By JM Hallas

PAIGE, Texas – Kicking off the 4th of July holiday, Cotton Bowl Speedway hosted another round of the Southern Texas Late Model Series, its second visit for the season. In the March race it was Austin Theiss picking up the victory after a spirited battle with Colton Horner and Tracy Denby Jr. The current STLMS points show Jim Moon, winner of two Houston area shows, ahead of GW Egbert, Theiss, Brandon Brzozowski and KC Fielding.

Also in action on the 3/8 mile, semi-banked, dirt, oval were the regular Cotton Bowl Speedway classes (IMCA Modifieds, Southern Sport Mods and Stock cars, plus the NeSmith Street Stocks and CBS stocks). The evening’s events would be capped off with a fireworks show in celebration of Independence Day.

Southern Texas Late Model series winner Tracy Denby Jr. digging off the corner. Photo by JM Hallas

Damaged Denby Dashes to Late Model Loot

Despite getting some damage on the initial start of the 25-lap STLMS main event, Tracy Denby jr. (Vidor) picked up the hard earned victory. Denby was caught up in a melee when polesitter, Brandon Brzozowski got turned in front of the field collecting nearly half the cars.

Denby then caught a break when points leader, Jim Moon and JP Dowell pulled off, picking up two spots. He then chased Brzozowski for the lead getting the spot before halfway. In the latter stages Denby was challenged by GW Egbert until he was able to put some distance on Egbert to grab the win.

As the 19-car field took the green Brzozowski was first into turn 1 until the multi-car pileup in turn 2 brought out the yellow. With no laps complete, everyone returned to their starting spots with Brzozowski again getting out front. Behind Brzozowski, Moon, Sloppy Hogg, Denby and Egbert fell in line.

It wasn’t long until yellow waved again for a spin by Mark Shipman. On the restart Marcus Berndt, Ricky Begnaud, Jesse McNorton and Shipman tangled in turn 4. Once back to green, Dowell took fifth from Egbert. Hogg slipped in turn 4 giving up spots to Moon and Denby. Hogg fell back to a three wide battle with Egbert and KC Fielding.

As the top four broke away Denby gave Moon an early look, but gave up third to Dowell in the process. Jared Stepanski found an infield tire on lap 9 to bring out a caution that saw both Dowell and Moon pull off under caution, moving Denby to second on the restart. Wasting little time Denby jumped on Brzozowski as the green waved taking the point on lap 10.

Brzozowski then faded back giving up many spots. At halfway it was Denby, Egbert, Hogg, Robert Scrivner and Begnaud in the top five. After Scrivner picked off third from Hogg, Kody Hardage and Brzozowski tangled for a lap 15 caution. The restart saw K. Hardage spit out the driveshaft bringing the yellow quickly back out.

Denby and Egbert got the jump on green leaving the field behind. Scrivner, in third, got some distance on the fourth place fight between Hogg, Begnaud and Fielding until Todd Jouett found an infield tire in turn 2 for a lap 18 caution. Denby got a good restart and a slight margin on Egbert once green waved again. While Fielding, Begnaud and Hogg continued to slug it out for fourth.

With five to go, Denby had eased away from Egbert, who had a gap back to Scrivner and the three car scrap for fourth. As the white flag waved Denby had almost a half straightaway advantage that he carried to the checkers in the B&D Construction, Shaeffers Oil, Seals Transmissions, Browns Trucking, CD race Engines, Barry Wright Chassis.

“Survival! That way the key,” exclaimed Denby. “We got tore up on the first lap bad. I don’t know what it bent on the right front, but we just hung in there and made it through. I thought we were done. I thought I’d just ride around and see what we could get. It didn’t handle half bad. It was a handful though, but it was competitive enough to get it done.”

“For a while I thought we had a top three car after the wreck, until Brandon (Brzozowski) faded and (Jim) Moon dropped out. I caught them and was able to run with them, but I didn’t want to push it and maybe run over them.”

