Saguaro Speedway
Moyer denies foes, wins Tucson's midweek race
By Joshua Joiner
DirtonDirt.com staff writer
Billy Moyer earned his 12th Arizona victory. (photosbyshana.net)
TUCSON, Ariz. (Jan. 15) — Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., turned back challenges from Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo., and Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., late in Wednesday’s Winter Extreme main event to earn a $3,000 victory in the third round of Tucson International Raceway’s six-race miniseries.
Moyer, the reigning National Dirt Racing League champion, claimed his first victory since switching to a Longhorn Chassis over the offseason. His event-leading 12th-career win in Arizona’s annual January action came in an NDRL non-points event. | Complete Winter Extreme coverage
“We’ve got a heck of a good car here,” said Moyer, whose victory followed finishes of second and seventh in the week’s first two events. “To run it three times now and have a good finish every time, I’m very happy.”
Making his Winter Extreme debut, Sheppard settled for second with polesitter Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan., third. Ninth-starting Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., was fourth, while Chris Simpson of Oxford, Iowa, advanced from 19th to round out the top race’s top five finishers.
Phillips was 21st in the final rundown after a lap-26 tangle among the leaders knocked him out of the race. The unfortunate ending marked the second straight disappointing finish for Phillips, who had mechanical troubles while leading Sunday’s Winter Extreme feature.
Starting from the outside of the front row Moyer grabbed the early lead over Junghans and cruised through the early portions of the 30-lap race. His only challenge in the first half of the race was negotiating traffic, which he did with only a slight bobble when he briefly jumped the turn-two cushion on lap 10.
Third-starting Phillips finally topped a back-and-forth battle with Junghans by lap 17 and set his sights on Moyer. Phillips caught Moyer as the leaders entered lapped traffic on lap 23, and soon sixth-starting Brandon Sheppard closed in to make it a three-car battle for the lead.
Racing just behind Moyer, Phillips and Sheppard ran side-by-side on laps 24 and 25 before a lap-26 bobble by Moyer forced the high-running Phillips to check up and climb the wall on the back straightaway. Phillips was able to keep his car from turning over, but was forced to pull to the infield on the following lap.
Moyer’s bobble also allowed Sheppard to look low for the lead entering turn three on the same lap, but Sheppard’s hard charge into the corner forced him to drift high into the side of Moyer’s car.
The slight contact briefly turned Sheppard’s car sideways, allowing Moyer to drive away. He maintained roughly a half-straightaway advantage through the final three laps.
“I was just trying to bide my time,” Moyer said of the close call on lap 26. “We caught them lapped cars again and Brandon got into me a little bit. I went up high and I knew I had to get up on the wheel and get the job done then.”
Sheppard settled for the runner-up finish in his first race of the season, but was disappointed not to claim the victory.
“I feel like we had a car that probably could’ve won,” Sheppard said. “It’s just one of them deals. I made one mistake and Moyer compensated. But it was a pretty good night overall for our first time here.”
Notes: The winner’s Moyer Xtreme by Longhorn car is powered a Clements Racing Engine with sponsorship from Henderson Motorsports, Banner Valley Hauling, Car Quest, Cooley Transport, L&D Trucking, and J&J Steel. ... Moyer claimed his 12th-career Arizona victory. ... The race’s only caution appeared when Mike Balcaen of Winnipeg, Manitoba, slowed from a top-10 spot on lap 13. ... Kent Robinson of Bloomington, Ind., advanced from 15th to finish sixth. ... Steven Pfeifer of Minot, N.D., went took a wild rollover ride in a consolation race; he wasn’t injured. ... The Winter Extreme takes its final off night on Thursday before returning Friday with the first of three straight race nights to wrap the six-race miniseries. DirtonDirt.com will provide live video coverage of the event.
Winter Extreme (Jan. 15): (1) Billy Moyer, (2) Brandon Sheppard, (3) Chase Junghans, (4) Jimmy Mars, (5) Chris Simpson, (6) Kent Robinson, (7) Donny Schatz, (8) Pat Doar, (9) Travis Dickes, (10) Shane Clanton, (11) Rob Sanders, (12) Justin Kay, (13) Jason Krohn, (14) Jason Papich, (15) Clay Daly, (16) Tony Toste, (17) Jason Hughes, (18) Ricky Weiss, (19) Dave Smith, (20) A.J. Diemel, (21) Terry Phillips, (22) Tony Jackson Jr., (23) Mike Balcaen, (24) Joey Moriarty. Fast qualifier (among 49 cars): Schatz, 15.434 seconds. Heat winners: Junghans, Sheppard, Balcaen, Moyer, Phillips, Sheppard. Consolation winners: Simpson, Jackson, Kay.
Main event lineup
Row 1: Chase Junghans, Billy Moyer
Row 2: Terry Phillips, Rob Sanders
Row 3: Mike Balcaen, Brandon Sheppard
Row 4: Donny Schatz, Pat Doar
Row 5: Jimmy Mars, A.J. Diemel
Row 6: Shane Clanton, Tony Toste
Row 7: Jason Papich, Dave Smith
Row 8: Kent Robinson, Travis Dickes
Row 9: Jason Hughes, Joey Moriarty
Row 10: Chris Simpson, Tony Jackson Jr.
Row 11: Justin Kay, Ricky Weiss
Row 12: Jason Krohn, Clay Daly
Consolation race results
Top two finishers transfer to main event
First consolation: Chris Simpson, Ricky Weiss, Morgan Bagley, Tim Fuller, Kyle Beard, Justin Asplin, Marshall Miles, Dave Deetz, R.C. Whitwell, Tyson Turnbull.
