Ivy Continues Winning Ways in Fort Wayne Micros
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – John Ivy completed a perfect Rumble in Fort Wayne weekend on Saturday night by becoming the first driver to sweep all four 600cc micro features inside the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Ivy followed up his wins in the winged and non-winged micro classes on Friday with similar performances during the finale, leading all the way from the pole in the winged class and topping longtime rival Larry Joe Sroufe to secure the trophy for the non-winged division.
While his journey in the winged car was uneventful, save for four caution flags that led to restarts, Ivy had to work for his keep in the non-winged feature.
He was rolling the outside after the initial start when he was hip-checked by polesitter and early leader Jason Ormsby going down the backstretch on lap four, sending Ivy backward briefly before he began to rebound.
By the time Josh Ross, who wrested the lead from Ormsby on the sixth round, spun out of the lead two laps before halfway, Ivy was back up to third behind Sroufe and restarted second following the caution.
It only took Ivy two laps to build enough momentum on the inside to shoot past Sroufe for the top spot, and once he was out front again, Ivy never looked back.
The Ohio veteran banked a total of $1,000 on Saturday night and $2,000 for the weekend sweep.
“We’ll take this; what a weekend,” Ivy said after the non-winged feature. “I was scared early there, when Ormsby got into me … it’s a good thing my car had good brakes, or we would have been in trouble. I still have those cat-like reflexes, though!
“Both my cars were bad fast all weekend. We’re already looking forward to next year and we’ll see if we can do it all over again.”
Sroufe, Tyler Fitzpatrick, Ormsby, and Michael Busz trailed Ivy across the finish line in the non-winged 600cc micro feature.
In winged action, it was Ivy’s teammate Cap Henry who finished second, followed by Nate Franklin, Rod Henning, and Ormsby.
Ivy’s record for career victories at the Rumble in Fort Wayne now stands at 20 across all classes.
This is the second time Ivy has won six or more races in a row inside the Coliseum; he won eight straight Rumble features between 2003 and 2007.
For complete race results, advance to the next page.
RESULTS: 21st annual Rumble in Fort Wayne; Allen County War Memorial Coliseum; Dec. 28, 2018
Non-Winged 600cc Micros
Non-Winged 600cc Micro A-Feature (25 laps): 1. John Ivy, 2. Larry Joe Sroufe, 3. Tyler Fitzpatrick, 4. Jason Ormsby, 5. Michael Busz, 6. Ethan Foster, 7. Josh Ross, 8. Tylar Rankin, 9. Jason Hentrich, 10. Matthew Brannin, 11. Tyler Chalk, 12. Blake Lamb, 13. Tyler Lindsay, 14. Brian Busz, 15. Jeff Haefke, 16. Jason Montel. Lap Leaders: Ormsby 1-5, Ross 6-11, Sroufe 12-13, Ivy 14-25.
Non-Winged 600cc Micro Heat #1 (8 laps, top three transfer): 1. Michael Busz, 2. Jason Ornsby, 3. John Ivy / 4. Ethan Foster, 5. Clarence Hoch, 6. Keith Gunkel, 7. Justin Harper (DNS), 8. AJ Thompson (DNS).
Non-Winged 600cc Micro Heat #2 (8 laps, top three transfer): 1. Brian Busz, 2. Tyler Chalk, 3. Tyler Fitzpatrick / 4. Tyler Gunn, 5. Andy Martin, 6. Steve Myers Jr., 7. Matthew Martini (DNS), 8. Ethan Foster (DNS).
Non-Winged 600cc Micro Heat #3 (8 laps, top three transfer): 1. Larry Joe Sroufe, Josh Ross, Matthew Brannin, Chris Malaterre, Jason Montel, Jeff Haefke, Steve Myers Sr. (DNS).
Non-Winged 600cc Micro Heat #4 (8 laps, top three transfer): 1. Tyler Lindsay, Tylar Rankin, Jason Hentrich, Blake Lamb, Kyle Gunkel, Adam Walker, Jason O’Hara
Non-Winged 600cc Micro B-Main #1 (8 laps, top two transfer): 1. Jeff Haefke, 2. Jason Montel / 3. Keith Gunkel, 4. Chris Malaterre, 5. Clarence Hoch, 6. Tyler Gunn, 7. Justin Harper (DNS), 8. Steve Myers Sr. (DNS), 9. AJ Thompson (DNS).
Non-Winged 600cc Micro B-Main #2 (8 laps, top two transfer): 1. Ethan Foster, 2. Blake Lamb / 3. Jason O’Hara, 4. Andy Martin, 5. Kyle Gunkel, 6. Adam Walker, 7. Steve Myers Jr., 8. Matthew Martini (DNS).
Winged 600cc Micros
Winged 600cc Micro A-Feature (25 laps): 1. John Ivy, 2. Cap Henry, 3. Nate Franklin, 4. Rod Henning, 5. Jason Ormsby. 6. Drew Dorsett, 7. Howard McCormick, 8. Jonathan Lesiecki, 9. Alexis Adgate, 10. Clay Sanders, 11. Ryan Ball, 12. Bill Dunham, 13. Mark Zumbrun, 14. AJ Lesiecki, 15. Tyler Ransbottom, 16. Bobby Murany. Lap Leader: Ivy 1-25.
Winged 600cc Micro Heat #1 (8 laps, top four transfer): 1. Cap Henry, 2. John Ivy, 3. Alexis Adgate, 4. Tyler Ransbottom / 5. Clay Sanders, 6. Bill Dunham, 7. Clayton Mullet (DNS).
Winged 600cc Micro Heat #2 (8 laps, top four transfer): 1. AJ Lesiecki, 2. Drew Dorsett, 3. Jason Ormsby, 4. Bobby Murany / 5. Mark Zumbrun, 6. Cody Tyler.
Winged 600cc Micro Heat #3 (8 laps, top four transfer): 1. Howard McCormick, 2. Rod Henning, 3. Jonathan Lesiecki, 4. Nate Franklin / 5. Ryan Ball, 6. Cory Grenzy (DNS).
Sources: Jacob Seelman
Photos by Dallas Breeze