Traffic Leads McCune to Third Must See Racing Win of the Season at Madison
OREGON, Wisc. – One week after having his three-race winning streak at Anderson Speedway snapped, Jimmy McCune proved that he’s still the king of the hill in Must See Racing Sprint Car Series competition.
McCune bided his time in Friday night’s 30-lap feature at the lightning-fast, half-mile Madison International Speedway, waiting for the right moment in slower traffic before blowing by race-long leader Jason Cox entering turn three and sailing off into the Wisconsin night.
The defending series champion led the final eight laps en route to victory, his third Must See Racing score of the season, and extended his series points lead in the process.
“I could see that (Cox) was struggling a little bit in traffic, and I was just pedaling the hell out of it,” McCune said of his late-race run and 14th career series win. “It was about the only thing that I could do was get in the middle of the corner and mat (the throttle) to run it sideways … whatever it needed, really. Just a thrill to be standing here in victory lane on the series’ first visit to this place. It’s a fun joint.”
“We struggled with the car all day again. The motor didn’t seem to want to run right, at all. It felt like I was just pulling a stump all the way around the track, all night. I thought we had it sorted out, and the longer we ran the feature, the worse it got, so I’m not really sure what’s up there. We might have to change motors tonight, but we got the win and that’s what counts.”
Jacob Wilson set the night’s Engine Pro fast time in qualifying with a lap of 14.720 seconds (122.283 mph), but a roll of five on the invert die left him stranded on the inside of row three for the green flag and meant that Cox and Brad Wyatt moved to the front row to lead the field to green. While Wyatt got a solid start in the Mike Blake Racing No. 81, Cox got a better one and led by three-quarters of a second by the time a lap was in the books.
Cox extended that margin to 1.2 seconds the next time around, and by lap six he held two seconds over the rest of the field, with Wyatt having no steam to challenge. A caution on the ninth round, however, for a pesky water puddle causing several drivers problems forced a restart and meant that the whole field was on Cox’s tail to give chase.
That restart was a pivotal point for McCune, who followed David Byrne past Wyatt as the duo went to second and third, respectively, at the one-third mark of the race. Still, though, no one was able to run down Cox as he put up a full second’s lead on Byrne in just two laps and set the fastest lap of the race — 15.333 seconds — on the 13th time past the flagstand.
At halfway, it was still Cox ahead of Byrne and McCune as Wilson took his machine pit side with a broken rear end, but the mechanical woes weren’t through there. Byrne slowed to a crawl and pulled off two laps later with his own issues, elevating McCune to second as the leaders entered heavy traffic.
McCune would use a masterful swath through the slower cars to lead laps 18 and 19, but would get held up himself and have to cede the point back with 10 laps to go.
However, the traffic would be the ultimate decider, in the end, turning things back the other way.
Cox was held up entering turns three and four coming to complete the 23rd circuit, and it was then that McCune pounced and threw caution to the wind, opening up a 6.561-second advantage in just the final eight laps before flashing underneath the twin checkers.
“The early caution didn’t make any difference to us,” McCune added. “We were just stuck there in fourth, and I was just riding, so it wasn’t that big of a deal that early in the race (to have the restart) because Jason still got out on us early in that run. We just kind of picked our way through there … a couple guys had some trouble … and we finally got up there to Jason and got him.”
“I don’t know what it is about Wisconsin, but it seems like every time I come to the state I win because we’re four for five, I think. So it’s a fun deal. A great night.”
Cox hung on to finish second, and cited the differences that kept him out of the winner’s circle after the event.
“Lapped traffic was part of the problem, but we had a pretty bad oil leak brewing and my (helmet) shield was like looking through wax paper late in the race,” Cox explained. “If you’ve ever looked through wax paper, you can’t see anything, so when we got to the traffic it was tough to see exactly what they were going to do … especially with the lights here. The lighting system is great, but it made it difficult on us there.”
“I think when the oil got on the right rear tire, it shrunk it just a bit and the car got tight coming off (the corners), and that’s why McCune got to us. It was just one of those deals where you get to people and it’s hard to make a decision (on which way to go), especially when you’re out front … you hesitate and someone gets underneath you and it’s all over, so it just is what it is. It’s just our second run with this new car, so we’ll certainly take it and move on to the next one.”
Jerry Caryer scored a season-best third place finish, his first time on the Must See Racing podium, and Sierra Jackson drove the DJ Racing No. 22A to a fourth-place effort in her series debut. Wyatt rounded out the top five.
Wilson’s quick time effort in qualifying was the fifth of his career, tying him with McCune for third on the all-time list, while Cox and Jackson each won their respective heat races prior to the green flag.
The Must See Racing Sprint Car Series resumes on Saturday night, June 4 at the quarter-mile Rockford Speedway in Rockford, Illinois. Brian Gerster is the series’ most recent winner at Rockford, topping a 50-lap feature during last year’s National Short Track Championship weekend.
For more information on Must See Racing, including driver and team news, race results and schedule information, visit www.mustseeracing.com.
RESULTS: Must See Racing Sprint Car Series; Dairy Farms by Bytec, Inc. Night; Madison International Speedway; June 3, 2016
Engine Pro Time Trials (best of two laps): 1. #07 – Jacob Wilson, 14.720 seconds; 2. #40B – David Byrne, 14.766; 3. #88 – Jimmy McCune, 14.919; 4. #81 – Brad Wyatt, 15.012; 5. #1 – Jason Cox, 15.131; 6. #40C – Tim Cox, 15.241; 7. #75C – Jerry Caryer, 15.250; 8. #22A – Sierra Jackson, 15.410; 9. #26B – Jeff Bloom, 15.658; 10. #21 – Mike Stutsman, 15.676; 11. #10 – Matt Vanderveer, 15.861; 12. #9 – Kris Leming, 16.264.
Mahle Heat #1 (eight laps, all transfer): 1. Jason Cox, 2. Jacob Wilson, 3. Jimmy McCune, 4. Jerry Caryer, 5. Matt Vanderveer, 6. Jeff Bloom (DNS).
SpeedPro Heat #2 (eight laps, all transfer): 1. Sierra Jackson, 2. David Byrne, 3. Brad Wyatt, 4. Tim Cox, 5. Mike Stutsman, 6. Kris Leming.
Engine Pro A-Feature (30 laps): 1. Jimmy McCune [3], 2. Jason Cox [1], 3. Jerry Caryer [7], 4. Sierra Jackson [8], 5. Brad Wyatt [2], 6. Mike Stutsman [9], 7. Matt Vanderveer [10], 8. Kris Leming [11], 9. David Byrne [4], 10. Jacob Wilson [5], 11. Tim Cox [6], 12. Jeff Bloom [12].
Sources: Jacob Seelman/Must See Racing Series PR