Archive for Short Track
DIRTcar Nationals 2018 Day 2
Posted by: | Comments
World of Outlaws
Contact: Colby Gorniewicz
World of Outlaws PR
704-707-0229 | cgorniewicz@dirtcar.com
Schatz Masters Lapped Traffic to Capture Second Consecutive Win and First DIRTcar Nationals Championship
BARBERVILLE, FL – February 11, 2018 – Donny Schatz is starting 2018 firing on all cylinders, which is bad news for the rest of the competition. Schatz fought off a pesky Brian Brown early in the race and held off charges from Sheldon Haudenschild and Brad Sweet late to capture his fourth win in five nights at Volusia Speedway Park. Schatz, who has won just about everything to win in Sprint Car racing, captured his first ever DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator Championship.
Brian Brown won the Craftsman Club Dash earning the pole of the 30-lap Feature alongside Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender Parker Price-Miller. Brown was strong leading the opening circuit before Schatz flew underneath the FVP No.21 to lead lap two.
Rico Abreu brought out the lone yellow flag of the Feature on lap six. On the ensuing restart, Brown muscled his way back by Schatz to lead laps seven and eight before Schatz overtook him once again to lead lap nine and the rest of the way, despite challenges from Haudenschild and Sweet.
“We slowed down in traffic a lot,” Schatz said in Victory Lane. “We thought we had a solid car in the Dash, but this is the time to learn,” said the driver who won four of five Features at DIRTcar Nationals. “Sometimes you win some you shouldn’t, I think we were lucky we started up front,” a humble Schatz added before being awarded his first ever Big Gator trophy.
Friday night’s Feature winner Sheldon Haudenschild worked forward from his 13th starting spot into the top three on lap 12 and moved by Brown into second on lap 16. Haudenschild, who is in his first year with the Stenhouse Jr. – Marshall Racing No.17, brought the capacity crowd to their feet as he closed in on the Tony Stewart Racing No.15 but couldn’t pull the trigger.
“Catching Donny Schatz and passing Donny Schatz are two completely different things,” Sheldon said with a smile. While Sheldon had his eyes set on the No.15, Brad Sweet powered his NAPA Racing No.49 around the cushion, eventually overtaking Sheldon in turn two with five laps remaining.
Sweet closed on Schatz, but was never able to mount a series charge and settled for second - his fourth podium in five nights. “My guys worked hard all week and we are still chasing the 15. He makes us better though and we’ll take second,” Sweet said.
Jason Johnson finished his strong week with a fourth-place finish and 15th-starting Chad Kemenah completed the top five. Haudenschild picked up KSE Hard Charger honors advancing 10 positions.
That completes the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series portion of the 47th Annual DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park. The Outlaws return to action in two weeks in Texas at the Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, TX on Friday, February 23, 2018 and then LoneStar Speedway in Kilgore, TX the following night Saturday, February 24. If you can’t make it to the track, you can catch all the action live on DIRTVision.com!
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 15-Donny Schatz [4][$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [9][$5,500]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [13][$3,200]; 4. 41-Jason Johnson [3][$2,800]; 5. 10H-Chad Kemenah [15][$2,500]; 6. 2-Shane Stewart [5][$2,300]; 7. 21-Brian Brown [1][$2,200]; 8. 13X-Paul McMahan [6][$2,100]; 9. 5-David Gravel [18][$2,050]; 10. 4-Parker Price-Miller [2][$2,000]; 11. 49X-Tim Shaffer [16][$1,500]; 12. 27-Greg Hodnett [8][$1,200]; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser [22][$1,100]; 14. 18-Ian Madsen [14][$1,050]; 15. 26-Joey Saldana [11][$1,000]; 16. 2M-Kerry Madsen [20][$900]; 17. 9-Daryn Pittman [25][$]; 18. 1K-Kyle Larson [10][$800]; 19. 7S-Jason Sides [17][$800]; 20. 1S-Logan Schuchart [21][$800]; 21. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [24][$800]; 22. 70-Dave Blaney [12][$800]; 23. W20-Greg Wilson [26][$]; 24. 44-Trey Starks [19][$800]; 25. 24-Rico Abreu [7][$800]; 26. 1A-Jacob Allen [23][$800]; 27. 13-Clyde Knipp [27][$] Lap Leaders: Brian Brown 1, 7-8 Donny Schatz 2-6, 9-30; KSE Hard Charger Award: 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[+10]
