Donald Crocker Scores Modified Victory At Mobile

Donald Crocker (center) scored the victory in the inaugural Modifieds of Mayhem Tour feature at Mobile International Speedway Saturday night.  Photo courtesy MIS Media

Donald Crocker (center) scored the victory in the inaugural Modifieds of Mayhem Tour feature at Mobile International Speedway Saturday night. Photo courtesy MIS Media

In a fast-paced inaugural race for the Modifieds of Mayhem Tour, Donald Crocker reigned victorious Saturday night at Mobile International Speedway in Irvington, AL.

Starting from the third position, it took Crocker only two laps to catch and pass Donnie Hamrac for the lead—a position which he wouldn’t relinquish for the remainder of the 50-lap race.

Although Saturday’s night win might sound like a slam dunk for Crocker, it was anything but that, as the young driver had to hold off the snarling pack of hungry racers behind him on two separate restarts to claim the checkered flag at race’s end.

With a hard-charging Ryan Paul catching him at a rapid pace, the lap 25 caution that bunched the field back up again was the last thing that Crocker wanted to see. With a frantic duel between the two set to take place on the resulting restart, it proved to be the pivotal moment of the race.

Following a perfect restart, Crocker made quick work clearing Paul for the lead, but it wouldn’t take long for the race for the win to tighten up once again. As the final laps clicked away, however, the handling of Paul’s No. 07 machine went away and Crocker became more distant in his windshield with each passing circuit.

As Paul faded further through the field, Crocker did the opposite – opening up a 4.2-second lead over Billy Melvin by the time the checkered flag waved.

Despite finishing the race in the second position, the car of Melvin, Jr. failed post-race technical inspection and his finish was disallowed. Ryan Redmon, Paul, Hamrac and Mike Maddox rounded out the top five finishers following the disqualification.

Also in action on Saturday night were the season-opening races for three local divisions. Up first were the drivers of the Super Stock division who kicked off the night with a bang.

Starting second-to-last – and with the help of a timely caution– it took just two laps for Dave Mader III to assume the top spot from then-leader James Patrick. With the lead in hand, the 1978 Snowball Derby winner and former NASCAR driver quickly pulled away from the rest of the field. The race’s second caution on lap 19, however; erased his 1.3-second lead and set up a frantic six-lap shootout for the win.

On the resulting restart though, Mader would not be denied as he set sail with the top spot yet again. Despite a spirited charge from Bubba Winslow in the closing laps, Mader’s silver No. 18 crossed the finish line first to score the victory and start the 2015 season off on a high note.

Winslow finished in second, with Johnson in third, Patrick in fourth and Ramsey Whittington in fifth.

Continuing the packed schedule of racing on Saturday night was the drivers of the Bob’s Speed Shop Sportsmen division.

One week ago, fans in attendance were treated to an outstanding race from the division’s drivers as Steve Buttrick parlayed a pass in the grass for the lead in turn 4 into a race victory that netted him a beautiful jukebox trophy and made him $1,000 richer in the process.

On the opening lap of this race, second-place starter Jason Smith quickly assumed the lead from polesitter Connor Okrzesik shortly after the green flag waved. With the lead in hand, Smith opened up a .435-second lead over second-place. But a determined Jonathan Langham wasn’t far behind.

With the help of a lap 15 caution, Langham was awarded a golden opportunity to not only pass Smith, but possibly secure what would be a monumental victory. On the resulting restart, he didn’t waste it.

Following a nearly perfect launch, Langham’s black No. 1 machine grabbed the top spot from Smith. Just as Langham got away, however; Smith started reeling him back in. The race’s second caution on lap 19 would help his cause.

Looking for redemption following the race’s earlier restart, Smith didn’t let his second chance to go waste as he re-assumed the top spot after dispatching Langham just two laps later. The move would go down as the key moment of the 25-lap feature, as Smith would cruise on to victory by .288-seconds over Langham.

Brannon Fowler finished third, followed by Bob Bryant in fourth and Lee Reynolds in fifth.

Serving as the nightcap were the drivers of the Island Motors II Bombers, and their 20-lap feature, to put it simply, was a thriller.

Fresh off a victory one week ago, momentum was clearly on the side of Matt Jackson and the resurgent Kane Motorsports team—and it was evident.

Winning the division’s first heat race earlier in the evening, Jackson quickly asserted the speed of his No. 22 machine and that last week’s performance wasn’t a fluke. With the heat win, however, his chance at a repeat became even more challenging as he would have to start the night’s 20-lap feature from the second-to-last position.

