Bluegrass Speedway
Jewell mows Bluegrass field, ends 2-year drought
By Michael Despain
O'Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar SeriesBARDSTOWN, Ky. (June 20) — Ending a two-year drought on the O'Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series, two-time series champion Mike Jewell of Scottsburg, Ind., led all the way a 30-lapper at Bluegrass Speedway for a $3,000 victory.
Jewell maintained command all the way in a race slowed seven times, crossing the finish line ahead of Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky. Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., was third followed by Jeff Watson of Campbellsville, Ky. and David Webb of Nicholasville, Ky., who won a week earlier in a series event at the half-mile oval.
Series points leader Victor Lee of Stanford, Ky., had to rally from the rear to finish sixth after officials tagged him with a rough-driving penalty in trying to take second from Webb on a lap-15 restart.
The race had seven caution flags, including one that turned into a red flag when Terry Keltner's machine climbed the turn-one wall before returning the racing surface on the 14th lap. He wasn't injured.
Notes: Jewell's Cornett-powered MasterSbilt is sponsored by Southern Indiana Rock Drilling, Morgan Foods, MPC Motorsports and Jewell TV. ... Jewell's 11th career series victory made him the sixth winner in seven series events in 2009. ... The event was hastily scheduled after a cancellation of series event at Lake Cumberland Speedway in Burnside, Ky. ... Aaron Hatton's 16th-to-eighth run netted him PPM Racing Products Hard Charger honors. ... Besides the Terry Keltner accident, among other cautions appeared were for a Greg Johnson-Lee Devasier tangle in turn four (lap 3), a Johnson-Todd Coffman collision in turn four (lap 15), a Jarryd Holshouser-Scotty Earl incident in turn one (lap 18) and lap-20 spins by Jerry Rutherford and Bobby Wolter Jr. ... Next up for the series is a July 4 event at 201 Speedway in Sitka, Ky., paying $5,000 to the winner.
Clayton Homes of Stanford 30: (1) Mike Jewell, (2) Eric Wells, (3) Mike Marlar, (4) Jeff Watson, (5) David Webb, (6) Victor Lee, (7) Tim Tungate, (8) Aaron Hatton, (9) Larry Gray Jr., (10) Dustin Neat, (11) Lee Devasier, (12) Todd Coffman, (13) Scotty Earl, (14) Bobby Wolter Jr., (15) Ed Behn, (16) Jerry Rutherford, (17) Jarryd Holshouser, (18) Greg Johnson, (19) Jason Keltner, (20) Terry Keltner, (21) Jason Hinkle. Fast qualifier (among 21 cars): Webb, 15.211 seconds. Heat race winners: Neat, Jewell.
