Published: May 27, 2008 09:58 am            

Chouteau’s Levasseur breaks losing streak

OKTAHA - Misfortune for the early race leaders turned into good luck for Muskogee’s Dale Richardson in stock car racing Friday night at Outlaw Motor Speedway.

The largest crowd for a regularly scheduled event in two seasons

witnessed the Muskogeean capture his sixth Hobby Stock Feature win of the year, but only after a wreck wiped two of his top competitors.

Lynn Combs, Fort Gibson, the leader, and Brookin Stephens, Spiro, got together on the low side in turn two to bring out the caution.

On the restart after the lap 13

incident – with the two early leaders starting at the back of the pack – Randy Moses, II, and Colton Dunlap, both Muskogee drivers, occupied first and second with Richardson running a menacing third.

From there, it took him just two laps to go ahead before another

caution – for a Combs spin out –

temporarily slow things down.

Combs’ car spun into the wall where it came to rest when tried to avoid Junior Thomburg’s coasting race car out of turn four.

Track officials had been trying to get Thomburg off the track and into the infield since turn two.

While Thomburg was being sent to the pits by an infield track steward, Combs crawled out of his car and

proceeded across the infield towards the pits at a brisk pace.

Obviously upset, he sprinted the last 50-yards off the track.

In the meantime, Richardson and Moses raced to the checkered flag with no more than two car lengths

separating the two over the final five laps of the 20-lap race.

Track officials estimated the crown at 2,500.



Pure Stock



Brandi Levasseur broke a six week drought to win the Pure Stock feature.

The Chouteau driver moved to the front of the field after a lap eight restart and was never really

challenged from there for her fourth feature triumph of the year.

The teenager won the first two

features of the season and chalked up her third win back on April 18.

Since, she has been plagued by mechanical problems along with an occasional accident.

But such was not the case this time out.

Her car handled beautifully into and out of the turns and down the straights as she alternated between the high and low grooves on the clay oval.

James Gillean, Boynton, did make a late charge, but on this night he did not have enough car to claim his fourth feature win.

He finished second with division point leader Jason Ward, Tahlequah, running a strong third.

Only two other drivers – Muskogee’s Darien Austin and Bob Lewis – have taken feature checkered flags.



Modified



Once Greg Skaggs charged to the front of the pack, there was no denying him as he won his second straight Modified A-Feature – third of the

season and setting a new Modified career wins record with 13.

Webb City, Missouri's Terry Beckham II previously had the record with 12.

The Bixby racer went ahead of Roger Sawyer, Broken Arrow, with a burst of speed out of turn two on lap 16.

Finding the high groove to his

liking, he was an easy victor at the

finish.

Sawyer was a distant second with Brandon Watts, Fort Gibson third.

Sawyer, starting on the second row inside, led from lap nine while Skaggs had to pick his way through the field.

Skaggs started on the sixth row

outside.



Economy Modified



Dennis Slader just edged Jake Kelley at the finish line to win the his second feature of the year in one of the most contested races of the evening.

With three laps remaining, the two raced bumper-to-bumper around the three-eighths mile oval.

Twice Kelley, a defending track champion from Glenpool, pulled in front on the backstretch, but he never had the muscle to hold off Slader at the flag stand.

The two played "follow the leader" for all but seven of the 20-laps.

Kelley, division points leader, has won five features this season.

He won the track championship in 2006.

        

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