I-30 Speedway
Moore captures MSRA opener in Little Rock
By Luke Matheson
DirtonDirt.com correspondent
Ray Moore and his supporters in victory lane. (J.D. Long)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (April 5) — Ray Moore of Shreveport, La., who started 11th, topped reigning series champion and polesitter Joey Mack of Benton, Mo., for a $2,000 victory in the O'Reilly Mid-South Racing Association opener at I-30 Speedway. Louisiana drivers Jody Prince and Ronny Adams finished third and fourth while Wendell Wallace of Batesville, Ark., rounded out the top five.
Mack took the lead from the outset, but was hampered by power steering failure after 10 laps. Prince took the lead on a restart, then Wallace took command and led three laps midway through the race. Prince returned to the front in the tussle while Moore rallied toward the front despite nearly rolling over after getting too much bite in turn four. Moore gathered up his car and three laps later took a lead he'd never give up. The reigning O'Reilly SUPR champ said it was "hard to be consistent because it was so rough, but I knew the car was fast."
Notes: Runner-up Joey Mack was in back in action after undergoing back surgery 10 weeks earlier. "We came in tonight with the intention that if we had to take a provisional and make a lap, we'd just do that, and I'll be darned if we didn't lead about half of the race," Mack said. ... Kyle Beard's race ended on the 14th lap when he damaged his car by crashing into tire barriers in turns three and four. ... Jon Kirby's 16th-to-seventh run netted him the Larry Shaw Hard Charger award. ... Among drivers failing to make the feature: Allen Tippen, Kyle Cummings, Ross Camponovo and Keith Craft. Craft's car was damaged when he went over the turn-two banking in the first heat.
O'Reilly MSRA @ I-30: (1) Ray Moore, (2) Joey Mack, (3) Jody Prince, (4) Ronny Adams, (5) Wendell Wallace, (6) Jack Sullivan, (7) Jon Kirby, (8) Billy Moyer Jr., (9) Jon Mitchell, (10) Rachel York, (11) Clay Fisher, (12) Jeff Floyd, (13) Kenny Merchant, (14) Kyle Beard, (15) Robert Lovette, (16) Randy Mitchell, (17) Andy Hockenhull, (18) Jeff Wells, (19) Dewaine Hottinger, (20) Charlie Cole. Heat race winners (among 26 cars): Wallace, Adams, Mitchell. Consolation winner: Moyer.
