ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Thursday results from time trials preceding Friday's split-field preliminary programs at the second annual VP Racing Fuels Gateway Dirt Nationals presented by Karl Performance at The Dome at America's Center, Dirt Late Model racing’s only indoor event; Groups A and B will run separate programs Friday (results unofficial):
Pre-qualifying notes
Defending Gateway Dirt Nationals champion Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., parked his distinctive black trailer in the convention center pit area on Wednesday without his No. 0 car inside it. The hauler came to St. Louis from Texas, where it was undergoing some repairs; Bloomquist crewman Cody Mallory towed the race car to the city in an enclosed trailer and it was rolled into the Dome Thursday morning along with many tools and spare parts that had been removed from the primary trailer for its fixes. … Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., is ready for Dome action after sitting out last year’s inaugural because he was sick. Meanwhile, his son, Billy Jr., is back in the event’s field for the second straight year, but this time he’s a married man after tying the knot with the former Skyla Tosh last weekend. … Another high-profile first-time Dome entrant is Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., who has entered a Donald Bradsher-owned No. 49 and has the mechanical assistance of Kevin Rumley. … The Gateway Dirt Nationals will be the 100th overall event of a busy 2017 season for Brent Larson of Lake Elmo, Minn., who did not enter last year’s Dome action. … Jesse Stovall of Billings, Mo., competed in last year’s Gateway Dirt Nationals, but he’s opted to sit out his home state’s $30,000-to-win show and serve as “team manager” this weekend for his teammate Randy Timms of Wheatland, Okla. … Kevin Weaver of Gibson City, Ill., has a fresh look to his No. B12 for the weekend with new sponsorship from Diamond Vogel Paints and a Gateway Dirt Nationals-themed wrap that includes the St. Louis arch in his number and a list of his biggest career accomplishments on the bottom of its doors. … Tim Dohm of Cross Lanes, W.Va., thought his long haul to the Dome might go for naught when he was initially unable to open his trailer’s liftgate upon entering the building Thursday morning due to electrical problems. Dohm, whose son Zack is spending the weekend as his father’s crew chief rather than also competing, was eventually able to get the trailer open thanks to help from a building electrician and other racers. … First-time Dome entrant Russ King dealt with snowy conditions for the first three hours of his trip westward from Bristolville, Ohio; when he unloaded in the pit area, his crewman, Bob Bachman, had to clean up the inside of the trailer because dirty snow and salt from the treated highways seeped through some poorly sealed spots in the transporter’s rear door. … Drivers pulling double-duty with Dirt Late Model and modified rides include Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., Timothy Culp of Prattsville, Ark., and Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill.
Pre-hot lap notes
Gateway Dirt Nationals promoter Cody Sommer welcomed the 200-plus race teams to the second annual event while presiding over a Thursday-afternoon drivers’ meeting in the convention center’s jam-packed media room. He thanked all the participants for supporting the show and noted that, with the experienced gain from last year’s inaugural under his belt and the help he’s received from event coordinator Jacob Nord, he’s not looking like “a walking zombie” this year. … Limiting the amount of exhaust fumes from race cars is always a point of emphasis with indoor races, and officials addressed the matter during the drivers’ meeting. Modified race director Matt Curl emphasized the weekend’s motto: “Wheels stopped, engines stopped,” stressing that cars can’t idle inside the building. In fact, he said officials would likely red-flag races often rather than turn numerous caution laps if incidents on the track would require lengthy cleanups. … Officials attempted to allow teams to warm their cars’ engines in the convention center pit area on a staggered basis before the start of Thursday’s hot laps, but they scrapped that plan because they were not pleased with the how the teams followed the directive. As a result, officials announced that cars can only be fired up outside the building as they are headed to the fuel truck and/or the staging area. … Drivers in uniform were permitted to walk the racetrack for the first time at 2 p.m.