Qualifying: 1. 13X-Paul McMahan, 13.058; 2. 21-Brian Brown, 13.083; 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 13.198; 4. 2-Shane Stewart, 13.22; 5. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.238; 6. 4-Parker Price-Miller, 13.268; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.29; 8. 27-Greg Hodnett, 13.348; 9. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 13.349; 10. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.367; 11. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.428; 12. 70-Dave Blaney, 13.44; 13. 44-Trey Starks, 13.458; 14. 26-Joey Saldana, 13.471; 15. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.529; 16. 1K-Kyle Larson, 13.577; 17. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.598; 18. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.635; 19. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.638; 20. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.644; 21. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.648; 22. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.664; 23. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 13.681; 24. 5-David Gravel, 13.698; 25. 19-Brent Marks, 13.749; 26. OO-Dane Lorenc, 13.799; 27. 83-Cory Eliason, 13.815; 28. 9-Daryn Pittman, 13.84; 29. 30-CJ Leary, 13.965; 30. W20-Greg Wilson, 14.093; 31. 13-Clyde Knipp, 14.220
Heat #1 (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer: 1. 2-Shane Stewart [2]; 2. 13X-Paul McMahan [1]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu [4]; 4. 1K-Kyle Larson [6]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 6. 49X-Tim Shaffer [8]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7]; 8. 19-Brent Marks [9]; 9. 9-Daryn Pittman [10]; 10. 44-Trey Starks [5]; 11. 13-Clyde Knipp [11]
Heat #2 (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer: 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 3. 27-Greg Hodnett [3]; 4. 26-Joey Saldana [5]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen [6]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [4]; 7. 2M-Kerry Madsen [7]; 8. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [8]; 9. 30-CJ Leary [10]; 10. OO-Dane Lorenc [9]
Heat #3 (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer: 1. 41-Jason Johnson [1]; 2. 4-Parker Price-Miller [2]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [5]; 4. 70-Dave Blaney [4]; 5. 10H-Chad Kemenah [3]; 6. 5-David Gravel [8]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart [7]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [6]; 9. 83-Cory Eliason [9]; 10. W20-Greg Wilson [10]
Craftsman Club Dash (6 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown [2]; 2. 4-Parker Price-Miller [1]; 3. 41-Jason Johnson [4]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 5. 2-Shane Stewart [6]; 6. 13X-Paul McMahan [3]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer: 1. 44-Trey Starks [1][-]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4][-]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5][-]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3][-]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen [2][-]; 6. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [6][-]; 7. 9-Daryn Pittman [10][$300]; 8. 83-Cory Eliason [9][$250]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [12][$225]; 10. 13-Clyde Knipp [13][$200]; 11. OO-Dane Lorenc [8][$200]; 12. 30-CJ Leary [11][$200]; 13. 19-Brent Marks [7][$200]
New Egypt Speedway ‘Winter Jam’ Planned For Friday Night March 9th
Posted by: | Comments
New Egypt Speedway
.
.
.
.
.
New Egypt Speedway
Route 539, New Egypt, NJ
Track Phone: 609-758-1900
Website: www.newegyptspeedway.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/newegyptspeedwayofficial
Twitter: www.twitter.com/nesspeedway
Media Contact: Pete MacDonald – 609-758-1900 – nesoffice@comcast.net
New Egypt, NJ – The popular gathering of New Egypt Speedway race teams, drivers and fans known as the ‘Winter Jam” will be held on Friday night March 9th at the Gamblers Ridge Golf Club located at 121 Burlington Path Rd in Cream Ridge, NJ from 5:30-9:00PM.
Race teams and fans will be able to purchase their 2018 New Egypt Speedway Driver’s and Pit Licenses as well as reserving their parking spots for the 2018 season. For more on Gambler’s Ridge Golf Club visit them on the web at www.gamblerridge.com
Following the Winter Jam the stage will be set for just two Saturday’s from then which will be the March Meltdown for the Modifieds paying a cool $5,000 to win and $400 to start for a 50-Lap affair, also on the March Meltdown card will be the Crate vs. Open Sportsman competing in a 25-Lap Shootout paying $1,000 to win and $100 to start.
