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

 

Losh Rules Modified Feature; Massingill Tops the D2 Midgets;
Fritz Nabs the Street Stock Main and Arcaro Stars in the Hornets
Friday Night at Gas City I-69 Speedway

GAS CITY, Ind., July 30 — Derek Losh of Rensselaer, Ind., reminded everyone how good he is at Gas City I-69 Speedway when he led all 20 laps of the UMP modified feature Friday night.

Bryce Massingill of Troy, Ohio took the top honors in a very competitive 20-lap USAC SpeeD2 Midwest Thunder midget feature which seemed to have a curse over whoever was running third.

David Fritz of Winamac, Ind., drove a car he built himself to victory in the 15-lap street stock main event, while Landon Arcaro of Brookville, Ind., won his fourth 15-lap feature for the hornets so far this season at the Grant County quarter-mile dirt oval.

Modifieds

Losh started third in the modified feature and came out on top in a three-car drag race into Turn 1 on the first lap. From that point on the fight was for second place, as there were no yellows and no one ever got close again to Losh’s No. 21, which is a Longhorn by Loenbro chassis with a Mullins engine. The team is sponsored by Superior Sales and Service, R & R Transmission, Aggressive Graphics and Rensselaer Iron and Metal.

Losh won by 2.395 seconds.

Polesitter Garrett Rons of Livonia, Mich., held second place for the first four laps before Will Krup of Mt. Carmel, Ill. passed him and went on to earn the runner-up honors with his Elite Mullins sponsored by Willy’s Carbs, Bilstein Shocks and KBC.

Josh “The Wizard” Morton of Piqua, Ohio started sixth, passed Rons at the halfway point, and finished third in his Kryptonite Rhyne No. 20M sponsored by Metalbrite Polishing, Pardo’s Towing and M&M Services.

Dylan Woodling of Warsaw, Ind., passed Rons on the last lap for fourth in the No. 3W owned and wrenched by Randy Woodling, also of Warsaw. It’s a WR Customs chassis with a Pace Performance engine, and it’s sponsored by WR Customs, Bishop Farms and Rocket Suspension. Rons held on for fifth in his family’s Rocket by Ruhlman chassis with a Fastime engine. His No. 9 is sponsored by VFW Post 3941, Anatomical Resources and J. Drummond Services.

USAC SpeeD2 Midwest Thunder Midgets

Massingill, who turned 17 on July 12, was the star of this round of the USAC SpeeD2 Midwest Thunder midget series, which is sponsored by Performance Electronics of Cincinnati, despite starting in the middle of the field in tenth place.

Polesitter Zach Wigal of Belpre, Ohio led the first lap, but Jon Watson of St. Louis passed him to lead lap two. Wigal regained the lead on lap three, but then it was like a curse had suddenly been placed on the drivers who ran in third place, as two yellows waved for the drivers who were in that position.

First Chett Gehrke of Bardstown, Ky., stopped between Turns 3 and 4 with three laps down while running third. That gave third to Luke Lemons of Moraine, Ohio, but he spun low in Turn 2 with four laps down.

That moved Massingill into third, but he advanced out of that position quickly by passing Watson for second on lap six to elude any bad luck.

Wigal led through lap nine, but Massingill charged by him with a move to the outside as they went through Turn 4 on lap 10 to take the lead, which he never again relinquished.

Stratton Briggs of Anna, Ohio passed Wigal for second two laps later, but by that point Massingill already had a 1.707-second lead.

Massingill had a 1.432-second lead over Briggs when another caution waved with 15 laps down after Tyler Watkins of Marion, Ind., spun on the backstretch. He was running 15th, however, not third.

Briggs saw his chance on the restart, but Massingill successfully defended his lead. Two laps later the third-place curse struck again when Wigal stopped on the backstretch while in the show position. He ended up 14th.

That put Alex Watson of Columbus, Ohio, who won the D2 midget feature here on June 24, in third place, but once again trouble struck the driver in that position and he dropped out with two laps to go to be scored 13th at the end.

Watson’s misfortunes gave third place to Ian Creager of Covington, Ohio, who somehow eluded any problems for the final two laps to finish third behind Massingill and Briggs.

Michael Magic of Indianapolis came from 11th to finish fourth, while the driver who had been third at the start, Jakeb Boxell of Zanesville, Ohio, finished fifth.

