By JM Hallas

PLEASANTON, Texas – A huge weekend of events at I-37 Speedway was nearly done before it started when a fire burned down the office/ticket booth on the property. The cause, still unknown, is suspected to be electrical and also burned the tracks meter loop that supplies power to everything on the grounds. With dedication and hard work from track employees, workers and volunteers the facility was up and running by race time Saturday night.

The Saturday night festivities included the 2 Jacks Back to School Bash. The Jacks, Karen and Bobby, have been sponsoring a back to school night for 12 years at race tracks around south-central Texas. The Jacks, along with other race teams and a list on sponsors, donated school supplies to give away to the kids. Racers giving back to the community.

The Dwarf Car Racing Series of Texas made their third visit of the season. Ryan Stoy out ran the field in the early visit to the ¼ mile, semi-banked, dirt oval. Just a few weeks ago James Fitzgerald made a late race charge, around the high groove, to steal the win away from Dillon Coyne on the final lap.

In an effort to attract more Modifieds, the track, Texas Land Restoration, Sundowner Diesel Performance and B&A Foreign Car Specialists, added to the pot making the winners share of the Modified 20-lap feature $1000 to win.

It was the Pure Stocks night for meet and greet with all the drivers meeting their fans, signing autographs and handing out hero cards to the kids during intermission. 3-D Landscaping chipped another $100 for the winner. The Limited Late Models also had their purse upped by Long Run Seamless Gutters and Votion Remodeling making it $550 to win.

Modified winner Cody Leonard. Photo by JM Hallas

Leonard Lands in Victory Lane #1

On a less than perfect track, Cody Leonard(Sinton) took home his first win of the night in the Modified 16-lap feature.(They voted on it) Leonard took over early from Greg Dinsmore then skipped his way to victory in the Bill Pittaway owned, CD Electric, Pittaway Ranch, Ace Transmission, Showtime Signs & Designs, Wells Racing Engines powered Shaw Chassis.

Dinsmore grabbed the lead on lap 1 with Leonard and Jason Borlace side by side for second, Jeremy Davenport and Robert Liese jr. Dinsmore slid up in turn 1 with Leonard getting by on the bottom. After a caution for debris, Borlace and Liese swapped second while Leonard moved away.

At halfway it was Leonard, Liese, Borlace, Mike Morris and Davenport in the top five. A Davenport spin would bring out a late yellow that saw Leonard slip away while Borlace retook second from Liese. As the white waved, Leonard had pulled away to good advantage that he carried to the checkers.

“Honestly I don’t know how my car did so well tonight on that track,” said Leonard. “We had it set up for dry slick tonight. When we ran the heat race it seemed decent so we figured we’d run it like that for the feature. Trying to get through the ruts was key tonight.”

“Ya, it was definitely rough tonight. Can’t blame the track after how much rain they had. They had a lot of rain, they did what they could, I’m not complaining. It was rough but sometimes you just have to deal with it and go with it.”

“We didn’t do much changing. We left the house with it set up for a drier track. We actually changed a lot of stuff just for the dry. We didn’t get to run hot laps with motor trouble. We hoped the track would come around to what the car wants.”

Modifieds

137(12) Cody Leonard, 125 Jason Borlace, 77 Robert Liese jr., 55 Mike Morris, 91 Jeremy Davenport, 14t Talon Minten, 8g Greg Dinsmore, 29 Jamie Campbell—dns

Modified heats

Heat 1; 8g Greg Dinsmore, 137 Cody Leonard, 91 Jeremy Davenport, 77 Robert Liese jr, 92 Jake Rollins—dns

Heat 2; 125 Jason Borlace, 29 Jamie Campbell, 55 Mike Morris, 14t Talon Minten

Sport Modified winner Cody Leonard. Photo by JM Hallas

Leonard Lands Another

Cody Leonard grabbed his second trophy of the night taking the victory in the 20-lap Sport Modified feature. Leonard and Marcus Mikulencak battled hard the first half of the race until Leonard took over command. From there Leonard was able to ease away for the win in the CD Electric,raceontexas.com, All In Designs, Ace Transmission, Flanagans Muffler Shop, Coastal Diesel, K&R, Wells Racing Engines powered Express Chassis.

After one aborted start the Sport Modified feature fired off into turn1 with M. Mikulencak getting front with Johnny Torres, Lawrence Mikulencak, Leonard and Robby Minten on his tail. L. Mikulencak tried to high jump a tractor tire on lap 1 ending his night. On the restart R. Minten and Leonard swapped third.

