Archive for Short Track
Thorson Triumphs in Frenzied IMW Round at Putnamville
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Tanner Thorson celebrates Thursday night's 'Indiana Midget Week' victory at Lincoln Park Speedway. (Rich Forman Photo)
THORSON TRIUMPHS IN FRENZIED IMW ROUND AT PUTNAMVILLE
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Putnamville, Indiana (June 6, 2019).........There are comeback stories. And then there's the Tanner Thorson comeback story from Thursday night's third round of "Indiana Midget Week" from Lincoln Park Speedway.
With the wounds and scars still readily evident on his body after sustaining a broken left arm and right foot, a cracked sternum, broken ribs and a punctured lung following a multi-car incident on Highway 99 in Modesto, Calif. in March of this year, the Minden, Nevada native delivered a performance that he said is "definitely one I'll remember forever." And is one that will certainly remembered by those who were there to witness it as well.
Thorson used the bottom to capture the lead with just four laps remaining, enduring attack after attack from Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Kyle Larson to earn his 13th career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory, a dream scenario for the 2016 series champ in just his third race back since his injuries three months earlier.
"It's a dream come true again, to be honest," Thorson said. "I sat out for three months just wondering if I was going to be able to do it again. I've been having doubting feelings in my mind and I didn't know if I was going to be okay to run. I knew I probably could've run; I would've just had to change my ways. Obviously, it's hard to do that."
Thorson appeared to be the same driver as before and, perhaps recharged, following Tuesday's IMW opener at Montpelier and Wednesday's race at Gas City where he finished 2nd and 5th, respectively. Thorson had an uphill battle to climb at Lincoln Park, having to start from the 15th position.
"I knew at about lap five that I had a car to win," Thorson admitted. "When you know that in your mind, nothing can stop you at that point."
These truths were not self-evident initially as he remained on the cusp of the top-ten for the first third of the 30-lapper before steadily moving his way through the top half of the field. Early on, it appeared series point leader Tyler Courtney and Thomas Meseraull were on point, running one-two in a pair of lucky sevens and quickly separating themselves from the rest in the opening laps.
The sevens weren't so lucky entering turn one on lap five as Meseraull closed the gap on Courtney and the two made contact, sending Courtney into a spin and forcing Meseraull to stop, knocking them both out of contention for the victory. Meseraull eventually wound up 23rd while Courtney charged back through the pack to take an impressive 7th.
Montpelier winner Logan Seavey inherited the lead for the lap five restart, ringing the topside as Thomas put on the chase through the middle until the 11th lap when series Rookie of the Year contender Andrew Layser flipped between turns three and four, escaping injury.
On the ensuing restart, fifth-running Michael Pickens, who drove to victory during IMW at Lincoln Park in 2017, looped it between turns one and two. It was the second-straight night the Auckland, New Zealand midget racing star saw a front-running bid slip away.
Thomas stayed true to the middle and used a great drive off turn two to blast past defending champ Seavey on the 13th lap where he remained for the next several trips around the 5/16-mile dirt oval with a swarm behind him ready to attack with Seavey remaining close by and Thorson, plus Larson, digging low and high.
With seven laps remaining, Seavey fired the first shot that set forth a wild sequence of events that saw the lead change 13 unofficial times in a six-lap span.
First, on the 23rd lap, Thorson nudged his way past Thomas on the bottom of turn one. Thomas recovered to resume the point momentarily on the back straight. Seavey then fired his Bullet to the bottom of turn three to slide past Thomas. Thomas diamonded off midway through the corner and beat Seavey to the stripe just as Seavey dove low into one and up to the top past Thomas just as Thorson entered the frame on the bottom. Thomas proceeded to slither his way through the gap between Seavey and Thorson exiting turn two to reclaim the top spot. Seavey instantly reloaded and slid past Thomas entering turn three, but Thomas answered by sliding across the nose of Seavey off turn four. Seavey instantly turned left to throw another haymaker at Thomas at the start/finish line, but suddenly Thorson was there inside to make it three-wide at the line at the conclusion of lap 25.
Seavey chose the topside as Thomas shot down off the turn one banking to get a run that would propel him past Thorson midway down the back straightway and into turn three on the 26th circuit. Rinse and repeat, Thorson ably limboed underneath Thomas into turn one on lap 27, but Thomas counter-punched to get back by underneath exiting turn two. Thorson stayed in touch, and off turn four, surged past Thomas once again for the umpteenth time to nip him at the line by a wheel.
Just as soon as one might've thought Thorson had it covered, here arrived an orange streak ripping the high side with Kyle Larson in the seat. Larson used the momentum up top and appeared momentarily to have the edge with as quickly as he was erasing the gap coming to the white flag. Off turn four, however, Thomas slid up in front of Larson's lane on the outside, stifling his charge momentarily as the two made contact while Thorson was a mere two car lengths ahead of them out front.
Larson gave it one last shot on the high line of one and two, but snagged the turn two cushion with the right rear, then landed on the left rear, sending him off the track in a pirouette and a couple of endos toward the billboard that prematurely ended his final IMW run of the week from which he walked away uninjured.
On the green-white-checker finish, Thorson got a strong jump to stretch his lead out to roughly six car lengths, allowing him to go relatively unchallenged the rest of the way while a tussle for second saw Seavey dive into three past Thomas on the final lap to snare second, while Jerry Coons, Jr. utilized the bottom to squeak past Thomas by a bumper for third at the line - his best finish since a third-place run at the Southern Illinois Center in 2017. Chris Windom rounded out the top-five.
The clean, yet hard racing between Thorson, Thomas and Larson was a thrill to witness from the outside and from within the cockpit as well, which Thorson attributes to the respect each of these drivers has for each other.
"I think a lot of it was knowing how they race," Thorson explained. "I'm good buddies with KT and Larson and I've raced with both of them for years. We're going to be aggressive toward each other, but there's also a lot of respect. I respect Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Kyle Larson more than just about anybody in this pit. Those two people out of anybody are the ones that I would prefer to race with day in day out."