Massingill had a 1.096-second lead over Briggs at the checkered. The winning midget, a Boss chassis with a Mike Wallace-prepped Ecotec engine, is sponsored by CarBrite, Creative Labels, Double Jay Construction and Sroufe’s Painting Services.

The D2 midgets are back at Gas City on Friday, Aug. 12.

Street Stocks

Polesitter Bill Lewis of Fountain City, Ind., led two-thirds of the street stock feature before he was forced to the pits due to a flat right-rear tire. That gave the lead to Fritz, who had started third and moved into second by passing James Headley Jr. of Wabash, Ind., working lap six.

Once in front Fritz was able to pad his lead for the last five laps. Behind him, however, a war was raging for second between Headley Jr.; his father, James Headley of Marion, Ind.; Andy Bishop of Gas City, and Lee Hobbs of Mitchell, Ind.

They finished in that order. It was a particularly nice rebound by Hobbs, who also suffered a flat right-rear tire while he was eighth on lap six.

Hornets

Polesitter Jeremy Jones of Gas City led the first three laps of the hornet feature until he lost his left rear tire. Arcaro inherited the lead at that point and led the rest of the way despite three more yellows that tightened up the field.

Alexes Spalding of Roanoke, Ind.; Kaleb Hinkley of Fremont, Ind., and Heisman Skeens of Marion, Ind., were engaged in a big fight for second on lap eight when a yellow waved when Brandon Lines, also of Marion, stopped on the frontstretch.

Hinkley just nipped Spalding at the line to grab second on lap nine, but Spalding got the position back on lap 12 before two more yellows flew. The first was for Jerry Manns of Wolcottville, Ind., who stopped low in Turn 1. The second was for Jordan Button of Winamac, Ind., who was penalized four spots for jumping the restart, which dropped him to eighth from fourth.

Hinkley dipped under Spalding for second in Turn 1 on the restart that stuck, and then followed Arcaro across the line three laps later to finish second. Spalding placed third. Button rebounded to finish fourth, while Hunter Rasmussen of Lagro, Ind., started ninth and rounded out the top five.

Arcaro’s car is sponsored in part by Gilman’s Home Center, Remax Preferred Choice, and Smith Landscaping and Lawn Care.

Red Flag

Josh Yenser of Plain City, Ohio flipped in Turn 2 with three laps down in the third D2 midget heat in a crash with Cory Guingrich of Celina, Ohio. Both climbed out of their cars under their own power.

What’s Next?

The “Beach Night Bash” on Friday, Aug. 5 is next on the schedule. It will feature non-wing sprint cars, modifieds, street stocks and hornets, plus a display and exhibition by the Midwest Oldtimers Vintage Race Club.

On Friday, Aug. 12 the program includes non-winged sprint cars, USAC SpeeD2 Midwest Thunder midgets, winged 600cc micro-sprints, and an appearance by the Dirt Track Truck Series. Hornets will be permitted to run with the dirt trucks.

The track’s “Night of Destruction” is set for Saturday, Aug. 20. It features monster trucks, a minivan demo derby, trailer races, a rollover contest and more.

For more information see the track’s social media outlets, as the track’s website is undergoing some changes. It is on Facebook (GasCitySpeedwayOnTheGas) and Twitter (@GasCitySpeedway).

Gas City I-69 Speedway is located on State Road 22, approximately a half-mile west of exit 259 of Interstate 69, about halfway between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Ind.

The results:

Modified Group 1 Qualifying: 1. Josh Morton, 13.600; 2. Scott Martin, 13.805; 3. Will Bennett, 13.836; 4. Nick Richards, 13.991; 5. Jesse Strange, 14.064; 6. Josh Betts, 14.136; 7. Cole Sink, 14.230; 8. Brian Post, 14.237; 9. Terry Grilliot, 14.441.

Modified Group 2 Qualifying: 1. Derek Losh, 13.358; 2. Will Krup, 13.893; 3. Dylan Woodling, 14.042; 4. Garrett Rons, 14.571; 5. Andy Bishop, 14.612; 6. Brad Hess, 14.713; 7. Dan Snyder, 14.787; 8. Jeffery Jessup, 15.031.

