Archive for Sprints
LAWRENCEBURG USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT RACE RESULTS
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: April 2, 2016 - Lawrenceburg, Indiana - Lawrenceburg Speedway
DARLAND DOES IT AGAIN AT LAWRENCEBURG FOR USAC SPRINT WIN #58
In what became a contest of survival of the fittest, Dave Darland was the last man standing, making his tires last to the finish to extend his all-time USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship career victory tally to 58 in Saturday night's 30-lap feature at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway. With the win, Darland continued his incredible streak of winning at least one USAC National feature in each year to 24 consecutive seasons!
Darland, of Lincoln, Ind., started 10th and picked his way to the front one-by-one, conserving his right-rear tire as several of the frontrunners fell by the wayside in the latter half of the feature. Justin Grant was the first one to fall victim to tire wear while running in the third spot on lap 19, bringing out the yellow, and moving Darland to third behind Robert Ballou and Thomas Meseraull.
Defending USAC National Sprint car champ Ballou and USAC's most recent feature winner at Lawrenceburg, Meseraull, battled for the top spot throughout the middle portion of the race as the field began to gravitate toward the bottom of the track to the rubber. Though Meseraull threw everything he could at Ballou, he was unable to wrestle away the position.
With just 10 to go, Meseraull's right rear tire began to soften as Shane Cottle and Jerry Coons, Jr. tangled in turn two, bringing out the yellow flag. With right rear tire degradation imminent on Meseraull's machine, all he could do was hold on, but a yellow for fifth-running Chad Boespflug, who lost a right rear tire with eight laps to go, brought a stoppage to the action once again.
On the restart, the right rear tires of leader Ballou and second-place Meseraull began to show their cords. Meseraull's was the first to give way on a lap 22 restart while Ballou's only lasted two more laps until the 24th lap. Darland took over the lead and, with his tires appearing to show limited wear, seemingly took control of the event.
Late-race challenger Brady Bacon stood second when action resumed, but he quickly became the next victim, wearing out a right rear on lap 25.
After Aaron Farney's tire gave way with three to go and a Landon Simon spin in turn three, due to the number of yellow flags and the total laps run under green and yellow conditions during the feature, the decision was made by race control to throw the red flag so that teams could stop for a splash of fuel for the final dash to the finish.
The final restart saw C.J. Leary lined up behind Darland for the final three-lap sprint, but a strong restart by Darland erased all doubt, providing him with an insurmountable lead in the final laps as he wheeled his Jeff Walker/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Jam-It-In-Storage - Hoosier Tire-sponsored Maxim/Claxton as straight as an arrow on the bottom of the racetrack on his way to his first victory of the season over Leary, Scotty Weir, Chase Stockon, Max McGhee, KSE Hard Charger Dallas Hewitt, new series point leader Meseraull, Ballou, Grant and Farney.
Darland earned his first USAC win in the seat of a Jeff Walker-owned car since October of 2012 at Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Arizona while Walker's number 11 found USAC victory lane for the first time since Chris Windom's triumph in 2013 "4-Crown Nationals" at the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
Darland, who dedicated his victory to longtime friend and sponsor Steve Stroud, who passed away in February of this year, netted his seventh career USAC National Sprint win at Lawrenceburg Speedway, two more than any other driver. Darland knew early on that tire conservation was going to be the key to putting his car in victory lane at night's end.
"I knew from the beginning that it was going to be tough to save tires, but I knew everybody else was in the same boat, so we just had to make the best of it," Darland said. "We were fast, but had to save our stuff and I'm glad we could hold on and get it done."
Leary's maiden voyage in the Michael Dutcher Racing number 17GP went about as smoothly as he could hope for, recording ProSource qualifying time to begin the night and finishing a strong second place at the checkered flag for the second consecutive year in the April Lawrenceburg show.
"I was running up top at the start because I didn't even really know how much rubber was down on the bottom," Leary admitted. "But once I moved down, it was just a matter of riding and trying to save your stuff. I hate to run second again, but it was a good first night in Mike's (Dutcher) stuff, so I'm pretty happy."
Weir's run to third in the Todd Keen machine was his best result since April of 2014 when he scored a third at Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway.
"I watched the B-Main and knew it was going to lay rubber, so I had the mindset from the beginning that I was just going to ride and try to outlast everybody," Weir said. Thankfully, it sort of played out that way for us and we had a solid run."
Contingency award winners include C.J. Leary (ProSource Fast Qualifier), Chase Stockon (Simpson Race Products First Heat), Chad Boespflug (Competition Suspension (CSI) Second Heat), Jarett Andretti (Benic Enterprises Third Heat), Thomas Meseraull (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat) and Dallas Hewitt (KSE Hard Charger).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: April 2, 2016 - Lawrenceburg, Indiana - Lawrenceburg Speedway
PROSOURCE QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 17GP, Dutcher-13.861; 2. Justin Grant, 5, Baldwin-13.996; 3. Robert Ballou, 1, Ballou-14.027; 4. Max McGhee, 17, McGhee-14.224; 5. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.304; 6. Shawn Westerfeld, 89, Westerfeld-14.317; 7. Kody Swanson, 71p, Phillips/Wolters-14.339; 8. Thomas Meseraull, 66, Amati-14.350; 9. Scotty Weir, 18w, Keen-14.433; 10. Chad Boespflug, 98E, NineEight/Eberhardt/Zirzow-14.455; 11. Dave Darland, 11, Walker/Curb-Agajanian-14.570; 12. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Byram-14.602; 13. Aaron Farney, 15F, Farney-14.618; 14. Carson Short, 21, Short-14.817; 15. Jerry Coons Jr., 10E, Edison-14.848; 16. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2E, Epperson-14.878; 17. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-14.883; 18. Jon Stanbrough, 81, Stanbrough-15.050; 19. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-15.073; 20. Shane Cottle, 57, Hazen-15.140; 21. Chris Windom, 21x, Pollock-15.153; 22. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-15.197; 23. Joss Moffatt, 5J, Moffatt-15.211; 24. Dallas Hewitt, 16, Hewitt-15.222; 25. Kyle Robbins, 17R, Robbins-15.234; 26. Casey Shuman, 4J, 4J Motorsports-15.278; 27. Garrett Abrams, 32A, Abrams-15.304; 28. Brandon Mattox, 04, Burton-15.316; 29. Cole Ketcham, 41K, Ketcham-15.387; 30. Landon Simon, 24, LSR-15.475; 31. Bret Mellenberndt, 97, Mellenberndt-15.517; 32. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-15.521; 33. Logan Jarrett, 29, Jarrett-15.565; 34. Aric Gentry, 10, GBR-15.774; 35. Kent Wolters, 71wp, Wolters-16.310; 36. Riley VanHise, 96, VanHise-16.883.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Stockon, 2. Leary, 3. Bacon, 4. Weir, 5. Windom, 6. Farney, 7. Jarrett, 8. Robbins, 9. Ketcham. 2:06.75
