Archive for Short Track
THUNDER ON THE HILL NEWS
Posted by: | CommentsJULY 14, 2016
CONTACT: BOB MILLER 443 513 4456
THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES
SHEPPARD STAYS IN THE SPOTLIGHT – CLAIMS SECOND CONSECUTIVE SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES TRAFFIC JAM VICTORY EARNS $7,000
BECHTELSVILLE, PA (July 14, 2016) – For the second consecutive year Waterloo, NY’s Matt Sheppard claimed the win and the $7,000 top prize, during Thursday night’s Big-Block Modified Super DIRTCar Series Traffic Jam presented by Pioneer Pole as NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series brought an exciting night of racing action to Grandview Speedway.
After drawing the pole, Sheppard launched from his first row starting spot with Unadilla, NY’s Billy Decker following closely behind in the Page Trucking No. 91 machine. Sheppard set a rapid pace from the onset hitting lapped traffic by the fourth circuit before the first caution for Wind Gap, PA’s Frank Cozze.
On the restart, Sheppard blasted back to the top spot, with Decker, Peter Britten and Ryan Godown in a three-wide battle for the second spot. As the field bunched up, the caution flag flew for Larry Wight, when his No. 99L machine stopped in turn 3 with a broken front end.
Sheppard bolted out of sight on the restart, while a five-car battle for the second spot ensued. Decker shot inside Britten, while Godown made it three-wide heading down the front stretch -- followed quickly by Grandview Speedway all-time leading race winner, Craig VonDohren and Stewart Friesen.
A lap 9 caution for Jeff Strunk’s No. 126 machine slowed the field for the third time.
VonDohren shot into second on the restart while Friesen battled with Britten for the third position side-by-side for nearly 10 laps swapping the spot – and race grooves – almost half a dozen times.
The action slowed again on the 19th circuit for a tangle between 16-year-old Modified racer Max McLaughlin and Tommy Sheetz.
The top-5 remained unchanged on the restart, with Oley, PA’s Duane Howard making his intentions known moving into the sixth position from a tenth place starting spot.
The final caution flag flew on lap 22 for Vernon, NJ’s Brett Hearn – who stopped in turn four with a left front flat tire.
Sheppard stayed dominant at the drop of the green, as multiple two-car battles followed behind, shuffling the field.
The Traffic Jam lived up to its name as Sheppard approached heavy lapped traffic on the 34th circuit. Tiptoeing around lapped cars Britten and Friesen closed on the leader with Britten challenging for the top spot as Sheppard struggled getting around lapped cars.
Sheppard held tight and picked up his second consecutive Traffic Jam victory, and the $7,000 winner’s share.
Peter Britten, of Queensland, Aus. finished in second; Sprakers, NY’s Stewart Friesen in third; Oley, PA’s Duane Howard in fourth; and Billy Decker of Unadilla, NY finishing in fifth
Big-Block Modified Qualifying Heat races were won by Billy Decker, Stewart Friesen and Larry Wight.
Muhlenburg Park, PA’s Paul Kline – who holds two Saturday Night victories at Grandview Speedway – picked up the $1,200 win in the 25-lap Sportsman race. Kline powered from the first place starting position with fellow front-row starter Brandon Grosso battling alongside.
The event slowed twice once on the initial restart and once just prior to the halfway point, but Kline remained dominant. It certainly wasn’t easy for the racer as Brandon Grosso – aboard the NitroFish No.32 machine – swapped groove multiple times trying to gain the top spot. Grosso would settle for second, Brian Hirthler finished in the third spot, Brad Arnold in fourth and Brian Papiez rounding out the top five finishers.
Sportsman Heat races were won by Brandon Grosso, Brian Hirthler, Chad Kohler and Brad Arnold.
The next NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series event will be Tuesday, July 26 for the 2nd Annual Thunder Cup featuring the 410 Sprint Cars and the 358 Modifieds. Also, that evening the remaining 20-laps of the rain-postponed 410 Sprint Car event and a second 358 Modified feature. Adult Admission is $25, Children 6-11: $10, Under 6: FREE! Racing will kick off 30 minutes earlier than originally scheduled at 7:00 PM.
THUNDER NOTES:
Legendary Modified racers Kenny Brightbill and Gerald Chamberlain signed autographs and met with race fans prior to the evening’s events. Brightbill and Chamberlain were joined by ‘The Doctor’ Danny Johnson and Keith Flach.
30 Modifieds and 38 Sportsman competitors signed in for action.
Billy Decker set the fast time with a lap of 14.309, barely missing the single-lap track record of 14.298 set by Craig VonDohren.
Big-Block Modifieds
Heat 1 (8 Laps) – 1. Billy Decker 2. Mike Mahaney 3. Duane Howard 4. Danny Johnson 5. Brett Hearn
Heat 2 (8 Laps) – 1. Stewart Friesen 2. Matt Sheppard 3. Pete Britten 4. Tim Fuller 5. Billy Pauch Jr.
Heat 3 (8 Laps) – 1. Larry Wight 2. Jimmy Phelps 3. Craig VonDohren 4. Ryan Godown 5. Keith Flach
19th Annual Traffic Jam (60 Laps) – 1. Matt Sheppard ($7,000) 2. Peter Britten 3. Stewart Friesen 4. Duane Howard 5. Billy Decker 6. Jimmy Phelps 7. Craig VonDohren 8. Mike Mahaney 9. Jimmy Horton 10. Ryan Watt 11. Tim Fuller 12. Anthony Perrego 13. Jeff Strunk 14. Danny Johnson 15. Ryan Godown 16. Brett Hearn 17. Mat Williamson 18. Keith Flach 19. Pat Ward 20. Rich Scagliotta 21. Max McLaughlin 22. Eldon Payne 23. Billy Pauch, Jr. 24. Tom Sheetz 25. John McClelland 26. Brett Kressley 27. Dominick Buffalino 28. Marcus Dinkins 29. Larry Wight 30. Frank Cozze
Sportsman
Heat 1 (8 Laps) – 1. Brandon Grosso 2. Paul Kline 3. Chris Jenkins 4. Craig Whitmoyer 5. Mike Lisowski
Heat 2 (8 Laps) – 1. Brian Hirthler 2. Dylan Swinehart 3. Brian Papiez 4. Mike Koffel 5. Scott Davis
Heat 3 (8 Laps) – 1. Chad Kohler 2. Derrick Smith 3. Ken Eckert, Jr. 4. Mark Kemmerer 5. Steve Searock
Heat 4 (8 Laps) – 1. Brad Arnold 2. Ryan Beltz 3. Joe Funk 4. Jordan Henn 5. Rich Jones
Consolation 1 (8 Laps) – 1. Jesse Landis 2. JR Fulper
Consolation 2 (8 Laps) – 1. Ryan Lilick 2. Jim Houseworth
Sportsman Feature (25 Laps) 1. Paul Kline 2. Brandon Grosso 3. Brian Hirthler 4. Brad Arnold 5. Brian Papiez 6. Craig Whitmoyer 7. Joe Funk 8. Jordan Henn 9. Derrick Smith 10. Chad Kohler 11. Mark Kemmerer 12. Jim Housworth 13. Mike Lisowski 14. Ken Eckert 15. Ryan Lilick 16. Chris Jenkins 17. Steve Searock 18. JR Fulper 19. Mike Koffel 20. Jesse Landis 21. Steve Davis 22. Dylan Swinehart 23. Rich Jones 24. Ryan Beltz
COMING EVENTS:
Tuesday, July 26 7:30 PM
Grandview Speedway
410 Sprints Ter Cup & 358 Modifieds*
Plus 410 Make up Feature and 30 lap 358 Modified Make-up feature
4 FEATURES
Thursday, August 18 7:30 PM PPB Night
Grandview Speedway
All Star Circuit of Champions & TSRS Sprints
See Steve Kinser & Sammy Swindell in action
Outlaws vs. All-Stars: Schatz Wins Brad Doty Classic
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World of Outlaws
Contact: Aaron Fiedler
World of Outlaws and DIRTcar PR
704-795-7223 | afiedler@dirtcar.com
Outlaws vs. All-Stars: Schatz Wins Brad Doty Classic
Rolls out of Attica Raceway Park with his 14th win of the season
ATTICA, Ohio - July 12, 2016 - It was a battle between the All-Star Circuit of Champions regulars and World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series regulars in Tuesday night's Ohio Logistics Brad Doty Classic at Attica Raceway Park as Donny Schatz charged forward and persevered to score his 14th series win of the season.
It was Schatz's first win at Attica since 2011.
"I just had to be calm and cool through that race," Schatz said. "Early on those guys were going at it pretty hard. 40 laps, you've got to be smart at the beginning. A lot of guys passed a lot of cars tonight."
"I'm just happier than hell that we won the Brad Doty Classic!"
A stout field of 53 cars made the trip to Attica for the Brad Doty Classic - the largest field so far for a World of Outlaws event in 2016.
Through qualifying and Heat races, six series regulars missed the feature. Brad Sweet made a strong run through the C main and the Last Chance Showdown to earn his position in the main event. Daryn Pittman, who faced engine trouble during qualifying and failed to make the feature, opted to take a provisional. Byron Reed received the Attica track provisional.
The green flag dropped on the 40-lap Brad Doty Classic with Aussie James McFadden leading Danny Holtgraver. Sheldon Haudenschild made the early charge and was fighting McFadden for the lead in his No. 93 Southern Pacific Farms/Wintermeyer Auto Salvage car when a caution flew.
On the restart, Joey Saldana charged forward but had his hands full with Holtgraver and reigning All-Star Circuit of Champions champion, Dale Blaney. Blaney, who started in 10th, settled into the third spot.
Haudenschild, from Wooster, Ohio, finally found a way around McFadden. As the two worked to complete lap 13, Haudenschild took the spot off of turn four.
