For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
E-mail: LKMRestart@gmail.com
Cell: (317) 201-0729
Weir Wins Sprint Feature; Crum Tops USAC Midget Cup;
Losh; Hobbs and Tatman Are Other Big Winners
At Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday Night
GAS CITY, Ind., July 10 – Scotty Weir of Marion, Ind., became the first two-time non-wing sprint car feature winner this year at Gas City I-69 Speedway during the “Beach Night Bash” show Friday night. The pits were brimming with 33 sprint cars and a total of 119 race cars in all for the five-division program that was enjoyed by the track’s largest crowd so far this year.
Chance Crum of Snohomish, Wash. posted his first career USAC Midwest Regional Midget feature victory, while defending champion Derek Losh of Rensselaer, Ind., became the first two-time modified feature winner of the season. Lee Hobbs of Mitchell, Ind. earned his second street stock feature victory of the season at the Grant County quarter-mile dirt track, and Aaron Tatman of Lafayette, Ind., captured his first career Gas City hornet feature victory.
Sprint Cars
Weir had a perfect night in the non-wing sprint car division with his white No. 4P, which is a DRC chassis powered by a Pedersen Chevy engine that is sponsored by Red’s Racing Engines, Indy Race Parts and AFCO Shocks. The current sprint car point leader was smoother than anyone else and he topped his qualifying group, won his heat, started fourth in the feature but led all 25 laps, and he also set the fastest race lap of the main event.
Runner-up Robert Ballou of Tipton, Ind., had a harder trip with his Ballou Motorsports No. 12, which is a Triple X chassis sponsored by Murray’s Body Shop, Berks Western Telecomm and Suburban Subaru, and powered by a Don Ott-prepped engine. He started 14th, but he was tenth by lap two and fifth by lap six. He ran in fourth place from laps seven through 14 before he passed Matt Westfall of Pleasant Hill, Ohio for third on lap 15 and Cole Bodine of Rossville, Ind., for second on lap 18. Ballou did his best to pass Weir during the last seven laps too, but Weir fought him off. Ballou was just 0.141 of a second behind Weir at the checkered.
Bodine posted his best finish at Gas City ever by placing third after starting eighth in his family sprint car, the Driven2SaveLives/Elliotts Trailers No. 57. The 22-year-old driver was always in contention, as he ran in the top five from lap three to the finish.
Shane Cockrum of Benton, Ill., overcame contact on lap two on the backstretch in which the front wheels of Jamie and Michelle Paul’s High Asspirations Farm DRC/Foxco were up high in the sky and it appeared the car’s next stop might be Mars. Somehow the car didn’t flip and came down on all four wheels, so Cockrum kept going. The incident didn’t even bring out a yellow.
Cockrum was fourth when he launched. The shunt caused him to lose five positions, but he battled back and still finished fourth. Westfall rounded out the top five in the 25-lapper.
USAC Midget Cup
Three drivers paced the field in the 25-lap USAC Midget Cup feature, which was open to full midgets, SpeeD2 midgets, and 1,000cc mini-sprints. Front row starters Tyler Nelson of Indianapolis and Bryan Stanfill of Brownsburg, Ind., led the first four and the next 10 laps, respectively.
Crum was second when he and the leader, Stanfill, got together in Turn 4 with 14 laps down to bring out the race’s first caution. Stanfill ended up stopped in the inside of the turn but Crum kept going and was the leader for the restart with Nelson second.
More contact with 22 laps down knocked Nelson out of second and Ronnie Gardner of Brownsburg, Ind., went on to finish as the runner-up, 0.891 of a second behind Crum’s Rudeen Racing No. 26 Toyota. It was the first Indiana midget feature victory for Crum, who is a native of Washington state.
Blake Brannon, a 17-year-old driver from San Jose, Calif., finished third followed by veteran Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind. and USAC Midwest Regional Midget point leader Chett Gehrke of Bardtown, Ky. Stanfill and Nelson followed in sixth and seventh.
Modifieds
Losh, the track’s defending modified champion, had the same kind of stellar night that Weir had, as he also topped his qualifying group, won his heat, and led every lap of his feature to take the starring role among the 30 modified drivers in attendance.
Losh started second in the 20-lap modified feature, took the lead from polesitter Dillon Nusbaum of Columbia City, Ind., with a move to the outside on the backstretch on the first lap, and led that entire non-stop feature with his No. 21 Longhorn by Loenbro/Mullins Race Engines, which is sponsored by Superior Sales and Service, R & R Transmission and Aggressive Graphics.
