September 1, 2024 | By Lyndal Scranton

Jackson's late pass boosts him to victory in Lucas Oil MLRA Ron Jenkins Memorial finale

WHEATLAND, Mo. — Tony Jackson Jr. saved his best for last Saturday night in the 10th annual Lucas Oil MLRA Ron Jenkins Memorial at Lucas Oil Speedway.

The veteran Late Model driver from Lebanon found speed on the high side and rocketed to the lead two laps to go, then held off Dillon McCowan and Gordy Gundaker for the $12,000 victory. The prize included a $2,000 bonus from Mary Jenkins Holt, in memory of Ron Jenkins, original builder of Wheatland Raceway.

Jackson never led - but also was never out of the top three - until the exciting finish when the 2021 Lucas Oil MLRA champ went from third to first seemingly in an instant. It was his third time to win a Ron Jenkins Memorial feature.

"What a race track," an excited Jackson said in victory lane. "Ten thousand is a great pay day and they add an extra two thousand. Great people and a great family. We can't thank them enough. We're blessed to win it."

The race appeared to be McCowan's most of the way. The 20-year-old from nearby Urbana led 35 of the 40 laps, but was unable to finish it off after a lap 32-caution wiped out his tenuous lead and allowed Jackson and Gundaker to close in.

"I'm kind of at a loss for words," McCowan said. "It was a great race. It's not how we wanted to end it. Congrats to them."

Reigning MLRA champion and season points leader Chad Simpson led the first two laps before McCowan used a slider into turns three and four to grab the lead on lap three. Those two quickly opened a 10-car-length margin over third-running Jackson.

As the lead duo battled, Jackson closed in by lap 11 to make it a three-way battle as the front runners closed in on lapped traffic.

By the midway points on lap 20, McCowan had extended his lead to about six car lengths over Simpson with Jackson right behind. The first caution flew at that point as Dustin Walker slowed on the front straightaway.

Before a lap could be completed after the restart, Cole Wells spun in turn three to bring out another caution.

The next restart saw Jackson clear Simpson for second and set his sights on the leader. McCowan fought off sliders on two consecutive laps from Jackson to stay in front and again on lap 26.

McCowan was able to build his lead back to five car lengths by lap 30 with Gundaker getting around Simpson for third. The action ground to a halt on lap 32 when Scott Crigler stopped in turn one to bring out a yellow.

"I sure appreciate Scott Crigler stopping up there and pulling straight off to draw the caution," McCowan said. "But, that's the way it happens."

With an eight-lap sprint to the finish, McCowan had a clean restart as Gundaker drove past Jackson on the low side where he soon was putting pressure on the leader.

But just when it appeared McCowan and Gundaker would battle for the win, Jackson steered to the high groove and whipped around both of them coming off turn two on lap 38.

"I was too tight to roll around the bottom," Jackson said. "I seen Dillon's stick guy telling him to get down and block Gordy and that's all I needed."

Jackson took it to the checkers from there for his 16th career MLRA win, denying McCowan his first MLRA victory by 1.043 seconds. Gundaker was third with Simpson fourth Jon Kirby fifth.

Jackson installed a new motor into this Longhorn chassis on Friday before Night One of the two-day program and, despite a poor qualifying time, rallied from deep in the field to finish third in the main event.

"We were absolutely terrible when we unloaded yesterday," Jackson said. "We qualified dead last. I wore Vinny’s phone out today, he is the man. I want to thank my wife and my little girl, Rob, Casey, Jayko, the Willards."

McCowan bounced back from an even-more forgettable Friday. He was involved in a first-lap incident, not of his own making, and finished 28th with his car too damaged to complete a lap.

"I'm excited to be standing on the front stretch after the runs we've had and getting taken out last night. I'm excited to get back and hopefully next time we can get some redemption," McCowan said, looking ahead to three more visits to Lucas Oil Speedway by the MLRA this season. "Hopefully we can do some good when we come back."

The seventh-starting Gundaker said he felt he was in an ideal position, but things didn't work out.

"That last restart I think that I was probably the better car of the three of us," Gundaker said. "I could run around the bottom better than those guys could. His stick guy probably moved him down. Hopefully we can get rid of stick guys and put it in the drivers' hands, but it's all good.

"Me and Tony had a hell of a race there, racing for second. It feels good to get on the podium after we struggled last night."

Chad Simpson came home in fourth and stretched his series lead to an unofficial 110 points over Jackson, Gundaker and brother Chris Simpson who all are tied.

