Speedy recovery, lap time for Owens in 200 qualifying
Pit crew members and drivers hang out next to the track before qualifying for the Montana 200 Friday night at Montana Raceway Park in Kalispell. Racing continues this evening and finishes with a 200-lap main event for Super Late Models. Chris Jordan/Daily Inter Lake
Kalispell's Mark Owens didn't sleep well Thursday night.
Sure, there was the mounting pressure of trying to win his second Montana 200 and first since 1995, but the primary cause of his unrest was an ache in the right side of his mouth which led to late-night surgery.
Owen's dentist, Dr. Rob Spencer, performed a midnight root canal and Owens was literally back on track Friday at Montana Raceway Park, earning the top qualifying time for tonight's Montana 200 with a lap time of 12.911 seconds.
"It actually gives you some confidence with what's gonna happen the rest of the weekend," Owens said.
Owens was one of 12 Super Late Model drivers who automatically qualified for tonight's main event by running the fastest laps in time trials.
But Owen's face was still swollen Friday and he knows one fast lap guarantees him nothing more than a place in the field for tonight's big race.
"We'll see how that goes because you can get up on the wheel for one lap real well," Owens said.
Owens, 50, has raced in every Montana 200, but checkered flags have eluded him for more than a decade. He's ran well in several of those races over the years, finishing as high as second since winning, but the race is as competitive as they come.
"These are some of the very best (drivers) in the Northwest," Owens said.
About one second separated Owens from the slowest of the 28 drivers who ran qualifying laps. The 12 automatic qualifiers were separated by a quarter of a second.
Owens won the Northwest Super Late Model Shootout 150 on June 10, but crashed in the first lap of the Late Model Challenge Series 100 on July 1. Kalispell's Alex Lessor won that race, but finished 15th in qualifying for the Montana 200 and missed an automatic entry by .07 seconds.
Lessor still has a chance to run in the Montana 200, though. Six drivers who didn't gain entry from qualifying worked their way into the lineup by performing well in the B main late Friday. Five more will enter the field after today's last-chance main.
Troy Conrad of Puyallup, Wash., the 1999 winner, finished second in qualifying, followed by Jeff Jefferson and 2004 winner Christian Roeder of Ephrata, Wash.
Three-time winner Tom Sweatman of Cosmopolis, Wash., qualified with the fifth best time while 2003 winner Ken Kaltschmidt of Marion finished sixth.
Other drivers earning berths in qualifying were Kevin Richards, Eric Hargraves, Dave Garber, Dan Garber, Don Vickery and Josh Roberts.
The Coors Light Flathead Legends also ran. Kalispell's Jake Grosswiler won fastest time in qualifying and took home another trophy by winning a Legend trophy dash.
The other Legend trophy dash went to Mark Gallagher of Kalispell while Kevin Goe and Roeder won the Super Late Model trophy dashes.
Gates open today at 3 p.m., followed by opening ceremonies and racing at 7. Racing begins with the Super Late Models C main, followed by the last-chance main, a Legends main and the Montana 200.
There is a $35,000 purse for the Montana 200 with $10,000 going to the winner.