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Posted by: | CommentsMcFadden goes back-to-back to score $10,000 at Jackson Motorplex
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Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
Winner James McFadden (Phil Ihde Photo)
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com
McFadden goes back-to-back to score $10,000 at Jackson Motorplex
JACKSON, Minn. (July 27, 2019) - For the second time in as many days, and for the fourth time in his career, Brisbane, Australia’s James McFadden is an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 main event winner, this time using a late-race surge to power under race leader, Josh Baughman, during the closing laps of Friday’s visit to Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minnesota.
Starting fourth on the feature grid, McFadden’s drive to the front was not only impressive, but also valuable, scoring $10,000 for his feature triumph in southern Minnesota, bumping his two-day total with Tony Stewart’s All Stars to $15,000. Adding some extra hype to his Friday night feat, MAVTV Motorsports Network, the official television home of the All Star Circuit of Champions in 2019, was on hand to capture all of the action, set to re-air later this fall via tape-delay broadcast.
“This feels great. The car has been working really well,” James McFadden expressed, driver of the Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb/Curb Records/Team ASE/Wicked Energy Gum/Wicked Cushion/No. 9 sprint car. “I was actually starting to get frustrated a little bit. I felt like I was really good in traffic. The cautions kinda screwed up any chance we had to make up some ground in traffic."
Although McFadden was the star of the show during the final five circuits, it was Grain Valley, Missouri’s Brian Brown who earned the initial jump, utilizing the pole position to scoot away to a comfortable lead during the first 12 circuits. Visalia, California’s Cory Eliason chased Brown from the runner-up spot, followed by Josh Baughman, James McFadden, and Aaron Reutzel.
Near-flawless at the front of the field, and only tripped up by slower traffic on one occasion, Brian Brown was seemingly in complete control, that until caution flags waved for a slowing Aaron Reutzel with 12 laps recorded.
Unfortunately, while slowing for the caution, Brown bumped the inside berm causing the multi-time Knoxville Raceway feature winner to lose the handle of his familiar no. 21 and spin to the stop. That mishap ultimately forced Brown to surrender the top spot to Josh Baughman; Aaron Reutzel’s car owner and teammate who had already slipped into second by lap six.
When green flag action returned, it was Baughman who was now the man in charge, now followed by James McFadden, Cory Eliason, Justin Henderson, and Brock Zearfoss. Baughman remained in control for 13 circuits, working as hard as he could to keep McFadden and Eliason off of his shoulders.
By lap 25, McFadden was all over Baughman for the lead, knocking down the advantage to less than a car length by the time the frontrunners received the five-to-go signal from the flagstand.
Although McFadden’s first bid for the top spot did not succeed in turns one and two, his efforts in the next two corners prevailed, jamming the Kasey Kahne Racing entry between Baughman and the inside berm as the pair raced into turn three on lap 26. The move sealed the deal, allowing McFadden to drive on to score the $10,000 payday. Eliason powered ahead to finish second, followed by Josh Baughman, a hard-charging Kerry Madsen from 18th, and Justin Henderson.
"I'm proud of this team," McFadden added. "It has been a great few days."
A pair of starts in the Hawkeye State will conclude the four-day, All Star jaunt through the Midwest including a visit to the famed Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, on Saturday, July 27, followed by a stop at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, on Sunday, July 28. Saving the biggest event for last, of course, Sunday’s visit to 34 Raceway will feature the highly-anticipated Inaugural Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race awarding a grand prize equalling $26,000.
Those seeking additional news and notes pertaining to the events at Knoxville Raceway and 34 Raceway should visit each facility at their respective online homes: www.knoxvilleraceway.com and www.34raceway.com.
Contingency Awards/Results:
Jackson Motorplex - July 26, 2019:
Event: Tony Stewart Night at Jackson Motorplex
Entries: 33
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Aaron Reutzel - 12.707
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Aaron Reutzel - 12.770
Ford Performance Heat #1: Brian Brown
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Justin Henderson
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Justin Peck
Mobil 1 Heat #4: Josh Baughman
JE Pistons Dash #1: Brian Brown
Fatheadz Eyewear Dash #2: Cory Eliason
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting B-Main Winner: Tony Stewart
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: James McFadden
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Kerry Madsen (+14)
Cometic Gasket Most A-Main Laps Led: Josh Baughman (13-25, 13 laps)
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Travis Whitney
(Lincoln Electric, MSD Performance, Fatheadz Eyewear, Rayce Rudeen Foundation, Cometic Gasket: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 9-James McFadden, 12.779; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 12.867; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 12.926; 4. 21-Brian Brown, 12.942; 5. 2KS-Austin McCarl, 12.943; 6. O9-Matt Juhl, 12.998; 7. 23W-Scott Winters, 13.213; 8. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, 13.297; 9. 40-George Hobaugh, 13.608
Group (B)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12.770; 2. 17W-Shane Golobic, 12.851; 3. 13-Paul McMahan, 12.871; 4. 7X-Justin Henderson, 12.913; 5. 44-Trey Starks, 12.965; 6. 21K-Thomas Kennedy, 12.980; 7. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.073; 8. 1AJ-Tevor Mell, 13.689
Group (C)
1. 14-Tony Stewart, 12.781; 2. 14M-Marcus Dumsney, 12.791; 3. 70X-Justin Peck, 12.889; 4. 35-Skylar Prochaska, 13.038; 5. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.051; 6. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 13.188; 7. 2d-Dusty Ballenger, 14.042; 8. O5-Colin Smith, NT
Group (D)
1. 83-Lynton Jeffrey, 12.877; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 13.032; 3. 17-Josh Baughman, 13.035; 4. 11-Dale Blaney, 13.055; 5. 55-Brooke Tatnell, 13.059; 6. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.111; 7. 16-Travis Whitney, 13.119; 8. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 13.170
Heat #1 - Group (A) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 2. 70-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 3. 9-James McFadden [4]; 4. 2KS-Austin McCarl [5]; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 6. O9-Matt Juhl [6]; 7. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [8]; 8. 40-George Hobaugh [9]; 9. 23W-Scott Winters [7]
Heat #2 - Group (B) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 7X-Justin Henderson [1]; 2. 13-Paul McMahan [2]; 3. 44-Trey Starks [5]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 5. 21K-Thomas Kennedy [6]; 6. 17W-Shane Golobic [3]; 7. 99-Skylar Gee [7]; 8. 1AJ-Tevor Mell [8]
Heat #3 - Group (C) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 70X-Justin Peck [2]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [5]; 3. 35-Skylar Prochaska [1]; 4. 2C-Wayne Johnson [6]; 5. 14M-Marcus Dumsney [3]; 6. 14-Tony Stewart [4]; 7. 2D-Dusty Ballenger [7]
Heat #4 - Group (D) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 17-Josh Baughman [2]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [1]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [3]; 4. 55-Brooke Tatnell [5]; 5. 83-Lynton Jeffrey [4]; 6. 16-Travis Whitney [7]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [6]; 8. O7-Gerard McIntyre [8]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 2. 17-Josh Baughman [2]; 3. 9-James McFadden [3]; 4. 70-Brock Zearfoss [4]; 5. 11-Dale Blaney [5]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 26-Cory Eliason [1]; 2. 7X-Justin Henderson [2]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [3]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [5]; 5. 70X-Justin Peck [4]
B-Main (12 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer
1. 14-Tony Stewart [1]; 2. 17W-Shane Golobic [2]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson [6]; 4. 99-Skylar Gee [5]; 5. 16-Travis Whitney [4]; 6. O9-Matt Juhl [3]; 7. O7-Gerard McIntyre [9]; 8. 23W-Scott Winters [12]; 9. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [7]; 10. 2D-Dusty Ballenger [8]; 11. 40-George Hobaugh [10]; 12. 1AJ-Tevor Mell [11]
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 9-James McFadden [5]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 3. 17-Josh Baughman [3]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [18]; 5. 7X-Justin Henderson [4]; 6. 44-Trey Starks [11]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan [8]; 8. 70-Brock Zearfoss [7]; 9. 21K-Thomas Kennedy [20]; 10. 55-Brooke Tatnell [15]; 11. 11-Dale Blaney [9]; 12. 2KS-Austin McCarl [14]; 13. W20-Greg Wilson [23]; 14. 70X-Justin Peck [10]; 15. 17W-Shane Golobic [22]; 16. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [12]; 17. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 18. 83-Lynton Jeffrey [19]; 19. 35-Skylar Prochaska [13]; 20. O7-Gerard McIntyre [25]; 21. 14M-Marcus Dumsney [17]; 22. 99-Skylar Gee [24]; 23. 2C-Wayne Johnson [16]; 24. 87-Aaron Reutzel [6]; 25. 14-Tony Stewart [21]
