HOLTS SUMMIT, Mo. (Aug. 10, 2002) - The United States Modified Touring Series returned to Capital Speedway this past Saturday night to conclude the rained out portion of the Firecracker 40 originally scheduled for July 3rd. Blooming Prairie, MN. driver Tommy Myer made the long haul payoff by capturing the $3000 top prize. Also racing Saturday at the Holts Summit speedway were the Super Stocks and Capital Speedway?s B-Modifieds. Richard ?Cooter? Payne won the Super Stock event and it was Kevin Propst taking the B-Modified feature. Both Payne and Propst are local favorites from Holts Summit.

Twenty four drivers made the starting grid for the 40 lap main event with Jason Hughes and Darin Walker sharing the front row. When the green flag dropped Walker went high and Hughes didn?t seem to get a good jump, leaving the door open for second row starter Bob Test to take the first lap lead. Test hugged the bottom of the track as he stayed out in front till the third lap when Walker took over the point. Walker only stayed out in front until the sixth lap when Hughes was able to pull slightly ahead. Moving up thru the field was Myer who followed Hughes around Walker to take second place on the sixth lap. Myer powered past Hughes on the seventh lap to take the lead, a lead he would hold till the checkered flags waved. The caution flag flew for the first time on lap thirteen when the leaders hit lapped traffic. Three cars tried to squeeze into the bottom groove of the first turn which sent John Rathgeber spinning out of control. All the other drivers avoided making contact with Rathgeber. Caution slowed the race only one more time and that was on the fourteenth lap when two drivers spun in turn two. Steve Payne ducked into the pit area to repair a broken front end and after some great work by his crew he returned to the track without losing a lap. The final restart had Myer out in front with Hughes in second, Kelly Shryock in third, Test in fourth and Walker in fifth. Coming from deep in the pack was Chris Spieker, taking advantage of the cautions to keep the leaders in sight. Spieker had the car to beat late in the race but Myer had built too large of a lead to be caught. Myer did get slowed in the final laps by some slower cars but not enough to keep him from taking the victory. Spieker crossed the line in second, Shryock edged out Hughes for third, Hughes finished fourth just ahead of the fifth place car of Bob Test. Coming from the fifteenth starting spot to finish sixth was Darrell Jones.

Running seventh at the finish was Gary Blackburn and recovering from the mid-race pit stop to take eighth was Steve Payne. Skeet Amason finished in ninth and rounding out the top ten was Darin Walker. Other local favorites finishes were David Payne in twelfth, Darren Sharp in thirteenth, Howard Hall in fifteenth, Joe Miller in eighteenth, Keith Davis in nineteenth and John Rathgeber in twentieth.

Richard ?Cooter? Payne led from start to finish in the fifteen lap Super stock race to take another victory in the 2002 season. Running a Super Stock car for the first time this year at Capital was Modified driver Bob Ketterer. The former Super Stock champion showed he could still pilot a full bodied car, keeping Payne within striking distance the whole race to finish second. Mike Vitale has had limited experience at Capital but looked like a veteran of the 3/8 mile speedway with his third place finish. Finishing in fourth place was Jeff Duncan after restarting in the back of the field following an early race mishap that sent him spinning around. Willie Bungart raced for the third time in the past four days and capped off a good week of racing with his fifth place finish Saturday night.

The Capital Speedway B-Modified feature showed all the signs of another Jamie Carter and Kevin Propst classic battle for the first several laps. Carter jumped out to the early lead with Propst tucked in close behind. The two leaders raced nose to tail for the first three laps with plenty of side by side action behind them. Willie Nelson, James Imler and Scotty Payne were battling for the third spot when suddenly Carter pulled out of the groove and rolled to a stop along the backstretch. He retired from the race with an apparent engine failure. Following the yellow flag period Propst had to hold off the challenges of Nelson who was charging hard around the bottom groove of the track.

Nelson was able to pull along side of Propst several times but the high groove was the place to be and Propst had a lock on that. Payne worked his way around Nelson late in the race but could never seriously challenge Propst for the win. Payne did hold on for second, Imler made a last lap pass of Nelson to get third. Nelson held on for fourth after having mechanical problems on the final lap. Don Cox and Robbie Test crossed the line almost even but a review of the video showed Cox crossing just inches ahead of Test for the fifth spot.

This coming Saturday night Capital Speedway will once again welcome the Winged Outlaw Warrior Sprint Cars to the Holts Summit speedway. The W.O.W. always puts on a good show for the Capital Speedway fans. This coming Saturday W.O.W.

points leader Mike Trent will look to hold that position over a fast climbing Bobby Hawks. Moving up to second in the points, Hawks is only eight points behind Trent despite missing one show early in the year. Also within striking distance is Tim Doogs as he looks for his first W.O.W. points title in the three year history of the series. Only three more events are left in the W.O.W. season and Capital Speedway is proud to host two of those upcoming events. Make plans now to attend the races this Saturday and each Saturday right up to the crowning of the champions on September 14th. Call Capital Speedway for more information at 573-896-5500 or visit their website at www.capitalspeedway.com. We?ll see YOU at the races!

RESULTS

USMTS MODIFIEDS

1. Tommy Myer Blooming Prairie, Mn.

2. Chris Spieker Massena, Ia.

3. Kelly Shryock Forrest City, Ia.

4. Jason Hughes Colcord, Ok.

5. Bob Test Jefferson City, Mo.

6. Darrell Jones Ashland, Mo.

7. Gary Blackburn Fulton, Mo.

8. Steve Payne Fulton, Mo.

9. Skeet Amason New Boston, Tx.

10. Darin Walker Bowling Green, Mo.

11. Kenny Gaddis Hallsville, Tx.

12. David Payne Holts Summit, Mo.

13. Darren Sharp Polo, Mo.

14. Tim Weaver West Ville, Ok.

15. Howard Hall Columbia, Mo.

16. Danny Lorton Moberly, Mo.

17. Joe Miller Russellville, Mo.

18. Gary Fraser Kansas City, Ks.

19. Keith Davis Columbia, Mo.

20. John Rathgeber Cuba, Mo.

21. Steve Hawks Topeka, Ks.

22. Justin Boney DeSota, Ks.

23. Eddie Martin Stillwell, Ok.

24. J.D. Kelley Walnut Grove, Mo.

CAPITAL SPEEDWAY SUPER STOCKS

1. Richard Payne Holts Summit, Mo.

2. Bob Ketterer Kingdom City, Mo.

3. Mike Vitale Mexico, Mo.

4. Jeff Duncan Ashland, Mo.

5. Willie Bungart Henley, Mo.

6. Derek Rumble Ashland, Mo.

7. Spencer Barnard Fulton, Mo.

DNS Sid Graves Fulton, Mo.

CAPITAL SPEEDWAY B-MODIFIEDS

1. Kevin Propst Holts Summit, Mo.

2. Scotty Payne New Bloomfield, Mo.

3. James Imler Eldon, Mo.

4. Willie Nelson Fulton, Mo.

5. Don Cox Holts Summit, Mo.

6. Robbie Test Jefferson City, Mo.

7. Vince Campbell Mexico, Mo.

8. Jamie Carter New Bloomfield, Mo.

9. Kip Wolfmeier Kingdom City, Mo.