For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
E-mail: LKMRestart@gmail.com
Cell: (317) 201-0729

 

Hobbs Wins Street Stock Rumble Friday at Gas City;
Mihocko Is a First-Time Winner in Sprints;
Gehrke Holds On to Win USAC SpeeD2 Midget Main;
Losh Dominates the Modifieds; Edwards Surprises in Hornets

GAS CITY, Ind., Sept. 4 – Lee Hobbs of Mitchell, Ind. took home $1,000 out of a $7,000 purse for winning the 20-lap Street Stock Rumble Friday night at Gas City I-69 Speedway.

Tye Mihocko of Phoenix, Ariz. earned his first 25-lap Gas City non-wing sprint car feature victory, while Chett Gehrke of Bardtown, Ky. was victorious in the 20-lap USAC SpeeD2 Midwest Thunder midget feature. Defending track champion Derek Losh of Rensselaer, Ind. won the 20-lap main event for the modifieds for his sixth such feature victory of the year, and Nick Edwards of Marion, Ind. was the surprise winner of the 15-lap hornet feature.

Street Stocks

The Street Stock Rumble lived up to its billing, as it was a lot like gang warfare on a city street despite the fact Gas City is a quarter-mile dirt oval in the country. There were seven caution flags before Hobbs took the checkered 2.751 seconds before runner-up Glenn Bradley of Marion, Ind. did the same.

Polesitter Ervin Turner, also of Marion, led the first two laps. Hobbs started third and took the lead on lap three by passing both Bradley and Turner. Right after Hobbs assumed command there was a yellow that turned into a red flag due to extensive clean-up that had to be done after Sam Casko of Westville, Ind., Chris Hunter of Kokomo, Ind. and Bill Lewis of Fountain City, Ind. crashed in Turn 4. They all got out of their cars under their own power.

With five laps to go Hobbs had over a 4-second lead before that was dashed by yet another yellow. The last yellow flew with three laps to go when the fourth-place car of defending track champion Andy Bishop of Gas City spun in Turn 4, Matthew Baker of Kouts, Ind., also spun, and Jeffery Jessup of Union City, Ind. had a flat tire.

It was Hobbs’ fifth feature victory of the year at Gas City in his No. H0, which is sponsored by the Living Room Center, Hobbs Chassis and Pro Street, Woolston Automotive, Speedway Auto Parts of Orleans, Erv’s Card Room, Niflis Designs, Michaels Signs and Dynamic Technologies. Following Hobbs, Bradley and Turner at the end were Kory Conner of San Pierre, Ind. in fourth and Ron Flaugh of Converse, Ind. in fifth.

Eric Swan was the hard charger.

Non-Wing Sprint Cars

Mihocko stepped into Jamie and Michelle Paul’s High Asspirations Farms DRC Foxco No. 24P out of Eaton, Ohio, started on the pole, and led all 25 laps of the sprint car feature for his first Gas City feature victory ever.

Former track champion Thomas Meseraull of Waveland, Ind., started second and chased Mihocko the whole way.

Meseraull used the low groove to stay right behind Mihocko initially, but by lap 12 Mihocko had a 0.506-second lead. There were two late yellows with 17 laps down and 20 laps down that gave Meseraull additional chances, but Mihocko had great restarts and won by 1.204 seconds.

The yellow with 17 laps down was for Max Guilford of Auckland, New Zealand, who had a flat tire while running fourth. The one with five laps to go was for Jack Hoyer of Clinton Prairie, Ind., who spun in Turn 4 and got tagged by Dustin Ingle of Lima, Ohio.

The drivers who finished third and fourth came from deep within the field. Kyle Shipley of Phoenix, Ariz. finished third after starting tenth. He had a great start initially, rising to sixth on the first lap. He stayed in sixth, fifth or fourth until he passed Tyler Kendall of Greenfield, Ind., for third on lap 22.

Korbyn Hayslett of Troy, Ohio passed even more cars before he finished fourth. He started 19th but kept digging. He didn’t break into the top 10 until lap 12 or into the top five until lap 21. But he got fourth on lap 22 by passing Kendall, who held on for fifth.

USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midgets

Polesitter Stratton Briggs of Ana, Ohio led the first six laps of the 20-lap USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 midget feature chased by Abby Hohlbein of Cloverdale, Ohio.

