Leicht wins Horsepower Tee Shot Tour event
Virginia Beach, Virginia (May 22, 2008) -- There was plenty of excitement in the air amongst the fans gathered at Cabarrus Country Club on Wednesday, May 14, 2008, as they watched the kick-off of the inaugural event of the 2008 HorsePower Tee Shot Tour (HTST).
Whether a fan of golf or NASCAR racing, there was something for everyone as both Power Golfers and NASCAR Drivers stepped up to the tee in this competition of distance and accuracy.
Rick Allen, veteran NASCAR announcer, opened the evening by introducing the eight HTST teams, with Power Golfers and NASCAR drivers paired as follows:
The Pistons Brooks
Baldwin and Hermie Sadler
The Bulls
Kevin Bullard and Brian Vickers
The Ultra Booms
Sean Fister and Marcos Ambrose
The Titans
Vince Howell and Stephen Leicht
The Enforcers
Scott Ionno and David Ragan
The Gladiators
Danny Luirette and Austin Petty (standing in for his father Kyle Petty)
The Eliminators
J.D. Murkerson and Elliott Sadler
The Warriors
Carl Wolter and J.J. Yeley
With the threat of rain diminishing and temperatures dipping into the 50s for most of the evening, the competitors gave it their all as they each stepped up to the tee three times throughout the evening with the opportunity to drive 18 balls down the fairway.
While each competitor had success making it to the fairway for points, some performed better than others. Power Golfers Scott Ionno (11 of 18), Danny Luirette (10 of 18) and Carl Wolter (10 of 18) placed in excess of 50% of their respective shots into the scoring grid, while NASCAR Drivers Marcos Ambrose and Elliott Sadler both earned points from nine of their 18 shots.
The longest drive of the evening on the Power Golfer side of the equation, came from Kevin Bullard, when in Round 2, he drove his last ball into the 360 to 370 yard zone for 35 points. Stephen Leicht was the “power” NASCAR Driver of the evening with two shots – Round 1, Ball 4 and Round 2, Ball 6 – landing in the 300 to 310 yard zone for 45 points each.
In the last round of play, the final outcome almost seemed obvious, but several performances kept the audience in suspense and the competitors on their toes.
Amongst the NASCAR Drivers, Leicht had a strong hold on first place heading into this round at 180 cumulative points, with the two next best scores of 100 points racked up by Marcos Ambrose and Hermie Sadler.
Elliott Sadler gave the NASCAR Drivers a run for their money when he consistently landed four of his last six shots into the 250 to 260 yard zone for 20 points each.
While this effort propelled The Eliminators – Elliott Sadler and J.D. Murkerson – into the first place team position, it was not enough to pull him ahead of Leicht who finished the event in first place with a strong cumulative score of 215 points.
As the Power Golfer competitors entered the final round, Ionno was clearly in the lead with 145 cumulative points, followed by Luirette with 115 points. While Ionno earned 40 points in this last round, it wasn’t enough to guaranty first place.
Luirette quickly came from behind and with three of his six balls, he put 70 points on the board to tie Ionno at 185 points. Ionno and Luirette battled it out in a four-ball tie breaking round where Ionno drove three balls into the fairway grid for 55 points, edging out Luirette who garnered 45 points from two solid drives.
These “drivers of the golf ball” will meet again on Thursday, June 12, 2008, at The Grande Golf Club in Jackson, MI. For additional information concerning the 2008 HTST season, please visit www.hpteeshottour.com.
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