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Boespflug, 2. Stanbrough, 3. Westerfeld, 4. Grant, 5. Short, 6. Shuman, 7. Simon, 8. Chapple, 9. Gentry. NT
BENIC ENTERPRISES THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Andretti, 2. Darland, 3. Ballou, 4. Coons, 5. Moffatt, 6. Abrams, 7. Mellenberndt, 8. Wolters, 9. Swanson. 2:07.35
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Meseraull, 2. Cottle, 3. Cummins, 4. Hewitt, 5. Mattox, 6. Thomas, 7. Goodnight, 8. VanHise, 9. McGhee. NT
SEMI: (12 laps) 1. McGhee, 2. Thomas, 3. Farney, 4. Short, 5. Moffatt, 6. Ketcham, 7. Robbins, 8. Shuman, 9. Simon, 10. Goodnight, 11. Abrams, 12. Chapple, 13. VanHise, 14. Mellenberndt, 15. Swanson, 16. Mattox, 17. Jarrett, 18. Wolters, 19. Windom. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Scotty Weir, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Max McGhee, 6. Dallas Hewitt, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Robert Ballou, 9. Justin Grant, 10. Aaron Farney, 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 12. Brady Bacon, 13. Jarett Andretti, 14. Kyle Cummins, 15. Kevin Thomas Jr., 16. Landon Simon, 17. Carson Short, 18. Cole Ketcham, 19. Shawn Westerfeld, 20. Chad Boespflug, 21. Shane Cottle, 22. Jon Stanbrough, 23. Joss Moffatt. NT
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**Wolters and Jarrett flipped at the start of the semi.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Westerfeld, Laps 4-24 Ballou, Laps 25-30 Darland.
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Meseraull-269, 2-Cummins-268, 3-Stockon-253, 4-Darland-240, 5-Grant-240, 6-Ballou-233, 7-Bacon-229, 8-McGhee-228, 9-Bryan Clauson-209, 10-Leary-208.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: April 15 - Bloomington (IN) Speedway
World of Outlaws Ocean Speedway Results
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World of Outlaws
Contact: Jordan Morris
World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series PR
704-795-7223 | jmorris@dirtcar.com
Brad Sweet Battles Logan Schuchart for Ocean Speedway Win
Shark Racing teammates Schuchart and Allen claim second and third place finishes
WATSONVILLE, Calif. — April 1, 2016 — Logan Schuchart looked poised to claim his first ever World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series victory Friday night at the Ocean Outlaw Showdown at Ocean Speedway, but a late race restart put Brad Sweet in position and Sweet battled past Schuchart with 13 laps to go and claimed his fourth win of the season.
“If everyone knew what Shark Racing goes through to run two cars up and down the road, hats off to them,” Sweet said. “For both of them to be up here on the podium that’s amazing and I hate to steal this win away from them, but that’s racing.
“My guys have given me a great car all season long. When you run in the top five each week, you get a couple of these wins every now and then.”
For Schuchart, the disappointment of coming short of his first win was tempered by his second place finish and the third place finish of his teammate, Jacob Allen.
“When we started this thing three years ago, most of these guys didn’t think we wouldn’t last the first year,” Schuchart said. “Now we’re out here in our third year. Without our sponsors and everyone that helps us out, we wouldn’t be able to be out here.
“For Jacob and I we wanted to be a little bit better, a one-two would’ve been awesome, but Brad [Sweet] is on top of his game and they’re really fast right now, but the Shark team is getting better and better.”
The finish is his best since a second place finish at Thunderbowl Raceway in 2014.
Jason Johnson, fresh off a victory at Placerville Speedway, kicked off the night, the Outlaws’ first appearance at the track since 2008, with the qualifying quick time.
But it was Schuchart and Allen out front after the Dash inversion draw gave the teammates the top-two starting positions in the Dash.
Allen, in the Mark Pell Tire Service/Marty Thompson Investments No. 1A, jumped around his teammate and grabbed the early lead in the Dash, as he dominated all six laps to capture the first-place starting position for the 35-lap feature. Schuchart finished in second, setting up a Shark Racing front row.
When the green flag fell on the feature, Schuchart shot around Allen for the lead on the opening lap, and pulled away from the rest of the field as his teammate settled into the second position with Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb teammates Daryn Pittman and Brad Sweet lurking behind.
The young, Hanover, Pa. –native controlled the top spot for much of the race, leading the opening 21 laps. Unfortunately for Schuchart, winning his first ever World of Outlaws race would not be that easy.
A restart just past the halfway point gave Sweet the opportunity he needed to gain on Schuchart. Sweet drove his Razorback Professional Tools No. 49 from fourth on the restart around Pittman and Allen to move into the second position, just behind the leader.
Schuchart did everything he could to hold off Sweet, but Sweet had too much momentum built up on the high-side of the track and rocketed around Schuchart for the lead with 13 laps left.
Sweet controlled the top spot through the final laps and held off Schuchart and Allen to capture his first victory since he won at Cotton Bowl Speedway on Feb. 26.
“That’s racing in California in March and April,” said the Grass Valley, Calif. –native Sweet. “It’s always going to be a little more hooked up than in July or August. They gave us a great racing surface tonight, it was smooth and opening up all night, but it’s hard to account for the cooler temperatures, it keeps the moisture in the dirt.”
Sweet extends his championship lead to 84 points over second place Shane Stewart.
Allen completed the sweep of the podium for the Shark Racing team, as he scored a career best finish of third.
“With the lead that close to you, I was just going for it all and hoping to finish the race,” Allen said. “That was a lot of fun. Being up there with everybody, it means the world to me and I can’t thank everyone enough for helping us out.
“This is a huge night for me, I am just very blessed and thankful to be here.”
Donny Schatz was the night’s KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing 12 positions to finish in sixth.
