Magnolia Motor Speedway
What'd you spec? Moyer wins Cotton Pickin' 100
By Ben Shelton
DirtonDirt.com correspondent
Moyer leads all 100 laps at Magnolia. (Scott Oglesby)
COLUMBUS, Miss. (Oct. 17-18) — For the first time in his career, Hall of Famer Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., experimented with a spec engine package popular with Mississippi racers. Consider the experiment a major success. | Slideshow
Driving his No. 21 with a Wall 2 Wall powerplant under the hood, Moyer started outside polesitter Chris Wall, jumped into the lead at the outset and led all the way in the fifth annaul Cotton Pickin' 100 for an unsanctioned $15,000 victory at the track west of Columbus.
"Now I can see why Chris Wall and some of these other guys are so hard to beat down South," Moyer said when asked about the spec engine. "The spec motor package was perfect for the track conditions last weekend at Magnolia. The track was so slippery on Friday night, but you could race all over it. Then on Saturday, it unfortunately locked down right away, but we had a good car and got the job done."
Moyer, who also won the inaugural event in 2004, had a straightaway lead by the midpoint of the feature event and, despite a late-race caution that gave Wall and others one last crack at Moyer, he cruised the rest of the way. Wall, of Holden, La., finished second followed by Ronny Lee Hollingsworth of Northport, Ala., in a race with mostly single-file racing.
Notes: Moyer's Victory Circle Chassis is sponsored by Banner Valley Hauling, Minx Show Palace, and Allstar Performance. ... The top three finishers had Wall 2 Wall Racing Engines of the spec variety. ... Dewaine Hottinger of Russellville, Ark., spun on the second lap in turn two to bring out the first caution. ... The second caution appeared on the 16th lap when Brandon Kinzer of Allen, Ky., stopped on the backstretch; he rejoined the race. ... Among drivers failing to make the feature: Jason Cliburn, Justin McRee, Billy Moyer Jr., Bill Frye and Scott Dedwylder. ... Chase Washington of Houlka, Miss., won the Late Model Stock feature.
Cotton Pickin' 100: (1) Billy Moyer, (2) Chris Wall, (3) Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, (4) Terry Phillips, (5) Don O'Neal, (6) Dane Dacus, (7) Bub McCool, (8) Jack Sullivan, (9) Jeremy Payne, (10) Scott Slay, (11) Mike Boland, (12) James Ward, (13) Eric Turner, (14) Chad Thrash, (15) Gary Scott Christian, (16) Rodney Wing, (17) Rick Rickman, (18) Tony Knowles, (19) Brandon Kinzer, (20) Neil Baggett, (21) Kyle Beard, (22) Steve Rushin, (23) Dewaine Hottinger, (24) Jimmy Cliburn. Fast qualifier (among 63 cars): Wall. Heat race winners: Wall, Moyer, Jack Sullivan, Terry Phillips, Brandon Kinzer, Tony Knowles. Consolation winners: Chad Thrash, Mike Boland, Jimmy Cliburn.