By the midway point, Haudenschild was pulling away as Blaney worked to run down McFadden and Schatz and Pittman continued their charges through the field. A three-way battle for second ensued between Blaney, Schatz and McFadden. After a multi-lap battle, McFadden held on but it was short-lived.
With just 12 laps to go, Haudenschild pulled out to a three and a half second lead when McFadden brought out the caution. When the race returned to green, Haudenschild led Schatz, Blaney and Saldana. Schatz quickly took over the top spot with Blaney settling into second and Haudenschild fighting with Saldana and then Pittman for the fourth spot.
Through the closing laps, Schatz and Blaney maintained a consistent gap between them as Pittman battled side-by-side with Haudenschild for third. When the checkered flag flew, it was Schatz, who started 15th, Blaney, who started in 10th and Pittman, who started in 25th, on the night's podium.
"This whole Bad Boy Off Road/Chevrolet Performance team, we didn't start the year off the way we wanted," Schatz said. "When people kept asking us what we thought of our season, we said average. But when you look at what we did last year, anything is going to be average.
"These guys are digging. I'm digging. I'm doing everything I can. I hate running the cushion but I just run the cushion. That's what you've got to do to be able to win races, you've got to be able to move around the race track. These guys are getting the job done and I'm just the lucky guy who gets to drive it."
Blaney, the most recent winner of an Outlaws feature at Attica said the track conditions allowed for the push through the field with workable lanes across the turns.
Blaney said the good run was what he and his team needed.
"We haven't really been struggling, we've been running decent, but we haven't been getting the finishes that we deserve," Blaney said. "Great night for all of us - Muddy and Big Game, CH Motorsports and everybody who is involved with this team."
"Proud to run second at this race."
Pittman came away from the event as the night's KSE Racing Hard Charger. After advancing 22 positions through the field, Pittman said he was disappointed at missing the feature but was confident in his team as they prepare for the Kings Royal this weekend.
"It just shows the attitude of this Great Clips team - they didn't quit," Pittman said. "Things go bad for you and it was just the perfect storm to have a disastrous night."
"I've never missed a race in this No. 9 car, so that's three-and-a-half years that, honestly, I'm pretty sad of losing that streak… my confidence is high going into this weekend that our car is still good and no matter where we start, hopefully we can get up there and finish respectable."
The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series rolls to Eldora Speedway for newly expanded, three-day Kings Royal on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For more information and to learn how to purchase tickets, visit WoOSprint.com/The-Kings-Royal.
Follow the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series on Twitter at Twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook at Facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, or check out the latest videos on YouTube at YouTube.com/WorldofOutlaws.
Attica Raceway Park Notebook
RACE NOTES: Tonight's top-three finishers at Attica Raceway Park all started outside the top-ten… Donny Schatz is the only Outlaws regular to win at Attica since Joey Saldana did it in 2007… Daryn Pittman, who finished in third after taking a provisional, was the night's KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing 22 positions… Shawn Dancer picked up his first career series quick time with a lap around Attica of 12.709.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS - MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Jacob Allen; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Travis Philo; Morton Buildings ($50 cash): Brad Sweet; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Jason Sides; Super Flow ($50 cash): Chad Kemenah; Craftsman/Sears ($100 cash):; KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Daryn Pittman; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Donny Schatz; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Chad Kemenah; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Jacob Allen.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz - 14 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 4, Stockton Dirt Track on March 18, Stockton Dirt Track on March 19, Silver Dollar Speedway on April 2, Lincoln Speedway on May 19, Weedsport Speedway on May 22, Lincoln Park Speedway on June 8, Knoxville Raceway on June 11, River Cities Speedway on June 17, Rockford Speedway on June 29, Badlands Motor Speedway on July 3, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 9, Attica Raceway Park on July 12); Brad Sweet - 7 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Cotton Bowl Speedway on Feb. 26, Ocean Speedway on April 1, Bakersfield Speedway on April 15, Plymouth Speedway on May 13, Badlands Motor Speedway on July 2); Daryn Pittman - 5 (Royal Purple Raceway on Feb. 27, Perris Auto Speedway on April 16, USA Raceway on April 18, New Egypt Speedway on May 24, Jackson Motorplex on June 24); Shane Stewart - 5 (Arizona Speedway on March 6, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 23, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 30, Granite City Speedway on June 15, Brown County Speedway on June 19); Joey Saldana - 4 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 3, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 22, Jacksonville Speedway on May 4, I-80 Speedway on June 22); David Gravel - 3 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 12, Tri-State Speedway on May 14, I-96 Speedway on June 6); Kerry Madsen - 2 (Eldora Speedway on May 6 and 7); Bill Balog - 1 (Beaver Dam Raceway on June 25); Lance Dewease - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 20); Chad Kemenah - 1 (Fremont Speedway on June 3); Jason Johnson - 1 (Placerville Speedway on March 24); Terry McCarl - 1 (Knoxville Raceway on June 10);Logan Schuchart - 1 (Cedar Lake Speedway on July 9); Jason Sides - 1 (I-30 Speedway on April 26); Greg Wilson - 1 (The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 27).
World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Attica Raceway Park; Attica, Ohio; July 12, 2016.
A-Main - (40 Laps) - 1. 15-Donny Schatz [15] [$10,000]; 2. 1B-Dale Blaney [10] [$5,500]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [25] [$2,400]; 4. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [6] [$2,800]; 5. 70-Danny Holtgraver [2] [$2,500]; 6. 83-Joey Saldana [5] [$2,300]; 7. 18-Ian Madsen [18] [$2,200]; 8. 33M-Caleb Griffith [3] [$2,100]; 9. 7-Paul McMahan [14] [$2,050]; 10. 5R-Byron Reed [26] [$1,200]; 11. 5T-Travis Philo [11] [$1,500]; 12. 49-Brad Sweet [24] [$1,200]; 13. 7S-Jason Sides [20] [$1,100]; 14. 41-Jason Johnson [21] [$1,050]; 15. 45L-Brian Lay [7] [$1,000]; 16. 3G-James McFadden [1] [$900]; 17. 17-Josh Baughman [16] [$800]; 18. 10H-Chad Kemenah [23] [$800]; 19. 29-Kerry Madsen [17] [$800]; 20. 2X-Parker Price-Miller [8] [$800]; 21. 21-Cap Henry [9] [$800]; 22. 9X-Rob Chaney [13] [$800]; 23. 49D-Shawn Dancer [22] [$800]; 24. 26-Willie Croft [19] [$800]; 25. 1A-Jacob Allen [4] [$800]; 26. 11N-Randy Hannagan [12] [$800]. Lap Leaders: James McFadden 1-12, Sheldon Haudenschild 13-26, Donny Schatz 27-40. KSE Hard Charger Award: 9-Daryn Pittman [+22]
Qualifying Flight #1 - 1. 49D-Shawn Dancer, 12.709; 2. 83-Joey Saldana, 12.778; 3. 3G-James McFadden, 12.809; 4. 21-Cap Henry, 12.822; 5. 45L-Brian Lay, 12.846; 6. 33M-Caleb Griffith, 12.848; 7. 9X-Rob Chaney, 12.909; 8. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.923; 9. 29-Kerry Madsen, 12.930; 10. 41-Jason Johnson, 12.970; 11. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 13.015; 12. 17W-Bryan Clauson, 13.020; 13. 97-Dean Jacobs, 13.029; 14. 57X-Andrew Palker, 13.101; 15. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.140; 16. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.174; 17. 8M-T.J. Michael, 13.220; 18. O9X-Carson Macedo, 13.301; 19. 1ST-Gary Taylor, 13.379; 20. 12-Daniel Harding, 13.413; 21. 13-Clyde Knipp, 13.450; 22. 59-Jac Haudenschild, 13.479; 23. 40-Caleb Helms, 13.512; 24. 23-D.J. Foos, 13.540; 25. 7V-Shawn Valenti, 14.007; 26. 20N-Hunter Schuerenberg, 14.017;
Qualifying Flight #2: 1. 1B-Dale Blaney, 13.049; 2. 26-Willie Croft, 13.171; 3. 2X-Parker Price-Miller, 13.187; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.192; 5. 17-Josh Baughman, 13.251; 6. 70-Danny Holtgraver, 13.263; 7. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.343; 8. 11N-Randy Hannagan, 13.357; 9. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.372; 10. 7-Paul McMahan, 13.375; 11. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.377; 12. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.377; 13. 71M-Dave Blaney, 13.401; 14. 73-Chris Andrews, 13.415; 15. O9-Craig Mintz, 13.432; 16. 71-Jamie Veal, 13.450; 17. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.452; 18. 16-Stuart Brubaker, 13.459; 19. 5-David Gravel, 13.477; 20. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.478; 21. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 13.517; 22. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.519; 23. 2-Shane Stewart, 13.552; 24. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.886; 25. 25M-Kenny Mackey, 13.917; 26. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 18.961; 27. 9-Daryn Pittman, nt
Heat 1 - (10 Laps - Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 5T-Travis Philo [6]; 2. 21-Cap Henry [2]; 3. 9X-Rob Chaney [3]; 4. 49D-Shawn Dancer [1]; 5. 41-Jason Johnson [4]; 6. 1ST-Gary Taylor [7]; 7. 7V-Shawn Valenti [9]; 8. 97-Dean Jacobs [5]; 9. 59-Jac Haudenschild [8]