Gehrke started 16th, broke into the top 10 on lap two, and was sixth by lap four. On lap five he moved into fourth place, on lap six he took third, and on lap seven he passed both Hohlbein and Briggs to take the lead.

Gehrke’s midget dropped fluid on the racetrack on lap 12 so much that it caused a caution, but he was still able to not only finish but to lead the rest of the way.

Jacob Denney of Galloway, Ohio started fifth and was always in the mix. He took second from Briggs on lap 12 and finished just 0.371 of a second behind Gehrke for the runner-up honors. Josh Yenser of Hilliard, Ohio and Bryce Massingill of Troy, Ohio had a good battle for third with their No. 12Y and No. 12M, respectively. Yenser got the show position, while Briggs passed Massingill on the white-flag lap for fourth. Massingill held on for fifth.

Modifieds

Losh didn’t have it easy in winning the modified feature but he still found a way to get to the front. He started fifth in his No. 21 Longhorn by Loenbro/Mullins Race Engines sponsored by Superior Sales and Service, R & R Transmission, Aggressive Graphics and Rensselaer Iron and Metal. He was sixth by the end of lap one, back in fifth on lap two, and he ran in fourth place from laps three through six. He passed Todd Sherman of Churubusco, Ind. on lap seven to move into third, and he stayed in that spot until he passed Randy Lines of Marion, Ind. for second on the backstretch on lap 11.

Polesitter Brad DeYoung of DeMotte, Ind., led the first 11 laps but Losh passed him for the lead with a move to the outside as they raced through Turn 2 on lap 12 and went on to post a 2.861-second victory over former track champion Lines, who was making his first Gas City start of the season. DeYoung held on for third. Sherman both started and finished in fourth place, while Dylan Woodling of Warsaw, Ind., placed fifth.

Hornets

The hornet division had the fewest cars but its feature saw the most lead changes. Polesitter James Headley Jr. of Wabash, Ind., led the first three laps; Jeremy Jones of Gas City led lap four, and the most recent winner, Kolton Sollars of LaFontaine, Ind., led laps five through 13.

At that point the top two drivers, Sollars and Jones, were involved in an incident that brought out a yellow and gave Edwards the lead. He held on for the last two laps for his first Gas City feature victory over Alexes Spaulding of Roanoke, Ind. Sollars regrouped to finish third. Headley Jr. did the same and finished fourth, while Steven Owens of Fairmount, Ind. placed fifth.

Edwards’ No. 71 Mustang is owned by Josh Edwards, also of Marion, and is sponsored by Titus Trucking, Headley Tree Service and Thompson’s Body Shop.

Red Flags

There were three flips during the course of the evening and they were all by USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 midget drivers.

Mark Nieft Jr. of Brownsburg, Ind., flipped between Turns 3 and 4 during the second D2 midget qualifying session. Zack Gingerich of Celina, Ohio flipped in Turn 4 at the start of the second D2 midget heat. Luke Lemmons flipped hard and high between Turns 3 and 4 with two laps down in the D2 midget feature while running fourth. All got out of their crumpled cars under their own power.

What’s Next?

On Friday night, Sept. 10 the track will host its season championship, which is the last points events of 2021. It will feature non-wing sprint cars, modifieds, street stocks, hornets, and a visit by the American Vintage Sprint Car Association (AVSCA) sprint cars.

An adult general admission ticket only costs $15, with kids 12 and under free. A pit pass costs $30.

The pit gates will open at 3 p.m. and the grandstands at 5 p.m. Hot laps are at 6:30 p.m. and the racing starts at 7:30 p.m.

The track is dark on Friday, Sept. 17, but it will host the second annual Gas City Power Pull on Saturday, Sept. 18. Then the USAC AMSOIL national sprint cars and the USAC NOS Energy Drink national midgets converge on Gas City on Thursday, Sept. 23 for the fourth annual James Dean Classic. The track will conclude its 2021 season with the two-day Fall Festival of Speed on Oct. 22-23.

The complete 2021 schedule and more information are on the track’s website at GasCityI69Speedway.com. Fans and competitors can also follow it on Twitter: @GasCitySpeedway; Instagram: @GasCitySpeedway and Facebook: GasCitySpeedwayOnTheGas.

Gas City I-69 Speedway is located on State Road 22, approximately a half-mile west of I-69, exit 259. The quarter-mile dirt oval is about halfway between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, and attracts drivers and fans from all over the Midwest.

