KALISPELL, Montana Jeff Jefferson From Naches — WA qualified as the fastest driver out of 42 competitors in the 22nd Coors Light Montana 200 presented by TTC and Kalispell Toyota. Jefferson’s time knocked Mike Longton to second position in qualifying by a difference of 0.017.
Stormy Montana weather put a damper on the start of the evening as officials were tasked with getting the track under race-able conditions in a limited amount of time. The inclement weather also played a huge part in qualifying for the drivers as the speeds and times dropped with the cooler temperatures. This changed setup strategies for the drivers.
After qualifying was competed four trophy dashes featured drivers throughout the field. In the A heat race defending Coors Light Montana 200 winner Shane Mitchell took home the hardware. Jason Fraser came out smiling with his B trophy dash win. Mark Sundberg challenged an eager Joe Farre to claim the C dash. Don Staggs rounded out the D heat race win.
Eric Schmidt from Roseville, California came out on top of the first of two positioning heat races for the top 14. Schmidt and the other thirteen competitors had to run the positioning heats in order to set the starting lineup for the 200. A portion of the driver’s time ins and heat race points were tabulated to set the starting lineup. As of release time a full run down of starting positions was not available. Jeff Jefferson took the second heat race win, securing his pole position.
Racers who qualified outside of the top fourteen positions had to race their way into the main event. The 40 lap C main featured qualifiers in the 28th through 42nd qualifying position. The top eight out of this event moved on to the B main, with the remaining cars going to the back of the Last Chance Qualifier on Saturday. Jonathon Gomez took the win in the C main, transferring him to the B main. Other transfers included Wrango West, Dave Garber, Grant Brown, Giles Thornton, Don Staggs, Clint Habart, and Mark Sundberg.
In the final main of the night, the B main, the top five drivers punched their ticket into the Coors Light Montana 200. Some very close and hard racing played out in the 40 lap event. In the end Ryan Wells took the B main win, allowing him to advance to the 200. Other transfers included Chris Skelton, Blake Williams, Alex Lessor, and Cameron Haley.
The remaining 23 drivers will all battle for seven remaining positions in the 26 car starting grid for the 22nd annual Coors Light Montana 200 powered by TTC and Kalispell Toyota during the Last chance qualifier that kicks off tonight at 7pm.
Today the pits open at 9am and practice sessions run from 1pm to 5pm. Opening Ceremonies start at 7pm. The final seven positions for the 26 car main will be taken from the very popular 40 lap Last Chance Qualifier main event. 26 modern day gladiators will be locked into the 22nd Annual Coors Light Montana 200, that will fire up after a 10 minute hot lap and shake down session and driver intros.
Tickets are still available for tonight’s event. Tickets can be purchased at the track starting at noon today or by logging onto montanaracewaypark.com to purchase online. When purchasing online the tickets will be emailed to you to print off at home.
Spectators are encouraged to come early as parking is limited this year near the track. Spectator Gates will open at 3pm. A limited amount of Kalispell Toyota sponsored shuttle trucks will be available to shuttle race fans from the lower parking area to the Ticket Office.
For the most up to date information on the 22nd annual Coors Light Montana 200 powered by TTC and Kalispell Toyota log onto montanaracewaypark.com, call 406-257-7223, or like us on Facebook.
