USAC Regional Racing Round-Up: July 1-3, 2021
BRIGHT CAPITALIZES ON MISFORTUNE FOR BIG DIAMOND USAC EAST COAST VICTORY
By: Nick Fillman, USAC ECSC
Pottsville, Pennsylvania (July 2, 2021)………Alex Bright of Collegeville, PA, utilized a late-race restart to outduel Tommy Kunsman for his fourth victory of the Rapid Tire Service, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series Presented by Capitol Renegade season.On what was supposed to be the second of three nights of consecutive action for Valley Forge Inc “Mini Speedweek”, 21 USAC East Coast Sprint Cars entered the pit area of the Big Diamond Speedway for competition for what would be the only feature event of the weekend.
Following three heat race events and the feature event redraw, Tommy Kunsman Jr and Alex Bright shared the front row for the evenings twenty-five-lap main event. Kunsman grabbed the initial lead on the start, quickly driving away from Alex Bright and putting some distance on Bright for the race lead.
The car that was moving through the field quicker than any other was Briggs Danner. Danner had moved from his eight place starting spot into the third place position by lap three and moved passed Bright for the runner up spot on lap four. Danner quickly disposed of Bright and reeled in Kunsman for the race lead before the caution flag flew on lap four for a spun Jason Cherry in turns one and two.
On the ensuing restart, Danner would be glued to the rear bumper of Kunsman as the two looked to pull away from the remainder of the field. Alex Bright, Colin White, and Chris Allen rounded out the top five during the restart. Danner tried the inside and the outside groove on Kunsman as the two battled for the race lead before Danner would move by and take the lead from Kunsman coming off of turn four to complete lap ten.
Briggs Danner quickly set sail on the rest of the field, with Kunsman, Bright, White, and Bruce Buckwalter as the top five. As Danner encountered the back half of the field on lap thirteen and began the lapping process, Alex Bright managed to catch the rear bumper of Kunsman and being pressuring Kunsman for the runner up position.
On lap nineteen of the feature event, Kunsman and Bright drastically caught the rear bumper of Danner as it appeared the Bill Gallagher entry was slowing into turns there and four. Bright had just made a move on Kunsman for the runner up spot when the caution flag flew for the slowing car of Danner. While the field was slowing, an unfortunate brake befell Steven Drevicki as he would make contact with an inside tractor tire ending his night and dumping a large amount of water onto the front stretch. With the amount of water being on the speedway, the red flag was thrown to allow for a safe cleanup of the speedway.
Due to the timing of the caution, the pass by Bright on Kunsman would be negated and Kunsman would retain his position and inherit the race lead. The lap nineteen restart saw Kunsman leading: Bright, Allen, White, and Buckwalter with only six laps remaining. Tommy Kunsman had a solid restart as the field came to Nicole Flood’s green flag, with a bit of distance back to second place runner Alex Bright.
As the laps would quickly wind down, Bright caught up to the rear of Kunsman on lap twenty-one and began to pressure Kunsman for the race lead. Kunsman initially held off the charges of Bright on the bottom side of the speedway, before ultimately relinquishing the race lead to Bright at the completion of lap twenty-three. Bright drove away from Kunsman in the closing two laps and found himself in victory lane for the fourth time during the 2021 season. Kunsman would score a career best second place effort, with Chris Allen, Colin White, and Nash Ely rounding out the top five.
With his fourth victory of the 2021 season and the misfortune on Friday night for Briggs Danner, Bright extended his points lead for the series by 31 markers and gained a slight bit of breathing room over his toughest competitor on tour. Bright pulled back even in the win column with Danner on Friday night as the two remain neck and neck, going shot for shot, as the series season is unfolding. No doubt the duo will both be the drivers to beat as the series moves to Action Track USA on Wednesday July 7th for the first ever event to be contested at the speedway. A track where Danner and Bright have been competitors over the last number of seasons in Micro Sprint and USAC SpeedSTR competition.
Tommy Kunsman of Bethlehem, PA, finished a career best second place on Friday night in his rookie campaign. The former midget driver has been more than impressive thus far on the 2021 series tour, tackling tracks that he has not seen before with a sprint car, and making his first starts ever with a sprint car. Kunsman has finished outside of the top ten only one time in the nine events that have been completed so far. Kunsman’s consistency and determination for a series victory has also kept them within reasonable distance of the season long points chase moving into third should some issues arise for the top two. Only time will tell when Kunsman will add his name to the list of feature winners in USAC East Coast competition.
