Belleville High Banks
Boen overtakes Moore, wraps up fifth NCRA title
By John Rittenoure
O'Reilly NCRABELLEVILLE, Kan. (Sept. 5) — Kelly Boen of Henderson, Colo., bided his time Sunday and it paid off in a big way with a victory at the Belleville High Banks that clinched his fifth O'Reilly National Championship Racing Association title.
Boen's 12th NCRA victory of the season broke his 11-victory record from last season with one race remaining in the season. He earned $2,500.
Dean Moore of Grand Junction, Colo., finished second followed by Corey Zeitner of Bellevue, Neb., and Kelly Dunn of Salina, Kan. Jimmy Segraves of Valley Center, Kan., rounded out the top five in the NCRA Triple Crown event that included sprints and modifieds.
Moore set a torrid pace on the big half-mile oval at the outset and Boen was a distant second until lapped traffic allowed Boen to close in take away the lead.
"I think if we had a yellow, he might have won it," said Boen of Moore's lead. "I was saving a little for the end and I typically do at these races because you might run your right rear (tire) off.
"Dean had a great car. It was better than mine but he got unlucky in traffic and I took advantage of it."
Boen first challenged Moore on lap 14 amid traffic. Dean held his ground, but on lap 15 Boen roared inside of Dean at they crossed the start-finish line and the frontrunners rubbed door panels as Boen gunned away with the lead entering turn one. Boen raced unchallenged the final five laps to record his 12th victory of the season.
"I was hoping to pace myself for the end," Boen said. "At Belleville 10 laps is a long way, 15 laps starts to wear on you and if you are good the last five laps, a lot of times you can take advantage of it.
"My car was not steering as good as his but it was good enough to catch him in traffic and get the win."
O'Reilly NCRA @ Belleville: (1) Kelly Boen, (2) Dean Moore, (3) Corey Zeitner, (4) Kelly Dunn, (5) Jimmy Segraves, (6) Dave Conkwright, (7) Shawn Harker, (8) Kurt Abell, (9) Wylan Petrie, (10) Denton Duncan, (11) Mark Ronnebaun. Scratched: Keith Heger, Ron Heger, Justin Kinderknecht, Mike Wiarda. Heat race winners (among 15 cars): Kinderknecht, Boen.