Chris Simpson, the Friday-night feature winner, lost power during the parade laps and was unable to start. He was set to begin fourth and entered the night just 15 points behind his brother in the points chase.

McCowan had fast overall qualifying lap, at 16.242 seconds, to earn a $500 bonus courtesy of Mary Jenkins Holt, again in Ron Jenkins' memory.

The Lucas Oil MLRA wraps a three-race weekend swing on Sunday night at Moberly Raceway Park with a $10,000-to-win feature.

Stovall leads all the way for USRA Modifieds win: Veteran Jesse Stovall of Billings led wire-to-wire to beat Lucas Gibbs for the Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modified win.

Stovall started on the outside of row one and opened a one-second lead over Lucas Gibbs after five laps. Those two opened a large gap back to third-place Nathan Hagar by the halfway mark on lap 10.

Gibbs closed in on Stovall as the duo navigated lapped traffic, but the former Late Model driver was able to maintain the lead as action remained green at just under a second until lap 15 when Greg Scheffler took a spin in turn four.

Stovall rode the high groove after the restart and went on to prevail over Gibbs by 1.1 seconds. Henry Chambers was third, Paden Phillips fourth and Jeff Cutshaw fifth.

"This is just a surreal and awesome feeling to be standing here again after several years," said Stovall, who scored his last win at Lucas Oil Speedway since 2019. He's driven a limited schedule of late as he's making a driving comeback after a concussion in his Late Model in 2017 limited his schedule.

"I give all the Glory to God," Stovall added. "I've struggled for a long time trying to get myself right, where I could come out and do this again. The sport I love, it's just an awesome sport."

Williams repeats in USRA B-Mods: Bobby Williams of Hermitage made it back-to-back wins in the Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods, holding off Mitchell Franklin for the victory.

Williams led all 20 laps for his second win of the season at Lucas Oil Speedway and 11th overall in 2024. He started fourth and got around front-row starter Franklin in the early going.

"This is a lot better than some of the weekends I've had here, for sure," Williams said with a laugh, when asked about his sweep. "Me and Mitchell had a pretty good battle going on there for a little bit. He gave me just enough room to throw a slider on him and it worked out in my favor. I like racing with Mitchell, me and him always race real hard."

Logan Smith came home in third with Kerry Davis fourth and Kenny Nutter fifth.

Wiles captures SMVR triumph: Andy Wiles of Erie, Kan., rolled to victory in the Show-Me Vintage Racing Series feature, coming from deep in the pack.

The 11th-starting Wiles quickly advanced and had the lead by lap three, taking it from pole-starting Gary Proskocil. Wiles had a four-second command by lap eight and was making his way through lapped traffic.

The race continued caution-free until lap 13, just two from the finish, and Wiles had a whopping 8.2-second lead over Bob Werkmeister when the yellow came out for a one-car spin.

Wiles had a good restart and went on to finish off his second victory at Lucas Oil Speedway, beating Jim Thorne by 1.1 seconds. Werkmeister finished third with Brandon Jordan fourth and Bill Berens fifth.

“I’m having a great time and I’m having one of my best years,” Wiles said. “This is three out of five I’ve won (at Lucas Oil Speedway). Last night I hit a tire and it made it hard for me to steer. All I’ve got to say is I love this place. Tonight, we’re partying.”


LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (Aug. 31, 2024)

10th annual Ron Jenkins Memorial Presented by Rugged Radios

Lucas Oil MLRA Late Models

A Feature - 1. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[4]; 2. 8-Dillon McCowan[2]; 3. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[7]; 4. 25-Chad Simpson[1]; 5. 11JK-Jon Kirby[6]; 6. 93-Mason Oberkramer[18]; 7. 3W-Brennon Willard[13]; 8. 33F-Rickey Frankel[5]; 9. 11-Jeff Herzog[10]; 10. 128-Kylan Garner[21]; 11. 78S-Steve Stultz[14]; 12. 14W-Dustin Walker[22]; 13. 7D-Dusty Leonard[9]; 14. (DNF) 11T-Trevor Gundaker[20]; 15. (DNF) 12C-Scott Crigler[17]; 16. (DNF) 15L-Payton Looney[19]; 17. (DNF) 22H-Dustin Hodges[11]; 18. (DNF) 7J-Ryan Johnson[8]; 19. (DNF) 21M-Billy Moyer Sr[15]; 20. (DNF) 7W-Cole Wells[12]; 21. (DNF) 1XM-Aaron Marrant[16]; 22. (DNF) 19L-Thomas Langley[23]; 23. (DNF) 11SJ-Steve Johnson[24]; 24. (DNF) 32-Chris Simpson[3]