Mikulencak slipped on lap 4 giving Torres a run, but a spin by Ryan Doyon slowed the pace. On the restart Leonard got second from Torres while the Minten brothers, Robby and Talon swapped fourth. Leonard began looking low on M. Mikulencak for the lead with Torres, R. Minten and T. Minten three wide for third.

Leonard ran side by side with M. Mikulencak on lap 9 and got the spot coming to halfway with Torres, T. Minten and R. Minten in the top five. T. Minten got past Torres for third and began closing on M. Mikulencak for second. As the laps clicked off Leonard had built a big lead on his way to the checkers.

“It was tough seeing who was outside of me after the door wadded up over the passenger side window,” replied Leonard. “I had no idea. It’s just something you have to deal with and drive through it. I wasn’t expecting it. I threw it in (the corner) on the first lap, hit a rut and it just folded up.”

“I was just driving by sound and hoping for the best. I was trying to give everyone room. Since the right side was torn up I was definitely trying to leave a lane on the outside. If I didn’t hear them, or see with the limited vision I had I’d move up. If not I’d leave some room so I don’t get into them.”

“That Street Stock race I had with Wade (Jones) was really fun,” added Leonard. “It was clean, it was fun, but it was rough. We were both trying to fight through the ruts. We both make our mistakes and got by each other. Lapped traffic came into play and made it even better. I think the fans loved. It sucked we couldn’t get the win there too. After that caution the brake pedal started going to the floor.”

Sport Modifieds

12 Cody Leonard, 03 Marcus Mikulencak, 9t Talon Minten, 66 Johnny Torres, 24r Robby Minten, 25t Michael Keylich, 31 Chase Havely, 24 Jim Blevins, 5r Ryan Doyon, 22 Randy Bennett, 8 Ray Doyon III, 87 Lawrence Mikulencak, 11t Tom Grothues—dns, 26g JJ Jennings—dns

Sport Modified heats

Heat 1; 03 Marcus Mikulencak, 87 Lawrence Mikulenack, 8 Ray Doyon III, 9t Talon Minten, 25t Michael Keylich, 5r Ryan Doyon, 11t Tom Grothues

Heat 2; 66 Johnny Torres, 12 Cody Leonard, 24r Robby Minten, 24 Jim Blevins, 26g JJ Jennings, 31 Chase Havely, 22 Randy Bennett

Dwarf Car Racing Series of Texas winner Dillon Coyne. Photo by JM Hallas

Coyne Scores Cash

Dillon Coyne (Boerne) went home with the cash in the 20-lap Dwarf Car Racing Series of Texas feature. Coyne and Ty Paxson put on a show in the final laps swapping the lead numerous times. At the finish line it was Coyne able to hold Paxson off on the final lap to secure the win.

At the start Dwain Groff got out front trailed by Drew Simental, Jerry Book, Tyler Folkerts and Rusty Young. Simental took over the point on lap 3 while Coyne worked his way up to second. Coyne was beginning to pressure Simental on lap 4 while Folkerts, Rusty Young, Groff, James Fitzgerald and Paxson battled for fifth.

After a yellow for a Rodney Rodriguez spin, Coyne was able to use the restart to get out front on lap 7. Behind them Paxson had moved up to third going by Young. Simental broke and stopped for the final caution that saw Paxson take second with Fitzgerald and Brandon Spreen moving up to third and fourth.

Now the fun begins.

Paxson got alongside Coyne and got the advantage at the line to lead lap 14. Coyne hung tough and got the bumper out front on lap 16. Paxson fought back getting the edge for the lead again on lap 17. Undaunted, Coyne wrestled the lead back as the two came to the white flag. Paxson gave him one last shot in (turns) 3-4 but it was Coyne holding him off at the line.

Dwarf Car Racing Series of Texas

12 Dillon Coyne, 15 Ty Paxson, 6 James Fitzgerald, 80 Brandon Spreen, 42 Tyler Folkerts, 99 Gary Buchanan, 88 Rusty Young, 64 Larry Carwin, 4 Rodney Rodriguez, 66 Dwain Groff, 37 Drew Simental, 7 Danny Davis, 25 Dylan Budnik, 50 Jerry Book, 20 Ryan Stoy—dns, 53 Zac Zearfoss—dns

DCRST heats

Heat 1; 66 Dwain Groff, 64 Larry Carwin, 4 Rodney Rodriguez, 50 Jerry Book, 53 Zac Zearfoss

Heat 2; 42 Tyler Folkerts, 80 Brandon Spreen, 37 Drew Simental, 7 Danny Davis, 20 Ryan Stoy

Heat 3; 12 Dillon Coyne, 6 James Fitzgerald, 99 Gary Buchanan, 25 Dylan Budnik, 15 Ty Paxson, 88 Rusty Young

Limited Late Model winner Quentin Henderson. Photo by JM Hallas

Long Haul Pays Off for Henderson

After being out of racing for many years, Quentin Henderson (Adkins) picked up his first I-37 Speedway Limited Late Model win of the season. Henderson made the long trip to Florida to pick up the car and has got it figured out after only a couple races. Henderson made a late pass to spoil Aaron Leddy’s night and score the win.

