Saturday night was round #2 of the Topless Mississippi Modified Challenge Series at Whynot Motorsports Park. There were twenty-eight modifieds on hand all seeking the $1,000 winner’s check. Ben started 8^th in a nine-car heat race and by lap three he was up to 2^nd. His strong heat race finish coupled with a handful of passing placed him 3^rd on the 22-car starting grid. At the drop of the green flag, Ben remained in the bottom groove but felt his car was a little too tight. At one point he decided to move up a groove but made wheel-to-wheel contact with another racer in close quarters racing that resulted in a right-rear flat. After a trip to the pits, Ben returned to join the rear of the field. “There were some pretty wild antics in the back of field and I really couldn’t find a good way through the mess so I just rode for a while,” Ben stated after the race.

Ben would eventually make his way through a thinning field and finished 14^th. Considering the early race flat, Ben managed to salvage one of those classic “NASCAR” TOP 14 finishes.

Over the next couple of weeks Ben will concentrate on completing a thorough once-over of his car in preparation for the 2-day Doug Murphrey Memorial $10,000 to win race at Ark-La-Tex Speedway June 1 & 2. He will also be putting the finishing touches on his back-up car that hopefully will debut in June with a mystery driver at the wheel!

We certainly appreciate our sponsor’s support.

At the drop of the green flag Ben took command over last week’s MSMOD series winner and set a blistering pace. Ben began to stretch his lead as the race continued under green. He soon had established a full straight away lead and was approaching lap traffic when a caution flew. On the restart, Ben once again established himself at the point and resumed a torrid pace. Soon, another caution bunched the field and on the restart Ben set out to finish what had been a great run.

In the closing laps there was another caution, which gathered the field once again. Coming out of turn four on the restart lap, a competitor decided to use Ben’s left rear quarter panel instead of a clean lower line and spun Ben into the front straight wall. With significant front-end damage, Ben was eliminated from what could have been an exciting finish or possible win. Officials sent the offending racer to the rear of the field for the remaining laps. Both drivers lost significant prize money as a result of the dumb move.

We certainly appreciate our sponsor’s support.

The draw for heat race starting positions is always an unknown element in these races and Friday night Ben’s draw set the stage for an up-hill battle. Drawing a rather large number at the pit gate, Ben was slated to start 10^th in the second of three heat races. Making it to the front in only eight laps would be a challenge but Ben had a setup that would allow him to do just that. At the drop of the green flag Ben began his charge to the front by using the high side. With only two laps remaining Ben had made his way to third when the only caution flew. Ben restarted 5^th and was unable to regain his hard-fought spots in the green-white-checker finish. His 5^th place finish and passing points would place him 11^th on the grid for the feature race.

With some heavy hitters at the front of the feature line up Ben knew he would have a tough battle on his hands during the 20-lap race on HMP’s little bullring layout. At the drop of the green Ben once again used the high groove to make his move to the front. By mid-race he was approaching the top five where his momentum was briefly stalled behind an erratic competitor. Once clear, Ben was on the move again as the laps were winding down. Solidly in 4^th and making a move for 3^rd things at the front were getting tight. When the checkers flew you could throw a blanket over the lead pack and Ben finished 4^th.

“Our Hughes chassis was really working great tonight and between the heat and feature I probably passed more cars than I ever have in one night of racing,” Ben commented after the race. “Our other set of tires may have been a little better for the feature but I can’t complain on how we came through the pack.”

We certainly appreciate our sponsor’s support.

LUCAS Oil Products, Schoenfeld Headers, AERO Race Wheels, BRINN Transmission, Genesis Shocks, FastShafts, Hughes Racing Chassis, Dart Engineering, Dash Race Wear, ButlerBuilt Seats, Signs-by-Robbie, Mullins Race Engines, Howe Engineering, MSD, Willy’s Carbs, Tommy Rocket Race Engines, RCI Race Products and cousin Jack Stephens.

For race results and schedule updates, check out www.benstephensracing.com.

Ben started outside front row and was able to take command at the drop of the green and never look back for his heat race win. Track officials decided to grade the track prior to the features due to the rough surface that had developed. Their efforts only had a minimal effect and once the racing resumed, the ruts and rough ride were back.

Ben started on the pole along side Bradley Rose. Ben had indicated that his car handled the bumps and ruts in the heat race better than he expected so he decided to go with the same spring/shock combination for the feature. At the drop of the green Ben pulled away from Rose and assumed the lead. “Our Hughes chassis really performed well tonight and handled the rough track better than any car I’ve driven,” Ben commented after the race.

To most everyone’s surprise the main event went green to checker with no caution flags. Ben took the win for his second of the season and first at Hattiesburg for 2012. “This was a great tune up for next week’s $1,000 to win Mississippi Modified Challenge Series race,” Ben added. “I’m sure the competition will be a little stronger next week but I think we’ve got a good piece for them.”

We hope to keep our sponsors’ colors at the head of the pack. We certainly appreciate their support.

LUCAS Oil Products, Schoenfeld Headers, AERO Race Wheels, BRINN Transmission, Genesis Shocks, FastShafts, Hughes Racing Chassis, Dart Engineering, Dash Race Wear, ButlerBuilt Seats, Signs-by-Robbie, Mullins Race Engines, Howe Engineering, MSD, Willy’s Carbs, Tommy Rocket Race Engines, RCI Race Products and cousin Jack Stephens.

For race results and schedule updates, check out www.benstephensracing.com.