Dylan Woodling of Warsaw, Ind., passed Nusbaum for second on lap five and chased Losh the rest of the way to finish second. Matt Twining, a UPS driver from Powell, Ohio, passed Nusbaum for third on lap nine and finished in that position for his best career finish at Gas City. Nusbaum held on for fourth and Zeke McKenzie of Claypool, Ind., finished fifth.
Street Stocks
Hobbs charged by polesitter Jason Fritz of Winamac, Ind., with a move to the outside in Turn 1 on lap four and went on to win the 15-lap street stock feature with his No. H0, which is sponsored by Living Room Center, Hobbs Chassis and Pro Street, and Woolston Automotive.
Glenn Bradley of Marion, Ind., started 12th but he marched through the field to finish second. Bradley was tenth on lap one, sixth on lap two, fifth on lap three, fourth on lap nine, third on lap 11, and he took second from Fritz with two laps to go. Fritz held on for third followed by Ervin Turner of Marion, Ind., and defending track champion Andy Bishop of Gas City.
Two dozen street stocks were on hand Friday night.
Hornets
Tatman started third in the 15-lap hornet feature, took the lead on lap two, and led the rest of the way in his No. 9 sponsored by DMD Graphics, Happy Campers RV Sales, and Bloomers Greenhouse.
Defending hornet champion James Headley of Marion, Ind., was in second, 1.314 seconds behind Tatman, on lap 12 when there was contact between him and the third-place car driven by Gage Allen of Warren, Ind., which caused Headley to flip in Turn 2 and bring out a red flag. Under the red Headley drove his crumpled car to Turn 4 and ploughed into Allen’s stopped car in retaliation, and then eventually drove back to the pits. Allen’s car was also done for the remainder of the event.
That gave second place to the current point leader, James Headley Jr. of Wabash, Ind., with three laps remaining. While trying to make a pass for the lead on the last lap, Headley Jr. spun out on the frontstretch just shy of the start-finish line, giving second place to Twining, who had finished third in the modified feature earlier. Eddie Tucker Jr. of Troy, Ohio, who started 14th, finished third followed by Jaime Razo of Kokomo, Ind., and Eric Solms of Marion, Ind.
Red Flags
In addition to Headley’s red flag, there were six other red flags during the evening.
Terry Sroufe of Huntington, Ind., flipped his modified in Turn 2 during that division’s second group qualifying session.
Travis Welpott of Pendleton, Ind., flipped between Turns 1 and 2 with five laps down in the second sprint heat while running sixth.
Defending sprint car track champion Max Adams of Marion, Ind., stopped in Turn 1 with six laps down in the third sprint heat while running fifth after his car caught on fire. He went to Marion General Hospital by private car later for treatment of lower leg burns.
Max Guilford of Auckland, New Zealand flipped in Turn 4 on the initial start of the sprint feature.
Travis Hery of Piqua, Ohio was running 11th and Tyler Hewitt of Marion, Ind. was 12th when they both flipped very hard in Turns 1 and 2 with four laps down in the sprint feature.
Ben Varner of Harbor Springs, Mich., a race engineer and student at Butler University, flipped on the backstretch on the last lap of the midget feature, spoiling what would have been his seventh-place finish and damaging his Esslinger/Spike to boot.
Reportedly no one other than Adams required medical treatment.
What’s Next?
Coming up next Friday night, July 16 is the Mid-Season Championship, which awards double points to all non-wing sprint car, modified, street stock and hornet drivers. The Midwest Oldtimers Vintage Race Club will also be on hand to showcase racing of the past.
The pit gate opens 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.
An adult general admission is only $15 and kids 12 and under are free. A pit pass costs $30.
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:
Non-Wing Sprint Group 1 Qualifying: 1. Brayden Fox, 11.579; 2. Nick Bilbee, 11.757; 3. Tyler Hewitt, 11.826; 4. Shane Cockrum, 11.858; 5. Korbyn Hayslett, 12.029; 6. Kyle Simon, 12.050; 7. Garrett Abrams, 12.389; 8. Jack James, 12.624, 9. Max Guilford, 12.765.