“I was just trying to run away once I got the lead. I didn’t have a clue who was chasing me. I knew I had a good line in (turns) 1-2, but (turns) 3-4 I didn’t know where to run. I figured if I was struggling in that corner, so was everyone else. It was slick and rough over there. If you didn’t hit it just right, it took you to the infield.”

Southern Texas Late Models

15 Tracy Denby jr., 717 GW Egbert, 1x Robert Scrivner, ZZ Sloppy Hogg, 132 Ricky Begnaud, 19 KC Fielding, 104 Brandon Brzozowski, 31 Gary Lowe, 17 Jesse McNorton, 32x Marcus Berndt, 9 Arin Lawrence, 22 Todd Jouett, 12 Kody Hardage, 82 Jared Stepanski, 1 Jim Moon, 715 JP Dowell, 57 Mark Shipman, 78 Eddie Hardage, 007 Bobby Middleton—dntg

STLMS heats

Heat 1; 1 Jim Moon, 104 Brandon Brzozowski, 19 KC Fielding, 1x Robert Scrivner, 132 Ricky Begnaud, 12 Kody Hardage—dns

Heat 2; 15 Tracy Denby jr, 78 Eddie Hardage, 715 JP Dowell, 22 Todd Jouett, 31 Gary Lowe, 007 Bobby Middleton—dns

Heat 3; ZZ Sloppy Hogg, 717 GW Egbert, 57 Mark Shipman, 82 Jared Stepanski, 17 Jesse McNorton, 32x Marcus Berndt, 9 Arin Lawrence

IMCA Modified winner Eric Tomlinson backing her through the corner. Photo by JM Hallas

Tomlinson Tallies with Late Pass

Eric Tomlinson (Waco) took advantage of a series of late cautions to snag the win in the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature. Starting mid-pack, Tomlinson motored his way up to the front cracking the top four at halfway. He then caught early leaders Cody Tidwell and Pat McGuire as the laps clicked off. This set up the finish that saw a series of yellows in the final two laps. Tidwell spun from second while trying to retake the lead. Coming to the final lap a spin took away the win from McGuire when he slipped too high on the restart giving Tomlinson the opening he needed to sneak past to score the victory.

Seventeen cars took the green for IMCA Modified feature with Tidwell getting out front trailed by Chris Carroll, Ryan Slott, McGuire and Raymond McSpadden. On lap 2 Dillon Tindall and Robert Scrivner moved in on McSpadden going almost three wide for fifth. McGuire got third from Carroll while Tomlinson got by Scrivner for fifth.

At the crossed flags it was Tidwell, McGuire, Carroll, Tomlinson and McSpadden in the top five. Tomlinson had just snagged third from Carroll when Clayton Lucas spun on the back stretch. McGuire gave Tidwell a look on the restart but held second while Carroll, Tindall, Lucas and Joe Maple stacked up in turn 4 for another caution.

Once back to green McGuire tried the high side on Tidwell for the lead. Tomlinson tried the bottom on Mcguire, but slipped losing a little ground. McGuire kept trying the top side and got alongside Tidwell on lap 14. McGuire was able to get the nose out front on lap 15, with the two still wheel to wheel. This gave Tomlinson the chance to make up ground on the lead duo.

In the pack, Scrivner, Tindall and Zac Melot were three wide for sixth. As McGuire finally got a car length on Tidwell, Scrivner and Tindall made contact in turn for a yellow. On the single file restart, Tidwell gave McGuire a bumper tap going into turn 3, but spun himself into the infield in turn 4, far enough not to bring out a yellow.

Just as McGuire was taking the white flag, Tindall went around in turn 1 bringing out the late yellow. Tomlinson hounded McGuire on the restart who then overdrove turn 4, giving Tomlinson the opportunity to sneak past in turn 4 for the lead. Tomlinson in the Berta Built Bodies, BG Products, Southwest Maintenance, Wade White Trucking, Richard Car Motors, Parker Lee Project, Simpson Race Products, Natemare Wraps, and crate powered BMS by Xtreme Chassis then eased on to the win.