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series action continues Saturday night as the series travels to Chico, Calif. for the Mini Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway. Find out more information about the event at WoOSprint.com/Mini-Gold-Cup.
Follow the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, or check out the latest videos on YouTube at www.youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws.
Ocean Speedway Notebook
RACE NOTES: Brad Sweet continues top five streak, only finishing worse than fifth once in 2016...Donny Schatz picked up his second KSE Hard Charger Award of the season...Jacob Allen secured his career best finish, besting his previous mark of sixth at Deer Creek Speedway on Sep. 19, 2015.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS – MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Greg Wilson; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Brad Sweet; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Logan Schuchart; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; Morton Buildings ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Bud Kaeding; Super Flow ($50 cash): Jason Sides; Craftsman/Sears ($100 cash): N/A; KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Donny Schatz; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Brad Sweet; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Jason Sides; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Greg Wilson.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz – 4 (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); Brad Sweet – 4 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Cotton Bowl Speedway on Feb. 26, Ocean Speedway on April 1); David Gravel – 1 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 12); Jason Johnson – 1 (Placerville Speedway on March 24); Daryn Pittman – 1 (Royal Purple Raceway on Feb. 27); Joey Saldana – 1 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 3); Shane Stewart – 1 (Arizona Speedway on March 6).
World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Ocean Speedway; Watsonville, Calif.; April 1, 2016.
A-Main - (35 Laps) - 1. 49-Brad Sweet [4][$10,000]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2][$5,500]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [1][$3,200]; 4. 29-Kerry Madsen [5][$2,800]; 5. 41-Jason Johnson [6][$2,500]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [18][$2,300]; 7. 9-Daryn Pittman [3][$2,200]; 8. 2-Shane Stewart [8][$2,100]; 9. 22-Shane Golobic [12][$2,050]; 10. 83-Joey Saldana [10][$2,000]; 11. 7-Paul McMahan [7][$1,500]; 12. O-Bud Kaeding [17][$1,200]; 13. 5-David Gravel [13][$1,100]; 14. 26-Willie Croft [9][$1,050]; 15. 88N-DJ Netto [11][1,000]; 16. 7S-Jason Sides [19][$900]; 17. 17-Justin Sanders [14][$800]; 18. 21-Tommy Tarlton [23][$800]; 19. OO-Cory Eliason [20][$800]; 20. 41X-Dominic Scelzi [16][$800]; 21. 68-Chase Johnson [22][$800]; 22. 98-Sean Watts [21][$800]; 23. 73-Tyler Walker [15][$800]; 24. W20-Greg Wilson [24][$800]. Lap Leaders: Logan Schuchart 1-21, Brad Sweet 22-35. KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz [+12]
Qualifying - 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 11.482; 2. 49-Brad Sweet, 11.517; 3. 29-Kerry Madsen, 11.602; 4. 9-Daryn Pittman, 11.611; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen, 11.651; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 11.689; 7. 83-Joey Saldana, 11.726; 8. 2-Shane Stewart, 11.739; 9. 26-Willie Croft, 11.754; 10. 7-Paul McMahan, 11.790; 11. 88N-DJ Netto, 11.888; 12. 22-Shane Golobic, 11.924; 13. 5-David Gravel, 11.928; 14. 17-Justin Sanders, 11.944; 15. 73-Tyler Walker, 11.945; 16. 7S-Jason Sides, 11.974; 17. 98-Sean Watts, 11.978; 18. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.979; 19. OO-Cory Eliason, 11.987; 20. O-Bud Kaeding, 12.009; 21. 68JR-Tommy Laliberte, 12.017; 22. 41X-Dominic Scelzi, 12.055; 23. 68-Chase Johnson, 12.060; 24. 21-Tommy Tarlton, 12.161; 25. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.185
Heat 1 - (10 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 41-Jason Johnson [1]; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 7-Paul McMahan [4]; 4. 83-Joey Saldana [3]; 5. 5-David Gravel [5]; 6. 41X-Dominic Scelzi [8]; 7. OO-Cory Eliason [7]; 8. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [9]
Heat 2 - (10 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 2-Shane Stewart [3]; 4. 88N-DJ Netto [4]; 5. 17-Justin Sanders [5]; 6. O-Bud Kaeding [7]; 7. 68-Chase Johnson [8]; 8. 98-Sean Watts [6]
Heat 3 - (10 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 29-Kerry Madsen [1]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2]; 3. 26-Willie Croft [3]; 4. 22-Shane Golobic [4]; 5. 73-Tyler Walker [5]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 7. 21-Tommy Tarlton [8]; 8. 68JR-Tommy Laliberte [7]
Dash - (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature) - 1. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [3]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [5]; 5. 29-Kerry Madsen [4]; 6. 41-Jason Johnson [6]
Last Chance Showdown - (12 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 7S-Jason Sides [1][-]; 2. OO-Cory Eliason [3][-]; 3. 98-Sean Watts [2][-]; 4. 68-Chase Johnson [5][-]; 5. 21-Tommy Tarlton [6][-]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [7][-]; 7. 68JR-Tommy Laliberte [4][$200]
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Bad Boy Buggies (Official Side-by-Side Vehicle), Craftsman (Official Tool), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Morton Buildings (Official Building), Sears (Official Home Store), The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Penske Shocks, and Superflow Dynos; along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo and TNT Rescue.
NORTHEAST WINGLESS SPRINT CARS SET FOR SEASON OPENER FOLLOWING OPEN PRACTICE SESSION
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New Egypt Speedway
New Egypt, NJ – The NorthEast Wingless Sprint Cars presented by Burlington County Overhead Door will take to the race track for the first time this coming Saturday, April 2, at the New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, NJ.
A good field of cars participated in the speedway's open practice session this past Saturday with Johnny Cornell setting the pace with a time of 18.783 seconds around the 7/16 mile D-Shaped Ocean County oval. Cars of Brian Spencer, Wayne Weaver, Billy Pauch Jr., Bobby Butler, Lee Nardelli, Brody Adamski, Rich Mellor and more were on hand. More cars are built but chose not to participate in the open practice and are planning on being in attendance this coming Saturday.
Following the open practice, close to 20 drivers from all walks of racing stayed to try their hand at wheeling a wingless sprint car. Drivers from Legend Cars, 360 Sprint Cars, Big Block Modifieds, Micro Sprints and more all wheeled a NEWS Sprint around New Egypt before deciding whether to purchase a chasis.