Non-Wing Sprint Group 2 Qualifying: 1. Tye Mihocko, 11.657; 2. Robert Ballou, 11.915; 3. Adam Byrkett, 11.956; 4. Sterling Cling, 12.016; 5. Cole Bodine, 12.137; 6. Matt McDonald, 12.148; 7. Ryan Barr, 12.195.
Non-Wing Sprint Group 3 Qualifying: 1. Scotty Weir, 11.867; 2. Max Adams, 11.870; 3. Zack Pretorius, 11.887; 4. Aaron Davis, 12.094; 5. Matt Westfall, 12.158; 6. Paul Dues, 12.258, 7. Garrett Aitken, 12.762.
Non-Wing Sprint Group 4 Qualifying: 1. Jadon Rogers, 11.936; 2. Travis Hery, 11.939; 3. Brayden Clark, 11.968; 4. Gabriel Gilbert, 11.988; 5. Tyler Kendall, 12.070; 6. Dustin Ingle, 12.213; 7. Austin Nigh, 12.261.
Non-Wing Sprint Heat 1 (8 laps, 4 transfer): 1. Shane Cockrum, 2. Nick Bilbee, 3. Tyler Hewitt, 4. Korbyn Hayslett, 5. Kyle Simon, 6. Brayden Fox, 7. Garrett Abrams, 8. Max Guilford, 9. Jack James.
Non-Wing Sprint Heat 2 (8 laps, 4 transfer): 1. Sterling Cling, 2. Cole Bodine, 3. Tye Mihocko, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Adam Byrkett, 6. Matt McDonald, 7. Ryan Barr, 8. Travis Welpott.
Non-Wing Sprint Heat 3 (8 laps, 4 transfer): 1. Scotty Weir, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Paul Dues, 4. Zack Pretorius, 5. Aaron Davis, 6. Garret Aitken, 7. David Gross, 8. Max Adams.
Non-Wing Sprint Heat 4 (8 laps, 4 transfer): 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. Travis Hery, 3. Brayden Clark, 4. Tyler Kendall, 5. Austin Nigh, 6. Dustin Ingle, 7. Gabriel Gilbert, 8. Ryan Edwards (DNS).
Non-Wing Sprint B-Main 1 (10 laps, 2 transfer): 1. Max Guilford, 2. Garrett Aitken, 3. Brayden Fox, 4. Aaron Davis, 5. Garrett Abrams, 6. Jack James, 7. Davis Gross, 8. Kyle Simon, 9. Max Adams (DNS).
Non-Wing Sprint B-Main 2 (10 laps, 2 transfer): 1. Adam Byrkett, 2. Dustin Ingle, 3. Ryan Barr, 4. Austin Nigh, 5. Gabriel Gilbert, 6. Matt McDonald, 7. Travis Welpott (DNS), 8. Ryan Edwards (DNS).
Non-Wing Sprint Feature (25 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Scotty Weir (4); 2. Robert Ballou (14); 3. Cole Bodine (8); 4. Shane Cockrum (3); 5. Matt Westfall (6); 6. Tyler Kendall (16); 7. Sterling Cling (1); 8. Dustin Ingle (20); 9. Korbyn Hayslett (13); 10. Garrett Aitken (19); 11. Zack Pretorius (15); 12. Brayden Clark (12); 13. Adam Byrkett (18); 14. Nick Bilbee (7); 15. Tye Mihocko (10); 16. Paul Dues (11); 17. Jadon Rogers (2); 18. Tyler Hewitt (9); 19. Travis Hery (5); 20. Max Guilford (17).
Lap leaders: Laps 1-25, Weir.
Margin of victory: 0.141 seconds
Fastest race lap: Weir, lap 7, 12.724 seconds.
USAC Midget Cup Qualifying Session 1: 1. Bryan Stanfill, 12.185; 2. Tyler Nelson, 12.362; 3. Chance Crum, 12.612; 4. Justin Dickerson, 13.137; 5. Billy Lawless, 13.138; 6. Glenn Waterland, 13.162; 7. Ben Varner, 13.164.
USAC Midget Cup Qualifying Session 2: 1. Blake Brannon, 12.232; 2. Russ Gamester, 12.463; 3. Chett Gehrke, 12.481; 4. Kyle Simon, 12.885; 5. Ronnie Gardner, no time.
USAC Midget Cup Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. Chance Crum, 2. Bryan Stanfill, 3. Tyler Nelson, 4. Billy Lawless, 5. Glenn Waterland, 6. Ben Varner, 7. Justin Dickerson (DNS).
