Rob Nugent, Track Announcer/Social Media/PR
THE EVENT
POCOLA, OK (October 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th, 2017) – The 38th Annual Spooker is now complete and was another huge success with 248 entries from Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona and Texas. Mother Nature blessed the area with the best Spooker weather that the track has seen in a long time. Temperatures were in the low 80’s for practice, mid-80’a for night two and three with low to mid-90’s on the night four. After the sun set each night, the temperatures dropped about 5-10 degrees with a nice breeze blowing from the south.
The local racing community lost a big racing legend with the passing on the first day of the Spooker of John Stand. John was a talented racer, car builder, chassis set-up person and a great friend to many. The entire Spooker event was dedicated to his passing and his memory with several different tributes over the last three days, including several of the drivers changing their car numbers to 6, which was always John’s car number. John’s memory will continue to live on with several family members still involved in the sport either as a driver or family member of a driver.
The pre-race ceremonies started at 7:00 PM on night two, at 7:30 PM on night three and at 7 PM on night four, with the invocation and national anthem. Several cars each night, either paying tribute to the late John Stand and/or with the American flag, made parade laps during around the famous high banks during the playing of the anthem, as everyone stood at attention, even those in concession or admission lines.
Heat race lineups for all classes competing were determined by the driver’s draw at sign in each night. The classes advanced to their features via passing points. Plus, the last heat winner in each class drew a number for the number of rows to invert for their A Features, with all B Features advancing to the A Feature heads up.
October is breast cancer awareness month and on night three, we asked for everyone to wear something pink and everyone responded, as a lot of pink shirts, hats and ribbons could be seen everywhere you looked. Many of drivers added pink things to their cars from ribbons, decals and some even changing the color of their number to pink to show their support.
On the final night of the event, over 250 bags of candy and treats were given out to the kids as they entered the track thanks to the efforts of Angela Bourland and her gang of volunteers and drivers. There was also a kid’s costume contest on the last night. The third-place child received $25, the second-place contestant received $50 and the winner received $25 plus a season pass to the 2018 racing season. All of the kids who entered and didn’t place received $10.
At intermission each night, everyone had a chance to grab themselves some food items from the concessions, grab a Spooker T-shirt or hoodie or take a photo with the spooky car of Drake Long on display in the commons area. Several drivers also came up during intermission to either pass out candy, sign autographs or give away merchandise.
TOP THREE – NIGHT TWO
The Lead Sled A Feature saw Greg Dobbs (6 – Booneville, AR) take home the win over Bob Halford (52) and Tom Paulson (57 – Spiro, OK).
In the Mini-Stock A Feature, Kevin McSperritt, Jr. (88) captured the win, after a DQ of the winner. Jim Higgins (64) ran second and Jerry Higgins (66) finished third.
The Front Wheel Drive A Feature had Chris Tuck (6T – Mulberry, AR) claim the trophy over Corey Howell (73H – Huntsville, AR) and John Willard (1/2).
The final A Feature on night two was for the combined Economy/360/IMCA Sport Mod class. Shawn Strong (14 – Billings, MO) claimed his first of two Spooker wins as Casey Lindell (18 – Porter, OK) and Caden Ellis (84 – Wagoner, OK) finished in second and third respectively.
TOP THREE – NIGHT THREE
The Pure Stock A Feature saw Zane Hunter (99 - Alma, AR) run through the field for the win while Mike Wiseman (DT1 – Muskogee, OK) crossed the line in second ahead of Adam Gipson (20 – Lavaca, AR).
The Factory Stock A Feature was on the track next where Andrew Bohanan (51 – Stigler, OK) picked up the win. JR Owen (79 – Pocola, OK) finished in second and Mike Wiseman (DT1 - Muskogee, OK) finished in third.
TOP THREE – NIGHT FOUR
In the Grand National A Feature, Darin Rigney (6X – Gentry, AR) took home the $2,000 check over Danny Womack (3 – Bixby, OK) and Brian Parker (210 – Owasso, OK).
Up next was the USRA B-Mod A Feature where Shawn Strong (14 - Billings, MO) made his second trip to Victory Lane for the $1,500 Spooker check. Stephen Muilenburg (39 – Sparta, MO) took home second place over Steve Holzkamper (5 - Gentry, AR).
The Super Stock A Feature was on track next and saw Dylan Davlin (26D – Shady Point, OK) capture the $2,000 win over Dale Richardson (327 - Muskogee, OK). Ray Phipps (L7 - Pocola, OK) crossed the finish line in third.
The IMCA Modifieds saw Drew Armstrong (01A – Alexander, AR) take home $2,000 for his win as Joe Duvall (91 - Chelsea, OK) took home second place over Mike Hines (57M – Van Buren, AR).
The USRA Modifieds took to the high banks next for their A Feature. Terry Phillips (75 – Springfield, MO) crossed the line first for the $2,500 pay check over Tyler Wolff (4W – Fayetteville, AR) in a last lap pass in lap traffic. R. C. Whitwell (96 – Tucson, AZ) finished in third.
The Late Model A Feature was the last feature for the event. Jake Davis (7D – Hackett, AR) took home the Spooker trophy and $2,000 paycheck. Eddie Martin (9 – Stilwell, OK) took home second over Clay Julian (00X – Ozark, AR).
Complete race results from the entire event can be found by clicking on the Results menu. The final season point standings for each class are available by clicking on the Points menu.
NEXT TIME
The next event for Tri-State Speedway will be the 47th Annual Awards Banquet. The details and date of the event will be announced in the coming days.
We will see YOU soon!