Leddy was first off turn 2 on green chased by Patrick Kelly, Trey Votion, Howie Marcx and Henderson. As P. Kelly looked inside Leddy for the lead, Marcx got by Votion for third. Votion retook the spot, then second from P. Kelly as Henderson followed to third. Votion was beginning to challenge Leddy when yellow waved.

On the restart Henderson snagged second from Votion with P. Kelly coming along to third. Henderson caught Leddy on lap 13 and was door to door on the back stretch. Henderson got the advantage on lap 14 and from there was able to pull away to get his first Late Model victory.

Limited Late Models

44 Quentin Henderson, 84 Patrick Kelly, 93 Aaron Leddy, 99v Trey Votion, 57 Jason Kelly, 99 Frank Okruhlik, 13 Howie Marcx, 8 DJ Schroat

Limited Late Model heats

Heat 1; 93 Aaron Leddy, 13 Howie Marcx, 99 Frank Okruhlik, 8 DJ Schroat

Heat 2; 84 Patrick Kelly, 99v Trey Votion, 44 Quentin Henderson, 57 Jason Kelly

Street Stock Winner Wade Jones. Photo by JM Hallas

Jones Outjousts Leonard for Street Stock Score

Wade Jones (Jourdanton) and Cody Leonard put on a clinic, despite the rough surface, in the 20-lap Street Stock feature. The duo not only traded the lead several times, but were able to pull away from the field while doing it. After a restart Jones, in the SABFI Transportation, Opiela Mechanical, Mission Racing, Horelka Racing, Chevy Camaro, was able to get away to take the checkers and spoil Leonard’s chance at the triple win.

On green, Leonard was out first pursued by Jones, Shawn Moore, Tommy Casey and Allen Torres. Jones got inside Leonard and got the point on lap 3. The two would then run side by side for several laps until Leonard got the lead back on lap 7. Jones fought back retaking the top spot on lap 8.

In the meantime, Chris Swenson was quickly moving up getting past Casey and Mike Lyon for fourth. Back up front the lead duo were dicing through traffic. Jones got a scare on lap 15 when Dennis Hilla broke, slowed and nearly collected Jones in the process.

On the restart Jones was able to get some breathing room on Leonard, who had brake problems. Swenson and Moore now had their own fight going on for third. Swenson finally took the spot with two to go. As the white flag was shown, Jones had built a safe margin over Leonard as he motored on to the win.

Street Stocks

41Wade Jones, 7 Cody Leonard, 48 Chris Swenson, 18 Shawn Moore, 2x Dennis Hilla, 94 Allen Torres, 20 Mike Lyon, 8 Jacob Crow, 99 Wayne Wernette, 42 Tommy Casey, 9s Jarrett Payton, 40 Kenny Hurley

Street Stock heats

Heat 1; 7 Cody Leonard, 42 Tommy Casey, 94 Allen Torres, 99 Wayne Wernette, 9s Jarrett Payton, 48 Chris Swenson

Heat 2; 41 Wade Jones, 18 Shawn Moore, 40 Kenny Hurley, 8 Jacob Crow, 20 Mike Lyon, 2x Dennis Hilla

Pure Stock winner Dakota Hurley. Photo by JM Hallas

Hurley Out-hustles Leddy for Pure Stock Payday

In the Pure Stock feature it was Dakota Hurley (La Vernia) getting past Aaron Leddy in the latter stages of the 20-lapper. Hurley worked his way to battle with Leddy at halfway and take the position with about five to go. Hurley, in the Clayton Homes of Seguin, Schneider Solar Screens, Delivery Made Easy, Beaver Motorsports, Sassy Styles, All In Designs, Chevy Nova, also took a bite out of Dakota Heinaman’s points lead after Heinaman was taken out early.

As the 20-car field took the green, Dillon Gaither jumped out front, but Aaron Leddy gave him a look low on the back stretch. Behind them it was William Saunders, James Aramendia jr. with Mason Casteneda and Hurley side by side. Aramendia got third from Saunders who would lose fourth to Casteneda.

Leddy kept the heat on Gaither who would spin himself from the lead on lap 4 and on the restart, slap the wall. With Leddy now on point, Saunders, Casteneda, Bobby Jack and Heinaman filled the top five. Heinaman’s night ended when he got tagged and spun by Justin Randol. Caitlin Leonard was an innocent victim as she got into the spinning Heinaman.