Contingency award winners Thursday night at Lincoln Park Speedway were Kyle Larson (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Jason McDougal (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Dave Darland (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Thomas Meseraull (AutoMeter Third Heat Winner), Jesse Colwell (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Tanner Thorson (ProSource Passing Master/KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Chad Boat (ProSource Hard Work Award), Holley Hollan (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Kyle Cummins (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 6, 2019 - Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - 5/16-Mile Dirt Oval
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Larson, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.383 (New Track Record); 2. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.496; 3. Michael Pickens, 1NZ, RMS-12.577; 4. Zane Hendricks, 27z, Hendricks-12.706; 5. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.730; 6. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.738; 7. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.751; 8. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-12.765; 9. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.774; 10. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-12.792; 11. Holley Hollan, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.800; 12. Jesse Colwell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.816; 13. Justin Grant, 4A, RAMS-12.839; 14. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.849; 15. Dillon Welch, 81, Tucker/Boat-12.885; 16. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.898; 17. Tanner Thorson, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.902; 18. Dave Darland, 36, RMS-12.971; 19. Kyle Cummins, 2G, Yeley/Styres-12.991; 20. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-13.003; 21. Jason McDougal, 21KS, Reynolds-13.006; 22. C.J. Leary, 76m, FMR-13.021; 23. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.022; 24. Cole Bodine, 15, Petry-13.066; 25. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-13.080; 26. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-13.096; 27. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.112; 28. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-13.214; 29. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-13.425; 30. Chris Baue, 9, Baue-13.445; 31. Sam Johnson, 72, Johnson-13.493; 32. Brady Bacon, 1ST, Saucier-13.493; 33. Sterling Cling, 35, Petry-13.498; 34. Anton Hernandez, 8JR, Wood-13.747; 35. Michael Koontz, 17x, Koontz-NT; 36. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. McDougal, 2. Thorson, 3. Courtney, 4. Grant, 5. Larson, 6. Golobic, 7. Elledge, 8. Mitchell, 9. Cling. 2:14.82
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Darland, 2. Leary, 3. Seavey, 4. Coons, 5. Carrick, 6. Layser, 7. Hernandez, 8. Baue, 9. McIntosh. NT
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Meseraull, 2. Klaasmeyer, 3. Pickens, 4. Wise, 5. Welch, 6. Johnson, 7. Cummins, 8. Hollan, 9. Koontz. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Colwell, 2. Thomas, 3. Daum, 4. Windom, 5. Boat, 6. Bodine, 7. Hendricks, 8. Gass, 9. Bacon. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Larson, 2. Boat, 3. Golobic, 4. Welch, 5. Carrick, 6. Layser, 7. Cummins, 8. Mitchell, 9. Bodine, 10. Johnson, 11. Cling, 12. McIntosh, 13. Hollan, 14. Elledge, 15. Baue, 16. Hernandez, 17. Koontz. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (15), 2. Logan Seavey (6), 3. Jerry Coons, Jr. (1), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3), 5. Chris Windom (14), 6. Shane Golobic (8), 7. Tyler Courtney (2), 8. Jesse Colwell (10), 9. Zach Daum (17), 10. Jason McDougal (18), 11. Zeb Wise (21), 12. Tucker Klaasmeyer (20), 13. Holley Hollan (23), 14. Justin Grant (11), 15. Michael Pickens (5), 16. Chad Boat (22), 17. Andrew Layser (12), 18. Tanner Carrick (9), 19. C.J. Leary (19), 20. Cole Bodine (24), 21. Kyle Larson (7), 22. Dillon Welch (13), 23. Thomas Meseraull (4), 24. Dave Darland (16). NT
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**Hendricks flipped during the fourth heat. Hollan flipped during the semi. Elledge flipped during the semi. Layser flipped on lap 11 of the feature. Larson flipped on lap 30 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Courtney, Laps 5-12 Seavey, Laps 13-26 Thomas, Laps 27-30 Thorson.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/PROSOURCE HARD CHARGER: Tanner Thorson (15th to 1st)
PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Chad Boat
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Holley Hollan
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Kyle Cummins
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-651, 2-K. Thomas-580, 3-Seavey-561, 4-Wise-534, 5-Windom-518, 6-Leary-490, 7-Boat-450, 8-Klaasmeyer-435, 9-Carrick-430, 10-Coons-408.
NEW INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Thorson-221, 2-Seavey-204, 3-Courtney-195, 4-McDougal-181, 5-Golobic-168, 6-Wise-167, 7-Thomas-163, 8-Grant-150, 9-Daum-144, 10-Coons-141.
NEW PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Thorson-18, 2-Wise-18, 3-Daum-14, 4-McDougal-13, 5-Boat-13, 6-Courtney-11, 7-McIntosh-10, 8-Windom-10, 9-Coons-9, 10-Layser-9.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 7, 2019 - Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
Grant Gets Redemption at Gas City Indiana Midget Week Rd. 2
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Justin Grant won his first career 'Indiana Midget Week' feature Wednesday night at Gas City I-69 Speedway. (David Nearpass Photo)
GRANT GETS REDEMPTION IN GAS CITY INDIANA MIDGET WEEK RD. 2
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Gas City, Indiana (June 5, 2019).........Less than 24 hours after what he termed was a "toolbox issue" that put him behind eight ball just prior to Tuesday's "Indiana Midget Week" opening night feature, Justin Grant found the ultimate redemption by scoring his first USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory of the season in round two of the series Wednesday at Gas City I-69 Speedway.
One way of looking at the six-night stretch of consecutive races that is "Indiana Midget Week" is as a grueling physical and mental test that can take a toll, especially when things don't go as anticipated. On the other side of the coin, an individual can look at the week as chance to immediately redeem yourself again and again, night-after-night, if an issue happens to arise along the journey.
Either way, there's no time to dwell on the past. Another opportunity for success is just around the corner. That's the path the Ione, California driver and his RAMS Racing crew chose to take.
"Last night, it's all over and everybody's upset," Grant recalled. "But, that's why there's more than one race a year. Let's go to the carwash. Let's do our jobs. Let's act like we're ready to win tomorrow."
"What's great about this team is its people constantly building you up," Grant explained. "Last night, I had a huge blunder on my part. I really let my car owners and my team down in our race prep. But the first text message I got after the race was from Rick Young who said, 'I'm not upset in the least. Every time I see that racecar on the track, I'm proud of it. Go win tomorrow.' Having that kind of support system and that kind of backing is huge. Just being able to shake that night off, nobody's more worried about it than you are, so just shake it off and go do your job tomorrow."
When that tomorrow arrived on Wednesday night, Grant went to work from the word "go," leading the troops into turn one from his outside front row starting spot. Meanwhile, pre-race favorite Kyle Larson, who started fifth, was shuffled back to ninth on the opening lap, forcing him into playing catchup mode for much of the 30-lap event.
Following a lap three caution for Jesse Colwell, who stopped in the infield grass at the bottom of turn one, Grant knew he had a good car. One of those indicators came from an unlikely source over the one-way radio.
"I felt really good out of the gate," Grant said. "It was a little tight, which was a good thing, but the track really came to us right out of the gate more or less. After that first caution, (USAC Race Director) Kirk Spridgeon said, 'alright, hustle around' to the second-place car. I thought we must be way out there. It got me a bit worried because I thought we were too good too early. If this thing goes away, we might be in trouble."
There was no indication of that happening any time soon as Grant proceeded to click off his best laps of the race, just less than a tenth off his qualifying time. Grant opened his lead to roughly eight car lengths over Jason McDougal nearing the midway point as the two lone past IMW champs collided at the exit of turn four while battling for eighth. Shane Golobic, the 2017 champ, and Jerry Coons, Jr., the 2007 titlist, made contact with Golobic inheriting the worst end of the deal, stopping, and necessitating a yellow flag.
One lap following the ensuing restart, on the 16th circuit, March "Shamrock Classic" winner Cannon McIntosh slipped into second under McDougal in turn four. Moments later, Colwell spun to a rest in turn four to bring out the yellow. That moment seemed to flip a switch for a pair of previous Gas City IMW winners in Michael Pickens (2017) and Larson (2013).
Justin Grant celebrated his first career 'Indiana Midget Week' win Wednesday at Gas City, which was also his fourth career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature victory. (David Nearpass Photo)
New Zealand's Pickens began the second half running sixth while Larson held down eighth. Steadily, the two moved forward nearly in tandem, with Larson hitting the top and Pickens alternating between the bottom and the middle as they worked their way past Tanner Thorson and McDougal, while both Pickens and Larson occupied positions three and four, respectively, with just five laps remaining.