Ben unloaded and prepped his Hughes modified for another night of racing. He started 6^th in his heat race and quickly made his way through the field and assumed the lead. Once out front he increased his margin and took the checkers uncontested. The modifieds were scheduled to run after the super late model main event so Ben had to make chassis changes based on what track conditions might be.

Ben started on the pole of the modified feature and at the drop of the green flag moved to the point. He found some moisture in the middle to bottom grooves on an otherwise black sealed over track.  His car was just a little loose but rotated well in the center of the turns. The berm had been moved close to the concrete wall and was pretty rough and rugged so Ben continued to lead in the short circuit. On the restart after a late race caution, Ben once again moved to the bottom groove. One of his competitors moved to the high groove and with only a handful of laps remaining passed Ben. Ben moved up on the bumper of the new leader and made a last-ditch move on the white flag lap but crossed the line in second place.

A win and two second place finishes so far in 2012 is a great start. We hope to keep our sponsors’ colors at the head of the pack. We certainly appreciate their support.

For the feature race, Ben lined up outside front row along side the former track champion. Ben took command of the race at the drop of the green and in his words, “it was hammer down the entire race.” Past the mid-race point Ben noticed the nose of a challenger edging up on the inside followed soon there after by a caution. On the re-start Ben commented, “I figured I better reach down and get a little extra for the remainder of the race and the motor performed flawlessly.” Ben took the checkers going away for his first victory of 2012. “We had a great run last week at Magnolia finishing second behind Ken Schrader so tonight’s victory was icing on the cake,” Ben stated after the race.

Schrader started on the pole with Ben third row inside. At the drop of the green flag the field charged into turn one on a track that had gone dry slick and pretty smooth. During the first few laps Ben managed to establish himself in the bottom groove and started moving to the front. He made his way around area Ace Chris Moore and felt good with the handling of his car.

The first 17 laps went caution free. As the field lined up for the first restart, Ben was on Schrader rear bumper. “He would pull me a couple of car lengths on the start but then we would stabilize once we got up and running,” Ben commented. There were a few additional cautions in the final eight circuits but Ben couldn’t quite find the edge to make it around NASCAR’s Ken Schrader. “It was fun racing against such a legend and gentleman racer. I completely burned the right rear tire up trying to get around him but just didn’t have that little extra to make it work,” Ben stated after the race. Since we weren’t able to make the USMTS Spring Nationals in Houston two weeks ago, this was a great beginning for the 2012 season.

A special thanks to our wonderful sponsors:

LUCAS Oil Products, Schoenfeld Headers, AERO Race Wheels, BRINN Transmission, Genesis Shocks, FastShafts, Hughes Racing Chassis, Dart Engineering, Dash Race Wear, ButlerBuilt Seats, Signs-by-Robbie, Mullins Race Engines, Dart Engineering, MSD, Willy’s Carbs, Tommy Rocket Race Engines and cousin Jack Stephens.

For race results and schedule updates, check out www.benstephensracing.com.

Come join us at the races and thanks to all of our fans and sponsors!

Ben will now open the 2012 race season with either a home opener at Hattiesburg Motorsports Park or a two-day USCS modified show March 2-3 at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS.

We certainly appreciate all the support of our sponsors and supporters. Ben is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to carry all of his sponsors’ colors to Victory Lane. Thanks to:

LUCAS Oil Products, Schoenfeld Headers, AERO Race Wheels, BRINN Transmission, Genesis Shocks, FastShafts, Hughes Racing Chassis, Dart Engineering, Dash Race Wear, ButlerBuilt Seats, Signs-by-Robbie, Mullins Race Engines, Dart Engineering, MSD, Willy’s Carbs, Tommy Rocket Race Engines and cousin Jack Stephens.

For race results and schedule updates, check out www.benstephensracing.com.

Come join us at the races and thanks to all of our fans and sponsors!

Ben will continue to participate at local tracks in the Deep South in addition to regional events in Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas.

Passing points determined Saturday night’s lineup and Ben would once again start 5^th, inside the third row. “Our real challenge for the evening was trying to determine what chassis changes we would need on a race track that had just accommodated a 100 lap Super Late Model race,” Ben stated. “My track condition crystal ball was a little out of focus so we assumed the track would be pretty slick and made the corresponding adjustments. As soon as the race started I realized the track still had more bite in it than after previous 100 lap events,” Ben added. 

Early in the race Ben dropped back to 8^th as he searched low and high to find a line and corner entry to maximize his chassis setup. Several cautions kept the field relatively close and just past mid-way of the 25-lap event, Ben started making forward progress. When the last of five cautions waved Ben was in 5^th and there were ten laps remaining. On the restart Ben returned to the high-side next to what little berm was left and started marching to the front. Ben cleared the 4^th place car and kept his momentum up. With two laps remaining he assumed 3^rd place and was making a run on the second place car that was running the bottom groove. As the checkers flew Ben was nosed out at the finish line for second and returned to the pits with a well-deserved 3^rd place finish.

 “The car was really too tight from the middle of the corner off and I tried to heat up the right rear tire to create more stagger across the rear and hopefully loosen the car up,” Ben commented to his crew and friends after the race. “I’ve never seen this track have this much bite left in it so I just kept driving in harder and harder, happy that it stuck. It was a lot of work but it was very rewarding to take a less-than-perfect race car and finish the way we did tonight.”

 Ben will close out the 2011 season with a three-day visit to Royal Purple Raceway, November 17-19 in Baytown, Texas as he battles the traveling professionals of the USMTS circuit. Ben’s 5 wins, 18 top 5 finishes and 18 top 10’s would not have been possible without the support of his loyal sponsors. “We really appreciate their trust and support in us and we look forward to working with everyone in 2012,” Ben noted.