The 2016 NorthEast Wingless Sprint Car rule book is now online at www.motorsports.marketing/newegyptspeedway.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NES-Rules_2016_NEWS-SprintsRev2.pdf
Video from this past Saturday’s open practice can be viewed here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyu18WQruP4
Pit Gates will open at 2PM this Saturday for Early Inspection, Grandstands open at 4PM, Hot-Laps are set to begin at 5PM with the first green flag flying at 6PM.
The next race for the NorthEast Wingless Sprint Cars presented by Burlington County Overhead Door will be on Saturday, April 16, at New Egypt Speedway.
The NorthEast Wingless Sprint Cars presented by Burlington County Overhead Door are an economical way to go racing. Using a 602 Crate Motor on alcohol and a transmission eliminates the need to be pushed off. For more information on the NorthEast Wingless Sprint Cars presented by Burlington County Overhead Door visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/602winglesssprints/ or e-mail NorthEastWinglessSprintCars@gmail.com
World of Outlaws Placerville Speedway results
Posted by: | CommentsWorld of Outlaws
Contact: Aaron Fiedler
World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series PR
704-795-7223 | afiedler@dirtcar.com
Johnson Returns to Victory Lane at Placerville Speedway
Captures win one year after serious accident at same event
PLACERVILLE, Calif. March 23, 2016... After being involved in a horrible accident during this event last year that sidelined him for the season, Jason Johnson returned to Placerville Speedway for the 2nd Annual Brad Sweet presents the Placerville Short Track Outlaw Showdown presented by Riebes Auto Parts and captured his first victory since Texas Motor Speedway in 2003.
Daryn Pittman, who was also injured in the same event last year, finished second to Johnson, as both drivers overcame their troubles from a year ago for podium finishes.
We have a tremendously strong team right now, and things are clicking, and when they are clicking it is fun, Johnson said. Daryn [Pittman] and I were standing there in the dash and I was like man I would be happy just walking out of here tonight and then we finish one and two.
This was a place I really wanted to redeem myself. Its really cool we are able to come to a small track like this and be able to race and I really got to thank Brad Sweet and thank all the fans for coming out, its been a great night.
Johnson, a Eunice, La. native, showed speed early in the night, clocking in with the second fastest time, just behind quick-time recipient Sean Becker, who is a native of Chico, Calif.
Johnson then piloted his Priority Aviation/Masilla Valley Transportation No. 41 to a victory in his heat, defeating Auburn, Calif. driver Andy Forsberg, which qualified him for the dash.
Coming short of sweeping all the races during the night, Johnson finished fourth in the dash, as Pittman, in the Great Clips/Sage Fruit No. 9, captured the victory in the 8-lap race after he overtook Forsberg on the opening lap.
Pittman, starting in the first position, lost the top spot once the green flag fell, to second place starter Forsberg, who regained the position Pittman took from him in the dash on the opening lap.
Johnson charged from his fourth starting position early, quickly making his way to the second position just behind Forsberg, after he passed Pittman on lap four.
Johnson reeled in Forsberg and started battling with the driver of the PitStopUSA/Autism Awareness No. 7C. The back-and-forth duel for the top position lasted 10 laps, with Johnson finally overtaking Forsberg on lap 14.
As the leaders hit slower lapped traffic, Johnson padded his lead on the rest of the field, but a caution near the halfway point brought both Forsberg and Pittman to his rear bumper.
On the ensuing restart, Johnson pulled away again as Forsberg lost a position to both Pittman and race promoter Sweet, who cracked the top three for the first time all night.
Sweets time in the top three was short lived as another local California driver, Kyle Hirst from Paradise, Calif., rocketed from his 10th starting position to the top three with less than 15 laps remaining.
Much like Sweet, Hirsts time in the top three was short lived as he blew a tire causing a late race restart with only five laps remaining.
Unfortunately, the caution for Hirst was not the final caution of the night.
Just before the leaders took the white flag, Joey Saldana brought out the final caution, setting up a green-white-checkered finish between Johnson, Pittman and Sweet, who had reclaimed his podium position.
On the final restart, Sweet slipped off the track allowing Forsberg around him for the third position.
At the front, Pittman could not muscle his way around Johnson, who proved to be too fast for the rest of the field as he dominated the majority of the race, leading 26 laps en route to claiming the victory at Placerville.
I had no clue [how fast we were], Johnson said. But I knew if we were racing with Andy [Forsberg] then we were pretty good, because I watch a lot of video, and Andys pretty good at this type of racing.
Its all about pacing yourself. You watch Donny Schatz pace himself, his fastest laps come at the end of the race so at the beginning of the race I paced myself and shopped around, then I got the and tried not to make mistakes.
Pittman recorded his second runner-up finish in-a-row, finishing second to Donny Schatz on the final night at Stockton Dirt Track on Saturday before finishing second to Johnson tonight.
You couldnt have scripted a better finish than that one tonight, Pittman said. Starting on the pole you want to win but for [Jason Johnson] to come back and win and me to finish second...It was a lot of fun to come back to a racetrack that we both had a bad night, and both got hurt, and come back and run strong.
Our goals werent too high coming in here tonight. My goal was to see more of the track than I did from the Placerville hospital, so luckily we achieved that and finished second. But congrats to Jason [Johnson], he has definitely been fast this year. He has probably been the most improved and theyre in the hunt every night, so it was a great win for that team, and a good run for us.
Forsberg brought home a third place finish after being one of the fastest cars all night and contending for the victory early in the feature.
We were all working today until about noon so we were able to come out here today and run with the Outlaws these guys are pros, Forsberg said. Am I a little disappointed I didnt win? Of course...Weve been here twice and been in contention twice, so I dont know what else to say, other than I am happy to be in third place.
It sure broke my heart to see Brad [Sweet] drive off the track and let me by him, it was definitely nice of him.
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series head home for the Easter weekend before hitting the road again for the Ocean Outlaw Showdown presented by Budweiser at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif. on Friday April 1.
Follow the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, or check out the latest videos on YouTube at www.youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws.
