---

Looney wires field on Night Two of 9th annual MLRA Spring Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway

WHEATLAND, MO. (April 23, 2022) - Payton Looney earned only one Lucas Oil MLRA Late Model Series feature win in 2021 as he ran a limited schedule. Early this season, Looney already has matched that win total.

Looney, the 2020 Show-Me 100 champion from Republic, led all 40 laps Saturday night in capturing Night Two of the 9th annual Pitts Homes MLRA Spring Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway.

“This place is awesome,” said Looney, who took home $7,000 for the victory in which he outlasted runner-up Chad Simpson and four caution flags that only temporarily slowed his march to victory.

"I love the race track and I love the people," Looney added. "I have so many fans here. Thank you guys for sticking out this little rain we had. It was an awesome race and I'm thankful for that, but racing is just for fun now. We don't chase an points. We get to race when we want to and there's no pressure, and get to do it with my wife and my kids.

"It makes it a lot more special, that's for sure.

Jason Papich slid underneath Looney in turn three on lap 10, but a caution flag before the lap was completed put Looney back on the point for the restart as the two front-row starters battled it out early.

"I got kind of lucky on that yellow," Looney said. "Papich slid me and it was going to be hard to get back by him. It pays to be lucky sometimes, I guess."

Looney had a great restart and Papich did not, with Chad Simpson moving into the runner-up position. As the race hit the midpoint, on lap 20, Looney held a three-quarter-second lead over Simpson.

Looney established a 1.3-second margin over Simpson as the race was slowed by a lap-25 caution. By lap 32, Looney’s lead grew to 2.2 seconds over Chad Simpson with Chris Simpson third and Logan Martin in fourth. But the march to victory was delayed with five to go as Billy Moyer Jr. spun to bring out caution No. 4.

Looney was able to roll from there, finishing off his flag-to-flag dominance. Looney finished 1.3 seconds in front of Chad Simpson with Chris Simpson third, Martin fourth and Garrett Alberson fifth.

Simpson cut Looney's led to under one second with three to go, as the leader encountered lapped traffic, but was unable to get closer.

"Coming from where we were last night, it's a big improvement for us," Chad Simpson said, noting his 12th-place run on Night One of the Spring Nationals. "I think we have this thing where it needs to be now and we can work on trying to get that one more spot."

The action was delayed for about an hour after an early evening rain shower in the middle of MLRA time trials.

Night One MLRA Spring Nationals feature winner and series points leader Johnny Scott started 10th and finished 11th.

Jackson captures B-Mod feature: Six-time Lucas Oil Speedway Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod champion held off Ryan Gillmore by .623 seconds to take the season opener for the division.

The race was plagued by four caution flags in the first half of the event, but once the action settled, Jackson and Gillmore put on a show. Gillmore slid past for the lead on lap 13 and Jackson did the same to regain command the next time around.

The Lebanon driver held on from there as Gillmore never was more than three car lengths behind. While it was Jackson's first win at Lucas Oil Speedway this season, it was his seventh overall in 2022.

"I want to thank Ryan Gillmore for a heck of a race," Jackson said. "He was probably better than me there. He just gave me one little shot in the rear to let me know he didn't like me dancing all over the place. It's dirt racing. I think he would have done the exact same thing. It was a good, clean race. At least I think, any way."

Tyler Kidwell finished third, Jon Sheets was fourth and Matt Dotson wound up fifth.

Johnson drives to USRA Modified win: Matt Johnson turned the tables on Friday night's Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modified winner Dillon McCowan, this time driving to victory over McCowan for the $1,000 prize.

Johnson, of Archie, grabbed the lead from McCowan on lap 10. He stretched it from there, finishing four seconds in front after winding up a similar distance behind McCowan a night earlier.

"We're glad to be here and glad to be back in victory lane," Johnson said. "I really enjoy racing with Dillon. It's nice to see the next generation of the sport coming up. I've been at this for 20-some years. He's a great kid and does a good job and I look forward to racing with him in the future."

Andy Bryant wound up third with Cody Brill fourth and Jason Pursley was fifth.

Bryan White rallies for USRA Stock Cars triumph: Seventh-starting Bryan White of Lebanon took over the lead on lap nine and went on to capture the 20-lap O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars main event.

White battled his way past Ed Griggs, the leader through the opening nine laps. He beat Wilson Garner by half a second for the feature win. Rodney Schweitzer was third with Robert White fourth and Dominic Thyfault fifth.

"This class is really fun," said White, who needed only four laps to work his way into the top five. He was able to go from third to first four laps later, going past Griggs and Burl Woods.

LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (April 23, 2022)
9th annual Pitts Homes MLRA Spring Nationals
Lucas Oil MLRA Late Models
A Feature - 1. 15L-Payton Looney[2]; 2. 25-Chad Simpson[4]; 3. 32S-Chris Simpson[3]; 4. 36M-Logan Martin[13]; 5. 58-Garrett Alberson[8]; 6. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[7]; 7. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[6]; 8. 91P-Jason Papich[1]; 9. 10-Jacob Magee[16]; 10. 93-Mason Oberkramer[23]; 11. 1ST-Johnny Scott[10]; 12. 04-Tad Pospisil[11]; 13. 1X-Aaron Marrant[20]; 14. 2S-Stormy Scott[15]; 15. 11-Trevor Gundaker[19]; 16. 30-Todd Cooney[25]; 17. 76-Blair Nothdurft[18]; 18. 96-Dalton Imhoff[22]; 19. 14G-Joe Godsey[21]; 20. 14W-Dustin Walker[24]; 21. 78S-Steve Stultz[26]; 22. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[14]; 23. 18-Shannon Babb[12]; 24. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[17]; 25. 50-Kaeden Cornell[9]; 26. 45-Kylan Garner[5]
B Feature 1 - 1. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[4]; 2. 11-Trevor Gundaker[8]; 3. 14G-Joe Godsey[2]; 4. 78S-Steve Stultz[1]; 5. 30-Todd Cooney[3]; 6. 14W-Dustin Walker[6]; 7. (DNS) 15F-Jeremy Conaway; 8. (DNS) 9391-Joe Duvall; 9. (DNS) 75-Terry Phillips; 10. (DNS) 14R-Jeff Roth
B Feature 2 - 1. 76-Blair Nothdurft[2]; 2. 1X-Aaron Marrant[1]; 3. 96-Dalton Imhoff[4]; 4. 93-Mason Oberkramer[3]; 5. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[6]; 6. 14M-Reid Millard[7]; 7. 50C-Kayden Clatt[8]; 8. 26-Glen Powell[5]; 9. (DNF) 7-Cole Wells[9]
Heat 1 - 1. 91P-Jason Papich[1]; 2. 45-Kylan Garner[3]; 3. 50-Kaeden Cornell[2]; 4. 36M-Logan Martin[9]; 5. 78S-Steve Stultz[4]; 6. 30-Todd Cooney[8]; 7. 15F-Jeremy Conaway[6]; 8. (DNF) 14R-Jeff Roth[7]; 9. (DNS) 75-Terry Phillips
Heat 2 - 1. 32S-Chris Simpson[2]; 2. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[1]; 3. 04-Tad Pospisil[4]; 4. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 5. 14G-Joe Godsey[7]; 6. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[8]; 7. 14W-Dustin Walker[6]; 8. 11-Trevor Gundaker[5]; 9. 9391-Joe Duvall[9]
Heat 3 - 1. 15L-Payton Looney[2]; 2. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[1]; 3. 1ST-Johnny Scott[3]; 4. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[6]; 5. 1X-Aaron Marrant[4]; 6. 93-Mason Oberkramer[7]; 7. 26-Glen Powell[8]; 8. 14M-Reid Millard[9]; 9. (DNS) 7-Cole Wells
Heat 4 - 1. 25-Chad Simpson[1]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[4]; 3. 18-Shannon Babb[3]; 4. 10-Jacob Magee[2]; 5. 76-Blair Nothdurft[5]; 6. 96-Dalton Imhoff[6]; 7. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[8]; 8. 50C-Kayden Clatt[7]

Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modifieds
A Feature - 1. 1X-Matt Johnson[5]; 2. 8-Dillon McCowan[1]; 3. 49-Andy Bryant[4]; 4. 96-Cody Brill[8]; 5. 38C-Jason Pursley[2]; 6. 00S-Chris Spalding[6]; 7. 16-Austin Siebert[14]; 8. 21-Johnny Fennewald[3]; 9. 21M-Ryan Middaugh[7]; 10. 73B-Shad Badder[12]; 11. 22H-Dustin Hodges[16]; 12. 88-Jimmy Dowell[10]; 13. 00-Scott Bryant[13]; 14. 7-Daniel Franklin[15]; 15. 155-Terry Kirk[9]; 16. 24D-Donnie Fellers[18]; 17. 23-Lucas Dobbs[17]; 18. 16S-Kevin Blackburn[11]
Heat 1 - 1. 8-Dillon McCowan[2]; 2. 21-Johnny Fennewald[3]; 3. 1X-Matt Johnson[5]; 4. 155-Terry Kirk[1]; 5. 88-Jimmy Dowell[7]; 6. 73B-Shad Badder[6]; 7. 00-Scott Bryant[9]; 8. 7-Daniel Franklin[4]; 9. 23-Lucas Dobbs[8]
Heat 2 - 1. 38C-Jason Pursley[2]; 2. 49-Andy Bryant[1]; 3. 00S-Chris Spalding[4]; 4. 21M-Ryan Middaugh[6]; 5. 96-Cody Brill[9]; 6. 16S-Kevin Blackburn[3]; 7. 16-Austin Siebert[5]; 8. 22H-Dustin Hodges[7]; 9. 24D-Donnie Fellers[8]

Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods
A Feature - 1. 65-Kris Jackson[2]; 2. 66-Ryan Gillmore[4]; 3. 54-Tyler Kidwell[7]; 4. 8S-Jon Sheets[12]; 5. 88D-Matt Dotson[1]; 6. 55-Colson Kirk[8]; 7. 7G-Gabriel Hodges[11]; 8. 56-Shadren Turner[9]; 9. 99T-Eric Turner[14]; 10. 83-JC Newell[6]; 11. 14J-Jacob Hodges[20]; 12. 21S-Jake Smith[19]; 13. 21JE-Jacob Ellison[18]; 14. 11L-Logan Smith[3]; 15. 1RED-Dan Wheeler[15]; 16. 2-Quentin Taylor[22]; 17. 39-Dwight Brown[24]; 18. 21-Greg Scheffler[21]; 19. 24L-Dakota Lowe[23]; 20. 98-Christopher Watts[28]; 21. 28C-Thomas Creech[26]; 22. 49-Andy Bryant[5]; 23. 7J-Jake Richards[17]; 24. 42C-Casey Thomas[10]; 25. 17-Henry Chambers[16]; 26. 18-JC Morton[13]; 27. 8H-Scott Chism[27]; 28. (DNS) 25G-James Gish
Heat 1 - 1. 11L-Logan Smith[2]; 2. 65-Kris Jackson[6]; 3. 42C-Casey Thomas[1]; 4. 7G-Gabriel Hodges[5]; 5. 18-JC Morton[7]; 6. 99T-Eric Turner[10]; 7. 21S-Jake Smith[9]; 8. 24L-Dakota Lowe[3]; 9. 8H-Scott Chism[8]; 10. 98-Christopher Watts[4]
Heat 2 - 1. 88D-Matt Dotson[6]; 2. 55-Colson Kirk[1]; 3. 66-Ryan Gillmore[8]; 4. 8S-Jon Sheets[4]; 5. 17-Henry Chambers[5]; 6. 21JE-Jacob Ellison[2]; 7. 14J-Jacob Hodges[9]; 8. 39-Dwight Brown[3]; 9. 28C-Thomas Creech[7]
Heat 3 - 1. 49-Andy Bryant[1]; 2. 83-JC Newell[3]; 3. 54-Tyler Kidwell[6]; 4. 56-Shadren Turner[8]; 5. 1RED-Dan Wheeler[2]; 6. 7J-Jake Richards[7]; 7. 21-Greg Scheffler[5]; 8. 2-Quentin Taylor[9]; 9. 25G-James Gish[4]

O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars
A Feature - 1. 41-Bryan White[7]; 2. 7-William Garner[5]; 3. 74-Rodney Schweizer[6]; 4. 5-Robert White[4]; 5. 27-Dominic Thyfault[9]; 6. 47-Ed Griggs[1]; 7. 0F-Mason Beck[12]; 8. 2Z-Zeb Keepper[2]; 9. 26-Burl Woods[3]; 10. 23-Mark Simon[8]; 11. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[10]; 12. 21P-Darren Phillips[17]; 13. 717-Chris Tonoli[14]; 14. 421-Karla Lampe[16]; 15. 13-Lyle Dietrich[15]; 16. 2-Colton Bourland[11]; 17. (DNF) 34-Blake Bolton[18]; 18. (DNF) 77-Zack Willis[13]
Heat 1 - 1. 47-Ed Griggs[1]; 2. 26-Burl Woods[4]; 3. 41-Bryan White[3]; 4. 74-Rodney Schweizer[7]; 5. 27-Dominic Thyfault[6]; 6. 2-Colton Bourland[5]; 7. 717-Chris Tonoli[8]; 8. 13-Lyle Dietrich[9]; 9. 21P-Darren Phillips[2]
Heat 2 - 1. 2Z-Zeb Keepper[1]; 2. 5-Robert White[3]; 3. 7-William Garner[4]; 4. 23-Mark Simon[5]; 5. 11-Waylon Dimmitt[2]; 6. 0F-Mason Beck[9]; 7. 77-Zack Willis[6]; 8. 421-Karla Lampe[8]; 9. 34-Blake Bolton[7]

Weekly Racing Series up next: Lucas Oil Speedway's Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series Spring Opener is set for next Saturday night. The four weekly divisions - Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds, O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars, Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods and Hermitage Lumber Late Models - will be in action.