Chris Allen Jr. made his return to the series after missing our last event at the Selinsgrove Speedway. The two time top three finisher in series points has struggled so far this season, but a solid run at the Lincoln Speedway before an unfortunate spin, and a completed podium effort at the Big Diamond Speedway have been more of what the CA Motorsports team is more accustomed too. Unfortunately for Allen, the teams home race at the New Egypt Speedway has been lost due to weather, and a rescheduling date is currently being discussed.
Fourth place belonged to rookie runner Colin White who recorded his best finish of the season though only running three events. White was well on his way to a potential top five finish in April at the Port Royal Speedway before a flip ended his night and resulted in a DNF. The defending Action Track USA 600cc micro sprint champion has been fast each and every time the Hamilton Motorsports entry has taken to the surface so far in 2021. Look for White to continue his improvements in the remaining starts scheduled for the team.
Rounding out the top five was Sinking Spring, PA driver Nash Ely. Ely has been consistent all season long running just inside and just outside the top five in multiple events this season. Ely was one of many drivers who competed in both the Keystone Invasion, and the Eastern Storm swings that the USAC National Sprint Car Series completed on the East Coast with Ely consistently making shows and holding his own. Ely finds himself inside the top five in points as the smooth runs for the eighteen year old continue to pile up.
Finishing just outside of the top five in the sixth place position was Bruce Buckwalter Jr. Bruce missed our last two events at the Lincoln and Selinsgrove Speedways following engine trouble at the Williams Grove Speedway. Engine repairs have been made, and the Buckwalter team showed plenty of speed Friday night at the Big Diamond Speedway.
Up next for the Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series presented by Capitol Renegade, is the first ever visit by the series to Action Track USA in Kutztown, PA for the “Iron Cowboy Classic” 30 lap feature event, which will pay $2,000 to the feature winner thanks to sponsor E. Schneider & Sons.
Keep up to date with all of the latest results, news, photos, and updates by following along on our socials! On Facebook at: USAC East Coast Sprint Cars, and on Twitter at: @USACecsc.
USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE RACE RESULTS: July 2, 2021 – Big Diamond Speedway – Pottsville, Pennsylvania
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 17J-Jonathan Swanson [1], 2. 5G-Briggs Danner [6], 3. 83s-Billy Ney [2], 4. 71-Chris Allen Jr. [7], 5. 10-Joe Kata [4], 6. 64-Richy Carnathan [3].
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 20-Alex Bright [1], 2. 19-Steven Drevicki [5], 3. 32-Colin White [4], 4. 11-Mike Thompson [2], 5. 67-Jason Cherry [6], 6. 57-Damon Paul [7], 7. 88J-Joey Amantea [3].
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 21K-Tommy Kunsman [2], 2. 3BC-Nash Ely [3], 3. 83-Bruce Buckwalter Jr. [4], 4. 17-Christian Bruno [7], 5. 117-David Swanson [6], 6. 5z-Zack Burd [1], 7. 23m-Kenny Miller III [5].
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. Alex Bright [2], 2. Tommy Kunsman [1], 3. Chris Allen Jr. [10], 4. Colin White [4], 5. Nash Ely [9], 6. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. [6], 7. Kenny Miller III [20], 8. Jonathan Swanson [5], 9. Mike Thompson [11], 10. Briggs Danner [8], 11. Christian Bruno [12], 12. Billy Ney [3], 13. Joe Kata [13], 14. David Swanson [15], 15. Rich Carnathan [16], 16. Jason Cherry [14], 17. Steven Drevicki [7], 18. Zack Burd [18].
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Tommy Kusman, Laps 10-19 Briggs Danner, Laps 20-23 Tommy Kunsman, Laps 24-25 Alex Bright.
USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE POINTS: 1-Alex Bright-673, 2-Briggs Danner-642, 3-Tommy Kunsman-529, 4-Steven Drevicki-523, 5-Nash Ely-477, 6-Kenny Miller III-422, 7-Damon Paul-406, 8-Joey Amantea-400, 9-Jonathan Swanson-361, 10-Chris Allen Jr.-353.