Stockton Dirt Track Notebook
RACE NOTES: Jason Johnson scores first win since 2003, becomes seventh different winner of 2016...Donny Schatz picks up first KSE Hard Charger Award of the season...Daryn Pittman captures sixth podium finish of the year, second most behind teammate Brad Sweet.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS... MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Jonathan Allard; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Greg Wilson; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Brad Sweet; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Sean Becker; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Sean Becker; Morton Buildings ($50 cash): Terry McCarl; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Super Flow ($50 cash): Logan Schuchart; Craftsman/Sears ($100 cash): Andy Forsberg;KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Donny Schatz; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Jason Johnson; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Logan Schuchart; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Joey Saldana.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz 4 (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); Brad Sweet 3 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Cotton Bowl Speedway on Feb. 26); David Gravel 1 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 12); Jason Johnson 1 (Placerville Speedway on March 24); Daryn Pittman 1 (Royal Purple Raceway on Feb. 27); Joey Saldana 1 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 3); Shane Stewart 1 (Arizona Speedway on March 6).
World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Placerville Speedway; Placerville, Calif.; March 23, 2016.
A-Main - (40 Laps) - 1. 41-Jason Johnson [4]; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman [1]; 3. 7C-Andy Forsberg [2]; 4. 5-David Gravel [5]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [6]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [11]; 7. 2-Shane Stewart [13]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz [20]; 9. 17W-Bryan Clauson [12]; 10. 75-Sean Becker [9]; 11. 88-Terry McCarl [14]; 12. 7-Paul McMahan [15]; 13. 29-Kerry Madsen [3]; 14. 22-Shane Golobic [17]; 15. 29W-Willie Croft [21]; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart [24]; 17. 88N-DJ Netto [23]; 18. 73-Brady Bacon [7]; 19. 24-Rico Abreu [8]; 20. 7S-Jason Sides [22]; 21. 83-Joey Saldana [19]; 22. 77-Kyle Hirst [10]; 23. O-Bud Kaeding [18]; 24. 3C-Jonathan Allard [16] . Lap Leaders: Andy Forsberg 1-13, Jason Johnson 14-40. KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz [+12]
Qualifying - 1. 75-Sean Becker, 10.601; 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 10.613; 3. 29-Kerry Madsen, 10.621; 4. 5-David Gravel, 10.652; 5. 49-Brad Sweet, 10.665; 6. 7C-Andy Forsberg, 10.724; 7. 24-Rico Abreu, 10.732; 8. 73-Brady Bacon, 10.781; 9. 9-Daryn Pittman, 10.807; 10. 77-Kyle Hirst, 10.831; 11. W20-Greg Wilson, 10.861; 12. 17W-Bryan Clauson, 10.866; 13. 22-Shane Golobic, 10.883; 14. 21P-Robbie Price, 10.887; 15. 7-Paul McMahan, 10.895; 16. 29W-Willie Croft, 10.904; 17. 31C-Justyn Cox, 10.911; 18. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 10.935; 19. 7S-Jason Sides, 10.943; 20. 3C-Jonathan Allard, 10.971; 21. 2-Shane Stewart, 10.995; 22. 88-Terry McCarl, 10.999; 23. 83-Joey Saldana, 11.052; 24. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.054; 25. 88N-DJ Netto, 11.074; 26. 1A-Jacob Allen, 11.089; 27. 17-Justin Sanders, 11.126; 28. 22M-Mason Moore, 11.158; 29. 99T-Skylar Gee, 11.185; 30. O-Bud Kaeding, 11.259; 31. 68-Chase Johnson, 11.286; 32. 44-Chris Martin, 11.335; 33. 98-Sean Watts, 11.380
Heat 1 - (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman [3]; 3. 75-Sean Becker [1]; 4. 2-Shane Stewart [6]; 5. 22-Shane Golobic [4]; 6. 88N-DJ Netto [7]; 7. 31C-Justyn Cox [5]; 8. 99T-Skylar Gee [8]; 9. 98-Sean Watts [9]
Heat 2 - (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 41-Jason Johnson [1]; 2. 7C-Andy Forsberg [2]; 3. 77-Kyle Hirst [3]; 4. 88-Terry McCarl [6]; 5. O-Bud Kaeding [8]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [7]; 7. 21P-Robbie Price [4]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]
Heat 3 - (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 29-Kerry Madsen [1]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [2]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson [3]; 4. 7-Paul McMahan [4]; 5. 83-Joey Saldana [6]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 7. 17-Justin Sanders [7]; 8. 68-Chase Johnson [8]
Heat 4 - (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 5-David Gravel [1]; 2. 73-Brady Bacon [2]; 3. 17W-Bryan Clauson [3]; 4. 3C-Jonathan Allard [5]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 6. 29W-Willie Croft [4]; 7. 44-Chris Martin [8]; 8. 22M-Mason Moore [7]
Dash - (8 Laps, finishing order determined first 8 starting positions of A-feature) - 1. 9-Daryn Pittman [2]; 2. 7C-Andy Forsberg [1]; 3. 29-Kerry Madsen [4]; 4. 41-Jason Johnson [5]; 5. 5-David Gravel [3]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [6]; 7. 73-Brady Bacon [8]; 8. 24-Rico Abreu [7]
Last Chance Showdown - (12 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 29W-Willie Croft [2]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 3. 88N-DJ Netto [6]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4]; 5. 31C-Justyn Cox [3]; 6. 17-Justin Sanders [8]; 7. 68-Chase Johnson [11]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [7]; 9. 98-Sean Watts [13]; 10. 44-Chris Martin [12]; 11. 99T-Skylar Gee [10]; 12. 21P-Robbie Price [1]; 13. 22M-Mason Moore [9]
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Bad Boy Buggies (Official Side-by-Side Vehicle), Craftsman (Official Tool), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Morton Buildings (Official Building), Sears (Official Home Store), The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Penske Shocks, and Superflow Dynos; along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo and TNT Rescue.
2016 TRI-STATE RACESAVER SERIES MEMBERSHIP MEETING SET FOR MARCH 12th
Posted by: | CommentsSOUTHAMPTON, PA. ---On Saturday, March 12th at 2:00 PM TSRS Regional Director Joe Grandinetti will host a General Informational Meeting concerning the 2016 racing season. This meeting will be held at the UNO’s Pizzeria and Grill in Bensalem, PA and it is open to all drivers, car owners, crew members and prospective people interested in joining the Tri-State Racesaver Series this year.
“Because of the snowstorm that occurred during the Motorsports show this past January when our seminar was supposed to take place, I thought it would be best to have the meeting a few weeks before the season started so that I could reach out to our teams and clarify any issues and answer questions before the first race at New Egypt on April 9th”, said Grandinetti.
