Mother Nature decided not to play well with most of the tracks in Indiana on Saturday so 46 sprints pulled into the pits at Lincoln Park Speedway and luckily we missed some big pop up storms around 5 in the afternoon and we would get to see a lot of our weekend heroes battle it out. With this many entries it would be 5 heats top 3 with 2 b mains taking the top 3 to get down to a 21 car field for the A main. The rest would also get to run a 2nd feature at the end of the night to get plenty of laps to tame the cushion at LPS. Speaking of the cushion you might have seen the early picture of turn 4 after qualifying ended and it was as large as a normal chair that you can sit down on. The 5 groups were all loaded with a lot of talent from all parts of the country. Those 5 groups were led in qualifying by Seth Parker(13.309), Brandon Spencer (13.086), Kevin Thomas Jr. (13.167), Tim Creech (13.687) and Zack Pretorius (13.584). The all important spin for the invert was a 1 so the fast qualifiers would get to rip it from the pole of each heat. Heat 1 Seth Parker looked really strong and won his heat over Dustin Clark and Harley Burns. Heat race 2 Jordan Kinser from the outside front row spot would take the heat over Jadon Rogers and Brandon Spencer. Heat race 3 KTjr. would look strong in the 17GP and win his heat race over Braxton Cummings and Nate McMillin. Heat race 4 was the wildest of the heats with Shane Cottle coming from 4th to win the heat over Isaac Chapple from 8th and Koby Barksdale from 5th. The final heat was won from Tye Mihocko from 3rd over Jake Swanson and Jesse Vermillion. The 5 heats were full of intensity. WIth the 10 cars in the first heat we always go 10 laps when we have 10 cars to give the drivers in the back that extra couple laps to attempt to move up. There were now 15 in the A and we still had 31 cars to try to get in the A with the 2 B mains only taking 3 each from them. The 1st B main was won from the pole by Brian Hayden over Zack Pretorius and Trey Osborne. The final B main was won by Brandon Mattox over Shane Cockrum and Jake Scott. Kudos goes to each of the 4th place guys because Alec Sipes came from 11th to 4th in the first B and Blake Vermillion missed the A by millimeters to Jake Scott for the final spot in the 2nd B main. The A main field was now full and the invert spin was a 2 which put Jordan Kinser and Seth Parker on the front row. These 2 are both really strong Indiana drivers leading a stout field for an action packed 25 laps. Jordan started the A on the bottom and Seth headed for the cushion. The track was really smooth and both drivers battled hard for the top spot early. Behind Jordan it was getting really interesting because the top groove was really fast with momentum and hitting it just right. Isaac Chapple and Jake Swanson started 9th and 10th and they were on the move. Jordan in the 04 was cruising at a great speed on the bottom and he was hitting his marks perfectly. Behind him it was a tough battle as Shane Cottle had made his way to 2nd and if you know Shane we all know he is one of the best on the bottom or in other fishing terms he excels as a catfish on the bottom. Jordan the final 5 laps stayed really close to the bottom not letting up at all and picked up a big win for the Burton team over a stout field that you would see normally at an MSCS show or Usac show. Finishing behind Jordan Kinser at the finish it was Shane Cottle, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Isaac Chapple rounding out the top 5. To end the night we ran the 2nd sprint feature and youngster Rylan Gray won his first feature at LPS over Rob Caho, Alec Sipes, Ryan Thomas and Kyle Johnson. Daniel Whitley won the Harf hard charger award in honor of Galen Fox who is a legend and our prayers are with the Fox family.
The UMP Modifieds had 15 entries and it was loaded with Indiana champs along with some of the top mods of the nation. The 2 groups were led by Derek Groomer( 14.872) and Derek Losh(14.925). The spin for the heats was a 1 so Derek Groomer would pick up his heat win over Matt Mitchell and Will Bennett. Derek Losh would also win his heat from the pole over Jake Leitzman and Tim Prince. This would setup the 20 lap A main with an invert spin of a 4 which would put Jake and Matt on the front row. Matt and Jake would have a good battle early both low and high. Just behind them the 2 Derek's were moving to the front and Derek Losh would take over the lead halfway through the feature. It wasn't over yet as Derek Groomer got up to 2nd and there were 2 straight laps that each the D48 and 21L were side by side coming off of turn 4 just inches apart. The final 5 laps were a great battle but the 21L Derek Losh would hold off Derek Groomer for his 3rd win of the season. Following those 2 at the finish it was Matt Mitchell, Jake Leitzman and Tyler Loughmiller coming from 10th to 5th. It was another great battle early in the season for those important UMP points.
The UMP Super Stocks had 18 entries and the 2 groups were led by Zach Sasser (15.113) and Jeff Allen (15.221). The invert spin for the heats was a 4 which put the fast time guys starting outside 2nd row. Heat 1 had Wade Goodale take the win over Ryan Freeland and Zach Sasser. Heat race 2 had Devin Wallen win from the pole over Jordan Almanza and Travis Heramb. This would setup the A main and the invert spin was a 4 which would put Jordan Almanza and Ryan Freeland on the front row. This would be a great battle early with Ryan Freeland looking strong early in the A. There were many battles back from 5th through 10th with a lot of action each corner. Larry Raines started 7th and Josh Litton started 10th and both of these 2 by lap 12 were making some moves to the front. The R4 of Larry would put the pressure on Ryan and would eventually make the move and look strong the final 5 laps and take the win over a strong field. Following Larry Raines at the checkers was Ryan Freeland, Josh Litton (from 10th), Jordan Almanza and Jeff Allen. Another great battle among a lot of the top UMP Super Stock Points chasers for sure. Josh Litton won the hard charger award donated from HARF in honor of Butch Hartman.
The Bombers had 13 entries and the 2 groups were led by Joey Raber(16.276) and David Bumgardner(16.205). The invert spin for the heats was a 4. Heat 1 Joey came from 4th to take the win over Megan Cavaness and Sheldon Oberle. Heat race 2 was won by Josh Foxworthy over Corey Anstead and David Bumgardner. The spin for the feature was also a 4 which put Corey and Megan on the front row. This would be another great 15 lap battle among some great talent in the Bomber division. Corey Anstead took the early lead on the bottom groove but Megan was really trying the middle groove to attempt to make the pass. Corey was really strong on the bottom groove and stuck close to the tires at the bottom and didn't miss his mark and built a car length lead halfway through the A. He would be able to hit his marks the rest of the way to pick up the big win and once again take the points lead in a very close battle in 2023. Following Corey Anstead at the checkers it was Josh Foxworthy, Megan Cavaness, Joey Raber and David Bumgardner. Thanks goes to all 92 teams that came to the Capital Of The Cushion to put on a great battle. Next weekend we will have the Indiana Racesaver 305's with their first show for 2023 at Bloomington and LPS. We are hoping the month of May brings us more sunshine and warmth to heat up the racing intensity! Thanks again to all the fans that came to Lincoln Park Speedway on a chilly night.
- Jill Spiker on May 02, 2023
- Article Date: 5/2/2023 by Kenny Clark