New Egypt Speedway is located on Route 539 in New Egypt, NJ just minutes from Six Flags Great Adventure and the New Jersey Turnpike. A racy 7/16-mile D-shaped dirt oval, New Egypt Speedway serves Garden State race fans with some of the best competition in the country. New Egypt’s state-of-the-art facilities feature daylight-quality lighting and excellent sightlines from any seat in the house. The grandstands are fully wheelchair accessible with wide, clear, and well-groomed walkways. Concession facilities serve up everything from Jersey Burgers to ice cream treats at family-friendly prices.
For more information on New Egypt Speedway, visit online: www.newegyptspeedway.net, “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/newegyptspeedwayofficial, or follow us on Twitter @nesspeedway.
Schatz Extends DIRTcar Nationals Points Lead with First Outlaw Win of 2018
Posted by: | CommentsWorld of Outlaws
Contact: Colby Gorniewicz
World of Outlaws PR
704-707-0229 | cgorniewicz@dirtcar.com
Schatz Extends DIRTcar Nationals Points Lead with First Outlaw Win of 2018
BARBERVILLE, FL – February 10, 2018 – Clearly, Donny Schatz has a flair for the dramatic in 2018. After sweeping All-Stars competition with a pair of thrilling victories, Schatz excited the DIRTcar Nationals standing room only crowd once again Saturday night, exchanging slide jobs with Jason Johnson en route to his 250th World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series Feature victory. Johnson settled for second with Tim Shaffer, who rebounded from a nasty crash last night, completing the podium.
Johnson won the Craftsman Club Dash and set a torrid pace from the drop of the green. Paul McMahan and Tim Shaffer continued their fantastic battle from the Dash and went side-by-side for multiple laps battling for the runner-up position. That battle allowed Schatz to close in from his sixth position.
By the halfway point, Shaffer had established the position and Schatz had worked into third. Johnson continued to lead, maneuvering lapped traffic at a rapid pace. A lap 17 yellow for 2018 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender Parker Price-Miller cleared Johnson from the heavy traffic but allowed Schatz to restart on his bumper.
On the restart, Schatz quickly disposed of Shaffer and set his eyes on the Eunice, LA native. Johnson was able to keep Schatz at bay in clean air, but in traffic Schatz narrowed the gap quickly.
With three laps to go, Schatz engaged Johnson with a big slider arousing the huge DIRTcar Nationals crowd. Johnson turned back underneath the nine-time Series Champion, but Schatz prevailed to lead the white flag lap and never look back.
“That is what we live for,” Schatz said in reference of the slide job exchange with Johnson. “It had my heart pumping,” Donny added before asking the crowd if they enjoyed the show. “Good. Come back tomorrow, it will be even better.”
Johnson, despite leading 28 laps, was in good spirits, “I hesitated too long in traffic and Donny never hesitates. He is one of the toughest in the business,” Johnson said before praising his crew for their efforts.
Tim Shaffer and the Demyan-Rudzik Racing, who will follow the World of Outlaws through the entire month of March, put together a new car after flipping last night and Shaffer cited the quick turnaround was a part of racing. 10th-starting Brad Sweet and 18th-starting David Gravel had strong runs to complete the top five. Last night's winner, Sheldon Haudenschild picked up KSE Hard Charger honors coming from 21st to seventh.
Schatz’ victory extends his DIRTcar Nationals points lead to a monumental margin heading into the final night of Sprint Car racing at Volusia Sunday evening. As always, if you cannot make it to the track, watch live on DIRTVision.com.
