Wheatley Walks the Walk in Battle of the Bluegrass Modified Summer Shootout at Ponderosa

Junction City, KY-August 21, 2009- The Battle of the Bluegrass Modified Series presented by Graphic Impressions returned to action after a week off with the 5th Annual Summer Shootout at Ponderosa Speedway in Junction City, KY and Jason Wheatley of Loretto, KY would claim the victory in the 40 lap, $2,000 to win event.

Wheatley’s win would come in the seat of the Kaylee and Tommy Wheatley owned B&W Metals/VFM Manufacturing/Wheatley Seamless Gutters/Wheatley Tile Flooring/Wheatley Auto Sales/Brian Wheatley Landscaping/Cozy Corner/Rosewood Golf Course/Gootee and Mattingly Heat and Air/Central Kentucky Electrical and Plumbing/Knopp Siding/ Brady Excavating/St. Joe Garage/Wayne Bowen Racing Supply sponsored #7 Larry Shaw Race Cars, Mullins Race Engines powered machine.

Don Adams of London, KY would win a battle with Bryan Barber for second in his Lightning Chassis/ FAST Company Shocks sponsored #09 Lightning, Mullins mount, while Barber of Greensburg, KY would finish third after starting 25th in the B&B Motorsports/ Roby’s Country Gardens sponsored Bandit, Jay Dickens unit. Benji Lee of Loretto, KY would take fourth place honors in the Thompson Heat and Air/Smart Shoppers sponsored Bandit, Dale Meers entry, with Delane Browning of East Bernstadt, KY completing the top five in the Norma Browning owned John Baker Trucking sponsored Lightning Chassis.

The remainder of the top ten would be 19th starting Elliott Despain, J.T. Ayers, Randy Turpin, Russ Gabbert, and Michael England. The 40 lap, $2,000 to win event would be slowed by seven caution flags.

Benji Lee would take the lead at the drop of the green flag, followed by Jason Wheatley, Joey Kramer, J.T. Ayers, and Michael England. The front five would remain the same until lap 5 when Dion Benningfield would spin his machine in turn two. The attempted restart would also see a caution flag appear as Rick Clark spun in front of Benningfield, with both machines being finished for the night. The next attempted restart would bring another caution when Tom Curtsinger slowed off of turn two, collecting Matthew Hopper and Joe David Turner in the process, eliminating all three drivers for the rest of the evening. Wheatley would keep the heat on Lee and lap 7 would see Wheatley make his move and take the lead, with the caution flying again one lap later for Todd Noel’s turn two spin. The restart would see leader Wheatley’s machine not fire, causing bumper tag to take place and eventual spin and elimination of Kevin Nesselhauf for the evening. Once action resumed, Don Adams would find his way past England and into the top five on lap 12, while Ayers would take third from Kramer on lap 14, only to have Adams drive past both drivers for third one round later on lap 15.

Meanwhile, Bryan Barber was charging his way toward the front after starting 25th and would enter the top five for good back on lap 13 and would challenge for fourth before Michael England drew the next caution for a spin in turn two. This restart would see Adams challenge for second and grab runner-up honors on lap 18, while Barber would drive past Ayers for fourth as the field saw the lap 20 halfway signal. The front four would remain set until the final caution waved on lap 24 for a slowed Josh Lucas in turn one. Delane Browning and Randy Turpin would trade fifth back and forth, with Browning finally winning the war on lap 26.

With 10 laps remaining, Wheatley was beginning to open his lead over Adams, while Lee was dealing with Barber’s advances for the third spot. Barber would make his way to third by Lee on lap 35 as leader Wheatley began to work slower traffic. Wheatley would take his second series victory ahead of Adams, who held off the charges of Barber on the final two laps, for second, with Lee outdueling Browning for fifth.

In preliminary action, Benji Lee was Racing Optics top qualifier among 25 entries with a lap time of 15.171 seconds. REAL Racing Wheels qualifying heat events would be captured by Lee, Ayers, and Wheatley.

The next event for the Battle of the Bluegrass Modified Series will be the 2009 series finale and will take place on Friday September 25 at Moler Raceway Park in Williamsburg, OH. The event will be a $1,500 to win points contest.

The Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series sanctions regional Open Wheel Modified events at tracks in Kentucky, 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 (502) 762-1606 or (502) 931-5068.

Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Modified Division

Ponderosa Speedway-Junction City, KY-August 21, 2009

Racing Optics Top Qualifier- Benji Lee 15.171

REAL Racing Wheels 1st Heat- Benji Lee, Joey Kramer, Don Adams, Delane Browning, Dion Benningfield, Brad Schlosser, Elliott Despain, Matthew Hopper, Todd Noel

REAL Racing Wheels 2nd Heat- J.T. Ayers, Tom Curtsinger, Josh Lucas, Jason Hall, Kelly Warren, Rusty Griffaw, Rick Clark (DNS-Bryan Barber)

REAL Racing Wheels 3rd Heat- Jason Wheatley, Michael England, Russ Gabbert, Randy Turpin, Kevin Nesselhauf, Travis Preston, Wayne James, Joe David Turner

5th Annual Summer Shootout A-Main- Jason Wheatley, Don Adams, Bryan Barber, Benji Lee, Delane Browning, Elliott Despain, J.T. Ayers, Randy Turpin, Russ Gabbert, Michael England, Rusty Griffaw, Jason Hall, Joey Kramer, Kelly Warren, Wayne James, Brad Schlosser, Todd Noel, Josh Lucas, Kevin Nesselhauf, Joe David Turner, Matthew Hopper, Tom Curtsinger, Dion Benningfield, Rick Clark, Travis Preston

Entries- 25

Lap Leaders- 2 (Lee 1-6, Wheatley 7-40)

Cautions- 7 (Laps 5, 5 restart-twice, 8, 8 restart, 16, 23)

Red Flags- None

PPM Racing Products Hard Charger- Bryan Barber (started 25th- finished 3rd- advanced 22 positions)

Battle of the Bluegrass Modified Sereis Point Standings (after August 21, 2009)

1. Bryan Barber (Greensburg, KY)- 1,795

2. Joey Kramer (Hanover, IN)- 1,736

3. J.T. Ayers (New Haven, KY)- 1,576 ®

4. Don Adams (London, KY)- 1,576

5. Randy Turpin (Lebanon, KY)- 1,433 ®

6. Kelly Warren (Columbia, KY)- 1,421

7. Jason Hall (Hindman, KY)- 1,419

8. Elliott Despain (Campbellsville, KY- 1,246 ®

9. Russ Gabbert (Berea, KY)- 1,075

10. Josh Lucas (Bardstown, KY)- 876



2009 O’Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series Sponsors:

*Max Brake- “Official Trailer Brakes” of the Battle of the Bluegrass Modified Series

*CarbonX- “Official Flame Shielding Fabric” of the Battle of the Bluegrass Modified Series

*Graphic Impressions- Presenting Sponsor and “Official Souvenir and Merchandise Vendor of the Battle of the Bluegrass Modified Series

*Total Lubricants- “Official Oil and Lubricant” of the Battle of the Bluegrass Modified Series


Other Battle of the Bluegrass Modified Series 2009 Series Supporters Include:

All Star Performance, American Race Tires, C.J. Rayburn Race Cars, Cruise With The Champions, Honda of Prestonsburg, Hoosier Race Tires, PPM Racing Products, Racing Optics, REAL Racing Wheels, Strader Motorsports Photography, Trailer Parts and Service, Wayne Bowen Racing Supply