Lap Leaders: Brian Brown (1-12), Josh Baughman (13-25), James McFadden (26-30)
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings (After 7/26/2019):
1. Dale Blaney - 2798
2. Aaron Reutzel - 2782
3. Cory Eliason - 2722
4. Paul McMahan - 2694
5. Brock Zearfoss - 2646
6. Greg Wilson - 2622
7. Gerard McIntyre - 2524
8. Skylar Gee - 2438
9. George Hobaugh - 2192
10. Tony Stewart - 1436
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
Bubba Raceway Park, Fla. (1/31/2019): Tim Shaffer
Bubba Raceway Park, Fla. (2/1/2019): Tim Shaffer (2)
Bubba Raceway Park, Fla. (2/2/2019): Tony Stewart
Volusia Speedway Park, Fla. (2/6/2019): Shane Stewart
Volusia Speedway Park, Fla. (2/7/2019): Brad Sweet
Virginia Motor Speedway, Va. (4/11/2019): Cory Eliason
Port Royal Speedway, Pa. (4/13/2019): Lance Dewease
Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (5/24/2019): Aaron Reutzel
Fremont Speedway, Ohio (5/26/2019): Aaron Reutzel (2)
Outlaw Speedway, N.Y. (6/7/2019): Brock Zearfoss
Stateline Speedway, N.Y. (6/8/2019): Dale Blaney
Weedsport Speedway, N.Y. (6/9/2019): Danny Dietrich
Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (6/14/2019): Kyle Larson
Muskingum County Speedway, Ohio (6/16/2019): Dale Blaney (2)
Wayne County Speedway, Ohio (6/19/2019): Aaron Reutzel (3)
Wayne County Speedway, Ohio (6/22/2019): Buddy Kofoid
Dirt Oval at Route 66, Ill. (6/29/2019): Aaron Reutzel (4)
Lernerville Speedway, Pa. (7/5/2019): Aaron Reutzel (5)
Sharon Speedway, Ohio (7/6/2019): Dale Blaney (3)
Utica-Rome Speedway, N.Y. (7/12/2019): Aaron Reutzel (6)
Orange County Fair Speedway N.Y. (7/13/2019): Danny Dietrich (2)
Lebanon Valley Speedway N.Y. (7/14/2019): Brock Zearfoss (2)
Plymouth Dirt Track, Wis. (7/25/2019): James McFadden
Jackson Motorplex, Minn. (7/26/2019): James McFadden (2)
About MAVTV Motorsports Network:
MAVTV Motorsports Network is a television network with its roots deep in the automotive world. MAVTV offers an unparalleled line-up of exclusive motorsports that includes prestigious events such as the Chili Bowl, the AMA Pro Motocross series, and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). MAVTV also covers a multitude of grassroot racing from the US and across the globe including drag boats, sprint boats, drag racing, pro pulling, rally racing, drifting, dirt racing, ice racing and everything in between plus a package of automotive reality and custom build shows. If it has a motor, it's on MAVTV. For more information, visit www.mavtv.com
About the All Star Circuit of Champions:
All Star Enterprises, LLC, wholly owned by Tony Stewart, d/b/a the All Star Circuit of Champions, is a winged sprint car series. The All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling 410 sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. Formed in 1970 by Bud Miller, the series has largely been considered the first 'outlaw' Sprint Car organization of the modern era. Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart agreed to terms with Guy Webb to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour in January of 2015. In 2019, MAVTV Motorsports Network will continue to be the official television home of the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 and will broadcast ten high-profile events.
About Ollie’s Bargain Outlet:
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, Inc., founded in 1982, is one of America’s largest retailers of closeouts and excess inventory, offering real brands at real bargain prices. Famous for its signature catch-phrase Good Stuff Cheap, Ollie’s has a huge variety of famous brand-name merchandise in every department – food, books, housewares, toys, electronics, domestics, clothing, furniture, health and beauty, flooring, seasonal items and so much more – at up to 70 percent off the fancy stores’ prices. You never know what you’ll find at one of Ollie’s 330 “semi-lovely” stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. For more information, visit www.ollies.us. Like us on Facebook or find us on Twitter at @OlliesOutlet. Ollie’s is a publicly-traded company on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol OLLI.
About Mobil 1:
The world's leading synthetic motor oil brand, Mobil 1™ features anti-wear technology that provides performance beyond our conventional motor oils. This technology allows Mobil 1 to meet or exceed the toughest standards of car builders and to provide exceptional protection against engine wear, under normal or even some of the most extreme conditions. Mobil 1 flows quickly in extreme temperatures to protect critical engine parts and is designed to maximize engine performance and help extend engine life.
For more information, visit www.mobiloil.com, on Twitter @Mobil1 and, on Facebook, www.facebook.com/mobil1.
Mobil, Mobil 1 and Mobil 1 Racing are registered trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries.
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Photo Credit: Phil Ihde Photography
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com
Kevin Thomas, Jr.’s Last Lap Heroics Get it Done at Bloomington
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Kevin Thomas, Jr. celebrates Friday night's NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week victory at Bloomington Speedway.
(David Nearpass Photo)
KEVIN THOMAS, JR.'S LAST LAP HEROCS GET IT DONE AT BLOOMINGTON
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Bloomington, Indiana (July 26, 2019).........Kevin Thomas, Jr. led three different times for a total of 13 laps in Friday's Sheldon Kinser Memorial, round seven of NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week from Bloomington Speedway, but it was one final lap that decided his fate.
After swapping the lead multiple times down the stretch, on the final lap, the Cullman, Ala. native rocketed around the outside of Jason McDougal in turns one and two, locked up the bottom in three and four and raced to his third Bloomington ISW victory following triumphs in 2012 and 2017.
In 19 previous USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car starts this season, Thomas had finished as the runner-up on four occasions. On this night, he flat out refused to run second, put it all on the line and came away with his first victory since the 2018 season finale in Perris, Calif.
"I didn't think that was ever going to happen," Thomas admitted. "It's been a trying year. I think we've finally overcome our things that have gone wrong and our bad luck. You just have to be in a position to win all the time. You're not going to win every race, but you've got to be there and then things will start going your way."
Thomas began the 30-lapper from the fifth spot, but the early-going was marred by a three-car accident involving a flipping Chris Windom with Carson Short and Jordan Kinser also involved. All were okay, but only Short restarted.
On the restart, Thomas went to the rail, riding the outside line to move into the top-three on lap six underneath Justin Grant. Up front, outside front row starter McDougal was working on race leader Jarett Andretti, pulling even on the outside before clearing Andretti off turn four to grab the race lead. Thomas followed suit and worked inside past Andretti for second on the bottom of turn one.
After working his way to third by lap 11, Brady Bacon encountered trouble as he slid to a stop on the back straightaway with a little bit of flame being thrown from the car. Though he'd restart from the tail, he worked his way back to a seventh-place finish by race end.
McDougal led Thomas into turn one but left the bottom open for Thomas. Thomas took hold of the advantage and cruised underneath McDougal exiting turn two with the lead. Following an incident in which early race leader Jarett Andretti slid to a stop on the front straightaway, the man on the move was Kyle Cummins.
The previous night's winner at Lincoln Park put his ride up top and methodically picked his way past Grant for third on lap 14, by McDougal for second on lap 15 and was literally on the edge for the lead on lap 16. Thomas moved up to protect up top at the exit of turn four. However, Cummins found a line even higher than Thomas and the two banged wheels at the stripe, with Cummins nipping the line mere inches ahead of Thomas. Thomas cut down into one and reclaimed the lead with a slider on Cummins, who ended up getting hung up on the turn four cushion, losing second to McDougal.
"From the start of the race, we were pretty decent on the bottom," Thomas explained. "I tightened myself up with the shocks. I think it was the wrong move for going down there. When I finally got to the lead, my pace was slowing down and I heard a guy up around the top, so I tried to move to the top, and I'm pretty sure it was Kyle Cummins. I didn't think anybody could get any higher, then he tried going around me down the front stretch and we made a little contact. I didn't know anybody could even go up there without running off the track."
