Brandon Holt Honored as 2012 Front Wheel Drive Track Champion at Ponderosa Speedway

Ponderosa Speedway
365 Phillips Lane
Junction City, KY 40440

2012 Official Media Release #84 (For Immediate Distribution- November 17, 2012)
Contact-Michael Despain (mgdespain@windstream.net)

Linville, Despain, Sullivan, and Holt Honored at Ponderosa Speedway’s Celebration of Champions

Junction City, KY-November 17, 2012- Ponderosa Speedway track promoter Larry Yantz and track co-promoters Chad and Sarah Yantz officially concluded the 2012 racing season on Saturday evening as the track presented it Celebration of Champions to honor the track’s four division champions and honor the top ten point netters in each division.

The Good Neighbor Pharmacy Late Model division would see Dustin Linville of Lancaster, KY honored as the 2012 track champion. Linville, 21 years of age, a second-generation racer, and a former go-kart racer and Modified competitor, would score two feature events at the track during the season and pick up nine top-five feature event finishes while attending all fifteen track points events for the division. It would be Linville’s second track championship at “Kentucky’s Baddest Bullring” in the Late Model division, having previously won the track title in 2008. Linville’s successful 2012 title run came aboard the Terry Linville owned 4B Motorsports/Maco Service Company/Fast Wax/Wicked Racing Supply/Graphic Impressions/Paul Benton Auto Body/Pinetop Motors/Puckett Automotive/G.A. Parsons/McElliott Trucking/Hawkeye Trucking/Jump Start Communications/Bruce and Vicki Barnes/ Linville’s Finish Carpentry/Cookie Monster Power Plants/DJ Safety/Hoosier Tire sponsored #D8 Tomahawk Race Cars and Swartz Race Cars mount powered by a Bullock Race Engine. Michael Chilton of Salvisa, KY would garner his fourth track championship runner-up finish in the division, while Dustin Neat of Dunnville, KY (5 feature wins), Todd Coffman of Junction City, KY, and Tommy Carlton of Lawrenceburg, KY would complete the top five in final Late Model track points. The remainder of the top ten would be Justin Rattliff of Campbellsville, KY (1 feature win), Clarence Belcher of Junction City, KY, Wesley Brummett of Harrodsburg, KY, Jeff Watson of Campbellsville, KY, and Brad Neat of Dunnville, KY (4 feature wins). A total of 89 drivers earned track points in the Late Model division for 2012, with the class producing six different feature winners in 15 events (Victor Lee of Danville, KY, Linville, Brad Neat, Dustin Neat, Rattliff, and Johnny Wheeler of Campbellsville, KY). Longhorn Chassis had the most chassis wins with five, while Vic Hill Race Engines topped the list of most engine wins with five.

The Clayton Homes Modified division would see Elliott Despain of Campbellsville, KY honored as the 2012 track champion. Despain, 23 years of age, a second-generation driver, and former go-kart racer, would grab two feature events over the course of the season at the track to go with eleven top-five feature event finishes while attending all sixteen track points events for the division. The track championship is Despain’s first-ever track title at Ponderosa Speedway. Despain’s triumphant season came in the seat of the Billy and Lisa Despain owned Lucas Oil Products/Knox Ford of Radcliff/Southern Indiana Rock Drilling/Chandler Electric/Family Eye Care/SpeeDecals Vinyl Graphics/Swafford Signs/
PRC/K&N Filters/Bilstein Shocks/BSB Manufacturing/DJ Safety/Schoenfield Headers/SEF by VP Racing Fuels sponsored #75e Bandit Race Car powered by a Dale Meers Race Engine. Michael England of Glasgow, KY would finish as track championship runner-up in the division and take two feature events along the way. Tommy Bailey of Corbin, KY (four feature wins), Don Adams of London, KY, and Rocky Wilson of Elizabethtown, KY would round out the top five in final Modified track points. Completing the top ten in the Modified track title points chase would be Jimmy Payne of Glasgow, KY (2 feature wins), Bryan Barber of Greensburg, KY (1 feature win), Benji Lee of Loretto, KY (1 feature win), Billy Meredith of Hodgenville, KY, and Cy Cundiff of Georgetown, KY. Trever Thompson of Glasgow, KY would also be honored as the track’s overall Rookie of the Year. Thompson, 19 years of age, finished 14th in final Modified division track points in his first season of stock car action after a successful go-kart career. A total of 78 different drivers earned track points for the division in 2012 and there would be eight different winners in 16 track points events (Ricky Arms of Moss, TN, J.T. Ayers of New Haven, KY, Bailey, Barber, Despain, England, and Lee). Bandit Race Cars had the most feature wins in the class with eight, while Dale Meers Race Engines and Niebel Race Engines had the most engine wins in the division with four each.