Fast Shafts B Feature - 1. 12C-Scott Crigler[8]; 2. 93-Mason Oberkramer[3]; 3. 15L-Payton Looney[9]; 4. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[5]; 5. 128-Kylan Garner[1]; 6. 14W-Dustin Walker[13]; 7. 19L-Thomas Langley[4]; 8. 11SJ-Steve Johnson[12]; 9. 1/4-Jaxon Ertel[6]; 10. (DNF) 15T-Tyler Kuykendall[11]; 11. (DNF) 11K-Shannon Kuhn[10]; 12. (DNF) 1AU-Joe Chalmers[7]; 13. (DNF) 67-Jimmy Vanzandt[2]

Flo Sports Heat 1 - 1. 25-Chad Simpson[1]; 2. 33F-Rickey Frankel[3]; 3. 7D-Dusty Leonard[2]; 4. 3W-Brennon Willard[4]; 5. 128-Kylan Garner[6]; 6. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[5]; 7. 15L-Payton Looney[7]; 8. 14W-Dustin Walker[8]

Simpson Equipment Heat 2 - 1. 32-Chris Simpson[2]; 2. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[4]; 3. 22H-Dustin Hodges[1]; 4. 21M-Billy Moyer Sr[5]; 5. 93-Mason Oberkramer[6]; 6. 1AU-Joe Chalmers[3]; 7. (DNF) 15T-Tyler Kuykendall[7]

Earnhardt Technologies Heat 3 - 1. 8-Dillon McCowan[1]; 2. 11JK-Jon Kirby[3]; 3. 11-Jeff Herzog[2]; 4. 78S-Steve Stultz[4]; 5. 67-Jimmy Vanzandt[7]; 6. 1/4-Jaxon Ertel[6]; 7. (DNF) 11K-Shannon Kuhn[5]

Lucas Oil Heat 4 - 1. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[2]; 2. 7J-Ryan Johnson[1]; 3. 7W-Cole Wells[5]; 4. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[3]; 5. 19L-Thomas Langley[6]; 6. 12C-Scott Crigler[4]; 7. 11SJ-Steve Johnson[7]

Qualifying Group A - 1. 25-Chad Simpson, 00:16.292[13]; 2. 22H-Dustin Hodges, 00:16.407[10]; 3. 7D-Dusty Leonard, 00:16.483[15]; 4. 32-Chris Simpson, 00:16.527[8]; 5. 33F-Rickey Frankel, 00:16.554[2]; 6. 1AU-Joe Chalmers, 00:16.672[1]; 7. 3W-Brennon Willard, 00:16.696[9]; 8. 11G-Gordy Gundaker, 00:16.710[4]; 9. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 00:16.773[7]; 10. 21M-Billy Moyer Sr, 00:16.803[5]; 11. 128-Kylan Garner, 00:16.849[6]; 12. 93-Mason Oberkramer, 00:16.876[12]; 13. 15L-Payton Looney, 00:16.966[11]; 14. 15T-Tyler Kuykendall, 00:17.042[14]; 15. 14W-Dustin Walker, 00:17.071[3]

Qualifying Group B - 1. 8-Dillon McCowan, 00:16.242[2]; 2. 7J-Ryan Johnson, 00:16.327[12]; 3. 11-Jeff Herzog, 00:16.330[9]; 4. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr, 00:16.415[10]; 5. 11JK-Jon Kirby, 00:16.479[14]; 6. 1XM-Aaron Marrant, 00:16.586[3]; 7. 78S-Steve Stultz, 00:16.708[13]; 8. 12C-Scott Crigler, 00:16.827[6]; 9. 11K-Shannon Kuhn, 00:16.880[11]; 10. 7W-Cole Wells, 00:16.898[5]; 11. 1/4-Jaxon Ertel, 00:17.040[8]; 12. 19L-Thomas Langley, 00:17.140[4]; 13. 67-Jimmy Vanzandt, 00:17.349[7]; 14. 11SJ-Steve Johnson, 00:17.448[1]


Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds

A Feature - 1. 00-Jesse Stovall[2]; 2. 151-Lucas Gibbs[5]; 3. 17-Henry Chambers[8]; 4. 127-Paden Phillips[3]; 5. 98-Jeff Cutshaw[7]; 6. 55-Nathan Hagar[1]; 7. 68-Dean Wille[16]; 8. 38C-Jason Pursley[6]; 9. 21M-Ryan Middaugh[10]; 10. 10P-Dayton Pursley[15]; 11. 98K-Kenton Allen[12]; 12. 00S-Chris Spalding[9]; 13. 30-Dalton Kirk[17]; 14. 21-Greg Scheffler[11]; 15. 21P-Jacob Potter[19]; 16. 9*-Troy Martin Jr[22]; 17. (DNF) 24D-Donnie Fellers[13]; 18. (DNF) 88-Jimmy Dowell[14]; 19. (DNF) 76-Shawn Knuckles[21]; 20. (DNF) 7D7-Kyle Covert[20]; 21. (DNF) 21W-Tracy Wolf[4]; 22. (DNF) 03-Jason Sivils[18]; 23. (DNF) 17S-Mike Striegel[23]

Heat 1 - 1. 55-Nathan Hagar[4]; 2. 21W-Tracy Wolf[5]; 3. 38C-Jason Pursley[8]; 4. 21-Greg Scheffler[2]; 5. 24D-Donnie Fellers[7]; 6. 30-Dalton Kirk[6]; 7. 21P-Jacob Potter[1]; 8. (DNF) 9*-Troy Martin Jr[3]

Heat 2 - 1. 00-Jesse Stovall[3]; 2. 151-Lucas Gibbs[5]; 3. 17-Henry Chambers[1]; 4. 98K-Kenton Allen[4]; 5. 88-Jimmy Dowell[2]; 6. 03-Jason Sivils[6]; 7. 7D7-Kyle Covert[7]

Heat 3 - 1. 127-Paden Phillips[2]; 2. 98-Jeff Cutshaw[4]; 3. 00S-Chris Spalding[3]; 4. 21M-Ryan Middaugh[6]; 5. 10P-Dayton Pursley[5]; 6. 68-Dean Wille[7]; 7. 76-Shawn Knuckles[8]; 8. (DQ) 17S-Mike Striegel[1]


Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods

A Feature - 1. 1B-Bobby Williams[4]; 2. F1-Mitchell Franklin[2]; 3. 11L-Logan Smith[7]; 4. 68-Kerry Davis[10]; 5. 23N-Kenny Nutter[8]; 6. 2-Jordan Jones[11]; 7. 03-Chase Jones[1]; 8. 65-Trent Wynn[15]; 9. 7-Kynsey Collins[6]; 10. 27-Jeff Ayres[13]; 11. 24L-Dakota Lowe[5]; 12. 4-Kenson Martin[19]; 13. 15-Nick Drew[17]; 14. 46-Brice Gotschall[14]; 15. 18C-Carter Harrison[16]; 16. 668-Hunter Stutesmun[18]; 17. 0-Blake Wimmer[20]; 18. 11S-Colby Carter[23]; 19. (DNF) 22-Chase Hubbard[22]; 20. (DNF) 19-Tanner Kade[3]; 21. (DNF) 76-KC Mullin[12]; 22. (DNF) 83R-Ryan Smythe[24]; 23. (DNF) 5-Stratton McGhee[21]; 24. (DNF) 60-Michael Maggard[9]

B Feature - 1. 15-Nick Drew[8]; 2. 668-Hunter Stutesmun[5]; 3. 4-Kenson Martin[12]; 4. 0-Blake Wimmer[3]; 5. 5-Stratton McGhee[6]; 6. 22-Chase Hubbard[13]; 7. 11S-Colby Carter[14]; 8. 83R-Ryan Smythe[10]; 9. 56M-James Moore[15]; 10. 86R-Trent Rodgers[11]; 11. (DNF) 36R-Ryan Smith[4]; 12. (DNF) 28-Shane Creech[2]; 13. (DNF) 77-Jeremy Hazel[9]; 14. (DNS) 7-Joshua Christian; 15. (DNS) 1ONE-Chet Buckley; 16. (DNS) 6T-Austin Tredway; 17. (DQ) 94-Tyler Potter[7]

Heat 1 - 1. 24L-Dakota Lowe[1]; 2. 23N-Kenny Nutter[3]; 3. 60-Michael Maggard[6]; 4. 46-Brice Gotschall[5]; 5. 28-Shane Creech[2]; 6. 94-Tyler Potter[4]; 7. 77-Jeremy Hazel[8]; 8. (DNF) 56M-James Moore[7]; 9. (DNS) 6T-Austin Tredway