“I let one get away from me last night,” commented Tomlinson. “I wasn’t going to let another one get away tonight. Pat(McGuire) had us covered there for a while. I knew if I could get beside him we could make something happen. That’s pretty much what we did. He left the door open and I kind of snookered him down on the bottom. That’s racing!”

“You definitely try to find the fastest line for your car when you’re in chase mood, especially with the crate motors. The track was real fast and choppy. You really had to pick where you were going to be. Coming through there I could experiment, change lines, and hunt around. I was looking for where I was the freest and still had exit speed. It paid off at the end,”

“When we had that one caution I was running up top and making up some ground. After the caution I was running up there and showed them my line and that last caution came out. I’d already shown Pat where to go and he covered it so I had to go to plan B or C to try to make something happen.”

“It was a little sketchy in the other end. It got me once. I was a little hard on the brakes and got some wheel hop and was along for the ride at that point. It was slicking off. You really had to tip-toe though there.”

“We came here with intention of doing some testing for the 20K to win show in Batesville. We changed some shocks, about 20 points in gear, which is a lot, from HOT Speedway last night for this bigger track. We were working on some big track stuff, that’s what we came with. It seemed to be pretty good so we’ll see what happens.”

IMCA Modifieds

45t Eric Tomlinson, 9 Pat McGuire, 48 Raymond McSpadden, 15 Chris Carroll, 82 Rick Green, 18m Zac Melot, 231 Joe Maple, 17 Cody Tidwell, 89t Danny Turner, 86 Dillon Tindall, 23x Dale Abstere, 53 Robert Scrivner, 49r Ryan Slott, 29 Jamie Campbell, 14 Clayton Lucas, 22 Beau Begnaud, 88s Brad Smith, 48 Chris Swenson—dns

IMCA Modified heats

Heat 1; 45t Eric Tomlinson, 86 Dillon Tindall, 49r Ryan Slott, 22 Beau Begnaud, 14 Clayton Lucas, 48 Chris Swenson, 23x Dale Abstere

Heat 2; 15 Chris Carroll, 82 Rick Green, 48r Raymond McSpadden, 29 Jamie Campbell, 88s Brad Smith, 231 Joe Maple

Heat 3; 17 Cody Tidwell, 53 Robert Scrivner, 18m Zac Melot, 9 Pat McGuire, 89t Danny Turner—dns

IMCA southern Sportmod winner Don Painter. Photo by JM Hallas

Painter Picks Up Sportmod Payday

Austin’s Don Painter picked up the victory in the 20-lap IMCA Southern Sportmod feature, after inheriting the lead under a red flag. During a three wide scrap for fifth James Skinner got pinched in the middle climbed a tire and turned over to bring out a red. During the stoppage work was done on, then leader Rick Wolfes car. Wolfe was put to the back on the restart giving Painter the lead. Painter in the Terrys Body Shop, Browning Auto Parts, Fat Daddys Designs, Paul Jackson Performance Machine, IRP Chassis, then pulled away to score the win.

Wolfe grabbed the early lead as the 11-care field took the green with Mark Salango, Jeremy Petty, Painter and Gerald Henderson in pursuit. Behind them Skinner, Tom Grothues and Chad Hughes were three wide for sixth. Painter made an early charge getting by Petty and Salango for while Hughes, also going forward, got spots from Petty and Henderson.

The races only caution waved on lap 6 when Grothues stopped on the back stretch. On the restart Painter gave Wolfe a look with Hughes getting third from Salango. On lap 7 Skinner, Petty and Salango were three wide for position. Skinner got pinned in the middle jumped a tire, climbed up the hood of Salango and rolled. He was able to get out under his own power and checked out.

Wolfe stopped in front of the hot pits and someone came out to the car under red. Officials put him to the back for working on the car. This gave Painter the lead on the restart who got away while Hughes and Henderson ran side by side for second. At halfway it was Painter, Hughes, Henderson, Rusty Head and Jarrett Roberts.

Henderson slipped in turn 4 and took a trip through the infield giving up spots to Head and Roberts. Painter continued to ease away from Hughes and as the white flag waved held a half straightaway lead. From there Painter, on a hot streak of late, put it on cruise control on his way the checkered flag.

