Phillips Memorial race set today in Springfield

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November 3, 2012

Phillips Memorial race set today in Springfield

By Anvil Welch Globe Sports Writer The Joplin Globe Sat Nov 03, 2012, 12:59 AM CDT

A check of $2,575 is on the line today for the winner of the late model A feature in the Larry Phillips Memorial at Springfield Raceway.

The 11th annual Larry Phillips Memorial is presented by Home Pro in Joplin, 3271 N. Main.

Just making the 20-car field in the late model main event will be worth $475, Springfield Raceway co-owner Jerry Hoffman said Friday.

“We expect more than 30 late models,” Hoffman said. “Terry Phillips (Larry’s son) is expected, of course.”

Terry Phillips has won the special three times. Those wins came in 2007-09 with the first two achieved at Lebanon I-44 Speedway.

Fellow Springfield driver Jeremy Payne won in 2010 and John Anderson of Omaha (Neb.) is defending champion.

Support classes on the 5 p.m. program at the quarter-mile dirt track are modified, B modified, Midwest Modz, Legends Cars, street stock and pure stock.

Plus, spectator drags have been added to the show with the winner pocketing $100 and the runner-up $50.

Other 2011 winners were Erik Maggard (modified), Shawn Strong (B modified), Trevor Drake (Midwest Modz), Dave Comer (Legends) and Tyler Schoen (pure stock).

Tonight’s modified and B modified A feature winners will receive $575 and $375, respectively.

Pit gates open at 1 p.m. and the grandstand gates at 3. Hot laps are scheduled for 4 p.m. Admission prices are $20 and $5 (ages 6-12). A pit pass is $35.

Terry Phillips recently has been adding to his earnings.

Phillips won the MARS final — worth $5,000 — on Oct. 7 at Thunderbird Speedway in Muskogee, Okla.

Phillips switched to a modified and earned $10,000 by claiming the 50-lap Fall Nationals on Oct. 21 at the Southern New Mexico Speedway at Las Cruces. Payne was 11th.

Phillips, a week later, placed 21st in a modified race at the Tucson (Ariz.) International Raceway. Payne placed second to R.C. Whitwell of Tucson in that race.

The victory at Las Cruces was the 17th of the season for Phillips.

Home Pro owner John Tullis and his family have rich racing roots in area stock car racing, Ronne Williams, Springfield Raceway race director/public relations, said.

“John’s late father, ‘Fast’ Freddie Tullis Sr., was a champion in the four-state area,” Williams said. “He’s a member of the Ozarks Area Racers Hall of Fame and helped John, an established racer, during his career.”