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 15-Donny Schatz [6][$10,000]; 2. 41-Jason Johnson [1][$5,500]; 3. 49X-Tim Shaffer [2][$3,200]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [10][$2,800]; 5. 5-David Gravel [18][$2,500]; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4][$2,300]; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [21][$2,200]; 8. 10H-Chad Kemenah [12][$2,100]; 9. 13X-Paul McMahan [3][$2,050]; 10. 2-Shane Stewart [8][$2,000]; 11. 26-Joey Saldana [22][$1,500]; 12. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5][$1,200]; 13. 9-Daryn Pittman [11][$1,100]; 14. 19-Brent Marks [14][$1,050]; 15. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [20][$1,000]; 16. 11K-Kraig Kinser [19][$900]; 17. 83-Cory Eliason [24][$800]; 18. 70-Dave Blaney [9][$800]; 19. 4K-Kasey Kahne [13][$800]; 20. 7S-Jason Sides [23][$800]; 21. 44-Trey Starks [17][$800]; 22. W20-Greg Wilson [25][$]; 23. 4-Parker Price-Miller [15][$800]; 24. 27-Greg Hodnett [16][$800]; 25. 13-Clyde Knipp [26][$]; 26. 21-Brian Brown [7][$800] Lap Leaders: Jason Johnson 1-28, Donny Schatz 29-30; KSE Hard Charger Award: 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[+14]
Qualifying: 1. 2-Shane Stewart, 12.959; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.037; 3. 21-Brian Brown, 13.038; 4. 13X-Paul McMahan, 13.058; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.061; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.09; 7. 41-Jason Johnson, 13.113; 8. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.114; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.155; 10. 5-David Gravel, 13.16; 11. 4-Parker Price-Miller, 13.164; 12. 27-Greg Hodnett, 13.173; 13. 70-Dave Blaney, 13.186; 14. 19-Brent Marks, 13.188; 15. 9-Daryn Pittman, 13.209; 16. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 13.223; 17. 4K-Kasey Kahne, 13.275; 18. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.278; 19. 83-Cory Eliason, 13.284; 20. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 13.31; 21. 44-Trey Starks, 13.31; 22. 26-Joey Saldana, 13.322; 23. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.329; 24. 7K-Cale Conley, 13.345; 25. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.363; 26. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.372; 27. OO-Dane Lorenc, 13.437; 28. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.438; 29. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.472; 30. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.474; 31. 30-CJ Leary, 13.481; 32. 17C-Caleb Helms, 13.684; 33. 13-Clyde Knipp, 13.702
Heat #1 - (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer: 1. 2-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [2]; 3. 70-Dave Blaney [4]; 4. 4K-Kasey Kahne [5]; 5. 44-Trey Starks [6]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [7]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [3]; 8. 13-Clyde Knipp [9]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [8]
Heat #2 - (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer: 1. 2M-Kerry Madsen [1]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [5]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [4]; 5. 5-David Gravel [3]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [8]; 7. 26-Joey Saldana [6]; 8. 24-Rico Abreu [7]
Heat #3 - (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer: 1. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 2. 41-Jason Johnson [2]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [4]; 4. 4-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [6]; 6. 83-Cory Eliason [5]; 7. 30-CJ Leary [8]; 8. OO-Dane Lorenc [7]
Heat #4 (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer: 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 13X-Paul McMahan [1]; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah [4]; 4. 27-Greg Hodnett [3]; 5. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [5]; 6. 7K-Cale Conley [6]; 7. 18-Ian Madsen [7]; 8. 17C-Caleb Helms [8]
Craftsman Club Dash (6 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson [1]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [2]; 3. 13X-Paul McMahan [3]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [6]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 7. 21-Brian Brown [8]; 8. 2-Shane Stewart [7]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer: 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [5][-]; 2. 26-Joey Saldana [3][-]; 3. 7S-Jason Sides [10][-]; 4. 83-Cory Eliason [2][-]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen [8][$300]; 6. 24-Rico Abreu [6][$250]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [1][$225]; 8. 7K-Cale Conley [4][$200]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [9][$200]; 10. 30-CJ Leary [11][$200]; 11. OO-Dane Lorenc [7][$200]; 12. 17C-Caleb Helms [12][$200]; 13. 13-Clyde Knipp [13][$200]
POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League Results
Posted by: | CommentsThomas, Jr. Sweeps Sunshine State Midget Challenge
Ocala, FL – After snagging the opening night of the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League’s inaugural Sunshine State Midget Challenge at Bubba Raceway Park, Kevin Thomas, Jr. picked up where he left off, leading all 30 laps of the main event. This was Thomas, Jr.’s third victory with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League.
On the opening lap, Thomas, Jr. immediately took command. With one lap complete, the red was displayed for Sam Johnson who made contact with the wall exiting turn four and got upside down. Johnson was alright, but done for the night. Returning to racing, Thomas, Jr. checked out as Tanner Thorson worked to keep up.
On lap 20 the action slowed as Presley Truedson came to a stop. With plenty of lap traffic between himself and the rest of the field, Thomas, Jr. had a moment of breathing room before the caution came back out on lap 21 for Michelle Decker with front-end damage in turn two. With nine laps to go, Thomas, Jr. checked out and never gave Thorson a chance to challenge him. Zach Daum rounded out the podium, while Chad Boat took fourth, followed by Ryan Robinson.