Meanwhile, up front, race leader Grant was enjoying a nice half-straightaway cushion over McIntosh with a first win for the Grant/RAMS combo seemingly within grasp. As Grant saw the white flag on the horizon, however, 16th running Tucker Klaasmeyer slid off the edge in turn four, forcing a green-white-checker finish for Grant, McIntosh, Pickens, Larson and a host of others.
Grant's pattern around the quarter mile was a circle, swinging out to the wall on the straightaways, then straight to the bottom in the turns. He'd keep his NOS Energy Drink - Rockwell Security - MPV Express/Bullet/Stanton SR-11 tighter on the bottom when he heard noise from a trailing car, then opened it a bit wider when the atmosphere became a bit quieter.
However, for Grant, it was anything but quiet on the lap 29 restart.
"On the second to last restart, I let the motor get loaded up and it didn't take off," Grant recalled. Then I got tight, then I missed the bottom, then I was hanging off four, then I was hanging down the front stretch. I'm like 'oh god, here it goes.' Fortunately, our car was good enough and I was able to get back to the bottom of (turn) one quick enough and shut the door on that. I thought, just stick the bottom from here and we'll be good."
That plan would be drafted into action one last time following a Coons and Karsyn Elledge tangle on the front straightaway, forcing one final GWC try where Grant executed perfectly on the bottom to slip away from McIntosh and disallow any move generated from him into one.
Third-running Pickens' bid for a repeat Gas City IMW win evaporated as he ran out of fuel on the restart. At the head of the field, Grant distanced himself from McIntosh by four car lengths with both seeking their initial IMW win. Heading into turn three, McIntosh had a nice run through the middle on entry, then angled his car down toward the infield tires at the exit of turn four. Grant swung just a tad wide at the exit, but it was still good enough by two car lengths to capture his fourth career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory over McIntosh with Larson, McDougal and new IMW point leader Thorson rounding out the top-five.
Contingency award winners Wednesday night at Gas City I-69 Speedway were Shane Golobic (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Tyler Courtney (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner & ProSource Passing Master/KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Holley Hollan (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Logan Seavey (AutoMeter Third Heat Winner), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Andrew Layser (ProSource Hard Work Award & Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Ethan Mitchell (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 5, 2019 - Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.349; 2. Jason McDougal, 21KS, Reynolds-12.416; 3. Tanner Thorson, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.421; 4. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.450; 5. Justin Grant, 4A, RAMS-12.455; 6. Kyle Larson, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.457; 7. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-12.503; 8. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-12.524; 9. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.561; 10. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.569; 11. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-12.594; 12. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-12.630; 13. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-12.663; 14. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.673; 15. Michael Pickens, 1NZ, RMS-12.701; 16. C.J. Leary, 76m, FMR-12.702; 17. Jesse Colwell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.720; 18. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-12.734; 19. Kyle Cummins, 1G, Yeley/Styres-12.735; 20. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.753; 21. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-12.756; 22. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.773; 23. Holley Hollan, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.779; 24. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.829; 25. Dave Darland, 36, RMS-12.897; 26. Sterling Cling, 35, Petry-12.923; 27. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-12.928; 28. Cole Bodine, 15, Petry-12.938; 29. Anton Hernandez, 8JR, Wood-12.939; 30. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.976; 31. Dillon Welch, 81, Tucker/Boat-12.994; 32. Zane Hendricks, 27z, Hendricks-13.080; 33. Michael Koontz, 17x, Koontz-13.093; 34. Justin Peck, 17, Bus-13.106; 35. Brady Bacon, 1ST, Saucier-13.320; 36. Chris Baue, 9, Baue-13.473; 37. Oliver Akard, 41, Akard-13.537; 38. Critter Malone, 7, Seven-13.611; 39. Brent Watson, 17K, Watson-14.561; 40. Davey Ray, 8, Cornell-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Courtney, 2. Klaasmeyer, 3. Leary, 4. Larson, 5. Daum, 6. Coons, 7. Welch, 8. Hernandez, 9. Koontz, 10. Ray. 2:05.54 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Hollan, 2. Bodine, 3. Colwell, 4. McIntosh, 5. Pickens, 6. Cummins, 7. Hendricks, 8. Bacon, 9. Watson, 10. Windom. 2:05.68
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Seavey, 2. Wise, 3. Golobic, 4. Grant, 5. Gass, 6. Thorson, 7. Layser, 8. Cling, 9. Peck, 10. Akard. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas, 2. Boat, 3. Elledge, 4. McDougal, 5. Carrick, 6. Darland, 7. Mitchell, 8. Malone, 9. Baue, 10. Meseraull. 2:06.32
C-MAIN: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Bacon, 2. Mitchell, 3. Peck, 4. Koontz, 5. Baue, 6. Watson, 7. Malone. 1:43.50
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Thorson, 2. Pickens, 3. Coons, 4. Carrick, 5. Layser, 6. Daum, 7. Mitchell, 8. Darland, 9. Bacon, 10. Cummins, 11. Cling, 12. Gass, 13. Hernandez, 14. Windom, 15. Welch, 16. Peck, 17. Koontz. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Cannon McIntosh (3), 3. Kyle Larson (5), 4. Jason McDougal (4), 5. Tanner Thorson (7), 6. Tyler Courtney (15), 7. Zach Daum (12), 8. Tanner Carrick (13), 9. Chris Windom (23), 10. Zeb Wise (18), 11. C.J. Leary (1), 12. Logan Seavey (14), 13. Andrew Layser (22), 14. Holley Hollan (17), 15. Shane Golobic (6), 16. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (16), 17. Karsyn Elledge (10), 18. Cole Bodine (21), 19. Jesse Colwell (11), 20. Jerry Coons, Jr. (8), 21. Tucker Klaasmeyer (19), 22. Michael Pickens (9), 23. Chad Boat (20). NT
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**Akard flipped during the third heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Grant.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/PROSOURCE HARD CHARGER: Tyler Courtney (15th to 6th)
PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Andrew Layser
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Andrew Layser
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Ethan Mitchell
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-593, 2-K. Thomas-512, 3-Wise-488, 4-Seavey-483, 5-Leary-458, 6-Windom-455, 7-Boat-416, 8-Carrick-401, 9-Klaasmeyer-389, 10-Colwell-341.
NEW INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Thorson-144, 2-Courtney-137, 3-McDougal-130, 4-Seavey-126, 5-Wise-121, 6-McIntosh-119, 7-Grant-110, 8-Golobic-109, 9-Carrick-106, 10-Thomas-95.
PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Courtney-11, 2-McIntosh-10, 3-Coons-9, 4-Layser-9, 5-Wise-8, 6-Thomas-7, 7-Boat-7, 8-Daum-6, 9-McDougal-5, 10-Carrick-5.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 6, 2019 - Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - 5/16-Mile Dirt Oval
ASCS National Sprint Series
Hafertepe Scores Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series Speedweek Victory At Lawton Speedway
Bryan Hulbert - LAWTON, Okla. (June 5, 2019) A podium finish the night before was bettered by two spots Wednesday at Lawton Speedway as Sam Hafertepe, Jr. picked up his fourth victory of the season with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network in Round 3 of the 2019 ASCS Sizzlin' Summer Speedweek.
"Our team right now is clicking better than I've ever had a team click in my entire career," commented Hafertepe. "Having the right people behind me and in the right places, we've been able to win a lot of races so I'm very fortunate to be the monkey driving the car sometimes. This is a hell of a team. We've been building it over the course of five years now and we get better every night."
