ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Dec. 5) — Updates from Thursday’s first round of the eighth annual Gateway Dirt Nationals at The Dome at America's Center in downtown St. Louis, featuring a $5,000-to-win prelim for Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Staving off a mid-race challenge from Ashton Winger, Mike Spatola of Manhattan, Ill., led all 25 laps to win Thursday's $5,000 Gateway Dirt Nationals opener at The Dome at America's Center in downtown St. Louis. Spatola raced to his first career victory at the temporary fifth-mile by 1.359 seconds ahead of Winger, securing his fifth overall victory of the season, all of them coming since Aug. 17.

Feature lineup

(25 laps)

Row 1: Mike Spatola, Ashton Winger
Row 2: Jadon Frame, Ryan Gustin
Row 3: Brandon Sheppard, Kyle Hammer
Row 4: Trevor Gundaker, Tyler Carpenter
Row 5: Shannon Babb, Oakley Johns
Row 6: Joseph Joiner, Jonathan Davenport
Row 7: Chris Simpson, Jimmy Owens
Row 8: Rodney Melvin, Jason Feger
Row 9: Jon Mitchell, Jeffrey Ledford

Consolation race results

(10 laps; top three transfer)

First consolation: Chris Simpson, Rodney Melvin, Jon Mitchell, Steve Sheppard Jr., Jason Riggs, Mike Franklin, Chad Wallace, Donald Johns, Lance Brasington, Derek Fetter, Zak Blackwood, Quentin White.

Second consolation: Jimmy Owens, Jason Feger, Jeffrey Ledford, Bob Gardner, Michael King Jr., Ryan Montgomery, Tristan Chamberlain, Rich Bell, Todd Rehg, Rusty Griffaw, Justin Green, John Ownbey.

Consolation lineups

First consolation
Row 1: Chris Simpson, Rodney Melvin
Row 2: Steve Sheppard Jr., Mike Franklin
Row 3: Jon Mitchell, Jason Riggs
Row 4: Donald Johns, Zak Blackwood
Row 5: Chad Wallace, Derek Fetter
Row 6: Lance Brasington, Quentin White
Second consolation
Row 1: Jeffrey Ledford, Jimmy Owens
Row 2: Jason Feger, Bob Gardner
Row 3: John Ownbey, Todd Rehg
Row 4: Ryan Montgomery, Justin Green
Row 5: Michael King Jr., Rusty Griffaw
Row 6: Tristan Chamberlain, Rich Bell

Heat race recap

Fourth-starting Kyle Hammer powered around the outside of Trevor Gundaker on lap five and paced the final four laps to win the first heat race by 0.384 of a second. Gundaker led laps 2-4 before grabbing the final transfer spot into Thursday’s 25-lap feature. Brandon Overton led the opening lap before slowing from second with right-front damage on lap four, drawing the race’s first caution; he did not continue. Matt Menzie spun on the ensuing restart and required a tow back to the pits. Chad Zobrist slowed from fourth on lap six and pulled off. … Ryan Gustin led all eight laps from the pole to win heat two by 1.352 seconds over Shannon Babb. An opening lap tangle between Lance Brasington and Bree Whittmore drew the race’s first yellow. Both continued, with Whittmore spinning again to draw the third caution on lap four. Nathan Higginbotham and Daniel Shelton tangled on lap four, causing the second slowdown; Shelton stopped on track and expressed his displeasure before they both continued. Higginbotham spun to draw the fifth and final yellow on lap six. Jon Mitchell spun from second on the lap-four restart, collecting Wil Herrington and Steve Hewitt. Herrington and Hewitt were unable to continue, while Mitchell soldiered to a fourth-place result. … Mike Spatola used a last-lap pass by Joseph Joiner and beat him to the checkers by 0.439 of a second. Joiner, who led the opening seven laps, settled for runner-up. Chad Wallace spun from third in the opening turn, causing the first slowdown; he continued to finish fifth. The second yellow flag came for a lap-three spin by Timmy Dick. He continued until losing his spoiler on lap five, with the debris resulting in the third yellow. The fourth and final caution came on lap seven as Robbie Scott slowed with a flat left-rear tire as several pieces of debris littered the track. … Second-starting Brandon Sheppard cruised to win heat four by 2.704 seconds over pole-starting Tyler Carpenter, as Carpenter narrowly beat Jeffrey Ledford to the line, grabbing the final transfer position by 0.123 of a second. … After nearly losing the lead to Jimmy Owens before a lap-five caution negated the move, Jadon Frame won the fifth heat by 0.116 of a second over fifth-starting Oakley Johns, who grabbed the runner-up spot from Owens on the final lap. Justin Green rebounded to fifth after spinning on lap two, triggering the race’s first caution. Benji Hicks spun in turn two on lap seven, bringing out the second and final slowdown. He continued to finish ninth. … Ashton Winger led all eight laps to win the sixth and final heat race by 0.669 of a second over Jonathan Davenport. Davenport and Winger were pressured by Jason Feger before a late-race caution spoiled his momentum. The first caution came on lap seven when Doug Cooper spun himself across the nose of second-running Davenport, as he was getting lapped. Cooper spun again on lap eight, setting up a two-lap dash to the checkers. Fourth-running Tyler Erb pulled off under the yellow with a flat left-rear tire and was credited with ninth.