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Penske Shocks 1st Place: Alex Bright $100
Penske Shocks 2nd Place: Tommy Kunsman Jr $75
Penske Shocks 3rd Place: Chris Allen $50
Ultra Shield 4th Place: Colin White
Ultra Shield 8th Place: Jonathan Swanson
Vahlco Wheels Hard Charger: Kenny Miller lll (20th to 7th)
COTTLE WIRES ALL 20 FOR LINCOLN PARK USAC REGIONAL MIDGET WIN
Putnamville, Indiana (July 3, 2021)………Shane Cottle has been a winner and a frequent frontrunner in the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car portion of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular over the years.
On Saturday night at Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway, the Kansas, Ill. driver added a USAC Midwest Regional Midget feature victory to his Sprintacular resume, leading all 20 laps from his pole starting position aboard the Danny Stamper/Guyer Farms – A.J. Adams & Sons – Nutrien Ag Solutions/Spike/Esslinger.
For Cottle, it was his second USAC Regional Midget win of the year at Lincoln Park after capturing the series’ most recent visit to the 5/16-mile dirt oval in April.
“The car was good all night,” Cottle stated. “We just had to stick it on the bottom and hope that nobody went around me on the outside.”
After winning his heat race, Cottle claimed the number one position in the starting field, and on the start, shot his way underneath outside front row starter, heat race winner and fast qualifier Hayden Reinbold.
Cottle had to contend with traffic throughout much of the caution-free event as he occupied the low line, putting all but the first six finishers in the 15-car field a lap down.
Reinbold pursued Cottle for the majority of the race and got right to the back bumper of Cottle entering turn three on the 11th lap, but overcooked it just a tad, causing him to lose ground as he checked up and regathered the car up and carried onward.
Cottle never wavered from rolling the bottom in turns three and four and through the middle in turns one and two. Reinbold mounted a late charge and closed to within a single car length of Cottle exiting turn two on the final lap.
However, Cottle throttled away from the challenge, pulling a nice wheelstand as he crossed the finish line to put an exclamation point on the evening, winning by four car lengths at the checkered flag over Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) with Bryan Stanfill (Bakersfield, Calif.), Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) and Tyler Nelson (Olathe, Kan.) rounding out the top-five while defending series champion and current point leader Chett Gehrke (Broken Arrow, Okla.) finished 7th.
USAC MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Track – Bill Gardner Sprintacular
QUALIFYING: 1. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.724; 2. Tyler Nelson, 88, Nelson-13.857; 3. Shane Cottle, 86, Stamper-13.906; 4. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-14.225; 5. Bryan Stanfill, 75AU, Griffiths-14.343; 6. Jeff Beasley, 83B, Beasley-14.368; 7. Jonathan Miller, 67, Miller-14.544; 8. Chett Gehrke, 10, Moore-14.722; 9. Billy Lawless, 17L, Lawless-14.739; 10. Justin Dickerson, 21D, Dickerson-14.765; 11. Jeff Schindler, 11, Martin-14.766; 12. Glenn Waterland, 11c, Waterland-14.898; 13. Kayla Roell, 4K, Martin-14.913; 14. Mark Nieft Jr., 20N, Nieft-15.892; 15. Don Epley, 12x, Rocket-17.169; 16. Ryan Thomas, 1FR, Wingo-NT.
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Bryan Stanfill, 3. Billy Lawless, 4. Chett Gehrke, 5. Jeff Schindler, 6. Jonathan Miller, 7. Justin Dickerson, 8. Glenn Waterland. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Hayden Reinbold, 2. Chance Crum, 3. Tyler Nelson, 4. Kayla Roell, 5. Mark Nieft Jr., 6. Jeff Beasley, 7. Don Epley. NT
FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Bryan Stanfill, 4. Chance Crum, 5. Tyler Nelson, 6. Billy Lawless, 7. Chett Gehrke, 8. Kayla Roell, 9. Glenn Waterland, 10. Justin Dickerson, 11. Jeff Schindler, 12. Mark Nieft Jr., 13. Don Epley, 14. Jonathan Miller, 15. Jeff Beasley. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Shane Cottle.