Heat 2 - (10 Laps - Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 83-Joey Saldana [1]; 2. 45L-Brian Lay [2]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 4. 8M-T.J. Michael [6]; 5. 10H-Chad Kemenah [4]; 6. 12-Daniel Harding [7]; 7. 57X-Andrew Palker [5]; 8. 40-Caleb Helms [8]; 9. 20N-Hunter Schuerenberg [9]
Heat 3 - (10 Laps - Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 33M-Caleb Griffith [2]; 2. 3G-James McFadden [1]; 3. 29-Kerry Madsen [3]; 4. 17W-Bryan Clauson [4]; 5. O9X-Carson Macedo [6]; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 7. 23-D.J. Foos [8]; 8. 13-Clyde Knipp [7]
Heat 4 - (10 Laps - Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 2. 1B-Dale Blaney [1]; 3. 7-Paul McMahan [4]; 4. 71-Jamie Veal [6]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [3]; 6. 5R-Byron Reed [8]; 7. 5-David Gravel [7]; 8. 71M-Dave Blaney [5]; 9. 25M-Kenny Mackey [9]
Heat 5 - (10 Laps - Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 2. 11N-Randy Hannagan [3]; 3. 17-Josh Baughman [2]; 4. 2-Shane Stewart [8]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [6]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [7]; 7. 73-Chris Andrews [5]; 8. 26-Willie Croft [1]; 9. 49X-Tim Shaffer [9]
Heat 6 - (10 Laps - Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 2X-Parker Price-Miller [1]; 2. 70-Danny Holtgraver [2]; 3. 18-Ian Madsen [3]; 4. 16-Stuart Brubaker [6]; 5. 9-Daryn Pittman [9]; 6. O9-Craig Mintz [5]; 7. 24-Rico Abreu [4]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart [8]; 9. 9Z-Duane Zablocki [7]
D-Main - (8 Laps - Top 2 finishers transfer to the C-Main) - 1. 5R-Byron Reed [2] []; 2. 2-Shane Stewart [4] []; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6] [$125]; 4. 40-Caleb Helms [1] [$125]; 5. 9-Daryn Pittman [10] [$125]; 6. 7V-Shawn Valenti [5] [$125]; 7. 25M-Kenny Mackey [8] [$125]; 8. 23-D.J. Foos [3] [$125]; 9. 20N-Hunter Schuerenberg [7] [$125]; 10. 49X-Tim Shaffer [9] [$125]; 11. 97-Dean Jacobs [11] [$125]
C-Main - (10 Laps - Top 2 finishers transfer to the Last Chance Showdown) - 1. 8M-T.J. Michael [1] [-]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [4] [-]; 3. 71-Jamie Veal [2] [$150]; 4. 2-Shane Stewart [14] [$150]; 5. 5-David Gravel [8] [$150]; 6. O9X-Carson Macedo [3] [$125]; 7. 5R-Byron Reed [13] [$125]; 8. 12-Daniel Harding [7] [$125]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [10] [$125]; 10. 13-Clyde Knipp [9] [$125]; 11. 16-Stuart Brubaker [6] [$125]; 12. 9Z-Duane Zablocki [12] [$125]; 13. 1ST-Gary Taylor [5] [$125]; 14. 59-Jac Haudenschild [11] [$125]
Last Chance Showdown - (12 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 26-Willie Croft [2] [-]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [4] [-]; 3. 41-Jason Johnson [3] [-]; 4. 49D-Shawn Dancer [1] [-]; 5. 10H-Chad Kemenah [5] [-]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [14] [-]; 7. O9-Craig Mintz [12] [$300]; 8. 8M-T.J. Michael [13] [$250]; 9. 71M-Dave Blaney [8] [$225]; 10. 11K-Kraig Kinser [11] [$200]; 11. 24-Rico Abreu [6] [$200]; 12. 17W-Bryan Clauson [7] [$200]; 13. 57X-Andrew Palker [9] [$200]; 14. 73-Chris Andrews [10] [$200]
CLAUSON ON CRUISE CONTROL AT THE BURG; CLAIMS VICTORY IN INDIANA SPRINT WEEK RD. 3
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray | richie@usacracing.com
CLAUSON ON CRUISE CONTROL AT THE BURG; CLAIMS VICTORY IN INDIANA SPRINT WEEK RD. 3
Lawrenceburg, Indiana..July 10, 2016 - Bryan Clauson continued his winning ways Sunday night during the third round of Indiana Sprint Week at Lawrenceburg Speedway, holding off a mid-race challenge from Josh Hodges and snookering the field on a late race restart to earn his 41st career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory, surpassing Gary Bettenhausen for seventh on the all-time list.
Clauson also collected his 111th career USAC-sanctioned feature victory, moving him into the top-five on the all-time list alongside some of the giants of the sport. Clauson now stands behind only Rich Vogler (171), A.J. Foyt (162), Sleepy Tripp (161) and Mel Kenyon (131) in career USAC wins.
Hunter Schuerenberg started the race from the pole position and, just as he did at Gas City two nights prior in the "Sprint Week" opener, shot out to the lead on the opening lap.
ProSource Fast Qualifier Clauson, meanwhile, had already made quick work disposing of Tyler Courtney, Justin Grant and Hodges to move from sixth to third on lap one.
With a single lap in the books, Kyle Wissmiller, who was making his first USAC Sprint Car start exactly eight years to the day of his last feature appearance in 2008, slid to a stop, bringing out the first yellow of the night.
On the ensuing restart, Clauson wasted no time resuming his charge to the front, slipping past April 2015 Lawrenceburg winner Logan Jarrett for second on the bottom off the exit of turn four.
Next on BC's radar was leader Schuerenberg, who saw his lead quickly evaporate as Clauson reeled him in in no-time flat by lap five. The duo drag raced to a dead heat at the flag stand, but Schuerenberg was able to hold steady for the time-being until Clauson was able to jet off the topside of turn four to complete the pass for the lead on lap six.
However, at the same moment, Jarett Andretti found himself turned around on the main straightaway, bringing out the caution.
Due to the lap not being fully completed, Schuerenberg would be reinserted into to the lead with Clauson relegated back to second.
On the restart, Clauson dove low, grabbing the bite off the bottom of the banking to recapturing the lead from Schuerenberg on the sixth circuit. Clauson would secure the spot for good in turn two as he slid up to the top, ripping away Schuerenberg's line and pulling away to a healthy advantage.
Quickly thereafter, Hodges grabbed second as Schuerenberg began to slip into the distance from the front of the pack. Hodges still had a more than half-straightaway deficit to overcome Clauson's lead, but a turn three tangle between April's Lawrenceburg USAC Sprint winner Dave Darland as well as Nick Bilbee and Zach Daum brought the yellow out, thereby erasing the gap and putting Hodges, an April USAC/CRA Sprint Car feature winner at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway, squarely behind the rear bumper of Clauson on the restart with 17 laps to go.
After the green flag waved, Hodges was able to hang right along with leader Clauson, chipping away at the interval little-by-little. Clauson ran his machine up top against the wall at both ends of the racetrack while Hodges ran side-by-side with Clauson, pulling even with the leader while utilizing the bottom line between turns three and four and the middle in turns one and two to pose a formidable challenge to Clauson's throne at the front throughout the middle portion of the 30-lap event.
On the 17th lap, Clauson dove to the bottom between turns three and four to see if that suited his liking, but that was short-lived as Clauson migrated back to the topside for lap 18, and each lap thereafter, as he began to gap himself and Hodges, constructing his lead to three seconds as Hodges began to drop.
With eight to go, Friday night Gas City winner Courtney started to come alive during crunch time, sticking a slide job on Schuerenberg for third in turn three and repeating the move on Hodges in turn one for the second spot with five laps remaining.
Third-running Schuerenberg's race came to an abrupt end just three laps from the finish, slowing to a stop in a puff of smoke between turns three and four, which set up one final restart - a rematch between the rapidly-closing Courtney and Clauson for a three-lap shootout.
Clauson quickly thwarted any thoughts Courtney had of repeating his Gas City triumph, blasting away to a substantial advantage heading into turn one on the restart. Nobody was able to mount a serious challenge to Clauson's supremacy during the final three laps as he pulled away for the victory in his Dooling-Hayward/B & H Contractors - Cancer Treatment Centers of America/Spike/Stanton Mopar over Courtney, Windom, Leary and Hodges.
Noblesville, Indiana's Clauson moved into the top-five in all-time Indiana Sprint Week wins with his seventh career checkered flag Sunday night at "The Burg" while also capturing his seventh USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory of the 2016 season, already equaling his best single-season win total in the series, which he accomplished during his back-to-back championship years in 2012 and 2013.
"I wanted to catch everybody by surprise on that last restart and it worked," Clauson said. "We were a little tight on the curb, so I didn't know how aggressive to be on it, but we were able to get to the front early on. It's hard sometimes, when you're out front, to know what pace to run, but we held them off. When I saw Hodges on the bottom, I went down there just to feel it out, but felt like it'd take me too long to figure out how to run it. The cushion on both ends on exit was pretty big and, if you hit it wrong, it would throw the nose. I had to be careful, but those guys behind us made me pick up the pace more than what I had been doing up to that point. Our car was good, I just had it on cruise control and tried not to make any mistakes."
Courtney, of Indianapolis, Indiana, not only retained his Indiana Sprint Week point lead with his second place run in his TOPP Motorsports/Maxim/Chevy, but extended it from 2 to 22 points over Brady Bacon and Chris Windom heading into the final four-race stretch of "Sprint Week" at the Terre Haute Action Track on Wednesday, July 13.
"I can't ask for much more, other than to have won the last two nights," Courtney said. "That last restart shows why Bryan (Clauson) is the best because he snookered the whole field. I didn't really know what to do because we're supposed to stay in line but that's the way it goes. We were pretty decent; Bryan was a little better, obviously, but we'll get it tuned up again and probably head to Terre Haute now."
Windom, of Canton, Illinois, took the Baldwin Brothers Racing/Fox Paving - AMSOIL/Maxim/Claxton Mopar to another solid third place run, tying him for second in Indiana Sprint Week points alongside Brady Bacon.
