(Bill W) May 29, 2014 – Joey Moughan finds himself a handful of points behind Jerrod Hull in a tight MOWA point race after a solid month of May. The Springfield, Illinois driver used a three-race week with the Outlaws to fine-tune some things, and last weekend, recorded four top fives in three different cars. The events covered three MOWA events in which he finished second at Jacksonville, Illinois, fifth at Pevely, Missouri and second at Quincy, Illinois. He hopes to race the weekly show at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa this Saturday night and get some laps for August’s Nationals.
Joey had some high hopes heading into the World of Outlaws show at Jacksonville on May 7. “We went into Jacksonville with a short track motor that hadn’t been run,” he says. “I thought it would be fine there, and it was, but we had a bad draw. I didn’t really take advantage of my opportunities in qualifying or the heat race. It wasn’t running the best.”
It was time to take the #17M on the road. “We went to Wilmot and Haubstadt (with the Outlaws),” says Joey. “We learned some things both nights. It seemed every time I fixed a problem though, I would create two more. We’d fix an oil leak from the valve covers and then the fresh valve covers would touch the throttle and it would stick. We really spent a week learning things. We really had a great car at Haubstadt in the B main. We had a leak again in the feature, but we learned a lot.”
The following Saturday found Joey in weekly competition at St. Francois County Raceway in Missouri. “I went to Farmington to see if everything was put back together,” he says. “Everything was working well. We ran second in the heat and we were running second in the Dash. I was running the racetrack trying to catch Tommy Worley. I actually looped it trying to hard. We started sixth in the feature and changed a few things. We were right there back in second, running with Tommy Worley. I hit the wall coming off four and bent the Jacob’s ladder. We limped home fourth, but even with all that said, the car was really good.”
The MOWA series picked up again last Friday at Jacksonville. Joey was back aboard the Northrop #83. “We had been second at Flora and Lincoln our last two races in the 83,” he says. “We won the heat at Jacksonville just going away. We had an exceptional car. We ran second in the Dash to AJ (Bruns). I was able to win the start of the feature and led most of that. He was with me the whole way, so there was never any letup. I lost a rocker arm (in the motor) with about eight to go and killed some of the power. On the last lap, it got me caught in traffic on the cushion. I had nowhere to go and (Bruns) got by me. I almost came back, and he beat me by a nose. It was a good night though.”
The series moved to the I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri on Saturday and Joey was back aboard his #17M. “I had fixed the stuff I tore up at Farmington with my car,” he says. “We started right where we left off. We started fifth in the heat, and within a lap we were running second to AJ. He ended up getting me at the line by a nose. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough points to make the Dash, so we started ninth in the feature. We didn’t have the best start, but the car took off in the middle of the race and we passed AJ and Jerrod (Hull). We got Joe B. Miller who was third at the time. We had a bleeder go down during a red, so the car wasn’t as good. We lost a couple spots there and ended up fifth.”
Sunday, the series moved up the river to Quincy Raceways. “We were back in the Northrop #83,” says Joey. “They had fixed the rocker arm. We ran third in the heat, and that lined us up eighth in the feature. We had some good runs there and we were able to get by some cars. I got to racing with my uncle Jim (Moughan). I finally got by him running the bottom. On the last restart, I started running the top and I was able to run Korey (Weyant) down and get by him on the last corner for second. So it was another good run and points night for us.”
There was no rest, as Joey drove the Wilson Brothers #15 360 sprint car in USCS action Monday night in Atwood, Tennessee. “We weren’t the best early in the night,” says Joey. “We ran fifth in the heat. We started twelfth in the feature and we got some things going. I was up to fourth, and I was passing for third when they threw a yellow on the last lap. The motor stumbled a little bit…it was running warm…I let Terry Gray sneak by, so we finished fifth. That made four top fives for the weekend, so that was good.”
Reflecting on May, Joey feels his time with the WoO, racing with the best, was his key to success later in the month. “My Outlaw week was really a key for me,” he says. “I paid my dues, made some money, and we were able to experiment at the same time. We did all that without having to run for points with MOWA. I really think those races are paying off for us. I’m proud of what we’ve been doing. We’ll be going to Knoxville this Saturday. We want to get a weekly show or two in before the Nationals.”
The tight point race with Hull should last all summer. “It will be kind of cool if it stays close all year,” says Joey, who has never really run the full MOWA schedule for points. “If I’m leading one night and Jerrod’s leading the next night, it will be good for the fans too. When it goes down to the wire it’s always fun.”
Joey’s Releases
If you’d like to be added to Joey’s e-mail list, e-mail sprntcar@hotmail.com with “Joey” in the Subject Line.
Joey and the JM Motorsports team would like to thank: Moughan Electric, Modern Paving & Scrap, Maxim Chassis, motor builder Jeff Claxton, Racebumpers.com, Glenn Brothers Garage Doors, Cozs Pizza and Pub, The Spinzone, TI-64, Indy Race Parts, Butlerbuilt, Simpson, DMI, Hoosier, Engler Injection and Lincoln Electric.
Attached: Joey in the Northrop #83 at Clay County Speedway (Mark Funderburk Photo)
- Admin Account on May 30, 2014
- Article Date: 5/30/2014 by Bill Wright