The results:

Street Stock Qualifying: 1. Lee Hobbs, 13.836; 2. Andy Bishop, 13.863; 3. Glenn Bradley, 13.947; 4. Ervin Turner, 13.986; 5. Kory Conner, 14.214; 6. Ron Flaugh, 14.217; 7. Jeffery Jessup, 14.245; 8. Wayne Gibson, 14.356; 9. James Headley, 14.360; 10. Gerald Mullinex, 14.450; 11. Bill Lewis, 14.454; 12. John Rhodes, 14.475; 13. Tim Wilber, 14.562; 14. Eric Swan, 14.589; 15. Chris Hunter, 14.678; 16. Eric Hunter, 14.793; 17. Matthew Baker, 14.836; 18. Sam Casko, 15.120; 19. Tyler Bradley, 15.124; 20. Brent Sutton, 15.154; 21. Jim Stuckey, 15.886; 22. Gerald Owens, 16.572; 23. Bob Byrley, 16.876; 24. Maygin Collis, 17.093; 25. Michael Kuilikowski, NT; 26. Tony Homan, NT; 27. Justin Rostron, NT.

Street Stock Heat 1 (8 laps, 5 transfer): 1. Lee Hobbs, 2. Ervin Turner, 3. Tim Wilbur, 4. Gerald Mullinex, 5. Eric Hunter, 6. Jeffery Jessup, 7. Tyler Bradley, 8. Michael Kuilikowski, 9. Gerald Owens (DNS).

Street Stock Heat 2 (8 laps, 5 transfer): 1. Andy Bishop, 2. Kory Conner, 3. Wayne Gibson, 4. Bill Lewis, 5. Eric Swan, 6. Matthew Baker, 7. Bob Byrley, 8. Brent Sutton, 9. Tony Homan.

Street Stock Heat 3 (8 laps, 5 transfer): 1. Glenn Bradley, 2. James Headley, 3. Ron Flaugh, 4. John Rhodes, 5. Chris Hunter, 6. Sam Casko, 7. Jim Stuckey, 8. Justin Rolston, 9. Maygin Collis.

Street Stock Clean Fuels Trophy Dash (6 laps): 1. Ervin Turner, 2. Glenn Bradley, 3. Lee Hobbs, 4. Andy Bishop, 5. Kory Conner, 6. James Headley.

Street Stock B-Main (10 laps, 5 transfer): 1. Matthew Baker, 2. Jeffery Jessup, 3. Tony Homan, 4. Sam Casko, 5. Brent Sutton, 6. Jim Stuckey, 7. Michael Kuilikowski, 8. Bob Byrley, 9. Justin Rolston, 10. Maygin Collis, 11. Tyler Bradley (DNS).

Street Stock Feature (20 laps, with starting position in parentheses): 1. Lee Hobbs (3); 2. Glenn Bradley (2); 3. Ervin Turner (1); 4. Kory Conner (5); 5. Ron Flaugh (8); 6. James Headley (6); 7. Eric Swan (13); 8. John Rhodes (11); 9. Eric Hunter (12); 10. Wayne Gibson (7); 11. Gerald Mullinex (9); 12. Andy Bishop (4); 13. Tony Homan (20); 14. Jeffery Jessup (16); 15. Matthew Baker (15); 16. Jim Stuckey (19); 17. Brent Sutton (18); 18. Bill Lewis (10); 19. Chris Hunter (14); 20. Sam Casko (17); 21. Tim Wilber (DNS). Lap leaders: Laps 1-2, Turner; laps 3-20, Hobbs. Margin of victory: 2.751 seconds Fastest race lap: Hobbs, 13.848 seconds, lap 5. Hard charger: Swan.

Non-Wing Sprint Group 1 Qualifying: 1. Tyler Kendall, 11.806; 2. Tye Mihocko, 11.975; 3. Brayden Clark, 12.076; 4. Kyle Shipley, 12.122; 5. Dustin Ingle, 12.222; 6. Zack Pretorius, 12.228; 7. Matt Cooley, 12.350.

Non-Wing Sprint Group 2 Qualifying: 1. Max Guilford, 11.716; 2. Thomas Meseraull, 11.870; 3. Tim Creech, 11.894; 4. Travis Hery, 12.028; 5. Issac Chapple, 12.075; 6. Korbyn Hayslett, 12.143; 7. Ricky Lewis, 12.939.

