July 21, 2025 | By Dean Reichel

Jack Wagner victorious on 'Tribute to Bill Utz' Night at Double-X Speedway

CALIFORNIA, Mo.—A special night of racing and remembrance was held at Double X Speedway as fans, families, and competitors gathered for the annual Tribute to Bill Utz and Racing Back to School event. The grandstands were filled with supporters honoring one of Missouri’s most celebrated racing legends, while also helping area students gear up for the upcoming school year with a school supply giveaway.

The evening’s racing action featured 360 Winged Sprint Cars vying for a $3,000 top prize, alongside boosted purses for both B Modified and Super Stock divisions. From green flag to checkers, the night was packed with thrills, tight battles, and heartfelt tributes.

Organized by Tyler Utz, along with the family and friends of the late Bill Utz, the event celebrated the legacy of a man whose name is etched in Midwest racing history. Known as the “Flying Blacksmith,” Bill Utz began his career in 1958 behind the wheel of a 1936 Ford coupe he built himself. A farrier by trade, his hands-on grit and natural talent propelled him to early success on the central Missouri super-modified circuit.
By the 1960s, Utz had become a dominant force, earning Knoxville Raceway championships in 1964 and 1967. His prowess extended to the national stage, winning the IMCA Sprint Car title three times—in 1974, 1975, and again in 1977. After initially retiring in 1980, Utz returned to the track in the 1990s behind the wheel of a 360 sprint car, rekindling the passion that made him a fan favorite. His legendary yellow #56 car, “Ol’ Yeller,” once again thrilled race fans across the region.

Over the course of his remarkable six-decade career, Bill Utz accumulated more than 300 feature wins and 20 track championships, including standout victories at the Missouri State Fairgrounds and Springfield mile. After coming out of “retirement” in the mid 1990’s Utz competed weekly at Double X Speedway, Capital Speedway and State Fair Speedway.

While honoring Utz's incredible contributions to the sport, the night also served a greater community purpose. Thanks to the generosity of the Utz family and event sponsors, school supplies were collected and distributed to local students, making “Racing Back to School” a win for kids and families in the area.

The 360 Winged Sprint Cars were the featured class on this special evening. The first of two heat races saw Colton Fisher of Danville Iowa take a liking to Double X winning the heat in a convincing fashion. Samuel Wagner crossed in second, Josh Fisher third, Tom Curran fourth, Blake Bowers fifth and Taylor Walton Sixth. Heat two saw Randy Martin and Tyler Blank on the front row. Tyler Blank would leave no doubt as to who was challenging for the win in claiming heat two. Jack Wagner came in second, Randy Martin was third, Daryn Langford fourth, Ben Brown fifth, Chase Porter was sixth, Brogan Carder seventh and Emylee Yoder eighth.

The 360 Winged Sprint Car feature event on the “Tribute to Bill Utz” night was paced by Bill’s famous #56 “Ol’ Yeller”. Colton Fischer and Tyler Blank brought the field to the green flag with Fisher moving quickly out to a ten car length lead while Blank was battling with Jack Wagner for second. A lap three caution brought the field together behind the fleet #11 of Fisher. On the ensuing restart Blank made a strong bid in turn one but Fisher would hold the lead only to find another caution for the 32D of Daryn Langford in turn four. Blank tried a slider on the restart again but was unable to complete the pass and Fisher again opened up a ¾ straightaway lead over the field. Fisher would maintain this lead as the cushion was being pushed further up the track. A caution after lap eleven closed the field up on the leader again. A strong challenge from Jack Wagner on the restart saw him move into second but a two car tumble by Josh Fisher and Ben Brown brought a red flag to stop the action and reset the lineup. Both Josh Fisher and Brown climbed from their cars but were unable to continue in the event. On this restart Jack Wagner made a strong pass from third to take the lead with Colton Fisher slipping to second and Tyler Blank to third. Wagner would lead the field over Colton Fisher, Blank and hard charging Chase Porter in fourth. Taylor Walton worked his way up to fifth. Wagner kept the yellow #77 on the razor thin cushion over the closing ten laps to seal the victory. Colton Fisher was second, Tyler Blank in third, Chase Porter in fourth and Taylor Walton fifth. The second five included Samuel Wagner in sixth, Blake Bowers in seventh, Randy Martin eighth, Daryn Langford ninth and Brogan Carder in tenth.

One B Modified heat set the field for the evening. Chad Staus was able to withstand the challenges of Adam Hall in taking the win. Colson Kirk was third, Parker Smith fourth, and Tyler Potter fifth. Joshua Ready and Zack Willis completed the field. Chad Staus and Adam Hall brought the B Modified feature to the starting line with Staus moving to the early lead with Colson Kirk moving into second. A lap two caution for a spin in turn two brought a single file restart. Staus would move out with Kirk, Adam Hall and Parker Smith in tow. With Chad Staus keeping the momentum in the middle groove, Kirk and Hall were digging on the bottom side. Kirk would edge alongside the leader but could not complete the pass. The lead duo raced side by side in the closing laps with Hall tight off the rear bumper of the leaders. Kirk was able to make the bottom groove work coming off of turn two as the leader slipped slightly. At the finish it was Kirk, Hall, Staus, Parker Smith and Tyler Potter in the top five. Joshua Ready and Zack Willis completed the field. Fifteen laps of side by side racing gave the fans a real show at Double X.

