Barberville, FL — Jared Landers is looking like a potential champion of the 37th annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals.
The young Batesville, Ark., standout assumed the points lead halfway through the eight-event UMP DIRTcar Modified meet at Volusia Speedway Park, rolling to his second straight victory in Friday night’s 20-lap feature.
A 25-year-old whose Mullins-powered Shaw No. 777 boasts sponsorship from Mark Martin Ford, Landers rocketed forward from the sixth starting spot to grab the lead from Jason Schill of Dresser, Wis., on lap three. He dominated the remainder of the distance, cruising to a comfortable half-straightaway margin of victory in a race that ran caution-free from start to finish.
Schill, who led laps 1-2, settled for an Alltel DIRTcar Nationals-best finish of second. Opening-night winner Jesse Stovall of Branson, Mo., who failed to qualify the previous two nights, advanced from the ninth starting spot to place third, followed by Alan Mondus of Lakeville, Minn., and Joey Jensen of Forest Lake, Minn.
Landers’s repeat triumph moved him into the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals points lead past NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader of Fenton, Mo., who finished 11th after missing hot laps due to his NASCAR commitments at Daytona International Speedway. Schrader’s run forward from the 23rd starting spot did earn him the Comp Cams Hard Charger Award for the second straight night.
An addition to Friday night’s field was NASCAR Sprint Cup star Carl Edwards, who arrived at the half-mile oval just in time to start at the rear of a heat race. He drove the No. 00 car of 2007 Alltel DIRTcar Nationals champion Steve Arpin of Fort Frances, Ont., who was sidelined for the week after suffering burns from fluid out of his machine’s radiator hose while working in the pit area on Tuesday night.
Edwards did not qualify for the feature, however.
A total of 73 cars were entered in the night’s action.
Heat winners were Schill, Mondus, Landers, Kevin Adams of Cameron, Wis., Terry Hull of Columbia City, Ind., and Kenny Gaddis of Hallsville, Texas. The B-Mains were captured by Scott Drake of Webb City, Mo., Kent Robinson of Bloomington, Ind., and Ben Ledgerwood of Birchtree, Mo.
The UMP DIRTcar Modifieds continue competition as part of the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals every night through Feb. 12. Racing begins each evening at 7:30.
For more information on the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals, visit www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com of www.dirtcar.com.
UMP DIRTcar Modified Feature Finish (20 laps):
1. Jared Landers
2. Jason Schill
3. Jesse Stovall
4. Alan Mondus
5. Joey Jensen
6. Kenny Gaddis
7. Kevin Adams
8. Scott Drake
9. Tim Hancock
10. Kenny Wallace
11. Ken Schrader
12. Austin Dillon
13. Bruce Takash
14. Tom Seets Sr.
15. Bob Gierke
16. Corkey Thomas
17. Justin Houston
18. Jake Hawkins
19. Brian Strand
20. Julie McDermid
21. Kent Robinson
22. Todd Sherman
23. Terry Hull
24. Ben Ledgerwood
DNQ: Chad Evans, Wayne Troseth, Mike Spatola, J.E. Stadler, Scotty Kincaid, Frank Marshall, Corey Sekerson, George Catanzano, Gary Brooks, Dave Hess Jr., Tyler Townsend, David McWilliams, Dale Mathison, Dave Groves, Tommie Seets Jr., Ray York, Ralph Groomer, Bub Patrick, Charley Phillips, Larry Moreland, Tony Anderson, Brandon Carlson, Carl Edwards, Tim Thomas, Dalton Zehr, Matt Permann, Josh Butler, Kurt Allison, Ron Soultis, Ty Dillon, Nate Caruth, Gary Eichler, Derek Groomer, Rick Jones, Jeremy Gross, Jeff Mathews, Jon Henry, Don Lamb, Bill Davis, Brian Ruhlman, Gregg Vandergrift, Chuck Milam, Scott Green, Jim Ransom, Billy Boyd, Brad Waits, Tim Bowen, Shane Sabraski, Jason Miller
Alltel DIRTcar Nationals UMP DIRTcar Modified Points Standings (after Fri., Feb. 8):
1. Jared Landers 344
2. Ken Schrader 300
3. Tim Hancock 281
4. Scott Drake 251
5. Austin Dillon 250
6. Kent Robinson 231
7. Mike Spatola 222
8. Dave Hess Jr. 220
9. Jason Miller 219
10. Kenny Wallace 214
11. Kenny Gaddis 200
11. Jesse Stovall 200
13. Bob Gierke 196
14. Kevin Adams 190
15. Bruce Takach 185
16. George Catanzano 176
17. Jake Hawkins 172
18. Alan Mondus 168
19. Jon Henry 162
20. Tommie Seets Jr. 158
