Friday night it was back to the red clay at Bloomington Speedway. 16 sprints were in attendance and the 2 fast times in their groups were Brandon Spencer 12.560 and Brayden Fox 12.166. This setup the heat races and the invert spin was a 2. Heat race 1 had Brandon Spencer win it from the outside front row and hold off Harley Burns, Jake Swanson, Geoff Ensign and Brady Short. Heat race 2 had polesitter Jordan Kinser win it in the Burton 04 and he held off Braxton Cummings, Brayden Fox, Sterling Cling and Chance Crum. This setup the A main event and the invert spin for the feature was a 1 which put Brandon Spencer and Jordan Kinser on the front row. Nashville, IN native Brandon Spencer looked really strong at the start of the A main as the red clay was still very fast. Brandon would look very strong with Jordan Kinser, Geoff Ensign and Jake Swanson trying all the grooves behind Brandon trying to keep the pressure on. Jake Swanson had worked from 5 to 2nd by about lap 10 and he then started getting close to the yellow #22 of Spencer. On lap 14 coming out of turn 4 Jake saw an opening and he put the 5T to the inside of Brandon and they bumped wheels battling for the top spot. Jake was able to take the top spot and looked to try to put some space between him and the other fierce competitors in the top 5. Jake would be able to hold on to the lead the final 10 laps and pick up the big win for the 5T team. Following Jake at the checkers it was Jordan Kinser, Geoff Ensign, Brandon Spencer, Brayden Fox and Matt Thompson. Brady Short still holds a 17 point lead over Harley Burns but it is still anyone's title as Brayden Fox, Jordan Kinser and Braxton Cummings are still in the hunt.
The Hoosier State Mod Lites were a strong 19 entries for the Steve Carpenter Memorial Race. The 2 fast times went to Mike Pershing 15.301 and Brandon Freeburg 14.984. This setup their heats and the invert was a 4. Heat race 1 was won by Tom Seets Sr. who came from 3rd to win it over Mike Pershing, Chris Hutton, Joseph Dunlap and Jeff Cast. Heat race 2 was won by Brandon Freeburg who came from 4th for the win. He was followed by Brenden Mcglothlin, Todd Minner, Andrew Davis and Casey Davis. This setup the A main event with an invert of 4. This put the 2nd place guys in their heats on the front row. At the start of the feature the front 2 had a decent start but by lap 5 Freeburg was on a mission. Sure enough he would go to the top and take the top spot over both of the front row starters and take the lead. Brandon would build a big lead but then got into lapped traffic. The final 4 laps were interesting as 2nd place was catching him in the traffic. This would not rattle Brandon Freeburg and he picked up the big Steve Carpenter Memorial race!!!! A great win for Freeburg who held off at the finish Todd Minner, Mike Pershing, Joseph Dunlap and Tad Canada. Congrats to the whole group of Mod Lites for putting a great show on for the Steve Carpenter Memoial.
The IMCA 305's had 17 entries and the 2 fast times were Ethan Barrow 11.400 and Justin Matthews 11.188. This setup the 2 heats with an invert of 3. Heat race 1 had John Paynter Jr. winning it from the outside front row and he was able to hold off Ethan Barrow, Terry Arthur and Ryan Tusing. The final heat for the IMCA 305's was won by Andy Bradley over Jordan Welch and Justin Matthews. The spin for the feature was a 2 so the heat race winners were on the front row. John Paynter Jr. was up on the cushion early and to the front with a strong move early. By lap 5 or 6 they were already into lapped traffic. The lapped traffic got really busy and the final ten laps would be very interesting. John Paynter Jr. had company behind him while trying to navigate each lapper and Ethan was able to take advantage of a lapper holding up John and took the lead. Ethan would be able to hold on to add to his multiple wins and he was able to hold off John Paynter Jr., Justin Matthews, Dillan Baldwin and Ryan Tusing. Another great show from the 305 bunch.
The UMP Hornets had a strong group of 19 entries for the evening. Heat race 1 was won by Alex Wilson over Brian Pollitt and Shane Reed. The final hornet heat was won by Michael Brewer over Chad Nolte and Landon Hayes. This setup the A main with a spin of 2 so the heat race winners were on the front row. Early in the race Alex Wilson looked strong and he is having a good year high in the UMP national points. Alex would lead most of the A and on the final 5 laps they were getting into lapped traffic and that was when it got real interesting. Alex had a car on the final lap hold him up trying to get around him and it opened up the spot that Michael Brewer needed and he would take the top spot and go on for the win. Michael Brewer held on at the finish over Skylar Ashley, Alex Wilson, Warren Hopkins and Donald Griffin. Thanks goes to all the teams and fans who came out for the Steve Carpenter Memorial for the Mod Lites. See you next Friday night at Bloomington Speedway for another great show at the RED CLAY!!
- Jill Spiker on Aug 15, 2023
- Article Date: 8/15/2023 by Kenny Clark