Second consolation: Tony Jackson Jr., Jason Krohn, Mason Zeigler, Travis Glaser, Max Blair, Garrett Alberson, Bucky Adrews, Rick Ortega, Steven Pfeifer.
Third consolation: Justin Kay, Clay Daly, Will Vaught, John Blankenship, Lance Matthees, Billy Moyer Jr., William Thomas, Zach McMillan.
Consolation race lineups
Top two finishers transfer to main event
First consolation race
Row 1: Ricky Weiss, Chris Simpson
Row 2: Tim Fuller, Kyle Beard
Row 3: Morgan Bagley, Ryan Gustin
Row 4: Justin Asplin, Marshall Miles
Row 5: R.C. Whitwell, Dave Deetz
Row 6: Tyson Turnbull
Second consolation race
Row 1: Tony Jackson Jr., Max Blair
Row 2: Jason Krohn, Trevor Glaser
Row 3: Mason Zeigler, Steven Pfeifer
Row 4: Garrett Alberson, Rick Ortega
Row 5: Bucky Andrews, Don Shaw
Third consolation race
Row 1: Lance Matthees, Justin Kay
Row 2: Clay Daly, Billy Moyer Jr.
Row 3: Will Vaught, Zach McMillan
Row 4: William Thomas, Fito Gallardo
Row 5: Sean Bray, John Blankenship
Heat race results
Top three transfer to main event
First heat: Chase Junghans, Donny Schats, Jason Papich, Ricky Weiss, Tim Fuller, Morgan Bagley, Justin Asplin, R.C. Whitwell, Dave Deetz.
Second heat: Rob Sanders, Pat Doar, Dave Smith, Chris Simpson, Kyle Beard, Ryan Gustin, Marshall Miles.
Third heat: Mike Balcaen, Jimmy Mars, Kent Robinson, Tony Jackson JR., Jason Krohn, Mason Zeigler, Garrett Alberson. Did not start: Don Shaw.
Fourth heat: Billy Moyer, A.J. Diemel, Travis Dickes, Max Blair, Travis Glaser, Steven Pfeifer, Rick Ortega, Bucky Andrews.
Fifth heat: Terry Phillips, Shane Clanton, Jason Hughes, Lance Matthees, Clay Daly, Will Vaught, William Thomas, Sean Bray.
Sixth heat: Brandon Sheppard, Tony Toste, Joey Moriarty, Justin Kay, Billy Moyer Jr., Zach McMillan, Fito Gallardo.
Qualifying (unofficial)
Heat races start straight up from qualifying
First group
Donny Schatz (15), Fargo, N.D. 15.434
Chase Junghans (18), Manhattan, Kan. 15.924
Jason Papich (91p), Nipomo, Calif. 16.067
Tim Fuller (19), Watertown, N.Y. 16.256
Ricky Weiss (7), Winnipeg, Manitoba 16.329
R.C. Whitwell (5), Tucson, Ariz. 16.852
Morgan Bagley (14m), Longview, Texas 16.852
Justin Asplin (77A), Birch Tree, Mo. 16.933
Dave Deetz (98D), Las Cruces, N.M. 18.162
Second group
Rob Sanders (10n), Bakersfield, Calif. 15.862
Dave Smith (06), Edmonton, Alberta 15.935
Pat Doar (11), New Richmond, Wis. 16.057
Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa 16.139
Kyle Beard (86), Trumann, Ark. 16.411
Ryan Gustin (19r), Marshalltown, Iowa 16.424
Marshall Miles (7), Siera Vista, Ariz. 16.913
Tyson Turnbull (10), Estevan, Saskatchewan no time
Third group
Mike Balcaen (10), Winnipeg, Manitoba 15.737
Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis. 15.913
Tony Jackson Jr. (56), Lebanon, Mo. 15.915
Kent Robinson (7r), Bloomington, Ind. 15.932
Jason Krohn (7k), Slayton, Minn. 16.394
Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa. 16.415
Garrett Alberson (43), Las Cruces, N.M. 16.619
Don Shaw (42), Ham Lake, Minn. 20.960
Fourth group
Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark. 15.907
A.J. Diemel (58), Elk Mound, Wis. 15.979
Travis Dickes (6), Madison, Neb. 15.999
Max Blair (111), Titusville, Pa. 16.002
Trevor Glaser (2), Tangent, Org. 16.447
Steve Pfeifer (11), Minot, N.D. 16.916
Rick Ortega (24), Las Cruces, N.M. 17.342
Bucky Andrews (32), Tucson, Ariz. 18.403
Fifth group
Terry Phillips (75), Springfield, Mo. 15.940
Jason Hughes (12), Westville, Okla. 16.118
Shane Clanton (25), Zebulon, Ga. 16.314
Will Vaught (1v), Crane, Mo. 16.332
Lance Matthees (90), Winona, Minn. 16.334
Clay Daly (32b), Watsonville, Calif. 16.424
William Thomas (19), Phenix City, Ala. 16.557
Sean Bray (14), Tucson, Ariz. 18.011
Sixth group
Joey Moriarty (51), Phoenix, Ariz. 15.902
Brandon Sheppard (b5), New Berlin, Ill. 15.950
Justin Kay (15k), Wheatland, Iowa 16.023
Tony Toste (91t), Pismo Beach, Calif. 16.141
Billy Moyer Jr. (21jr), Batesville, Ark. 16.310
John Blankenship (23), Williamson, W.Va. 16.312
Fito Gallardo (g17), Las Cruces, N.M. 16.503
Zach McMillan (14z), Gladewater, Texas 17.012