Racing to the lead from the right of the front row, Hafertepe was able to hold off any challenges the first half of the race with a pair of cautions working Lap 2 and Lap 15. Back to the 14th lap on the restart, that is where the Heidbreder Foundation No. 15h was challenged for the lead. Moving off the cushion of the first two turns, Hafertepe surrendered the point to Scott Bogucki down the back straightaway.
Driving 20-foot deeper into turn three to pitch the car across the fourth turn, Hafertepe snagged the top spot with the pair again trading the position through turns one and two. Exchanging another round of slide jobs coming to Lap 16, Sam was able to break the momentum of the Sawblade.com No. 28 to begin pulling away until the red lights blinked on with 21 laps complete for Roger Crockett who slammed into the wall off the second turn. Roger was unharmed but unable to finish.
Winner Sam Hafertepe Jr (The Wheatley Collection Photo)
Asked about the restart and ensuing battle, Hafertepe explained, "I shouldn't have moved off the top. We were able to get him back, but I just second guessed myself and should have just stayed on the cushion on the restart, but at least it made it interesting for the fans"
Keeping the pack at bay on the restart, the race for second picked up as Wayne Johnson flew past Bogucki on the cushion in turns three and four. In pursuit of the No. 15h, Johnson was unable to keep pace with Sam Hafertepe, Jr. taking the victory by just over a half straightaway. Scott Bogucki held on for second with Jordon Mallett posting his first top-five finish of the season in fourth. John Caney II picked up a pair of spots to cross fifth.
The night's leading Hard Charger from 13th, Joe Wood, Jr. crossed sixth with Harli White seventh. Matching Wood's Hard Charger performance of seven positions gained, Matt Covington moved from 15th to eighth with Tony Bruce, Jr. mirroring the performance from 16th to ninth. Jordan Weaver completed the top ten.
A trio of SCE Gaskets Heat Races on Wednesday night was won by Jordan Weaver, John Carney II, and Blake Hahn. No Provisionals were needed.
Round 4 of the 2019 ASCS Sizzlin' Summer Speedweek lands the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla. on Thursday, June 6. Admission is $20 for adults with kids 10 and under admitted free of charge into the grandstands. Racing gets underway at 7:30 P.M. (CT). More information on Creek County Speedway can be found at www.creekcountyspeedway.co.
For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the nine Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation in 2019, log onto www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV
Lawton Speedway (Lawton, Okla.)
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Speedweek Round 3
Car Count: 21
SCE Gaskets Heat Races (All teams advance to the A-Feature)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 92-Jordan Weaver, [2]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [3]; 3. 5J-Jamie Ball, [4]; 4. 11-Roger Crockett, [5]; 5. 03-Joe Wood Jr, [6]; 6. 90-Lance Norick, [1]; (DNS) 22X-Steven Shebester,
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. J2-John Carney II, [1]; 2. 28-Scott Bogucki, [4]; 3. 21P-Robbie Price, [6]; 4. 14-Jordon Mallett, [7]; 5. 95-Matt Covington, [5]; 6. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [3]; 7. 23X-Grady Chandler, [2]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 52-Blake Hahn, [2]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [4]; 3. 77X-Alex Hill, [1]; 4. 17W-Harli White, [3]; 5. 74B-Jake Bubak, [6]; 6. 10K-Kyle Ezell, [7]
A-Feature
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [2]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [5]; 3. 28-Scott Bogucki, [3]; 4. 14-Jordon Mallett, [6]; 5. J2-John Carney II, [7]; 6. 03-Joe Wood Jr, [13]; 7. 17W-Harli White, [12]; 8. 95-Matt Covington, [15]; 9. 12H-Tony Bruce Jr, [16]; 10. 92-Jordan Weaver, [1]; 11. 52-Blake Hahn, [4]; 12. 5J-Jamie Ball, [9]; 13. 74B-Jake Bubak, [14]; 14. 21P-Robbie Price, [8]; 15. 23X-Grady Chandler, [20]; 16. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [17]; 17. 77X-Alex Hill, [11]; 18. 90-Lance Norick, [19]; 19. (DNF) 11-Roger Crockett, [10]; 20. (DNF) 10K-Kyle Ezell, [18]; 21. (DNF) 22X-Steven Shebester, [21]
Lap Leader(s): Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1-25
Hard Charger: Joe Wood, Jr. +7
High Point Driver: Jordan Weaver
Provisional(s): N/A
2019 National Tour Driver Standings (Top 15): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1,227; 2. Blake Hahn 1,183; 3. John Carney II 1,163; 4. Matt Covington 1,159; 5. Scott Bogucki 1,149; 6. Roger Crockett 1,137; 7. Harli White 1,075; 8. Jamie Ball 1,063; 9. Jordon Mallett 1,014; 10. Robbie Price 991; 11. Alex Hill 951; 12. Tucker Doughty 892; 13. Dylan Westbrook 545; 14. Wayne Johnson 512; 15. Jake Bubak 474;
2019 Race Winners: Sam Hafertepe, Jr. - 4 (5/17 - I-96 Speedway; 5/18 - I-96 Speedway; 5/25 - Lake Ozark Speedway; 6/5 - Lawton Speedway); Thomas Kennedy - 2 (4/25 - Eagle Raceway, 4/26 - U.S. 36 Raceway); John Carney II - 1 (5/26 - Lake Ozark Speedway); Travis Rilat - 1 (6/4 - Devil's Bowl Speedway);
Weather Related Cancellations - 7: Devil's Bowl Speedway (3/15 and 3/16); Williams Grove Speedway (5/3); Selinsgrove Speedway (5/4); Lakeside Speedway (5/9); I-30 Speedway (5/11); Route 66 Motor Speedway (6/1)
THREE BIG NASCAR STOCK CAR FEATURES TOP SATURDAY NIGHT RACING ACTION AT GRANDVIEW
Posted by: | Comments
Grandview Speedway
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NEWS FROM ROGERS FAMILY GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY, BECHTELSVILLE, PA—THE 57TH CONSECUTIVE SEASON OF RACING
Presenting Saturday night NASCAR stock car racing plus a variety of special events. Track office: 610.754.7688
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING: Ernie Saxton @ 215.752.7797: Email: Esaxton144@aol.com – Cell phone: 267.934.7286
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THREE NASCAR FEATURE RACES AT GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY SATURDAY
JESSE HOCKETT USAC NATIONAL NON-WING SPRINT RACE AND MODIFIEDS JUNE 11
BECHTELSVILLE, PA JUNE 5, 2019 . . . Saturday night (June 8) racing action at Grandview Speedway will include three NASCAR feature races. The T.P.Truck Equipment Sportsman will race in two 25-lap features as a result of the rain shortened program from last Saturday. And the T.P.Trailers 358 Modifieds will have 28 of the area’s top dirt track racing talents in action. The night is sponsored by long time NASCAR supporter Whelen Engineering.
Looking forward to the Saturday night action is Allentown radio personality Bobby Gunther Walsh. The WAEB-AM morning radio show host is into his 25th year of Saturday night Modified stock car racing at the Bechtelsville banked clay oval.
“We started out slow. There were mechanical issues and the experimenting with a new rear suspension,’’ said the popular racer. “We have gone back to a traditional set up and are doing much better.”