Heat results

(Eight laps; top two transfer)

First heat: Kyle Hammer, Trevor Gundaker, Chris Simpson, Mike Franklin, Donald Johns, Derek Fetter, Rachel Carpenter, Scott Geaschel, Chad Zobrist, Brandon Overton, Matt Menzie.

Second heat: Ryan Gustin, Shannon Babb, Rodney Melvin, Jon Mitchell, Zak Blackwood, Lance Brasington, Bree Whittmore, Nathan Higginbotham, Daniel Shelton, Wil Herrington, Steve Hewitt.

Third heat: Mike Spatola, Joseph Joiner, Steve Sheppard Jr., Jason Riggs, Chad Wallace, Quentin White, Austin Theiss, Timmy Dick, Will Harris, Robbie Scott, Ted Johnson Jr.

Fourth heat: Brandon Sheppard, Tyler Carpenter, Jeffrey Ledford, Bob Gardner, Ryan Montgomery, Rusty Griffaw, Casey White, Jacob Magee, Mike Petersilie, Daniel Garrett, Jim O'Hara.

Fifth heat: Jadon Frame, Oakley Johns, Jimmy Owens, John Ownbey, Justin Green, Tristan Chamberlain, William Rose, Blake Morris, Benji Hicks, Patrik Daniel, David Marlow.

Sixth heat: Ashton Winger, Jonathan Davenport, Jason Feger, Todd Rehg, Michael King Jr., Rich Bell, Devon Morgan, Tate O'Leary, Tyler Erb, David Seibers, Doug Cooper.

Heat race lineups

First heat
Row 1: Brandon Overton, Chad Zobrist
Row 2: Trevor Gundaker, Kyle Hammer
Row 3: Chris Simpson, Derek Fetter
Row 4: Mike Franklin, Matt Menzie
Row 5: Donald Johns, Scott Geaschel
Row 6: Rachel Carpenter
Second heat
Row 1: Ryan Gustin, Jon Mitchell
Row 2: Shannon Babb, Rodney Melvin
Row 3: Zak Blackwood, Lance Brasington
Row 4: Wil Herrington, Nathan Higginbotham
Row 5: Daniel Shelton, Bree Whittmore
Row 6: Steve Hewitt
Third heat
Row 1: Mike Spatola, Joseph Joiner
Row 2: Chad Wallace, Steve Sheppard Jr.
Row 3: Jason Riggs, Austin Theiss
Row 4: Quentin White, Robbie Scott
Row 5: Will Harris, Timmy Dick
Row 6: Ted Johnson Jr.
Fourth heat
Row 1: Tyler Carpenter, Brandon Sheppard
Row 2: Jeffrey Ledford, Bob Gardner
Row 3: Rusty Griffaw, Casey White
Row 4: Ryan Montgomery, Jacob Magee
Row 5: Daniel Garrett, Mike Petersilie
Row 6: Jim O’Hara
Fifth heat
Row 1: Jadon Frame, Tristan Chamberlain
Row 2: Justin Green, Jimmy Owens
Row 3: John Ownbey, Oakley Johns
Row 4: Patrik Daniel, Benji Hicks
Row 5: Blake Morris, William Rose
Row 6: David Marlow
Sixth heat
Row 1: Ashton Winger, Jason Feger
Row 2: Jonathan Davenport, Michael King Jr.
Row 3: Todd Rehg, David Seibers
Row 4: Tyler Erb, Tate O'Leary
Row 5: Rich Bell, Doug Cooper
Row 6: Devon Morgan