USAC Midget Cup Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. Kyle Simon, 2. Russ Gamester, 3. Chett Gehrke, 4. Ronnie Gardner, 5. Blake Brannon, 6. Kevin Blue.
USAC Midget Cup Feature (25 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Chance Crum (6); 2. Ronnie Gardner (8); 3. Blake Brannon (10); 4. Russ Gamester (4); 5. Chett Gehrke (3); 6. Bryan Stanfill (1); 7. Tyler Nelson (2); 8. Billy Lawless (7); 9. Glenn Waterland (9); 10. Ben Varner (11); 11. Kyle Simon (5); 12. Kevin Blue (DNS); 13. Justin Dickerson (DNS).
Lap leaders: Laps 1-4, Nelson; laps 5-14, Stanfill; laps 15-25, Crum.
Margin of victory: 0.891 seconds
Fastest race lap: Stanfill, lap 4, 13.352 seconds.
Modified Group 1 Qualifying: 1. Bill Griffith, 13.163; 2. Ryan Sutter, 13.292; 3. Matt Twining, 13.323; 4. Josh Hotsinpiller, 13.638; 5. Nick Richards, 13.647; 6. Dalton Lane, 14.002; 7. J.J. Butler, 14.703.
Modified Group 2 Qualifying: 1. Derek Losh, 12.516; 2. Bub Roberts, 12.539; 3. Percy Gendreau, 13.287; 4. Josh Malott, 13.357; 5. Brad Hess, 13.448; 6. John Halsey, 13.726; 7. Terry Sroufe, 14.106; 8. Ross Albertson, 14.755.
Modified Group 3 Qualifying: 1. Todd Sherman, 12.803; 2. Aaron Orr, 12.915; 3. Dylan Woodling, 12.932; 4. Tony Anderson, 13.242; 5. Clayton Bryant, 13.248; 6. Jeff Herbert, 13.694; 7. Terry Grilliott, 13.806; 8. Travis Nichols, 14.140.
Modified Group 4 Qualifying: 1. Weasel Phlipot, 13.009; 2. Zeke McKenzie, 13.120; 3. Dillon Nusbaum, 13.122; 4. Jeffery Jessup, 13.380; 5. Andy Bishop, 13.398; 6. Josh Betts, 13.531; 7. Jason Jones, 13.698.
Modified Heat 1 (8 laps, 4 transfer): 1. Matt Twining, 2. Garrett Rons, 3. Bill Griffith, 4. Ryan Sutter, 5. Nick Richards, 6. Dalton Lane, 7. Josh Hotsinpiller, 8. J.J. Butler.
Modified Heat 2 (8 laps, 4 transfer): 1. Derek Losh, 2. Bub Roberts, 3. Percy Gendreau, 4. John Halsey, 5. Ross Albertson, 6. Brad Hess, 7. Josh Malott (DNS), 8. Terry Sroufe (DNS).
Modified Heat 3 (8 laps, 4 transfer): 1. Dylan Woodling, 2. Tony Anderson, 3. Todd Sherman, 4. Aaron Orr, 5. Clayton Bryant, 6. Terry Griliott, 7. Jeff Herbert, 8. Travis Nichols.
Modified Heat 4 (8 laps, 4 transfer ): 1. Dillon Nusbaum, 2. Zeke McKenzie, 3. Weasel Phlipot, 4. Jeffery Jessup, 5. Andy Bishop, 6. Jason Jones, 7. Josh Betts.
Modified B-Main (10 laps, 4 transfer): 1. Jason Jones, 2. Nick Richards, 3. Josh Hotsinpiller, 4. J.J. Butler, 5. Josh Betts, 6. Jeff Herbert, 7. Ross Albertson, 8. Dalton Lane, 9. Travis Nichols, 10. Andy Bishop, 11. Clayton Bryant, 12. Brad Hess (DNS), 13. Terry Grilliot (DNS), 14. Josh Malott (DNS), 15. Terry Sroufe (DNS).
Modified Feature (20 laps, with starting position in parentheses): 1. Derek Losh (2); 2. Dylan Woodling (4); 3. Matt Twining (3); 4. Dillon Nusbaum (1); 5. Zeke McKenzie (7); 6. Todd Sherman (11); 7. Weasel Phlipot (12); 8. Bub Roberts (5); 9. Garrett Rons (6); 10. Bill Griffith (9); 11. Tony Anderson (8); 12. Ryan Sutter (13); 13. Jeffery Jessup (16); 14. John Halsey (14); 15. Percy Gendreau (10); 16. Nick Richards (18); 17. J.J. Butler (20); 18. Aaron Orr (15); 19. Jason Jones (17); 20. Josh Hotsinpiller (19).
