The DIRT Network: 2016 Wild West Shootout - Final Weekend Race Recap & Results

Saturday, January 16, 2016
Tucson, Arizona

It was another beautiful day in Tucson, Arizona, when I arrived at the track at 3:00pm local time. The sun had been hiding behind the clouds for most of the day, so it was a little on the chilly side, but also meant that the racing surface was not exposed to direct sunlight for very long periods of time. Hot laps went without a hitch and, much to my surprise, they spent a little more time adding moisture and working the track surface, before heat races! The extra worked helped to ensure the outside line held more moisture throughout the night and also caused it to be the fast line, at least in the heat races and B-mains. Several drivers expressed concern that the track had too much moisture up-top and on the extreme bottom, areas of the track that had not been packed yet and were very muddy/sloppy.

It was cloudy, but a beautiful day overall, on Saturday - Tucson, Arizona

Racing proved to be excellent, as the track as wide enough where fast guys could make moves. Slide jobs were a popular choice, as drivers would barrel-off into turns 1 and 3, letting their momentum carry themselves to the cushion and use the cushion to power-off the turn. For drivers being slid, there was some collaboration required, as they were forced to let-off the throttle mid-way through the turn and experienced drivers used their momentum to dive back under the other driver, on exit, allowing them to execute a slide job of their own, entering the next set of turns. Unfortunately, Late Model heat race 4 proved that trying to slide someone, who doesn't want to be slid, can be a very dangerous proposition.

Don Shaw jumped out to the early lead of Heat race 4, when "Kid Smooth" Billy Moyer Jr had a bit of a sluggish start. Moyer Jr was reeling-in Shaw around the 4th lap, when he pushed-high out of turn 4 and slapped the outside wall, coming to a stop just past the start/finish line. This would end Moyer Jr's night, as his car sustained heavy right front suspension damage, including a damaged drive shaft.

"Kid Smooth" Billy Moyer Jr had a rough night on Saturday, crashing in the heat race

While positioning myself in the infield, to survey the damage on Moyer Jr's car, along with having a word with him, I noticed "The Georgia Bulldog" Shane Clanton had passed Jason Krohn to take 2nd place and he was moving-in on still race leader, Don Shaw. At the exact moment that Moyer Jr's car pulled directly in front of me, I noticed to my right that Clanton had a huge run on Shaw, entering turn 3. Clanton did what most every other driver would do and he hauled it off into turn 3, just clearing Shaw by inches, then slammed hard into the cushion and utilized the moisture to begin his drive-off the turn. At that moment, Don Shaw had a few options as to how he could react to being slid for the heat race lead. Rather than back-off, or try to turn under Clanton, Shaw decided to run right into the back of him, lifting Clanton's rear tires up off the ground and forcing him above the cushion, into the wall. Clanton's momentum also forced Don Shaw into the wall and the two drivers hit simultaneously at the exit of turn 4. Clanton's front wheels, still turned to the left from trying to execute his slider, dug-into the wet clay above the cushion, causing his car to bite and roll-over about 1 3/4 rotations. Shaw simply slapped the wall and his car came to rest practically underneath Clanton's car.

Shane Clanton's car came to rest on top of Don Shaw's, after getting upside down in heat race 4

Thankfully, both drivers were okay, but they had a very heated exchange. Both drivers felt like they were done wrong and wanted to ensure the other driver knew how upset they were. Mind you, both drivers are large men, so it took several members of security and the safety crew, to keep the altercation from becoming physical. Saw was able to drive his car away, but was encouraged to load-up and head home, as track officials did not appreciate his aggressive behavior towards Clanton, after the crash occurred. Clanton also loaded-up and headed home, due to the large amount of damage sustained to his car. What went from a fierce battle for the lead in heat race 4, ended with both drivers done for the rest of the weekend. Jason Krohn went-on to win the wild heat race, after a brief red flag was displayed, to allow for clean-up.

