BELLEVILLE, Kan. – John Anderson put his experience behind the wheel of a Late Model at the Belleville High Banks to good use Saturday night as he drove his #18 Shop Quik Convenience Stores Modified to a victory in the championship main event of the RevHoney Energy Belleville 100.
The 2008 MLRA Late Model Series champion took the lead away from Jared Landers on lap 17, and then led the remaining 23 laps to score the win and pocket the $10,000 top prize.
Anderson sat on the pole for Saturday’s finale that feature a three-wide start, but Landers was able to snatch the lead away at the drop of the green flag. While the field was able to complete the first lap without incident, the yellow flag waved the next time around for Brandon Blochlinger when he scraped the outside guardrail in turn 3.
It proved to be the only caution flag of the contest, which gave the Belleville High Banks audience a thrilling battle from start to finish that saw the leaders weave their way through heavy lapped traffic throughout the contest.
With Landers leading the field in the early going, Anderson stayed within striking distance while he fought to keep Tim Donlinger behind him in third. But as the leaders neared the lap 20 halfway point, Anderson began to increase the gap over Donlinger and shrink the distance between himself and Landers.
On lap 15, lapped traffic on the high side of the track slowed Landers’ momentum and gave Anderson the opening on the low side to power into the lead.
On lap 20, the red flag was displayed for a scheduled 10-minute pit stop on the front-stretch to let the RevHoney Energy Belleville 100 fans watch the drivers and their crews change tires, add fuel and make other adjustments for the final 20-lap sprint to the checkered flag.
Anderson led his chasers to the green flag to start the second segment with Landers, Donlinger, Jason Teague and Ryan Gustin making up the top-5 in the running order.
When not having to change their lines to work around lapped cars, Anderson dove low into the corners and allowed his car to drift up to grab the cushion while Landers utilized a rim-riding approach to maneuver around the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile Dirt Track.”
Despite two unique approaches to getting around the Belleville High Banks, the pair stayed within a few car-lengths of each other for the duration of the final 20-lap shootout.
With the white flag waving, Anderson encountered three lapped cars having their own battle for position, which allowed Landers to close up on his bumper as the two exited the second turn. Anderson shot to the low side of the racing surface going into turn 3 while Landers chewed away at what was left of the cushion.
With his fist in the air, Anderson crossed the finish line about three car-lengths ahead of Landers, who was unable to complete the weekend sweep after winning Friday night’s preliminary feature.
Not too far behind them, Donlinger and Gustin raced virtually side by side for nearly 20 orbits, with Gustin finally shutting the door with four laps to go to take home the third-place paycheck. Behind Donlinger, Teague finished fifth for the second straight night, with Grant Junghans trailing him at the line in sixth.
Jeremy Rasmussen earned the “hard charger” honors in racing from 18 on the starting grid to a seventh-place finish at the finish line. John Allen came into the event as the odds-on favorite based on his string of recent success at Belleville, but the veteran from nearby Chanute, Kan., struggled with an ill-handling racecar and wound up eighth.
Andy Wilkinson passed 10 cars in 40 laps to finish ninth while Jon Thompson rebounded from his violent flip on Friday night to round out the top-10 finishers in Saturday’s finale.
More information about the RevHoney Energy Belleville 100 can be found at www.belleville100.com online.
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OFFICIAL RESULTS
RevHoney Energy Belleville 100
Modifieds on the High Banks
Belleville High Banks, Belleville, Kan.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver and hometown.
HEAT #1 (8 laps):
1 (4) 66h Kyle Bronson, Bronson, Fla.
2 (2) 1m Cody Gearhart, Turpin, Okla.
3. (8) 1f Jason Friesen, Sutton, Neb.
4. (10) 5 Rick Germar, Red Oak, Iowa.
5. (5) 55 Tyler Frye, Belleville, Kan.
6. (3) 01 Ed Putman, Esbon, Kan.
7. (9) 55 Larry Hall, Rochester, Minn.
8. (6) 75 Garry Hall, Rochester, Minn.
9. (1) 16t Todd Ligenza, Columbus, Neb.
10. (7) 81 Garfield Lopez, Elizabeth, Colo.