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 12.399
2. Ryan Gustin (19R), Marshalltown, Iowa, 12.411
3. Mike Spatola (89), Manhattan, Ill., 12.455
4. Chad Zobrist (78), Highland, Ill., 12.468
5. Jon Mitchell (121), Texarkana, Texas, 12.506
6. Joseph Joiner (10), Milton, Fla., 12.512
7. Trevor Gundaker (11T), St. Charles, Mo., 12.617
8. Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 12.654
9. Chad Wallace (34), LaGrange, Ga., 12.874
10. Kyle Hammer (45), Clinton, Ill., 12.907
11. Rodney Melvin (27m), Benton, Ill., 12.918
12. Steve Sheppard Jr. (5s), New Berlin, Ill., 13.052
13. Chris Simpson (32s), Oxford, Iowa, 13.077
14. Zak Blackwood (93), Columbus, Ind., 13.096
15. Jason Riggs (81R), College Grove, Tenn., 13.110
16. Derek Fetter (32F), Troy, Mo., 13.214
17. Lance Brasington (11), Lexington, S.C., 13.297
18. Austin Theiss (7D), Hockley, Texas, 13.313
19. Mike Franklin (74), Winchester, Va., 13.330
20. Wil Herrington (14x), Hawkinsville, Ga., 13.342
21. Quentin White (14), Greenwood, Ind., 13.409
22. Matt Menzie (41m), Clever, Mo., 13.412
23. Nathan Higginbotham (57H), Bagley, Minn., 13.425
24. Robbie Scott (18s), Shinnston, W.Va., 13.481
25. Donald Johns (c66), Summertown, Tenn., 13.522
26. Daniel Shelton (1s), Richmond, Ky., 13.645
27. Will Harris (21), Maysville, Ga., 13.707
28. Scott Geaschel (4E), Collinsville, Ill., 13.709
29. Bree Whittmore (22), McMinnville, Tenn., 13.718
30. Timmy Dick (122), Monticello, Ill., 13.787
31. Rachel Carpenter (11c), Lancaster, S.C., 13.849
32. Steve Hewitt (H1), Mannford, Okla., 13.916
33. Ted Johnson Jr. (25J), Rushville, Ohio, no time
Group B
1. Tyler Carpenter (28), Parkersburg, W.Va., 12.956
2. Jadon Frame (J8), Winchester, Tenn., 13.012
3. Ashton Winger (12w), Hampton, Ga., 13.095
4. Brandon Sheppard (B5), New Berlin, Ill., 13.177
5. Tristan Chamberlain (20tc), Richmond, Ind., 13.180
6. Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 13.228
7. Jeffrey Ledford (8L), Pontiac, Ill., 13.250
8. Justin Green (19J), Sheboygan Falls, Wis., 13.256
9. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 13.273
10. Bob Gardner (4G), East Peoria, Ill., 13.304
11. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 13.305
12. Michael King (14jr), El Dorado, Ark., 13.309
13. Rusty Griffaw (16), Festus, Mo., 13.313
14. John Ownbey (J0), Cleveland, Tenn., 13.315
15. Todd Rehg (17), St. Jacob, Ill., 13.331
16. Casey White (41), Greenwood, Ind., 13.347
17. Oakley Johns (c6), Hohenwald, Tenn., 13.363
18. David Seibers (18D), Lewisburg, Tenn., 13.379
19. Ryan Montgomery (4s), Fairmont, W.Va., 13.445
20. Patrik Daniel (75D), Wills Point, Texas, 13.496
21. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, 13.531
22. Jacob Magee (10m), Caney, Kan., 13.542
23. Benji Hicks (55), Mount Airy, N.C., 13.683
24. Tate O’Leary (28k), Port Lambton, Ontario, 13.697
25. Daniel Garrett (81), Freeland, Md., 13.749
26. Blake Morris (1m), Zanesville, Ohio, 13.758
27. Rich Bell (21B), Sheffield, Ill., 13.759
28. Mikel Petersilie (25p), Hoisington, Kan., 13.763
29. William Rose (77), Scott Depot, W.Va., 13.897
30. Doug Cooper (69), Indianapolis, Ind., 14.085
31. Jim O’Hara (44J), Covington, Pa., 14.263
32. David Marlow (m14), Deer Creek, Ill., no time
33. Devon Morgan (12), Greenville, S.C., no time

Thursday’s schedule

(All times local)
8 a.m. - Competitor parking for late arrivals
10 a.m. - Registration and credentials office opens
11 a.m. - Pits open, technical inspection begins
1 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting, fuel storage opens
2 p.m. - Grandstands open
3 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Modified group qualifying
5 p.m. - Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
Consolation races
- Late Models (10 laps)
- Modifieds (8 laps)
Features
- Late Models (25 laps)
- Modifieds (20 laps)
(Pits cleared, closing one hour after final checkered flag)