With seven laps remaining, second-running McDougal and third-running Cummins began to hunt down Thomas once again. McDougal pulled even to the inside of Thomas between turns one and two on lap 23, but on the 24th circuit, McDougal kept the momentum rolling on the bottom off turn two, edging ahead of Thomas in turn three, then letting his car float to the top, pushing Thomas wide to secure the top spot before pulling ahead by five car lengths into turn one with just five laps to go and a bit of traffic now on the horizon.
With four to go, Thomas began to inch closer to McDougal on the top as McDougal closed in rapidly on the lapped car of Brody Roa between turns three and four with the two nearly making nose-to-tail contact. McDougal was in a sort of no-man's land sliding through the middle, allowing Thomas to close within a car length at the line.
Thomas kept digging, pulling even with McDougal into turn one, and took the outside line into turn three, which nearly proved disastrous, hopping the rear wheels airborne. A rapidly closing Cummins tried to avoid ramming Thomas and spun himself into a 360 over the berm in turn three before coming to a rest.
Now it was down to a duel between just McDougal and Thomas, and only three laps remaining. Thomas knew he needed to turn up the wick, making adjustments and making plans on how he was going to tackle the task.
"I made a little bit more of a shock adjustment on that last restart," Thomas remembered. "I knew I couldn't go to the bottom because you're going to run second. It was either going to stick or I was going to drive right off the end of the track."
McDougal initially had a fine restart and was leading by four car lengths going into turn one on the final lap, but Thomas devoured the high line and ate up the interval in no time flat to take the lead, cut down to the bottom in front of McDougal in turn three, nailed his marks to a T, and drove to victory by 0.388 of a second over McDougal, Grant, ISW point leader C.J. Leary and a career-best fifth-place finish for Brandon Mattox.
For Thomas, it was his 26th career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory, moving him ahead of past series champs Steve Butler and Jay Drake for 17th on the all-time list. Furthermore, his sixth Indiana Sprint Week win moved him ahead of Kevin Briscoe, Tony Elliott, Brady Short and Kevin Thomas (no relation) for sixth all-time.
(Ryan Sellers Photo)
Thomas and his Hayward/Thomas Motorsports team have upped their performances over the past week, finishing in the top-five in each of their past four starts just after finishing outside the top-five in three of their previous four prior to that.
For Thomas, it was his 26th career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory, moving him ahead of past series champs Steve Butler and Jay Drake for 17th on the all-time list. Furthermore, his sixth Indiana Sprint Week win moved him ahead of Kevin Briscoe, Tony Elliott, Brady Short and Kevin Thomas (no relation) for sixth all-time.
"I think the driver just finally showed up," Thomas said. "There's a few little things like
to make somebody comfortable and with everybody being new to the way I like to do things and how I drive, that's just the way it is. It's a learning curve. When everybody's this tough night-in, night-out, that's the way it goes. We haven't been terrible, we've been running top-five, but it just wasn't quite there, but now we're there."
Contingency award winners Friday night at Bloomington Speedway were Brady Bacon (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Justin Grant (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), C.J. Leary (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Brady Short (AutoMeter Third Heat Winner), Carson Short (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Tyler Courtney (KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger & ProSource Hard Work Award), Brandon Mattox (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Lee Underwood (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer) and Josh Hodges (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 26, 2019 - Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, Indiana - 32nd NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week - Sheldon Kinser Memorial
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING GROUP ONE: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-11.057; 2. C.J. Leary, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.289; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-11.359; 4. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-11.465; 5. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-11.489; 6. Max Adams, 5m, Adams-11.522; 7. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-11.579; 8. Dave Darland, 17c, Cunningham-11.670; 9. Terry Richards, 18m, Richards-11.713; 10. Dustin Christie, 75, Christie-11.757; 11. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-11.795; 12. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-11.860; 13. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-11.902; 14. Lee Underwood, 24L, Underwood-11.993; 15. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio-12.019; 16. Stephen Schnapf, 61m, Edwards-12.041; 17. Dickie Gaines, 44, Soudrette-12.165; 18. Landon Simon, 04, Burton-12.247; 19. Josh Cunningham, 3JC, Cunningham-12.334; 20. Eric Perrott, 45, Perrott-12.743; 21. Bobby Griffitts, 9, Griffitts-12.975.
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING GROUP TWO: 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 19, Hayward/Thomas-11.207; 2. A.J. Hopkins, 4J, 4J-11.493; 3. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-11.495; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-11.500; 5. Mario Clouser, 6, MCM-11.555; 6. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-11.667; 7. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-11.683; 8. Carson Short, 21, RCM-11.687; 9. Chris Windom, 5G, Goacher-11.701; 10. Tony DiMattia, 50, TDM-11.716; 11. Brady Short, 11p, Short/Pottorff-11.757; 12. Jordan Kinser, 70, Hurst-11.759; 13. Thomas Meseraull, 00, Whitney-11.843; 14. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-11.846; 15. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-11.946; 16. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-11.947; 17. Trey Gropp, 54, Gropp-12.018; 18. Scotty Weir, 42, Cheney-12.422; 19. Brian VanMeveren, 24, VanMeveren-12.427; 20. Brad Greenup, 4G, Greenup-12.589.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Brody Roa, 6. Jadon Rogers, 7. Dickie Gaines, 8. Terry Richards, 9. Anthony D'Alessio, 10. Bobby Griffitts. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Max Adams, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Jarett Andretti, 5. Landon Simon, 6. Stephen Schnapf, 7. Sterling Cling, 8. Eric Perrott, 9. Lee Underwood, 10. Dustin Christie. NT
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Short, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 4. Jason McDougal, 5. Josh Hodges, 6. Tyler Courtney, 7. Mario Clouser, 8. Thomas Meseraull, 9. Trey Gropp, 10. Brian VanMeveren. 2:06.68
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Short, 2. Jordan Kinser, 3. Isaac Chapple, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. A.J. Hopkins, 7. Scotty Weir, 8. Tony DiMattia, 9. Brad Greenup, 10. Brayden Fox. 2:10.67
C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Trey Gropp, 2. Landon Simon, 3. Brayden Fox, 4. Dickie Gaines, 5. Scotty Weir, 6. Brad Greenup, 7. Brian VanMeveren, 8. Eric Perrott, 9. Bobby Griffitts. 2:11.93
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. A.J. Hopkins, 2. Brandon Mattox, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Josh Hodges, 6. Brody Roa, 7. Lee Underwood, 8. Dickie Gaines, 9. Jadon Rogers, 10. Terry Richards, 11. Trey Gropp, 12. Landon Simon, 13. Sterling Cling, 14. Mario Clouser, 15. Brayden Fox, 16. Anthony D'Alessio, 17. Tony DiMattia, 18. Stephen Schnapf. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 2. Jason McDougal (2), 3. Justin Grant (3), 4. C.J. Leary (4), 5. Brandon Mattox (11), 6. Chase Stockon (9), 7. Brady Bacon (6), 8. Dave Darland (13), 9. Tyler Courtney (22), 10. Thomas Meseraull (20), 11. A.J. Hopkins (7), 12. Isaac Chapple (21), 13. Josh Hodges (12), 14. Carson Short (14), 15. Brady Short (17), 16. Kyle Cummins (8), 17. Shane Cottle (16), 18. Max Adams (10), 19. Brody Roa (19), 20. Jarett Andretti (1), 21. Chris Windom (15), 22. Jordan Kinser (18). NT
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**Dustin Christie flipped through the turn one fence during the second heat. Sterling Cling flipped at the start of the semi. Chris Windom flipped on lap 2 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Jarett Andretti, Laps 7-11 Jason McDougal, Laps 12-15 Kevin Thomas, Jr., Lap 16 Kyle Cummins, Laps 17-24 Kevin Thomas, Jr., Laps 25-29 Jason McDougal, Lap 30 Kevin Thomas, Jr.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/B & W AUTO MART HARD CHARGER: Tyler Courtney (22nd to 9th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Josh Hodges
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Lee Underwood
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Brandon Mattox
PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Tyler Courtney
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-1,466, 2-Brady Bacon-1,332, 3-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-1,322, 4-Tyler Courtney-1,315, 5-Chris Windom-1,306, 6-Chase Stockon-1,244, 7-Justin Grant-1,240, 8-Carson Short-1,118, 9-Jason McDougal-1,088, 10-Isaac Chapple-846.
