Old No. 1 Speedway
Wallace edges Dacus for win at Poinsett County
By Ben Shelton
O'Reilly MSRAHARRISBURG, Ark. (Sept. 12) — Barely completing a flag-to-flag victory, Wendell Wallace of Batesville, Ark., fought off a last-ditch challenge from Dane Dacus of Arlington, Tenn., for an O'Reilly Mid-South Racing Association victory at Poinsett County Raceway. Wallace earned $2,000 for the victory in the MSRA Dirt Track Championship, an event with a shuffled schedule because of a threatening weather forecast.
Dacus starters on the pole for the 30-lapper, but Wallace jumped into the lead from the outset and kept Dacus at Bay. Dacus made a late bid for the lead but came up just a few feet short at the finish. Jeff Floyd of Walnut Ridge, Ark., who started 12th, finished third followed by Joey Mack of Benton, Mo., who wrapped up his second consecutive MSRA championship.
The weekend was originally scheduled for a $5,000-to-win event with preliminaries on Friday and feature racing Saturday, but with rain in the forecast, series and track officials decided to run a pair of $2,000-to-win events with Friday's action serving as the MSRA season finale. A $2,000-to-win non-points event is scheduled for Saturday.
Notes: Wallace drives a Gaerte-powered GRT Race Car sponsored by C&S Cable Construction, Delph Communications, Frankland Racing Supply and Wincrest Farms. ... Jeff Floyd finished second to Joey Mack in the series points chase. ... Brian Ritchie of Newport, Ark., was the cause of one of the race's two cautions when suspension problems knocked him out on the first lap. ... Wallace became the fourth multiple-race winner on the MSRA circuit in 2008, joining Kyle Beard, Ray Moore and Jack Sullivan. ... Jon Kirby of Russellville, Ark., who finished eighth, wrapped up MSRA Rookie of the Year honors. ... Gary Beard was leading the first heat race when mechanical problems ended his night.
O'Reilly MSRA @ Poinsett County: (1) Wendell Wallace, (2) Dane Dacus, (3) Jeff Floyd, (4) Joey Mack, (5) Billy Moyer, (6) Michael Murphree, (7) Kyle Beard, (8) Jon Kirby, (9) Shane Stephens, (10) Jack Sullivan, (11) Billy Moyer Jr., (12) Steve Rushin, (13) Billy Peden, (14) Mike Bowers, (15) Jordan Jones, (16) Chris Jones, (17) Justin Asplin, (18) Jeff Sloan, (19) Randy Mitchell, (20) Brian Ritchie. Heat race winners (among 32 cars): Murphree, Moyer Jr., Dacus, Wallace. Consolation winners: Beard, C. Jones. Provisional starters: Mitchell, Sloan.