“For us to be able to do what we did is pretty remarkable for our team,” commented Kevin Thomas, Jr. “This is basically the first two races I’ve ran for them. I ran Turkey Night last year, but different package all together. Like I said yesterday, for these midget motors to hold up as fast as were going around here, hat’s off to Toyota and Speedway Engines Development. This is pretty cool. I haven’t won that many midget races, but it looks like we’re turning into a pretty good team.”
“We just started off a little too loose there,” stated second place finisher Tanner Thorson. “By the time I got to my shocks and start working them, KT was long gone. They had a phenomenal weekend, they were fast both nights, so hat’s off to that team. I just wish we were a little bit better, but we’ll keep working on it.”
“Last night we blew a power steering line and I hung in there for about 15 laps with no power steering,” said third place finisher Zach Daum. “So tonight we worked on this thing, it’s a new car, we built a four bar midget. We’re experimenting with it and its got potential, so I’m happy with that. We’ll run it at I-44 in a couple of weeks and hopefully keep improving on it.”
Midgets | POWRi National Midgets
A Feature 1. 25-Kevin Thomas Jr, [1]; 2. 63-Tanner Thorson, [2]; 3. 5D-Zach Daum, [3]; 4. 84-Chad Boat, [7]; 5. 71-Ryan Robinson, [5]; 6. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, [9]; 7. 3N-Jake Neuman, [10]; 8. 9-Matt Moore, [16]; 9. 27X-Zane Hendricks, [15]; 10. 51B-Joe B. Miller, [4]; 11. 21KS-Karter Sarff, [8]; 12. 5T-Presley Truedson, [14]; 13. 7A-Aidan Roosevans, [13]; 14. 7JR-Holley Hollan, [17]; 15. WEE3-Otto Scrape, [18]; 16. 4M-Michelle Decker, [6]; 17. 7F-Andrew Felker, [12]; 18. 72-Sam Johnson, [11]
Heat 1: 1. 5D-Zach Daum, [2]; 2. 63-Tanner Thorson, [5]; 3. 84-Chad Boat, [4]; 4. 7A-Aidan Roosevans, [1]; 5. 27X-Zane Hendricks, [3]; 6. 9-Matt Moore, [6]
Heat 2: 1. 25-Kevin Thomas Jr, [5]; 2. 4M-Michelle Decker, [2]; 3. 21KS-Karter Sarff, [4]; 4. 5T-Presley Truedson, [1]; 5. 72-Sam Johnson, [6]; 6. WEE3-Otto Scrape, [3]
Heat 3: 1. 51B-Joe B. Miller, [1]; 2. 71-Ryan Robinson, [3]; 3. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, [2]; 4. 3N-Jake Neuman, [4]; 5. 7F-Andrew Felker, [6]; 6. 7JR-Holley Hollan, [5]
ALBANY INDOOR RACING SERIES FINALE RESULTS
Posted by: | CommentsANDY JANKOWIAK WINS INDOOR AUTO RACING SERIES THREE QUARTER MIDGET FINALE; BONSIGNORE NAMES 2018 SERIES CHAMPION; NICK DELCAMPO RACES TO SLINGSHOT CHECKERED; CODY KLINE IS TITLE WINNER; BROWN BEATS ROSS IN CHAMP KART HEADLINER
ALBANY, NY February 9, 2018 . . . Andy Jankowiak of Tonawanda, N.Y., passed Tim Buckwalter six laps into Saturday’s 40-lap feature to win the Indoor Auto Racing Series feature at Times Union Center in downtown Albany, N.Y.
“This is the one I wanted to win,” Jankowiak said. “I’ve won ‘em before but this is the first I won in my own car. It was perfect. I couldn’t be happier. I did everything but win last night and to get it tonight is all I could ever ask for.”
At the other end of the spectrum, Justin Bonsignore nursed a car with an engine that he described as ‘blown up’, to win the Indoor Auto Racing Series Fueled By VP Racing Fuels 2018 championship.
“I don’t know how this car finished,” Bonsignore said. “The motor was coming apart ten laps into this thing. The championship means a lot to me and to this team.”
