Lonnie Wheatley, DODGE CITY, Kan. (November 22, 2013) – A successful season of racing action was logged into the book in 2013 at Dodge City Raceway Park with a variety of thrills and memorable moments along the way for fans and racers alike to relish.
While Austin Allen, Jeff Kaup, Billy Phelps, Dustin Walker and Jarett Lunow each claimed track championships in the track’s regularly featured divisions of IMCA Modifieds, United Wireless IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, Poor Boy Kustomz Thunder Cars and Hornets, several special events marked the season that included 17 nights competition over 13 different weekends.
While the track’s championship contending classes offered up blockbuster action on a consistent basis, special events that further livened the action over the course of the year included TORC Off Road Trucks, World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, URSS Sprint Cars, USAC Southwest Sprint Cars and the Inaugural Modified Stampede.
The Traxxas TORC Off Road Truck Series took to Dodge City Raceway Park for the first time with a two-night stand on April 12-13 featuring the high-flying, high-horsepower trucks playing to a full house on both nights. Ricky Johnson, Bryce Menzies and Doug Mittag took wins on the opening night before the father-son duo of Johnny and C.J. Greaves along with Rob MacCachren finished off the weekend with Saturday night wins.
The World of Outlaws Sprint Cars rolled into town for the annual Boothill Showdown on July 5-6 with Donny Schatz nipping Jason Sides at the line to take the opening night win before eventual 2013 WoO champion Daryn Pittman took top honors on the final night as a packed house watched all the action unfold.
The United Rebel Sprint Series (URSS) Sprint Cars took to the 3/8-mile clay oval on four occasions in 2013 with four different drivers posting wins. Brian Herbert defended his hometown turf with a May 11 score, Taylor Velasquez of Turpin, OK, took top honors June 29, Goddard’s J.D. Johnson was unstoppable on July 26 and then Jetmore’s Zach Blurton took the win in the Jerry Soderberg Memorial Championship event on September 28.
The track also hosted the Inaugural Modified Stampede on July 19-20 after weather postponed the event from the originally scheduled date of May 3-4. With 35 cars on hand for both nights of competition, David Murray picked up the $1,200 winner’s share on both nights. Murray took the lead away from Kevin Gray 12 laps into Friday’s 30-lapper before wrestling the top spot away from Austin Allen on the 17th lap one night later to finish off the weekend sweep.
Dodge City Raceway Park also hosted the USAC Southwest non-wing Sprint Cars on August 23-24 with Arizona’s Charles Davis, Jr., and New Mexico’s Rick Ziehl splitting victory honors.
DCRP officially put the wraps on the 2013 season with the Awards Banquet on November 2 at the Knights of Columbus building in Dodge City, honoring the top ten in point in the track’s five championship chase divisions.
Dodge City Raceway Park is located on the south edge of Dodge City, KS, on US 283, then 0.9 miles west on US 56, then 0.1 miles south. For more information, contact the track at 620-225-3277 or check www.dodgecityraceway.com.
- Admin Account on Nov 22, 2013
- Article Date: 11/22/2013 by Lonnie Wheatley