Lonnie Wheatley, PHOENIX, Ariz. (March 7, 2009) – The Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region kicked off the 2009 season in much the same way it finished out 2008, with Missouri's Jesse Hockett standing in victory lane.
Hockett made a late move around Johnathon Henry to win Saturday night's 30-lap "Lealand Legacy" main event atop Manzanita Speedway's 1/3-mile clay oval in the season-opening event for the ASCS Canyon Region.
The triumph aboard the Massey Motorsports No. 2 in the event held in tribute to Lealand McSpadden's remarkable career marked Hockett's fourth consecutive Canyon win in a row, including a three-night sweep of last November's ASCS Western World Championships.
Hockett worked forward from the third row to take the lead away from pole starter and race-long leader Henry in the waning laps. Henry settled for second, with Charles Davis, Jr., claiming the show position in the primary Massey entry.
Josh Pelkey crossed the stripe fourth, with Andrew Reinbold rounding out the top five. Nathan High was sixth, with Ronnie Clark, Thomas Ogle, Casey Shuman and Bruce St. James completing the top ten.
After finishing among the top ten in all 27 features en route to a second consecutive series championship in 2008, fuel nozzle issues limited Jeremy Sherman to a 16th-place finish.
Ogle, Hockett and R.J. Johnson topped heat race action, with Bryan Swinehart winning the "B" Main.
Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region "Lealand Legacy" Results from Manzanita Speedway:
Heat One: 1. 48-Thomas Ogle, 2. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 3. 6-Ronnie Clark, 4. 71-Bernie Smith, 5. 61-Jeff Slinkard, 6. 7k-Bruce St. James, 7. 5x-Jody Wirth, 8. 8-Tim Beal.
Heat Two: 1. 2-Jesse Hockett, 2. 7-Josh Pelkey, 3. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 4. 12-Nathan High, 5. 77-Jeremy Sherman, 6. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 7. 62-Stevie Sussex, 8. 27n-Nick Aiuto.
Heat Three: 1. 77m-R.J. Johnson, 2. 21-Johnathon Henry, 3. xxx-Zach Sawyers, 4. 97az-Casey Shuman, 5. 16-Mike Martin, 6. 6x-Bryan Swinehart, 7. 5*-Robert King, Jr., 8. 3-Harris Brooks.
"B" Feature: 1. 6x-Bryan Swinehart, 2. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 3. 8-Tim Beal, 4. 5x-Jody Wirth, 5. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 6. 3-Harris Brooks, 7. 5*-Robert King, Jr. DNS: 62-Stevie Sussex.
“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 2-Jesse Hockett, 2. 21-Johnathon Henry, 3. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 4. 7-Josh Pelkey, 5. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 6. 12-Nathan High, 7. 6-Ronnie Clark, 8. 48-Thomas Ogle, 9. 97az-Casey Shuman, 10. 7k-Bruce St. James, 11. 6x-Bryan Swinehart, 12. 71-Bernie Smith, 13. 61-Jeff Slinkard, 14. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 15. 5x-Jody Wirth, 16. 77-Jeremy Sherman, 17. 77m-R.J. Johnson, 18. 8-Tim Beal, 19. 16-Mike Martin, 20. xxx-Zach Sawyers (DNS).
Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Jesse Hockett 150, 2. Johnathon Henry 146, 3. Charles Davis, Jr. 144, 4. Josh Pelkey 142, 5. Andrew Reinbold 140, 6. Nathan High 138, 7. Ronnie Clark 136, 8. Thomas Ogle 134, 9. Casey Shuman 132, 10. Bruce St. James 130.
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