"I didn't need all those cautions at the beginning because we were better on the long run," Windom admitted. "I was trying to make something work on the middle to bottom and I could get those guys off the bottom of four when they'd get bottled up running the top. We fell back to 11th or something at some point, so to charge back up to third is good. We're right there in the hunt for this Sprint Week title, so if we can keep knocking out podiums, we're going to be in good shape."
Contingency award winners at Lawrenceburg Speedway included Bryan Clauson (ProSource Fast Qualifier), Brady Bacon (Simpson Race Products First Heat Race Winner), Nick Bilbee (Competition Suspension, Inc. (CSI) Second Heat Race Winner), Chris Windom (Benic Enterprises Third Heat Race Winner), Jon Stanbrough (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Race Winner & Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Feature Finisher) and Kyle Cummins (KSE Racing Products/B&W Auto Mart Hard Charger).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 10, 2016 - Lawrenceburg, Indiana - Lawrenceburg Speedway - "Indiana Sprint Week"
PROSOURCE QUALIFYING: 1. Bryan Clauson, 63, Dooling/Hayward-14.166; 2. Tyler Courtney, 23c, TOPP-14.179; 3. Justin Grant, 71p, Phillips-14.188; 4. Aaron Farney, 15F, Farney-14.292; 5. Kyle Robbins, 17R, Robbins-14.297; 6. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-14.312; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4J, 4J Motorsports-14.363; 8. Logan Jarrett, 29, Jarrett-14.375; 9. Hunter Schuerenberg, 2E, Epperson-14.432; 10. Tyler Thomas, 04, Burton-14.444; 11. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-14.447; 12. C.J. Leary, 17GP, Dutcher-14.463; 13. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.470; 14. Shawn Westerfeld, 89, Westerfeld-14.473; 15. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-14.493; 16. Jon Stanbrough, 81, Stanbrough-14.506; 17. Mario Clouser, 6, Clouser-14.509; 18. Kyle Wissmiller, 3, Simmons-14.516; 19. Cole Ketcham, 41k, Ketcham-14.516; 20. Dave Darland, 11, Walker/Curb-Agajanian-14.530; 21. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-14.619; 22. Nick Bilbee, 17N, Bilbee-14.623; 23. Landon Simon, 24, Simon-14.676; 24. Joss Moffatt, 5J, Moffatt-14.678; 25. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-14.682; 26. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-14.709; 27. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-14.745; 28. Tony DiMattia, 50, DiMattia-14.766; 29. Robert Ballou, 1, Ballou-14.780; 30. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR-14.817; 31. Chad Boespflug, 98E, NineEight/EZR-14.832; 32. Justin Owen, 4JO, Fischesser-14.846; 33. Garrett Abrams, 32A, Abrams-14.897; 34. Max McGhee, 17, McGhee-14.953; 35. Dickie Gaines, 44, Soudrette-14.962; 36. Bret Mellenberndt, 97, Mellenberndt-14.977; 37. Michael Fischesser, 4, Fischesser-14.990; 38. Travis Hery, 21H, Hery-15.147; 39. Thomas Meseraull, 66, Amati-15.254; 40. Jamie Williams, 31, Williams-15.509; 41. Steve Thomas, 20, Thomas-16.206; 42. Shane Cottle, 57, Hazen-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Bacon, 2. Schuerenberg, 3. Andretti, 4. Clauson, 5. Ballou, 6. Clouser, 7. Robbins, 8. Goodnight, 9. Abrams, 10. Fischesser, 11. S.Thomas. 2:26.47
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Bilbee, 2. Wissmiller, 3. Courtney, 4. Hodges, 5. Stockon, 6. Westerfeld, 7. Chapple, 8. McGhee, 9. T.Thomas, 10. Hery. 2:28.82
BENIC ENTERPRISES THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Windom, 2. Daum, 3. Simon, 4. Grant, 5. K.Thomas, 6. Cummins, 7. Ketcham, 8. Meseraull, 9. Boespflug, 10. Gaines. 2:29.10
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Stanbrough, 2. Darland, 3. Moffatt, 4. Jarrett, 5. Leary, 6. Mellenberndt, 7. DiMattia, 8. Farney, 9. Owen, 10. Williams. NT
C-MAIN: (10 laps) 1. Boespflug, 2. Meseraull, 3. Abrams, 4. Gaines, 5. Mellenberndt, 6. Hery, 7. Owen, 8. Fischesser, 9. S.Thomas. 2:39.57
SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Leary, 2. Ballou, 3. K.Thomas, 4. T.Thomas, 5. Cummins, 6. Stockon, 7. Westerfeld, 8. Ketcham, 9. Clouser, 10. Goodnight, 11. Gaines, 12. Abrams, 13. DiMattia, 14. Chapple, 15. Boespflug, 16. Meseraull, 17. Farney, 18. Robbins. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Tyler Courtney, 3. Chris Windom, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Josh Hodges, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Kyle Cummins, 9. Robert Ballou, 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 11. Jarett Andretti, 12. Chase Stockon, 13. Jon Stanbrough, 14. Zach Daum, 15. Landon Simon, 16. Dave Darland, 17. Tyler Thomas, 18. Thomas Meseraull, 19. Hunter Schuerenberg, 20. Logan Jarrett, 21. Nick Bilbee, 22. Chad Boespflug, 23. Kyle Wissmiller, 24. Joss Moffatt. NT
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**Farney & Williams flipped during the fourth heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Schuerenberg, Laps 6-30 Clauson.
KSE/B & W AUTO MART HARD CHARGER: Kyle Cummins (20th to 8th)
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Bacon-1,694, 2-Ballou-1,507, 3-Meseraull-1,491, 4-Stockon-1,473, 5-Darland-1,389, 6-Leary-1,344, 7-Boespflug-1,311; 8-Windom-1,220, 9-McGhee-1,158, 10-Clauson-962.
NEW USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK POINTS: 1-Courtney-215, 2-Bacon & Windom-193, 4-Clauson-188, 5-Ballou-177, 6-Cummins-166, 7-Thomas Jr.-142, 8-Andretti-136, 9-Stockon-130, 10-S.Cottle-129.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 13 - Terre Haute (IN) Action Track - "Indiana Sprint Week" - "Don Smith Classic"
Danny Holtgraver Scores $10,000 during 8th Annual Lou Blaney Memorial
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Artic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions
(724) 954-4915
altmeyer119@gmail.com
tyler@tonystewart.com
Danny Holtgraver Scores $10,000 during 8th Annual Lou Blaney Memorial
First ever Arctic Cat All Star victory at Sharon Speedway
HARTFORD, Ohio (July 9, 2016) - “Downtown” Danny Holtgraver scored the largest Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions victory of his career on Saturday night at Sharon Speedway, claiming the eighth annual Lou Blaney Memorial worth $10,000. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native led all 30 circuits at the Hartford, Ohio, oval, surviving a last restart bobble to eventually hold back fourth row starter Sheldon Haudenschild and Ohio veteran Dean Jacobs at the final checkers. Holtgraver now owns two Arctic Cat All Star wins in 2016, raising his career win total to 11.
“I had to keep things exciting I guess,” explained Danny Holtgraver regarding the main event’s last restart. “I didn’t quite get the restart that I wanted. I’m not sure if I was nervous, or just excited, but all that matters is we made it through it and got this one. This means so much to this team. I can’t thank everyone enough. These guys have been giving me some awesome race cars lately. I’m having so much fun.”
Danny Holtgraver started second on the main event grid, jumping to an early advantage over Josh Baughman and Caleb Griffith. After two cautions on lap two, one of which involving Josh Baughman with nose wing damage, green flag competition resumed with Holtgraver holding the point. The pilot of Pete Grove’s Premier Motorsports/No. 70 reached the tail of the field by lap five, navigating safely on the topside of the speedway before approaching even heavier traffic by lap ten. In the meantime, Dean Jacobs, who started fifth on the feature grid, worked his way into second on lap four, setting chase on Holtgraver’s Premier Motorsports entry. Despite the traffic, Jacobs never lost sight of the leader, keeping Holtgraver within a few car lengths until caution lights reappeared on lap 19.
Competition resumed with Holtgraver maintaining his position at the front of the field, flanked by Dean Jacobs and now Sheldon Haudenschild. Six more laps would be completed with the same running order, only to be stopped by caution lights on lap 25, setting up a clear track and clean air once again for Danny Holtgraver.
Not without a restart hiccup, nearly making contact with the front stretch wall, Holtgraver brought the field back to green for the final time of the night. Sheldon Haudenschild made a surge to second on lap 25, driving by Dean Jacobs who started to feel the effects of a damaged nose wing. Even after the stumble, clean air and a clear track proved to be an advantage for Holtgraver, driving on to secure $10,000 by nearly two seconds. It was his first ever Lou Blaney Memorial title and his first ever Arctic Cat All Star victory at Sharon Speedway.
“It was just a great night all together,” Holtgraver explained. “This team has been on a pretty good streak lately. Everything is really clicking and we’ve been getting more and more comfortable with each other. We’re having so much fun. That’s probably the most important part. The stress is gone and the pressure is gone. We can get to the track and just enjoy what we are doing. I can’t wait to try to do it again next weekend.”
The Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions will continue their 2016 campaign with an appearance at the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. “America’s Series” will join the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series during their appearance at the World’s Greatest Dirt Track, taking part in the 33rd annual Kings Royal. The Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions will officially join the Kings Royal agenda during the $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday night, July 16. The appearance will be worth show up points only. Shane Stewart is the defending event winner, scoring the $50,000 top prize over Jason Johnson and Rico Abreu a year ago.
Those seeking additional information regarding the 33rd annual Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway should visit the “Big E” online at www.eldoraspeedway.com.