In recent weeks he has put his #65 Modified (the new number honors his dad who raced the number 65 at the old Moc A Tec Speedway) in front at the end of a couple of qualifying heat races and the last time out, before the rains came, he finished second to five time track champion Duane Howard.
“The car, carrying the main sponsorship of LVPG Orthopedics Dr. Eric Lebby and Dr. Thomas Dibenedetto along with more than two dozen sponsors, is more consistent and that makes me more optimistic as we head into the second half of the season,” commented Walsh. “I believe we can have a good season from here on out.”
He hopes the good season gets started on Saturday night.
Racing action gets the green at 7:30 p.m. with the Sportsman feature rained out last Saturday being the first event of the night. That will be followed by a full slate of qualifying events leading into the 30-lap feature for Modifieds and a second 25-lap feature for the Sportsman.
Gates for spectators open at 5:30 p.m. Adult admission is just $15 while youngsters under the age of 12 are admitted free.
The weekly Low Down & Dirty Meet and Greet, starting at 5 p.m. in the main gate area, will feature Modified standout Brett Kressley and Sportsman racer Briggs Danner.
Coming up next at Grandview is the first Thunder on the Hill Series event which will feature the United States Auto Club (USAC) AMSOIL National Tour Non-Wing Sprint Cars topping off their part of the doubleheader show with the $10,000 to win Jesse Hockett Classic. The second part of the night’s racing will feature the 358 Modified stock cars. Adult admission is $30, young people 6 to 11 pay $10 and those really young people 5 and under are admitted free.
Fans are invited to arrive early, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., and be part of the Low Down & Dirty Meet Greet that will feature Sprint standouts such as Robert Ballou, Isaac Chapple, Tim Buckwalter and Joe Biasi.
Racing on Tuesday night will get the green at 7:30 p.m.
Then on Saturday, June 15th, the T.P.Trailers NASCAR 358 Modifieds will be featured in two 30-lap main events along with a T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman 25-lapper and there will be a full series of qualifying races.
Full information on racing at Grandview can be had by checking in at www.grandviewspeedway.com, Facebook or telephone the track at 610.754.7688.
World of Outlaws
Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com
Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article
CRAZY TRAIN: Larson wins epic Illinois showdown
Kyle Larson out duels Kasey Kahne Racing teammates to claim first ever World of Outlaws back-to-back victories
Your heart tried to explode. If you stopped to think you’d realize you weren’t breathing. But there was no time for that. Every lap, every corner, the potential for a new leader. A new reason to not blink.
James McFadden? Brad Sweet? Kyle Larson? Your mind spun with the question of who will win, unable to find a clear answer as the three drivers dueled with the intensity of gladiators fighting to be the last man standing.
Then the dust settled. A moment of quiet ease spread around the quarter-mile Fairbury Speedway arena. Climbing atop the wing of his No. 57 machine to thunderous applause and an explosion of confetti was Larson – claiming his eighth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win Tuesday night.
The win gives him back-to-back World of Outlaws victories, after winning his last Series race at Lawrenceburg Speedway on Memorial Day.
“Cool to get a win back-to-back with the Outlaws, I’ve never done that before,” Larson said.
The last time he won more than one World of Outlaws race in a season was back in 2013 – a year before he went full-time NASCAR Cup Series racing.
Larson had to duel with fellow NASCAR competitor Christopher Bell and 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz to claim the win at Lawrenceburg. This time around, he had to face the dominate Kasey Kahne Racing duo of McFadden and Sweet.
The KKR teammates started the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown event going first and second in practice with Sweet pacing the field. The No. 49 car then backed up its speed in Qualifying by setting Quick Time. McFadden was third. Larson seventh.
Sweet then won his Drydene Heat race with ease. Larson and McFadden dueled for the win in the third Drydene Heat race of the night with Larson dominating the field.
McFadden came back with force, charging to the win in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash. Sweet finished third, and Larson sixth – setting their starting position for the 40-lap Feature.
McFadden wrestled with his 900hp machine, taming it like a wild stallion at the start of the Feature to take the early lead. His run was cut short by a red flag on the first lap for Dylan Tuxhorn rolling over in turn one.
When the Feature went back green, heart rates amplified. Breaths were held. McFadden led, but Sweet was charging for a fight.
The two teammates traded lanes lap after lap, corner after corner. Sweet could power his way to either the inside or outside of the orange No. 9 car into the turn, but McFadden could launch off the exit with the power of the gods.
While they dueled, Larson slayed the competition between him and the leaders with ease. By Lap 13, he gave the KKR duo something else to fear. Going into turn three he forced his car under Sweet, making it a three-wide battle through the corner – a common theme throughout the next several laps.
Sweet built up a strong enough run to steal the lead from McFadden on Lap 17. He couldn’t shake him, though. McFadden and Larson stayed on his bumper and the next time around they both snuck by him. McFadden threw his car low in turn three, while Larson squeezed his car between the outside of Sweet and the wall.
McFadden reclaimed the lead and now had a fierce Larson to contend with. The next lap, back in turns three and four, McFadden, again, went low and Larson high. The god-like launches McFadden could get exiting a corner were no match for the resilient throttle hungry Larson.
The two traded the lead for the next couple of laps with Larson eventually prevailing. McFadden still had fight left in him, though. And not far behind was Sweet, lurking. Waiting for another opportunity to strike.
In the closing laps, with the leaders having to navigate lap traffic, Larson couldn’t lose McFadden. The Australian was building momentum lap after lap, inching closer and closer to Larson. But then, with eight laps to go, McFadden’s battle came to an end.
While stuck behind a lap car through turns one and two, McFadden hit the corner tire and spun to a stop.
“Really fun race track,” said McFadden, still with a smile, after the Feature. “It was awesome racing with Brad and Kyle. They’re obviously a couple of the best guys in the country. I don’t know if I just misjudged the lap car. He got the tractor tire I think and slowed him a bunch. I just got into the back of him and when I did that, the tractor tire came out, after he hit it, and I got it and that was that. At the end of the day, it was a positive step for the team.”
In the remaining eight laps, Larson now had to contest with a hard charging Sweet.
Larson stuck to the bottom of the track – the least likely place for him to make a mistake, he said. Sweet took advantage of that, soaring around the outside of the speedway to find as much grip as he could to catch the white No. 57 Silva Motorsports car.
Coming to the checkered flag, Larson faltered. He slid off turn four, scrubbing speed and allowing Sweet the opportunity to strike one final time.
The distance between the leaders was still too much for Sweet, though. Like a warrior on a steed signifying his victory, Larson sprinted to the checkered flag with his front two wheels off the ground.
“That was just an exciting race from start to finish for me,” Larson said. “Shoot, 40 laps around this place was crazy. It felt like we swapped the lead a lot. Just an awesome race track. Short tracks are always a blast.”
Sweet’s runner-up finish helped him cut into Schatz’s points – now only 38 points behind the reigning champion. He said he felt like he had the better car, but probably got too timid in lap traffic, compared to Larson’s maneuvers.
“He’s crazy,” Sweet said about Larson with a grin. “He was bouncing off the wall in (turn) one and bouncing off the wall in three and four.”
Larson would agree with Sweet’s sentiment.
“I’m always all out,” Larson said. “I don’t even know how I would be if I was running for points with the Outlaws. It would be hard for me to change my driving style. I’m just crazy, yeah.”
That craziness makes speed though, he added.