Registration forms and IMCA paper work will be on hand at the meeting and drivers and car owners are encouraged to register there, prior to the first race of the season in order to alleviate any confusion that may happen at the track.
For more info on what’s happening with the fast growing sprint car series in the nation, go to our website www.tsrs1.us or log on to our Facebook page!
Uno’s Pizzeria & Grill Address:
Neshaminy Mall
Neshaminy Mall, Route 1 & Rock Hill Road
Bensalem, PA 19020
TSRS Tentative Schedule
Saturday – April 9th – New Egypt Saturday - April 23rd - New Egypt
Saturday - April 30th - Bridgeport
Friday - May 6th - Bridgeport
Saturday - May 14th - Bridgeport
Saturday - May 21th - Bridgeport
Saturday - May 28th - New Egypt
Sunday - May 29th - Grandview *Thunder on the Hill*
Saturday - June 4th - Bridgeport
Saturday - June 11th - New Egypt
Saturday - June 18th - Bridgeport
Friday - June 24th - Bridgeport
Saturday - June 25th - Grandview
Saturday - July 9th - Bridgeport
Saturday - July 23rd - Bridgeport
Saturday - July 30th - New Egypt
Friday - August 5th - Bridgeport
Saturday - August 13th - Bridgeport
Thursday - August 18th - Grandview *Thunder of the Hill*
Saturday - August 20th - New Egypt
Saturday - August 27th - Bridgeport
Saturday - September 3rd - New Egypt
Friday - September 9th - Grandview
Friday - September 23rd - Bridgeport
Saturday - October 8th - Port Royal
Saturday - October 15th - Grandview
Friday - November 11th - Bridgeport
OCALA USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT RACE RESULTS – Feb. 20
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 20, 2016 - Ocala, Florida - Bubba Raceway Park - "Winter Dirt Games VII"
MESERAULL SURVIVES AND THRIVES IN EPIC WINTER DIRT GAMES FINALE
There's a fine line between conservation and aggressiveness behind the wheel of a racecar. How much a driver can push himself and his car in either strategic direction without sacrificing the other is an art that is truly a difficult art to master. If a driver doesn't push hard enough, he will not put himself in a position to win. Conversely, if a driver doesn't take care of his equipment, namely the four pieces of rubber on his car, throughout the race, odds are he will not likely be standing in victory lane at night's end. On Saturday night, San Jose, California's Thomas Meseraull was able to find just the right combination of speed, patience, and timeliness to take the victory on the last corner of the final lap in a wild, topsy-turvy USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship "Winter Dirt Games VII" finale at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Florida.
Meseraull, who was the night's ProSource Fast Qualifier would start the 30-lap feature from outside the third row, but it was the previous two nights' fast qualifier Max McGhee who started on the pole and led the first lap of the affair. Following a three-car tangle that brought out the race's first caution, the ensuing restart saw outside front row starter Robert Ballou taking the point from McGhee on lap two with Bryan Clauson in tow.
On the fifth lap, Clauson and Ballou banged wheels three separate times, swapping the lead back-and-forth in a battle of the two most recent series feature winners. As Clauson took command of the top spot, Ballou attempted to regain his rhythm as he dropped to fourth, overtaken by McGhee and Meseraull.
At the halfway point, the surface began to take rubber and tire wear became a primary concern as Meseraull got to the second spot on lap 17 with an outside maneuver on McGhee coming off of turn four. On the 18th lap, Meseraull threw a slide job on Clauson for the lead entering one, making slight contact with his right rear tire on Clauson's left front.
Just two laps later, Clauson regained the lead as Meseraull slid high exiting the second turn. Clauson immediately began to pull away and appeared as if he had the race in the bag as he distanced himself from the rest of the field. However, on lap 23, Clauson became the first victim of tire wear, popping a right rear tire and handing over the lead to youngster Max McGhee, putting the 18-year-old in a position to win his first career series race with just eight laps to go.
Under caution, McGhee and others cooled their tires off on the cushion, looking for any possible way to subdue the heat on the tires for the run to the checkered flag. On lap 25, Brady Bacon, running seventh, and fifth-place Ballou saw right rears wear out on them in what was becoming a battle of survival of the fittest.
With two laps remaining, McGhee, Justin Grant, and Meseraull ran nose-to-tail into turn one when suddenly McGhee's right rear tire went flat, sending him out of the groove, out of the lead, and out of luck. The green flag stayed out as Grant and Meseraull now ran one-two headed for the white flag. On the fourth turn of the final lap, with the checkered flag in sight, Grant's right rear gave way, allowing Meseraull to get underneath him and take his first series win of the season aboard his Amati Racing/Marion Underground Construction - Zeller Construction/DRC/Claxton number 66, beating Chris Windom, Kyle Cummins, Chase Stockon and a heartbroken Grant to the finish line.
The Meseraull/Amati combo has become a force within the series since teaming up last summer, already peeling off three feature victories since late September of 2015. But on this night, Meseraull admits that it's not only experience that enabled him to manage his tires enough to win on this night, but sometimes luck plays a role along with being in the right place at the right time.
"I think I'm already one of the guys that can keep the tires under it." Meseraull said. "You can't over-gas these things and tonight that was the key. I tried not to get wheel spin and we made some changes to get the car over on the left side more and I think that was the key. If we'd have been buried on the right rear, we would've been done. Once Clauson went out, I just started to not burn it at all and then it was just a waiting game. Then, Max McGhee lost his (tire) and Justin lost his in the last corner. We kind of got lucky, but sometimes it's better to be lucky than good."
Runner-up Chris Windom had a strong, steady, under-the-radar run in his Rick Pollock/Bates Commodities/Maxim/Advanced Engines number 21x, picking his way through the field from his 14th starting spot by altering his race strategy midway through the feature.
"The first ten to twelve laps we had a really good car and could pick some guys off," Windom said. But the last half was all strategy. You had to save your tires as much as possible, and then the last five laps became even more strategic. I was watching the top-three and knew at least a couple of them were going to blow tires because they were going way too hard on the right rear, so I just laid off and hoped that mine would stay up; thankfully it did."
Third place Kyle Cummins continued his impressive performances during "Winter Dirt Games VII" in the Hank Byram/Vincennes University - Tim Mason ReMax/Mach-1/Cummins number 3R, taking his third consecutive top-three finish in Ocala and extending his lead in the series point standings to 18 markers over Meseraull.