USAC MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET POINTS: 1-Chett Gehrke-256, 2-Tyler Nelson-252, 3-Bryan Stanfill-247, 4-Shane Cottle-228, 5-Jeff Beasley-190, 6-Chance Crum-175, 7-Kayla Roell-161, 8-Jeff Schindler-109, 9-Abby Hohlbein-99, 10-Emerson Axsom-75.
NEXT USAC MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET RACE: July 9, 2021 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana
KODY SWANSON STRIKES AGAIN AT RACEWAY PARK MIDGET SHOW
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana (July 3, 2021)………Kody Swanson admitted he needed to take a bit of a different approach than the one he took in his most recent midget outing after finishing second at Brownsburg, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Raceway in June.On Saturday night, he figured he needed to hit the “go” button just a little quicker.
The Kingsburg, Calif. native did just that in the Independence Showdown at the .686-mile paved oval en route to victory in the Brown’s Oil Champion / USAC Midget non-points special event, revisiting LOR victory lane for already the third time this season, and the second time in midget competition.
“I owed (car owner Jerome (Rodela) one,” Swanson said. “Last time, I brought a Silver Crown driver. He needed a midget driver to get it done early and I was too patient and too kind. Today, I knew I needed to be aggressive. I’ve been watching old videos to try and figure out how to race midgets again. I’m pretty pumped about this one. That was pretty cool working through the traffic.”
After setting quick time in qualifying, the eight-car inversion put Swanson on the outside of row four. By the end of lap one, Swanson had charged to third while third-starting Josh Wise had raced to second past pole sitter Jake Trainor in turn one, then dove under outside front row starter Cole Carter in turn three for the early lead.
Swanson worked his way by Carter on the inside of turn two on lap two, then spent the following 18 laps stalking his prey while Wise led the opening laps at LOR for the second-straight race after leading the first two circuits in June.
“The first 10 (laps) make all the difference,” Swanson stated. “By me being too slow early (in June’s race), I didn’t even give myself a chance. Tonight, I didn’t want to make that mistake again. I knew it was time to be up on it from the very first corner and to put this car in places it could go and try to make my way through there and put on a show.”
Applying constant pressure to Wise, Swanson made his bid for the lead on the 19th lap by swinging to the bottom of turn one and drifting up in front of the 2005 USAC National Midget champion at the entry to turn two. Wise ducked under Swanson and the pair raced side-by-side the entire length of the back straightaway before Swanson emerged with the advantage in turn three.
Swanson was able to pull away thereafter to earn his 11th career win at LOR (3 Midget, 2 Sprint, 6 Silver Crown), winning by a relatively comfortable 2.096 second margin over Wise, Nick Hamilton, Bobby Santos and Tanner Swanson.
After leading all 30 laps during his May midget triumph at LOR, it took Swanson two-thirds of the race to get to the head of the pack. Swanson acknowledged it wasn’t merely about being patient in his pursuit of Wise, he simply wasn’t “there” just quite yet.
“I wasn’t good enough in the middle of the race,” Swanson recalled. “I got distracted and was watching Josh instead of where I needed to be. Jerome’s car deserves to go faster than what I was giving it and I was glad to figure it out and finish it for him.”
USAC MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Track – Independence Showdown
QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 25, Rodela-20.966; 2. Nick Hamilton, 7KR, Irwin/Petry-21.138; 3. Tanner Swanson, 7K, Irwin/Petry-21.170; 4. Dalton Armstrong, 7A, C & A-21.269; 5. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-21.278; 6. Cole Carter, 7, Bertrand-21.297; 7. Josh Wise, 55, Bowman-21.313; 8. Jake Trainor, 8, Trainor-21.403; 9. Tyler Roahrig, 4, Klatt-21.405; 10. Bobby Santos, 29, Seymour/West-21.420; 11. Taylor Ferns, 55F, Ferns-21.621; 12. Johnny Zych, 9, Zych-21.689; 13. Jason McDougal, 80, Breidinger-21.766; 14. Cody Gerhardt, 60, Western Speed-21.782; 15. Blake Brannon, 40, Brannon-22.172; 16. John Sluss, 14AJ, RayPro-22.403; 17. Kyle O’Gara, 1BR, SFHR-NT; 18. Nathan Byrd, 33, RayPro-NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kody Swanson, 2. Josh Wise, 3. Nick Hamilton, 4. Bobby Santos, 5. Tanner Swanson, 6. Cole Carter, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Dalton Armstrong, 9. Jake Trainor, 10. Cody Gerhardt, 11. Tyler Roahrig, 12. Taylor Ferns, 13. Blake Brannon, 14. Nathan Byrd, 15. Johnny Zych, 16. John Sluss, 17. Jason McDougal, 18. Kyle O’Gara. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-18 Josh Wise, Laps 19-30 Kody Swanson.
