Ty Williams Crowned Fifth Annual Belleville 305
Sprint Car Nationals Champion!
Lonnie Wheatley, BELLEVILLE, Kan.
(August 6, 2022) – Arcadia, Oklahoma’s
Ty Williams added another feather to his cap by
taking the $7,000 winner’s share in Saturday
night’s Fifth Annual Belleville 305 Sprint Car
Nationals 30-lap finale atop the ˝-mile
Belleville High Banks clay oval.
It wasn’t without some twists and turns along
the way before Williams ultimately made what
proved to be the race-winning pass in the final
pair of corners of the United Rebel Sprint
Series event and learned of the victory
post-race when apparent winner Steven Richardson
fell light at the scales.
While much of the way it looked as if Luke
Cranston was destined for a second consecutive
Belleville 305 Nationals title, Richardson
rallied through the field after an opening lap
incident and took command on the final circuit
in turns one and two.
Williams followed suit and slipped by Cranston
as well in the next pair of corners to chase
Richardson across the stripe.
But Richardson’s
thrilling charge through the
field proved to be all for naught when he rolled
across the scales 30 pounds below the minimum
weight of 1,550 pounds, handing the win over to
Williams aboard the Steve Hilker
Trucking/Cattletrucks.com No. 911.
After starting from the pole position, Williams
spent the duration of the race pursuing fellow
front row starter Cranston and closed in on
several occasions as the lead duo blazed a trail
on the upper portion of the high-speed oval.
“I felt like we were about equal and I might
have a shot at him (Cranston), I had already
decided that I was going to the low side on the
last lap to see if I could get by,” Williams
explained afterward. “But
Steven (Richardson) found the rubber down there
first and got by before I moved down.”
Originally of the belief that he was settling
for runner-up honors after following Richardson
past Cranston, moments later Williams learned
that he was adding the Belleville title to a 305
Nationals win at Missouri’s I-70 Motorsports
Park in May.
“It’s not the way I want to win for sure,”
Williams explained. “But
that’s the way it goes, that’s what the rules
say.”
After gunning into the lead at the outset and
leading all the way to
the white flag, Cranston
settled for runner-up honors.
“Those guys just found the rubber down there, I
didn’t realize it had come in that strong,” the
Ness City shoe commented. “I
hate it for Steven (Richardson), that’s a tough
way to lose this race.”
Salina’s Jon Freeman filled out the podium in
third with Texas representative Chase Brewer
crossing the stripe fourth while Zach Blurton
earned Hard Charger honors by racing from 18th
to round out the top five.
Much of Blurton’s charge happened early as he
made his way to eighth in the opening handful of
laps and then battled his way to an ultimate
top-five finish.
Chad Koch crossed the stripe sixth with 20th-starter
Landon Thompson, Brett Becker, Jordan Knight and
Jed Werner completing the top ten.
Friday night preliminary winner John
Carney II stayed near his seventh starting
position throughout until he slowed on the final
lap with a cut tire and coasted across the line
in 15th as the final car on the lead
lap.
The feature got off to a tumultuous start as six
cars tangled in the opening corner including
Richardson, Todd Plemons, Tyler Drueke,
Thompson, Brandon Bosma and Gunnar Pike.
Plemons and Drueke were done for the
night while Richardson tagged the field and
began his dramatic charge, cracking the top ten
by the tenth round and making his way to fourth
by the time a final caution flew with three laps
remaining when Bosma slowed on the track.
Working the bottom of the track, Richardson
worked forward and into the lead after the white
flag only to run afoul of the scales.
Freeman established the quickest overall
qualifying lap of 16.874 seconds with Stu
Snyder, Williams, Brewer and Jack Potter topping
heat race action before Drueke and Blurton won
the twin “B” Mains.
Fifth Annual Belleville 305 Sprint Car Nationals
August 6, 2022, Results:
United Rebel Sprint Series (URSS):
Qualifying Group One: 1. 20-Luke
Cranston 16.937, 2. 5-Stu Snyder 16.972, 3.
50-Jed Werner 17.103, 4. 17-Connor Atkinson
17.107, 5. 88J-Jeremy Huish 17.140, 6. 12-Tyler
Drueke 17.156, 7. 2J-Zach Blurton 17.166, 8.
22-Justin Lasiter 372, 9. 53-Joe Miller 17.572.
Qualifying Group Two: 1. 91-Jeff
Stasa 17.067, 2. 74b-John Carney II 17.094, 3.
911-Ty Williams 17.121, 4. 2b-Brett Becker
17.217, 5. 11k-Tyler Knight 17.219, 6. 10-Jordan
Knight 17.249, 7. 14J-Josh Riggins 17.303, 8.
43-Jake Greenwood 17.348, 9. 11c-Cole Cloud
20.168.
Qualifying Group Three: 1. 9-Chad
Koch 16.978, 2. 8J-Steven Richardson 17.037, 3.
