalized for their
efforts.
The field
returns to green for ten laps then the cars of Tommy
Lemmons, Jr. and Todd Goble spin and a few laps
later Goble finds himself spinning again in turn
four on lap 70.
During
the next green flag session Jamie Yelton finds Lucas
Ransone wanting his position and showing his
strength. In the meantime young gun Matt
DiBenedetto is still proving his capabilities in his
second late model race. Lap 85 shows the caution
flying again as 2006 Melling Select Rookie of the
Year Barry Andrews finds himself spinning in turn 2
along with the cars of Lance Gatlin and K.C.
Cunningham.
After
these drivers get their cars pointed in the right
direction the green falls and Mark Setzer and Lee
Tissot put on a whale of a show with several laps of
side by side action to get the adrenaline flowing in
the fans.
The next
two cautions happen in turn two as first K.C.
Cunningham and Jeffrey find themselves spinning on
lap 86. The field will run green until Clint Mills
takes a hard hit to the wall on lap 103.
Dennis
Queen will come home the eventual winner. Queen
quietly gained on the leaders all evening taking his
sweet time before making the move to the front. In
the final laps of the event Queen showed his
strength in the Teddy Mann Racing Joe Metcalf
powered, KLB Race Cars chassis, Aluminum Racing
Products Body Chevrolet Monte Carlo to claim the
awesome trophy presented by Bad Boy Mowers. Mann
had mentioned earlier in the day that it was his and
his wife Mary’s 38th anniversary. They
were both beaming over the win and will surely
remember this anniversary. Joe Metcalf was awarded
the Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race Award.
Even the
final stretch of the race ended in excitement with
Jim Doyle spinning down the front stretch while
taking the checker flag.
The
staff of the UARA-STARS takes this time to thank all
the dedicated fans at the race and apologize for
delays in the racing action during Saturday’s
schedule. The installation of timing devices on the
large field of cars extended the tech time and thus
the racing activities all ran later than
anticipated.
The
Fairborn Equipment Company 150 is the next stop
on the UARA-STARS schedule at Concord Motorsports
Park on March 31, 2007.
For more
info visit our website
www.uara-stars.com or
call 828-692-3833