Wright is Good to the Last Drop in "King of the 360's" Finale at East Bay
By Lonnie Wheatley
In the ninth edition of East Bay Raceway Park's "King of the 360's" Nationals, it was only fitting that the driver of the familiar No. 9 car, Gary Wright, became the first repeat winner in the history of the prestigious event.
Wright, the defending and three-time O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National champion, gunned into the lead at the outset of the Sixth Annual Ronald Laney Memorial and led all 40 laps to pocket the $10,000 payday. But, one more lap would have proved costly, as "The Texan" crossed the finish line in the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Whiteco Commercial Funding/The Shop No. 9 Maxin on little more than methanol fumes.
"There were so many cautions early on that I ran out of fuel on the last lap, I just tried to take the shortest route around the track that last time around," Wright commented after his 108th career ASCS National Tour victory. "Last year, it took over a month for us to get our first win, now we've got two this weekend so hopefully we're on the right pace now."
Wright survived several cautions in the early going and eventually slipped away to a half straightaway advantage, ultimately taking the checkered flag in front of Indiana's Danny Smith and Louisiana's Jason Johnson, who rebounded from a pair of subpar qualifying nights to race from eighth to third.
Tim Shaffer crossed the stripe fourth, with 20th-starter Chuck Swenson rounding out the top five after apparent fifth-place finisher Terry McCarl was disqualified for failing to report to the scales. The balance of the top ten included Greg Wilson, Travis Rilat, Jason Sides, Danny Martin, Jr., and Kenny Adams.
With the triumph, Wright is in the driver's seat to collect the Fast Lane Apparel Triple Crown Challenge bonus money of $75,000. Wright can pocket an extra $5,000 by winning either next Friday night's O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT main event or Saturday's 410-ci Winged Sprint Car finale. The bonus jumps to $75,000 if he completes the triple with wins in all three finales.
O’Reilly ASCoT East Bay Raceway Park "King of the 360's" Ronald Laney Memorial Results:
Locked in from Qualifying Nights (Top Seven in Points):
9-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA), 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 4-Danny Smith (Danville, IN), w20-Greg Wilson (Benton Ridge, OH), 6-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 91-Darren Stewart (Bixby, OK).
Heat Races (Top 9 in passing points to “A” Main; Balance to 4 "B" Mains)
O’Reilly ASCoT Ronald Laney Memorial "A" Main Event:
“A” Feature (40 Laps): 1. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), 2. 4-Danny Smith (Danville, IN), 3. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 4. 6-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 5. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 6. w20-Greg Wilson (Benton Ridge, OH), 7. 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 8. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 9. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 10. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 11. 32-Justin Barger (Montrose, NY), 12. 15s-Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK), 13. 11T-T.J. Winegardner, 14. 33-Doug Emery (Nedrow, NY), 15. 28F-Davie Franek, Jr. (Wantage, NJ), 16. 69k-John Karklin (Freehold, NY), 17. 91-Darren Stewart (Bixby, OK), 18. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 19. 01-Danny Lasoski (Higginsville, MO), 20. 1-Sean McClelland (Collinsville, OK), 21. 02-Gene Lasker (Tampa, FL), 22. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 23. 75-Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO), 24. 42x-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 25. 8b-Alain Bergeron (St. Piere, QUE). Didqualified: 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA) � failed to report directlly to scales after taking the checkered flag in fifth position.
Lap Leaders: Gary Wright 1-40. Note: Jesse Hockett and Nick Smith both utilized provisional starting positions for the main event.
O’Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Ten): 1. Gary Wright 147, 2. Danny Smith 130, 3. Tim Shaffer 127, 4. Greg Wilson 126, 5. Wayne Johnson 118, 6. Terry McCarl 117, 7. Darren Stewart 115, 8. Danny Martin, Jr. 112, 9. Travis Rilat 111, 10. Kenny Adams 106.