Once back to green, Hurley methodically marched his way to the front. Hurley first got past Casteneda, then Saunders before getting alongside Leddy. Hurley gave Leddy a shot on lap 10, but was unable to get by. After a quick regroup Hurley again put a charge on getting to the lead on lap 14, then inching away for the win.

Pure Stocks

40 Dakota Hurley, 93 Aaron Leddy, 98 William Saunders, 28m Mason Casteneda, 25 Bobby Jack, 13j Justin Randol, 15d Jamie Dear, 97 James Aramendia jr, 88 Alexis Hendricks, 56 Bob Caulfield, 15 William Cavender, 38 Billy Kinnaman, 28 Frank Sowell, 39 Sonny Kinnaman jr., 14 Mark Pivarnik, 441 Dakota Heinaman, 9c Caitlin Leonard, 5 Dillon Gaither, 6c Nathan Corpus, 30 Riley Heil, 48 Patrick Lyon—dns

Pure Stock heats

Heat 1; 98 William Saunders, 93 Aaron Leddy, 9c Caitlin Leonard, 88 Alexis Hendricks, 56 Bob Caulfield, 39 Sonny Kinnaman jr

Heat 2; 5 Dillon Gaither, 25 Bobby Jack, 28m Mason Casteneda, 15d Jamie Dear, 14 Mark Pivarnik, 13j Justin Randol, 30 Riley Heil

Heat 3; 40 Dakota Hurley, 97 James Aramendia jr., 441 Dakota Heinaman, 6c Nathan Corpus, 15 William Cavender, 38 Bill Kinnaman, 48 Patrick Lyon

Sport Compact winner Robert Kelm. Photo by JM Hallas

Bounty Hunters Beaten Back by Kelm

With a $100 bounty on his head, Robert Kelm (Kyle) was able to bust the bounty hunters in a race that was tough on equipment. Kelm avoided any failures and got out front early. Trevor Bettis was able to give Kelm a race getting the lead near midway. But Bettis had his problems and gave the spot back before pulling off. This win made it six in a row and the bounty goes up $50 next race.

Jamie Garner got off to a good start in the 20-lap Sport Compact feature followed by Bettis, Kelm, Charles Earnhardt jr. and Daniel Zajac. Yellow was quickly out after Earnhardt who went off course on the back stretch. The top five broke away on the restart with Kelm using the high line.

Kelm was able to motor around Bettis and Garner for the lead on lap 4 with Bettis getting second. Kelm was able to pull away as Bettis, Garner and Justin Henley got hung up in traffic. Henley saw his night end on lap 7 when he stopped on track, erasing Kelm’s lead.

Bettis capitalized on the restart getting the lead from Kelm on lap 9. Using a slower car as a pick, Kelm got the lead back from Bettis on lap 12. Kelm then pulled away from Bettis who began to slow. By the time the white waved Kelm in the Oak Hill Motorsports, Rachel Plant Picture Taker, M&E Automotive, Saturn was over a half lap ahead easily getting the win.

Sport Compacts

8 Robert Kelm, 63 Gordon Dowdy, 44 Ronnie Schoenfeldt, 3g Garrett Godfredson, 13m Jeremy Watson, 114 Kasey Krauss, 57 Trevor Bettis, 3 Jamie Garner, 117 Casey Lowe, 56 Treyler Caulfield, 96 Justin Henley, 43w Eric Wilson, 4 Jeremy Witt, 42 Daniel Zajac, 53 Charles Earnhardt jr., 77 GB Carter, 68 Team Boerne—-dq(tech), 43 Alyson Dorken—dns

Sport Compact heats

Heat 1; 3 Jamie Garner, 56 Treyler Caulfield, 96 Justin Henley, 117 Casey Lowe, 13m Jeremy Watson, 43w Eric Watson

Heat 2; 8 Robert Kelm, 53 Charles Earnhardt jr., 68 Team Boerne, 63Gordon Dowdy, 44 Ronnie Schoenfeldt, 43 Alyson Dorken

Heat 3; 57 Trevor Bettis, 42 Daniel Zajac, 4 Jeremy Witt, 3 Garrett Godfredson, 114 Kasey Krauss, 77 GB Carter

Go-Kart feature winners

Age 5-7

Blaine Markgraf

Age 8-10

Peyton Jones

Age 11-13

Ryker Hernandez

Age 5-7 Go-Kart winner Blaine Markgraf. Photo by JM Hallas

Age 8-10 Go-Kart winner Peyton Jones. Photo by JM Hallas

Age 11-13 Go-Kart winner Ryker Hernandez. Photo by JM Hallas