Two heat races were contested in the Super Stock class. Heat one saw Steve Beach take the victory over Darin Porter, Darek Wiss, Clayton Campbell and Joe Miller. Heat two saw Jody Romig hold off a hard charging Blaine Ewing to secure the win. Ewing was second with Dale Berry, Chris Spalding, Harlan Dowell and Eddie Keeran completing the field. As a result of their heat race victories, Steve Beach and Jody Romig made up the front row for the feature event. With a stacked field lined up behind them the race was on with the drop of the green flag. Romig got the early jump but it was negated by a quick caution for Harlan Dowell in turn one. On the restart another caution for Ryan Shikles slowed the pace. On the third try Jody Romig would emerge as the leader of lap one with Beach, Blaine Ewing and Darin Porter among the many giving chase. The field had settled into a rhythm until a caution at the end of lap seven bunched the field. Dale Berry and Blaine Ewing both went to the pit area on this yellow flag, Berry was able to return to competition. On the restart it was Romig being pressured by Beach and Porter with Porter sweeping from third to first on using the top groove in turns three and four on lap eleven. At the checkered it was Porter, Romig, Beach, Darek Wiss and Chris Spalding in the top five. Harlan Dowell was sixth, Eddie Keeran seventh and Dale Berry was eighth in the running order at the checkered.

With exciting on-track action and a warm sense of community spirit, the Tribute to Bill Utz race night once again reminded fans of what makes Sunday Night Thunder at Double X Speedway a beloved tradition in Central Missouri. Be sure to join us Sunday July 27 for the re-scheduled “Race for Riley and Dylan” tribute race which will feature added purse money for the Super Stock feature and will also include 2 Dashes for Cash in the Super Stocks. For the fans there will be Frisbee tosses, giveaways and many things for the kids in attendance including bicycle giveaways. The following weekend August 3 is the season finale for Double X for 2025. Mother Nature has not been kind to auto racing in the Midwest but we sure appreciate all of our loyal racers and fans for supporting Double X Speedway. Be sure to check for updates on the Double X Speedway Fan Page on Facebook.



Double X Speedway
California, MO

Sunday July 20, 2025

“A Tribute To Bill Utz”

Results

360 Winged Sprint Cars

Feature Event- 1- 77 Jack Wagner, Lone Jack; 2-11 Colton Fisher, Danville, IA;3-75 Tyler Blank, California; 4-2 Chase Porter, St. Joseph; 5-93 Taylor Walton, Odessa; 6-73 Samuel Wagner, Lone Jack; 7-52 Blake Bowers, Knob Noster; 8-14 Randy Martin, California; 9-32D Daryn Langford, Kearney; 10-88 Brogan Carder, Sioux Falls, SD; 11-46 Peyton White, LaMonte; 12-9M Jaden Alexander, Knoxille, IA;13 DNF-7B Ben Brown, Marshall; 14 DNF-9C Josh Fisher, Smithton; 15 DNF-X Tom Curran, Kansas City; 16 DNF-13 Emylee Yoder, Park Hills

Heat 1: 1 Colton Fisher; 2 Samuel Wagner; 3 Josh Fisher; ; 4 Tom Curran; 5 Blake Bowers; 6 Taylor Walton; 7 Peyton White; 8 Jaden Alexander
Heat 2: 1 Tyler Blank; 2 Jack Wagner; 3 Randy Martin; 4 Daryn Langford; 5 Ben Brown; 6 Chase Porter; 7 Brogan Carder; 8 Emylee Yoder


Super Stocks

Feature Event- 1-21 Darin Porter, California; 2-12 Jody Romig, Syracuse; 3-10 Steve Beach, Eldon; 4-10R Darek Wiss, Centralia; 5-29S Chris Spalding, Montgomery City; 6-29D Harlan Dowell, Tipton; 7-87 Eddie Keeran, California; 8-05 Dale Berry, Tuscumbia; 9 DNF-43 Ryan Shikles, Enon; 10 DNF-30C Clayton Campbell, Otterville; 11DNF-04 Blaine Ewing, Green Ridge; 12 DNF-409 Joe Miller, Centertown; 13 DNS-83 Dusty See, Eldon

Heat 1: 1 Steve Beach; 2 Darin Porter; 3 Darek Wiss, Centralia; 4 Clayton Campbell; 5 Joe Miller; 6 Ryan Shikles; 7 Dusty See
Heat 2:  1 Jody Romig; 2 Blaine Ewing; 3 Dale Berry; 4 Chris Spalding; 5 Harlan Dowell; 6 Eddie Keeran


B Modifieds

Feature Event-  1 -55 Colson Kirk, Urbana; 2-574 Adam Hall, Columbia; 3-C3 Chad Staus, Otterville; 4-12 Parker Smith, Mexico; 5- 94 Tyler Potter, Fulton; 6. 24-Joshua Ready, Fulton; 7. 77 Zack Willis, Macks Creek.

Heat-  1 Chad Staus; 2 Adam Hall; 3 Colson Kirk; 4 Parker Smith; 5 Tyler Potter; 6 Joshua Ready; 7 Zack Willis