Memphis, MO (Friday, October 21, 2016) - Night 1 of the "Memphis Fall Nationals" kicked off on Friday, which also began the final weekend of racing during the 2016 racing season at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Missouri. Despite the cool evening temperatures, the action on track was enough to help keep the fans warm throughout the night.
The 20 lap Stock Car feature was the first to take to the track, with Todd Reitzler and Nathan Wood drawing the front row for the event. Reitzler would take advantage of his starting spot to grab the lead on lap 1 over Mike Hughes, who started 6th, and Jeff Mueller, who started 5th. Hughes, who was working the top of the track, used the momentum to take the top spot away from Reitzler on lap 3. The action up front was slowed for the first and only time on lap 8, when Brian Derry spun in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Hughes jumped back out front, with Mueller and Cayden Carter, who started 8th, battling for second. Carter would use the same move that Hughes used earlier to get the lead, by using the momentum off turn 4 to take the lead on lap 14. After Carter took the lead, Hughes moved from the bottom to the top of the track to follow Carter. Which allowed Mueller to work the bottom and make it a three car battle for the lead. Despite a few challenges over the final laps, Carter was able to hold on to pick up the win and the $1,000 check. Mueller was 2nd, Hughes was 3rd, Jason Cook came from 10th to finish in 4th, with Johnny Spaw rounding out the top 5.
Up next was the 14 lap Sport Compact feature, with Kenny Smith and Darin Smith leading them to the green flag. But it was fourth place starter Brandon Reu who grabbed the lead on lap 1 over Smith and Barry Taft, who started 5th. Disaster would strike a few of the front runners on lap 5, when Eric Misner spun in front of the leaders in turn 4 and collected Smith, Brandon Lambert and Alyssa Steele to bring out the caution. On the restart Reu moved back out front, with Taft and Jake Dietrich following close behind. The final caution of the race appeared on lap 8, when Steele stopped down the front stretch to bring out the yellow. Reu once again grabbed the lead on the restart, with Taft and Dietrich close behind. Taft tried to get under Reu over the final laps, but Reu was able to hold him off to pick up the win. Taft settled for 2nd, Kimberly Abbott, who started 8th, nipped Dietrich at the line to finish in 3rd, Dietrich was 4th, with Casey Lambert finishing 5th after starting in 13th
Rob Wilsey and Dustin Griffiths lead the field to the drop of the green flag in the 15 lap Hobby Stock feature, with Griffiths jumping out front on lap 1 over Nathan Ballard and Wilsey. The lead for Griffiths only lasted 1 lap, as Ballard slipped past him on lap 2 to take over the top spot. Just after lap 2 was scored complete the first and only caution of the race appeared. Debris in turn 2 would bring out the yellow. On the restart Ballard jumped back out front, with Mike Hughes, who started 6th, moving into the runner up spot. Hughes would challenge Ballard for the top spot over the final few laps. But Ballard was able to hold him off to claim the win. Hughes was 2nd, Mike Kincaid was 3rd, Clint Nelson started 7th and finished 4th, with Griffiths holding on for a 5th place finish.
Up next was the 20 lap SportMod feature, with Brandon Dale and Jerry Hinton drawing the front row. But it was fifth place starter Brayton Carter who quickly moved to the front to lead lap 1 over Dale and Curtis Van Der Wal. Disaster would strike the second and third place runners on the completion of lap 1, as Dale spun in turn 2 from contact from Van Der Wal. Dale would restart from the rear of the field, as Van Der Wal retied to the pits with brake problems. On the restart Jim Gillenwater, who started 11th, used the bottom of the track to grab the top spot away from Carter, as Brandon Lennox, who started 9th, moved into third. The action up front was slowed for the second time on lap 6, when Jami Ritter spun in turn 4 to bring out the yellow. Gillenwater jumped back out front on the restart, with Carter and Lennox battling for second. Lennox worked the top of the track to grab second away from Carter on lap 7, and then went to work on Gillenwater for the lead. Coming off turn 4 on lap 12, Lennox used the momentum off the top to take the top spot away from Gillenwater. Gillenwater tried to work back under Lennox over the next 5 laps, when the final caution of the race appeared on lap 17. Mike Tanner came to a stop in turn 2 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Lennox jumped back out front and then held off Gillenwater to pick up the win and the $1,000 top prize. Gillenwater settled for 2nd, Logan Anderson came from 10th to finish in 3rd, Carter was 4th, with Tim Plummer finishing 5th after starting in 8th.
The final feature to take to the track on the night was the 20 lap Modifieds, with Rob Jennings and Kyle Brown leading the field to green. Brown, who was up top, edged out Zack VanderBeek, who was working the bottom, at the line by inches to lead lap 1, with Cayden Carter close behind in third. The battle up front was slowed for the first time on lap 2, as Milo Veloz spun in turn 3 and Dugan Thye went over the track in turn 3 to bring out the yellow. On the restart Donovan Lodge spun in turn 1 and collected Larry McConnell to bring the yellow light back on. The following restart saw Michael Long, who started 10th, slip past Brown to grab the lead away. But Brown would slip back past Long on lap 4 to get the lead. The two would trade slid jobs over the next three laps, before Long took command of the race on lap 8. Long then pulled away to claim the win and the $1,000 check. Brown was 2nd, VanderBeek was 3rd, Andrew Schroeder finished 4th after starting in 12th, with Kurt Kile starting 9th and coming home in 5th.
Notes from night 1: 34 SportMods, 30 Modifieds, 20 Stock Cars, 13 Sport Compacts, and 11 Hobby Stocks made up the 108 cars signed in......John Oliver Jr. started the Stock Car feature in 20th after loosing a power steering belt in the heat race. He then passed 14 cars to bring home a 6th place finish....Dalton Lynch had troubles after the heat that forced him to scratch from the feature......Kevin Garrett started the Sport Compact feature in 10th and finished 7th....Trenton Molkenthin has troubles after the heat race that forced him to scratch from the feature......Calvin Dhondt finished 6th in the Hobby Stock feature after starting in 10th....Aaron Martin suffered a flat tire on lap 11 while running 6th, and was credited with an 8th place finish....Danny Thrasher, who was running 3rd, suffered a flat on the lap 10 restart and was credited with a 9th place finish......Carter VanDenBerg finished 6th in the SportMod feature, after starting in 14th....Tyler Soppe started 13th and finished 8th....Brandon Dale recovered from his spin on lap 1 to come back up to finish 9th....Jason Bass started 15th and finished 12th....Joe Beal started 16th and finished 13th....Dakota Simmons finished 15th after starting in 19th....Mike Goben started 21st and finished 16th....Justin Veloz started 22nd and finished 17th....John Oliver Jr. was suppose to start 3rd, but during the parade lap the left rear trailing arm bolt broke and forced him to the infield......Jeff Waterman started the Modified feature in 11th and finished 6th....Kelly Shryock came from 14th to finish in 8th....Jesse Hoeft passed 13 cars from his 22nd place starting spot to come home in 9th....Jared Fuller started 17th and finished 10th....Dakota Hayden passed 12 cars from his 23rd place starting spot to come home in 11th....Jardin Fuller started 19th and finished 12th....Shane DeMay suffered motor problems after qualifying thru the B Main, and was forced to scratch from the feature.
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