The kind of speed that made your heart explode with excitement. Your breath run and hide. And your mind spin with questions. But there was no time to worry about that. Because every corner, every lap, there was the potential for a new leader. A new reason not to blink.
UP NEXT
The World of Outlaws will next trek to the Northwest on Friday, June 7, to River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D.
As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on www.DIRTVision.com.
For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.
Race Results: 6/4/19 – Fairbury Speedway
NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [6][$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [3][$5,500]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4][$3,200]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [10][$2,800]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [12][$2,500]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [17][$2,300]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [5][$2,200]; 8. 19-Brent Marks [9][$2,100]; 9. 5-Shane Stewart [22][$2,050]; 10. 21-Brian Brown [7][$2,000]; 11. 17B-Bill Balog [2][$1,500]; 12. 1S-Logan Schuchart [11][$1,200]; 13. 83-Daryn Pittman [13][$1,100]; 14. 41-David Gravel [24][$1,050]; 15. 18-Ian Madsen [23][$1,000]; 16. 9-James McFadden [1][$900]; 17. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [14][$800]; 18. 5X-Justin Peck [18][$800]; 19. 1A-Jacob Allen [15][$800]; 20. 70X-Spencer Bayston [21][$800]; 21. 7S-Jason Sides [16][$800]; 22. 96-Parker Price-Miller [8][$800]; 23. 4-Terry McCarl [19][$800]; 24. 9T-Dylan Tuxhorn [20][$800];
Lap Leaders: James McFadden 1-15, 19, 21; Brad Sweet 16-18; Kyle Larson 20, 22-40;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 5-Shane Stewart[+13]
Qualifying – 1. 49-Brad Sweet, 11.266; 2. 5X-Justin Peck, 11.305; 3. 9-James McFadden, 11.309; 4. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.381; 5. 21-Brian Brown, 11.386; 6. 96-Parker Price-Miller, 11.433; 7. 57-Kyle Larson, 11.444; 8. 70X-Spencer Bayston, 11.449; 9. 19-Brent Marks, 11.45; 10. 2-Carson Macedo, 11.455; 11. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 11.472; 12. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 11.493; 13. 83-Daryn Pittman, 11.497; 14. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 11.506; 15. 4-Terry McCarl, 11.508; 16. 17X-Aaron Reutzel, 11.522; 17. 5-Shane Stewart, 11.523; 18. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 11.53; 19. 1A-Jacob Allen, 11.539; 20. 7S-Jason Sides, 11.59; 21. 17A-Austin McCarl, 11.592; 22. 18-Ian Madsen, 11.604; 23. 51B-Joe B.Miller, 11.605; 24. 21X-Carson Short, 11.619; 25. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 11.65; 26. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 11.661; 27. 41-David Gravel, 11.688; 28. 17B-Bill Balog, 11.709; 29. 98-Chad Boespflug, 11.722; 30. 26-Cory Eliason, 11.723; 31. 85-Mike Terry, 11.855; 32. 9T-Dylan Tuxhorn, 12.183; 33. 5M-Max Stambaugh, NT
DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [2]; 3. 19-Brent Marks [3]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [4]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [7]; 6. 5-Shane Stewart [5]; 7. 17A-Austin McCarl [6]; 8. 98-Chad Boespflug [8]; 9. 5M-Max Stambaugh [9]
DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 96-Parker Price-Miller [2]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [3]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [5]; 5. 5X-Justin Peck [1]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [8]; 7. 18-Ian Madsen [6]; 8. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [7]
DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 9-James McFadden [1]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen [5]; 5. 4-Terry McCarl [4]; 6. 41-David Gravel [7]; 7. 51B-Joe B.Miller [6]; 8. 85-Mike Terry [8]
DRYDENE Heat #4 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 17B-Bill Balog [7]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 5. 9T-Dylan Tuxhorn [8]; 6. 70X-Spencer Bayston [2]; 7. 17X-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 8. 21X-Carson Short [6]
DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 9-James McFadden [2]; 2. 17B-Bill Balog [1]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 6. 57-Kyle Larson [6]; 7. 21-Brian Brown [7]; 8. 96-Parker Price-Miller [8]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 70X-Spencer Bayston [1][-]; 2. 5-Shane Stewart [3][-]; 3. 18-Ian Madsen [5][-]; 4. 41-David Gravel [9][-]; 5. 17X-Aaron Reutzel [2][$300]; 6. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [8][$250]; 7. 26-Cory Eliason [11][$225]; 8. 17A-Austin McCarl [4][$200]; 9. 21X-Carson Short [7][$200]; 10. 51B-Joe B.Miller [6][$200]; 11. 98-Chad Boespflug [10][$200]; 12. 85-Mike Terry [12][$200]; 13. 5M-Max Stambaugh [13][$200]
Seavey Seizes Montpelier Indiana Midget Week Opener
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Logan Seavey celebrates the victory in Tuesday's 'Indiana Midget Week' opener at Montpelier. (Rich Forman Photo)
SEAVEY SEIZES MONTPELIER INDIANA MIDGET WEEK OPENER
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Montpelier, Indiana (June 4, 2019).........He had to wait until the month of June, but Logan Seavey returned to the championship form he used to win last year's USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget title when he arrived at Montpelier Motor Speedway Tuesday night for the "Indiana Midget Week" opener.
It became readily apparent following an incident during his heat race that forced him to restart from the tail. From there, he carved his way through the field to win on a last lap, corner pass. The thread continued into the feature where he had to slide by Zeb Wise not once, but twice, after a yellow forced him into 'Take Two.'
Seavey got to the front on the seventh lap and never surrendered despite having to wade through heavy traffic on a tricky track surface with a swarm of hungry drivers behind him seeking the same promised land for their first time in 2019.
The Sutter, Calif. native drove to his fourth career USAC win along with his first "Indiana Midget Week" triumph just one race after he finally broke through for his first top-five of the season, a second place run in Granite City, Ill. that, in a sense, foreshadowed what was to come at Montpelier after a rough start to his Sophomore USAC season.
"It's been a frustrating start to the year," Seavey admitted. "Really, ever since (roommate and crew chief) Connor (Ridge) and I have been working together, we've just been on kill every time we're at the racetrack. He's really good about that. We just feed off each other's energy and it just makes it a lot of fun to go racing with someone like that. We're just having fun right now, and every time I have fun, I normally run up front. So, it's a good feeling."
Seavey started the 30-lapper from the pole but was beat to the punch in turn one by outside front row starter Wise. Fourth-starting Tanner Thorson, making his first appearance since February after sustaining serious injuries in a highway crash, put in a bid below Seavey for second on the back straightaway, but Seavey was able to clear Thorson by turn three where the high line was the chosen path and track position was imperative right from the get-go.
"It was really tricky out there," Seavey recalled. "I think we all knew the rubber was coming, but just didn't know when. When Zeb beat me on the start, I was kind of surprised, but it was still just a little bit greasy on the bottom. He got a really good start and I was just tracking him from there. I knew our car was a little bit better and I just knew I had to make my move at the right time and not give him any second chances. But, as soon as I did, the yellow came out. That wasn't what we were planning for."
When Thomas Meseraull slowed to a stop atop turn four on the fifth lap, it came just a tick after Seavey used a monster slider to clear Wise for the lead between turns one and two. The resulting yellow negated the move and positioned Seavey behind Wise for the ensuing restart, thus forcing him to re-rack and try the move once more.