Time trial results
Driver (car no.), hometown, time
Group A
Jason Welshan (29w), Rockford, Tenn., 11.477
Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., 11.479
Bob Gardner (4G), East Peoria, Ill., 11.629
David Breazeale (54), Four Corners, Miss., 11.685
Austin Theiss (7D), Hockley, Texas, 11.719
Rusty Schlenk (CJ1), Weston, Ohio, 11.737
Kip Hughes (G0), Enid, Okla., 11.74
Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., 11.742
Scott Ward (37), Watertown, S.D., 11.754
Corey Ford (84F), Belleville, Ill., 11.775
Billy Moyer Jr. (21), Batesville, Ark., 11.802
Casey Montague (01), Trey, Ill., 11.805
Allen Weisser (61w), Peoria, Ill., 11.832
Shad Badder (173), Bates City, Mo., 11.837
Timothy Culp (C8), Prattsville, Ark., 11.866
Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 11.92
Austin Hubbard (11), Seaford, Del., 11.925
Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 11.956
Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 12.004
Daryn Klein (10K), Fairview Heights, Ill., 12.049
Brandon Sheppard (B5), New Berlin, Ill., 12.065
Jeff Roth (14R), Bentonville, Ark., 12.08
Clay Fisher (99), Dewitt, Ark., 12.08
Kolby Vandenbergh (15), Ashland, Ill., 12.137
Joe Godsey (26R), Bentonville, Ark., 12.139
Levi Ashby (1A), Cumberland Furnance, Tenn., 12.165
Luke Goedert (44), Guttenberg, Iowa, 12.192
Randy Timms (5T), Wheatland, Okla., 12.277
Zach McMillan (14), Gladewater, Texas, 12.288
David Payne (7), Ward, Ark., 12.313
Brandon Pralle (56), Ashkum, Ill., 12.317
Jason Suhre (4), Highland, Ill., 12.337
Mike Schulte (27m), Summerfield, Ill., 12.35
Billy Lambert (9), Mount Pleasant, N.C., 12.371
Michael Kloos (6K), Trenton, Ill., 12.404
Paul Roider (23R), Columbia, Ill., 12.421
Freddy Carpenter (K0), Parkersburg, W.Va., 12.425
Dewayne Kiefer (0K), Bloomsdale, Mo., 12.444
John E. Baker (22J), French Lick, Ind., 12.488
Greg Kimmons (27K), Pleasant Plains, Ill., 12.64
Chris Felter (15F), Troy, Mo., 12.642
Tim Manville (33), Highland, Ill., 12.686
Cole Swibold (98), Fairview, Ill., 12.688
Cole Long (54), Starkville, Miss., 12.778
Mike Hammerle (16), St. Charles, Mo., 12.801
Blake Martin (63), Milton, Fla., 13.002
Maria Hankins (63H), Bennett, Colo., 13.475
Group B
Hunter Rasdon (R5), Jonesboro, Ark., 12.259
Tim Dohm (6), Cross Lanes, W.Va., 12.283
Chad Zobrist (78), Highland, Ill., 12.341
Rob Toland (39), Davenport, Iowa, 12.41
Gordy Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., 12.45
Brent Larson (B1), Lake Elmo, Minn., 12.535
Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 12.546
Tyler Millwood (31), Cartersville, Ga., 12.551
Derek Fetter (32F), Troy, Mo., 12.558
Tyler Carpenter (28), Parkersburg, W.Va., 12.561
Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 12.581
Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 12.585
Mike Spatola (89), Manhattan, Ill., 12.603
Don O’Neal (5), Martinsville, Ind., 12.633
Cody Holtkamp (23), Holts Summit, Mo., 12.671
Myles Moos (84), Lincoln, Ill., 12.672
Russ King (56) Bristolville, Ohio, 12.68
Justin Kay (15K), Wheatland, Iowa, 12.68
Kent Robinson (7R), Bloomington, Ind., 12.694
Ryan Unzicker (24), El Paso, Ill., 12.716
Caleb Ashby (61), Cunningham, Tenn., 12.757
Oakley Johns (C6), Hohenwald, Tenn., 12.782
Donald Johns (C66), Summertown, Tenn., 12.802
Jason Schierkolk (12s), Casper, Wyo., 12.805
Jason Zobrist (87), Highland, Ill., 12.814
Scott Bell (45), East Prairie, Mo., 12.872
Darrell Lanigan (14), Union, Ky., 12.876
Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., 12.887
Dave Armstrong (6), Festus, Mo., 12.901
Kevin Weaver (B12), Gibson City, Ill., 12.913
Rich Bell (21), Sheffield, Ill., 12.932
Jeremy Sneed (24S), Bluford, Ill., 12.955
Charlie Cole (2), Wynne, Ark., 13.084
Robbie Stuart (6R), Deridder, La., 13.14
Brandon Tibaldi (119), Almo, Ky., 13.216
Robert Ardry (127), Murfreesboro, Tenn., 13.316
Kody Hardage (12H), Cannon Lake, Texas, 13.321
Jeff Herzog (11H), Herculaneum, Mo., 13.329
Joey Coulter (2), Concord, N.C., 13.353
Farrel Skelton Jr. (0F), Mount Pleasant, Tenn., 13.487
Mark Shipman (57s), Grandview, Texas, 13.517
Brian Mullins (626), Cincinnati, Ohio, 13.617
Matt Bailey (52), Highland, Ill., 13.619
Reno Markham (21m), Kingston, Ill., 13.699
Benjamin Mott (1), White Lake, Mich., 14.159
Scott Crigler (12), Alton, Mo, 14.408
Thursday’s schedule
11 a.m. - Pit doors open
1 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting and press conference
2 p.m. - Spectator doors open
3 p.m. - On-track activity for Late Models and modifieds
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified hot laps
- Late Model time trials
- Draw for Race of Champions
- Modified time trials
- Modified heats 1-4
- Late Model Race of Champions
- Modified heats 5-8
(Pits close one hour after final checkered flag)
Friday schedule
11 a.m. - Pit doors open
1 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting and press conference
2 p.m. - Spectator doors open
3 p.m. - On-track activity for Late Models and modifieds
- Eight Late Model heat races (8 laps)
- Six modified consolation races (12 laps)
- Four Late Model consolation races (12 laps)
- Modified feature (20 laps)
- First Late Model feature (20 laps)
- Second Late Model feature (20 laps)
(Pits close one hour after final checkered flag)