Qualifying Results
Pos No. Name Class Best Tm Diff Gap
1 42 Jeff Jefferson 13.070
2 37 Mike Longton 13.087 0.017 0.017
3 72 BJ Tidrick 13.128 0.058 0.041
4 99 Shane Mitchell 13.147 0.077 0.019
5 12o Dan Obrist 13.147 0.077
6 31 Jason Fraser 13.187 0.117 0.040
7 64 Garrett Evans 13.195 0.125 0.008
8 17 Trevor Emond 13.213 0.143 0.018
9 10 Owen Riddle 13.223 0.153 0.010
10 83 Braeden Havens 13.235 0.165 0.012
11 73 Gary Lewis 13.239 0.169 0.004
12 77 Bodie Morton 13.242 0.172 0.003
13 05 Eric Schmidt 13.245 0.175 0.003
14 97 Jason Jefferson 13.295 0.225 0.050
15 5 Ryan Wells 13.296 0.226 0.001
16 6 Chris Skelton 13.296 0.226
17 1 Agni Howell 13.299 0.229 0.003
18 16 Blake Williams 13.302 0.232 0.003
19 53 Alex Lessor 13.324 0.254 0.022
20 51 Erick Hargraves 13.338 0.268 0.014
21 27 Tim Elliott 13.342 0.272 0.004
22 77v Greg Vangool 13.356 0.286 0.014
23 14t Shelby Thompson 13.364 0.294 0.008
24 76 Brian Johnson Jr.13.3710.301 0.007
25 24 Cameron Hayley 13.376 0.306 0.005
26 20 Ryan Tarr 13.401 0.331 0.025
27 55 Billy Salmonsen13.405 0.335 0.004
28 1K Mitch Kleyn 13.407 0.337 0.002
29 14 Don Staggs 13.432 0.362 0.025
30 36 Wrango West 13.433 0.363 0.001
31 93 Dave Garber 13.448 0.378 0.015
32 88 Cory Wolfe 13.460 0.390 0.012
33 22 Jonathon Gomez 13.468 0.398 0.008
34 7 Mark Sundberg 13.480 0.410 0.012
35 49 Brian Levant 13.514 0.444 0.034
36 12 Giles Thornton 13.556 0.486 0.042
37 38 Grant Brown 13.560 0.490 0.004
38 54 Joe Farre 13.561 0.491 0.001
39 25 Kirk Hennefer 13.659 0.589 0.098
40 75 Troy Schweigert 13.701 0.631 0.042
41 09 Clint Habart 13.847 0.777 0.146
42 67 Tim Johnson 13.961 0.891 0.114
A Trophy Dash
Pos No. Name
1 99 Shane Mitchell
2 72 BJ Tidrick
3 42 Jeff Jefferson
4 37 Mike Longton
B Trophy Dash
Pos No. Name
1 31 Jason Fraser
2 64 Garrett Evans
3 17 Trevor Emond
4 12o Dan Obrist
C Trophy Dash
Pos No. Name
1 7 Mark Sundberg
2 54 Joe Farre
3 12 Giles Thornton
4 38 Grant Brown
D Trophy Dash
Pos No. Name
1 14 Don Staggs
2 25 Kirk Hennefer
3 09 Clint Habart
Fast 14 Heat #1
Pos No. Name
1 05 Eric Schmidt
2 97 Jason Jefferson
3 77 Bodie Morton
4 10 Owen Riddle
5 73 Gary Lewis
6 64 Garrett Evans
7 31 Jason Fraser
8 99 Shane Mitchell
9 72 BJ Tidrick
10 17 Trevor Emond
11 42 Jeff Jefferson
12 83 Braeden Havens
13 37 Mike Longton
Fast 14 Inverted (from Heat 1) Heat #2
Pos No. Name
1 42 Jeff Jefferson
2 72 BJ Tidrick
3 31 Jason Fraser
4 99 Shane Mitchell
5 37 Mike Longton
6 10 Owen Riddle
7 64 Garrett Evans
8 83 Braeden Havens
9 77 Bodie Morton
10 05 Eric Schmidt
11 73 Gary Lewis
12 97 Jason Jefferson
13 17 Trevor Emond
C – Main Results
Pos No. Name
1 22 Jonathon Gomez
2 36 Wrango West
3 93 Dave Garber
4 38 Grant Brown
5 12 Giles Thornton
6 14 Don Staggs
7 09 Clint Habart
8 7 Mark Sundberg
9 25 Kirk Hennefer
10 88 Cory Wolfe
11 67 Tim Johnson
12 1K Mitch Kleyn
13 49 Brian Levant
14 54 Joe Farre
B- Main Results
Pos No. Name
1 5 Ryan Wells
2 6 Chris Skelton
3 16 Blake Williams
4 53 Alex Lessor
5 24 Cameron Hayley
6 27 Tim Elliott
7 1 Agni Howell
8 22 Jonathon Gomez
9 93 Dave Garber
10 36 Wrango West
11 7 Mark Sundberg
12 77v Greg Vangool
13 20 Ryan Tarr
14 14 Don Staggs
15 14t Shelby Thompson
16 55 Billy Salmonsen
17 12 Giles Thornton
18 09 Clint Habart
19 38 Grant Brown
20 51 Erick Hargraves
21 76 Brian Johnson Jr.
