Phillips wins 13th annual Duel in the Desert at the Dirt Track
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010LAS VEGAS -- Results from the third and final night of the 13th annual Duel in the Desert at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A total of 232 cars were entered in the three-day IMCA Modified event -- the biggest dirt race in the West. Watch the action on www.SpeedwayChannel.com.
Terry Phillips of Springfield, Missouri won the 13th annual Duel in the Desert for IMCA Modifieds tonight at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Jordan Grabouski started the 40-lap, $7,777-to-win A-Feature from the pole position, flanked by Bobby Hogge. David Murray Jr., winner of the 2003 and 2008 Duel in the Desert, started third. Two-time Duel in the Desert winner (2004 and 2009) Johnny "The Jet" Saathoff started 17th.
The engines roared to life and the cars pulled away from the front chute at 8:55 p.m. Pacific. David Murray Jr. shot to the inside of the lead pair at the opening green flag to create a three-wide drag race into the first turn. Murray was unable to complete the pass and Bobby Hogge grabbed the lead. With Hogge enjoying a comfortable lead by lap 10, the driver to watch was Terry Phillips, who was riding the highest groove and passing cars at a furious pace. At the halfway point, it was Hogge in the lead, followed by Murray, Phillips, Grabouski and Terry Belcher. Phillips, still running the top of the track, grabbed second place on lap 22 as Hogge navigated the bottom of the oval. By lap 25, the rim-riding Phillips was filling Hogge's rear-view mirror. With just 10 laps remaining, Phillips turned up the heat and made repeated challenges as the pair navigated lapped traffic. Phillips managed to wrestle the lead from Hogge with a handful of laps remaining and took off in search of the $7,777 paycheck, followed closely by Grabouski. The final three circuits were a fight to the finish as Phillips and Grabouski (who owns Phillips' car) sliced through traffic. On the final lap, Grabouski threw his car hard into Turn 3 in a last-ditch effort to pass Phillips but came up short. Phillips won, followed by Grabouski, Hogge, Terry Belcher, Todd Shute and Saathoff.
"You know, I had a few doubts, but the track was excellent," said Phillips. "You could race all over it. The holes made it even better. That way, people mess up, not drive as smooth and follow the leader. It gave the track character and it had a little cushion at the top. I thought I'd give it a try and kept working at it and working at it. Before long, we started passing cars. The crew put together a heck of a car at the last minute. I enjoy coming out here and I guess it worked out pretty good for us."
Perry Misner of Garden City, Kansas won the 20-lap IMCA Stock Car feature. Jake Masters crossed the finish line in first place but was penalized 10 positions for jumping on a restart. Joe Flory of Williston, N.D. finished second and New Mexico's Rex Higgins was third.
The 2011 edition of the Duel in the Desert promises to be bigger and better.
"We always are trying to improve the show for our fans and the racers who travel so far to be a part of the Duel in the Desert," said Chris Blair, LVMS' vice president of racing operations. "We want to keep things exciting and offer more opportunities for people to taste the thrill of winning in Las Vegas."
The Saturday night segment for the 14th annual Duel in the Desert will feature two additional 10-lap bonus races. The Young Gun Showdown will be open to all drivers ages 17 and younger who fail to qualify for the A-feature. In addition, the Senior Shootout will be open to all drivers ages 55 and over who fail to qualify for the A-feature. Drivers will compete for a trophy, LVMS jacket, contingency products and cash awards.
The 2011 event, which will be held Nov. 10-12, will once again pay $7,777.77 to the winner and $777 to start Saturday's A-feature. Purse increases through the field and a contingency awards program will be announced when the official entry form is released on May 1.
"This event is for die-hard dirt track racing fans and we want to keep working to make it bigger and better," Blair added. "This is an amazing destination event and we hope our commitment to improving the program shows that we share a love of dirt racing with the fans and participants."
IMCA MODIFIEDS
LAST-CHANCE RACES (WINNER ADVANCES TO A-FEATURE)
First Last-Chance Race: 1. 96J Johnny Saathoff, 2. 43 Brian Foote.
Second Last-Chance Race: 1. 1xx Chris Abelson, 2. 00 Cory Sample.
Third Last-Chance Race: 1. 12D Scott Drake, 2. 33 David Karst.
Fourth Last-Chance Race: 1. 6U Dominic Ursetta, 2. 38 Dustin Massey.
Fifth Last-Chance Race: 1. 66B Paul Stone, 2. 59 Tony Kincaid Jr.
Sixth Last-Chance Race: 1. 34JW Cole Hodges, 2. 19J Jeff Jones.
Seventh Last-Chance Race: 1. 20x Luke Wanninger, 2. Stacy Mills.
Eighth Last-Chance Race: 1. 11x Mike Johnson, 2. 90 Jason Beaulieu.
Ninth Last-Chance Race: 1. Bobby Moore, 2. H20 Randy Hall.
10th Last-Chance Race: 1. 9x Brandon Blochlinger, 2. 1 Cody Gearhardt.
11th Last-Chance Race: 1. 19D Darin Duffy, Connor Pullen.
12th Last-Chance Race: 1. 16M Matt Brack, 2. 16A Aaron Spangler.
IMCA Modified Dash: 1. 2H Bobby Hogge, 2. 5T Jeff Taylor.
Wild West Modified Tour 20-lap shootout: 1. 81T Ricky Alvarado (in a borrowed car), 2. 33Y Justin Yeager.
40-lap Duel in the Desert A-Feature: 1. Terry Phillips (Springfield, Mo.), 2. Jordan Grabouski (Beatrice, Nebr.), 3. Bobby Hogge (Salinas, Calif.), 4. Terry Belcher Jr. (Phoenix), 5. Todd Shute (Des Moines, Iowa), 6. Johnny Saathoff (Beatrice, Nebr.), 7. Dylan Smith (Osceola, Nebr.), 8. Jeff Taylor (Cave City, Ark.), 9. Matt Brack (Mead, Colo.), 10. Jeremy Payne (Springfield, Mo.), 11. Benji LaCrosse (Green Bay, Wis.), 12. Scott Drake (Webb Cit, Mo.), 13. Dominic Ursetta (Arvada, Colo.), 14. Chris Abelson (Sioux City, Iowa), 15. Ryan McDaniel (Olivehurst, Calif.), 16. Luke Wanninger (Jefferson, Iowa), 17. Jay Noteboom (Hinton, Iowa), 18. Ricky Alvarado (Delta, Colo.), 19. Brad Pounds (Bakersfield, Calif.), 20. Brandon Blochlinger (Concordia, Kan.), 21. Brian Mullen (Seymour, Wis.), 22. David Murray Jr. (Oberlin, Kan.), 23. Paul Stone (Winton, Calif.), 24. Jeremy Mills (Garner, Iowa), 25. Darin Duffy (Hazelton, Iowa), 26. Mike Johnson (Bakersfield, Calif.), 27. Bobby Moore (Sioux City, Iowa), 28. Cole Hodges (Ogllalla, Neb.).
IMCA STOCK CARS
12-lap qualifier: 1. 20 Joe Flory, 2. 32 Lloyd Meeske, 3. 11h Eric Hamilton.
20-lap IMCA Stoock Car feature: 1. 20M Perry Misner, 2. 20 Joe Flory, 3. AK47 Rex Higgins, 4. Jeffrey Larson, 5. Cary White.
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