Contingency Awards/Results: Sharon Speedway - Saturday, July 9, 2016:
Event: 8th Annual Lou Blaney Memorial
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 39 Entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Dean Jacobs - 13.071 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Dale Blaney - 12.990 seconds
Kistler Racing Products Heat #1: Josh Baughman
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2:Caleb Griffith
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Sheldon Haudenschild
Classic Ink USA Heat #4: Bryan Sebetto
JE Pistons Dash: Josh Baughman
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Danny Holtgraver
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Cap Henry (+13)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Dale Blaney
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: Cap Henry
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: T.J. Michael
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse; Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
1.1-Dale Blaney, 12.990; 2.97-Dean Jacobs, 13.008; 3.70-Danny Holtgraver, 13.138; 4.5T-Travis Philo, 13.166; 5.71m-Dave Blaney, 13.169; 6.93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.179; 7.17-Josh Baughman, 13.214; 8.10H-Chad Kemenah, 13.253; 9.11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.333; 10.33M-Caleb Griffith, 13.379; 11.23JR-Jack Sodeman, 13.414; 12.81-Lee Jacobs, 13.427; 13.8-Bryan Sebetto, 13.458; 14.8M-TJ Michael, 13.464; 15.40-Caleb Helms, 13.472; 16.49x-Tim Shaffer, 13.494; 17.73-Chris Andrews, 13.522; 18.21-Cap Henry, 13.530; 19.10-Carl Bowser, 13.545; 20.57X-Andrew Palker, 13.553; 21.22-Brandon Spithaler, 13.694; 22.19-Joe Kubiniec, 13.701; 23.46-Michael Bauer, 13.727; 24.5K-Adam Kekich, 13.789; 25.60-Kory Crabtree, 13.792; 26.49H-Bradley Howard, 13.876; 27.13-Brandon Matus, 13.889; 28.2-AJ Flick, 13.984; 29.4N-Jim Morris, 14.030; 30.57-Gary Edwards, 14.048; 31.4W-Eric Williams, 14.182; 32.33-Brent Matus, 14.222; 33.23M-Lance Moss, 14.256; 34.23-Darren Pifer, 14.259; 35.O8-Dan Kuriger, 14.334; 36.24-Alex Paden, 14.390; 37.1R-Gale Ruth Jr., 14.649; 38.4C-Paul Kish, 15.083; 39.12X-Michael Flynn, 16.059;
Heat 1, Group A - (8 Laps)
1. 17-Josh Baughman[2] ; 2. 10-Carl Bowser[1] ; 3. 71m-Dave Blaney[3] ; 4. 1-Dale Blaney[4] ; 5. 46-Michael Bauer[6] ; 6. 49H-Bradley Howard[7] ; 7. 1R-Gale Ruth Jr.[9] ; 8. 4W-Eric Williams[8] ; 9. 4C-Paul Kish[10] ; 10. 22-Brandon Spithaler[5]
Heat 2, Group B - (8 Laps)
1. 33M-Caleb Griffith[1] ; 2. 70-Danny Holtgraver[3] ; 3. 97-Dean Jacobs[4] ; 4. 40-Caleb Helms[6] ; 5. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 6. 21-Cap Henry[7] ; 7. 81-Lee Jacobs[5] ; 8. 13-Brandon Matus[9] ; 9. 33-Brent Matus[10] ; 10. 60-Kory Crabtree[8]
Heat 3, Group C - (8 Laps)
1. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[4] ; 2. 23JR-Jack Sodeman[2] ; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser[3] ; 4. 49x-Tim Shaffer[5] ; 5. 73-Chris Andrews[6] ; 6. 23M-Lance Moss[10] ; 7. 2-AJ Flick[9] ; 8. 5K-Adam Kekich[8] ; 9. 57X-Andrew Palker[7] ; 10. 8M-TJ Michael[1]
Heat 4, Group D - (8 Laps)
1. 8-Bryan Sebetto[3] ; 2. 10H-Chad Kemenah[4] ; 3. 19-Joe Kubiniec[2] ; 4. 4N-Jim Morris[1] ; 5. O8-Dan Kuriger[7] ; 6. 57-Gary Edwards[5] ; 7. 24-Alex Paden[8] ; 8. 12X-Michael Flynn[9] ; 9. 23-Darren Pifer[6]
Dash - (6 Laps)
1. 17-Josh Baughman[2] ; 2. 70-Danny Holtgraver[1] ; 3. 1-Dale Blaney[3] ; 4. 33M-Caleb Griffith[4] ; 5. 97-Dean Jacobs[6] ; 6. 23JR-Jack Sodeman[5] ; 7. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[7] ; 8. 10H-Chad Kemenah[8]
B-Main 1 - (12 Laps)
1. 81-Lee Jacobs[1] ; 2. 8M-TJ Michael[2] ; 3. 57X-Andrew Palker[4] ; 4. 21-Cap Henry[3] ; 5. 22-Brandon Spithaler[5] ; 6. 2-AJ Flick[10] ; 7. 5K-Adam Kekich[6] ; 8. 13-Brandon Matus[9] ; 9. 49H-Bradley Howard[8] ; 10. 60-Kory Crabtree[7] ; 11. 23M-Lance Moss[14] ; 12. 57-Gary Edwards[11] ; 13. 24-Alex Paden[16] ; 14. 4W-Eric Williams[12] ; 15. 4C-Paul Kish[18] ; 16. 12X-Michael Flynn[19] ; 17. 33-Brent Matus[13] ; 18. 23-Darren Pifer[15] ; 19. 1R-Gale Ruth Jr.[17]
A-Main 1 - (30 Laps)
1. 70-Danny Holtgraver[2] ; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[7] ; 3. 97-Dean Jacobs[5] ; 4. 10H-Chad Kemenah[8] ; 5. 1-Dale Blaney[3] ; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser[12] ; 7. 49x-Tim Shaffer[15] ; 8. 40-Caleb Helms[14] ; 9. 71m-Dave Blaney[11] ; 10. 21-Cap Henry[23] ; 11. 57X-Andrew Palker[24] ; 12. 8-Bryan Sebetto[9] ; 13. 10-Carl Bowser[10] ; 14. 23JR-Jack Sodeman[6] ; 15. 8M-TJ Michael[22] ; 16. 49H-Bradley Howard[26] ; 17. 81-Lee Jacobs[21] ; 18. 33M-Caleb Griffith[4] ; 19. 46-Michael Bauer[17] ; 20. 5T-Travis Philo[18] ; 21. 19-Joe Kubiniec[13] ; 22. 73-Chris Andrews[19] ; 23. 4N-Jim Morris[16] ; 24. 17-Josh Baughman[1] ; 25. O8-Dan Kuriger[20] ; 26. 60-Kory Crabtree[25]
Current Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Standings:
1. Chad Kemenah - 2952
2. Dale Blaney - 2904
3. Sheldon Haudenschild - 2856
4. Cap Henry - 2764
5. Danny Holtgraver - 2756
6. Kraig Kinser - 2696
7. T.J. Michael - 2660
8. Lee Jacobs - 2522
9. Caleb Helms - 2512
10. Andrew Palker - 2318
Additional Arctic Cat All Star Series Info:
Those seeking additional information regarding the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions should visit their official online home at www.allstarsprint.com. Series updates and breaking news will be posted regularly on the official Twitter account of the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions: https://twitter.com/ASCoC. Find full text results from each and every event, as well as an up-to-date schedule, online at www.allstarsprint.com/schedule/.
About the Arctic Cat 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. After a 10 year stint as owner of the All Stars, Miller passed control of the series to Bert Emick in 1980; a reign that would continue through 2002. Guy Webb then purchased the series from Emick in the summer of 2002 and served as the series President for the next 12 years. 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.
About Arctic Cat:
The Arctic Cat brand is among the most widely recognized and respected in the recreational vehicle industry. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and markets all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), side-by-sides and snowmobiles, in addition to related parts, garments and accessories under the Arctic Cat® and Motorfist® brand names. Arctic Cat Inc.’s world headquarters is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “ACAT.” More information about Arctic Cat and its products is available at www.ArcticCat.com.
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions
(724) 954-4915
altmeyer119@gmail.com
tyler@tonystewart.com
Donny Schatz Scores Lucky No. 13 at FVP Outlaws at Cedar Lake
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Contact: Aaron Fiedler
World of Outlaws and DIRTcar PR
704-795-7223 | afiedler@dirtcar.com
Donny Schatz Scores Lucky No. 13 at FVP Outlaws at Cedar Lake
Scores his fifth career Outlaws win at Cedar Lake
NEW RICHMOND, Wisc. - July 9, 2016 - Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet battled throughout much of Saturday night's FVP Outlaws at Cedar Lake feature at Cedar Lake Speedway, as they traded the lead back and forth through lapped traffic and cautions, but it was Schatz who held tough to score his 13th World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series victory of the season.
"I've got to thank these guys," Schatz said. "They're incredible in what they do."
Schatz, who closed out the previous night at Cedar Lake with a close second place run, jumped out to an early lead in Saturday night's main event with Sweet hot on his trail. Through the first five laps, Sweet looked for a way around but Schatz held tough.
The first caution of the night came out on lap 13 and on the restart, Schatz and Sweet resumed their battle as David Gravel began challenging Willie Croft for third. Gravel eventually took over the third spot with a pass on the high side off of turn two.
Meanwhile, Sweet was throwing sliders on Schatz through turns one and two. On lap 13, he made it stick but Schatz battled back by. The next lap, Sweet did it again, but this time, held the position.
Through traffic though, Schatz again pulled even with the No. 49 Ollies Bargain Outlet car of Sweet, and led again briefly. Through the next six laps, Sweet held a precarious lead on Schatz, as the reigning and seven time series champion bided his time.
