December 6, 2024 | By Aaron Clay/FLORacing

Spatola wires Gateway Thursday prelim

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The eighth running of the Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals kicked off Thursday night inside The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis.

Nearly 70 Super Late Model drivers and more than 30 Modified drivers competed in their prelim night in advance of the their respective finales on Saturday.

Staving off a mid-race challenge from Ashton Winger, Mike Spatola of Manhattan, Ill., led all 25 laps to win Thursday's $5,000 Gateway Dirt Nationals opener at The Dome at America's Center in downtown St. Louis.

Spatola sped to his first career victory at the temporary fifth-mile by 1.359 seconds ahead of Winger, securing his fifth overall victory of the season, all of them coming since Aug. 17.    The top-three , Spatola, Winger and Sheppard, have locked in to Saturday night's $30,000 to win A-Main.


THURSDAY RESULTS

Super Late Models

Velocita A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 89-Mike Spatola[1]; 2. 12W-Ashton Winger[2]; 3. B5-Brandon Sheppard[5]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 5. J8-Jadon Frame[3]; 6. C6-Oakley Johns[10]; 7. 20-Jimmy Owens[14]; 8. 45-Kyle Hammer[6]; 9. 28-Tyler Carpenter[8]; 10. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[7]; 11. 18-Shannon Babb[9]; 12. 49-Jonathan Davenport[12]; 13. 32S-Chris Simpson[13]; 14. 25-Jason Feger[16]; 15. 10-Joseph Joiner[11]; 16. 8L-Jeffrey Ledford[18]; 17. 121-Jon Mitchell[17]; 18. (DNF) 27-Rodney Melvin[15]

Mittler Brothers Machine B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 32S-Chris Simpson[1]; 2. 27-Rodney Melvin[2]; 3. 121-Jon Mitchell[5]; 4. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[3]; 5. 81R-Jason Riggs[6]; 6. 74-Mike Franklin[4]; 7. 34-Chad Wallace[9]; 8. C66-Donald Johns[7]; 9. 11-Lance Brasington[11]; 10. 32F-Derek Fetter[10]; 11. (DNF) 93-Zak Blackwood[8]; 12. (DNF) 14-Quentin White[12]

Wilwood Racing B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 2. 25-Jason Feger[3]; 3. 8L-Jeffrey Ledford[1]; 4. 4G-Bob Gardner[4]; 5. 14JR-Michael King Jr[9]; 6. 4S-Ryan Montgomery[7]; 7. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[11]; 8. 21B-Rich Bell[12]; 9. 17-Todd Rehg[6]; 10. 16-Rusty Griffaw[10]; 11. 19J-Justin Green[8]; 12. (DNF) J0-John Ownbey[5]

MatMan Designs Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 45-Kyle Hammer[4]; 2. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[3]; 3. 32S-Chris Simpson[5]; 4. 74-Mike Franklin[7]; 5. C66-Donald Johns[9]; 6. 32F-Derek Fetter[6]; 7. 11C-Rachel Carpenter[11]; 8. 4E-Scott Geaschel[10]; 9. (DNF) 78-Chad Zobrist[2]; 10. (DNF) 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 11. (DNF) 41M-Matt Menzie[8]

National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[1]; 2. 18-Shannon Babb[3]; 3. 27-Rodney Melvin[4]; 4. 121-Jon Mitchell[2]; 5. 93-Zak Blackwood[5]; 6. 11-Lance Brasington[6]; 7. 22-Bree Whittmore[10]; 8. 57H-Nathan Higginbotham[8]; 9. (DNF) 1S-Daniel Shelton[9]; 10. (DNF) 14X-Wil Herrington[7]; 11. (DNF) H1-Steve Hewitt Sr[11]

Abilene Race Rads Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 89-Mike Spatola[1]; 2. 10-Joseph Joiner[2]; 3. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[4]; 4. 81R-Jason Riggs[5]; 5. 34-Chad Wallace[3]; 6. 14-Quentin White[7]; 7. 7D-Austin Theiss[6]; 8. 122-Timmy Dick[10]; 9. (DNF) 21-Will Harris[9]; 10. (DNF) 18S-Robbie Scott[8]; 11. (DNF) 25J-Ted Johnson Jr[11]

FK Rod Ends Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 2. 28-Tyler Carpenter[1]; 3. 8L-Jeffrey Ledford[3]; 4. 4G-Bob Gardner[4]; 5. 4S-Ryan Montgomery[7]; 6. 16-Rusty Griffaw[5]; 7. 41-Casey White[6]; 8. 10M-Jacob Magee[8]; 9. 25P-Mike Petersilie[10]; 10. (DNF) 81-Daniel Garrett[9]; 11. (DNF) 44-James O'Hara[11]