On the initial start of the race, polesitter Michael Nelson quickly cleared Tommy Blocker for full possession of the race lead. Behind him, a frantic jockeying for position took place as Jackson made his way to fifth by the conclusion of the second lap. While this was unfolding, Robert Loper caught and passed Nelson for the lead.

The race’s first caution of the night waved on lap five to wad the field back up after Jackson went up and over the hill in turn 1 following a run-in with Jimmy Day. Despite the wild ride – and sustaining damage to his car – he walked away unharmed.

Following his teammate’s early retirement from the race, Derek “Kane” Long made the most of the resulting restart as he passed Loper for the lead. Just as quickly as he assumed it though, the yellow flag waved once again to tighten the field back up once more.

Just like he did on the previous restart, Long pulled away with the lead as Nelson and Geno Denmark moved to second and third respectively behind him. While Denmark battled with Nelson for the second position, Long opened up a sizeable gap on the two. That would change once Denmark was finally able to dispatch Nelson for second and started reeling the leader in.

As the midway point of the race was reached, Denmark’s orange and white No. 88 caught up to and passed Long for the lead. From that point on, it was clear sailing for Denmark, who went on to capture what would have been his first win of the season and the second of his career at MIS.

The jubilation for Denmark and his crew would be short lived, however, as he and second-place driver Long had their finishing positions disallowed after failing post-race technical inspection. As a result, third-place finisher Robert Loper was awarded the victory. Rusty Powell, Jr., Jimmy Day, Blocker and Chad Denmark rounded out the top five drivers following the infractions.

Up next at Mobile International Speedway is a stop from the King of the Wing National Sprint Car Series on Saturday night, April 11. Also in action will be the Island Motors II Bombers, Bob’s Speed Shop Sportsmen and the Barry’s U Pull It Pro Trucks.

For more information, visit MobileSpeedway.net.

Mobile International Speedway – Irvington, AL
Race Results – March 28, 2015

Modifieds

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Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 3 5 Donald Crocker Citronelle , AL 100.00
2 5 66R Ryan Redmon Moultrie , GA 97.00
3 4 07 Ryan Paul Mobile , AL 94.00
4 1 8DH Donnie Hamrac Semmes , AL 91.00
5 9 14 Mike Maddox Tupelo , MS 88.00
6 7 66M Heath Mills Opp , AL 85.00
7 13 33M Jason Morman Seabrook , TX 82.00
8 6 64C Adam Crawford Mobile , AL 79.00
9 11 50 Ty Roberts Birmingham , AL 76.00
10 2 41 Rocky Rogers Jasper , AL 73.00
11 10 21 Jason Welch Loxley , AL 70.00
12 12 1 Jake Moore Mobile , AL 67.00

 

Super Stocks

Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 1 18DM Dave Mader Iii Irvington , AL 100.00
2 5 12 Bubba Winslow Pensacola , FL 97.00
3 4 94SJ Jason Johnson Moss Point, MS 94.00
4 2 11P James Patrick Mobile , AL 91.00
5 9 4 Ramsey Whittington Lucedale , MS 88.00
6 8 2R Darin Matthews Pascagoula , MS 85.00
7 6 18W Steve Williams Silverhill , AL 82.00
8 3 19 David Salisbury,jr. Semmes , AL 79.00

 

Sportsmen

Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 2 0S Jason Smith Gulfport , MS 100.00
2 6 1 Jonathan Langham Irvington , AL 97.00
3 5 00BF Brannon Fowler Molino , FL 94.00
4 3 53 Bob Bryant Ocean Springs, MS 91.00
5 4 88R Lee Reynolds Theodore , AL 88.00
6 1 14CO Connor Okrzesik Grand Bay, AL 85.00
7 7 42T Randy Thompson Cantonment , FL 82.00
8 8 37 David Beardsley Gulfbreeze , FL 79.00
9 9 28DS Dayton Sidner Cantonment , FL 76.00

 

Bombers

Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 3 15L Robert Loper Theodore , AL 100.00
2 6 65JR Rusty Powell, Jr. Satsuma , AL 97.00
3 9 4D James Day Mobile , AL 94.00
4 2 71TB Tommie Blocker Irvington , AL 91.00
5 1 1D Chad Denmark Citronelle , AL 88.00
6 5 03 Michael Nelson Pensacola , FL 85.00
7 10 22J Matt Jackson Citronelle , AL 82.00
8 11 44 Bobby Jones Semmes , AL 79.00

 

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