DayMotorSports.com Race Recap: Ricketts, Geurin, Bowles win at Heart O’ Texas
ELM MOTT, Texas (June 7, 2024) — Dynamic Sprint car pilot John Ricketts; open-wheel Kingpin Brandon Geurin and North Texas oval icon Michael Bowles all earned feature wins in their respective classes, as Selby Holder and his staff hosted a full card of racing Friday at Heart O’ Texas Speedway.
Ricketts powered to victory in a 20-lap A Main for IMCA 305 RaceSaver Sprints; Geurin prevailed in a hotly-contested tilt for IMCA Southern SportMods; while Bowles out-dueled Nate Dixon to claim the Factory Stock feature.
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Benji Kirkpatrick (Outlaw Street Stock) and young Abilene sensation Cutter Spalding (IMCA Stock Cars) were also feature winners on MDS Muscling in the Dirt Night at the historic high-banked oval.
Ricketts, of Burleson, started ninth on a 16-car grid, drove around the outside of Corby Scherb on the final lap and literally stole the victory in dramatic fashion. Scherb settled for second after leading eight laps, while early leader Carson Bolden filled out the podium.
Taylor Courtney (Indianapolis, IN) and Claud Estes (Godley) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
“We’ve struggled, let’s be honest,” a very candid Ricketts said in Victory Lane. “We blew a motor in this car the first night we ran a 305; and we’ve had some struggles with the 410 program, as well. It’s been a down year, so I’m really glad to get my guys this win they really deserve. This feels amazing.”
Finishing sixth through 10th in the IMCA 305 RaceSaver Sprint Car A Main were Colby Stubblefield, Joshua Hanna, ageless veteran Paul White, Dwarf Car master Chance Hull and Austin Burkham. Only one caution slowed the pace at lap eight when Charlie Thieme came to a stop in Turn 1.
Rickett’s margin of victory over Scherb was a scant .471 of a second, as they were locked in battle. They’ve had some exciting Sprint Car races over the years here, but this was one for the record books.
Geurin, of Robinson, started sixth on a 14-car grid, drove underneath Garret Rawls to take command at lap nine and hung on to claim his fifth win of 2024. Trevor Cogburn powered his way up from eighth to second, while six-time feature winner Jeff Shepperd filled out the podium in his GRC-built machine.
Jerrett Bransom (Burleson) and Cutter Spalding (Abilene) completed the top five.
“I have to thank everybody who helps me for that one,” Geurin said. “Two weeks ago, we tore up this whole car. It was about $3,000 worth of damage. We’ve done nothing except work on this car for the last two weeks solid. I didn’t know if we were going to get it back together; we worked all day today.
“Man, we pulled it off, and the car is just as good as ever. Without Tim Clonch coming through with the rear-end stuff, and so much help getting it back together, we couldn’t have done it. So I’ll thank Richard Pickens from Wicked Fast Transmissions; Glen Wilson of Wilson Chassis, and my family.”
Finishing sixth through 10th in the IMCA Southern SportMod A Main were Paul White, Rawls, Zack Manthie, Jack Bransom and Michael Bowles. Only one caution slowed the pace at lap four for a stalled car in Turn 2. Geurin’s margin of victory over Cogburn was just .539 of a second.
Bowles, of Italy, Texas, started second on a 16-car Factory Stock grid, drove to the outside of Nate Dixon to take control with just six laps remaining and hung on to notch his second win of the year. Dixon settled for the runner-up position, while Elm Mott’s own Kevin Smith filled out the podium.
Michael Dabney (Kaufman) and Cody Dixon (Ennis) rounded out the top five.
“That was fun,” Bowles said. “I settled for the top, and was just hoping for the best. He (Dixon) pulled out there for a little while; he’s always fast. I think he started losing a little drive-off there at the end. I thought about going to the bottom, but knew what my car was set up for.
“I want to thank Sniper Speed, this is my first feature win in their car; CRS Suspension, Wicked Fast Transmissions, David Phillips of Big Dave’s Racing Engines; along with my family and friends.”
Finishing sixth through 10th in the Factory Stock feature were Dillon Kidwell (who came all the way up from 17th on the grid); Jeff Blackwood, Mike Land, Heath Zucha and dedicated racer Michael Guenat. Three cautions slowed the pace (laps 0, 6, 8), all for minor incidents.
This week’s MDA Muscling in the Dirt program drew a respectable 76 entries spread across five divisions. Led by the mighty Factory Stocks with 18 teams on hand, there was ample talent all over Selby Holder’s pit area once again on Friday evening.
Officials cranked out the entire program with little delay, and track conditions held up nicely. After a recent event where heavy rains had presented a big challenge, this week was a refreshing turnaround.
You can replay every lap of Friday night’s MDA Muscling in the Dirt program at Heart O’ Texas Speedway with a Membership at RaceON.com. Newly re-branded with a commitment to promote local racing, RaceON (formerly RaceON) has over 400 Live events on tap in 2024.
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By Phil Whipple, RaceON.com Staff Writer
