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ALPHABET SOUP GOES FOR TRY NUMBER 2Phillips Leads Last 4 Laps, Cashes In
Greenwood, Neb (July 2, 2008)- The rains came and went, the fans stayed and so did the racers. It was a good thing. Many times rain will force a race to be postponed or canceled. Officials put themselves on the line and it worked in their favor. The track came in better than before and it was 'bad fast' when they went back to racing.
He started last in his heat race and by the time the checkered flag came out, Phillips was in first. In winning his heat and passing every car, he amassed every possible point he could get. This was a feat that caused the fans to stand up and cheer for the Springfield native.
The top 16 in passing points were locked into the A Main. A Pole Dash would be run with the top 8 in passing points. Two cars from each B Main would transfer to the back of the A main. Eight provisionals would round out the lineup for tonight's Alphabet Soup A Main! Thirty of the top late models in the area would battle it out at I-80 Speedway.
Before the competition could get to the Pole Dash, the three B features had to be finished.
In the first B, Jason Friesen started out in the front, but it would be Matt Furman who would get the drop on the field and sprint to the win. Dave Eckrich would come home with the 2nd position and rounding out the top 3 was Ed Moore.
Jeremy Payne got out to a great start from his outside front row starting position. He wouldn't get to far away as Jason Utter gave him all he could handle and then some on the track. Lap after lap the two would exchange spots, before Utter would speed away for the win. Payne was 2nd and Chad Humiston took the 3rd spot.
The 3rd and final B Feature contained a stacked field of cars. Craig Prebble, David Turner, Joe Kosiski, Delbert Smith were just a few names that headlined this last chance to get into the A Main. Shawn Harker was the driver in the lead with 3 laps to go, but Delbert 'the Ice Man' Smith moved his way through the field to be sitting in the 2nd position. As they took the white flag, Joe Kosiski was making a hard move. At the checkers it would be Harker and Smith that would transfer on to the big race. Kosiski would miss out by one spot.
Kyle Berck and John Anderson would make up the front row for the Pole Dash.
Anderson would jump to the lead early in the pole dash. Working high in turns 1 & 2 and diving low in 3 & 4, he put together a sizeable lead. Berck would hold down 2nd for a majority of the race, while Terry Phillips would finish in the 3rd spot.
The Pole Dash gave a glimpse into what the feature would bring. Even though Anderson and Berck jumped out quickly there was a lot of passing in the rest of the field.
The green flag waved on the 50 lap feature and it was John Anderson jumping out in front first.
Terry Phillips, Kyle Berck and Kelly Boen were battling for 2nd thru 4th. Denny Eckrich and John Kaanta would wage war for the 5th position.
Fifty laps would prove to be a long race. Longer than most.
Ten laps into the event, Anderson began to work his way through lapped traffic. Berck would hold down 2nd while Phillips could be found right behind Berck.
On the restart Phillips and Kaanta moved up through the field. Anderson continued to show the way around the speedway. Multiple grooves would open up several spots for position on the track.
Boen began to knock on Phillips' back door at lap 15. For a couple of laps he would try to get past the rocket from Springfield, but couldn't get the job done. Lapped traffic would help Phillips gain an advantage.
The race would stay pretty much status quo. For the next 20 laps, Anderson would continue to lead. Phillips would lose some spots and then fight his way back into 2nd, Kyle Berck would drop back as far as 6th and make his way back up to 3rd and Jeremy Payne, who came through a B, would find himself in 7th with 15 laps to go.
As 4 laps remained, Anderson dove hard into the bottom of turn 3 and something in the rear end seemed to be a miss. He pulled to a stop on the front stretch and required a push off the track. This would open the door for Terry Phillips.
Because Anderson fell out after a yellow flag had been dropped on the track for another competitor, the restart woud be a single file restart. Phillips would bring them to the green with 4 to go.
Phillips would trail Anderson for most of the race, but when it counted, he saw the checkered flag before anyone else. He would go on to the win at I-80.
Kyle Berck would finish 2nd, Chad SImpson finished 3rd, Frank Heckenast finished in the 4th position and rounding out the top 5 was, John Kaanta.
All in all, a great race for everything that happened on the night.
RACE RESULTS:
QUALIFYIER 1: 10 Laps QUALIFYIER 2: 10 Laps QUALIFYIER 3: 10 Laps QUALIFYIER 4: 10 Laps QUALIFYIER 5: 10 Laps QUALIFYIER 6: 10 Laps QUALIFYIER 7: 10 Laps B-MAIN 1: 12 Laps / Top 2 Transfer B-MAIN 2: 12 Laps / Top 2 Transfer B-MAIN 3: 12 Laps / Top 2 Tranfer POLE DASH: 6 Laps
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In the early part of the evening, several drivers put on a good show. One of those drivers, Terry Phillips, put on a great show. In most big shows passing points will determine where you start or get a chance to start in the feature. Phillips, hit a home run. 
A yellow flag would come out on lap 10. The advantage that Anderson had established in the early going would be wiped out as the field bunched back together for the restart. Anderson, Berck, Phillips, Boen and Kaanta would be the early top 5. 