Seavey stayed right with Wise for the two laps following the restart and was right on his bumper as the two crossed the stripe. Seavey threw it down to the infield tires in turn one and slid up in front of Wise in turn two before driving away to distance himself from Wise by more than a second at the halfway mark as he split his way through lapped traffic.
Tuesday's win was Logan Seavey's fourth career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory and his first during 'Indiana Midget Week.'
(David Nearpass Photo)
"Once we were able to get back by him again, not too long after that, the rubber came like we were kind of expecting," Seavey remembered. "I was trying to take it easy on the tires. If you run too hard with these things, you can blow the tires right off it. After that, I had to take it easy, try to be smart in lapped traffic and not allow myself to lose the race. The rubber's always tricky, and you never really know what's going on behind you. You just have to run your own race."
Truth is, there was a lot going on behind him, with Wise and a rapidly closing Thorson trying to take advantage of any misstep Seavey might make through traffic as they remained on the rail up top and Seavey dipped down off the line to dispose of the lappers.
"It's tough to decide when you want to do it and when you can time it right," Seavey explained. "The first five, six lapped cars were easy to get by. The track hadn't completely laid rubber yet. When it locked down, that made it really tough. I tried to pull out of line three or four times to get by, which made me kind of rethink my moves. Every time I did that, I probably lost half a second. Do you stay in line and follow them or try to get another car in between you and second place? These are the decisions you have to make. Sometimes you make the wrong ones, but, luckily, everything went smooth tonight."
It did for him, although when Thorson slid by Wise for second with five laps remaining, he was running a tick quicker than Seavey, but Seavey made all the right moves through traffic down the stretch to notch his first victory of the year over Thorson, Wise, point leader Tyler Courtney and Dillon Welch.
Contingency award winners Tuesday night at Montpelier Motor Speedway were Tyler Courtney (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Tanner Carrick (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Logan Seavey (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Zach Daum (AutoMeter Third Heat Winner), Cannon McIntosh (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Jerry Coons, Jr. (ProSource Passing Master/KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Chad Boat (ProSource Hard Work Award), Michael Pickens (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Noah Gass (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 4, 2019 - Montpelier Motor Speedway - Montpelier, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.029; 2. Tanner Thorson, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.046; 3. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-14.160; 4. Dillon Welch, 81, Tucker/Boat-14.190; 5. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.199; 6. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.199; 7. Justin Grant, 4A, RAMS-14.231; 8. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-14.268; 9. Jason McDougal, 21KS, Reynolds-14.298; 10. Holley Hollan, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.331; 11. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.338; 12. Dave Darland, 36, RMS-14.413; 13. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-14.465; 14. Michael Pickens, 1NZ, RMS-14.466; 15. Billy Wease, 12, Wease-14.473; 16. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.488; 17. C.J. Leary, 76m, FMR-14.518; 18. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-14.551; 19. Jesse Colwell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.618; 20. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.639; 21. Zane Hendricks, 27z, Hendricks-14.644; 22. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.651; 23. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-14.726; 24. Kyle Cummins, 1G, Yeley/Styres-14.773; 25. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-14.800; 26. Michael Koontz, 17K, Koontz-14.832; 27. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-14.884; 28. Cole Bodine, 15, Petry-14.932; 29. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-14.940; 30. Tyler Nelson, 88, Nelson-14.983; 31. Anton Hernandez, 8JR, Wood-14.988; 32. Chris Baue, 9, Baue-15.063; 33. Brady Bacon, 1ST, Saucier-15.752; 34. Ryan Padgett, 98p, Crow-15.830; 35. Oliver Akard, 41, Akard-16.407; 36. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-19.097; 37. Sterling Cling, 35, Petry-NT; 38. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carrick, 2. Thomas, 3. Grant, 4. Golobic, 5. Elledge, 6. Hollan, 7. Cling, 8. Koontz, 9. Colwell, 10. Akard. 2:04.77 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Seavey, 2. McDougal, 3. Boat, 4. Klaasmeyer, 5. Bodine, 6. Darland, 7. Wease, 8. Hernandez, 9. Welch. NT
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Daum, 2. Courtney, 3. Coons, 4. Pickens, 5. Leary, 6. Bacon, 7. Meseraull, 8. Layser, 9. Nelson. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. McIntosh, 2. Wise, 3. Thorson, 4. Windom, 5. Gass, 6. Baue, 7. Hendricks, 8. Cummins, 9. Padgett. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Meseraull, 2. Leary, 3. Welch, 4. Darland, 5. Cummins, 6. Hendricks, 7. Gass, 8. Layser, 9. Koontz, 10. Bacon, 11. Baue, 12. Hollan, 13. Hernandez, 14. Bodine, 15. Nelson, 16. Colwell, 17. Cling, 18. Elledge, 19. Wease, 20. Akard. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Tanner Thorson (4), 3. Zeb Wise (2), 4. Tyler Courtney (6), 5. Dillon Welch (7), 6. Shane Golobic (5), 7. Jason McDougal (12), 8. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (15), 9. Tanner Carrick (3), 10. Chris Windom (11), 11. Jerry Coons, Jr. (20), 12. Cannon McIntosh (21), 13. Michael Pickens (9), 14. C.J. Leary (13), 15. Chad Boat (22), 16. Zach Daum (17), 17. Zane Hendricks (16), 18. Justin Grant (10), 19. Kyle Cummins (18), 20. Tucker Klaasmeyer (19), 21. Jesse Colwell (23), 22. Dave Darland (14), 23. Andrew Layser (24), 24. Thomas Meseraull (8). NT
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**Cling flipped during qualifying. Darland flipped during the second heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Wise, Laps 7-30 Seavey.
PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER/KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Jerry Coons, Jr. (20th to 11th)
PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Chad Boat
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Michael Pickens
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Noah Gass
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-530, 2-K. Thomas-473, 3-Wise-438, 4-Seavey-436, 5-Leary-411, 6-Windom-409, 7-Boat-386, 8-Klaasmeyer-359, 9-Carrick-351, 10-Coons-341.
NEW INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Seavey-79, 2-Thorson-78, 3-Courtney-74, 4-Wise-71, 5-Golobic-64, 6-Welch-63, 7-McDougal-59, 8-Thomas-56, 9-Carrick-56, 10-Windom-48.
PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Coons-9, 2-McIntosh-9, 3-Thomas-7, 4-Boat-7, 5-McDougal-5, 6-Thorson-2, 7-Courtney-2, 8-Welch-2, 9-Windom-1, 10-Daum-1.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 5, 2019 - Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
ASCS National Sprint Series
Photo Finish Goes To Travis Rilat At The Devil's Bowl With The Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series
Bryan Hulbert - MESQUITE, Texas (June 4, 2019) Winning by a nose in a last-lap drag race, Travis Rilat wheeled his MDS Boring and Drilling/BDS Motorsports No. 29 to Victory Lane over the Sage Fruit Co. No. 52 of Blake Hahn at the Devil's Bowl Speedway on Tuesday night with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series Presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
A very emotional win for the BDS Motorsports Team, Rilat's 28th career National Tour triumph came in a car that was built 20-years ago for the late Ronald Laney.