NEXT USAC MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT: August 14, 2021 – Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Track – Hoosier Classic
GARDNER ADDS SANTA MARIA’S USAC CRA DOUG FORT MEMORIAL TO RESUME
By: Lance Jennings
SANTA MARIA, CA – JULY 3, 2021… Continuing his assault on the record books, “The Demon” Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) raced to his third AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car victory of the campaign.
Driving Mark Alexander’s #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner powered by Verne Sweeney on the fourteenth lap, withstood multiple caution flags, and shook free from all challengers to win the $3,000 “12th Annual Doug Fort Memorial” at Santa Maria Raceway.
Fast qualifier “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr., “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams, and Sweeney rounded out the top-five drivers.
Before winning the 86th USAC/CRA main event of his career, “The Demon” was second quick in time trials, placed fourth in his heat race, and now heads to Perris Auto Speedway on July 17th with a 62-point advantage.
Rookie driver, Ikaika O’Brien (Oahu, HI) scored the night’s In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a twelfth place run from eighteenth. Racing his #11O Marshall’s Automotive DRC, O’Brien qualified eighteenth overall, ran third in his heat race, earned the BillsJerky.com Long Tow Award, and now ranks twenty-third in the standings.
Starting on the pole position, Verne Sweeney (Lomita, CA) was looking for the first USAC/CRA triumph of his career. After getting a great start, the veteran driver had held off challenges for the first thirteenth circuits. Up from fifth, Gardner navigated the technical track and found an outside line to his liking. After taking command from Sweeney, Gardner faced constant pressure from Faria throughout the main event and a late surge from Roa.
“The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) earned the seventh Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award of his career at Santa Maria. The pilot of the BR Performance owned #91R HD Industries Eagle had recorded a time of 14.003 over the 22-car roster, won the Flowdynamics First Heat Race, ran second to Gardner in the feature after charging from the back twice. At press time, the former USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Champion is second in the point chase.
A.J. Bender (San Diego, CA) took the checkered flag in the 10-lap Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror Second Heat Race. Racing the family owned #21 K&R Motorsports DRC, Bender qualified fourteenth overall, finished twentieth in the feature after an early exit, and sits ninth in the point standings.
Rookie contender, Shane Sexton (Warner Springs, CA) took his #74 Sexton / Gatlin Racing owned Triple X backed by Piston Pete’s Brewery to his first career USAC/CRA heat race victory. Before topping the 10-lap All Coast Construction Third Heat Race, Sexton was fifteenth fast in qualifications, finished eleventh at Santa Maria, and sits forty-first in points.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, Jeff Dyer (Yucca Valley, CA) claimed the night’s Wilwood Disc Brakes’ Lucky 13 Award. One of the few drivers to also race with the companion California Lightning Sprints, the driver of the Cal-Sun Racing #39 Justice Brothers Stinger qualified sixteenth, ran second to Roa in his heat race, and now ranks twenty-eighth in points while running a limited schedule.
The traditional USAC/CRA Sprint Cars are back in action on Saturday, July 16th at Perris Auto Speedway (Perris, CA).
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, surfnsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, California – “12th Annual Doug Fort Memorial”
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-14.003; 2. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-14.536; 3. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.541; 4. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-14.641; 5. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-14.645; 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.739; 7. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-14.789; 8. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.795; 9. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-14.799; 10. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-14.801; 11. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-14.846; 12. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-14.864; 13. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-15.019; 14. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-15.088; 15. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-15.326; 16. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-15.394; 17. James Herrera, 5J, Herrera-15.448; 18. Ikaika O’Brien, 11O, O’Brien-15.608; 19. Christopher Muraokoa, 25, Murakoa-15.690; 20. Travis Buckley, 21K, Kruseman-15.772; 21. Frank Herman, 2K, Kruseman-16.812; 22. Danny Sheridan, 73, Ford-NT.
FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Roa, 2. Dyer, 3. Gansen, 4. Sweeney, 5. Muraokoa, 6. Timmons, 7. Faria, 8. Sheridan. NT.
HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Bender, 2. L.Williams, 3. Malcolm, 4. Gardner, 5. Buckley, 6. A.Williams, 7. Herrera. NT.
ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Sexton, 2. C.Williams, 3. O’Brien, 4. McCarthy, 5. Owens, 6. Tafoya, 7. Herman. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Damion Gardner (5), 2. Brody Roa (6), 3. Danny Faria Jr. (7), 4. Austin Williams (8), 5. Verne Sweeney (1), 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (9), 7. Chris Gansen (3), 8. Logan Williams (11), 9. Matt McCarthy (12), 10. Tommy Malcolm (2), 11. Shane Sexton (15), 12. Ikaika O’Brien (18), 13. Jeff Dyer (16), 14. Travis Buckley (20), 15. Frank Herman (21), 16. James Herrera (17), 17. Brent Owens (10), 18. Christopher Muraokoa (19), 19. Danny Sheridan (22), 20. A.J. Bender (14), 21. Cody Williams (4), 22. Ryan Timmons (13). NT.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Sweeney, Laps 14-30 Gardner.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Ikaika O’Brien (18th to 12th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Jeff Dyer
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-588, 2-Brody Roa-526, 3-Austin Williams-496, 4-Chris Gansen-468, 5-Tommy Malcolm-403, 6-Cody Williams-368, 7-Matt Mitchell-328. 8-Danny Faria Jr.-319, 9-A.J. Bender-318, 10-Verne Sweeney-317.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: July 17 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California
DOOR OPENS FOR CREAGER TO WIN USAC MW THUNDER AT WAYNESFIELD
By: Brian Liskai
Waynesfield, Ohio (July 3, 2021)………Ian Creager survived a caution with just two laps to go and drove to the win in Saturday night’s USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget non-points special event at Ohio’s Waynesfield Raceway Park.“On that restart, I was mad at myself when two guys got by me but then the red came out and they told me the one was penalized for being beside me before the cone. I just had to concentrate on hitting my marks,” said Creager beside his Donners Bay Resort, Concept Machine/KSD Insurance/Site X Inc. backed #36.
Gunnar Lucius grabbed the early lead of the 20-lap A-main with Creager holding onto second. Lucius built a sizeable lead until a lapped car spun in front of him, collecting him on lap 13.
Creager inherited the lead and held off Bryce Massingill and Creager until a caution flew with just two laps to go.
On the lap 19 restart, officials determined Jacob Denney had jumped the restart, which was followed by a red flag. Denney was moved back two spots, giving the lead back to Creager who drove to the win.
USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Waynesfield Raceway Park – Waynesfield, Ohio
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting position in brackets) 1. Gunnar Lucius (#22 Lucius) [2], 2. Jacob Denney (#11T Taylor) [5], 3. Zack Gingerich (#8z Gingerich) [3], 4. Ryan Moran (#01 Moran) [9], 5. Cory Guingrich (#42 Guingrich) [4], 6. Taylor Nibert (#11L Taylor) [7], 7. Seth Stiefel (#2s Stiefel) [6], 8. Jody Paul (#5 Paul) [8]. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting position in brackets) 1. Ian Creager (#36 Creager) [7], 2. Kyle Dager (#2 Dager) [5], 3. Abby Hohlbein (#11H Hohlbein) [1] , 4. Zane Briggs (#10 Briggs) [6], 5. Cody Dye (#4T Dye) [8], 6. Jon Watson (#20s Watson) [2], 7. Kyle Kriegbaum (#12 Kriegbaum) [3], 8. Steven Gresham (#27G Gresham) [4]. NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting position in brackets) 1. Bryce Massingill (#12m Massingill) [2], 2. Stratton Briggs (#71 Briggs) [5], 3. Tom Hessel (#7T Hessel) [1], 4. Bryce Dues (#23D Dues) [4], 5. Adam Schmenk (#6s Schmenk) [8], 6. Alex Watson (#3 Watson) [6], 7. Mike Nash (#17 Nash) [3], 8. Carl Peterson (#49p Peterson) [7]. NT
FEATURE: (20 laps, starting position in brackets) 1. Ian Creager [1], 2. Bryce Massingill [6], 3. Stratton Briggs [3], 4. Jacob Denney [5], 5. Kyle Dager [4], 6. Abby Hohlbein [8], 7. Alex Watson [18], 8. Bryce Dues [12], 9. Zack Gingerich [7], 10. Cory Guingrich [13], 11. Adam Schmenk [15], 12. Carl Peterson [24], 13. Jon Watson [17], 14. Mike Nash [21], 15. Zane Briggs [11], 16. Steven Gresham [23], 17. Seth Stiefel [19], 18. Kyle Kriegbaum [20], 19. Jody Paul [22], 20. Ryan Moran [10], 21. Cody Dye [14], 22. Tom Hessel [9], 23. Gunnar Lucius [2], 24. Taylor Nibert [16]. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-12 Gunnar Lucius, Laps 13-20 Ian Creager.