NEW NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-511, 2-Brady Bacon-487, 3-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-469, 4-Justin Grant-463, 5-Chris Windom-432, 6-Tyler Courtney-417, 7-Kyle Cummins-389, 8-Carson Short-382, 9-Jason McDougal-371, 10-Chase Stockon-365.
NEW PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tyler Courtney-35, 2-Shane Cottle-30, 3-Dave Darland-21, 4-Justin Grant-18, 5-Max Adams-17, 6-Chris Windom-14, 7-Brady Bacon-14, 8-Brandon Mattox-13, 9-Isaac Chapple-13, 10-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-12.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 27, 2019 - Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt, Indiana - 32nd NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week
Friday, July 26, 2019
Contact: Brian Liskai - liskai2x@roadrunner.com
By Brian Liskai
ATTICA, OH. - A couple of years ago Caleb Griffith thought he was done racing. But, a family friend purchased a sprint car and made the call to Griffith, who, reluctantly, decided to give it another go. It paid off as the Sandusky, Ohio driver led all 30 laps of the 410 sprint feature Friday, July 26 at Attica Raceway Park on Morgan Stanley/Underground Utilities Inc. Night.
Griffith, Attica's 2014 track champion, had to hold off a late race charge by hall-of-famer Jac Haudenschild to earn his third career victory at Attica in the Callie's Performance Performance Products 410 sprints. The victory was worth $4,000 thanks to Spanky's Pizza of Carey, Ohio.
"I've been poached here on late race restarts so many times. I'm thinking on that last restart...I look at the board and saw Jac had gotten back to second and I'm thinking if I can get rolling...he'll have a shot in the first corner but after that I'll be okay. I bumped the wing back for this end (turns one and two) and I caught the curb down here (turns three and four) and the second lap I saw him under me. I was thinking should I move..I didn't know what to do. I pulled one from the Vic (crew chief) rule book and kept bombing the top," said Griffith beside his Jeff Ward Demolition backed machine.
"I have to thank Jeff (Ward, car owner) the most. My whole family, all the sacrifices they've made. My brother-in-law Dusty and Vic...Brady helped me put all this together at the beginning of the year and get going. For awhile there on the other race car...you start to doubt everything you felt like you ever knew. You don't know if you still know how to do this. We changed cars for tonight...didn't change a torsion bar or shock and all night that thing has been awesome," added Griffith.
And, with just three All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads/Kistler Racing Products Attica Fremont Championship Series (AFCS) Presented by the Baumann Auto Group 410 sprint races left to determine the $10,000 champion, the points tightened up. Buddy Kofoid came into the night atop the standings with Cap Henry second. Henry finished third at Attica while Kofoid came home fourth as the series heads to Fremont Speedway Saturday, July 27.
Mansfield, Ohio's Matt Irey also held off a late race charge in the Summit Racing Equipment UMP Late Models to score his first win of the season at Attica. Ryan Missler and Doug Drown hounded Irey - Attica's 2016 track champion - the entire 25 laps but Irey held on for his third career feature win at the track.
"I saw Ryan and got to thinking maybe the top was getting a little dirty with all the lapped cars and I was starting to get a little more free and I saw him and I figured if I cleared him off the corner I have to take his line. I moved down and the car got pretty good and that was the last I saw him. It's been too long..been a rough year. We bent our main car two weeks ago at Wayne County so we pulled the back-up car out...that's twice we've done that here," said Irey beside his his Rod Eddleblute's Garage/Flenner Well & Excavating/Mid-Ohio Graphics/Tru-Form/Kilgore & Harring CPA backed #36.
The Fremont Fence 305 Sprint feature literally came down to the blink of an eye. Fremont, Ohio's Jamie Miller held off Tyler Gunn for his third straight Attica win by a difference of .081 seconds. Miller, Attica's 2005 track champion, has won five overall features in 2019 (two at Fremont) and pads his lead in the KS Sales & Service AFCS Presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales heading into Fremont on Saturday, July 27. The win is the 22nd in the 305 division for Miller at Attica and places him fourth on the all-time victory list.
"I tried to use all the track and then some. That last lap was...this thing was getting so tight there at the end, it didn't want to turn. Once I got screwed up I could hear him back there and I knew he was going to try and slide me so I just left off and turned and drove right back by him. It's pretty awesome to be fourth on the all-time list. I never really thought I'd be up there when I started racing in 1999. I have a ways to go to catch Paul (Weaver)," said Miller beside his Fostoria Mod Shop/Crown Battery/Sonic Hauling/Pen Monster.com/Brad’s Barbecue/Napa of Attica/Avon by Angie/Griff’s Engines/Color Street by Jaime Hennig/Reedtown Tavern/York Carpet Outlet/Branham Builders/Imprint Logo backed #26.
Haudenschild and Griffith brought the field to green for the 30-lap 410 feature with Griffith shooting into the lead over Haudenschild, Henry, TJ Michael, Stuart Brubaker, Kofoid and Jess Stiger. Henry took over the second spot on lap three right before the caution flew for Brian Lay who stopped on the speedway. When the green returned Griffith pulled away from Henry and his lead was nearly two seconds by lap nine.
Heavy lapped traffic came into play by lap 13 and Griffith lead began to shrink as Henry closed with Haudenschild, Michael, Kofoid, Brubaker, Travis Philo and Hunter Schuerenberg in tow. With 16 laps in Paige Polyak coasted to a stop giving Griffith a clear track. On the ensuing restart Griffith pulled away slightly but Haudenschild got up on the wheel and drove back into second. A tremendous battle was taking place for fourth involving Michael, Kofoid, Brubaker and Philo.
Schuerenberg took a nasty tumble on lap 21 but was uninjured. On the restart Haudenschild made a bid for the led, trying a slider on Griffith in turns one and two. Griffith was able to turn back under and maintain the lead and began to steadily pull away over the next hand full of laps. The battle for third was heating up between Henry and Kofoid as they closed on the leaders.
With two laps to go Haudenschild closed the gap on Griffith significantly and took a couple of looks under the leader. Griffith hit his marks perfectly and drove to the win over Haudenschild, Henry, Kofoid and Philo.
Ryan Markham and Irey paced the field for the 25 lap late model A-main with Irey gaining the advantage over Markham, Missler, Jeff Warnick, Nate Potts and Doug Drown. After a lap was scored, Markham slowed down the back stretch and Jim Gingery got into him bringing out the caution with Markham going to the pits. On the restart Irey pulled away from Missler as Warnick battled with Drown for third.
The second and final caution of the race fell on lap four for Jimmie Ward. When the green flew so did Irey, building up a pretty good lead over Missler, Drown, Warnick, Devin Shiels and Potts. But, lapped traffic came into play with 10 laps to go and Missler and Drown closed quickly on Irey. The trio ran under a blanket the next hand five laps. With just five laps to go Missler stuck the nose of his machine under Irey to challenge, But Irey moved down a lane and blocked the advance and drove to the win over Missler, Drown, Shiels and Mike Bores.
Zeth Sabo and Miller led the 305 A-main to green with Miller taking the lead over Sabo, Kyle Capodice, Luke Griffith, Jason Keckler, Tyler Street, John Ivy and Gunn. Miller immediately pulled away to a commanding leader while Sabo held his own in second. Miller's big lead evaporated when Kevin Mingus spun on lap nine.
When racing resumed Miller again pulled away and in four laps had a two second advantage over Sabo while Gunn had worked his way to third. As the leaders raced into lapped traffic with 10 circuits remaining Sabo and Gunn battled hard for the runner-up spot with Gunn taking it as the caution flew for a Seth Schneider spin. On the ensuing restart Sabo was able to get under Gunn to retake second but Gunn returned the favor a lap later. Once taking command of second Gunn set his sights on Miller and methodically chipped away at his lead.
With three laps to go Gunn was on Miller's rear bumper. Miller slipped off the high side of turn two on lap 23 but was able to maintain the lead. Miller and Gunn raced side by side out of two after taking the white flag. Through three and four they were side by side and it was a drag race to the checkers with Miller winning by a bumper over Gunn. Capodice, Sabo and Bobby Clark rounded out the top five.