The Ken Towery’s Auto and Tire Center Sportsman division would see Donnie Sullivan of Stanford, KY honored as the 2012 track champion. Sullivan, 53 years of age, scored four feature event wins and eleven total top-five feature event finishes on the way to his first-ever track championship at Ponderosa Speedway and also his first-ever on dirt for the former asphalt competitor. Sullivan’s championship campaign behind the wheel of the Sullivan Family Racing owned D&D Pallet Recyclers/Crown Cuts of Stanford/Simple Sign and Decal/Patriot Sports sponsored #1 Chevrolet Z28 Camaro powered by an Estes Race Engine. Derek Bottoms of Taylorsville, KY would take runner-up honors in the division and score one feature win. The remainder of the top five in final Sportsman track points would be Johnny King of Lancaster, KY, Bartley Grant of Berea, KY (4 feature wins), and Gerald Haynes, Jr. of Somerset, KY (3 feature wins). The second five in final Sportsman track points would be Doodle Farris of Louisville, KY, Glenn Hounshell, Jr. of Mount Vernon, KY, Eli Meredith of Hodgenville, KY, Shannon Scott of Liberty, KY, and Steve Rector of Versailles, KY. A total of 51 different drivers earned track points for the division, with seven different drivers earning feature wins (Jamey Adams of Laurelville, OH, Goble Bertram of Monticello, KY, Bottoms, Grant, Haynes, Jr., Eddie Stewart of Manchester, KY, and Sullivan).

The Bob Allen Motor Mall Front Wheel Drive division would see Brandon Holt of New Haven, KY honored as the 2012 track champion. Holt, 17 years of age, a third-generation racer, and former go-kart racer, was winless in his quest for the division’s track title, but picked up four top-five feature finishes with his best finish being a second place effort. Holt’s championship title effort came behind the wheel of the Wayne Ayers owned Waddell’s Auto and Scrap Recycling/Nukem Graphics sponsored #2 Saturn machine. Charles Burton of Somerset, KY would take second place in the Front Wheel Drive championship run, while Joseph Lyons of Danville, KY, Adam Gregory of Gray, KY (3 feature wins), and Rodney Foltz of Florence, KY (2 feature wins) completed the top five in final Front Wheel Drive track points. The remainder of the top ten in final Front Wheel Drive track points would be Jerry Gibson III of Crittenden, KY, Rusty Light of Nancy, KY (1 feature win), Jeremy Strunk of Bronston, KY (1 feature win), Scott Tomlinson of Somerset, KY, and Eddie Strunk of Somerset, KY. The class debuted for the season on May 18 and ran in seven events with 19 different drivers earning track points, with four different drivers claiming feature wins (Foltz, Gregory, Light, and Jeremy Strunk).

Track co-promoter Chad Yantz thanked all the racers and fans for their efforts and support during the 2012 racing season. Track promoter Larry Yantz concluded the evening’s events by thanking the racers and fans for their support and announced the 2013 racing season would begin with practice in late March, with racing getting underway in early April.