The first of five scheduled Kids Power Wheel races, for ages 3-9, also will be held. A mini-track will be set up on the front stretch, outlined with cones, for the youngsters to navigate in the battery-powered cars.

To purchase tickets for any event on Lucas Oil Speedway's schedule, or get ticket information for the Show-Me 100 or any future event at Lucas Oil Speedway, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or via email at nichole@lucasoilspeedway.com.

CONTACT:
Danny Lorton
Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager
Office: (417) 282-5984
DLorton@lucasoilspeedway.com
?
Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and schedules can be found by visiting LucasOilSpeedway.com.

Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks.

Click LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984. The Lucas Oil Speedway EZ Texting number is (417) 804-4141.

In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on Twitter, clicking "Like" at www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway

About Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top five racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Missouri, approximately an hour from Springfield, Missouri, and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" lives up to its title.

Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the 12th season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, "Lake Lucas." New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring a host of regional events.

Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, POWRi Midget National Series, Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, United States Modified Touring Series, ASCS Sprint Cars and the Lucas Oil MLRA.

In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Racing Series features the Late Models, USRA Modifieds, USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods.

2022 Official Lucas Oil Speedway Marketing Partners

Arizona Sport Shirts
"The Official Merchandise Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Bill Roberts Chevrolet-Buick
"The Official Truck" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Dixie Chopper
"The Official Mowers of Lucas Oil Speedway"

General Tire
"The Official Tire" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Lucas Oil Products
"The Official Oil" of Lucas Oil Speedway

MAVTV
"The Official Television Network" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Optima Batteries
"The Official Battery" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper
"The Official Soft Drink" of Lucas Oil Speedway

RacingJunk.com
"The Official Classifieds" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Rugged Radios
"The Official 2-Way Communications Provider" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Sunoco Race Fuels
"The Official Fuel" of Lucas Oil Speedway

Super Clean
"The Official Sponsor" of Lucas Oil Speedway

2022 Lucas Oil Speedway Supporters Include:
AM Pyrotechnics, Arizona Sport Shirts, Ash Grove Aggregates, Berry Tractor and Equipment Co., Big Adventure RV, Bill Roberts Chevrolet-Buick, Bolivar Auto Sales & Detailing, Bolivar Farmers Exchange-MFA, Boone's BBQ Barn, Boubin Tire/American Racer, Branstetter & Lightfoot LLC, Bridal Cave, BWI Sanitation, Camden on the Lake Resort, Candlelight Creations-Dick's Wild Root Horseradish, Casey's, Cedar Creek Beef Jerky, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, City Magnet, Clearlight Inn, Comfort Inn-Bolivar,DirtonDirt.com, Dixie Chopper, eBay Motors, Eibach Springs, Evans Pipe & Steel Co., Farmers Insurance Agent Kristy Reynolds, Fast Shafts by Axle Exchange, Foley Equipment-Cat Rental Store, Frog Signs, Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, Hermitage Lumber, HICKAMO Country Store, Highway 54 RV Park, Hobbytime Motorsports, Hoosier Race Tires, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps, In the Garden of Eden, Kettle Treats, Keyser Manufacturing, Kluhsman Racing Components, Kona Ice, Lucas Cattle Company, Margaritaville Lake Resort, Midwest Sheet Metal, Miller Welding, MyRacePass, Nutrien Ag Solutions, OakStar Bank, O'Bannon Bank, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Ozark Golf Cars, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper, Ozarks Community Health Center, PEM, Pitts Homes, Pitts Realty, Pitts Cattle, ProThings Apparel, RACEceiver, Racinboys.com, RacinDirt.com, RacingJunk.com, Rains Ice Company, Real Racing Wheels, Rod End Supply, Ron Jenkins Accounting & Tax Service, Rugged Radios, Ryan E. Murphy Law Firm LLC, SBU Athletics, Safety Kleen, Scott Furniture, Simpson Racing Products, Southwest Electric Cooperative, Stillwater Resort, Sunoco Race Fuels, Sunflower Resort, TA/PETRO, US Army Corps of Engineers-Pomme de Terre, Vietti Marketing Group, Wheatland Motel, White's Marine Center, Wild Animal Safari, Woods Supermarkets, Wrisco Industries.

---

Back to News