Buckwalter retained second for the last 34 laps after losing the lead to Jankowiak while Timmy Catalano survived a mid-pack start and minor involvement in several crashes to finish third. Matt Janisch was fourth in the finale with Erick Rudolph fifth.
Rudolph could have had a shot at the title with Bonsignore’s subpar outing but never got untracked.
Anthony Sesely managed a sixth-place finish flipping his car during the race. Jonathan Reid, Ryan Tidman, Tim Nye and Friday night winner Anthony Payne rounded out the top ten.
Nick DelCampo of Blauvelt, N.Y., won the 20-lap Slingshot main event.
“I’m in tears right now. These races are so tough. This is just such a humbling experience,” DelCampo said. “We had been bringing fast race cars to Indoor races for years. We finally got one.”
Cody Kline of Hellertown, Pa., was the 2018 Indoor Auto Racing Series 2018 Slingshot champion.
“This Indoor racing is tough,” Kline said. “I didn’t really want to know where I was in the points but last night my crew told me I was ahead. Very happy to be able to do it. A lot of people have worked hard to make this happen.”
The Champ Kart 20-lap, 20-Kart main event, remarkably, ran from green flag to conclusion without a single caution flag. A titanic battle for the win between Cale Ross of Lambertville, N.J., and Tyler Brown of Fulton, N.Y., developed with Brown passing Ross for the first time with five laps left.
Ross then regained the lead two laps later only to lose it on the final circuit. Ross had not lost in 2018 Indoor Auto Racing Series competition but couldn’t hold off Brown in the race to the finish line.
Gene Gregoric ran third behind the leaders for the entire race. Ryan Kendall and Jeremy Tuttle completed the top five.
“It was all about being patient,” Brown said. “That was the key to this race. I was kind of holding back a little with the lapped traffic. Once I got him, he kind of surprised me when he got me back. So I had to repass him.”
Four TQ Midget heat race of ten laps were won by Jankowiak, Buckwalter, Bonsignore, and Reid. The pair of TQ B-Mains of ten laps each were snared by Tidman and Tommy Catalano.
The trio of Slingshot heat races went to Seth Spayd, Austin Silfee and Jared Silfee.
Champ Kart ten lap prelims were won by Cale Ross, Tyler Brown and Gene Gregoric. Damon Schuster won the B-Main for Karts.
TQ Midget Feature (40Laps): 1. Andy Jankowiak, 2. Tim Buckwalter, 3. Timmy Catalano, 4. Matt Janisch, 5.Erick Rudolph, 6. Anthony Sesely, 7. Jonathan Reid, 8. Ryan Tidman, 9. Tim Nye, 10. Anthony Payne. 11. Justin Bonsignore, 12. Chad Jones, 13. Matt Roselli, 14. Scott Kreutter, 15. Tyler Thompson, 16. Tony DiMattia, 17. Brett Conkling, 18. Andrew Molleur 19. Briggs Danner, 20. Shawn Nye, 21. Ryan Bartlett, 22.Tommy Catalano, 23. Mike Lichty. 24. Geoffrey Sutton.
Champ Kart Feature (20Laps): 1. Tyler Brown, 2. Cale Ross, 3. Gene Gregoric, 4. Ryan Kendall, 5.Jeremy Tuttle, 6. Brandon Ruscek, 7. Jamie Shutts, 8. Anthony Colandro, 9.Mike Perry, 10. Ron Midford, Jr., 11. Dominic Roselli, 12. Zachary Asklar, 13.Damon Schuster, 14. TJ Reed, 15. Richie Davidowitz, 16. Eric Zeh, 17. Jake Nelke, 18. Vinny Delaney, 19. Chris Hitt, 20. Nick Demling.
Slingshot Feature (20Laps): 1. Nick DelCampo, 2. Cody Kline, 3. Matt Mertz, 4. Joe Toth, 5. Dan Morgiewicz. 6. Danny Buccafusca, 7. Kyle Herve, 8. Kurt Bettler, 9. Tom Arntz, 10.Austin Silfee, 11. Alan Selemba, 12. Bryce Cherko, 13. Jared Silfee, 14. Steve Svanda, 15. Brett Putnam, 16. Craig Pellegrini, 17. Chris Kurtz, 18. Brian Tobey, 19.Seth Spayd, 20. Spencer Cherko.
POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League Results
Posted by: | CommentsKevin Thomas, Jr. Takes Opening Night of Sunshine State Midget Challenge
Ocala, FL - Kevin Thomas, Jr. claimed the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League's opening night at Bubba Raceway Park in the inaugural Sunshine State Midget Challenge. Thomas, Jr.'s Florida victory was his second career with POWRi, his first coming back in 2015.
With the initial start called back, the actual start saw Tanner Thorson leading lap one, only to relinquish the lead to Thomas, Jr. down the backstretch. The following lap the action slowed for Holly Hollan spun entering turn three. Returning to green Thorson pressured Thomas, Jr. to no avail. With ten laps down the yellow flew again for Hollan, this time for a flat left rear tire on her machine.
Coming back to green flag racing, Thomas, Jr. checked out and put distance between himself and Thorson. On lap 20, the caution was displayed as Chad Boat came to a stop. Boat returned to the pits and was done for the evening. Retuning to green flag racing with 10 laps to go, Thorson hung right there with Thomas, Jr. But, with 27 laps completed, Thorson suffered a mechanical failure entering turn one, ending his night and leaving a three-lap shootout. In a dash to the finish, Thomas, Jr. led Ryan Robinson and Tucker Klaasmeyer to the checkered.
"Good job to everybody on the track crew," commented Kevin Thomas, Jr. "They made a pretty good racetrack. Me and Tanner had a pretty good battle there. Once he kind of showed me that the top was coming in, I was just getting too slow there on the bottom in three and four. I've got to thank Scott Petry and the whole crew over here. They gave me a great racetrack. That was a fun race. I haven't won a midget race in quite a while."
"I just can't thank Abreu Vineyards, Keith, Pete, Big Al and the whole team that works on these enough," said Ryan Robinson. "We didn't have a whole lot for them tonight, but we're going to work on this and be up front tomorrow night. This is a really cool racetrack to run on. It's my first time here and I love it already. The difference between one and two and three and four, you've got to figure it out as a driver. It's a real technical track."
"It took quite a while to figure it out," stated Tucker Klaasmeyer. "It's really tricky at both ends. It's probably one of the trickier tracks I've been to. It feels like a small quarter mile at one end and a big three-eighths mile at the other. It was a lot of fun and a good first run in Keith's car."
POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League Feature Results (30 laps): 1. 25-Kevin Thomas Jr, [3]; 2. 71-Ryan Robinson, [4]; 3. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, [10]; 4. 9-Matt Moore, [6]; 5. 27X-Zane Hendricks, [19]; 6. 3N-Jake Neuman, [9]; 7. 7F-Andrew Felker, [7]; 8. 7A-Aidan Roosevans, [13]; 9. 4M-Michelle Decker, [14]; 10. 5D-Zach Daum, [8]; 11. 21KS-Karter Sarff, [11]; 12. 5T-Presley Truedson, [18]; 13. 72-Sam Johnson, [12]; 14. 7JR-Holley Hollan, [17]; 15. 63-Tanner Thorson, [1]; 16. 21X-Casey Schuman, [5]; 17. WEE3-Otto Scrape, [15]; 18. 84-Chad Boat, [2]; 19. 51B-Joe B. Miller, [16]
Lap Leaders: 1: TANNER THORSON, 2-6: KEVIN THOMAS, JR., 7: TANNER THORSON, 8-30: KEVIN THOMAS, JR.
Heat 1: 1. 25-Kevin Thomas Jr, [1]; 2. 7F-Andrew Felker, [2]; 3. 21X-Casey Schuman, [5]; 4. 21KS-Karter Sarff, [4]; 5. 7A-Aidan Roosevans, [6]; 6. 7JR-Holley Hollan, [3]; 7. 27X-Zane Hendricks, [7]
Heat 2: 1. 71-Ryan Robinson, [1]; 2. 63-Tanner Thorson, [6]; 3. 9-Matt Moore, [5]; 4. 72-Sam Johnson, [3]; 5. WEE3-Otto Scrape, [2]; 6. 51B-Joe B. Miller, [4]
Heat 3: 1. 84-Chad Boat, [2]; 2. 5D-Zach Daum, [1]; 3. 3N-Jake Neuman, [4]; 4. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, [6]; 5. 4M-Michelle Decker, [5]; 6. 5T-Presley Truedson, [3]
For further information, visit www.powri.com, "Like" POWRi on Facebook and follow @POWRi_Racing on Twitter.