There is no racing the next two weeks at Attica Raceway Park as the Attica Independent Fair takes over. Attica gets back to action on Friday, Aug. 16 on Columbus Equipment/Central Ohio Farmers Night. It is the final AFCS point night at Attica for the 410 and 305 sprints with the late models in action for the Attica/Oakshade Raceway Challenge Series. Also, the 305 sprints will battle for $1,000 to win presented by Griff's Engines.
For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com or follow the track on Twitter @atticaracewyprk or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/atticaracewaypark and Instagram at attica_raceway_park.
Attica Raceway Park
Friday, July 26, 2019
Morgan Stanley/UUI Night
[*] indicates starting position
410 Sprints - Callie's Performance Products
Qualifying
1.11N-Buddy Kofoid, 12.683; 2.3-Jac Haudenschild, 12.689; 3.25M-Chris Andrews, 12.811; 4.16-DJ Foos, 12.877; 5.8M-TJ Michael, 12.887; 6.33W-Caleb Griffith, 12.930; 7.09-Craig Mintz, 12.964; 8.3C-Cale Conley, 12.967; 9.19P-Paige Polyak, 12.994; 10.5-Byron Reed, 12.999; 11.1-Nate Dussel, 13.029; 12.97-Max Stambaugh, 13.093; 13.35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.093; 14.4-Cap Henry, 13.101; 15.22B-Ryan Broughton, 13.116; 16.23-Hunter Schuerenberg, 13.201; 17.45L-Brian Lay, 13.223; 18.5T-Travis Philo, 13.226; 19.46AU-Stuart Williams, 13.249; 20.8J-Jess Stiger, 13.250; 21.3J-Trey Jacobs, 13.265; 22.2+-Brian Smith, 13.337; 23.2L-Landon LaLonde, 13.376; 24.2-Ricky Peterson, 13.487; 25.20I-Kelsey Ivy, 13.498; 26.35H-Zach Hampton, 13.590; 27.25R-Mitch Harble, 13.732; 28.21-Brinton Marvel, 13.834; 29.96AU-Bruce White, 14.223;
Heat 1, Group A - (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 4-Cap Henry[1] ; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker[2] ; 3. 23-Hunter Schuerenberg[5] ; 4. 09-Craig Mintz[4] ; 5. 97-Max Stambaugh[3] ; 6. 2L-Landon LaLonde[6] ; 7. 2-Ricky Peterson[7] ; 8. 35H-Zach Hampton[8]
Heat 2, Group B - (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 33W-Caleb Griffith[1] ; 2. 11N-Buddy Kofoid[4] ; 3. 8M-TJ Michael[2] ; 4. 19P-Paige Polyak[5] ; 5. 5-Byron Reed[6] ; 6. 25M-Chris Andrews[3] ; 7. 1-Nate Dussel[7]
Heat 3, Group C - (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 45L-Brian Lay[2] ; 2. 8J-Jess Stiger[1] ; 3. 3-Jac Haudenschild[4] ; 4. 3J-Trey Jacobs[5] ; 5. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[6] ; 6. 3C-Cale Conley[3] ; 7. 21-Brinton Marvel[7]
Heat 4, Group D - (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 16-DJ Foos[4] ; 2. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 3. 46AU-Stuart Williams[1] ; 4. 25R-Mitch Harble[6] ; 5. 2+-Brian Smith[5] ; 6. 96AU-Bruce White[7] ; 7. 22B-Ryan Broughton[3]
B-Main 1 - (10 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 5-Byron Reed[2] ; 2. 25M-Chris Andrews[6] ; 3. 2+-Brian Smith[4] ; 4. 3C-Cale Conley[7] ; 5. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[3] ; 6. 21-Brinton Marvel[11] ; 7. 96AU-Bruce White[8] ; 8. 97-Max Stambaugh[1] ; 9. 2-Ricky Peterson[9] ; 10. 2L-Landon LaLonde[5] ; 11. 1-Nate Dussel[10] ; 12. 22B-Ryan Broughton[12]
A-Main 1 - (30 Laps)
1. 33W-Caleb Griffith[2] ; 2. 3-Jac Haudenschild[1] ; 3. 4-Cap Henry[4] ; 4. 11N-Buddy Kofoid[6] ; 5. 5T-Travis Philo[10] ; 6. 8M-TJ Michael[7] ; 7. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3] ; 8. 16-DJ Foos[9] ; 9. 5-Byron Reed[17] ; 10. 25M-Chris Andrews[18] ; 11. 46AU-Stuart Williams[14] ; 12. 8J-Jess Stiger[5] ; 13. 3J-Trey Jacobs[13] ; 14. 2+-Brian Smith[19] ; 15. 45L-Brian Lay[8] ; 16. 09-Craig Mintz[15] ; 17. 25R-Mitch Harble[16] ; 18. 23-Hunter Schuerenberg[11] ; 19. 3C-Cale Conley[20] ; 20. 19P-Paige Polyak[12]
Hard Charger: 5-Byron Red and 25M-Chris Andrews +8
305 Sprints - Fremont Fence
Heat 1 - (8 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 4*-Tyler Street[3] ; 2. 77I-John Ivy[5] ; 3. 11G-Luke Griffith[7] ; 4. 1H-Zeth Sabo[2] ; 5. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.[8] ; 6. 22-Justin Lusk[1] ; 7. 3X-Brandon Riehl[4] ; 8. 75-Jerry Dahms[6] ; 9. 97-Kyle Peters[9]
Heat 2 - (8 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 12-Kyle Capodice[2] ; 2. 7-Shawn Valenti[1] ; 3. 7M-Brandon Moore[3] ; 4. 29-Tyler Gunn[7] ; 5. X-Mike Keegan[4] ; 6. 1W-Paul Weaver[8] ; 7. 3V-Chris Verda[5] ; 8. 19R-Steve Rando[6] ; 9. 21-Larry Kingseed Jr[9]
Heat 3 - (8 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 26-Jamie Miller[2] ; 2. 25-Jason Keckler[1] ; 3. 8-Bobby Clark[6] ; 4. 36-Seth Schneider[7] ; 5. 5-Kody Brewer[8] ; 6. Z10-Kevin Mingus[3] ; 7. X15-Kasey Ziebold[5] ; 8. 28-Tad Peck[4]
B-Main 1 - (10 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 1W-Paul Weaver[2] ; 2. 19R-Steve Rando[8] ; 3. 3X-Brandon Riehl[4] ; 4. 3V-Chris Verda[5] ; 5. Z10-Kevin Mingus[3] ; 6. 21-Larry Kingseed Jr[10] ; 7. 22-Justin Lusk[1] ; 8. 75-Jerry Dahms[7] ; 9. X15-Kasey Ziebold[6] ; 10. 28-Tad Peck[9]
A-Main 1 - (25 Laps)
1. 26-Jamie Miller[2] ; 2. 29-Tyler Gunn[5] ; 3. 12-Kyle Capodice[3] ; 4. 1H-Zeth Sabo[1] ; 5. 8-Bobby Clark[9] ; 6. 4*-Tyler Street[7] ; 7. 1W-Paul Weaver[16] ; 8. 7M-Brandon Moore[11] ; 9. 77I-John Ivy[8] ; 10. 7-Shawn Valenti[12] ; 11. 19R-Steve Rando[17] ; 12. 25-Jason Keckler[6] ; 13. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.[13] ; 14. X-Mike Keegan[14] ; 15. 11G-Luke Griffith[4] ; 16. 36-Seth Schneider[10] ; 17. 5-Kody Brewer[15] ; 18. Z10-Kevin Mingus[20] ; 19. 3X-Brandon Riehl[18] ; 20. 3V-Chris Verda[19]
Hard Charger: 1W-Paul Weaver +9
Late Models - Summit Racing Equipment
Heat 1 - (8 Laps)
1. 12-Doug Drown[3] ; 2. 69W-Jeff Warnick[2] ; 3. 36-Matt Irey[5] ; 4. 30-Nate Potts[6] ; 5. 16-Steve Sabo[8] ; 6. 02-Jeff McCoy[7] ; 7. 6-Jimmie Ward[1] ; 8. 69R-Doug Baird[4]
Heat 2 - (8 Laps)
1. 50-Ryan Missler[5] ; 2. 51-Devin Shiels[4] ; 3. 5M-Ryan Markham[3] ; 4. 94-Mike Bores[6] ; 5. 28-Kent Brewer[2] ; 6. 27-Ken Hahn[7] ; 7. 03-Jim Gingery[1] ; 8. 17X-Dustin Keegan[8]
A-Main 1 - (25 Laps)
1. 36-Matt Irey[2] ; 2. 50-Ryan Missler[6] ; 3. 12-Doug Drown[5] ; 4. 51-Devin Shiels[8] ; 5. 94-Mike Bores[7] ; 6. 69W-Jeff Warnick[3] ; 7. 28-Kent Brewer[10] ; 8. 27-Ken Hahn[12] ; 9. 03-Jim Gingery[14] ; 10. 30-Nate Potts[4] ; 11. 16-Steve Sabo[9] ; 12. 02-Jeff McCoy[11] ; 13. 69R-Doug Baird[15] ; 14. 6-Jimmie Ward[13] ; 15. 17X-Dustin Keegan[16] ; 16. 5M-Ryan Markham[1]
Hard Charger: 03-Jim Gingery +5
THOMAS TAMES BELLE-CLAIR FOR 13TH-CAREER VICTORY
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POWRi Racing
Winner Tyler Thomas (Speed Demon Productions Photo)
BELLEVILLE, ILL. (July 26, 2019) - Assuming the lead on lap eight, Tyler Thomas of Collinsville, Okla. ensued to go the distance and earn his 13th-career POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League victory on Friday night at Belle-Clair Speedway. Acing restart after restart and mastering the tricky, thick cushion, Thomas was undeniable as he nabbed the fourth Lil' Belleville triumph of his career aboard the BT Machine, Spike/Toyota No. 91T.
