Published: August 16, 2009 10:40 pm         

Racer gets 200th win

Johnie “The Rocket” Rauschenberg was on cloud nine after he piloted his Dunsworth Machine-powered Smiley’s limited modified to the 200th feature win of his racing career at Enid Speedway Park Saturday night.

“Tonight was the sweetest win of my life,” said Rauschenberg. “I want to give special thanks to my crew, fans and sponsors. We picked up the new car Thursday and everyone worked hard to get it ready. Daniel Rogers at Dunsworth busted it to get the new motor done and thanks to Dad for fronting me the money.”

Pacesetter Shawn Ramsey showed the way on the start but was unable to hold off an outside challenge by Landon Maddox on the second lap.

Maddox had a precarious hold on the point, but the fastest car on the track was piloted by Rauschenberg. Rauschenberg took command with a daring inside challenge in lap six and sprinted away.

Two laps later, Maddox tangled with Ross McCartney in turn four and put the track under caution. Rauschenberg continued his run when the green flag waved and skillfully maneuvered through lapped traffic taking a 10-car length lead to the line.

Todd Decker posted second, trailed by Kenny “The Iron Man” Morris, Craig Ridgway and Earl Whitely.

Kip Hughes had the hometown crowd on their feet as he raced his Pat McVicker/Precision Wireline-sponsored Go-Fast modified to his fourth win of the year.

“We got tight near the end, it is a good thing that it wasn’t a 20-lap race,” said Hughes. “I’m not sure I could have held Mike Roach off much longer.”

Hughes exploded off the pole, found the quick way around and sported a straight-away lead in a mere two laps. Roach soon made a serious challenge, but Hughes held on to win.

Roach settled for second, trailed by Jon Herring Jr., Randy Sallee and Dusty Robbins.

Persistence paid off for Jon Herring Sr. as he piloted his Herring Services-sponsored Ford to his third feature win of the year in street stock.

“The car was fast tonight and the track was great on the bottom,” said Herring. “My son and I worked hard on the car for two weeks.”

Herring powered off the outside pole to take the early lead. Travis King lost control on the front straight and brought out a yellow flag.

Herring hurried away on the restart and had a strong advantage when Bobby Joe Scott spun and put the race back under caution in lap four. The third time was a charm for Dustin Allen as he seized the point and had strong lead when King slammed into the tire in turn two and went airborne bringing out a red flag.

Allen showed the way when the race went green, but he was unable to hold off the hard-charging Herring. Herring wasted no time as he sped away from the pack and took a strong lead to the finish line.

Allen was second, followed by Scott, Wesley Krukenberg and Ryan Bohnstedt.

Brad “The Bullet” Costello dominated in the caution-riddled factory stock main as he piloted his Ma and Pa’s Place/A & A Garage-sponsored ride to his fifth win of the year.

Costello showed the way in the 15-lap race, but his run was cut short as Milt David came to a halt on the front stretch.

Costello hurried away on the restart and sported nearly a straight-away lead when Jarod McDowell lost control and brought the yellow flag back out in lap six.

Costello continued his run with defending champ Ronnie Ramer in hot pursuit.

Costello hooked up smooth in the groove and held a strong line to the finish. Ramer settled for second, trailed by David, Dowell and Terry Costello.

Joe Adams continued his reign over pure stock as he put his Platinum Motorsports-sponsored Chevy in the winner’s circle for the fourth time this year.

Adams exploded off the front row and took a commanding lead, only to see a yellow flag wave when Lonnie Wilson lost a wheel in turn one. Adams picked up where he left off on the restart, only to see the race come back under caution when Bill Gerhard spun in turn four.

Adams put his ride out front when the race finally went green and was never challenged on his route to the checkered flag.

Mark Smith posted second, followed by James Goldman, Jr., Tyson Ashlock and Marty Lawson.

Heat winners were Ridgway and Rauschenberg, limited modified; Dusty Robbins, modified; Herring Sr., street stock; Costello, factory stock; and Smith, pure stock.

Enid Speedway Park’s next card of racing will be at 7 p.m. Saturday.