KALISPELL, Montana — When the dust settled Mike Longton had nabbed the top qualifying in time trails while Gary Lewis used his top-3 finish and a top-6 qualifying effort to earn the top spot when the green flag flies on Saturday, July 17 for the 20th Annual Coors Light Montana 200.
Longton was the only car to qualifying under 13 seconds as the driver of CLS Farms Chevrolet blazed to a 12.983-sec. lap. With a strong run in the
Fast-12 Heat the Moxee, Wash. native will start third in the finale.
Lewis was nervous when qualifying began as the field of 42 cars were all within .5-seconds of each other in the final practice session. With a sixth place run in qualifying and a runner-up run in the Fast-12 the three-time Montana 200 champion will have the best seat on the track when the race begins as he’ll lead the field to the green.
Once racing got underway for transfer positions into the Montana 200 it was Spokane’s David Garber and the Pend Oreille Mechanical Pontiac that had one of the strongest runs of the evening as he won the C-Main then ran to sixth place in the B-Main to lock down the final position offered in Friday’s racing.
Bodie Morton and his Carlson Law Office Chevrolet picked up the win in the B-Main and will start 13th on the field, exactly the same position he nailed down in qualifying.
Yakima’s Owen Riddle was the only driver unable to answer the qualifying bell as the driver of the Don Riddle Excavating Ford lost a motor in the final practice leading into qualifying and had to withdraw.
Several drivers had damage in the transfer races with Agni Howell, Jared Vorse, Jim White, Kevin Richards and Mark Sundberg all working throughout the evening to make their car ready and able to do battle for the final six positions in the Montana 200. Those positions will be contested at 6 p.m. MST in a Last Chance Qualifiers Race.
In the Westward Bound Construction/Keller-Williams Realty Legends Series, Tim Corbett and Tyler Corpron battled throughout the main event for the win with Corpron getting shuffled back to second place late then making contact with Joe Bisset sending both drivers to the rear of the field.
Dave Daughtry managed to avoid the spinning pair and rode home to a runner-up finish with Jake Grossweiler rounding out the top-3.
The finale of the 20th Anniversary celebration of Montana Raceway Park and the famed Montana 200 concludes Saturday, July 17 beginning at 6 p.m. with a Last Chance Main Event, opening ceremonies at 7 p.m., a Legend main event with the Montana 200 set to take the green flag at 9 p.m. MST. The race will be broadcast on Montana Country 106.3 The Bear, streamed on their website and MRP’s website and up-to-date information on RacingWest.
Tickets are available for advanced purchase on the track’s website or at the door. To learn more call (406) 257- RACE (7223), log onto www.montanaracewaypark.com or text MTRACE to 91011.
20th Annual Coors Light Montana 200 B-Main Unofficial Results Bodie Morton Wrango West John Nesmith Cory Wolfe Erick Hargraves David Garber Mike Obrist Blake Williams Tim Elliott Ryan Wells Kelly Mann Greg Vangool Billy Salmonsen Chris Skelton Dan Obrist Jay Sauls Troy Schweigert Jared Vorse
C-Main Unofficial Results
David Garber
Tim Elliott
Blake Williams
Mike Obrist
Kelly Mann
Ryan Wells
Greg Funk
Grant Brown
Braeden Havens
Chuck Dills
Mark Sundberg
Agni Howell
Jim White
Kevin Richards
Amanda MacDonald
20th Annual Coors Light Montana 200 Starting Positions 1-18
1) Gary Lewis
3) Mike Longton
4) Alex Lessor
6) Jason Fraser
7) Eric Schmidt
8) Mark Owens
9) Trevor Emond
10) Chris Hart
11) Ronnie Hults
12) Brian Levant
13) Bodie Morton
14) Wrango West
15) John Nesmith
16) Cory Wolfe
17) Erick Hargraves
18) David Garber
Qualifying Results
Mike Longton – 12.983
Eric Schmidt – 13.039
Alex Lessor – 13.049
Shane Mitchell – 13.064
Jeff Jefferson – 13.069
Gary Lewis – 13.082
Ronnie Hults – 13.093
Mark Owens – 13.097
Jason Fraser – 13.102
Chris Hart – 13.104
Brian Levant – 13.113
Trevor Emond 13/138
Bodie Morton – 13.150
John Nesmith – 13.163
Wrango West – 13.196
Erick Hargraves – 13.200
Chris Skelton – 13.202
Cory Wolfe – 13.211
Troy Schweigert – 13.219
Billy Salmonsen – 13.220
Greg Vangool – 13.225
Jay Sauls – 13.233
Dan Obrist – 13.238
Jared Vorse – 13.243
David Garber – 13.248
Blake Williams – 13.253
Tim Elliott – 13.255
Dan Garber – 13.272
Mike Obrist – 13.272
Ryan Wells – 13.299
Kelly Mann – 13.302
Agni Howell – 13.302
Mark Sunberg – 13.322
Jim White – 13.386
Joey Tanner – 13.401
Kevin Richards – 13.414
Brent Harris – 13.481
Chuck Dills – 13.514
Grant Brown – 13.535
Greg Funk – 13.545
Braeden Havens – 13.678
Amanda MacDonald – 17.776
