Hank Davis Gets His First in POWRi West Midget Roundup Finale
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (May 27, 2018) – The Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget League presented by Executive Concrete NWA continues its string of offering up different winners.
Fourteen-year-old Hank Davis wired the field in Sunday night’s 25-lap TBJ Promotions “Midget Roundup” finale versus the Lucas Oil POWRi Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association atop the 1/5-mile Airport Raceway to take the $2,000 winner’s share over a field of 41 competitors.
With the triumph, the Sand Springs, OK, racer became the eighth different winner in nine POWRi West feature events thus far in 2018 and eighth different driver in a row to reach victory lane.
Davis led the POWRi West forces to a sweep of the podium for the second night in a row as he was chased to the stripe by Saturday night winner Wesley Smith of Nixa, MO, and current series points leader Kory Schudy of Springfield, MO.
“It feels great,” Davis said of his first career Midget triumph in just his ninth start aboard the Rujo Racers No. 42 entry.
After the initial start went red for a multi-car skirmish in turn four that resulted in Hunter Fischer getting upside down, Davis shot into the lead from the pole position and immediately began to separate himself from the field as Smith made his way to second in short order from the fourth starting position.
Davis kept his pursuers at a distance, even as he sliced through traffic until the race’s first caution flew after 19 circuits for a turn one tangle involving Chett Gehrke and Brett Becker. The red flag flew one lap later for a hard turn three flip by Becker that set up a five-lap dash to the stripe.
Davis was up to the task, getting a strong restart and racing on to the checkered flag unchallenged ahead of Smith and Schudy with Bixby, OK, teen Cannon McIntosh charging through the field from 20th to fourth. California’s Robert Dalby rounded out the top five with Luke Icke, Robert Harr, Michelle Decker, Keith Rauch and Zac Taylor completing the top ten.
Decker, Paul Babich, Rauch, Gehrke and Icke topped heat race action with Taylor and Fischer scoring “B” Main wins.
The POWRi West Midget League fires back into action with a pair of Sooner Series events on June 15-16 at Meeker’s Red Dirt Raceway on the 15th and Oklahoma City’s I-44 Riverside Speedway on the 16th.
Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget League presented by Executive Concrete NWA vs. Lucas Oil POWRi Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association Results
Airport Raceway (Garden City, KS) – May 27, 2018
Smith Titanium Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 4M-Michelle Decker, [9]; 2. 42-Hank Davis, [8]; 3. 10-Lance Bennett, [2]; 4. 27B-A.J. Burns, [7]; 5. 15C-Carson Garrett, [1]; 6. 21-Nick Speidel, [6]; 7. 43-Ryan Oerter, [3]; 8. 54-Kyle Pfeifer, [4]; (DNS) 84S-Shaun Shapel.
Keizer Wheels Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 69-Paul Babich, [2]; 2. 2H-Robert Harr, [8]; 3. 7-Troy Simpson, [6]; 4. 84-Phil Shapel, [1]; 5. 14-Tony Rossi, [7]; 6. 3-Brent Rees, [5]; 7. 39-Mike Snelling, [4]; 8. (DNF) 32D-Tyler Thomas, [3].
Saldana Racing Products Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 27-Keith Rauch, [1]; 2. 44-Wesley Smith, [8]; 3. 5J-Jeff Crook, [3]; 4. 24-Hunter Fischer, [5]; 5. 2B-Brett Becker, [2]; 6. 11-Glenn Waterland, [4]; 7. (DNF) 88W-Dustin Weland, [6]; 8. (DNF) 16-Ashley Oerter, [7].
Rod End Supply Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 11C-Chett Gehrke, [1]; 2. 28-Kory Schudy, [6]; 3. 76-Mark Hamilton, [3]; 4. 12-Chris Sheil, [5]; 5. 91-Greg Schaefer, [4]; 6. 74-Zach Merritt, [2]; 7. 10B-Blaze Bennett, [7]; (DNS) 9H-Emilio Hoover.
Pyrotech Heat Five (8 Laps): Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 2-Luke Icke, [1]; 2. 4D-Robert Dalby, [4]; 3. 71T-Zac Taylor, [2]; 4. 23-Hannah Adair, [6]; 5. 08-Cannon McIntosh, [3]; 6. 89-Patrick Bourke, [8]; 7. 56X-Mark Chisholm, [5]; 8. 77-Olivia Bennett, [7].
B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 71T-Zac Taylor, [2]; 2. 2B-Brett Becker, [6]; 3. 43-Ryan Oerter, [11]; 4. 76-Mark Hamilton, [1]; 5. 21-Nick Speidel, [7]; 6. 11-Glenn Waterland, [8]; 7. 10B-Blaze Bennett, [9]; 8. 56X-Mark Chisholm, [10]; 9. 77-Olivia Bennett, [12]; 10. 54-Kyle Pfeifer, [13]; 11. 89-Patrick Bourke, [4]; 12. 12-Chris Sheil, [3]; 13. 91-Greg Schaefer, [5]; 14. 84S-Shaun Shapel, [14].
B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 24-Hunter Fischer, [2]; 2. 15c-Carson Garrett, [6]; 3. 08-Cannon McIntosh, [5]; 4. 14-Tony Rossi, [3]; 5. 84-Phil Shapel, [4]; 6. 3-Brent Rees, [7]; 7. 74-Zach Merritt, [8]; 8. 88w-Dustin Weland, [9]; 9. 16-Ashley Oerter, [12]; 10. (DNF) 32d-Tyler Thomas, [13]; 11. (DNF) 10-Lance Bennett, [1]; (DNS) 39-Mike Snelling; (DNS) 9h-Emilio Hoover.
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 42-Hank Davis, [1]; 2. 44-Wesley Smith, [4]; 3. 28-Kory Schudy, [5]; 4. 08-Cannon McIntosh, [20]; 5. 4d-Robert Dalby, [7]; 6. 2-Luke Icke, [11]; 7. 2h-Robert Harr, [3]; 8. 4M-Michelle Decker, [2]; 9. 27-Keith Rauch, [9]; 10. 71T-Zac Taylor, [15]; 11. 15c-Carson Garrett, [18]; 12. 69-Paul Babich, [6]; 13. 11c-Chett Gehrke, [10]; 14. 7-Troy Simpson, [8]; 15. 89-Patrick Bourke, [21]; 16. 23-Hannah Adair, [13]; 17. (DNF) 2b-Brett Becker, [17]; 18. (DNF) 43-Ryan Oerter, [19]; 19. (DNF) 27b-A.J. Burns, [12]; 20. (DNF) 5J-Jeff Crook, [14]; 21. (DNF) 24-Hunter Fischer, [16].
BOSS Performance High Point Driver: Michelle Decker.
Sources: Lonnie Wheatley/POWRi West PR