The MSCS sprints brought a huge field to Bloomington Speedway for the 10 Grand to win Josh Burton Memorial. Leading the qualifying was Mitchell Moles, Dave Darland, Max Adams, Thomas Meseraul and Jordan Kinser. The 5 heat format would only take the top 3 then we would have a C main and B main to determine the final 5 spots to get in the big show. The heat races would be the best part of the night as the track was really good on the bottom and on the cushion and every heat had a lot of passing and excitement. Heat race 1 was won by Kyle Cummins over Daison Pursley and Mitchell Moles. Kyle came from 6th to win it so it was very impressive. Heat race 2 went to Dave Darland who came from 4th on the cushion to win it over Brayden Fox and Chase Stockon. The huge crowd was very happy because the People's Champ was back and looked very good on the cushion to take the heat win. Heat 3 Brady Short won from the pole over Geoff Ensign and Shane Cottle who came from 6th to 3rd. The 4th heat would go to Brandon Mattox over Tmez and Jake Swanson. The final heat would go to Charles Davis Jr. over Andy Bradley and Jordan Kinser. The C main was won by Gabriel Gilbert. The final 5 spots to get in the big show from the B main was next. Braxton Cummings would get the big B main win over Harley Burns, Hunter Maddox, Cobe Simpson and Collin Ambrose to transfer to the big show. This would setup the A main for 10 grand. The redraw would be very important and the front row was going to be Brady Short and Dave Darland. The rubber was building up on the bottom of the track and Brady Short looked really strong early in the race. Some drivers were trying the cushion but it appeared that the bottom was the place to be. Brady was definitely the guy to beat on the bottom starting from the pole. He would do a good job on the bottom of the track and would be able to hold off Kyle Cummins from his bumper for the final 10 laps. Brady Short picked up the huge win over Kyle Cummins, Charles Davis Jr., Geoff Ensign and Brayden Fox. Shane Cottle picked up the hard charger as he came from 13th to 8th. The 2nd feature went to Cody Trammell over Kayla Roell and Gabriel Gilbert. Thanks to all of the 44 entries that came to Bloomington Speedway to honor Josh and Darlene for this special night.
The UMP Mods would battle for 1 Grand to win and there were 21 entries. The fast times for the 3 groups were led by John Demoss, Derek Groomer and Caleb Demoss. The invert wheel spin for the heats was a 2. Heat 1 was won by Jeff Deckard from the 3rd spot over Nathan Voorhies and John Demoss. Heat 2 was taken by Bradley Jameson over Brayden Watson and Derek Groomer. The last heat was won by Logan Mounce over Caleb Demoss and Garrett Jameson. This setup the A main and the wheel invert spin was a 3 which put Logan Mounce and Bradley Jameson on the front row. By feature time and with over 100 cars in the pits the place to be was the bottom as the rubber had built up. Logan Mounce took advantage of that and looked real strong on the bottom for the 20 laps and took the big win on the Josh Burton night over Bradley Jameson, Brayden Watson, John Demoss and Nathan Voorhies. Thanks to all the 21 UMP Mod teams that put on a great show on Josh's night.
The UMP Super Stocks were also racing for 1 Grand to win on Josh's night and they brought 17 entries. Fast times in their groups were Matt Boknecht and Justin Massie. The 3 was the spin for the heats and heat 1 Matt Boknecht came from 3rd to win his heat over Brandon Carr and Hayden Groomer. Heat 2 was won by Isaiah Sasser over Justin Massie and Zach Sasser. This setup the A main and the invert was a 4 which put Justin Massie and Brandon Carr on the front row. Justin and Brandon had a good battle early for the top spot. Brandon was trying to get the middle to work. While they were battling at the front Matt Boknecht had got up to 3rd and he was definitely catching the top 2 running inches from the inside tires. Matt did get by Brandon and then made a move on Justin to take the lead. Matt would go on and take the 15 lap A main over Brandon Carr, Isaiah Sasser, Justin Massie and Zach Sasser. Thanks to all the UMP Super Stock teams for putting on another great show also.
The MMSA group brought a strong 27 entries. Fast time for the night was Eli Wihelmus. The 3 heats were won by Eli Wihelmus, Mike Larrison and Eric Weber. A couple cars scratched for the B main so all 25 would start the A main. Eli Wihelmus along with Mike Larrison and Bryan Brewer would have a great battle for the top spot. The 06 of Mike Larrison was a rocket and would take the lead and do a great job through the lapped traffic building his lead. Mike Larrison would take the big win over 25 cars holding off Eli Wihelmus, Bryan Brewer, Cody Knieriem and Eric Weber. Awesome show for the Winged Mini Sprints in front of the huge Josh Burton Memorial crowd. Thanks goes to all the teams for putting on an outstanding show. Thanks to the Burton Family and all the great sponsors who make this show the biggest in the Midwest for sure at the Red Clay. Next week we are back to a regular show with Sprints, Mods, Super Stocks and 305 Racesavers. See you Friday night at the red clay June 2nd.
- Jill Spiker on May 30, 2023
- Article Date: 5/30/2023 by Kenny Clark