Sweet gave Schatz a chance as he slipped up coming off of turn four and Schatz, glued to the low line, got around him. The next time into turns one and two, Sweet again took an aggressive line that cost him momentum. This time, it was third running David Gravel who took his chance and battled forward for the second spot in his No. 5 Big Game Treestands car.
Through several late race cautions, Sweet hand his hands full with a number of drivers including his own Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb teammate, Daryn Pittman. Pittman found his way by in the waning laps to take the final position on the podium.
Schatz crossed the line in first, his fifth career Outlaws win at Cedar Lake. Gravel closed out the night and the weekend double-heading in second with Pittman in third. Despite the success at the track, Schatz said Cedar Lake has always been challenging for him.
"We never really can seem to get a good feel here," Schatz said. "I don't know what it is… we just had to bide our time, we were awfully tight in the beginning. I guess when you know you can't do better, you just try to save your tires. Last night I just killed the tires. We had a way better racecar at the end and that's what counts."
For Gravel, the finish is his third podium run in the last five races. He currently sits fifth in the championship standings, just two points out of fourth and six points out of third.
"We qualified well tonight so we put ourselves in a lot better position," Gravel said. "I think I finished second here three times so Cedar Lake has been pretty good to me. Donny was really good - I think we needed lapped traffic.
"We'll take second tonight. We've had a lot of podium finishes. Hopefully we can get some wins here.
Pittman battled late and fought hard to take home his first podium finish in nearly two weeks.
"It's a good result, good finish for our Great Clips team," Pittman said. "We've just got to figure out what's going on the first 10 laps of the race. I feel like we've been the fastest car on the race track the last 10 laps of the last couple of races. Tonight we were really good - we just gave up too many spots early. The last 10 laps were a lot of fun, we got it going in the right direction and we'll keep working at it."
Sweet scored his eighth quick time award of the season after a lap of 11.581. Greg Wilson was the night's KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing 11 positions to finish in ninth.
The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series takes on the Brad Doty Classic at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park on Tuesday, July 12. For more information and to learn how to purchase tickets, visit WoOSprint.com/Brad-Doty-Classic.
Follow the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series on Twitter at Twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook at Facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, or check out the latest videos on YouTube at YouTube.com/WorldofOutlaws.
Cedar Lake Speedway Notebook
RACE NOTES: Brad Sweet added another quick time award in 2016 - his eighth of the season… One night after finishing second, Schatz scored his 13th win of the season… The win tonight is Schatz's fifth career Outlaws win at Cedar Lake. He won on night two last season… Greg Wilson was the night's KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing 11 positions to finish in ninth.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS - MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Clyde Knipp; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Greg Wilson; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Brad Sweet; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Greg Wilson; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; Morton Buildings ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): David Gravel; Super Flow ($50 cash): Jason Sides; Craftsman/Sears ($100 cash): Willie Croft;KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Greg Wilson; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Donny Schatz; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Jason Sides; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Clyde Knipp.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz - 13 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 4, Stockton Dirt Track on March 18, Stockton Dirt Track on March 19, Silver Dollar Speedway on April 2, Lincoln Speedway on May 19, Weedsport Speedway on May 22, Lincoln Park Speedway on June 8, Knoxville Raceway on June 11, River Cities Speedway on June 17, Rockford Speedway on June 29, Badlands Motor Speedway on July 3, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 9); Brad Sweet - 7 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Cotton Bowl Speedway on Feb. 26, Ocean Speedway on April 1, Bakersfield Speedway on April 15, Plymouth Speedway on May 13, Badlands Motor Speedway on July 2); Daryn Pittman - 5 (Royal Purple Raceway on Feb. 27, Perris Auto Speedway on April 16, USA Raceway on April 18, New Egypt Speedway on May 24, Jackson Motorplex on June 24); Shane Stewart - 5 (Arizona Speedway on March 6, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 23, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 30, Granite City Speedway on June 15, Brown County Speedway on June 19); Joey Saldana - 4 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 3, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 22, Jacksonville Speedway on May 4, I-80 Speedway on June 22); David Gravel - 3 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 12, Tri-State Speedway on May 14, I-96 Speedway on June 6); Kerry Madsen - 2 (Eldora Speedway on May 6 and 7); Bill Balog - 1 (Beaver Dam Raceway on June 25); Lance Dewease - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 20); Chad Kemenah - 1 (Fremont Speedway on June 3); Jason Johnson - 1 (Placerville Speedway on March 24); Terry McCarl - 1 (Knoxville Raceway on June 10);Logan Schuchart - 1 (Cedar Lake Speedway on July 9); Jason Sides - 1 (I-30 Speedway on April 26); Greg Wilson - 1 (The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 27).
World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Cedar Lake Speedway; New Richmond, Wisc.; July 9, 2016.
A-Main - (35 Laps) - 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 5-David Gravel [3]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [9]; 4. 41-Jason Johnson [5]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [8]; 7. 24-Rico Abreu [6]; 8. 83-Joey Saldana [15]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [20]; 10. 2-Shane Stewart [12]; 11. 29-Kerry Madsen [18]; 12. 7-Paul McMahan [21]; 13. 21K-Thomas Kennedy [7]; 14. 21-Brian Brown [10]; 15. 17B-Bill Balog [14]; 16. 26-Willie Croft [2]; 17. 41X-Dominic Scelzi [13]; 18. 7S-Jason Sides [16]; 19. 1A-Jacob Allen [19]; 20. 16-Travis Whitney [22]; 21. 19-Paige Polyak [23]; 22. 13-Clyde Knipp [17]; 23. 5G-Dave Glennon [24]; 24. 64-Scotty Thiel [11]. Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-14, 16, 24-35; Brad Sweet 15, 17-23. KSE Hard Charger Award: W20-Greg Wilson [+11]
Qualifying - 1. 49-Brad Sweet, 11.581; 2. 24-Rico Abreu, 11.671; 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 11.684; 4. 5-David Gravel, 11.719; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen, 11.756; 6. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.797; 7. 21K-Thomas Kennedy, 11.813; 8. 17B-Bill Balog, 11.866; 9. 9-Daryn Pittman, 11.868; 10. 41X-Dominic Scelzi, 11.869; 11. 26-Willie Croft, 11.885; 12. 29-Kerry Madsen, 11.929; 13. 7S-Jason Sides, 11.937; 14. 16-Travis Whitney, 11.941; 15. 7-Paul McMahan, 11.957; 16. 21-Brian Brown, 11.962; 17. 64-Scotty Thiel, 11.985; 18. 2-Shane Stewart, 12.013; 19. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.024; 20. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.024; 21. 83-Joey Saldana, 12.073; 22. 5G-Dave Glennon, 12.084; 23. 19-Paige Polyak, 12.174; 24. 9Z-Jared Goerges, 12.268; 25. 19L-Rob Caho, 12.392; 26. 13-Clyde Knipp, 12.627; 27. 29L-Leigh Thomas, 13.134
Heat 1 - (10 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 5-David Gravel [2]; 3. 21K-Thomas Kennedy [3]; 4. 21-Brian Brown [6]; 5. 41X-Dominic Scelzi [4]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [7]; 8. 5G-Dave Glennon [8]; 9. 19L-Rob Caho [9]
Heat 2 - (10 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 24-Rico Abreu [1]; 2. 26-Willie Croft [4]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [7]; 4. 64-Scotty Thiel [6]; 5. 17B-Bill Balog [3]; 6. 13-Clyde Knipp [9]; 7. 16-Travis Whitney [5]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 9. 19-Paige Polyak [8]
Heat 3 - (10 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 41-Jason Johnson [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [3]; 4. 2-Shane Stewart [6]; 5. 83-Joey Saldana [7]; 6. 29-Kerry Madsen [4]; 7. 7-Paul McMahan [5]; 8. 29L-Leigh Thomas [9]; 9. 9Z-Jared Goerges [8]
Dash - (8 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature) - 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 26-Willie Croft [2]; 3. 5-David Gravel [3]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [6]; 5. 41-Jason Johnson [4]; 6. 24-Rico Abreu [5]
Last Chance Showdown - (12 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 1A-Jacob Allen [1]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson [4]; 3. 7-Paul McMahan [3]; 4. 16-Travis Whitney [2]; 5. 19-Paige Polyak [6]; 6. 5G-Dave Glennon [5]; 7. 29L-Leigh Thomas [9]; 8. 19L-Rob Caho [8]; 9. 9Z-Jared Goerges [7]
Thunder on the Hill News
Posted by: | CommentsJULY 10, 2016
CONACT: BOB MILLER 443 513 4456
NAPA AUTO PARTS THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES & PIONEER POLE BUILDINGS PRESENT. . . . .
CHAMBERLAIN, BRIGHTBILL, ‘THE DOCTOR’ AND MORE AT TRAFFIC JAM MEET & GREET THURSDAY, JULY 14 AT GRANDVIEW
BECHTELSVILLE, PA (July 10, 2016) – A pre-race event of epic proportions highlights an exciting day of action when the Super DIRTCar Series Big-Block Modifieds compete in the NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series at the Grandview Speedway in a 60-Lap event paying $7,000 to the winner on Thursday night, July 14. This special night of racing is sponsored by Pioneer Pole Buildings.
The big night of racing will kick off with a Meet & Greet combining legends from another era, present day icons and future stars! The Low Down and Dirty Radio Show Meet & Greet starts at 5 PM, with two of the most prolific Modified drivers ever.
Kenny Brightbill of Sinking Spring, PA claimed over 400 wins in a variety of divisions at nearly every race track in the region spanning a nearly 50-year racing career. He is a member of the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame, National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame and the New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame.
Gerald Chamberlain, vividly remembered as ‘The Everett Express’, claimed over 600 career wins and is part of the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame – inducted as part of the inaugural class in 1992.
