Lonnie Wheatley, ODESSA, Mo. (September 23, 2021) – Luke Cranston already has the Belleville 305 Nationals crowns to his credit this season.
Now, the Ness City, KS, racer is seeking to add another feather to his cap with this weekend’s United Rebel Sprint Series-sanctioned Fifth Annual Lubbock Wrecker Service 305 Sprint Car Nationals atop the I-70 Motorsports Park clay oval.
He is off to a strong in that pursuit by racing to victory lane in Thursday night’s 20-lap preliminary main event that kicked off the three-night tilt that culminates with Saturday night’s $3,000-to-win championship finale.
Cranston chased Kyler Johnson for the opening dozen rounds before battling into the lead in traffic and then beat Zach Blurton to the checkered flag with Johnson settling for the show position.
“It was really a blessing to start up front in that one,” Cranston said after the triumph aboard the Myers-powered Southwest Family Farms No. 20 Maxim . “I’m looking forward to the next two nights, hopefully we can keep it out front.”
While Cranston took the opening night win, Blurton escaped as the night’s top point earner to give him an inside track to Saturday’s Dash that will include the top six in point after Friday’s preliminary event.
Johnson gunned into the lead from the pole position and kept Cranston and Bubak at bay. The trio diced for the point at the midway mark as heavy lapped traffic was in play. Cranston and Johnson crossed the stripe on the 12th side-by-side with Cranston completing the race-winning in the next pair of corners.
Blurton followed suit a lap later, making his way past Johnson for second but was unable to mount a charge on Cranston as the checkered flag flew with 0.751-second difference separating the lead duo.
Johnson was third with Ty Williams and Toby Chapman rounding the top five. Jay Rusell rallied from 14th to sixth with Jeremy Huish, Jason Martin, 20th-starter Randy Martin and 17th-starter Jack Potter completing the top ten.
Williams posted the night’s fastest lap of 15.386-seconds in Group Qualifying with Johnson, Chapman and Blurton best in Heat Race action.
The Fifth Annual Lubbock Wrecker Service 305 Sprint Car Nationals at I-70 Motorsports Park resumes with a second night of preliminary action on Friday night leading the way into Saturday’s $3,000-to-win championship finale.
I-70 Motorsports Park – Fifth Annual Lubbock Wrecker Service 305 Sprint Car Nationals
September 23, 2021 Results:
United Rebel Sprint Series (URSS):
Qualifying Group One: 1. 20-Luke Cranston 15.695, 2. 5x-Jason Martin 15.770, 3. 45x-Kyler Johnson 16.135, 4. 1p-Curtis Evans 16.147, 5. 76-Jay Russell 16.242, 6. 92J-J.R. Topper 16.243, 7. 15-Jack Potter 16.383, 8. 63-Randy Martin 16.477, 9. 38c-Camdin Couch 18.229.
Qualifying Group Two: 1. 911-Ty Williams 15.386, 2. 88J-Jeremy Huish 15.456, 3. 7c-Toby Chapman 15.565, 4. 75-Cash Beeson 15.801, 5. 9-John Webster 15.901, 6. 38-Kevin Frisbie 16.268, 7. 1-Greg Murry 16.319, 8. 91-Steven Russell NT.
Qualifying Group Three: 1. 2J-Zach Blurton 15.597, 2. 45-Monty Ferriera 15.875, 3. 43-Jake Greenwood 16.038, 4. 4-Josh Poe 16.368, 5. 20d-Jacob Dye 16.624, 6. 26b-Matt Fox 16.734, 7. 19-Alfred Galedridge, Jr. 17.045, 8. 36-Chris Couch 17.360.
Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 45x-Kyler Johnson, 2. 5x-Jason Martin, 3. 20-Luke Cranston, 4. 1p-Curtis Evans, 5. 76-Jay Russell, 6. 15-Jack Potter, 7. 63-Randy Martin, 8. 92J-J.R. Topper, 9. 38c-Camdin Couch.
Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 7c-Toby Chapman, 2. 88J-Jeremy Huish, 3. 911-Ty Williams, 4. 9-John Webster, 5. 75-Cash Beeson, 6. 1-Greg Murry, 7. 38-Kevin Frisbie, 8. 91-Steven Russell (DNS).
Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 2J-Zach Blurton, 2. 4-Josh Poe, 3. 45-Monty Ferriera, 4. 43-Jake Greenwood, 5. 26b-Matthew Fox, 6. 20d-Jacob Dye, 7. 19-Alfred Galedridge, Jr., 8. 36-Chris Couch.
“A” Main (20 Laps): 1. 20-Luke Cranston (2), 2. 2J-Zach Blurton (4), 3. 45x-Kyler Johnson (1), 4. 911-Ty Williams (3), 5. 7c-Toby Chapman (5), 6. 76-Jay Russell (14), 7. 88J-Jeremy Huish (6), 8. 5x-Jason Martin (7), 9. 63-Randy Martin (20), 10. 15-Jack Potter (17), 11. 4-Josh Poe (8), 12. 43-Jake Greenwood (11), 13. 20d-Jacob Dye (18), 14. 19-Alfred Galedridge, Jr., (21), 15. 26b-Mattew Fox (15), 16. 1-Greg Murry (16), 17. 38-Kevin Frisbie (19), 18. 45-Monty Ferreira (9), 19. 38c-Camdin Couch (24), 20. 75-Cash Beeson (13), 21. 1p-Curtis Evans (12), 22. 36-Chris Couch (23), 23. 92J-J.R. Topper (22), 24. 9-John Webster (10), 25. 91-Steven Russell (DNS).
Lap Leaders: Kyler Johnson 1-12, Luke Cranston 13-20.
Fifth Annual Lubbock Wrecker Service I-70 305 Sprint Car Nationals Points through Night One (Top 6 in combined points from Thursday and Friday lock into Saturday’s Dash for Cash – Balance to Saturday heats with invert of six in each heat):
Rank No. Name Qual Heat A Main Total
1 2J Zach Blurton 20 30 95 145
2 20 Luke Cranston 20 24 100 144
3 45x Kyler Johnson 16 30 91 137
4 911 Ty Williams 20 24 88 132
5 7c Toby Chapman 16 30 85 131
6 88J Jeremy Huish 18 27 79 124
7 5x Jason Martin 18 27 76 121
8 76 Jay Russell 12 18 82 112
9 4 Josh Poe 14 24 68 106
10 43 Jake Greenwood16 21 66 103
11 45 Monty Ferreira 18 24 54 96
12 15 Jack Potter 8 15 70 93
13 63 Randy Martin 6 12 73 91
14 20d Jacob Dye 12 15 64 91
15 26b Matthew Fox 10 18 60 88
16 1p Curtis Evans 14 21 48 83
17 19 Alfred Galedridge, Jr. 8 12 62 82
18 75 Cash Beeson 14 18 50 82
19 1 Greg Murry 8 15 58 81
20 38 Kevin Frisbie 10 12 56 78
21 9 John Webster 12 21 42 75
22 92J J.R. Topper 10 9 44 63
23 36 Chris Couch 6 9 46 61
24 38c Camdin Couch 4 3 52 59
25 91 Steven Russell 4 3 40 47