"It's been a really good week," Cummins exclaimed. "Every night we tried something different and we still have a good top-five car each night. The team is clicking and we're having fun. For a while there it became like a job to me. But I just try to go out and race and have a good time. We certainly want to win, but with finishes like that, we're going to start winning some. Once we do win, we'll have even more confidence and, I think, have a really good season."
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
PROSOURCE FAST QUALIFIER: Thomas Meseraull
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT WINNER: Kyle Cummins
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT WINNER: Justin Grant
BENIC ENTERPRISES THIRD HEAT WINNER: Brady Bacon
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT WINNER: Chad Boespflug
KSE HARD CHARGER: Jon Stanbrough
SCHROEDER/PAC SPRINGS 3RD PLACE FINISHER: Kyle Cummins
SCHOENFELD HEADERS 5TH PLACE FINISHER: Justin Grant
SCHROEDER/PAC SPRINGS 8TH PLACE FINISHER: Jon Stanbrough
TOP MAXIM FINISHER: Chris Windom
WILWOOD BRAKE SYSTEMS PASSING MASTER: Bryan Clauson
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS:February 20, 2016 - Ocala, Florida - Bubba Raceway Park - "Winter Dirt Games VII"
PROSOURCE QUALIFYING: 1. Thomas Meseraull, 66, Amati-14.073; 2. Chase Stockon, 32, 32/TBI-14.149; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.157; 4. Carson Short, 21, Short-14.174; 5. Bryan Clauson, 63, Dooling/Hayward-14.240; 6. Robert Ballou, 1, Ballou-14.269; 7. Kody Swanson, 71p, Phillips/Wolters-14.304; 8. Max McGhee, 17, McGhee-14.309; 9. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Byram-14.317; 10. Justin Grant, 5, Baldwin-14.322; 11. Dave Darland, 11, Walker/Curb-Agajanian-14.411; 12. Chad Boespflug, 98E, NineEight/EZR-14.442; 13. Mitch Wissmiller, 1w, Wissmiller-14.500; 14. Kent Schmidt, 5K, Schmidt-15.554; 15. Chris Windom, 21x, Pollock-14.557; 16. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-15.580; 17. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-14.601; 18. Aric Gentry, 10, GBR-14.632; 19. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-14.658; 20. Brady Short, 17GP, Dutcher-14.706; 21. Kyle Robbins, 17R, Robbins-14.708; 22. Brandon Spithaler, 57B, Burkey-14.730; 23. Landon Simon, 24, LSR-14.773; 24. Jon Stanbrough, 81, Stanbrough-14.798; 25. Casey Shuman, 4J, Ottinger-14.848; 26. Tom Harris, 5E, East-14.878; 27. Matt Westfall, 38, Baumgartner-14.908; 28. Aaron Farney, 15F, Farney-15.156; 29. Bret Mellenberndt, 97, Mellenberndt-15.302; 30. Frank Carlsson, 20, Carlsson-15.339; 31. Lee Dakus, 75, DOW-15.611; 32. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-16.626.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Cummins, 2. Clauson, 3. Meseraull, 4. Andretti, 5. Wissmiller, 6. Robbins, 7. Mellenberndt, 8. Shuman. 2:04.24
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Grant, 2. Stockon, 3. Spithaler, 4. Ballou, 5. Gentry, 6. Schmidt, 7. Harris, 8. Carlsson. 2:03.00
BENIC ENTERPRISES THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Bacon, 2. Cottle, 3. Windom, 4. Darland, 5. Swanson, 6. Simon, 7. Westfall, 8. Dakus. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Boespflug, 2. B. Short, 3. Stanbrough, 4. McGhee, 5. C. Short, 6. Farney, 7. Leary, 8. Bell. 2:04.86
SEMI: (12 laps) 1. C. Short, 2. Wissmiller, 3. Farney, 4. Swanson, 5. Leary, 6. Simon, 7. Harris, 8. Robbins, 9. Shuman, 10. Westfall, 11. Dakus, 12. Bell, 13. Mellenberndt, 14. Carlsson, 15. Schmidt, 16. Gentry. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Jon Stanbrough, 9. Carson Short, 10. C.J. Leary, 11. Robert Ballou, 12. Brady Bacon, 13. Jarett Andretti, 14. Chad Boespflug, 15. Aaron Farney, 16. Brandon Spithaler, 17. Max McGhee, 18. Shane Cottle, 19. Kody Swanson, 20. Landon Simon, 21. Mitch Wissmiller, 22. Brady Short. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 McGhee, Laps 2-4 Ballou, Laps 5-17 Clauson, Laps 18-19 Meseraull, Laps 20-22 Clauson, Laps 23-28 McGhee, Lap 29 Grant, Lap 30 Meseraull.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Jon Stanbrough
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Cummins-227, 2-Meseraull-209, 3-Clauson-209, 4-Stockon-184, 5-Grant-184, 6-Bacon-178, 7-Ballou-174, 8-McGhee-163, 9-Darland-163, 10-Windom-162.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: April 2 - Lawrenceburg, Indiana - Lawrenceburg Speedway
BALLOU BANKS WINTER DIRT GAMES GOLD IN OCALA
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
Some might consider putting the #1 on a racecar in the year following a championship as a well-earned honor. On the other hand, some might consider it a curse.Defending series champion Robert Ballou quickly put the latter notion to rest by leading all 30 laps in his Ballou Motorsports/MPHG Promotions - Blakesley's Auto/Maxim/Ott to win night two of "Winter Dirt Games VII" in Friday night's USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Florida.
The Rocklin, California driver started on the pole position, quickly jumping out to a sizable lead in the opening laps. Throughout the duration of the race, Ballou rarely encountered trouble, magnificently maneuvering through lapped traffic by the tenth lap. Just two laps later, a Kyle Robbins turn four spin ridded the leaders of traffic, supplying Ballou with an advantage on the lap 12 restart with the lapped car of Kent Schmidt sandwiched between him and second-running Brady Bacon at the green flag.
Bacon was Ballou's most serious threat in the early going, yet it was previous night's second place finisher Kyle Cummins riding the cushion around Bacon in turn two for the second spot on lap 14.
A flip by Jarett Andretti into turn one on lap 21 created one last restart with ten laps remaining. Cummins' left rear appeared to be low on air as the field prepared to come to the green and Bacon was quickly able to charge past Cummins to claim the second position.