Bringing the 24-car main event field to life, Cannon McIntosh of Bixby, Okla. and Jake Neuman of New Berlin, Ill. paced the 12-row pack. In standard "Hello Neuman" fashion, Jake ripped the lip around McIntosh and put his Jim Neuman Racing, BRANDT, BOSS/SR-11 No. 3N into command of the early lead.
While Neuman shot to the front, Thomas maneuvered from the outside of row two and rocketed into the second spot with a bold slider on McIntosh. Holding a steady lead early on, Neuman's night came crashing to an early end on the seventh circuit of the 25-lapper, as his No. 3N suddenly lost power and slowed to a stop on the backstretch.
Unable to fire off, Neuman's misfortune sent him retiring to the infield while Thomas capitalized and moved his No. 91T to the top of the leaderboard. Building a nice, thick cushion up against the iconic Belle-Clair wooden walls, Thomas, McIntosh and the rest of the field continually adapted to an ever-changing 1/5th-mile surface into the second half of the feature.
Although hampered by a string of several cautions at the mid-race point, Thomas seemed to never waiver, perfecting each restart thrown his way and not allowing McIntosh the opportunity to even dare of a potential bid at the lead.
A green flag run in the closing stages finally allowed Thomas to extend his advantage while McIntosh kept fighting for more traction atop the cushion and the duo ran into lap traffic. While those two ran away from the field, the battle for third was the most thrilling to witness as Jesse Colwell of Red Bluff, Calif. and Sam Johnson of St. Peters, Mo. went slider-for-slider for almost five consecutive laps.
In the end, nobody could match Tyler Thomas on this night, as he controlled the final 18 laps and topped his fourth-career feature at Belle-Clair Speedway, a facility that the Collinsville, Okla. native has found a keen liking for. Driving his family-owned BT Machine, Spike/Toyota No. 91T with dad, Brian Thomas, on the wrenches, Friday's victory marked his 13th-career win in POWRi National Midget League competition.
Cannon McIntosh, who is night-after-night so close to that elusive first-career win, was the runner-up finisher on Friday scoring a second-place result in the Dave Mac Motorsports, Drive WFX, Spike/Toyota No. 08. Jesse Colwell, the current POWRi National Midget points leader, rounded out the podium in third-place aboard his Keith Kunz-Curb Agajanian Motorsports, JBL Audio, Bullet/Toyota No. 71.
Closing out the top five at Belle-Clair was Sam Johnson with a career-best finish of fourth-place and Ace McCarthy of Tahlequah, Okla. with a solid fifth-place run. Also finishing inside the top ten was Toyota Racing Development Hard Charger, Broc Hunnell, in sixth-from-16th, Daniel Robinson in seventh, Karter Sarff in eighth, Daison Pursley in ninth, and Holley Hollan in tenth.
Cannon McIntosh won AutoMeter heat one, Tyler Thomas topped KSE Racing Products heat two, and Jake Neuman claimed Advanced Racing Suspensions heat three on Friday night at Belle-Clair Speedway. McIntosh was also the PAC Racing Springs High Point Man.
The POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League will be right back at it tomorrow night Saturday, July 27 with a trip to Macon Speedway in Macon, Ill. If you can't attend this thrilling show yourself, you can watch it LIVE on www.speedshifttv.com.
For more information on POWRi Racing, you can visit www.powri.com online, follow @POWRi_Racing on Twitter and Instagram, or like POWRi on Facebook.
Auto Meter Heat One (8 Laps):
1.08-Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, OK (2); 2. 72-Sam Johnson, St. Peters, MO (1);3. 97K-Jesse Love, Redwood City, CA (3); 4. 50-Daniel Adler, St. Louis, MO (5); 5. 28-Ace McCarthy, Tahlequah, OK (8); 6. 67-Holley Hollan, Broken Arrow, OK (7); 7. 17C-Devin Camfield, Decatur, IL (6); 8. 35-Tyler Robbins, Collinsville, IL (4).
KSE Racing Products Heat Two (8 Laps):
1.91T-Tyler Thomas, Collinsville, OK (1); 2. 11-Daniel Robinson, Ewing, IL (3); 3. 5D-Zach Daum, Pocahontas, IL (5); 4. 17-Austin Brown, Millstadt, IL (7); 5. 103-Broc Hunnell, Eolia, MO (4); 6. 55-Nick Knepper, Belleville, IL (8); 7. 86C-Dave Camfield III, Decatur, IL (6); 8. 37-Max Guilford (2).
Advanced Racing Suspensions Heat Three (8 Laps):
1.3N-Jake Neuman, New Berlin, IL (2); 2. 71-Jesse Colwell, Red Bluff, CA (4); 3. 5T-Presley Truedson, Kennedy, MN (1); 4. 37X-Karter Sarff, Mason City, IL (5); 5. 9-Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, OK (8); 6. 56AP-Colten Cottle, Kansas, IL (7); 7. 5H-Ryan Mueller, Wildwood, MO (6); 8. 5-Danny Frye, St. Peters, MO (3).
POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League Main Event (25 Laps):
1. 91T-Tyler Thomas (4); 2. 08-Cannon McIntosh (1); 3. 71-Jesse Colwell (3); 4. 72-Sam Johnson (8); 5. 28-Ace McCarthy (9); 6. 103-Broc Hunnell (16); 7. 11-Daniel Robinson (5); 8. 37X-Karter Sarff (13); 9. 9-Daison Pursley (10); 10. 67-Holley Hollan (17); 11. 5D-Zach Daum (6); 12. 97K-Jesse Love (11); 13. 5-Danny Frye (23); 14. 86C-Dave Camfield III (20); 15. 5T-Presley Truedson (14); 16. 37-Max Guilford (24); 17. 17C-Devin Camfield (19); 18. 55-Nick Knepper (15); 19. 50-Daniel Adler (12); 20. 5H-Ryan Mueller (21); 21. 35-Tyler Robbins (22); 22. 3N-Jake Neuman (2); 23. 17-Austin Brown (7); 24. 56AP-Colten Cottle (18).
Lap Leader(s); Neuman 1-7, Thomas 8-25.
Hard Charger(s): Hunnell +10.
James McFadden opens four-day All Star trek with victory at Plymouth Dirt Track
Posted by: | Comments- Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
Winner James McFadden (All Star Media Photo)
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com
James McFadden opens four-day All Star trek with victory at Plymouth Dirt Track
PLYMOUTH, Wis. (July 26, 2019) - Snapping an All Star winless streak that dates back to May of 2015, Brisbane, Australia’s James McFadden helped the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1, as well as the Bumper-to-Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series, kick off their four-day trip through the Midwest by finding victory lane, doing so at the always-exciting Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wisconsin, on Thursday night, July 25.
