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POCOLA, OK (August 30^th, 31^st & September 1^st, 2018) – The 2^nd Annual USRA Modified Fall Classic once again proved that the mighty Tri-State Speedway was the place to be this Labor Day Weekend. With 115 cars in action on the famous high banks in Pocola, OK, there was something for everyone. Mother Nature, for the most part, cooperated, except for the 20-minute monsoon on Thursday night that halted the open practice session only an hour or so in. Temps were in the low 90’s with a southerly breeze for Friday and Saturday night’s action. A big shout out to the track prep guys who had the track in great condition for practice and who were able to get it back in top-notch condition for the next two days of three and four-wide racing action.

The pre-race ceremonies started at 7:45 PM, on Friday night, with the invocation along with several cars presenting the American flag during the national anthem. Saturday night’s pre-race action started 7:53 PM.

Friday night’s heat races for the USRA Modifieds were determined by the driver’s draw at sign in and advanced to one of two qualifying features by their passing points earned in their heats. The top five cars in each of the two qualifying features locked into Saturday night’s big money A Feature while the remaining cars would return the next night for one of two last chance qualifying features.

Saturday night’s heat races for all the other classes were determined by the driver’s draw at sign in. The Factory Stocks and Out-Pace USRA Modifieds advanced to their features heads up from their heat race finishing positions with a random invert drawn by the last heat race’s winner. The Super Stocks advanced to their features via heat race passing points. The top five USRA Modifieds advanced from their LCQ’s to join the cars locked in from Friday night’s qualifying features, along with two provisionals to set up a 22-car starting field for the $5,000-to-win paycheck.

On Saturday night, there were several B Feature’s before intermission. In the Super Stocks, H. Palmer (X15 – Muldrow, OK) took home the win. In the first Out-Pace USRA Modified B Feature, Steve Holzkamper (40X – Gentry, AR) captured the win. The second Out-Pace USRA Modified B Feature saw Cody King (510 – Fanshawe, OK) crossing the finish line first for the win. In the first USRA Modified LCQ, Brent Holman (17 – Rogers, AR) took home the win. The second USRA Modified LCQ had Brian Williams (26 – Fayetteville, AR) capturing the checkered flag.

At intermission, on both nights, everyone grabbed themselves some great food items from the concessions along with an ice-cold Pepsi or Gatorade product. 50/50 money, of $170+, was also given away to one lucky winner, on Saturday night, as the remaining money went to the driver’s point fund. On Saturday night, several drivers came up at intermission for autographs. Some previous week’s feature winners also received their trophies for their hard work.

TOP THREE

No NexGen drivers were on hand, but time is running out to get racing this season with your own NexGen car. The NexGen class is an entry-level, low-cost, no racing experience class. You can find the simple rules on our website, at www.Tri-StateSpeedway.com, under Driver Info and then Rules. Blaise Leatherman (94L – Muskogee, OK) is the current points leader.

After intermission, the first A Feature on the track was for the Factory Stocks. Wesley Bourne (5 - Cameron, OK) took his third win of the season over Justin Johnson (55 – Van Buren, AR). Kyle Hamby (7K - Hackett, AR) finished in third. Hamby stays at the top of the point standings with a slightly narrower 41-point lead.

The next A Feature on the track was for the 35-lap, $5,000 to win USRA Modifieds. After running second for the first several laps, Jason Hughes (12H – Salina, OK) took the lead and never looked back, even as heavy lap traffic was encountered for most of the feature. Hughes took the lead from Tyler Wolff (4W – Fayetteville, AR) who stayed within striking distance but was not able to recapture the lead and finished in second. Chad Wheeler (88 – Muskogee, OK) ran a strong race and took home third. George Martin (15 – Fort Smith, AR) is still on top of the points, but by a smaller 23 points.

Next out onto the track, for their A Feature, was the Out-Pace USRA B-Mods. Mike Striegel (17 – Wheatland, MO) took home the win over Brian Williams (4$ - Fayetteville, AR) and Daniel Tarkington (2 – Checotah, OK). Brandon Wilson (4B – Fort Smith, AR) remains on top of the point standings with a very small 4-point advantage over second.

The Super Stock A Feature was the final A Feature of the night and saw John Coats (35 – Joplin, MO) claim the $1,000 pay check. Jeff Metcalf (6 – Siloam Springs, OK) finished in second as Dylan Davlin (26D – Shady Point, OK) finished in third. H. Palmer (X15 – Muldrow, OK) remains the point leader by 14 points.

Complete race results can be found on under the “See All Results” link at the bottom of the Results menu page. Current season points can also be found under the Points menu link.

NEXT TIME

The next event for the mighty Tri-State Speedway will be on September 8^th, 2018 for the 10^th Annual Tillman Evans Memorial Races and 100 lap Enduro. Full details will be released on September 4^th.

Coming soon will be the 48^th Annual Point Championship races and 39^th Annual Spooker. Mark your calendars now!

We will see YOU soon!

This article posted by Tri-State Speedway. Click here for more track information.