Ballou's commanding lead quickly shrank as Bacon once again was looking at a clear racetrack through his visor. One last move by Bacon on Ballou coming out four to the checkered flag wasn't enough as Ballou earned his first victory of the year, beating Bacon, Cummins, Bryan Clauson and Dave Darland to the line at the finish.
Ballou tallied his 23rd career series win, tying him for 19th on the all-time USAC National Sprint Car win list with A.J. Foyt and Roger McCluskey.
"I thought we had a car that was capable of winning last (Thursday) night, but we forgot to put a bleeder in and it just kind of messed up the night," said Ballou who finished 10th in Thursday night's feature. We didn't point any fingers; we just kept digging. We put our heads down today and I said, 'it's a new night; we've got to start over; it's a long season.' We had to dig deep, but we hit everything where we needed to tonight."
Bacon, the 2014 series champ and a USAC Sprint feature winner in Ocala, Fla. one season ago, discovered during his run Friday night that the high side was the place to be.
"Before the next to last yellow, I tried the bottom and it just didn't work and Cummins got around me," admitted Bacon, the driver of the Dynamics, Inc./Mean Green - Lykins Oil/XXX/Williams Mopar. "But the next restart, I went back up top and was able to get back around him. I felt like I was better the first few laps after a restart than a couple of those guys, but everyone was pretty equal up on the top and that was pretty much the only option."
Third place finisher Cummins, who carries the series point lead into Saturday night's "Winter Dirt Games VII" finale, backed up his second place run on Thursday night with another podium finish in his Hank Byram/Vincennes University - Tim Mason ReMax/Mach-1/Cummins.
"I kind of found a different groove when I was chasing Robert and I'd catch him, but then lose him again," Cummins said. "This thing is right on the edge of being a handful to drive right now and we just haven't found a good setup to calm it down. We changed quite a bit from last night and it still acted sort of the same. Finishing third is alright, but we'll have to try some drastic stuff tomorrow to really get after it. We're fast. We just have to be better."
Friday night's contingency award winners included Max McGhee (ProSource Fast Qualifier & Simpson Race Products First Heat); Shane Cottle (Competition Suspension (CSI) Second Heat); Clauson (Benic Enterprises Third Heat & KSE Hard Charger); Brady Short (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat); Cummins (Schroeder/Pac Springs 3rd Place Finisher); Darland (Schoenfeld Headers 5th Place Finisher); Chris Windom (Schroeder/Pac Springs 8th Place Finisher); Ballou (Top Maxim Finisher).
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS:February 19, 2016 - Ocala, Florida - Bubba Raceway Park - "Winter Dirt Games VII"
PROSOURCE QUALIFYING: 1. Max McGhee, 17, McGhee-13.771 (New Track Record); 2. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Byram-13.914; 3. Carson Short, 21, Short-13.979; 4. Chris Windom, 21x, Pollock-13.997; 5. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.040; 6. Dave Darland, 11, Walker/Curb-Agajanian-14.111; 7. Justin Grant, 5, Baldwin-14.115; 8. Robert Ballou, 1, Ballou-14.116; 9. Thomas Meseraull, 66, Amati-14.119; 10. Landon Simon, 24, LSR-14.152; 11. Aaron Farney, 15F, Farney-14.164; 12. Chase Stockon, 32, 32/TBI-14.171; 13. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-14.221; 14. Matt Westfall, 38, Baumgartner-14.290; 15. Kody Swanson, 71p, Phillips/Wolters-14.301; 16. Chad Boespflug, 98E, NineEight/EZR-14.307; 17. Jon Stanbrough, 81, Stanbrough-14.379; 18. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-14.409; 19. Bryan Clauson, 63, Dooling/Hayward-14.476; 20. Brady Short, 17GP, 14.481; 21. Mitch Wissmiller, 1w, Wissmiller-14.491; 22. Tom Harris, 5E, East-14.500; 23. Kent Schmidt, 5K, Schmidt-15.508; 24. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-14.565; 25. Brandon Spithaler, 57B, Burkey-14.592; 26. Casey Shuman, 4J, Ottinger-14.636; 27. Kyle Robbins, 17R, Robbins-14.655; 28. Aric Gentry, 10, GBR-14.704; 29. Lee Dakus, 75, DOW-14.726; 30. Bret Mellenberndt, 97, Mellenberndt-14.949; 31. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-15.288; 32. Frank Carlsson, 20, Carlsson-15.640; 33. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-15.657.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. McGhee, 2. Stanbrough, 3. Andretti, 4. Bacon, 5. Spithaler, 6. Wissmiller, 7. Dakus, 8. Leary, 9. Meseraull. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Cottle. 2. Cummins, 3. Darland, 4. Simon, 5. Harris, 6. Shuman, 7. Mellenberndt, 8. Westfall. NT
BENIC ENTERPRISES THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Clauson, 2. Schmidt, 3. Swanson, 4. Grant, 5. C. Short, 6. Robbins, 7. Farney, 8. Bell. 1:57.93
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. B. Short, 2. Boespflug, 3. Ballou, 4. Stockon, 5. Windom, 6. Chapple, 7. Gentry, 8. Carlsson. 1:59.69
SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Windom, 2. Meseraull, 3. C. Short, 4. Wissmiller, 5. Leary, 6. Robbins, 7. Farney, 8. Shuman, 9. Gentry, 10. Chapple, 11. Mellenberndt, 12. Dakus, 13. Harris, 14. Westfall, 15. Bell, 16. Spithaler, 17. Carlsson. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Chad Boespflug, 10. Chase Stockon, 11. Max McGhee, 12. Carson Short, 13. Brady Short, 14. Shane Cottle, 15. Kody Swanson, 16. C.J. Leary, 17. Jon Stanbrough, 18. Casey Shuman, 19. Jarett Andretti, 20. Kyle Robbins, 21. Landon Simon, 22. Mitch Wissmiller, 23. Kent Schmidt. NT
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**Mellenberndt flipped during the semi. Andretti flipped on lap 21 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Ballou
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Bryan Clauson
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Cummins-155, 2-Clauson-148, 3-Bacon-131, 4-McGhee-129, 5-Ballou-127, 6-Meseraull-127, 7-Bloespflug-118, 8-Grant-118, 9-Stockon-111, 10-Darland-103.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: February 20 - Ocala, FL - Bubba Raceway Park - "Winter Dirt Games VII"