Heat 2 - 1. 1B-Bobby Williams[2]; 2. 68-Kerry Davis[1]; 3. 11L-Logan Smith[7]; 4. 76-KC Mullin[8]; 5. 0-Blake Wimmer[4]; 6. 15-Nick Drew[5]; 7. 4-Kenson Martin[3]; 8. 11S-Colby Carter[6]

Heat 3 - 1. 03-Chase Jones[6]; 2. 19-Tanner Kade[8]; 3. 27-Jeff Ayres[3]; 4. 7-Joshua Christian[4]; 5. 36R-Ryan Smith[5]; 6. 5-Stratton McGhee[1]; 7. 83R-Ryan Smythe[2]; 8. (DNS) 1ONE-Chet Buckley


Show-Me Vintage Racers

A Feature - 1. 51-Andy Wiles[11]; 2. 113-Jim Thorne[18]; 3. 32W-Bob Werkmeister[14]; 4. 2 D-Brandon Jordan[27]; 5. 35-BILL BERENS[5]; 6. 74-Rodney Ashworth[21]; 7. 58T-Jeff Triggs[4]; 8. 5-Ken Brown[20]; 9. 58-John Martin[16]; 10. 14-Mickie Cook[8]; 11. 76-Kevin Prall[19]; 12. 88-Beth Martin[9]; 13. 9D-Bryant Moyer[6]; 14. 42-Rob Brash[25]; 15. 8X-Gary Proskocil[1]; 16. 98-Patrick Adamy[3]; 17. 99-Jim Siewert[10]; 18. 25T-Tim Wies[28]; 19. 3-Eddie Neil[22]; 20. 1-Angela Ashworth[26]; 21. (DNF) 71-Mike Lawless[7]; 22. (DNF) 44-Terry Price[2]; 23. (DNF) 2B-Brian Cox[15]; 24. (DNF) 09D-Chad Eickleberry[17]; 25. (DNS) 9-Dan Schmidt; 26. (DNS) 711-Darrell Doerr; 27. (DNS) C2-Daniel Schmidt; 28. (DNS) 66-David Isaacs

Heat 1 - 1. 51-Andy Wiles[5]; 2. 58-John Martin[9]; 3. 2B-Brian Cox[8]; 4. 32W-Bob Werkmeister[7]; 5. 9D-Bryant Moyer[1]; 6. 14-Mickie Cook[3]; 7. (DNF) 71-Mike Lawless[2]; 8. (DNF) 88-Beth Martin[4]; 9. (DNF) 9-Dan Schmidt[6]

Heat 2 - 1. 09D-Chad Eickleberry[1]; 2. 3-Eddie Neil[4]; 3. 113-Jim Thorne[2]; 4. 2 D-Brandon Jordan[9]; 5. 66-David Isaacs[5]; 6. 74-Rodney Ashworth[3]; 7. 42-Rob Brash[6]; 8. 1-Angela Ashworth[8]; 9. (DNF) C2-Daniel Schmidt[7]

Heat 3 - 1. 58T-Jeff Triggs[4]; 2. 35-BILL BERENS[5]; 3. 711-Darrell Doerr[7]; 4. 5-Ken Brown[9]; 5. 8X-Gary Proskocil[1]; 6. 44-Terry Price[2]; 7. 98-Patrick Adamy[3]; 8. 76-Kevin Prall[8]; 9. 99-Jim Siewert[6]; 10. 25T-Tim Wies[10]


Diamond Drag Boat Nationals finals on Lake Lucas: The 14th annual Diamond Drag Boat Nationals conclude on Lake Lucas on Sunday with eliminations leading to the finals. Gates are tentatively scheduled at 9:30 a.m. with racing at 10:30 a.m.

The event will have a $33,200 purse and produced for later airing on MAVTV. Divisions include Top Alcohol Hydro, Pro Outlaw, Pro Mod, Quick Eliminator, Pro Eliminator, Pro Comp Flat, Tom Eliminator, Modified Eliminator, Stock Eliminator and Personal Watercraft.

For more info on the KDBA visit kydragboat.com.


Sunday Drag Boat Admission:

(Includes pit pass)
Ages 6 and up GA - $20
Ages 5 and under - FREE

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

For information about Lucas Oil Speedway, including schedules, point standings and other news, please visit LucasOilSpeedway.com.