The MSCS group brought 26 cars to LPS for the redo of the rained out Night 1 of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular we rained out July 4th weekend. The format would be 3 heats taking the top 5 then 5 out of the B main. Fast time for the evening was the 24P of Tye Mihocko. Tye would look strong in his heat also coming from 4th to win it. Heat race 2 had Jadon Rogers winning it in his new ride the 17GP. The final heat was won by Harley Burns who also like Tye came from 4th to win it. The B main was won by Jack Hoyer who was in the 5 Baldwin ride. This setup the main event and with the invert Geoff Ensign and Mitch Wissmiller were on the front row for the 30 lap 5K to win A main. Geoff was in the 17G Gass motorsports ride and he would head to the cushion early in the race. Harley Burns looked strong on the bottom early and would take the lead from the 3rd starting spot. Early in the race Brent Beauchamp had came from 10th to battle for 5th but caught the cushion wrong in turn 3 and flipped bringing out the red ending his night which was a bummer because he was heading to the front. On the restart it was Harley still on the bottom holding off the cars up on the cushion with Ensign, Mihocko and Rogers all up there battling from 2nd through 4th. After the halfway point the low groove for Harley wasn't working as good and Geoff Ensign would take the lead as the sliders up top were starting to roll. Tye Mihocko would throw a slider for the lead but Geoff would cross over and keep the lead. The cushion was definitely the place to be by lap 17 on. Geoff was hitting his marks great on the cushion but Tye and Jadon were right there hoping he would miss his mark. Chance Crum had made it from 8th to 4th and Brandon Mattox had came from 13th to 5th in the closing laps. Geoff would definitely not miss a beat at all on the cushion in the 17G on the final 3 laps and would hold on for a big win. Jadon Rogers made a strong move picking up the 2nd spot away from Tye Mihocko at the finish with both of them putting on a slider show definitely for the fans. Chance Crum held on for 4th and Brandon Mattox rolled the bottom to pick up 5th place. Thanks to all the teams who put on a great show where we honor our friend Bill Gardner every July 4th weekend and sometimes in August when rain gets us.
The UMP Super Stocks had 17 entries with the 2 fast times going to Larry Raines and Jordan Almanza. The invert for the heats was a 1. Larry Raines and Reece Novak had a great battle in heat 1 with Reece barely winning the heat over Larry but both put on a great battle. Heat race 2 was won by Wade Goodale who held off Jordan Almanza and Justin Massie. This setup the A main and the invert was a 2 which put the heat race winners on the front row. Wade Goodale would look strong on the bottom for the A and once again Reece and Larry were battling for the 2nd spot behind the 14G. The R4 would take the 2nd spot and head to the cushion to try to run down the 14G of Wade Goodale. This was another good battle among 2 of the fastest in the class this year. Wade would hold on for the 20 lap win over Larry Raines, Justin Massie, Reece Novak and Jordan Almanza. Another great show by the Super Stock teams we appreciate each and every week.
The UMP Mods had 23 entries and the fast 3 in their groups were Jimmy Hayden, Derek Losh and Wes McClara. This setup the heats taking the top 5 with an invert of 2. Heat race 1 was won by Jeff Deckard over Jerry Bland Jr. and Scott Carrington. Heat race 2 was won by Derek Losh over Matt Cooley and RT Gamble. The final heat went to Tyler Loughmiller over Wes McClara and Jake Leitzman. The last chance in was won by Richie Lex. This setup the A main with an invert spin of 6. This would put Derek Losh and Jeff Deckard back in the 3rd row. Wes McClara would take the early lead from the pole and he looked really good on the bottom groove. Sure enough though by about the midway point of the race after many cautions the 21 Losh had made it from 5th to 2nd and was hard on the cushion to attempt to take over the top spot. He was able to pass Wes on the high side and would go on for another huge win as he has now got to the top 10 in the nation with the wins starting to rack up. Following Derek Losh at the finish it was Wes McClara, Tyler Loughmiller, Jeff Deckard, Jerry Bland Jr. and Matt Mitchell. Thanks to all the UMP MOd teams for a great show and the big one in honor of Gary Ricketts in the 2 grand to win Buckeye Bob 33 lapper is next Saturday.
The IMCA Racesaver 305's had 24 entries and the 3 fast times were Tres Mehler, Jordan Welch and John Wolforth. The heat race winners were Tres Mehler, Ethan Barrow and John Paynter Jr. The final chance to get in for the B main was won by Levi Winget. The invert for the A main event was a 3 which put John Paynter Jr. and Ethan Barrow on the front row. This would be another 20 lap great battle but Ethan Barrow would keep his streak alive at LPS by holding off the field through many lapped cars hitting his marks and taking the checkers again. Following Ethan Barrow at the finish it was Tres Mehler, Dillan Baldwin, John Paynter Jr. and Jordan Welch. Thanks to all 24 teams who put on another great IMCA show for our fans. Next Saturday join us at LPS for the Buckeye BOB 33 lap 2 grand to win Gary Ricketts Memorial for the UMP Mods. It will be another great show with our 4 classes plus the MMSA group who bring a big field and always puts on a fantastic show. See you at the Big Cushion next Saturday night at LPS.
- Jill Spiker on Aug 24, 2023
- Article Date: 8/24/2023 by Kenny Clark