NEXT USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET RACE: July 9, 2021 – Jackson County Speedway – Jackson, Ohio
McMAHILL REPEATS WITH IMRA AT SPOON RIVER
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Canton, Illinois (July 3, 2021)………Mark McMahill led all 20 laps, but it didn’t come without a challenge levied down the stretch as the Peoria, Ill. native raced to his second consecutive USAC Engler IMRA SpeeD2 Midget feature victory Saturday night at Spoon River Speedway in Canton, Ill.In the process, McMahill’s third IMRA win of the year extended his point advantage in the standings to 39 as he chases a first career series championship.
McMahill started from the outside of the front row and quickly passed Jake Sollenberger at the green flag and led from there forward.
Will Armitage began his race from the eighth position and was charging at the finish, placing second behind McMahill at the line. McMahill led all 20 laps with Armitage as the runner-up while Brent Burrows, Doug Canham and Sollenberger rounded out the top-five.
USAC ENGLER IMRA SPEED2 MIDGET RACE RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Spoon River Speedway – Canton, Illinois
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. 57-Mark McMahill, 2. 18-Tyler Roth, 3. 7x-Doug Canham, 4. 51-Brent Burrows, 5. 7B-Dave Baugh, 6. 11-Cody Meyer. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. 5-Jake Sollenberger, 2. 15m-Shane Morgan, 3. 24-Bart Andrews, 4. 51R-Will Armitage, 5. 0-Russell Johnston. NT
FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Mark McMahill, 2. Will Armitage, 3. Brent Burrows, 4. Doug Canham, 5. Jake Sollenberger, 6. Tyler Roth, 7. Cody Meyer, 8. Bart Andrews, 9. Shane Morgan, 10. Russell Johnston, 11. Dave Baugh. NT
USAC ENGLER IMRA SPEED2 MIDGET POINTS: 1-Mark McMahill-555, 2-Brent Burrows-516, 3-Will Armitage-448, 4-Jake Sollenberger-425, 5-Tyler Roth-411, 6-Kevin Battefeld-386, 7-Charles Kunz-320, 8-Bart Andrews-234, 9-Cody Gerdes-199, 10-Abby Hohlbein-184.
NEXT USAC ENGLER IMRA SPEED2 MIDGET RACE: July 10, 2021 – Spoon River Speedway
Rained Out Events:
June 30
USAC Midwest Regional Midgets
Circle City Raceway
Indianapolis, Indiana
July 1
USAC Midwest Regional Midgets
Paragon Speedway
Paragon, Indiana
July 1
USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Cars
Orange County Fair Speedway
Middletown, New York
July 3
USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Cars
New Egypt Speedway
New Egypt, New Jersey
July 3
USAC DMA Midgets
Bear Ridge Speedway
Bradford, Vermont
Sources: USAC PR
Winner Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.) (Steve Koletar Photo)
Winner Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) (David Nearpass Photo)
Winner Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) and his victory lane guest, Charlie Leffler.
Winner Damion Gardner (Concord, Calif.) (Lance Jennings Photo)
Winner Ian Creager (Covington, Ohio)
Winner Mark McMahill (Peoria, Ill.)