Rose, McKinney and Phipps Earn Spring Championships

By Tom Hammond
Staff Writer

Click to View:  Results

Two dandy battles and a comfortable victory marked The Star Press Spring Championships at Anderson Speedway on Saturday, May 20. Rod Phipps won the Lampco Federal Credit Union Street Stock Feature, while Ronnie Rose took top honors in the Ed Martin Auto Group SuperTruck main event and Elliott McKinney held off Shawn Cullen in the Boss Hogg Catering & Jerky Figure 8 feature.

In the Lampco FCU Street Stock feature, Rod Phipps started neck-and-neck with Bret Miles Jr. before gaining the advantage exiting turn two and onto the backstretch. Phipps built a comfortable advantage before seeing it go away during a caution period on the 23rd of 40 laps. Miles was in contention just after the restart, but a slide in turn two gave Phipps an advantage he would never relinquish. Anderson’s Mike Riddle Jr., New Castle’s Danny Acrey II and Ryan Buckner rounded out the top five.

The first Street Stock heat went to Danny Acrey II of New Castle with Anthony Whiteman of Indianapolis earning the second heat win. Miles posted the best qualifying time with a lap of 14.069 seconds, just .004 seconds quicker than Rod Phipps.

Ronnie Rose and Joe Beaver staged a dandy two-truck battle in the 50-lap Ed Martin Auto Group SuperTruck feature. Rose jumped out to a big lead, while Beaver had to weave his way through the pack to mount a challenge. Beaver, who won the previous two events this season, tried to pass Rose on both the high and low sides but Rose was able to hold off the all-time division victory leader. Current point’s leader Josh Burton finished third, followed by Bob Lemen of Indianapolis and New Castle’s Mark Jones.

Jones captured the first SuperTruck heat, while Jake Flagle of Wanamaker took the second heat. Rose was the top qualifier at 13.639 seconds.

In the Boss Hogg Catering & Jerky Figure 8 main event, Elliott McKinney and Shawn Cullen quickly turned the 30-lap feature into a two-car battle for the win. They rocketed away from the rest of the field from the start, with McKinney taking the point at the end of the first lap. Crossover traffic became heavy just three laps in and continued that way until a caution period for a crash on lap 15. McKinney and Cullen pulled away again after the restart, with McKinney picking up a three-car length advantage at the finish. Noblesville’s Josh Tharp finished third followed by Joe Hart and Michael Phipps.

Rob Allman scored a commanding victory in the first Figure 8 heat with former division champion Jeff Swinford taking top honors in the second heat. Elliott McKinney led the qualifying charts with a lap of 19.299 seconds.

Anderson Speedway returns to racing action on Wednesday, May 24, with Pay Less Little 500 week kicking off with the USAC National Sprints Cars in the Sam Pierce Chevrolet 50. The Ford Focus Midgets will join the Sprint Cars.

On Wednesday, Pay Less Little 500 practice begins at 11 a.m. with USAC practice taking place at 3:30 p.m. Spectator gates open at 5 p.m. with racing starting at 7. Advanced adult tickets are $10 and $15 on raceday. Kids 6 to 12 are admitted for $4. Five and under are free.

The 58th Pay Less Little 500 round one pole qualifications will take place on Thursday, beginning at 1:30 p.m.

On Friday, the 33-car field will be set with the second round of qualifications. Later that night, the Families Forever / Primerica Free Night will take place. The MAX/WLBC Friday Night Summer Series will feature Insight ThunderCars and Pro ThunderCars along with Chappy’s Rent to Own Front Wheel Drives Oval and Figure 8 action and an awesome Fireworks show.

Admission is free for all events on Thursday and Friday.

On Saturday, May 27, the 58th Pay Less Little 500 green flag waves at 8 p.m. Thirty-three Sprint Cars in 11 rows of 3 will be featured in the richest Sprint Car asphalt event.

Tickets are available for the legendary 58th Pay Less Little 500 at $27 for reserved seating. For more information, contact the Anderson Speedway Ticket Office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
 

For additional information contact Anderson Speedway at (765) 642-0206.