“Hang on tight!” reported Painter. “It was a little rough out there tonight. It was fast, but rough. I got up beside Rick (Wolfe) before that red flag came out. We’d have seen if I had anything for him if he hadn’t done what he did. I saw them working on the car under red, and thought, you can’t do that.”

“The car has been pretty good lately. I’ve changed a little of both, on the car and in my driving. We went to where it was when we first got it. I’ve adjusted to it. We just haven’t made any big changes all at once. Sometimes you can change too much. I’ve just put it back in the basic set up that we got it, and learned to drive it.”

“You could get through (turns) 1-2 good, but (turns) 3-4 was tricky. You had be patient on the throttle. Once you got off 4, you could go. It was slick in middle. If you hit it wrong, you’d jump sideways. I did it once.”

IMCA Southern Sport Mods

10d Don Painter, 41 Chad Hughes, 55 Rusty Head, 6x Jarrett Roberts, 55g Gerald Henderson, 7 Bruce Hinson, a11n Mark Salango, 43 Jeremy Petty, 17s James Skinner, 12d Duane Owens, 11t Tom Grothues, r3w Rick Wolfe—bf (rough driving), 6 Vince Louden—dns, c3 Chris Birmingham—dns, 3x Frank Fruia—dns

SSM heats

Heat 1; 10d Don Painter, 55 Rusty Head, 17s James Skinner, a11n Mark Salango, 43 Jeremy Petty, 3x Frank Fruia, 6x Jarrett Roberts, 7 Bruce Hinson

Heat 2; r3w Rick Wolfe, 41 Chad Hughes, c3 Chris Birmingham, 55g Gerald Henderson, 11t Tom Grothues, 12d Duane Owens, 6 Vince Louden

IMCA Stock Car winner Ronnie Warren working the track. Photo by JM Hallas

Warren Wrestles Win in I-Stock

Ronnie Warren (Oglesby) had a spirited battle with GW Egbert throughout the 15-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. Warren got by Egbert on lap 4 for the lead as the two pulled away from the field in the final stages of the race. Egbert got along Warren at one point, but couldn’t complete the pass. Egbert gave it one more shot at the end, but got loose leaving Warren unchallenged at the finish.

At the start Ken Plonsky was out front on lap 1 chased by Egbert, Bill Siegman, Warren and Hunt Harrison. Egbert got under Plonsky for the lead on lap 2. Joey Tschoerner brought the races only caution with a spin in turn 4. On the restart Warren took second from Plonsky and began pressuring Egbert for the lead.

They were door to door on lap 3 with Warren getting the advantage on lap 4.

As the top two checked out, Anthony Otken got fourth from Siegman. At halfway it was Warren and Egbert pulling away, Plonsky, Otken and Siegman in the top five. Egbert showed Warren the nose on lap 10, but Warren held on to the point. Egbert gave Warren one last charge in the final laps but got loose leaving Warren, in the AC Solutions, Natemare Graphics, Destroyer Chassis, to go on to the win.

“It was great racing with GW (Egbert)”, said Warren. “He’s fun to race with, a good clean driver and is one of the best and fastest in any racecar he gets into.”

IMCA Stock Cars

34w Ronnie Warren, 4k Ken Plonsky, 489 Anthony Otken, 77 Bill Siegnan, 717 GW Egbert, 48 Duane Toyne, 01 Terry Tschoerner, 69b Jeffrey Bohro, 66 Hunt Harrison, 114 Joey Tschoerner, 04 Nathan Robbins

I-Stock heats

Heat 1; 34w Ronnie Warren, 4k Ken Plonsky, 489 Anthony Otken, 66 Hunt Harrison, 01 Terry Tschoerner, 04 Nathan Robins,

Heat 2; 717 GW Egbeet, 48 Duane Toyne, 77 Bill Siegman, 69b Jeffrey Bohro, 114 Joey Tschoerner

NeSmith Street Stock winner Anthony Gordon’s beautiful Mustang bodied car waiting to do battle. Photo by JM Hallas

Gordon Golden in NeSmith Street Stocks Sweep

San Antonio’s Anthony Gordon jumped out front in the 15-lap NeSmith Street Stock feature going wire to wire for the win, and nightly sweep. Gordon got to turn 1 first with Bryan Meredith, Tim Sikorski, Tim Ellis and Mike Nuby on his tail. The one yellow came early when Larry Baggert found an infield tire. Gordon got away quickly on green while Sikorski and Meredith ran side by side.

