ArkLaTex Speedway
McCool flies to the pole position in Pelican 100
By Bryan Wimberley
DirtonDirt.com correspondent
Canadian Mike Balcaen (10) made a long haul to Louisiana. (scottscustomart.com)
VIVIAN, La. (Feb. 25) — Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss., blasted to the quickest time in qualifying Friday night, then went on to dominate his heat race in a half-track victory to earn the pole position for Saturday's inaugural Pelican 100 at ArkLaTex Speedway.
The $10,000-to-win unsanctioned event, among the richest in the region for Dirt Late Models all season, is the quarter-mile track's first Super Late Model race in nearly three years. McCool comes in among the hottest driver of the 48 entrants with six top-five finishes already in 2011, including a victory at USA Raceway in Tucson, Ariz. | Preliminary notebook | Slideshow
A familiar face joins McCool on the front row as Ronny Lee Hollingsworth of Northport, Ala., was second fastest in time trials and posted a solid heat race win over Kenny Merchant of West Monroe, La. Hollingsworth and McCool famously tangled on the final corner in the fifth round of Tucson's Wild West Shootout, sending McCool to victory lane and Hollingsworth hard into the wall. The ArkLaTex event marks Hollingsworth's first race back since the accident in his Flynn Motorsports No. 18.
The two other heat race winners, David Breazeale of Four Corners, Miss., and Ray Moore of Haughton, La., earned second-row spots for Saturday's century-long grind. Details of Friday's prelims:
First heat
It didn't take long for the action to heat up, when Morgan Bagley and Jon Mitchell made contact on the backstretch while giving chase to leader Bub McCool. Bagley claimed second as Kennith Crowe went over the turn-one embankment after completing the first lap, to bring out the caution. With McCool putting distance on the field, a 3-wide battle for third ensued, involving Jon Kirby, Doug Begnaud and Mitchell on the fourth lap. McCool easily won the 15-lap heat and battled lapped traffic halfway through the race, enrouted to a dominating performance.
Finish: Bub McCool, Morgan Bagley, Jon Kirby, Jon Mitchell, Leon Henderson, Doug Begnaud, Jody Prince, Kennith Crowe, Troy Berdan, Shane Harris, Bryan Sugg, Stacy Taylor.
Second heat
It took two tries to get a lap in the books for the second heat when Dewaine Hottinger of Russellville, Ark., got bounced off the track in a three-wide backstretch battle. Polesitter Ronny Lee Hollingsworth set the pace as Kenny Merchant and Neil Baggett fought it out for second on lap one. Kyle Beard of Trumann, Ark., joined the fray of action in the next lap, overtaking both to grab second. Merchant battled back on lap four to regain a spot from Beard. Hollingsworth led all 15 laps in heat two and beat Merchant by two seconds at the flags. Hottinger rebounded from his earlier incident, racing back to finish fifth.
Finish: Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Kenny Merchant, Kyle Beard, Greg Fore, Dewaine Hottinger, Neil Baggett, Allen Tippen, Gary Christian, Bubba Mullins, Kyle Cummings, Curtis Cook, Eric Neal.
Third heat
Three was definitely the charm for the best heat race of the evening. David Breazeale and Timothy Culp of West Monroe, La., battled for the lead early on, with Culp continuously diving down low to take a peek at the lead. Breazeale remained on point through the first two cautions — when Trey Beene slowed to exit the track and then Culp spun. With the green flag back out, Billy Moyer Jr. challenged Timothy Culp for second on lap four. With Moyer up to second, Timothy Culp fell into the clutches of Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark., losing that position to the GRT House Car driver on the next lap. Moyer caught Breazeale and the pair raced door-to-door three straight laps midway through the race. The frontrunners were neck-and-neck again on lap nine, but Breazeale nudged ahead by a length with three laps remaining. Breazeale got breathing room the last two circuits as Sullivan pressured Moyer for the second spot. Timothy Culp and Jody Mayne made contact at the checkered flags with Culp holding on for fourth while Mayne's machine hit the wall, then slipped over the turn-one embankment.
Finish: David Breazeale, Billy Moyer Jr., Jack Sullivan, Timothy Culp, Jody Mayne, Alan Murray, Josh Danzy, Heath Culp, Wesley Chanler, Trey Beene, Ronny Adams, Wendall Bolden.
Fourth heat
The final heat saw Ray Moore lead flag-to-flag as he appeared nearly effortless. Justin McRee of Cottondale, Ala., came together with Raymond Taylor of Ball, La., in turn two early in the prelim, sending McRee spinning for the first yellow. An unsuccessful restart brought out another caution for a three-car tangle among Jeff Chanler, Lee Davis and Jim Bryant in turn one. Once underway again, Moore ease to a comfortable lead over Rob Litton. Moore's biggest concern became negotiating lapped cars, to pick up the victory. Moore drove away from Rob Litton of Alexandria, for the victory as they locked themselves into the feature lineup along with third-finishing Wendell Wallace. Late entry, Justin Ingalls of Longview, Texas, broke on left front wheel from contact with another car. Ingalls fought the condition for several laps before pulling off late.
Finish: Ray Moore, Rob Litton, Wendell Wallace, Mike Balcaen, Lee Davis, B.J. Robinson, Phil Miller, Justin Ingalls, Jim Bryant, Jeff Chanler, Justin McRee, Raymond Taylor.
Preliminary notes
The Pelican 100 is ArkLaTex Speedway's fifth Late Model event. Previous winners are Rob Litton (May 2008), Kenny Merchant (July 2007), Kyle Cummings (May 2007) and David Ashley (May 2006). ... The previous race at the track a half-hour north of Shreveport, La., was a photo finish with Litton edging Lee Davis in an O'Reilly SUPR touring event. ... Another Late Model race is scheduled for June 25 at ArkLaTexas when it hosts the Comp Cams Super Dirt Series. ... Several incidents in Friday's hot laps caused issues for drivers. Bubba Mullins slowed and pulled to the inside of the track because of carburetor problems. His crew changed carburetors three times before qualifying. Mullins qualified mid-pack and was still sluggish in his heat. He'll start in the sixth row in his consolation, in the No. 11jr he'll drive full-time in 2011. ... Kyle Cummings, driving the Gilbert Swayne-owned No. 96, had brake issues in hot laps while Justin McRee lost a driveshaft. ... Josh Danzy found himself running on three wheels in practice after a loose left-front worked its way free. ... Both Ronny Adams and Wendall Bolden scratched from heat races because of mechanical issues. ... Mike Balcaen of Winnipeg, Manitoba, made the 22-hour trip from north of the border. Balcaen qualified 32nd overall but his fourth-place finish in a heat put him on the front row of a consolation race. ... Several drivers in the unsanctioned event have series plans. Bub McCool hopes to chase Rookie of the Year honors on the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series, Curtis Cook will aim towards the Comp Cams Super Dirt Series rookie honors Morgan Bagley will gun for the O'Reilly SUPR rookie crown. ... The final row of Saturday's 22-car field will be made up of a driver drawn from non-qualifiers as well as a starting spot auctioned to the highest bidder.
Consolation race lineups
Row 9: Raymond Taylor, Wendall Bolden