“The Doctor” Danny Johnson is a 4-time Super DIRTCar Series Big-Block Modified Champion and sits second on the Big-Block Modified All-Time Win List. Johnson, of Rochester, NY, will pilot the Traction Grabber No. 27J Big-Block Modified in the 60-lap Traffic Jam main event – but before that, the future hall of famer will sign autographs and meet with fans.
The Meet and Greet rounds out with two up-and-coming drivers forging their way to Modified greatness. Super DIRTCar Series regular Keith Flach, of Ravena, NY, pilots the Flach Companies/Gould Erectors No. 43 machine. Flach is a regular and feature winner at the Lebanon Valley Speedway. Joining Flach is New Jersey-Pennsylvania region hot shoe, Dominick Buffalino, of Morganville, NJ. Buffalino has claimed victories at both New Jersey race tracks this season, steering the Michael Dow Electric No. 51M.
The Low Down and Dirt Meet and Greet is free of charge and takes place in front of the Grandview Speedway main entrance. Fans are encouraged to bring items for these competitors to autograph, as well as, take pictures and share stories.
The Pre-Race excitement doesn’t stop there.
NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill mainstay fan activities include the Inside/Out Program: where fans have the opportunity to sign-up -- free of charge – and watch competitors hot lap from the infield of the Grandview Speedway. This unique view of the racing action puts fans close to dirt track inside the turn 4 guardrail.
Thunder on the Hill Pit Tours give fans a behind-the-scenes look at what teams to do prepare for racing action. Fans can sign-up free of charge and get a guided tour of the pit area, prior to racing action.
Over 800 horsepower of action concludes the night activities. The region’s greatest competitors battle it out door-to-door, and wheel-to-wheel grinding for the lucrative $7,000 winner’s share in the final area appearance of the Super DIRTCar Series Big-Block Modifieds. The 19th Annual Traffic Jam payout has expanded from the series norm offering $1,000 for tenth place and $500 to all competitors that start the Feature event.
More than 20 contracted Super DIRTCar Series competitors join over a dozen anticipated Pennyslvania-New Jersey-Delaware competitors making the 19th Annual Traffic Jam presented by Pioneer Pole Buildings a must-see event.
Along with the Big-Block Modifieds, the very popular Sportsman division races for $1,200 to win the 25-lap event. Nine different winners have claimed victories in Grandview Speedway Sportsman action, combine that with a contingent of invaders and you have a Sportsman event that would make any true race fan’s mouth water.
General Admission tickets for Thursday, July 14 are $25 for Adults, $10 for Children 6-11 and Free for Children Under 6. Pit Admission is $35, no license is required.
Pit Gates open at 2:30 PM, Driver’s Meeting is at 6:15 PM, Hot Laps at 6:45 PM and Racing Starts at 7:30 PM.
Advance tickets are on sale now and may be ordered by calling 443-513-4456. Please provide your name and the number of tickets requested. Tickets may be picked up and paid for on race night after 4:00 PM. Advance ticket holders may enter the grandstands at 4:30 PM, one half hour prior to the sale of General Admission tickets.
Celebrating the 27th season of racing action NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series always includes fun for the fans with activities such as Pre-Race Pit Tours, the Inside/Out Experience - where fans can sign-up to watch hot laps from the infield, JOE "THE PIZZA DUDE", giveaways, fireworks and appearances by the Thunder Girls.
NAPA Auto Parts continues their long run with Thunder on the Hill as the Series title sponsor joined by Pioneer Pole Buildings, Quaker Steak & Lube, and GALCO Business Communications.
For full rules, format, purse and information visit: www.thunderonthehillracingseries.com
Grandview Speedway
GPS USERS: 43 Passmore Road, Bechtelsville, PA 19505
Located less than a mile off Route 100, 10 miles north of Pottstown, PA
Speedway Phone: 610-754-7688
Thunder on the Hill Racing Series Phone: 443-513-4456
Series Website: www.thunderonthehillracingseries.com
Track Website:www.grandviewspeedway.com
Twitter/Instagram: @TOTHRACING, #TOTHRACING
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thunderonthehill
2016 Thunder on the Hill Event Dates:
Thursday, July 14
19th Annual Traffic Jam
Super DIRTCar Series Big-Block Modifieds and Sportsman
Tuesday, July 26
2nd Annual Thunder Cup
410 Sprint Cars and 358 Modifieds
2 Sprint Features & 2 Modified Features
Thursday, August 18
All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series
410 Sprint Cars and TSRS Sprint Cars
Early Entries: Steve Kinser & Sammy Swindell
Saturday, October 15
Mods at the Madhouse Halloween Party
358 NASCAR Modifieds, Sportsman, and TSRS Sprint Cars
About Thunder on the Hill Racing Series
The brainchild of Grandview Speedway owner Bruce Rogers, special events promoter Bob Miller and local driving star Dave Kelly, the Thunder on the Hill Racing Series celebrates 27 years of the most anticipated events of the racing calendar year after year. In 119 events, over $4 million dollars has been divvied up among the area’s fastest racers. What started as a single 410 Sprint Car event in 1990 has blossomed to feature a variety of racing action including 358 Modifieds, USAC Wingless Sprints, 360 & 410 Sprint Cars, Sportsman, Late Models, Midgets, Legends cars, DIRTcar and ROC Modified events.
About Grandview Speedway
Grandview Speedway is a high-banked one-third mile clay oval, celebrating their 54th Anniversary season in 2016. The facility offers free parking, quality food at reasonable prices (be sure to try the french fries), a program book, Grandview Speedway and Thunder on the Hill race wear and great viewing from every seat in the house. Race fans may take part in the Inside/Out promotion, where you can sign up (no charge) to watch warm-ups from inside turn four. Race fans are also invited to victory lane following the racing program and, race fans may enter the pits after the races to meet the drivers. Be ready to enjoy the spine-tingling fireworks salute on the feature event parade lap.
- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray | richie@usacracing.com
CUMMINS CRACKS WIN COLUMN; CAPTURES FIRST USAC SPRINT VICTORY
BY A FOOT OVER BALLOU AT KOKOMO
Kokomo, Indiana July 9, 2016 - Bridesmaid. Perennial runner-up. Call him what you will, but Kyle Cummins certainly cannot be labeled as such any longer. For, on Saturday night at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway, the long wait came to an end for the Princeton, Indiana driver.
After passing Chris Windom for the lead with just nine laps to go, Cummins emerged from late-race turmoil and a massive charge by Robert Ballou on the final corner of the last lap to take the win by a foot in his Rock Steady Racing/ProGlide Bearings - Tim Mason ReMax/Mach-1/Cummins-powered machine, and thereby penning his name into the record books as a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car winner Saturday on night two of the 29th annual Indiana Sprint Week.
Twenty-four hours after Tyler Courtney pulled a stunner with his victory on Friday night at Gas City, Cummins became the second consecutive new face to emerge in Indiana Sprint Week victory lane, marking the first time since September of 2008 there have been first-time winners in back-to-back USAC National Sprint Car races. Kasey Kahne Racing teammates Brad Sweet and Brady Bacon accomplished the feat in two straight races at Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway and Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, respectively.
Cummins victory following Courtney's on Friday also was only the second time Indiana Sprint Week has produced two straight first-time USAC National Sprint Car winners. In 1997, Brad Fox (Bloomington) and Bill Rose (Paragon) notched their initial series wins one after the other.
After many close calls and near triumphs throughout the years, Cummins' breakthrough performance came 13 years after his USAC debut at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track in late 2003.
"Finally," Cummins exhaled. "I about teared up when I got out. I'm so tired of second and third; I started sixth and looked at those guys ahead of me and thought, 'man, this is going to be a tough race to win.' I got better and better as the race went on. Once I got around Windom, the infield tire got moved down and I hit the slime and got into him. I hate that it happened because I want to beat them all. That yellow with one to go had me all sorts of nervous. I knew if I slipped up even a little bit, Robert would pounce. Our car would get super tight if I got into the corner straight, so I opened up my entry a little bit. I was too tight to run there at the beginning, so I started making a bigger arc as the race went on. I knew as long as I could keep the arc up, I could catch the moisture on the bottom and I'd be okay."
Chris Windom shot to the lead on the opening lap from his outside front row starting position with pole sitter Kevin Thomas, Jr. running three to four car lengths back throughout much of the first half of the race.
A lap 14 incident involving Tyler Thomas, Max McGhee Thomas Meseraull and Jon Stanbrough in turn two slowed the pace just before the halfway point, setting up a restart with Windom at the point and K. Thomas right on his tail tank.
K. Thomas shadowed Windom through turns one and two on the restart. As the pair headed into turn three, K. Thomas threw a massive slider on Windom for the lead, briefly taking the top spot before Windom clawed back to the lead at the line by a fingernail's length. However, a yellow due to the stopped car of Meseraull in turn three reset the order once again.
On the following lap 14 restart attempt, Windom pulled the front wheels off the ground twice after standing on the throttle leading the pack to the green flag. Windom finally got the power to the ground just past the flag stand, but K. Thomas was ready to pounce, pulling within striking distance of Windom as he drove down the hill off the high side of turn two, splitting between leader Windom and Chase Stockon to take the race lead heading into turn three.
However, Thomas' timing was ill-fated once again as fifth-running Brady Bacon found himself sitting backwards in turn three just after the restart. As the field scattered to miss Bacon, C.J. Leary, Logan Jarrett, Tyler Thomas and Hunter Schuerenberg couldn't avoid the trouble. Schuerenberg received the worst end of the deal, getting upside down after climbing the wall with the right side tires. He was uninjured.
Since the lap wasn't fully completed, K.Thomas lined up behind Windom once again for the ensuing restart.