Although in charge for the majority of the 30-lap program, the first 11 circuits were certainly a challenge for the now three-time All Star Circuit of Champions feature winner, ultimately powering his way forward from the outside of row two, all while waging war with Monrovia, Illinois’ Justin Peck, who led from the drop of the green flag until McFadden took control on lap 12.
“Oh man, this feels good. We’ve been close on so many occasions, so it just feels great to get it done here tonight,” James McFadden expressed, driver of the Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb/Curb Records/Wicked Energy Gum/Wicked Cushion/No. 9 sprint car. “I can’t thank Kasey Kahne and this entire team enough for this opportunity. The track really played into our favor tonight. Hopefully we can do it again this weekend.”
Although forced to start fourth on the grid due to his All Star Circuit of Champions dash result, it only took one circuit for McFadden to find himself within striking distance, actually bumping ahead two spots into second by the completion of lap one, quickly setting aim on Justin Peck, who led the first lap from the pole position.
By lap six, lapped traffic was already a factor, ultimately giving McFadden an opportunity to pounce as Peck tried to work around slower traffic. Despite Peck’s ability to get through the slower cars, McFadden stayed in view, actually pressuring Peck in the form of side-by-side racing on multiple occasions during laps nine through 11.
By lap 12, McFadden was in position to challenge for the lead, eventually using a hard drive into turns one and two to pull even with Peck down the backstretch, soon followed by a slider into turns three and four. For McFadden, the bid for the top spot worked, securing the lead by the exit of turn four. Unfortunately, the lap was eventually negated, as Peck, who drove just as hard into turn three with the intention to get back around McFadden, stumbled on the cushion, caught the lip and flipped. Peck would walk away unharmed, but the incident would allow McFadden to inherit the top spot, anyhow.
Although forced to deal with two more cautions, one of which for another red flag incident on lap 15, McFadden remained in control at the front of the field, only pressured slightly on laps 19 through 23, as a pair of former All Star champions, Greg Wilson and Dale Blaney, edged their noses into a fight for the lead. Traffic did pop back into the picture on lap 17 creating a slight hiccup for the former World Series of Sprintcars champion, but it proved to be no match for McFadden, continuing to utilize the bottom groove around Plymouth Dirt Track to remain the man on top.
Greg Wilson would chase McFadden to the final checkers, followed by Dale Blaney, a hard-charging Aaron Reutzel from 14th, and Paul McMahan.
With a six hour tow to the west to hurdle, the All Star Circuit of Champions will continue their four-race weekend on Friday night, July 26, at the state-of-the-art Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minnesota. The first of two five-figure paydays on the weekend, the All Stars will battle for a $10,000 winner’s share during their visit to southern Minnesota, and much like their stint in Wisconsin, the All Stars will not return to the ‘Land of 10,000 Lakes’ in 2019.
Those seeking additional news and notes pertaining to the All Star visit to Jackson Motorplex should visit the facility live on the Web at www.jacksonmotorplex.com.
Contingency Awards/Results:
Plymouth Dirt Track - July 25, 2019:
Event: All Star/IRA visit to Plymouth Dirt Track
Entries: 36
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Andrew Scheuerle - 11.954
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: James McFadden - 11.732
Ford Performance Heat #1: Cory Eliason
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Brock Zearfoss
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Justin Peck
Mobil 1 Heat #4 Wayne Johnson
JE Pistons Dash #1: Justin Peck
Fatheadz Eyewear Dash #2: Brock Zearfoss
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting B-Main Winner: Marcus Dumsney
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: James McFadden
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Aaron Reutzel (+10)
Cometic Gasket Most A-Main Laps Led: James McFadden (12-30)
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Ben Schmidt
(Lincoln Electric, MSD Performance, Fatheadz Eyewear, Rayce Rudeen Foundation, Cometic Gasket: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 9-James McFadden, 11.732; 2. 13-Paul McMahan, 11.845; 3. 26-Cory Eliason, 11.936; 4. 11-Dale Blaney, 12.029; 5. 99-Skylar Gee, 12.116; 6. 4B-Scott Biertzer, 12.440; 7. 40-George Hobaugh, 12.484; 8. 73AF-Joey Moughan, 12.625; 9. 45-Matt Wiese, 13.095
Group (B)
1. O2-Mike Reinke, 12.185; 2. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.350; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 12.399; 4. 11D-Danny Schlafer, 12.560; 5. 73-Ben Schmidt, 12.781; 6. 85M-Steve Meyer, 12.784; 7. 19-Todd Daun, 12.846; 8. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, 12.959; 9. 63-Nick Matuszewski, 13.131
Group (C)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 11.968; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 12.014; 3. 64-Scotty Thiel, 12.181; 4. 70X-Justin Peck, 12.188; 5. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 12.303; 6. 14M-Marcus Dumsney, 12.332; 7. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 12.425; 8. 2W-Scotty Neitzel, 12.439; 9. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 12.670
Group (D)
1. 17B-Bill Balog, 12.266; 2. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, 12.324; 3. 23-Russel Borland, 12.441; 4. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 12.462; 5. 68-Dave Uttech, 12.597; 6. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, 12.619; 7. 4K-Kris Spitz, 12.827; 8. 29-Hunter Custer, 13.459; 9. O-Johnny Fahl, 99.999
Heat #1 - Group (A) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [1]; 3. 9-James McFadden [4]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. 99-Skylar Gee [5]; 6. 40-George Hobaugh [7]; 7. 4B-Scott Biertzer [6]; 8. 45-Matt Wiese [9]; 9. 73AF-Joey Moughan [8]
Heat #2 - Group (B) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson [3]; 3. O2-Mike Reinke [4]; 4. 85M-Steve Meyer [6]; 5. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski [8]; 6. 19-Todd Daun [7]; 7. 11D-Danny Schlafer [1]; 8. 63-Nick Matuszewski [9]; 9. 73-Ben Schmidt [5]
Heat #3 - Group (C) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 70X-Justin Peck [1]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 3. 64-Scotty Thiel [2]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 5. O7-Gerard McIntyre [5]; 6. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [7]; 7. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [8]; 8. 14M-Marcus Dumsney [6]; 9. 43-Jereme Schroeder [9]
Heat #4 - Group (D) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 2C-Wayne Johnson [1]; 2. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [3]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog [4]; 4. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [6]; 5. 68-Dave Uttech [5]; 6. 4K-Kris Spitz [7]; 7. O-Johnny Fahl [9]; 8. 29-Hunter Custer [8]; 9. 23-Russel Borland [2]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 70X-Justin Peck [1]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [3]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson [2]; 4. 11-Dale Blaney [5]; 5. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [4]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 2. 9-James McFadden [2]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson [5]
B-Main (12 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer
1. 14M-Marcus Dumsney [1]; 2. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [6]; 3. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [2]; 4. 4B-Scott Biertzer [7]; 5. 73-Ben Schmidt [16]; 6. 23-Russel Borland [13]; 7. 4K-Kris Spitz [4]; 8. 40-George Hobaugh [3]; 9. 19-Todd Daun [5]; 10. 11D-Danny Schlafer [8]; 11. 63-Nick Matuszewski [11]; 12. 43-Jereme Schroeder [15]; 13. O-Johnny Fahl [9]; 14. 29-Hunter Custer [12]; 15. 45-Matt Wiese [10]; 16. 73AF-Joey Moughan [14]
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 9-James McFadden [4]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson [5]; 3. 11-Dale Blaney [7]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [14]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [8]; 6. 70-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 7. 26-Cory Eliason [3]; 8. 2C-Wayne Johnson [9]; 9. 2M-Kerry Madsen [6]; 10. 99-Skylar Gee [17]; 11. 17B-Bill Balog [13]; 12. O2-Mike Reinke [12]; 13. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [15]; 14. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski [19]; 15. O7-Gerard McIntyre [18]; 16. 64-Scotty Thiel [10]; 17. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [11]; 18. 85M-Steve Meyer [16]; 19. 4B-Scott Biertzer [24]; 20. 14M-Marcus Dumsney [20]; 21. 68-Dave Uttech [21]; 22. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [22]; 23. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [23]; 24. 70X-Justin Peck [1]
