Illinois Speedweek
********
Sunday, August 11 Vermilion County Speedway - Danville, IL
UMP tires $3000

(picture from midwest dirt track facts archives)
NORTHERN ALLSTAR LATE MODEL SERIES
 FEATURE RACE at VCS
AUGUST 5, 2001
   

PETROFF POSSE claims Win and Championship of NALMS ILLINOIS Speed Week at Danville

By Smash

(8/11/02)29 cars rolled into the Vermilion County Speedway tonight for the culmination and crowning of the Northern All Stars/Petersen Aluminum sponsored ILLINOIS Speed Weeks and event #3.

Victory lane was visited by Petroff Towing, B Auto Parts, Hoosier by Smash, Pro Power Engines, Afco Racing Parts, JFR Graphics Summer Nationals standout #18, the Mowequa Missile, Shannon Babb while fellow Petroff Posse member Don "The Real Deal" O'Neal was crowned as the 2k2 NALMS Speedweeks champion and shared victory lane with the Babbster.

The evening began with O'Neal rolling into the midwest crown jewel 5 points behind Danville favorite son The Tall Cool One, Bob Pierce and the battle would be decided by the evenings activities as to who would emerge with the crown and the bragging rights as the 2002 champion.

O'Neal recorded the fastest qualifying lap with a time of 13.524 to start the evening off.

The first heat was won by The Flyin Farmer Roger Long over O'Neal, Dennis Erb and Steve Barnett. Following thoe top 4 were Jaime Zidar, Jammie Wilson, Jeff Martin and Michael Bradley.

The second heat turned out to be a real dual between Pierce and Babb with Babb inching out Pierce at the line in what was a debatable finish depending on where you were standing when the checkered flag fell. Many deemed it too close to call, however all 3 scorers, NALMS director Ron Linville and a VCS official in the infield all scored the win to Babb. Despite some questioning the call, it was upheld as 5 of 5 all called the same victor. From this writers vantage point in the infield it was too close to call and I do not envy those who had the charge of being the deciding factor. Babb and Pierce were followed by The Modern Day Cowboy John Gill and Richie Hedrick with Brian Clendenen, Marvin Burton, Jason Beier, Doug Ault and Mike Mataragas finding themselves headed to the consi.

The third and final heat was topped by Gentleman Jim Curry over The Flatland Flash Kevin Weaver, Steve Hillard and Greg Johnson. Consi bound were Mark Stetler, Shawn Negangard, Dan Walden, Doug Smith and Don Hammer.

The consi was won by Stetler over Clendenen, Ault and Wilson.

Provisionals were awarded to Smith and Matargas with the field set for the 30 lap A-Main event.

When the green flag furled over the field it was the Mowequa Missile Shannon Babb rolling out front to the lead until the caution flew as Clendenen, Ault and Smith found themselves spun in turns 3 and 4 to mandate a restart.

On the second attempt at starting the A-Main it was once again Babb rolling to the lead from his outside front row starting spot with Long, O'Neal, Curry, Weaver, Pierce, Erb, Gill, Barnett, Hillard and Johnson in tow.

Pierce would move past Weaver on lap 3 to break the top 5.

On lap 5 Matargas spun off of four to display the second caution of the event.

On the restart Pierce would ease past Curry to overtake the fourth position, all the while Gill was also on the move pasing Hillard on lap 8 and Erb on lap 9 to leave Gill in seventh position.

While the remainder of the pack was battling for position Babb was comfortably out front with O'Neal in pursuit.

The closest call of the night for Babb came on lap 14 when Babb was attempting to put Smith a lap in arrears and mader contact with the outside retaining wall at the flag stand with his right rear. Babb and O'Neal both got by Smith and were continuing to wage battle with each other. The caution would fly 1/2 lap later when Smith spun into the infield in 3 and 4.

On lap 17 Barnett made the pass complete on Hillard moving Barnett into the 8th position.

With the leaders working lapped traffic once again in the closing laps Mataragas, Wilson and Stetler would all go 1 down to the leaders in the final 4 laps.

At the checkered it was Babb followed by O'Neal, Long, Pierce, Curry, Gill, Weaver, Barnett, Hillard, Hedrick, Zidar, Erb, Ault, Negangard and Johnson all on the lead lap with Stetler, Wilson and Mataragas completing the running order.

The Speedweeks points championship and the $2,000 that went along with it went to O'Neal with The Tall Cool One Bob Pierce collecting a $1,000 paycheck for his runner up points position with Roger Long and Kevin Weaver each earning an additional $500 for third and fourth place respectively in the points.

Congratulations to Shannon Babb and the entire Petroff Towing sponsored team on their win. Also Congratulations to Don O'Neal on his Speedweeks Championship.

***************
Saturday, August 10 Fairbury American Legion Speedway - Fairbury, IL
UMP tires $3000

The REAL DEAL claims Stop #2 of Illinois Speedweek at Fairbury
By Smash

(8/10/02)35 cars made the trek for event #2 of the 2k2 edition of the Northern All Stars/Petersen Aluminum Illinois Speedweeks at the Fairbury American Legion Speedway this evening.

The evening started with Bob Pierce touring the track with a time of 13.40 to record the evenings fast time.

The first heat was topped by Long over Frank Reaber and Bob Pierce with the top three from each heat earning a transfer to the A-Main. They were followed by Steve Barnett, Wes Steidinger and Brian Patterson.

The second heat was topped by Joe Harlan over Mike Mullvain and Mark Anderson. Non-transfer positions were taken by Tom Thoennes, Shawn Negangard, Rich Harlan, Don Hammer, Dan Walden and Mike Mataragas.

The third heat was topped by The Flatland Flash Kevin Weaver over Jr. Shickel and Dennis Erb. They were followed by Cody Hupp, Ron Donaldson, Ron Baumann and Todd Chitwood.

The fourth and final heat was won by O'Neal over Steve Hillard and Jim Curry. They were followed by Richie Hedrick, Doug Ault, Doug Smith, Matt Melvin and Jaime Zidar.

The first of two consi's which would transfer the top 3 from each to an A-Main starting berth was captured by Barnett over Steidinger and Negangard with the second consi taken by Hedrick over Cody Hupp and Gary May from an 11th place starting position as Gary put on quite a display of driving on the high side while most of the remainder of the pack chose to stay on the hub.

Doug Ault and Jamie Wilson took advantage of Northern All Stars points provisionals to make the starting grid for the 30 lap main event.

When the green flag flew it was Weaver jumping out front from his pole starting position ahead of Harlan, Long, O'Neal, Reaber Mullvain, Shickel, Jr., Pierce, Erb and Hillard.

Hillard worked past Erb on lap 2 with Shickel, Jr. working into the top 5 while Pierce worked his way to 6th on lap 3.

By lap 6 Gary May had once again worked the high side masterfully by taking over the 10th place spot from his 18th starting position.

Lap 12 would see O'Neal work his way into the show position of third while Weaver continued a torrid pace with only Long in between Weaver and the yellow #71 mount.

On lap 17 while Long was trying to work lapped trafic in the form of Wilson, O'Neal worked past Long to overtake the runner up position.

Weaver continued the fast track that he had set and by lap 17 had managed to build an almost straightaway lead over O'Neal and Long, all while O'Neal and Long battled for the runner up slot.

As the laps began to wane, O'Neal appeared to be closing on Weaver and it seemed he was going to wage a serious challenge when on lap 27 O'Neal had chased Kevin down and was applying pressure.

Lap 28 would be the magic number for O'Neal as he drove past Weaver to relegate Kevin to the runner up slot.

As the field approached the checkered flag Long would put Weaver back one more position by beating him to the stripe by mere inches in what was one of the best closing's of an event in recent observation.

Following the trio at the checker were Shickel, Jr., Pierce, Harlan, Barnett, Mullvain, Reaber, Hillard, Erb, Hedrick, Negangard, Curry, May, Ault, Steidinger, Wilson, Hupp and Anderson.

Congratulations to the entire Petroff Towing, B Auto, Hoosier by Smash, AFCO Race Products, HOME TEAM Inspection Service, KH Graphics, Pro Powered C. J Rayburn chassied team of Don O'Neal on their win as well as taking over the point lead in the batle for the speedweeks crown.

Tomorrow the traveling series will move to the Vermilion County Speedway for event #3 and the culmination and crowning of the 2k2 Northern All Stars/Petersen Aluminum ILLINOIS Speedweeks CHAMPION!

See ya all in Victory Lane!

***************
Friday, August 9 Farmer City Raceway - Farmer City, IL
UMP tires $3000

BOB PIERCE TAKES 3 GRAND AT F.C. RACEWAY
By Racenut

***************
PLUS
*************
Tuesday, August 6 Terre Haute Action Track- Terre Haute, IN
NASCAR Night - Late Models and Modifieds
"Featuring Ken Schrader and Tony Stewart"
$25 for adult general admission and reserved
$10 for children, $10 for infield
Click here for more details

***************
August 3 Bluegrass Speedway - Bardstown, KY

Pierce Powers to Second Consecutive Bluegrass Classic Win
By Michael Despain

Bardstown, KY-August 3- The stars and cars of the Northern All Star Late
Model Racing Series invaded Bluegrass Speedway for the 2nd Annual Bluegrass
Classic and when the 60 lap, 30 mile chase was done, Bob Pierce of Oakwood,
Illinois had claimed a $10,000 payday and his second straight Bluegrass
Classic victory.  Other feature winners included Scott Cecil of Bardstown,
KY in the Sportsman class, while Brad Sapp of Lebanon, KY made it two wins
in a row in the Street Stock division.

The drop of the green flag on the Late Model feature would see Bryan Barber
and John Gill bring the field to the green flag, with Steve Barnett joining
this pair in making it a three-wide battle for the lead on the first
circuit, with Gill having the lead at the line to complete the first lap. 
The first of three cautions would wave on lap 2 as Audie McWilliams would
spin in turn four, collecting Rick Corbin in the process, with Corbin's
evening finished with front and rear damage to his mount. Back under green,
Gill would begin to pull away a bit as Barber, Barnett, and Pierce would
wage war for second.  Scott James would join this mix as well and when all
was said and done, Pierce would end up with second, while Barnett and James
would trade sliders for third before James claimed the spot, with Don O'Neal
starting to inch his way toward the top five as well, going side by side
with Mike Hawley in the process.  Gill would begin to encounter traffic by
the 12th lap and this would allow Pierce to close in on the Modern Day
Cowboy, with now third, and Barnett and O'Neal the rest of the top five. 
Pierce would close up on Gill on lap 19 and this pair would go side by side
for the lead on lap 20.  Pierce would nip Gill at the line for the lead on
lap 21, with James now barking at Gill's heels for the runner-up slot. 
Disaster would strike James on lap 25 as the Silver Shark and Jesse James
Lay would get together in turning four, drawing the caution flag and ending
both drivers night.  When action resumed, Pierce would begin to masterful
ride the hub of the 1/2 mile track, with Gill in pursuit.  O'Neal was
starting to pressure Barnett for third, while Darrell Lanigan was starting
to go as well as knocking on a top five spot.  Pierce and Gill would engage
in a classic side-by-side battle for the lead from laps 30 to 40, with
Pierce working the bottom, while Gill chose to rim ride the top side, O'Neal
slowly beginning to reel in the front pair.  Pierce would begin to pull away
from Gill around lap 41, while The Real Deal was now hounding Gill for
second.  O'Neal would slide his Petroff Posse entry to second around lap 46,
while Barnett was trying to fend off the challenges of Lanigan for fourth,
with Brad Neat in that mix as well.  But the caution would slow the field
for the final time with 10 laps remaining when Neat would have a flat left
rear tire after contact from a lapped car, ending his run for the night. 
The final ten rounds would see Pierce, O'Neal, and Gill right together for
the lead with Pierce taking the checkered flag first in his Murphy Trucking,
Hoosier Racing Tires sponsored #32 C.J. Rayburn Race Car, Pro Power Race
Engines entry.  O'Neal would claim runner-up honors, with Gill third. 
Lanigan and Barnett would take fourth and fifth.  Whitney McQueary would
make an impressive charge from the back of the pack after changing a flat
right rear tire at the lap 25 caution to finish sixth, with Shawn Negangard,
Barber, Hawley, and Kevin Claycomb completing the top ten.  Thirty-seven
NALMS entries from five states were on hand with heat race wins going to
Gill, James, Barnett, and Barber.  The B-Mains were scored by Doug Ault and
Tony Traficant.  NALMS provisionals went to Doug Smith and Mike Matagaras,
with Ed Behn getting the Bluegrass Speedway provisional.

The Sportsman feature would be a real crowd pleaser as well and see Scott
Cecil check into victory lane at Bluegrass for the first time in 2002 in
only his night behind the wheel of his current ride.  Trailing Cecil's #85 
entry at the finish would be Jimmy Bryan and Roger Cecil, while Timmy Glazer
and Randy Gardner would round out the top five.  Completing the top ten
would be Mark Filiatreau, Homer Barger, Junior Riggs, Robert Cocanougher,
and Rick Tinnell.  Sportsman heat race wins were garnered by Scott Cecil and
Bryan.

The Street Stock feature would see Brad Sapp take his second win in a row in
the division in his Wheatley's Auto Body, DJ's Landscaping #30 entry. 
Following Sapp closely at the finish would be Bobby Mattingly, with Cotton
Mattingly, Dan Bryan, and Morgan Ritchie taking third through fifth place
honors.  Rounding out the top ten would be Willie Edelen, Chuck Freeman,
Craig Coslow, Clarence Belcher, and Rodney Turley.  The Street Stock heat
wins would go to Sapp and Bryan.

SUMMARY-Bluegrass Speedway-Bardstown, KY-August 3, 2002

Northern All Star Late Models (37 cars)
Top Qualifier- Bob Pierce 16.912
1st Heat- John Gill, Pierce, Audie McWilliams, Kevin Claycomb
2nd Heat- Scott James, Brad Neat, Don O'Neal, Whitney McQueary
3rd Heat- Steve Barnett, Mike Hawley, Mike Jewell, Bob Lanter
4th Heat- Bryan Barber, Darrell Lanigan, Shawn Negangard, Rick Corbin
1st B Main- Doug Ault, Jesse James Lay, Brad Barrow, Scotty Earl, James Huff
2nd B Main- Tony Traficant, Jammie Wilson, Billy Dever, Timmy Yeager, Joey
Daniel
NALMS Provisionals- Doug Smith, Mike Matagaras
Track Provisional- Ed Behn

2nd Annual Bluegrass Classic- Pierce, O'Neal, Gill, Lanigan, Barnett,
McQueary, Negangard, Barber, Hawley, Claycomb, Ault, Behn, Traficant, Smith,
Matagaras, Jewell, Neat, Lanter, James, Lay, McWilliams, Wilson, Corbin