Article By Ryan Neuharth, Courtesy Of USRaceway.net - Photo By Jim DenHamer
Tucson, Arizona (January 16, 2010) When history remembers the 2010 edition of the Wild West Shootout at USA Raceway in Tucson, the conversation will surely turn to side by side racing, spectacular finishes and dramatic late race heroics. This Saturday night was no different. Billy Moyer and Jimmy Mars waged a lead swapping duel over the final ten laps in heavy lapped traffic that the patrons in attendance won’t soon forget.

When the dust finally settled it was the Hall of Famer Moyer who steered his L&D Trucking, Banner Valley Hauling, Henderson Motorsports, Cooley Transportation, Universal Concrete, Performance Rod & Custom, Watters Auto Land, New Vision Graphics, Victory Circle M1 chassis into victory lane for the third time this week. The win tied Moyer for second all-time in Wild West Shootout wins with Steve Francis at four, and severed as the 717th triumph of his career.

Will Vaught would earn the pole and grab the lead at the drop of the green as Moyer ran second followed by Lance Matthees, Jack Sullivan and Mars who rounded out the top five. Moyer would waste no time in applying the pressure to Vaught as they two would race side by side for the top spot on lap one. Vaught would surrender the lead on lap two and Moyer would immediately open a comfortable margin by lap five. Chris Shannon was also quickly on the move as the former Western All-Stars Champion dispatched of Kelly Boen, Pat Doar and Darrell Nelson to run sixth when the races first yellow appeared on lap ten for a spinning AJ Kirkpatrick and Frank Heckenast, Jr to the inside of turn one.

Shannon would gain another position on the Delaware double file restart as he took fifth from Sullivan as Moyer continued to lead. Mars would use the low side to take third from Matthees on lap twelve just before the races second yellow when Blaine Doppler smacked the turn three concrete. Moyer again would lead away from the restart with Vaught second, Mars third, Matthees fourth and Shannon rounding out the top five who quickly shuffled into single file formation.

Lap fifteen would see the appearance of 14th starting Jeremy Payne in the top ten as he rode tenth, as teammate and Wednesday night winner Terry Phillips was eleventh from 21st. Mars came to life at the halfway mark and began the task of finding away around Vaught for the runner-up spot as the two raced wheel to wheel on lap 16. Glued to the inside hub Mars made the move stick in turn two on lap 18 and set off in search of the leader.

Phillips would move by Payne for tenth on lap 19 and with just ten to go Mars was reeling in Moyer. Moyer worked the middle as Mars clung to the inside as the race for the lead was now side by side in lapped traffic. Mars would take the lead on lap 21 and opened up a three car length advantage in a pocket of clear race track as Moyer gave chase. Action toward the rear of the top ten began to percolate as both Boen and Phillips would move past Nelson sliding the Minnesota double-duty racer back to 10th with five to go.

Moyer was now all over the rear deck of Mars who was once again in the thick of heavy lapped traffic in his preferred low line. Having experimented with the a lane off the bottom earlier in the event, Moyer snuck to the right rear quarter of Mars on lap 26 as the two crossed the line to put 27 on the board.

With Mars trapped behind a lapped car in turn one, Moyer would make the move around the outside and regain the lead he surrendered a dozen circuits earlier. Over the final three trips Moyer would work the traffic like a master and secure the win for the second night in a row, his third conquest of the week.