June 1, 2008
Victor Lee Victorious in O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass “Junebug” Rowland Memorial at Ponderosa

Junction City, KY May 30, 2008- The O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series presented by Graphic Impressions sanctioned the 9th Annual Hugh “Junebug” Rowland Memorial event at the Larry, Chad, and Sarah Yantz promoted Ponderosa Speedway and Victor Lee would become the first driver in Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Super Late Model history to win three straight series events as the Stanford, KY native scored the $3,000 payday in the series sixth event of the 2008 season.        

The win by Lee would be his fourth career series victory, his third in a row with the tour, and his second of the season at Ponderosa Speedway and came aboard the Frank Revel Motorsports owned, Kentucky’s Best/Budda Bert Transmission Sales and Service/Junction City Quick Stop/Tim Logan Racing/Xtreme Style Signs and Graphics/Five Star Food Mart/ADO’s Auto Body sponsored #4 C.J. Rayburn Race Cars, Jay Dickens Race Engines powered machine.  Lee’s winning entry receives product support from Bilstein Shocks, PPM Racing Products, Custom Cams, Dyer’s Top Rods, Real Racing Wheels, and American Racer Tires. 

Tyrel Todd of Science Hill, KY would take runner-up honors in the Todd Truss/Todd Metals sponsored MasterSbilt Race Cars mount, with Mike Marlar of Winfield, TN settling for third in his Fireside Restaurant/Doors-N-More sponsored C.J. Rayburn Race Car entry.  Jeff Watson of Campbellsville would start 19th and finish fourth and be the PPM Racing Products Hard Charger award winner in the Brad Burton Dairy Farms/Watson Plumbing sponsored MasterSbilt Race Car, while Brad Neat of Dunnville, KY would complete the top five in the Kentucky Proud/NWN Distributing MasterSbilt Race Cars machine.

The remainder of the top ten would be Don O’Neal, Dustin Linville, Mike Jewell, David Webb, and Bobby Wolter, Jr.  The event would be 40 laps in length and would be slowed by eight caution flags.    

Eric Wells would take the initial race lead at the start of the 9th Annual Hugh “Junebug” Rowland Memorial event, with Damon Eller, Aaron Hatton, Victor Lee, and Michael Chilton giving chase.  Don O’Neal would bring out the first caution on lap 3 for a spin in turn two.  The restart would see Hatton go to second, with Lee taking third, Chilton going to fourth, and Eller falling back to fifth.  Mike Marlar would take fifth from Eller on lap 4, as caution waved again for a spin by O’Neal with some help in turn two on lap 5.  The attempted restart would also be waved off after Jeff Watson and Joey Daniel looped their mounts in turn one.  On this restart, Lee would take second from Hatton, with Marlar going to fourth and bringing Eller along into fifth.

Marlar would begin to put the pressure on Hatton for third and took the spot on lap 9, while Eller, Chilton, and Tyrel Todd battled for fifth.  As the front pair of Wells and Lee began to work slower traffic, disaster would strike race leader Wells on lap 14 as he was attempting to lap Rocky Hodges and the pair made contact in turn 3, resulting in both machines coming to rest next to the outside retaining wall in the center of turn three and four, with both mounts done, with Wells suffering suspension damage to his unit.  This turn of events would Lee at the point on the restart, with Marlar, Hatton, Todd, and Chilton second through fifth.  The lap 14 restart would also come back when Eller spun in the middle of the pack in turn two, with several cars spinning to avoid the spun car of Eller.

Caution would fly again on lap 15 as O’Neal, Larry Gray, and Royce McGowan all made contact exiting turn two, with Gray and McGowan rolling to a stop at the exit of turn two.  Brad Neat would make his way into the top five on this restart, with Todd pressuring Hatton for third and taking the position on lap 19, after a Larry Gray spin turn two had again slowed the action one circuit earlier.  The final caution of the race flew for a spin by Chris Combs on lap 22.  Back under way, the battle for fourth would heat up as Hatton, Brad Neat, and Dustin Linville would wage war for this position, but all eyes would focus on Jeff Watson, who was charging from the rear of the pack would move to sixth on lap 25 and set his sights on fourth place Neat. 

As Lee continued to stay on the point, Watson would take fifth from Neat on lap 27, and take fourth from Hatton one trip later in three-wide action off of turn two.  The leaders would enter traffic again on lap 33, with Lee working flawlessly through the rear of the field and taking the checkered flag first.  Todd would make a turn four, last lap slidejob pass of Marlar to claim second, with Watson and Neat holding down the fourth and fifth positions at the finish.    

In preliminary action, Aaron Hatton of Mount Sterling, KY would be the Racing Optics Top Qualifier among 27 entries with a lap of 13.275.  Heat race checkered flags went to Victor Lee in Wayne Bowen Racing Supply heat one, Damon Eller in K&N Performance Engineering heat two, Michael Chilton in Graphic Impressions heat three, and Eric Wells in Real Racing Wheels heat four.  The B-main would be scored by Bobby Wolter, Jr., while Tim Tungate and Larry Gray would take series provisional starts, with Bobby Carrier, Jr. and Royce McGowan earning track provisional starts.

