9/17/2019
Four champions crowned as Lucas Oil Pro Pulling Nationals conclude at Lucas Oil Speedway
WHEATLAND, Missouri - Following a below-par pull, all Jack Maize could do was wait and battle his nerves at Saturday night's Lucas Oil Pro Pulling Nationals.
Despite an 11th-place finish, Maize of Amity, Mo. clinched the FASS Fuel Pro Stock championship in Billet Binder in front of a big crowd on night two of the event. Green Streak, driven by Andrew Boyd, used a pull of 315.72 to take the win over Work Horse Pro, which pulled 314.2.
Maize, after pulling only 278.85, had to wait it out until the final pull of the class to see if he would prevail in the points.
"I don't know how calm I was, but that was unbelievable," Maize said. "This is a team win right here. It's not just me, it's everybody. It's surreal to have this happen."
David Mills of Knoxville, Tennessee, in War Wagon, also locked up a championship on Saturday night. Mills clinched the Pro Mod 4 WD Truck championship for the second straight year with a fourth-place pull of 326.73 feet. Renegade, piloted by Graham Young of Versailles, Kentucky, earned the event win at 329.6 feet.
"I knew it would be tough," Mills said of the repeat. "We started off with a win and a second and that got us on the road. We just stayed consistent this year. It's really an honor to get back to back."
In Super Modified Tractors, Jed Leischner of Weldon, Illinois took the win in Dirtslinger - but 74-year-old Wayne Sullivan of Warsaw, Kentucky, driving the Optima Batteries Kentuckian - clinched the points championship with one event remaining. It's his second title in four years.
"We worked hard and I was sure glad to do this, especially at this place. I enjoy so much coming out here," the 74-year-old Sullivan said. "I didn't do that good tonight, but I got the championship. This is a great feat for this bunch, from a small town in Kentucky."
Hog Wild, driven by Keith Hanenburg of Coopersville, Michigan, took the Super Farm Tractors win with a pull of 315.85 as Don Viney's All Cranked Up was a close second with a pull of 314.06. Earning the Super Farms points championship was Chuck Guenterberg of Rio, Wisconsin in Positive Ground, as his eighth-place finish on Saturday was good enough to clinch the title.
Jared Nelson in Midnight Revenger grabbed the win in Optima Batteries Super Modified 2 WD Trucks. Nelson, of Altamont, Illinois, pulled 332.03 to beat out Kickin' Up Dust by just over five feet. The division still has one race remaining before a champion is determined.
In Unlimited Super Stocks, Considered Armed and Dangerous HD driven by Josh Blackbourn of Newton, Wisconsin nipped Extremely Armed and Dangerous by just over five feet - 312.73 to 312.24. The Considered Armed and Dangerous HD also protected the points lead with one event remaining.
Article Credit: Lyndal Scranton