Non-Wing Sprint Group 3 Qualifying: 1. Tyler Hewitt, 11.831; 2. Anthony D’Alessio, 11.894; 3. Jack Hoyer, 11.976; 4. Aaron Davis, 12.050; 5. Sterling Cling, 12.245; 6. Michael Fischesser, 12.283.

Non-Wing Sprint Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. Tye Mihocko, 2. Tyler Kendall, 3. Dustin Ingle, 4. Kyle Shipley, 5. Brayden Clark, 6. Matt Cooley, 7. Zack Pretorius.

Non-Wing Sprint Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. Tim Creech, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Max Guilford, 4. Travis Hery, 5. Issac Chapple, 6. Ricky Lewis, 7. Korbyn Hayslett.

Non-Wing Sprint Heat 3 (8 laps): 1. Tyler Hewitt, 2. Jack Hoyer, 3. Aaron Davis, 4. Anthony D’Alessio, 5. Sterling Cling, 6. Michael Fischesser, 7. Lee Dakus (DNS).

Non-Wing Sprint Feature (25 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Tye Mihocko (1); 2. Thomas Meseraull (2); 3. Kyle Shipley (10); 4. Korbyn Hayslett (19); 5. Tyler Kendall (5); 6. Aaron Davis (9); 7. Ricky Lewis (16); 8. Dustin Ingle (7); 9. Travis Hery (11); 10. Tim Creech (6); 11. Anthony D’Alessio (12); 12. Zack Pretorius (18); 13. Sterling Cling (15); 14. Brayden Clark (13); 15. Michael Fischesser (17); 16. Issac Chapple (14); 17. Jack Hoyer (4); 18. Max Guilford (8); 19. Tyler Hewitt (3); 20. Matt Cooley (DNS); 21. Lee Dakus (DNS). Lap leaders: Lap 1-25, Mihocko. Margin of victory: 1.204 seconds Fastest race lap: Mihocko, 12.364 seconds, lap 2.

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Qualifying Session 1: 1. Bryce Massingill, 12.682; 2. Jacob Denney, 12.717; 3. Stratton Briggs, 12.833; 4. Ian Creager, 12.978; 5. Michael Magic, 13.473; 6. Kyle Kriegbaum, 13.474; 7. Ryan Moran, 13.823; 8. Carl Peterson, NT.

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Qualifying Session 2: 1. Cory Guingrich, 12.900; 2. Josh Yenser, 12.921; 3. Alex Watson, 12.955; 4. Zach Gingerich, 13.142; 5. Jeremy Howe, 13.904; 6. Kameron Gladish, 13.906; 7. Jim Jones, 14.009; 8. Mark Nieft Jr., NT.

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Qualifying Session 3: 1. Abby Hohlbein, 12.728; 2. Chett Gehrke, 12.945; 3. Luke Lemmons, 13.211; 4. Taylor Nibert, 13.342; 5. Kyle Dagger, 13.355; 6. Keith Ousley, 13.408; 7. Bryce Dues, 13.628.

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. Stratton Briggs, 2. Jacob Denney, 3. Ian Creager, 4. Bryce Massingill, 5. Kyle Kriegbaum, 6. Michael Magic, 7. Ryan Moran (DNS), 8. Carl Peterson (DNS).

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. Alex Watson, 2. Josh Yenser, 3. Jeremy Howe, 4. Mark Nieft Jr., 5. Kameron Gladish, 6. Jim Jones, 7. Zach Gingerich, 8. Cory Guingrich.

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Heat 3 (8 laps): 1. Abby Hohlbein, 2. Luke Lemmons, 3. Kyle Dagger, 4. Bryce Dues, 5. Keith Ousley, 6. Chett Gehrke, 7. Taylor Nibert.