After tempers calmed, track officials were able to get Clanton's car on its wheels

What was left of Shane Clanton's car, after getting upside down in heat race 4 on Saturday

58 Late Models showed-up to race on Saturday night, with Chris Simpson, "The Sandman" Rodney Sanders, RC Whitwell, "Superman" Jonathan Davenport and Ricky Thornton Jr joining Krohn as heat race winners. 38 Modifieds also competed on Saturday, with Brad Dierks, "The Reaper" Ryan Gustin, Chad Olsen and Kyle Beard winning heat races. While the heat races provided a lot of action, there was also plenty of action in the main events as well. Listed below are my race recaps from Saturday night, including full results:

Late Models

"The Sandman" Rodney Sanders and Jason Krohn shared the front row for the Late Model main event, with Krohn firing-off from the outside row, to take the early lead. Unfortunately for Krohn, his lead was short-lived, as 3rd place starter "The Bluegrass Bandit" Darrell Lanigan charged to the front, utilizing the bottom of the race track. The race saw the first 23 laps go green, as Lanigan was deep into lapped traffic. "The Reaper" Ryan Gustin did a masterful job of running what was left of the cushion, utilizing the high line to keep his momentum up. Right around the 20-lap mark, Gustin had closed-in to just a few car lengths behind Lanigan and seemed poised to give "The Bluegrass Bandit" a run for the lead. However, on lap 23, the race took an unexpected turn. Then 3rd place-runner, Jason Krohn, made contact with Austin Siebert, as he was attempting to lap him. This caused Siebert to spin driver-side to the wall in turn 3, bringing out the race's first and only caution. However, at the exact same time as the caution, Gustin began experiencing mechanical problems, from 2nd place and he pulled into the infield, ending his night. Krohn survived the contact with Siebert, sustaining only minor cosmetic damage to his driver-side door and inheriting 2nd place, when Gustin had trouble. Ronny Lee Hollingsworth inherited 3rd, with Chris Simpson in 4th, Jason Papich 5th, Rodney Sanders 6th and "Superman" Jonathan Davenport had charged from his 14th place starting position, to run 7th at lap 23. The ensuing restart saw Lanigan fire-off to an early lead and he would not be challenged for the remainder of the race, cruising to his first victory of 2016 and winning $5,000! The race for 2nd was wild though, as Krohn, Hollingsworth and Simpson went 3-wide on multiple occasions, all while Davenport continued his march to the front. Hollingsworth prevailed to finish 2nd, while Davenport just ran out of laps and settled for 3rd. Simpson and Krohn rounded out the top-5.

"The Bluegrass Bandit" Darrell Lanigan won the $5,000 feature on Saturday night!

"Right Foot Ronny" Lee Hollingsworth had an impressive run to finish 2nd on Saturday

"Superman" Jonathan Davenport charged from 14th, but settled for 3rd on Saturday

It was an excellent night of racing, as the track was wide enough to allow passing, but neither line had a large advantage over the other. The guys who were making passes and moving through the field, truly had better handling cars. Davenport impressed, charging from 14th to finish 3rd. Ronny Lee Hollingsworth had his annual solid-run in Arizona, bringing it home in 2nd. Krohn also had a solid run, leading laps early, but ultimately settled to finish 5th. Chris Simpson charged from 10th to finish 4th, "The Kentucky Colonel" Steve Francis from 18th to finish 11th and Donny Schatz charged from 24th to finish 14th! Listed below are the full results from Saturday, including the driver's starting position in parenthesis:

Late Model Results

1. Darrell Lanigan (3), 2. Ronny Lee Hollingsworth (5), 3. Jonathan Davenport (14), 4. Chris Simpson (10), 5. Jason Krohn (2), 6. Jason Papich (9), 7. RC Whitwell (8), 8. Chase Junghans (11), 9. Rodney Sanders (1), 10. Don O'Neal (13), 11. Steve Francis (18), 12. Ricky Thornton Jr (15), 13. Billy Moyer Sr (12), 14. Donny Schatz (24), 15. Tyler Erb (6), 16. Dustin Strand (7), 17. Garrett Alberson (21), 18. Terry Phillips (19), 19. Kyle Beard (16), 20. Hunter Rasdon (23), 21. Jason Rauen (17), 22. Ryan Gustin (4), 23. Austin Siebert (20), 24. Pat Doar (22)

Modifieds

One of the best Dirt Modified drivers of all-time, "The Sandman" Rodney Sanders started on the pole of the 25-lap main event. After firing-off to an early lead and stretching it to nearly a straightaway, it was easy to think that he would run away and win the race. Unfortunately, for Sanders, that was not the case. "The Reaper" Ryan Gustin was running his usual high-line and making great time, reeling-in race leader Sanders. A caution on lap 11 reset the race, allowing Gustin to close-in and start right behind Sanders. The race was a bit sluggish, as several cautions flew and did not allow for drivers to get into much of a rhythm. The man on the move was "Toddzilla" Todd Shute, as he charged into the top-5, just past the 20-lap mark of the feature. A series of late race cautions and restarts continued to reset Sanders lead, though he continued to hold-off all challengers. Gustin had his usual run-ins with the wall, thoroughly destroying the right rear of his Modified for the second night in-a-row. Shute successfully worked his way up to 2nd place and set his sights on Sanders, who had lead the entire race. On the last lap, Shute successfully completed the pass and motored ahead of Sanders to win the $1,000 feature!

