It seems as though everyone has a favorite aunt or uncle. And it seems that the fan base at Lunbeck claim John Roush as their own "Uncle Roush". But he may be called "Great Uncle Roush" after his convincing domination of the first ever Lunbeck Speedway night program on Thursday night. Originally scheduled for last Thursday, May 14th, the Mothers Day Shootout was delayed one week by rain.

A stout field of karts were on hand with 13 karts taking time trial runs. The venerable 2 time LKA champion Keith Jones proved he still is one of the men to beat as he paced qualifying with a blistering 7.42. His son, Kris Jones was a click off at 7.43 and fellow McConnelsville Mafia driver Tyler Bogue was 3rd quick at 7.45.

Next up were three heat races that saw the top 3 inverted, with the top 2 finishers transferring to the dash. Heat #1 was led to green by Tyler Roush and Rob Roush, with fast timer Keith Jones lining up in row 2 with track record holder Scott Salyers. Tyler Roush was able to set sail from the pole for a convincing win. But the battle for 2nd was an epic one for the transfer spot as Rob Roush and Keith Jones put on quite a show with Rob prevailing for 2nd.

The second heat race found John Roush and Jason Spillman on the front row with Kris Jones and John W. Roush in row #2. In a move that foreshadowed his later dominance, Uncle John Roush drag raced the only LKA two time winner, Jason Spillman to the first turn to take the lead of the heat. Kris Jones moved in to make it a 3 way battle and was able to slip inside of Spillman to grab the transfer spot. Roush cruised on to the popular win followed by Jones, Spillman and John W Roush.

Heat #3 found Lunbeck rookie Bud Mossbarger on the pole alongside veteran Troy Uhrig with Tyler Bogue and another Lunbeck rookie Jeff Pfeifer in row #2. Mossbarger got to the early lead, but it took very little time for Tyler Bogue to sweep to the lead from row #2. Mossbarger continued to hold down the transfer spot of 2nd wile Uhrig and Pfeifer battled hard for 3rd. With 2 laps to go, Pfeifer was able to use the high line to get past Uhrig, then got by Mossbarger with a lap remaining to steal the 2nd spot. At he wire, it was Bogue, Pfeifer, Uhrig, and Mossbarger who got sideways in the last lap.

Next up was the dash for the top 2 finishers of each heat. The coin flip designated that the race would line up inverted from time trials putting Pfeifer on the pole alongside John Roush. The 6 lap event had fans on their feet once again as the senior driver of the LKA scored his 2nd win on the day holding off a hard charging Rob Roush who came from 4th to 2nd. Tyler Roush, Bogue, Pfeifer and Kris Jones completed the dash finish.

The B-Main saw 8 karts take the green with LKA stalwarts Keith Jones and Jason Spillman leading what normally looked like a Lunbeck A-Main, not a B-Main. These 2 put on a heck of a battle on the point with Spillman scoring the win. Jones reeled him in on 2 occasions, even making contact a time or 2 in attempting to pass for the lead. But Spillman managed to hold on over Jones, Uhrig, Mossbarger, Salyers, Ryan Linkous, John W Roush and Kevin Wills.

At last, it was A-main time. The overflow Lunbeck fans went into a frenzy as the new state of the art lighting system came on for the on track driver introductions. The dash winner, Uncle John Roush had pulled the "6" inversion pill, forcing him to start outside row #3 and making his task a monumental one. Kris Jones would bring the 14 kart starting field to green alonside rookie driver Jeff Pfeifer. The 30 lap "Mothers Day Shootout" grind was underway and Kris Jones shot out to a commanding lead.

But the first half of the event would be marred by numerous cautions. Fans in attendance felt more like they were watching a modified race at Portsmouth than the world's most prestigious kart warriors. The first 14 laps of the race saw no less than 8 caution flags. At any rate, it was evident early on that the #4 of John Roush was hooked up and hauling. He had worked his way from 6th to 3rd by lap #4, then took over the runner-up spot on lap 5.

At the halfway mark, the running order was Kris Jones, John Roush, Rob Roush, Jason Spillman, Keith Jones, Ty Bogue, Kevin Wills, Troy Uhrig, Scott Salyers and John W Roush making up the top 10. The first retiree of the night was Bud Mossbarger with mechanical issues on the #18 kart.

The lap 19 restart is when action really got exciting. Race long leader Kris Jones encountered slower traffic very quickly. It only took a brief hesitation by Jones that allowed Uncle John Roush to get a nose to the inside off turn #2. Down the high speed Lunbeck backstretch, they were side by side with Ryan Linkous right in front of them. Roush was able to make the pass stick, pinning Jones behind the lapped kart. This allowed Jason Spillman, who had just got by Rob Roush, to slip on past Jones as well while he was pinned. In all, Kris Jones would lose 4 spots as he was forced high for over a lap in the high speed melee. Suddenly off turn 2, Linkous spun to a stop and collected Tyler Roush in a hard impact that eliminated both karts from competition.

From there on out, it was smooth sailing for the 67 year old John Roush, who proved Delmas Conley isn't the only senior citizen who can still get it done on the dirt. He did have to stave off a challenge from Jason Spillman in the closing laps, but Spillman was forced to settle for 2nd just ahead of a fantastic 3 kart war that saw Rob Roush, Keith Jones and Kris Jones complete the top 5. The rest of the top 10 was Tyler Bogue, Troy Uhrig, Scott Salyers, Jeff Pfeifer, and Kevin Wills who was subbing for Brandon Throckmorton on the #11B.

After joking in the drivers meeting about needing a "rest area" for the 30 lap event, Roush looked fresh, and 20 years younger as he removed the helmet in victory lane. The frenzied Lunbeck fans would have torn down the new bleachers in the ensuing celebration, so maybe it was for the best that the promoter STILL does not have them completed.

Elizabeth Fry posted the win in the 10 lap ladies race that saw 4 karts in action. The next event will be the first of 7 official ladies points races that will see drivers draw a pill for starting spots and races will be increased to 15 laps. The top 3 in points after the 7 race series will be awarded trophies at the banquet in December.

The next event at Lunbeck Speedway will be the Memorial Day Celebration Classic which will be held this coming Thursday night, May 28th. More lights will be installed to help light the World's Fastest 1/19th mile dirt oval. Fans are encouraged to come on out and watch the best free show on earth. Action will once again be underway at 7 pm. All racing is guaranteed to be completed by 10 pm.

Updated points will be out over the weekend. Thanks to all those who were in attendance and the track concession will be back open next week.