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Feature (20 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Chett Gehrke (16); 2. Jacob Denney (5); 3. Josh Yenser (6); 4. Stratton Briggs (1); 5. Bryce Massingill (10); 6. Abby Hohlbein (4); 7. Alex Watson (3); 8. Ian Creager (7); 9. Cory Guingrich (19); 10. Kyle Dagger (9); 11. Taylor Nibert (18); 12. Zach Gingerich (17); 13. Kyle Kriegbaum (12); 14. Keith Ousley (14); 15. Jeremy Howe (8); 16. Kameron Gladish (13); 17. Carl Peterson (20); 18. Mark Nieft Jr. (11); 19. Jim Jones (15); 20. Luke Lemmons (2); 21. Bryce Dues (DNS); 22. Michael Magic (DNS); 23. Ryan Moran (DNS). Lap leaders: Lap 1-6, Briggs; laps 7-20, Gehrke. Margin of victory: 0.371 seconds Fastest race lap: Hohlbein, 14.255 seconds, lap 1.

Modified Group 1 Qualifying: 1. Derek Losh, 12.535; 2. Todd Sherman, 13.002; 3. Brad DeYoung, 13.139; 4. Bub Roberts, 13.151; 5. Tony Anderson, 13.188; 6. Bill Griffith, 13.288; 7. Josh Malott, 13.385; 8. Jeffery Jessup 13.506.

Modified Group 2 Qualifying: 1. Shane O’Conner, 13.029; 2. Randy Lines, 13.077; 3. Dylan Woodling, 13.306; 4. Tim Monroe, 13.356; 5. Nick Richards, 13.484; 6. Josh Betts, 13.566; 7. Terry Grilliot, 13.675; 8. Dalton Lane, 14.339; 9. Hayden Tanner, 15.190.

Modified Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. Brad DeYoung, 2. Derek Losh, 3. Todd Sherman, 4. Bub Roberts, 5. Bill Griffith, 6. Tony Anderson, 7. Jeffery Jessup, 8. Andy Bishop, 9. Josh Malott.

Modified Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. Dylan Woodling, 2. Tim Monroe, 3. Randy Lines, 4. Josh Betts, 5. Nick Richards, 6. Terry Grilliot, 7. Dalton Lane, 8. Hayden Tanner, 9. Shane O’Conner (DNS).

Modified Feature (20 laps, with starting position in parentheses): 1. Derek Losh (5); 2. Randy Lines (2); 3. Brad DeYoung (1); 4. Todd Sherman (4); 5. Dylan Woodling (6); 6. Bub Roberts (7); 7. Shane O’Conner (18); 8. Bill Griffith (9); 9. Tony Anderson (11); 10. Nick Richards (10); 11. Andy Bishop (15); 12. Dalton Lane (14); 13. Jeffery Jessup (13); 14. Terry Grilliot (12); 15. Tim Monroe (3); 16. Josh Betts (8); 17. Hayden Tanner (16); 18. Josh Malott (17). Lap leaders: Laps 1-11, DeYoung; laps 12-20, Losh. Margin of victory: 2.861 seconds Fastest race lap: Losh, 13.973 seconds, lap 12.

Hornet Warmups: 1. Jeremy Jones, 15.932; 2. James Headley Jr., 16.157; 3. Kolton Sollars, 16.501; 4. Nick Edwards, 16.597; 5. Brian Isley, 16.645; 6. Alexes Spaulding, 16.650; 7. Jaylen Meltzer, 16.949; 8. Tracy Runion, 17.035.

Hornet Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. James Headley Jr., 2. Alexes Spaulding, 3. Tracy Runion, 4. Steven Owens, 5. Nick Edwards, 6. Eric Solms (DNS).

Hornet Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. Kolton Sollars, 2. Jeremy Jones, 3. Phillip McCord, 4. Eddie Tucker, 5. Jaylen Meltzer, 6. Brian Isley (DNS).

Hornet Feature (15 laps, with starting position in parentheses): 1. Nick Edwards (9); 2. Alexes Spaulding (5); 3. Kolton Sollars (2); 4. James Headley Jr. (1); 5. Steven Owens (7); 6. Brian Isley (11); 7. Jeremy Jones (4); 8. Tracy Runion (6); 9. Jaylen Meltzer (10); 10. Phillip McCord (3); 11. Eddie Tucker Jr. (8); 12. Eric Solms (DNS). Lap leaders: Laps 1-3, Headley Jr.; lap 4, Jones; laps 5-13, Sollars; laps 14-15, Edwards. Margin of victory: 1.555 seconds Fastest race lap: Headley Jr., 15.784 seconds, lap 7.

Linda Mansfield/Restart Communications
E-mail: LKMRestart@gmail.com
Cell: (317) 201-0729