5/1/2019
Coats captures O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks headliner at Lucas Oil Speedway as Bryant, Sheets and Fennewald also win
WHEATLAND, Missouri - Johnny Coats shot from third-to-first with 10 laps remaining and went on to win Saturday night's O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks feature at Lucas Oil Speedway.
Coats went past James Flood and Toby Ott to take over the lead and he did not surrender it in the 25-lap headliner on the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series program.
Other feature winners on $5 Night Presented by KY3 included Andy Bryant (Ozark Golf Cars USRA B Mods), Jon Sheets (Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds) and Johnny Fennewald (Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models). A total of 93 cars checked into the pits.
Coats, of Joplin, started sixth and held off runner-up James Flood for his first feature win of the season and deny Flood his second straight feature triumph.
"I was hoping Flood wasn't getting some hand signals under that (late) caution to go up to the top; it would have been pretty hard to get him if they did. They're all pretty tough to beat, that's for sure," Coats said.
Zach Zeugin drove from a 22nd starting position all the way to third while Toby Ott was fourth and Daniel Deason fifth.
Sheets takes USRA Mod feature win with late pass: Jon Sheets used a last-lap pass of Robbie Reed in a battle of the two previous Pitts Homes USRA Modified feature winners to take home his second win of season.
Sheets, of Nevada, Missouri, wound up 1.176 seconds in front at the finish. He made the winning drive from the sixth starting position, while Reed started on the outside of row one. The two battled back and forth over the final five laps.
"My car was really good on top," Sheets said. "I think everybody else was too tight to make it up there and I was free enough to make it happen. He was kind of pinching that off to the wall, so I knew it was gonna have to be a slide job.
"I was pretty confident that we had a better car on top any way. I didn't know if he could search around and get something found, but with so few laps, he didn't have time to search. I was pretty confident that we were going to be able to be able to hold onto it."
Sheets said it's been fun early in the season.
"It's awesome. We didn't really struggle last year, but we struggled to get the wins. So many seconds to Darren (Fuqua). Finally, I kind of feel like we're the guy, we're the Darren this year so far, but that can all change tomorrow. We're gonna go back to the shop and work out butts off."
Chase Domer finished third with Ryan Middaugh in fourth.
Bryant rolls in B-Mods: Andy Bryant of Fort Scott, Kansas started up front and stayed there to grab the Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod feature win.
Kris Jackson, who started fifth, finished second with Dan Wheeler third. Neither was a match for Bryant, who earned the pole-position for the feature by going from eighth to first to win his heat race.
Fennewald takes ULMA feature: Johnny Fennewald used a strong run into turn on on a restart with five laps to go, passing Kaeden Cornell and hanging on for the Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Model win.
Fennewald, of Nevada, started sixth and worked his way into third by lap 13 and into second one lap later. After the race's second caution, he got past Cornell and went on for his second feature win of the season.
Cole Henson started on the outside of the front row and led the first eight laps before Cornell moved into the lead. Henson wound up third with Aaron Marrant fourth.
Open Wheel Showdown next: Coming up next Saturday, May 4, is the 8th annual Impact Signs Wheels & Awnings Open Wheel Showdown. The ASCS Warrior/Red River Region Sprints, POWRi Midgets and WAR Sprints will be in action.
To inquire about tickets, VIP suites or camping, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or via email at Nichole@LucasOilSpeedway.com.
Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and 2019 schedule can be found by visiting 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 LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.
In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on Twitter, clicking "Like" at www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway
About Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top five racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Missouri, approximately an hour from Springfield, Missouri, and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" lives up to its title.
Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the ninth season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, "Lake Lucas." New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series as well as a host of other regional events.
Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, POWRi Midget National Series, Lucas Oil Pro-Pulling League, United States Modified Touring Series, ASCS Sprint Cars and the Lucas Oil MLRA.
In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series features the Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models, Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds, O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks and the Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods.
Article Credit: Lyndal Scranton