The next event for the Super Late Model division of the O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series is Saturday June 7 at 201 Speedway in Sitka, KY.  The event will be a 40 lap, $3,000 to win event at the Chuckie May promoted facility located just outside of Paintsville, KY.  

The O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series sanctions regional Super Late Model events at tracks in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee.  For more information about America’s most competitive regional racing series, visit the series webpage on the world wide web at www.battleofthebluegrass.com or call the series office at (859) 762-1606 or (502) 931-5068.

O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Super Late Model Division

SUMMARY-Ponderosa Speedway-Junction City, Kentucky-May 30, 2008

Racing Optics Top Qualifier- Aaron Hatton 13.275

Wayne Bowen Racing Supply Heat #1(Top 4 Advance)- Victor Lee, Aaron Hatton, Mike Marlar, Chris Combs, Dustin Neat, Jeff Watson, Sidney Sprague                  

K&N Performance Engineering Heat #2 (Top 4 Advance)- Damon Eller, Tyrel Todd, Mike Jewell, Joey Daniel, Bobby Wolter, Jr., Rocky Hodges, Bobby Carrier, Jr.    

Graphic Impressions Heat #3 (Top 4 Advance)- Michael Chilton, Dustin Linville, Don O’Neal, Zach Carney, Larry Gray, Royce McGowan, Matthew Rigdon          

Real Racing Wheels Heat #4 (Top 4 Advance)- Eric Wells, David Webb, Brad Neat, Arnie Fields, Brian Smith, Tim Tungate                   

B-Main (Top 4 Advance)- Bobby Wolter, Jr., Dustin Neat, Jeff Watson, Rocky Hodges, Royce McGowan, Brian Smith, Bobby Carrier, Jr., Matthew Rigdon, Larry Gray, Sidney Sprague

Series Provisionals- Tim Tungate, Larry Gray

Track Provisionals- Bobby Carrier, Jr., Royce McGowan

9th Annual Hugh “Junebug” Rowland Memorial O’Reilly A-Main- Victor Lee, Tyrel Todd, Mike Marlar, Jeff Watson, Brad Neat, Don O’Neal, Dustin Linville, Mike Jewell, David Webb, Bobby Wolter, Jr., Zach Carney, Dustin Neat, Royce McGowan, Larry Gray, Arnie Fields, Aaron Hatton, Bobby Carrier, Jr., Joey Daniel, Chris Combs, Michael Chilton, Damon Eller, Eric Wells, Rocky Hodges, Tim Tungate

Total Entries- 27

Lap Leaders- 2 (Wells 1-13; Lee 14-40)  

Cautions- 8 (Laps 3, 5, 5, 14, 14, 15, 18, 22)

Red Flags- None

PPM Racing Products Hard Charger- Jeff Watson (Started 19th-Finished 4th-Advanced 15 Positions)

DriveSmart Kentucky Move of the Race- Tyrel Todd (turn four, last lap slidejob pass for second position)

Time of Race- 45:53.384

O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Super Late Model Point Standings (after May 30, 2008)

1. Victor Lee (Stanford, KY)- 1,455            

2. Tyrel Todd (Science Hill, KY)- 1,241

3. Zach Carney (Mooresville,IN)- 1,059 ®

4. David Webb (Nicholasville, KY)- 1,052

5. Tim Tungate (Campbellsville, KY)- 1,028

6. Larry Gray (Lexington, KY)- 955 ®   

7. Eric Wells (Hazard, KY)- 922 ®     

8. Mike Jewell (Scottsburg, IN)- 915

9. Don O’Neal (Martinsville, IN)- 907

10. Arnie Fields (Flemingsburg, KY)- 839 ®

O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Upcoming Schedule of Events:

June 7- 201 Speedway (Sitka, KY)- $3,000 to win

June 14- Bluegrass Speedway (Bardstown, KY)- 7th Annual June Jam- $3,000 to win

June 21- Clinton County Speedway (Albany, KY)- $3,000 to win

June 28- Brownstown Speedway (Brownstown, IN)- 10th Annual Lee Fleetwood Memorial-$3,000 to win

July 4- Mountain Motor Speedway (Isom, KY)- $3,000 to win

2008 O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Sponsors:

O'Reilly Auto Parts - Title Sponsor and "Official Auto Parts Retailer” of the O'Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series

Max Brake- “Official Trailer Brakes” of the O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series

CarbonX- “Official Flame Shielding Fabric” of the O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series

Health PMO- “Official Health Care Company” of the O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series

Graphic Impressions- Presenting Sponsor and “Official Souvenir and Merchandise Vendor” of the O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series

Bob Hook Chevrolet of Louisville- “Official Auto Dealership” of the O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series

Other O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series 2008 Series Supporters Include: American Race Tires, C.J. Rayburn Race Cars, Curtis Signs, Cruise With The Champions, Double H Race Fabrication, Drive Smart Kentucky, DT52 Photos, Hoosier Race Tires, Kentucky’s Best Racing, K&N Performance Engineering, PPM Racing Products, Racing Optics, Real Racing Wheels, Trailer Parts and Service, Wayne Bowen Racing Supply