Once action resumed, second-fastest qualifier and sixth-starting Cummins began his methodical dissection of the front runners. Using the bottom side of the racetrack, Cummins drove by Stockon off the inside of turn two for the third spot on lap 19 and, one lap later, slipped past K. Thomas on the bottom of turn three to steal second.
With eight laps to go, Cummins caught Windom and got the pull off the moisture on the bottom of turn two to propel him by Windom for the lead heading into turn three.
Windom countered midway between turns three and four, crossing over to get underneath Cummins at the exit of turn four. But Cummins got a tad bit sideways at the exit, initiating contact with his left rear tire and Windom's right front, sending Windom sideways and, in turn, setting off a chain-reaction incident that also collected frontrunners Chase Stockon and Bryan Clauson.
In the blink of an eye, the entire complexion of the race had changed with the second, third and fifth-place cars now out of the picture. Yet, Cummins ride wouldn't be free and easy as he now had to fend off 2013 Kokomo "Indiana Sprint Week" winner Kevin Thomas, Jr. and defending "Sprint Week" champ Robert Ballou for the final eight circuits.
Cummins remained dedicated to the low line as did Ballou while K. Thomas stayed true to the top side in the final laps. K. Thomas was able to hang close with Cummins for the lead, engaging in a battle that saw him just one car length behind at the stripe a lap after the restart.
K.Thomas (outside) and Ballou (inside) swarmed Cummins from both sides. The rapidly closing Ballou inched closer and closer on the bottom, peeking his nose inside Cummins for the lead off of turn four at the conclusion of lap 26 and in turn one on the 27th lap, but just wasn't close enough yet to attempt the knockout punch.
A four-car tangle involving Aaron Farney, Leary, Dave Darland and McGhee brought out the night's final yellow, setting up a two-lap shootout to the finish line.
Cummins worked the low-line throughout the 30-lap feature, but Ballou sunk his teeth firmly into the moisture a car length lower than Cummins while K. Thomas put his right rear Hoosier up against the outside wall for the last two laps.
On the final lap, Ballou gave it one last shot, skimming the infield tires with his front wheels as he pitched his machine sideways through the final two corners a car-width underneath leader Cummins.
Ballou got a big bite coming off the last corner in a side-by-side drag race to the checkered flag with Cummins, but Cummins had just enough to eke out the victory by a foot over Ballou while Thomas, Coons (from 22nd) and Bacon rounded out the top-five.
It was yet another solid second place run for Rocklin, California native Ballou, who nearly ripped away the win from Cummins at the end in his Ballou Motorsports/MPHG Promotions - Blakesley Auto/Maxim/Ott.
"I got hit in the helmet with a rock and it shattered my helmet. It felt like it broke my jaw," Ballou explained. "But we salvaged a good run. I had the best car I've ever driven here. We made some last minute changes once we were on the track before the feature and everything we changed was the right decision."
Kevin Thomas, Jr. has been a rocket during his six visits to Kokomo Speedway during the 2016 season in his 4J Motorsports/Franklin Equipment - CEP Concrete/DRC/Chevy, finishing third Saturday night after results of 1st, 1st, 3rd, 2nd and 5th in his five previous visits in non-USAC, weekly competition shows at the ¼-mile oval this year.
"There was a hole in (turns) three and four and, if you hit it wrong on the restarts, it would get the car upset, Thomas said. "Windom did that a few times and protected the bottom, and then I could get some momentum built up and slide him the next time around. I thought that was going to work for a while, but then I went to the bottom and got swarmed. Unfortunately, those guys got collected in that wreck, so we couldn't race it out. But I lived and died by the top and, tonight, it just didn't work out for us."
Contingency award winners at Kokomo Speedway included Tyler Courtney (ProSource Fast Qualifier), Chase Stockon (Simpson Race Products First Heat Race Winner), Brady Bacon (Competition Suspension, Inc. (CSI) Second Heat Race Winner), Tyler Thomas (Benic Enterprises Third Heat Race Winner), Chad Boespflug (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Race Winner), Jerry Coons, Jr. (KSE Racing Products/B&W Auto Mart Hard Charger) and Logan Jarrett (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Feature Finisher).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 9, 2016 - Kokomo, Indiana - Kokomo Speedway - "Indiana Sprint Week" - "Tony Elliott Classic"
PROSOURCE QUALIFYING: 1. Tyler Courtney, 23c, TOPP-13.069; 2. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.095; 3. Bryan Clauson, 63, Dooling/Hayward-13.113; 4. Chad Boespflug, 98E, NineEight/EZR-13.115; 5. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-13.135; 6. Dave Darland, 11, Walker/Curb-Agajanian-13.192; 7. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-13.210; 8. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4J, 4J Motorsports-13.213; 9. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-13.225; 10. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.276; 11. Hunter Schuerenberg, 2E, Epperson-13.292; 12. Logan Jarrett, 29, Jarrett-13.297; 13. C.J. Leary, 17GP, Dutcher-13.303; 14. Robert Ballou, 1, Ballou-13.310; 15. Mario Clouser, 6, Clouser-13.329; 16. Jon Stanbrough, 81, Stanbrough-13.336; 17. Brent Beauchamp, 34, Olson-13.355; 18. A.J. Hopkins, 42G, Jackson-13.383; 19. Cole Ketcham, 41k, Ketcham-13.389; 20. Shane Cottle, 57, Hazen-13.400; 21. Thomas Meseraull, 66, Amati-13.404; 22. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-13.436; 23. Tyler Thomas, 04, Burton-13.450; 24. Kent Schmidt, 5k, Schmidt-13.513; 25. Jerry Coons Jr., 10E, Edison-13.517; 26. Max McGhee, 17, McGhee-13.522; 27. Brian Karraker, 23k, Karraker-13.530; 28. Joe Bares, 19, TEST-13.554; 29. Justin Grant, 71p, Phillips-13.582; 30. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-13.589; 31. Colten Cottle, 1RL, Lambertson-13.617; 32. Landon Simon, 24, Simon-13.628; 33. Jeff Bland Jr., 38, Bland-13.633; 34. Tim Creech, 2c, Creech-13.636; 35. Ted Hines, 12, Hines-13.657; 36. Tony DiMattia, 50, DiMattia-13.674; 37. Aaron Farney, 15F, Farney-13.701; 38. Critter Malone, 7, Seven LLC-13.702; 39. Dickie Gaines, 44, Soudrette-13.724; 40. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR-13.727; 41. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.763; 42. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-13.766; 43. Bret Mellenberndt, 97, Mellenberndt-13.788; 44. Jimmy Light, 23, Two-Three-13.798; 45. Josh Spencer, 66J, Spencer-13.818; 46. Kyle Robbins, 17R, Robbins-14.020; 47. Jamie Williams, 31, Williams-14.119.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Stockon, 2. Meseraull, 3. Leary, 4. Coons, 5. Hodges, 6. Beauchamp, 7. Courtney, 8. Grant, 9. Farney, 10. Bland, 11. Mattox, 12. Spencer. 2:14.91
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Bacon, 2. Andretti, 3. Ballou, 4. Cummins, 5. Daum, 6. Darland, 7. Malone, 8. McGhee, 9. Goodnight, 10. Robbins, 11. Creech, 12. Hopkins. 2:14.89
BENIC ENTERPRISES THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. T.Thomas, 2. Windom, 3. Clauson, 4. Ketcham, 5. C.Cottle, 6. Schuerenberg, 7. Clouser, 8. Karraker, 9. Gaines, 10. Mellenberndt, 11. Hines, 12. Williams. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Boespflug, 2. S.Cottle, 3. K.Thomas, 4. Jarrett, 5. Stanbrough, 6. DiMattia, 7. Light, 8. Schmidt, 9. Simon, 10. Chapple, 11. Bares. NT
C MAIN: (10 laps) 1. Bland, 2. DiMattia, 3. Farney, 4. Light, 5. Goodnight, 6. Mellenberndt, 7. Gaines, 8. Robbins, 9. Mattox, 10. Chapple, 11. Spencer, 12. Malone, 13. Williams, 14. Creech, 15. Hines. NT
SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Stanbrough, 2. Darland, 3. Schuerenberg, 4. Courtney, 5. Hodges, 6. Schmidt, 7. McGhee, 8. Clouser, 9. Daum, 10. Farney, 11. Grant, 12. DiMattia, 13. Bland, 14. C.Cottle, 15. Karraker, 16. Goodnight, 17. Light, 18. Beauchamp. 2:47.54
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Chad Boespflug, 7. Tyler Courtney, 8. Jarett Andretti, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Shane Cottle, 11. Thomas Meseraull, 12. Tyler Thomas, 13. Logan Jarrett, 14. Chase Stockon, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Aaron Farney, 17. Max McGhee, 18. C.J. Leary, 19. Bryan Clauson, 20. Kent Schmidt, 21. Hunter Schuerenberg, 22. Jon Stanbrough, 23. Josh Hodges, 24. Cole Ketcham. NT
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**Bares flipped during the fourth heat. Schuerenberg flipped on lap 14 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Windom, Laps 22-30 Cummins.
KSE/B & W AUTO MART HARD CHARGER: Jerry Coons Jr. (22nd to 4th).
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Bacon-1,626, 2-Meseraull-1,464, 3-Ballou-1,458, 4-Stockon-1,433, 5-Darland-1,351, 6-Boespflug-1,288, 7-Leary-1,279, 8-Windom-1,148, 9-McGhee-1,148, 10-Farney-934.
NEW USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK POINTS: 1-Courtney-137, 2-Bacon-135, 3-Ballou & Coons-128, 5-Windom-121, 6-S.Cottle-119, 7-Cummins-116, 8-Clauson-109, 9-Boespflug & Thomas Jr.-97.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 10 - Lawrenceburg (IN) Speedway - "Indiana Sprint Week"
