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Michael Kloos take the 2011 Season Opener, the "Shamrock 40"

(3/19/2011)

Cloudy skies and an afternoon rain shower
may have scared a few competitors away from making the trip to Belle-Clair
Speedway for the Shamrock 40, but there were some good cars on hand that provided some great and exciting action.

Defending UMP DIRTcar Modified National Champion Mike Harrison started on the front row pole for the Modified main event and it appeared he was going
to dominate the feature event. However, a couple of other drivers had other ideas. Early on it would be Brian Bielong moving up to challenge Harrison
for the top spot. Bielong would stay in Harrison's shadow but wouldn't be able to make a move for the lead. As the laps began to wind down, Dean
Hoffman moved in on the leaders from his sixth place starting spot. Hoffman would get to the second spot and then a late race caution would close the
gap and allow Hoffman to restart right on Harrison's bumper. Hoffman would use the low side to pull even with Harrison, but Harrison would power out of
the turns on the high side past Hoffman on each straight-away. Harrison would hang on and get a close win over Hoffman. Brett Korves made a nice run
from the seventh starting spot to finish third. Tim Hancock would come from the twelvth starting spot to take fourth. A late race flat tire would push
Bielong back to a fifth place finish.

In the UMP DIRTcar/AARA Sportsman main event, Mike "Wahoo" Jones made short work of early leader John Schrand and powered his way to an impressive
victory. Jones worked the lapped traffic flawlessly and opened up a comfortable lead enroute to the win. Schrand would hold on for a second place finish while Cory Ford and Denny Tribout battled in out for the third spot with Ford getting the better position. C.J. Simpson would complete the top five.

Michael Kloos of Trenton, Illinois has become one of the toughest competitors at Belle-Clair Speedway in the UMP DIRTcar Late Model division. Over the last three seasons, Kloos has accumulated more feature wins at Belle-Clair Speedway than any other driver. Kloos didn't disappoint in the forty lap Shamrock 40 main event as he led the final thirty-eight laps
enroute to the win. Frankie Martin jumped out to the early lead at the drop of the green flag, but Kloos only needed two laps to dispense of Martin and
take over the top spot. Throughout much of the event Kloos pulled away and led comfortably as he worked lapped traffic. Randy Korte, who was making his
first start in over a year after health problems kept him sidelined all of 2010, would move past Martin and take over the second spot on lap eleven.
Korte was unable to track down Kloos for the top spot as he gave chase lap after lap. Meanwhile, the big mover through the field was Brent Kreke. Kreke
started back in the eleventh starting position and methodically worked his way to the front, picking off cars lap after lap. Finally, with just six
laps remaining, Kreke moved past Korte for the second spot and set his sights on Kloos. A lap later, the caution would fly for Korte as his power
plant went sour and he pulled to a stop on the front stretch. That would give Kreke the break he needed as he would restart right on Kloos' rear
bumper. On the restart, Kreke would try many different lines to move past Kloos for the lead. However, Kloos kept his machine glued to the bottom of
the track and didn't allow Kreke to get underneath him. Kreke wouldn't make the high side work and couldn't get inside of Kloos and would have to settle
for the second spot as Kloos raced to the win. Mike Hammerle would also have a great run as he would finish in the third spot, staying close to Kloos and
kreke hoping they would make a mistake and allow him past the two of them. Frankie Martin would settle for the fourth spot while Cory Daughtery came on
strong in the closing laps to round out the top five.

Story by: Jimmy Dearing, www.stlracing.com

This article posted by Belle-Clair Speedway. Click here for more track information.