25-Chase Brewer 17.042, 4. 33k-Aaron Ploussard
17.082, 5. 17p-Todd Plemons 17.086, 6.
23-Brandon Bosma 17.140, 7. 57b-Boyd Peterson
17.222, 8. 1ha-Caleb Saiz 17.303, 9. 28-Madison
Miller 17.973.x
Qualifying Group Four: 1. 81-Jon
Freeman 16.874, 2. 98w-Mike Woodruff 17.047, 3.
15-Jack Potter 17.228, 4. 4x-Neath Nestrick
17.253, 5. 25g-Gunnar Pike 17.349, 6. 2d-Duty
Ballenger 17.695, 7. 7T-Landon Thompson 17.711,
8. 24-Cody Hays 17.856, 9. 23r-James Reed
18.636.
Heat One (8 Laps – Top Four Transfer):
1. 5-Stu Snyder (3), 2. 17-Connor
Atkinson (1), 3. 20-Luke Cranston (4), 4. 50-Jed
Werner (2), 5. 12-Tyler Drueke (6), 6. 2J-Zach
Blurton (7), 7. 88J-Jeremy Huish (5), 8.
22-Justin Lasiter (8), 9. 53-Joe Miller (9).
Heat Two (8 Laps – Top Four Transfer):
1. 911-Ty Williams (2), 2. 2b-Brett
Becker (1), 3. 74b-John Carney II (3), 4.
10-Jordan Knight (6), 5. 91-Jeff Stasa (4), 6.
11k-Tyler Knight (5), 7. 14J-Josh Riggins (7),
8. 43-Jake Greenwood (8), 9. 11c-Cole Cloud (9).
Heat Three (8 Laps – Top Four Transfer):
1. 25-Chase Brewer (2), 2. 8J-Steven
Richardson (3), 3. 9-Chad Koch (4), 4. 17p-Todd
Plemons (5), 5. 33k-Aaron Ploussard (1), 6.
23-Brandon Bosma (6), 7. 1ha-Caleb Saiz (8), 8.
57b-Boyd Peterson (7), 9. 28-Madison Miller (9).
Heat Four (8 Laps – Top Four Transfer):
1. 15-Jack Potter (2), 2. 81-Jon Freeman
(4), 3. 4x-Heath Nesrick (1), 4. 98w-Mike
Woodruff (3), 5. 7T-Landon Thompson (7), 6.
25g-Gunnar Pike (5), 7. 24-Cody Hays (8), 8.
23r-James Reed (9), 9. 2d-Dusty Ballenger (6).
First “B” Main (10 Laps – Top Four Transfer):
1. 12-Tyler Drueke (2), 2. 91-Jeff Stasa
(1), 3. 23-Brandon Bosma (3), 4. 11k-Tyler
Knight (4), 5. 1ha-Caleb Saiz (6), 6. 88J-Jeremy
Huish (5), 7. 57b-Boyd Peterson (7), 8.
22-Justin Lasiter (8), 9. 2d-Dusty Ballenger
(9), 10. 11c-Cole Cloud (10).
Second “B” Main (10 Laps – Top Four Transfer):
1. 2J-Zach Blurton (3), 2. 7T-Landon
Thompson (2), 3. 33k-Aaron Ploussard (1), 4.
25g-Gunnar Pike (4), 5. 24-Cody Hays (6), 6.
43-Jake Greenwood (5), 7. 53-Joe Miller (8), 8.
28-Madison Miller (7). DNS: 14J-Josh Riggins,
23r-James Reed.
“A” Main (30 Laps): 1. 911-Ty
Williams (1) [$7,000], 2. 20-Luke Cranston (2),
[$3,500], 3. 81-Jon Freeman (4) [$2,500], 4.
25-Chase Brewer (5) [$2,000], 5. 2J-Zach Blurton
(18) [$1,800], 6. 9-Chad Koch (3) [$1,700], 7.
7T-Landon Thompson (20) [$1,600], 8. 2b-Brett
Becker (12) [$1,500], 9. 10-Jordan Knight (16)
[$1,400], 10. 50-Jed Werner (15) [$1,300], 11.
17-Connor Atkinson (10) [$1,200], 12. 91-Jeff
Stasa (19) [$1,200], 13. 5-Stu Snyder (6)
[$1,200], 14. 23-Brandon Bosma (21) [$1,100],
15. 74b-John Carney II (7) [$1,100], 16.
98w-Mike Woodruff (9) [$1,100], 17. 4x-Heath
Nesrick (13) [$1,050], 18. 15-Jack Potter (11)
[$1,050], 19. 33k-Aaron Ploussard (22) [$1,050],
20. 11k-Tyler Knight (23) [$1,000], 21.
25g-Gunnar Pike (24) [$1,000], 22. 17p-Todd
Plemons (14) [$1,000], 23. 12-Tyler Drueke (17)
[$1,000]. Disqualified (failed to meet minimum
weight at scales) 8J-Steven Richardson (8).
Lap Leaders: Luke Cranston
1-29, Ty Williams 30.