"Toddzilla" Todd Shute completed a last-lap pass to win on Saturday!

"The Sandman" Rodney Sanders led 24 of 25 laps, but settled for 2nd place

"The Reaper" Ryan Gustin & Philip Houston finished 3rd & 4th on Saturday

What a heartbreaker for Sanders! After leading 24 of 25 laps, Shute worked magic to complete the last-lap pass for the win! Gustin's car showed the usual signs of his bouts with the wall, as his right rear quarter panel and spoiler were in pieces, by races' end. Philip Houston had a strong, clean run, finishing 4th on the night. Several B-main transfers impressed tonight, as Stormy Scott charged from 24th to finish 6th, Darron Fuqua from 19th to 9th, Matt Leer from 17th to 10th, Matt Gilbertson from 21st to 11th and "The Jet" Blake Jegtvig charged from 20th to finish 12th. Listed below are the full race results, including driver's starting positions in parenthesis:

Modified Results

1. Todd Shute (4), 2. Rodney Sanders (1), 3. Ryan Gustin (6), 4. Philip Houston (5), 5. Ryan Mikkelson (8), 6. Stormy Scott (24), 7. Jacob Gallardo (7), 8. Chad Olsen (2), 9. Darron Fuqua (19), 10. Matt Leer (17), 11. Matt Gilbertson (21), 12. Blake Jegtvig (20), 13. Kyle Beard (3), 14. Scott Bintz (12), 15. Alex Stanford (16), 16. Kent Arment (11), 17. Justin Rexwrinkle (15), 18. Christy Georges-Barnett (14), 19. Royal Jones (13), 20. Joe Duvall (18), 21. Shawn Fletcher (23), 22. Brad Dierks (9), 23. Travis Peery (10), 24. Fito Gallardo (22)

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Tucson, Arizona

Mother Nature has a sick sense of humor, at times. A week removed from receiving a month's worth of rain, in a week's time in Tucson, Arizona, we had the best weather of the entire Wild West Shootout on Sunday. It was bright and sunny, 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky! I joked with some of the drivers and crews that at least we're "sending them off" with good weather! Those who have raced in Tucson before, know this is how our weather usually is, even during the "winter months", so the weather we experienced last week was mostly an anomaly. I arrived around 2:30pm local time and discovered a lot of moisture had been applied to the track, eliminating any concern that the track may become dry, due to being exposed to many hours of direct sunlight.

We had the best weather on Sunday - 70 degrees and sunny - Tucson, Arizona

Overall, the track conditions were very similar each night of the Wild West Shootout, save for a bumpy surface on the first weekend. Track officials did an excellent job, as no lane had a distinct advantage over another, during any night of competition. Track conditions lent itself for a lot of side-by-side racing and allowed for a decent amount of passing. Ultimately, a driver's success was mainly determined by how fast their car was, or how well it handled, combined with their starting position. Being that "passing points" were utilized throughout the entire event, drivers were awarded for making big moves and advancing several positions, during heat races. Most drivers that started up-front in the main event were able to hold-on for a decent finishing position. Some drivers were able to make big moves in the main event, advancing several positions, but we did not see a driver start outside of the top-10, charge to the front and get a win. While the track conditions were not perfect, throughout the 6 race mini-series, the conditions were good and created the opportunity for close, competitive racing!

53 Late Models stayed to do battle on the final night with Ricky Thornton Jr, "Kid Smooth" Billy Moyer Jr, "The Kentucky Colonel" Steve Francis, Justin Duty, "The Sandman" Rodney Sanders and Terry Phillips all enjoying heat race wins. Only 31 Modifieds stayed for the last race on Sunday, with Travis Peery, "Todzilla" Todd Shute and Stormy Scott winning heat races. The track was just like it had been all weekend, starting to get dry in the middle/bottom, while the top held a little moisture. However, as the night progressed, the cushion became smaller and smaller, making it treacherous to run the high-side. Listed below are my race recap stories, including results: