June 16, 2024 | By Lyndal Scranton

Fennewald ends Wells' POWRi Late Model streak, collects bounty at Lucas Oil Speedway Midseason Championship

WHEATLAND, Mo. — The bounty has been collected.

Johnny Fennewald of Appleton City led all 20 laps to capture the Hermitage Lumber POWRi Late Model feature Saturday night at Lucas Oil Speedway. Fennewald ended Justin Wells' feature win streak at six and claimed a $500 bounty in beating the reigning track champion.

Wells was involved in a lap-six incident and had to restart at the rear of the field. He wound up seventh - but the way Fennewald was on a rail throughout it probably would not have mattered. While the bounty money was nice, Fennewald said he wishes he could have won it by outrunning Wells.

"Honestly, I wouldn't even care if they paid me that bounty after this week; I want to race door-to-door and outrun him," Fennewald said of Wells.

Other feature winner on the Big Adventure RV Weekly Championship Series Midseason Championships program Presented by the Bolivar Herald-Free Press included: Jon Sheets (Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods), Mason Beck (O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars), Tyler Wolff (Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds) and Derek Brown (guest class POWRi Super Stocks).

Wells did claim the midseason championship, along with JC Morton (USRA B-Mods), Ryan Middaugh (USRA Modifieds) and Jaylen Wettengel (USRA Stock Cars).

Along with the midseason title, the night was far from a total loss for Wells. He captured the Late Model race to begin the program, a makeup from a rainout on Show-Me 100 weekend. He claimed $2,000 for that win, his sixth without a loss at the speedway in 2024.

But Wells was unable to make it 7-for-7 in the regular main event.

"Congratulations to Johnny, he ran a good race," Wells said.

Fennewald rolled to a 2.1-second lead over Kaeden Cornell just five laps into the race with JC Morton in third and the sixth-starting Wells in fourth. Just one lap later, a caution for debris bunched the field and took away Fennewald’s lead.

One lap after the restart, third-running Cornell took a wild ride when he and Wells made contact entering turn one. Cornell’s car went up and over in mid-air before landing on all four wheels. Cornell was not injured, but the car suffered major damage.

Wells, as one of the car involved in the red-flag incident, restarted 17th with 14 laps remaining.

"We just didn't get it done tonight and I feel bad for Kaeden," Wells said. "I don't even think he knew I was there when we went into the corner. I'm more worried about him than anything, I don't care about winning the race. I hate it for him."

When action resumed, Fennewald sprinted to a two-second advantage over Morton at the halfway point. He kept building on the margin from there as Sawyer Crigler passed Morton for second on lap 14.

Fennewald remained in command as the race went without another stoppage and he finished 3.4 seconds in front of Crigler. Morton finished third, Tucker Cox was fourth and Andy Bryant took fifth.

"We've been struggling a little bit down here," Fennewald said in victory lane. "New tires and new dirt, it's not the same as what it was last year. We were just a few clicks off.

Wells was able to rally for seventh, but saw his winning streak end on Night One of the bounty hunt.

Wells started the night by winning the $2,000, 30-lap makeup feature that was rained out on Show-Me 100 weekend. Wells took the lead on lap six, built a sizable cushion and then held off Andy Bryant at the finish.

Tucker Cox outgunned fellow front-row starter Wells on the start and led the reigning champ through the first four laps, when the event’s first caution flew. Two laps after the restart, Wells roared by Cox on the inside of turn four.

Wells sailed from there to a two-second lead by lap 15, when he encountered lapped traffic for the first time. Behind him, Bryant got around Cox for second at the halfway mark.

With the action remaining green to the finish, Wells gradually kept lengthening his lead as he used the high groove. Bryant mounted a late charge after moving to the low line, but Wells was able to hang on by four-tenths of a second for his sixth feature win in six tries at the speedway in 2024.

Fennewald was 2.6 seconds behind to grab third with Tyler Kuykendall fourth and Cox fifth.

Sheets goes wire-to-wire in USRA B-Mods: Jon Sheets of Nevada led all 20 laps and held off midseason champion JC Morton of Springfield for the Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mod feature win.

Sheets started on the pole and set the pace from the green, opening a one-second lead over third-starting Ryan Gillmore by lap five. Gillmore cut the margin to a half-second by the midpoint, lap 10, with JC Morton two more seconds behind in third.

The leaders found lapped traffic on lap 14, and that proved to be an issue for Sheets. He made heavy contact with the suddenly slowing car of Christopher Watts, causing major body damage to the right side of Sheets’ No. 8. But Sheets never stopped rolling and that allowed him to maintain the first position for the restart.

Gillmore slipped on the restart, allowing Morton to take second as Sheets opened a four-car-length lead. Morton moved to the high side and cut in to the lead coming to the third flag with Gillmore also right behind.

Sheets, body damage and all, held on by .280 seconds for the victory over Morton, with Gillmore third. Eric Turner finished fourth and Mitch Keeter was fifth.

"I sure thought he was going to stay in the middle," Sheets said of the slowing lapped car. "Obviously that caused us a lot of work this week. Luckily enough we were able to hold on. I could see JC coming there. It's kind of a thing that you're praying the laps are going to run out soon enough."

Morton’s finish was good enough to give him the midseason points championship.

"We just have to keep maintaining it," Morton said in looking ahead to the remainder of the season. "You keep the top-five finishes going and you'll be there at the end of the year."

Beck takes USRA Stock Cars thriller: Mason Beck of Urbana won a classic duel over the final laps with William Garner to claim the O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars feature win.

Jaylen Wettengel of Topeka, Kan., finished third and it was enough to nail down the midseason championship for him.

Beck, who started sixth, drove around the outside of Wettengel to take over the lead on lap five of a feature plagued by six cautions. Wettengel started up front and paced the first five circuits, with two cautions slowing the action.

Beck, Wettengel and William Garner were all battling for the top spot when a lap-nine caution interrupted the competition. Beck moved to the high side after the restart and was able to open a one-second lead by lap 12 with Garner second and Wettengel third.

Just as Beck was establishing control, a fourth caution flew to erase his 1.2-second lead on lap 13. Garner pulled alongside Beck after the restart, with the two dueling three straight laps until a fifth caution came out with four to go.

The leads came to the white flag side-by-side and Beck was able to hold on at the finish by .043 seconds - less than a half-car-length.

"That was a good race," Beck said. "Me and Will always race hard. We always put on good races for everybody. He's a heck of a wheel man, too. We've raced together since I started."

Wettengel wound up third, which was just enough to give him the midseason championship. He has two runner-up finishes to go with one third.

"There toward the end I was watching the whole race and it was a good race," Wettengel said. "I'm not too mad about the results," Wettengel said.

Rodney Schweizer finished fourth with James Ellis fifth.

Wolff rolls to USRA Modifieds win: Tyler Wolff overwhelmed the field in the Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modified main event, leading all 20 laps to score a runaway victory over Trevor Hughes.

From outside the front row, Wolff beat pole-starter Hughes into turn one and set the pace. Wolff pulled away in dominant fashion and opened a 4.5-second lead by lap 10.

With action remaining caution-free the rest of the way, Wolff cruised to the victory by nearly six seconds over Hughes.

"This is my favorite place to win," said Wolff, who made an eight-hour drive after a USMTS race on Friday night in Wisconsin. "There's always a good crowd here with so many good fans. We're glad to be here."

Jason Pursley wound up third, Kenton Allen fourth and Jeff Cutshaw fifth.

Middaugh, the reigning track champ, had a rough night but captured the midseason championship with his ninth-place run.

"We've just been struggling with this car. We can't find the balance that I like and tonight we were really bad," Middaugh said. "We'll go through it and try to get better."

POWRi Super Stocks: Stoutland's Derek Brown held off a mid-race challenge and went on to capture the 20-lap feature win for the guest class POWRi Super Stocks.

Brown, who won an O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars feature at the speedway earlier this season, led from start to finish.

"I was staying where the traction was. It suited me," Brown said of the high groove, his preferred line throughout.

Ted Welschmeyer, who started sixth, reeled in race-long leader Brown to pull alongside on lap 10. Brown was able to repel Welschmeyer when caution flag No. 4 flew on lap 11 with Gary Clark also challenging in third.

The battle resumed on the restart, with Brown able to pull out to a four-car-length cushion as Clark moved into the second position. Brown rolled the rest of the way to hold off Brian Brown by just under one second. Clark was third, Welschmeyer fourth and Blaine Ewing fifth.



LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (June 15, 2024)

Big Adventure RV Weekly Championship Series

Hermitage Lumber POWRi Late Models

A Feature (makeup of Show-Me 100 weekend) - 1. 98-Justin Wells[1]; 2. 49B-Andy Bryant[3]; 3. 21-Johnny Fennewald[4]; 4. 8K-Tyler Kuykendall[8]; 5. 1T-Tucker Cox[2]; 6. 20-Alan Westling[7]; 7. 72-JC Morton[5]; 8. 12J-Justin Russell[16]; 9. 5-Tommy Cordray[15]; 10. 21P-Darren Phillips[6]; 11. 99-Larry Jones[17]; 12. 3-Richard Kimberling[10]; 13. (DNF) 13-Shawn Whitman[18]; 14. (DNF) X15-Bobby Ruff II[13]; 15. (DNF) 23-Chad Walter[11]; 16. (DNF) 60-Cody Nivens[9]; 17. (DNF) 15K-Chris Kitch[14]; 18. (DNS) 88-Jimmy Dowell

A Feature (regularly scheduled) - 1. 21-Johnny Fennewald[1]; 2. 11-Sawyer Crigler[7]; 3. 72-JC Morton[3]; 4. 1T-Tucker Cox[5]; 5. 49B-Andy Bryant[4]; 6. 8K-Tyler Kuykendall[11]; 7. 98-Justin Wells[6]; 8. 5-Tommy Cordray[8]; 9. 20-Alan Westling[24]; 10. 42-Kris Jackson[15]; 11. 13-Shawn Whitman[13]; 12. 13B-Brandon Baldridge[18]; 13. 3-Richard Kimberling[12]; 14. 21P-Darren Phillips[10]; 15. X15-Bobby Ruff II[17]; 16. 23-Chad Walter[19]; 17. 7J-Jake Morris[14]; 18. (DNF) 50-Kaeden Cornell[2]; 19. (DNF) 15K-Chris Kitch[20]; 20. (DNF) 28-Jim Greenway[25]; 21. (DNF) 12J-Justin Russell[16]; 22. (DNF) 1A-Bryon Allison[9]; 23. (DNS) 99-Larry Jones; 24. (DNS) 60-Cody Nivens; 25. (DNS) 88-Jimmy Dowell

Heat 1 - 1. 21-Johnny Fennewald[4]; 2. 72-JC Morton[5]; 3. 21P-Darren Phillips[2]; 4. 11-Sawyer Crigler[8]; 5. 7J-Jake Morris[7]; 6. X15-Bobby Ruff II[3]; 7. (DNF) 20-Alan Westling[6]; 8. (DNS) 99-Larry Jones

Heat 2 - 1. 50-Kaeden Cornell[3]; 2. 1T-Tucker Cox[4]; 3. 1A-Bryon Allison[1]; 4. 3-Richard Kimberling[5]; 5. 13-Shawn Whitman[8]; 6. 13B-Brandon Baldridge[6]; 7. 15K-Chris Kitch[7]; 8. (DNS) 60-Cody Nivens

Heat 3 - 1. 49B-Andy Bryant[1]; 2. 98-Justin Wells[4]; 3. 8K-Tyler Kuykendall[3]; 4. 5-Tommy Cordray[8]; 5. 42-Kris Jackson[7]; 6. 12J-Justin Russell[2]; 7. 23-Chad Walter[6]; 8. (DNF) 28-Jim Greenway[5]



Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods

A Feature - 1. 8-Jon Sheets[1]; 2. 18-JC Morton[2]; 3. 66-Ryan Gillmore[3]; 4. 99T-Eric Turner[8]; 5. 65-Mitch Keeter[16]; 6. 7L-Trevor Drake[7]; 7. 19-Tanner Kade[5]; 8. 91J-Jaylen Wettengel[6]; 9. 28-Andy Bryant[17]; 10. 11S-Scotty Bough[9]; 11. 56T-Shadren Turner[11]; 12. 2-Quentin Taylor[15]; 13. 56-Hoyt Miller[4]; 14. 7J-Jake Richards[19]; 15. 3B-Nic Bidinger[12]; 16. 11L-Logan Smith[20]; 17. C3-Chad Staus[13]; 18. F1-Mitchell Franklin[10]; 19. 33-Anthony Ferrara[24]; 20. (DNF) 00-Cason Harris[23]; 21. (DNF) 23Y-Ethan Young[14]; 22. (DNF) 03-Chase Jones[22]; 23. (DNF) 98-Christopher Watts[18]; 24. (DNF) 15J-Jake Fetterman[21]

B Feature - 1. 28-Andy Bryant[2]; 2. 98-Christopher Watts[1]; 3. 7J-Jake Richards[5]; 4. 11L-Logan Smith[9]; 5. 15J-Jake Fetterman[10]; 6. 03-Chase Jones[6]; 7. 00-Cason Harris[3]; 8. 33-Anthony Ferrara[4]; 9. 55K-Terry Kirk[11]; 10. 55G-Luke Gideon[7]; 11. 42J-Donnie Jackson[12]; 12. 0K-Tracy Killian[14]; 13. (DNF) Y3-Kevin York[13]; 14. (DNF) 8X-Scott Chism[8]; 15. (DNS) 27L-Clifford Lean; 16. (DNS) 83-JC Newell

Heat 1- 1. 56-Hoyt Miller[3]; 2. 11S-Scotty Bough[1]; 3. 99T-Eric Turner[8]; 4. 23Y-Ethan Young[6]; 5. 98-Christopher Watts[7]; 6. 55G-Luke Gideon[4]; 7. 15J-Jake Fetterman[5]; 8. (DQ) 83-JC Newell[2]

Heat 2 - 1. 91J-Jaylen Wettengel[2]; 2. 18-JC Morton[8]; 3. F1-Mitchell Franklin[4]; 4. 65-Mitch Keeter[3]; 5. 28-Andy Bryant[6]; 6. 03-Chase Jones[7]; 7. 55K-Terry Kirk[5]; 8. Y3-Kevin York[1]

Heat 3 - 1. 19-Tanner Kade[3]; 2. 66-Ryan Gillmore[8]; 3. 3B-Nic Bidinger[2]; 4. 2-Quentin Taylor[5]; 5. 00-Cason Harris[1]; 6. 8X-Scott Chism[4]; 7. 42J-Donnie Jackson[7]; 8. (DNF) 27L-Clifford Lean[6]

Heat 4 - 1. 8-Jon Sheets[6]; 2. 7L-Trevor Drake[5]; 3. C3-Chad Staus[3]; 4. 56T-Shadren Turner[7]; 5. 33-Anthony Ferrara[2]; 6. 7J-Jake Richards[8]; 7. 11L-Logan Smith[1]; 8. 0K-Tracy Killian[4]



O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars

A Feature - 1. 0F-Mason Beck[5]; 2. 7-William Garner[3]; 3. 91J-Jaylen Wettengel[1]; 4. 41-Bryan White[9]; 5. 74-Rodney Schweizer[4]; 6. 83-James Ellis[8]; 7. 34-Blake Bolton[15]; 8. 05G-Grayson McKiney[12]; 9. 5K-Steve Herrick[11]; 10. (DNF) 14C-Bill Carter[10]; 11. (DNF) 35-Johnny Coats[6]; 12. (DNF) 22-Dawson Fennewald[14]; 13. (DNF) 11-Waylon Dimmitt[2]; 14. (DNF) 12-Christopher Sawyer[13]; 15. (DNF) 8M-James McMillin[7]

Summit Racing Equipment Heat 1 - 1. 91J-Jaylen Wettengel[3]; 2. 74-Rodney Schweizer[1]; 3. 0F-Mason Beck[4]; 4. 8M-James McMillin[5]; 5. 41-Bryan White[7]; 6. 05G-Grayson McKiney[6]; 7. 12-Christopher Sawyer[2]; 8. 34-Blake Bolton[8]

Summit Racing Equipment Heat 2 - 1. 7-William Garner[2]; 2. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[6]; 3. 35-Johnny Coats[1]; 4. 83-James Ellis[3]; 5. 14C-Bill Carter[5]; 6. 5K-Steve Herrick[7]; 7. 22-Dawson Fennewald[4]



Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds

A Feature - 1. 4W-Tyler Wolff[2]; 2. 712-Trevor Hughes[1]; 3. 38C-Jason Pursley[4]; 4. 98K-Kenton Allen[8]; 5. 98-Jeff Cutshaw[7]; 6. 10P-Dayton Pursley[5]; 7. 18JR-Chase Sigg[12]; 8. 68-Dean Wille[10]; 9. 18-Chad Lyle[11]; 10. 21M-Ryan Middaugh[9]; 11. 24D-Donnie Fellers[15]; 12. 23-Lucas Dobbs[13]; 13. 21-Greg Scheffler[6]; 14. (DNF) 21W-Tracy Wolf[14]; 15. (DNF) 33-Jaren Martin[3]; 16. (DNS) 5-Robbie Reed; 17. (DNS) L75-Lane Whitney

Heat 1 - 1. 4W-Tyler Wolff[4]; 2. 38C-Jason Pursley[3]; 3. 10P-Dayton Pursley[1]; 4. 98K-Kenton Allen[5]; 5. 21M-Ryan Middaugh[7]; 6. 18JR-Chase Sigg[6]; 7. 23-Lucas Dobbs[2]; 8. 5-Robbie Reed[9]; 9. (DNF) L75-Lane Whitney[8]

Heat 2 - 1. 712-Trevor Hughes[8]; 2. 33-Jaren Martin[4]; 3. 21-Greg Scheffler[2]; 4. 98-Jeff Cutshaw[6]; 5. 68-Dean Wille[5]; 6. 18-Chad Lyle[3]; 7. 21W-Tracy Wolf[7]; 8. (DNF) 24D-Donnie Fellers[1]



POWRi Super Stocks

A Feature - 1. 11-Derek Brown[2]; 2. 69-Brian Brown[4]; 3. 4G-Gary Clark[8]; 4. 21W-Ted Welschmeyer[6]; 5. 04-Blaine Ewing[13]; 6. 164-Michael Muskrat[10]; 7. 26M-Donnie Miller[11]; 8. 69C-Caleb Brown[15]; 9. OO-Cory Flamm[7]; 10. 28K-Chris Kircher[24]; 11. (DNF) 8D-Darek Wiss[9]; 12. (DNF) 27D-Derek Henson[3]; 13. (DNF) 2-Colton Bourland[1]; 14. (DNF) 25-Brian Schutt[12]; 15. (DNF) 85-Nicholas Fritch[5]; 16. (DNF) 89-Josh Harris[14]; 17. (DNF) 53-Danny O'Neal[20]; 18. (DNF) 35-Johnny Coats[17]; 19. (DNF) 77-Jeff Douty[18]; 20. (DNF) 112-Kevin Brown[19]; 21. (DNF) 1J-Josh Jones[16]; 22. (DNF) 2A-Ace O'Neill[21]; 23. (DNS) 73-Francisco Escamila; 24. (DNS) 89P-Ray Pitts

Heat 1 - 1. 2-Colton Bourland[4]; 2. 11-Derek Brown[6]; 3. 27D-Derek Henson[8]; 4. 26M-Donnie Miller[7]; 5. 69C-Caleb Brown[5]; 6. 35-Johnny Coats[2]; 7. 77-Jeff Douty[1]; 8. 53-Danny O'Neal[3]

Heat 2 - 1. 69-Brian Brown[1]; 2. 21W-Ted Welschmeyer[3]; 3. 4G-Gary Clark[5]; 4. 25-Brian Schutt[2]; 5. 04-Blaine Ewing[6]; 6. 1J-Josh Jones[8]; 7. 112-Kevin Brown[7]; 8. 2A-Ace O'Neill[4]

Heat 3 - 1. 85-Nicholas Fritch[1]; 2. OO-Cory Flamm[3]; 3. 164-Michael Muskrat[4]; 4. 8D-Darek Wiss[8]; 5. 89-Josh Harris[6]; 6. (DNF) 73-Francisco Escamila[2]; 7. (DNF) 89P-Ray Pitts[7]; 8. (DNS) 28K-Chris Kircher

Next up: Big Adventure RV Weekly Championship Series action resumes next Saturday, June 22 for the annual Ozarks Food Harvest Food Drive Night at the Races. Fans bringing four non-perishable food items will receive free admission as the O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars headline the action with a 25-lap, $750-to-win feature.

The Hermitage Lumber POWRi Late Models, Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds and Clear Creek Golf Car USRA B-Mods also will be in action. Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.

For ticket information on any Lucas Oil Speedway event, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or via email at nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com.