11. (11) M15 Michael Martin, Dodge City, Kan.
HEAT #2 (8 laps):
1. (6) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (3) 9d8 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan.
3. (4) 31j Jeremy Rasmussen, Bella Vista, Ark.
4. (11) 75 Jon Thompson, Superior, Neb.
5. (5) 2k Darrick Klima, Belleville, Kan.
6. (9) 15 Andy Wilkinson, York, Neb.
7. (2) 17 Brett Behrends, Webber, Kan.
8. (7) 112 Jim Armstrong, Liberal, Kan.
9. (8) 26 Scott Styskal, David City, Neb.
10. (1) 92 Delbert Smith, Wichita, Kan.
11. (10) 111 Danny Bradford, Farmington, N.M.
HEAT #3 (8 laps):
1. (4) 18 John Anderson, Omaha, Neb.
2. (1) 777 Jared Landers, Batesville, Ark.
3. (2) 4r Tim Donlinger, Rochester, Minn.
4. (3) 98 John Allen, Chanute, Kan.
5. (5) 117 Jason Teague, Tahlequah, Okla.
6. (8) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
7. (6) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
8. (9) 3g Clint Gilmore, Chapman, Kan.
9. (7) 9 Brandon Blochlinger, Concordia, Kan.
10. (10) 65 Greg Sharpe, Commerce City, Colo.
Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown and chassis/engine builder.
“A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (1) 18 John Anderson, Omaha, Neb., Hughes/Mullins.
2. (2) 777 Jared Landers, Batesville, Ark., Shaw/ECR.
3. (11) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins.
4. (3) 4r Tim Donlinger, Rochester, Minn., Ramirez/ProPower.
5. (5) 117 Jason Teague, Tahlequah, Okla., Hughes/BMS.
6. (7) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., Hughes/ProPower.
7. (18) 31j Jeremy Rasmussen, Bella Vista, Ark., TRE/Donrich.
8. (4) 98 John Allen, Chanute, Kan., Hughes/Mullins.
9. (19) 15 Andy Wilkinson, York, Neb., BMS/Donrich.
10. (14) 75 Jon Thompson, Superior, Neb., Kraft/Smith.
11. (15) 9d8 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan., BillsBuilt/Allen’s.
12. (6) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., GRT/Buzzard.
13. (17) 1m Cody Gearhart, Turpin, Okla., Shaw/A&E.
14. (25) 26 Scott Styskal, David City, Neb., Razor/Jacobs.
15. (12) 66h Kyle Bronson, Tampa, Fla., Shaw/Mullins.
16. (21) 17 Brent Behrends, Webber, Kan., BMS/Tietjen.
17. (28) 111 Danny Bradford, Farmington, N.M., BRC/BRE.
18. (16) 5 Rick Germar, Red Oak, Iowa, Warrior/Cramer.
19. (23) 112 Jim Armstrong, Liberal, Kan., Hughes/Allen’s.
20. (10) 65 Greg Sharpe, Commerce City, Colo., Sharpe/Sharpe.
21. (27) 92 Delbert Smith, Wichita, Kan., BMS/Phillips.
22. (26) 81 Garfield Lopez, Elizabeth, Colo., BMS/ChevyShed.
23. (24) 16t Todd Ligenza, Columbus, Neb., Jet/Brunkhorst.
24. (22) 75 Garry Hall, Rochester, Minn., Hall/Hall.
25. (13) 1f Jason Friesen, Sutton, Neb., BMS/Spanel.
26. (8) 3g Clint Gilmore, Chapman, Kan., BMS/Phillips.
27. (9) 9 Brandon Blochlinger, Concordia, Kan., BMS/JR.
28. (20) 01 Ed Putman, Esbon, Kan., BMS/Mankato.
Did Not Start: Frye, L. Hall, Klima, Martin.
Lap Leaders: Landers 1-15, Anderson 16-40.
Total Laps Led: Anderson 25, Landers 15.
Margin of Victory: 1.448 seconds.
Jeff Cypers/Ronnie Smith Harvesting Halfway Leader Award: Anderson.
Hard Charger: Rasmussen (started 18th, finished 7th).
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