Gordon continued to pull ahead with Meredith securing second. By halfway Gordon had built a half straightaway lead and he didn’t let up. At the white flag Gordon was out front by a full straight on his way to the checkers in the Alamo Hot Rod Parts, AT1 Construction, All In Designs, Dewalt Tools, Aramendia Motorsports, Frazier Motorsports, crate powered, Dog House Chassis.

“I knew the start was going to be crucial with Bryan Meredith,” replied Gordon. “It played out in my favor tonight. Bryan has been strong week in, week out. He’s been fighting car trouble like we have all year. It’s been tough. We just have to be on our A-game.”

“The track was fast tonight, but rough. You just have to go with it, pick your line and hope no one gets around you.”

“It’s disappointing the class hasn’t grown bigger. There isn’t a whole lot of changes for some of the other Street Stocks classes to be able to run with us. Every Street Stock that comes through that back gate matters. We’ve got a group of about eight guys that show up every race.”

NeSmith Street Stocks

22m Anthony Gordon, 30 Bryan Meredith, 7s Tim Sikorski, 3 Larry Baggert, 22n Mike Nuby, 17 Tim Ellis, 8 Doug Ripple, 00 Matthew Hawken, 6m Mark Gallagher—dns, 177 Paul Smith—dns, 27 Sam Blacklock—dns

Street Stock heats

Heat 1; 22m Anthony Gordon, 7s Tim Sikorski, 27 Sam Blacklock, 17 Tim Ellis, 177 Paul Smith, 6m Mark Gallagher—dntg

Heat 2; 30 Bryan Meredith, 3 Larry Baggert, 22n Mike Nuby, 00 Matthew Hawken, 8 Doug Ripple—dns

Crowd favorite ‘Stormin’ Steve Sims giving a young fan a ride along during track packing. Photo by JM Hallas

Sims Storms in Stock Car

Stormin’ Steve Sims (Austin) went home with the CBS Stock Car hardware, his fifth win of the season. Sims, Aaron Brungot and Bryan Mayeux had a good battle early in the 10-lapper until Mayeux broke a gear and pulled off. Once Sims got the lead from Brungot, they pulled away from Brian Nixon. Brungot gave it his all trying the high side on the final lap, but it was Sims in the Terrys Body Shop, Austin Mobile Marine, Browning Auto Parts, Arbor Autoworks, MCG Graphics, Paul’s Motorworks, Bearden Automotive, Capitol Screen Company, Chevy holding on for the win.

“I’m liking this dirt thing,” commented Sims a former asphalt racing track champion. “That’s our eleventh feature win on dirt, five this year. That’s the most we’ve had in one season so far here.”

“Maybe I’ve adjusted easier because I grew up in Michigan sliding around on the snow and ice.” he added jokingly. “I don’t know. Honestly it’s just like any other type racing. It’s all about traction. You’ve got be able to hook it up.”

“I told myself before the feature, I’m not going to go three wide, I’m not going to go three wide and the first time I had a chance, I did it.”

“To save our class it’s going to take all of us doing more work than we’ve ever done. We’re willing to do that. We’re constantly on the phone, Facebook during the week doing whatever it takes to get the cars out, loan them parts and convince them that this is our class to lose. We need every single one of them, every night. We’ve never had to work this hard, but we’re willing to do it.”

CBS Stock Cars

58 Steve Sims, 50 Aaron Brungot, 77 Brian Nixon, 0* Bryan Mayeux

Stock Car heats

Heat 1; 0 Bryan Mayeux, 58 Steve Sims, 50 Aaron Brungot, 77 Brian Nixon