Superior Glass Mirror Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. J8-Jadon Frame[1]; 2. C6-Oakley Johns[6]; 3. 20-Jimmy Owens[4]; 4. J0-John Ownbey[5]; 5. 19J-Justin Green[3]; 6. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[2]; 7. 77-William Rose[10]; 8. 1M-Blake Morris[9]; 9. 55-Benji Hicks[8]; 10. (DNF) 75D-Patrik Daniel[7]; 11. (DNS) M14-David Marlow

Deatherage Opticians Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 12W-Ashton Winger[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 3. 25-Jason Feger[2]; 4. 17-Todd Rehg[5]; 5. 14JR-Michael King Jr[4]; 6. 21B-Rich Bell[9]; 7. 12-Devon Morgan[11]; 8. 28K-Tate O'Leary[8]; 9. (DNF) 1-Tyler Erb[7]; 10. (DNF) 18D-David Seibers[6]; 11. (DNF) 69-Doug Cooper[10]

Twisted Tech Qualifying A: 1. 76-Brandon Overton, 00:12.399[14]; 2. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 00:12.411[7]; 3. 89-Mike Spatola, 00:12.455[10]; 4. 78-Chad Zobrist, 00:12.468[15]; 5. 121-Jon Mitchell, 00:12.506[9]; 6. 10-Joseph Joiner, 00:12.512[23]; 7. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 00:12.617[13]; 8. 18-Shannon Babb, 00:12.654[21]; 9. 34-Chad Wallace, 00:12.874[12]; 10. 45-Kyle Hammer, 00:12.907[11]; 11. 27-Rodney Melvin, 00:12.918[3]; 12. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr, 00:13.052[5]; 13. 32S-Chris Simpson, 00:13.077[4]; 14. 93-Zak Blackwood, 00:13.096[1]; 15. 81R-Jason Riggs, 00:13.110[25]; 16. 32F-Derek Fetter, 00:13.214[18]; 17. 11-Lance Brasington, 00:13.297[16]; 18. 7D-Austin Theiss, 00:13.313[17]; 19. 74-Mike Franklin, 00:13.330[6]; 20. 14X-Wil Herrington, 00:13.342[32]; 21. 14-Quentin White, 00:13.409[19]; 22. 41M-Matt Menzie, 00:13.412[20]; 23. 57H-Nathan Higginbotham, 00:13.425[8]; 24. 18S-Robbie Scott, 00:13.481[28]; 25. C66-Donald Johns, 00:13.522[33]; 26. 1S-Daniel Shelton, 00:13.645[30]; 27. 21-Will Harris, 00:13.707[27]; 28. 4E-Scott Geaschel, 00:13.709[24]; 29. 22-Bree Whittmore, 00:13.718[26]; 30. 122-Timmy Dick, 00:13.787[29]; 31. 11C-Rachel Carpenter, 00:13.849[31]; 32. H1-Steve Hewitt Sr, 00:13.916[2]; 33. (DNF) 25J-Ted Johnson Jr, 00:13.916[22]

Twisted Tech Qualifying B: 1. 28-Tyler Carpenter, 00:12.956[29]; 2. J8-Jadon Frame, 00:13.012[19]; 3. 12W-Ashton Winger, 00:13.095[9]; 4. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 00:13.177[18]; 5. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain, 00:13.180[3]; 6. 25-Jason Feger, 00:13.228[15]; 7. 8L-Jeffrey Ledford, 00:13.250[27]; 8. 19J-Justin Green, 00:13.256[5]; 9. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 00:13.273[12]; 10. 4G-Bob Gardner, 00:13.304[31]; 11. 20-Jimmy Owens, 00:13.305[16]; 12. 14JR-Michael King Jr, 00:13.309[22]; 13. 16-Rusty Griffaw, 00:13.313[6]; 14. J0-John Ownbey, 00:13.315[24]; 15. 17-Todd Rehg, 00:13.331[26]; 16. 41-Casey White, 00:13.347[8]; 17. C6-Oakley Johns, 00:13.363[10]; 18. 18D-David Seibers, 00:13.379[1]; 19. 4S-Ryan Montgomery, 00:13.445[32]; 20. 75D-Patrik Daniel, 00:13.496[2]; 21. 1-Tyler Erb, 00:13.531[30]; 22. 10M-Jacob Magee, 00:13.542[20]; 23. 55-Benji Hicks, 00:13.683[17]; 24. 28K-Tate O'Leary, 00:13.697[7]; 25. 81-Daniel Garrett, 00:13.749[11]; 26. 1M-Blake Morris, 00:13.758[33]; 27. 21B-Rich Bell, 00:13.759[23]; 28. 25P-Mike Petersilie, 00:13.763[14]; 29. 77-William Rose, 00:13.897[21]; 30. 69-Doug Cooper, 00:14.085[4]; 31. 44-James O'Hara, 00:14.263[25]; 32. (DNF) M14-David Marlow, 00:14.263[28]; 33. (DNF) 12-Devon Morgan, 00:14.263[13]



Modifieds   (32 entries)

