Schott aces opening night at IMCA Duel In The Desert

Lucas Schott already knows his way to victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and he returned there on opening night of the IMCA Duel In The Desert.

Defending race winner Lucas Schott topped Thursday’s first qualifying feature ahead of Bobby Hogge IV, three-time Duel winner Terry Phillips and two-time winner Johnny Saathoff.

Sobbing, winner of the 2011 Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod headliner at the half-mile dirt track, topped the second qualifier with Ricky Thornton Jr., Lance Mari and Chris Abelson next across the stripe.

Each Modified qualifier paid $777 to win and sent the top four to Saturday’s $7,777 to win main event.

Total car count for opening night was 256. Drivers from 22 states and three Canadian provinces competed at LVMS and 17 states and two provinces were represented in Thursday’s Modified qualifiers.

Schott drew the pole start for the first qualifier and held off Benji La Crosse before Hogge moved into the fray halfway through the 25-lapper.

Coming up to traffic, Hogge passed Schott for the lead with four circuits left. The front pair ran side-by-side before Schott returned the favor and held off Hogge for the win.

Phillips started 14th and finished third while Saathoff qualified out of his “B,” started 22nd and ended in fourth. Jason Beaulieu battled a broken front end, was unable to hold off Saathoff and was fifth.

RESULTS:

1st Modified qualifier ­– 1. Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.; 2. Bobby Hogge IV, Salinas, Calif.; 3. Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.; 4. Johnny Saathoff, Beatrice, Neb.; 5. Jason Beaulieu, Campbell River, B.C.; 6. Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, N.C.; 7. Brad Pounds, Bakersfield, Calif.; 8. Benji La­Crosse, Green Bay, Wis.; 9. Tim Ward, Chandler, Ariz.; 10. Alex Stanford, Chowchilla, Calif.; 11. Ryan McDaniel, Olivehurst, Calif.; 12. Todd Shute, Des Moines, Iowa; 13. Scott Brown, Meriden, Kan.; 14. Russell Allen, Brawley, Calif.; 15. Eddie Belec, Arvada, Colo.; 16. Peyton Taylor, Batesville, Ark.; 17. James Thibodeaux, Tonopah; 18. A.J. Sharpensteen, Amarillo, Texas; 19. Grey Ferrando, Stayton, Ore.; 20. Bland Bohannon, Williston, N.D.; 21. Chester Kniss, Antioch, Calif.; 22. Chaz Baca, Mesa, Ariz.; 23. Mike Villanueva, Atwater, Calif.; 24. Johnny Scott, Cam­eron, Mo.; 25. Jason Noll, Peoria, Ariz.; 26. Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas; 27. Josh Most, Red Oak, Iowa; 28. Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas; 29. Rex Merritt, Billings, Mo.; 30. Stormy Scott, Cameron, Mo.

2nd Modified qualifier ­– 1. Jesse Sobbing, Malvern, Iowa; 2. Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, Ariz.; 3. Lance Mari, Imperial, Calif.; 4. Chris Abelson, Sioux City, Iowa; 5. Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.; 6. Cody Laney, Torrance, Calif.; 7. Jordan Grabouski, Beatrice, Neb.; 8. Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa; 9. Regan Tafoya, Farmington, N.M.; 10. Ricky Childress, Bakersfield, Calif.; 11. John Han­sen, Brush, Colo.; 12. Ricky Alvarado, Grand Junction, Colo.; 13. Ethan Dotson, Bakersfield, Ca­lif.; 14. Logan Drake, San Luis Obispo, Calif.; 15. Joey Galloway, Manor, Sask.; 16. Troy Cordes, Dunkerton, Iowa; 17. Joshua Vogt, Santa Maria, Calif.; 18. Justin O’Brien, West Union, Iowa; 19. Paul Stone, Winton, Calif.; 20. Kevin Irwin, Bakersfield, Calif.; 21. Billy Griffin, Buena Park, Calif.; 22. Justen Yeager, Green River, Wy.; 23. Mike Wedelstadt, Fremont, Wis.; 24. Mark Elliott, Web­ster City, Iowa; 25. Chris Nieman, Quincy, Calif.; 26. Jack Sullivan, Greenbrier, Ark.; 27. Dominic Ursetta, Arvada, Colo.; 28. Robby Sawyer, Bakersfield, Calif.; 29. Billy Vogel, West Fargo, N.D.; 30. Scott Drake, Joplin, Mo.