Modified Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. Josh Morton, 2. Nick Richards, 3. Josh Betts, 4. Brian Post, 5. Cole Sink, 6. Terry Grilliot, 7. Scott Martin, 8. Jesse Strange, 9. Will Bennett (DNS).

Modified Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. Will Krup, 2. Derek Losh, 3. Garrett Rons, 4. Dylan Woodling, 5. Andy Bishop, 6. Jeffery Jessup, 7. Dan Snyder, 8. Brad Hess.

Modified Feature (20 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Derek Losh (3); 2. Will Krup (5); 3. Josh Morton (6); 4. Dylan Woodling (8); 5. Garrett Rons (1); 6. Cole Sink (9); 7. Jeffery Jessup (12); 8. Nick Richards (4); 9. Brian Post (7); 10. Terry Grilliot (11); 11. Andy Bishop (10); 12. Josh Betts (2); 13. Scott Martin (13); 14. Dan Snyder (14); 15. Brad Hess (15); 16. Jesse Strange (DNS); 17. Will Bennett (DNS). Lap Leaders: Laps 1-20, Losh. Margin of Victory: 2.395 seconds. Fastest Race Lap: Losh, 13.712 seconds, lap 5.

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Qualifying Session 1: 1. Taylor Nibert, 13.513; 2. Bryce Dues, 13.747; 3. Luke Lemons, 13.762; 4. Anthony Perrine, 14.455; 5. Tyler Watkins, 15.130; 6. Don Bigelow, 15.289.

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Qualifying Session 2: 1. Abby Hohlbein, 13.231; 2. Bryce Massingill, 13.369; 3. Alex Watson, 13.434; 4. Jon Watson, 13.472; 5. Cody Dye, 13.939; 6. Jim Jones, 14.149; 7. Gunnar Lucius, no time.

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Qualifying Session 3: 1. Stratton Briggs, 12.912; 2. Zach Wigal, 13.134; 3. Michael Magic, 13.191; 4. Kayla Roell, 13.305; 5. Cory Guingrich, 13.374; 6. Carl Peterson, 13.462; 7. Josh Yenser, 15.192; 8. Tommy Kouns, no time.

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Qualifying Session 4: 1. Jakeb Boxell, 13.071; 2. Chett Gehrke, 13.325; 3. Chris Dickey, 13.500; 4. Cody Beard, 13.521; 5. Tommy Kouns, 13.625; 6. Ian Creager, 13.641; 7. Travis Sickles, 14.262; 8. Thomas Bigelow, 14.384.

Performance Electronics USAC SpeeD2 Midget Heat 1 (8 lap, 4 to qualify): 1. Luke Lemons, 2. Anthony Perrine, 3. Travis Sickles, 4. Tyler Watkins, 5. Don Bigelow, 6. Taylor Nibert, 7. Bryce Dues.

Brewhouse Drive-Thru USAC SpeeD2 Midget Heat 2 (8 laps, 4 to qualify): 1. Alex Watson, 2. Jon Watson, 3. Bryce Massingill, 4. Abby Hohlbein, 5. Jim Jones, 6. Cody Dye, 7. Gunnar Lucius (DNS).

K & M Tool & Die USAC SpeeD2 Midget Heat 3 (8 laps, 4 to qualify): 1. Stratton Briggs, 2. Zach Wigal, 3. Michael Magic, 4. Kayla Roell, 5. Carl Peterson, 6. Cory Guingrich, 7. Josh Yenser.

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Heat 4 (8 laps, 4 to qualify): 1. Chett Gehrke, 2. Jakeb Boxell, 3. Ian Creager, 4. Cody Beard, 5. Chris Dickey, 6. Tommy Kouns, 7. Thomas Bigelow.

USAC SpeeD2 Midget B-Main (12 laps, 4 to qualify): 1. Tommy Kouns, 2. Cody Dye, 3. Josh Yenser, 4. Carl Peterson, 5. Jim Jones, 6. Thomas Bigelow, 7. Taylor Nibert, 8. Bryce Dues, 9. Don Bigelow, 10. Chris Dickey (DNS), 11. Corey Guingrich (DNS), 12. Gunnar Lucius (DNS).