Summit Racing Equipment A Feature (20 Laps): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[5]; 2. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[6]; 3. 18L-Michael Long[1]; 4. 5-Drake Troutman[2]; 5. 24H-Mike Harrison[3]; 6. 01-Peyton Taylor[7]; 7. 22A-Austen Becerra[4]; 8. 37L-Michael Ledford[9]; 9. 96M-Mike McKinney[8]; 10. 49-Jake Timm[11]; 11. 45-Chase Holland[13]; 12. 4W-Tyler Wolff[15]; 13. 43LV-Logan Veloz[14]; 14. (DNF) 6X-Zach Johnson[12]; 15. (DNF) J82-Treb Jacoby[18]; 16. (DNF) 15W-Alex Williamson[16]; 17. (DNF) 74M-Manix Furqueron[17]; 18. (DNF) 0-Jake O'Neil[10]

PeeWees Wrecker Service B Feature (8 Laps): 1. 74M-Manix Furqueron[1]; 2. J82-Treb Jacoby[2]; 3. 12-Jason Hughes[11]; 4. 2-Darrell Hoffman[3]; 5. 22-Brandon Copp[13]; 6. 77-Ray Bollinger[5]; 7. 8A-Austin Holcombe[4]; 8. 18-Charlie Mefford[7]; 9. 07X-Troy Morris III[16]; 10. 1-Drake Powell[8]; 11. 7-Clay Money[14]; 12. (DNF) 26-Adam Ogle[6]; 13. (DNF) 99-Tim Luttrell[12]; 14. (DNF) 54-Zach Hawk[10]; 15. (DNF) 33C-Cole Chernosky[9]; 16. (DNS) B75-Braydon Berry

Summit Racing Equipment Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 24H-Mike Harrison[2]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 3. 37L-Michael Ledford[5]; 4. 45-Chase Holland[3]; 5. 74M-Manix Furqueron[4]; 6. 77-Ray Bollinger[6]; 7. 33C-Cole Chernosky[7]; 8. 22-Brandon Copp[8]

Walker Filtration Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 5-Drake Troutman[1]; 2. 01-Peyton Taylor[2]; 3. 49-Jake Timm[6]; 4. 4W-Tyler Wolff[4]; 5. J82-Treb Jacoby[3]; 6. 26-Adam Ogle[7]; 7. 54-Zach Hawk[5]; 8. 7-Clay Money[8]

Dirtcar Lift Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 22A-Austen Becerra[1]; 2. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[2]; 3. 0-Jake O'Neil[4]; 4. 43LV-Logan Veloz[6]; 5. 2-Darrell Hoffman[8]; 6. 18-Charlie Mefford[7]; 7. (DNF) 12-Jason Hughes[3]; 8. (DNF) B75-Braydon Berry[5]

ZAMP Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 18L-Michael Long[2]; 2. 96M-Mike McKinney[6]; 3. 6X-Zach Johnson[1]; 4. 15W-Alex Williamson[5]; 5. 8A-Austin Holcombe[3]; 6. 1-Drake Powell[8]; 7. 99-Tim Luttrell[7]; 8. (DNF) 07X-Troy Morris III[4]

Wehrs Machine Qualifying: 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 00:12.855[7]; 2. 5-Drake Troutman, 00:12.903[6]; 3. 22A-Austen Becerra, 00:13.058[24]; 4. 6X-Zach Johnson, 00:13.085[5]; 5. 24H-Mike Harrison, 00:13.115[11]; 6. 01-Peyton Taylor, 00:13.134[8]; 7. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr, 00:13.143[2]; 8. 18L-Michael Long, 00:13.149[20]; 9. 45-Chase Holland, 00:13.175[13]; 10. J82-Treb Jacoby, 00:13.175[16]; 11. 12-Jason Hughes, 00:13.184[3]; 12. 8A-Austin Holcombe, 00:13.216[14]; 13. 74M-Manix Furqueron, 00:13.218[10]; 14. 4W-Tyler Wolff, 00:13.240[25]; 15. 0-Jake O'Neil, 00:13.257[15]; 16. 07X-Troy Morris III, 00:13.262[18]; 17. 37L-Michael Ledford, 00:13.387[21]; 18. 54-Zach Hawk, 00:13.442[9]; 19. B75-Braydon Berry, 00:13.444[1]; 20. 15W-Alex Williamson, 00:13.479[26]; 21. 77-Ray Bollinger, 00:13.538[27]; 22. 49-Jake Timm, 00:13.541[23]; 23. 43LV-Logan Veloz, 00:13.601[4]; 24. 96M-Mike McKinney, 00:13.612[17]; 25. 33C-Cole Chernosky, 00:13.652[31]; 26. 26-Adam Ogle, 00:13.716[32]; 27. 18-Charlie Mefford, 00:13.865[22]; 28. 99-Tim Luttrell, 00:13.945[29]; 29. 22-Brandon Copp, 00:13.957[28]; 30. 7-Clay Money, 00:13.958[30]; 31. 2-Darrell Hoffman, 00:14.062[19]; 32. 1-Drake Powell, 00:14.079[12]