Allman Wins Wild Sunoco Challenge feature at Desoto

By Scott Lockwood, Desoto Speedway – When Colin Allman spun into the infield just a few laps into Saturday night’s 100-lap Sunoco Challenge Super Series Late Model feature event at Desoto Speedway, he figured his chances of a decent finish went up in smoke.  But when the smoke and carnage ended, it was Allman who was left holding the trophy in victory lane after beating several of the state’s top drivers in his first-ever win in a Super Late Model – part of a night that saw all sorts of madness under a full moon in eastern Manatee County.

Polesitter Joe Boyd and third place starter Michael Atwell got the jump on Tyler Scofield and Jesse Dutilly on the start. The pair needed just a handful of laps to build a sizable lead, which was erased with Allman’s spin on lap 9. Dylan Bigley went from fourth to second on the restart. Dutilly eventually got by Atwell for third, quickly ran down Bigley and was battling for the runner-up spot when he got loose and spun coming out of turn two on the 28th lap.

As Boyd controlled the race, all eyes were on Dutilly to see if he could drive his way through the field. After battling Nick Neri for several laps, he got to sixth at the halfway point, was fourth eight laps later and caught the Atwell/Bigley battle for second on lap 70.  Dutilly dispatched Atwell for third as the field completed the 73rd lap and would stage a side-by-side battle with Bigley for second. Bigley was just ahead of Dutilly when the yellow flag came out for John Coffman’s spin with 20 laps to go.

Dutilly got by Bigley with 16 laps left and was on Boyd’s rear bumper within three laps. The pair raced nose-to-tail for several laps, with Boyd thwarting Dutilly’s efforts on the outside. Dutilly was trying a cross-over attempt on Boyd when the caution flew with seven laps to go.  On what appeared to be the final restart, Dutilly got the jump on Boyd and crossed the start/finish line before the rest of the field. Dutilly was sent to the rear of the field for jumping the start, ending his hopes of back-to-back Desoto victories.

Boyd spun his tires on the restart, allowing Atwell to grab the lead with six laps to go. A lap later, Boyd and Atwell got together coming out of turn four. Atwell spun into the infield, and both were sent to the rear of the field.  The incident put Allman, who started on the outside pole, in the lead. The young driver withstood a pair of restarts and held on for the victory.

“I didn’t think I was going to be able to bounce back, but luck was on our side tonight,” Allman said. “I wanted to be sure we were really good on those last few restarts and not spinning the tires. We got a good drive off the corner on the last restart and it stuck.”

Bigley finished second, with Shane Sawyer, Boyd and Dutilly rounding out the top five. Boyd claimed the Desoto Triple Crown for the Late Models that went back to last season. He received a ring from Martin’s Jewlers along with a custom trophy for his efforts.

The DART Pro Trucks were also on hand for a 50-lap feature event. Tommy Kelly grabbed the lead from polesitter Cameron Cruse at the green flag with Corey Bigley in tow. The three set sail from the rest of the field over the
course of the next 40 laps. As Kelly fought a loose race truck to stay in the lead, Bigley and Cruse staged a side-by-side battle for second place. Cruse eventually got by, but couldn’t run down Kelly in the final laps. Cruse held off Bigley in a photo finish for second. Scott McKay and Cody McDuffie rounded out the top five.

Kelly and Cruse were both later disqualified after they failed postrace technical inspection, which gave the win to Bigley.

In other action Saturday night, Jimmy Wilkins won the 25-lap TQ Midget feature; Cameron Cruse held off Johnny Marra to win the 25-lap Mini Stock feature; Carl Thompson passed Aaron Holmes with two laps to go to win the
25-lap Bomber feature; Rachelle Rudolph won the 25-lap Pep Boys Speed Shop Modified Mini feature; and Jeff Firestine finished the night by winning the 25-lap Take Aim Gun Range Street Stock feature.

Next week at Desoto Speedway, the Bombers take center stage for the 100-lap Florida State Bomber Championship. School Bus Figure 8’s and Desoto Enduro classes will also be in action.

05-21-2016
DESOTO SPEEDWAY RACE RESULTS
Super Late Model
1. 67 Colin Allman
2. 128 Dylan Bigley
3. 38 Shane Sawyer
4. 5. Joe Boyd
5. 30 Jesse Dutilly
6. 8 D. J. Hoezle
7.17 Nick Neri
8, 51a Michael Atwell
9. 57 Chase Lovelady
10. 58 John Coffman
11. 07 Tyler Scofield
12. 56 Robert Ford
13. 28 Billy Bigley jr
14. 14 Jerry Adkins
15. 15 Sean Lemaster DNS

Dart Trucks
1. 28 Corey Bigley
2. 66 Scott McKay
3. 25 Cody McDuffie
4. 39 Michael Goddard
5. 3p Derek Pugh
6. 11c Billy Carlbert
7. 59x Becca Monopoli
8. 7 Jason Lester
9.11k Mike Kohut
10. 99m Cody Martell
11. 9 Nick Hernandez
12. 0 Mike Gamach
13. 12 Scott Hogan
14. 24 Donny Burkhalter
15. 3b Duane Best
16. 36 Chad Chastain
17. 99x Rick Penton
18. 99j Jessica Murphy
19. 5 Cody Calbert
20. 33 Bubba Thompson
21. 15 Tommy Kelly DQed in tech
22. 22 Cameron Cruise DQed in tech
23. Danny Anderson DNS

.Street Stock
1 10 Jeff Firestine
2. 93 Kenny Gibson
3. 23 Todd Brown
4. 01 Bobby Diestler
5. 4p Donnie Powers
6. 15 Garrett Thompson
7. 40 Scott Finch
8. 88 Jamie Castleberry
9. 11 Travis Barfield
10. 63 Kyle Best
11. 74 Bobby Huffstutler
12. 27 Chris Oliver
13. 50 Dave Blanchard D.N.S.

Triple Crown
1. 5 Joe Boyd
2. 128 Dylan Bigley
3. 8 D. J. Hozele
4. 07 Tyler Scofield
5. 51 Michael Atwell
6. 28 Billy Bigley Jr.

Bombers
1. 75 Carl Thompson
2. 57 Aaron Holmes
3 38z Zach Bridges
4. 88 Jamie Castleberry
5. 81 Mark Gill
6. 22 Ann Marie Ricardi
7. 5 Larry Welter Jr.
8. 12 Randy Radley
9. 4 Jeff Webster
10. 23 Kenny Gibson
11. 22x Randy Spicer D.Q. in tech
12. 10 Tristan Collins D.N.S.
13. 14 Adam Briggs D.N.S.

Modified Mini
1. 77 Rachelle Rudolph
2. 81 Travis Kirby
3. 17 Brad Blanton
4, 2 Jimmie Wood
5. 6f Jimmie Frazier
6. 6d Dave Davis
7. 45 Mike Karrivan
8. 72 Darrin Ellis

Mini Stock
1. 05 Cameron Cruise
2. 99 Johnny Marrra
3’. 37 Todd Wozniak
4. 008 Ren Wright
5. 77 Laura Jean Mammina
6. 01 Christopher Milthaler
7. 48 Jamie Brown
8. 67 Zach Stultz
9. 41 Tony Meeks
10. 11 Buzz Ampaugh
11. 10 Kristen Milthaler

T. Q. Midgets
1. 11 Jimmy Wilkens
2. 63 Mike Belusar
3. 7 Rob Kohler
4. 42
5. 4 Ernie Teed
6. 44 Scott Roboski
7. 58
8. 2 Sam Mancuso