USAC SpeeD2 Midwest Thunder Midget Feature (20 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Bryce Massingill (10); 2. Stratton Briggs (8); 3. Ian Creager (12); 4. Michael Magic (11); 5. Jakeb Boxell (3); 6. Josh Yenser (19); 7. Carl Peterson (20); 8. Abby Hohlbein (14); 9. Tommy Kouns (17); 10. Cody Beard (16); 11. Cody Dye (18); 12. Luke Lemons (6); 13. Alex Watson (5); 14. Zach Wigal (1); 15. Tyler Watkins (13); 16. Travis Stickles (9); 17. Jon Watson (2); 18. Anthony Perrine (4); 19. Chett Gehrke (7); 20. Kayla Roell (15). Lap Leaders: Lap 1, Wigal; lap 2, J. Watson; laps 3-9, Wigal; laps 10-20, Massingill. Margin of Victory: 1.096 seconds. Fastest Race Lap: Massingill, 13.548 seconds, lap 7. PPC Performance Powder Coating Hard Charger: (tie) Yenser and Peterson, +13.

Street Stocks Qualifying Group 1: 1. Lee Hobbs, 16.186; 2. James Headley, 16.226; 3. James Headley Jr., 18.265; 4. T.J. Smith, 18.471; 5. Justin Rostron, 18.733; 6. Andy Bishop, 19.392.

Street Stocks Qualifying Group 2: 1. Matthew Baker, 14.959; 2. Bill Lewis, 15.586; 3. Marty Harckinson, 15.870; 4. David Fritz, 16.099; 5. John Antoine, no time.

Street Stock Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. Lee Hobbs, 2. James Headley Jr., 3. James Headley, 4. Andy Bishop, 5. T.J. Smith, 6. Justin Rostron.

Street Stock Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. David Fritz, 2. Bill Lewis, 3. Matthew Baker, 4. John Antoine, 5. Scott Martin, 6. Marty Harckinson.

Street Stock Feature (15 laps, with starting position in parentheses): 1. David Fritz (3); 2. James Headley Jr. (2); 3. James Headley (5); 4. Andy Bishop (7); 5. Lee Hobbs (4); 6. Matthew Baker (6); 7. Marty Harckinson (10); 8. Justin Rostron (9); 9. T.J. Smith (8); 10. Bill Lewis (1); 11. John Antoine (DNS); 12. Scott Martin (DNS). Lap Leaders: Laps 1-10, Lewis; laps 11-15, Fritz. Margin of Victory: 2.426 seconds. Fastest Race Lap: Fritz, 13.972 seconds, lap 7.

Hornet Qualifying Session 1: 1. Ryan Crocker, 16.995; 2. Jeremy Jones, 17.100; 3. Heisman Skeens, 17.108; 4. Kaleb Hinkley, 17.285; 5. Emily Johnson, 18.248; 6. Hunter Rasmussen, 22.093; 7. Jesse Arenas, no time.

Hornet Qualifying Session 2: 1. Jerry Manns, 17.129; 2. Landon Arcaro, 17.385; 3. Jordan Button, 17.613; 4. Brandon Lines, 17.727; 5. Alexes Spaulding, 17.746; 6. Jonathon Moeller, 23.387.

Hornet Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. Ryan Crocker, 2. Kaleb Hinkley, 3. Jeremy Jones, 4. Emily Johnson, 5. Hunter Rasmussen, 6. Heisman Skeens (DNS), 7. Jesse Arenas (DNS).

Hornet Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. Landon Arcaro, 2. Alexes Spaulding, 3. Jordan Button, 4. Jerry Manns, 5. Brandon Lines, 6. Jonathon Moeller, 7. Dominic Morehouse (DNS).

Hornet Feature (15 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Landon Arcaro (4); 2. Kaleb Hinkley (3); 3. Alexes Spaulding (2); 4. Jordan Button (6); 5. Hunter Rasmussen (9); 6. Brandon Lines (10); 7. Johnathon Moeller (11); 8. Heisman Skeens (12); 9. Ryan Crocker (5); 10. Jerry Manns (8); 11. Jeremy Jones (1); 12. Emily Johnson (7); 13. Dominic Morehouse (DNS); 14. Jesse Arenas (DNS). Lap Leaders: Laps 1-3, Jones; laps 4-15, Arcaro. Margin of Victory: Unknown. Fastest Race Lap: Arcaro, 15.463 seconds, lap 4.

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