Lap leaders: Laps 1-20, Losh.
Margin of victory: 2.618 seconds
Fastest race lap: Losh, lap 2, 13.387 seconds.
Street Stock Heat 1 (8 laps, 5 transfer): 1. James Headley, 2. Lee Hobbs, 3. Tyler Bradley, 4. Ervin Turner, 5. Glenn Bradley, 6. Dalton Bishop, 7. Mark Wooten, 8. Bob Byrley, 9. Chris Hunter.
Street Stock Heat 2 (8 laps, 5 transfer): 1. Andy Bishop, 2. Jeffery Jessup, 3. Eric Hunter, 4. Ryan Arnett, 5. Dustin Marcum, 6. Garrett Bradley, 7. Josh Robertson, 8. Dan Wooten, 9. Gerald Mullinex.
Street Stock Heat 3 (8 laps, 5 transfer): 1. Jason Fritz, 2. Kyle Barger, 3. Tony Homan, 4. Austin Jones, 5. Terry Klopfenstein, 6. Maygin Collis, 7. Justin Rostron, 8. Marty Harckinson, 9. Raigen Rich.
Street Stock B-Main (10 laps, 5 transfer): 1. Garrett Bradley, 2. Mark Wooten, 3. Dan Wooten, 4. Josh Robertson, 5. Dalton Bishop, 6. Chris Hunter, 7. Bob Byrley, 8. Justin Rostron, 9. Maygin Collis, 10. Chris Hunter (DNS), 11. Gerald Mullenix (DNS), 12. Raigen Rich (DNS).
Street Stock Feature (15 laps, with starting position in parentheses): 1. Lee Hobbs (4); 2. Glenn Bradley (12); 3. Jason Fritz (1); 4. Ervin Turner (9); 5. Andy Bishop (6); 6. Garrett Bradley (12); 7. James Headley (5); 8. Ryan Arnett (10); 9. Dan Wooten (16); 10. Josh Robertson (17); 11. Dustin Marcum (13); 12. Dalton Bishop (18); 13. Tyler Bradley (7); 14. Terry Klopfenstein (14); 15. Austin Jones (11); 16. Jeffery Jessup (2); 17. Eric Hunter (8); 18. Kyle Barger (3); 19. Tony Homan (DNS); 20. Mark Wooten (DNS).
Lap leaders: Laps 1-3, Fritz; laps 4-15, Hobbs.
Margin of victory: 4.136 seconds.
Fastest race lap: Hobbs, lap 9, 13.606 seconds.
Hornet Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. Gage Allen, 2. Brady Hines, 3. Allison Butler, 4. Charlie Teegardin, 5. Alexes Spaulding, 6. Tracey Runion, 7. Steven Owens.
Hornet Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. James Headley, 2. Heisman Skeens, 3. Jaime Razo, 4. Kolton Sollars, 5. Eric Solms, 6. Robbie White.
Hornet Heat 3 (8 laps): 1. Aaron Tatman, 2. Tommy Mayworm, 3. Matt Twining, 4. James Headley Jr., 5. Eddie Tucker Jr., 6. Jeff Young.
Hornet Feature (15 laps, with starting position in parentheses): 1. Aaron Tatman (3); 2. Matt Twining (8); 3. Eddie Tucker Jr. (14); 4. Jaime Razo (7); 5. Eric Solms (13); 6. Allison Butler (6); 7. Charlie Teegardin (9); 8. Jeff Young (16); 9. James Headley Jr. (11); 10. James Headley (5); 11. Gage Allen (2); 12. Kolton Sollars (10); 13. Tracey Runion (15); 14. Heisman Skeens (4); 15. Alexes Spaulding (12); 16. Steven Owens (17); 17. Brady Hines (1); 18. Tommy Mayworm (DNS); 19. Robbie White (DNS).
Lap leaders: Lap 1, Hines; laps 2-15, Tatman.
Margin of victory: 1.953 seconds
Fastest race lap: Hines, lap 1, 15.193 seconds.
Linda Mansfield/Restart Communications
E-mail: LKMRestart@gmail.com
Cell: (317) 201-0729