Lap Leaders: Justin Peck (1-11), James McFadden (12-30)
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings (After 7/25/2019):
1. Aaron Reutzel - 2680
2. Dale Blaney - 2670
3. Cory Eliason - 2576
4. Paul McMahan - 2558
5. Brock Zearfoss - 2512
6. Greg Wilson - 2498
7. Gerard McIntyre - 2414
8. Skylar Gee - 2332
9. George Hobaugh - 2102
10. Spencer Bayston - 1408
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
Bubba Raceway Park, Fla. (1/31/2019): Tim Shaffer
Bubba Raceway Park, Fla. (2/1/2019): Tim Shaffer (2)
Bubba Raceway Park, Fla. (2/2/2019): Tony Stewart
Volusia Speedway Park, Fla. (2/6/2019): Shane Stewart
Volusia Speedway Park, Fla. (2/7/2019): Brad Sweet
Virginia Motor Speedway, Va. (4/11/2019): Cory Eliason
Port Royal Speedway, Pa. (4/13/2019): Lance Dewease
Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (5/24/2019): Aaron Reutzel
Fremont Speedway, Ohio (5/26/2019): Aaron Reutzel (2)
Outlaw Speedway, N.Y. (6/7/2019): Brock Zearfoss
Stateline Speedway, N.Y. (6/8/2019): Dale Blaney
Weedsport Speedway, N.Y. (6/9/2019): Danny Dietrich
Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (6/14/2019): Kyle Larson
Muskingum County Speedway, Ohio (6/16/2019): Dale Blaney (2)
Wayne County Speedway, Ohio (6/19/2019): Aaron Reutzel (3)
Wayne County Speedway, Ohio (6/22/2019): Buddy Kofoid
Dirt Oval at Route 66, Ill. (6/29/2019): Aaron Reutzel (4)
Lernerville Speedway, Pa. (7/5/2019): Aaron Reutzel (5)
Sharon Speedway, Ohio (7/6/2019): Dale Blaney (3)
Utica-Rome Speedway, N.Y. (7/12/2019): Aaron Reutzel (6)
Orange County Fair Speedway N.Y. (7/13/2019): Danny Dietrich (2)
Lebanon Valley Speedway N.Y. (7/14/2019): Brock Zearfoss (2)
Plymouth Dirt Track, Wis. (7/25/2019): James McFadden
About the All Star Circuit of Champions:
All Star Enterprises, LLC, wholly owned by Tony Stewart, d/b/a the All Star Circuit of Champions, is a winged sprint car series. The All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling 410 sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. Formed in 1970 by Bud Miller, the series has largely been considered the first 'outlaw' Sprint Car organization of the modern era. Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart agreed to terms with Guy Webb to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour in January of 2015. In 2019, MAVTV Motorsports Network will continue to be the official television home of the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 and will broadcast ten high-profile events.
About Ollie’s Bargain Outlet:
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, Inc., founded in 1982, is one of America’s largest retailers of closeouts and excess inventory, offering real brands at real bargain prices. Famous for its signature catch-phrase Good Stuff Cheap, Ollie’s has a huge variety of famous brand-name merchandise in every department – food, books, housewares, toys, electronics, domestics, clothing, furniture, health and beauty, flooring, seasonal items and so much more – at up to 70 percent off the fancy stores’ prices. You never know what you’ll find at one of Ollie’s 330 “semi-lovely” stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. For more information, visit www.ollies.us. Like us on Facebook or find us on Twitter at @OlliesOutlet. Ollie’s is a publicly-traded company on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol OLLI.
About Mobil 1:
The world's leading synthetic motor oil brand, Mobil 1™ features anti-wear technology that provides performance beyond our conventional motor oils. This technology allows Mobil 1 to meet or exceed the toughest standards of car builders and to provide exceptional protection against engine wear, under normal or even some of the most extreme conditions. Mobil 1 flows quickly in extreme temperatures to protect critical engine parts and is designed to maximize engine performance and help extend engine life.
For more information, visit www.mobiloil.com, on Twitter @Mobil1 and, on Facebook, www.facebook.com/mobil1.
Mobil, Mobil 1 and Mobil 1 Racing are registered trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries.
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Photo Credit: All Star Media
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com
56 YEARS AGO TO THE DAY FRIDAY JULY 26, 1963, I SAW MY FIRST RACE
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READING (PA) FAIRGROUNDS MARCH 29, 1964
USAC SPRINTS
Don Branson in the # 3 WYNN'S Friction Proofing Special.
(WoS Photo)
It was around this time ... 56 years ago that I was a young kid working as a draftsman for a major heavy machinery manufacturer (De Laval Steam Turbine) in Trenton, NJ. Like most guys of that age I was interested in cars. One day while eating lunch at my desk and reading Hot Rod Magazine, a summer intern engineering student came up to me and said that I should go see real racing on dirt. Well I was a stick and ball fan and watched just about every Yankees game on TV WPIX Channel 11 from NY. I didn’t know anything about racing except watching a few Jalopy (stock car) races from Culver City, California on TV. A few weeks later I was reading the sports section of the Trentonian newspaper and see an ad for USAC Sprint Cars at the Hatfield Speedway. I got out my gas station roadmap (no GPS back then) and found out where this Hatfield PA was and how to get there.
The day of the race came Friday July 26, 1963, after work I went home to change and with map and instructions in hand it was off to see what this was all about. When I found the track , an ambulance was coming out as I was parking my car. I later found out that Jim McElreath crashed into the first turn wall in practice. I got my ticket and saw all of the people in the stands and didn’t know where I should go. The track crew were trying to fix the wall and I saw other people going in the infield so that’s were I went. While walking around in the infield before racing resumed I ran into a guy who worked at the same place that I did He had been a new employee and I didn’t know his name. His name was Bruce Jones who would become a life long friend. He was with another guy named Jack Rule who just happened to be the brother of the engineer student intern at work who told me to go see real racing on dirt. The race drivers were named A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Bobby Marshman, Don Branson, Roger McCluskey, Bob Harkey, Jim Hurtubise, Earl Halaquist, Cotton Farmer, Jim Maguire, Arnie Knepper, Ron Lux, Chuck Hulse, Bud Tinglested, Chuck Yost, Ralph Liguori and others. When the green flag waved to resume practice all I could say to myself was WOW! What the hell have I been missing all of my life. I was hooked for the rest of my life. I became friends with Bruce & Jack. Bruce ran stock cars and I would hang out at the garage. We would go to watch a lot of races, sometimes 5 a week. We would see the best Modified stocks (dirt and asphalt), Midgets and Indy Cars, but nothing could compare with the Sprint Cars. There was just some magic watching them.
What was this force that had a grip on me, let me try to explain. When I first started to go to the races, open cockpit race cars didn’t have cages. When they would crash or go over it was like 50/50 if the driver would be badly hurt or be killed. It was an adrenaline rush watching them do something dangerously crazy. It’s the feeling you have if you were watching a man walking on a high wire 100 ft off the ground with no net and he is having a hard time keeping his balance. The adrenaline rush is because you see before you what can happen if he falls. That adrenaline rush would not be there if the walker was 20 feet off the ground and had a net under him.
It was all of this that branded my soul to love Sprint Cars, no stockcar could duplicate those feelings. Sprint Cars have become 1000% safer over the years, much so that some drivers don’t respect the car, only to be brought back to reality when we lose one of our drivers.
Today’s cars are basically the same cars that ran in the 1960’s. They have fuel injected engines, no transmission (must be pushed to start), quick change rear, 4-bar torsion, quick steering and no flywheel (the engine barks when you punch the gas).They have the newest gadgets but they still look the same on the track. If it’s a winged sprint you couldn’t tell if it was Kenny Weld or Donny Schatz; or wingless if it was A.J. Foyt or Brady Bacon. The cars still look the same way on the track as they did decades ago.
Fast forward to the other night at the Grandview Speedway, part of the 2019 PA Speedweek Series. Standing between the first and second turns taking pictures and watching the 900 plus Horsepower Sprints taking time. They run wide open all the way around, no change in the sound of the motor. If you closed your eyes you couldn’t tell the turns from the straights. After 56 years there is still magic watching the fastest race cars on dirt.