"I'm not going to say these guys had an advantage over us, but we've got a 20-year old racecar here. It's not a raised-rail car, so every time I'd go through the corner and hit a rut, the car was dragging the ground and slowing me down, but this was one of Ronald Laney's last cars. We drug it out about four years ago, went through it, and ran it a couple of times but it's just been sitting in the shop so we decided to get it out and give a go. Mark [Laney] always talked about how fast this thing is, and it was," stated Travis on the front stretch of the Devil's Bowl Speedway as Mark Laney checked the tires of the No. 29.
Winner Travis Rilat (Pole Position Photo)
Asked what it meant to see a car built for his son win with Travis behind the wheel, Mark replied, "I can't hardly explain it. This just brings tears to my eyes."
Getting the lead from Blake Hahn on Lap 16 when the No. 52 bicycled multiple times through the first and second turns, Rilat rolled into traffic with Sam Hafertepe, Jr. glued to his back bumper. Pulling next to Travis numerous times, the driver of the No. 29 was able to fend off the charge of the three-time Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series Presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network Champion.
Tip-toeing through traffic as the race progressed into the final five laps, Rilat and Hafertepe were quickly joined by Blake Hahn. Rebounding with a furious run after falling to fifth, Hahn made it a three-car fight for the lead on Lap 22. Scrambling around a slower machine into the first turn, the battle was put on hold as Matt Covington went for a ride off the third turn following hard contact with an infield tractor tire.
Into second on the restart, Hahn checked top and bottom for room to make the pass. Building a run to the final lap, Hahn hit the low side the final two turns as a misstep by Rilat off the fourth turn kicked the ShopTheBoss.com No. 29 sideways.
Wheel to wheel to the front straightaway, Rilat barely edged ahead of Hahn for the win. Getting the final step on the podium, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. regained the lead in the 2019 Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series Presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network Driver standings by a pair of markers over Blake Hahn.
Harli White crossed fourth with John Carney II emerging as the night's Hard Charger with a run from 14th to fifth in the Mesilla Valley Transportation No. J2. Making up three positions, Wayne Johnson crossed sixth with Scott Bogucki in seventh. Jake Bubak grabbed eighth with Jamie Ball ninth. Making up five positions, Robbie Price completed the top ten.
The second round of the 2019 ASCS Sizzlin' Summer Speedweek, a field of 27 drivers were on hand with three SCE Gaskets Heat Races won by Scott Bogucki, Blake Hahn, and Sam Hafertepe, Jr. The lone BMRS B-Feature was topped by Jordon Mallett. One provisional was used by Casey Carter.
The next event for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series Presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network is Wednesday, June 5 at Lawton Speedway. Gates open at 6:00 P.M. with the action getting underway at 8:00 P.M. Admission is $20 for adults with discounts for Senior, Military, and Kids 13-15 paying $15. Kids 6-12 pay $2 with children five and under get in free. More information on Lawton Speedway can be found online at www.lawtonspeedway.com.
Following Wednesday's show at Lawton Speedway (Lawton, Okla.) is Creek County Speedway (Sapulpa, Okla.) on Thursday, June 6, then Salina Speedway (Salina, Kan.) on Saturday, June 8.
For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the nine Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation in 2019, log onto www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV
Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, Texas)
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Speedweek Round 2
Car Count: 27
SCE Gaskets Heat Races (Heat Race winners, plus the next 13 in Passing Points advance to the A-Feature)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Scott Bogucki, [1]; 2. 95-Matt Covington, [2]; 3. 5J-Jamie Ball, [3]; 4. 03-Joe Wood Jr, [5]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [8]; 6. 79V-Kevin Ramey, [6]; 7. 92-Jordan Weaver, [4]; 8. 24-Joseph Kasper, [7]; 9. (DNF) 99X-Dalton Stevens, [9]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 52-Blake Hahn, [3]; 2. 29-Travis Rilat, [4]; 3. 12H-Tony Bruce Jr, [1]; 4. 12W-Dale Wester, [2]; 5. 21P-Robbie Price, [6]; 6. 45-Martin Edwards, [9]; 7. 14-Jordon Mallett, [8]; 8. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [7]; 9. (DNF) 94L-Layne Himebaugh, [5]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [1]; 2. 74B-Jake Bubak, [3]; 3. 71W-Weston Gorham, [4]; 4. 17W-Harli White, [8]; 5. 77X-Alex Hill, [2]; 6. J2-John Carney II, [9]; 7. 11-Roger Crockett, [7]; 8. 33C-Casey Carter, [5]; 9. 118-Scott Evans, [6]
BMRS B-Feature (Top 6 advance to the A-Feature)
B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 14-Jordon Mallett, [3]; 2. 77X-Alex Hill, [1]; 3. 79V-Kevin Ramey, [2]; 4. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [7]; 5. 11-Roger Crockett, [4]; 6. 92-Jordan Weaver, [5]; 7. 94L-Layne Himebaugh, [11]; 8. 24-Joseph Kasper, [6]; 9. 33C-Casey Carter, [8]; 10. (DNF) 118-Scott Evans, [10]; 11. (DNF) 99X-Dalton Stevens, [9]
A-Feature
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, [2]; 2. 52-Blake Hahn, [3]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [4]; 4. 17W-Harli White, [5]; 5. J2-John Carney II, [14]; 6. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [9]; 7. 28-Scott Bogucki, [1]; 8. 74B-Jake Bubak, [8]; 9. 5J-Jamie Ball, [10]; 10. 21P-Robbie Price, [15]; 11. 14-Jordon Mallett, [17]; 12. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [20]; 13. 92-Jordan Weaver, [22]; 14. 77X-Alex Hill, [18]; 15. 95-Matt Covington, [6]; 16. 45-Martin Edwards, [13]; 17. 12H-Tony Bruce Jr, [12]; 18. 79V-Kevin Ramey, [19]; 19. 33C-Casey Carter, [23]; 20. 11-Roger Crockett, [21]; 21. 12W-Dale Wester, [16]; 22. 71W-Weston Gorham, [7]; 23. 03-Joe Wood Jr, [11]
Lap Leader(s): Blake Hahn 1-15; Travis Rilat 16-25
Hard Charger: John Carney II +9
High Point Driver: Blake Hahn
Provisional(s): Casey Carter (Regional)
2019 National Tour Driver Standings (Top 15): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1,077; 2. Blake Hahn 1,075; 3. Roger Crockett 1,045; 4. Matt Covington 1,043; 5. John Carney II 1,038; 6. Scott Bogucki 1,014; 7. Jamie Ball 957; 8. Harli White 956; 9. Robbie Price 889; 10. Jordon Mallett 884; 11. Alex Hill 855; 12. Tucker Doughty 794; 13. Dylan Westbrook 545; 14. Wayne Johnson 370; 15. Jake Bubak 370;
2019 Race Winners: Sam Hafertepe, Jr. - 3 (5/17 - I-96 Speedway; 5/18 - I-96 Speedway; 5/25 - Lake Ozark Speedway); Thomas Kennedy - 2 (4/25 - Eagle Raceway, 4/26 - U.S. 36 Raceway); John Carney II - 1 (5/26 - Lake Ozark Speedway); Travis Rilat - 1 (6/4 - Devil's Bowl Speedway);
Weather Related Cancellations - 7: Devil's Bowl Speedway (3/15 and 3/16); Williams Grove Speedway (5/3); Selinsgrove Speedway (5/4); Lakeside Speedway (5/9); I-30 Speedway (5/11); Route 66 Motor Speedway (6/1)
