Racing Was As Hot As the Temperature.
With the hot lap temp at 90,it seemed to boil over into the 6 divisions of racing at the Race Track by the River.
Once the Dave Cordier prepped track got run in,many drivers were using "the cushion" to find the quick way around the high banks.
The 125's were the 1st class on the track for their A Main and slotting into the seat of a different ride was not going to slow Chris Dolan down. Dolan set sail in the # 16 ,in place of his 7D and was not to be denied his 5th win of the season.Hard luck beset both Dave Schroeder who had a chain breakage taking the green and Blaire Schoenly heading to the infield while running 2nd on lap 2.The scramble behind Dolan didn't end until lap 13 when AJ Gerhart got by Abby Witter to get 2nd place.Abby had to ward off a last lap challenge by Sam Borger to get 3rd with Borger just besting Dylan Yeingst for 4th.
The girls in the Junior Slingshots are bringing their "A" game and this week was no different as Hailey Eroh and Lily Barrett had a 3 lap battle until Chase Schott snuck by Barrett on lap 4 to claim the runner-up position.Staying within striking distance was Gavin Wolfe and Aubrey Romig.This was your top 5 until lap 12 when slower traffic altered the running order getting Zack Gerber and Daniel Betz ahead of Romig,Schott and Wolfe. The late race charge of Darian Danyluk resulted in a strong 4th place run behind Eroh,Barrett and Gerber,with Schott 5th and Romig getting 6th just ahead of Wolfe.
An unusual amount of race stoppages for the 270 micro main altered the running order many times during the 20 lap affair.A few tumbles, a car stuck in the guardrail and slower cars changed the race outcome.Louden Reimert's early race lead ended on lap 6 as the 88e could not dodge a slower car and spun in turn 2 on lap 6.2nd place runner Matt Hoffman took charge for the remaining 14 laps with no threats in sight to get win # 2 of the 2023 season.Louie Horvath,Sr. was a mainstay in the top 3 and advanced on the Reimert incident to finish 2nd with Jarrett Imler at his rear bumper at the checkered.Dave Labe catapulted into the top 5 on lap 9 and held his ground from Adam Buchel,who advanced 7 spots after heading to the rear after stopping on the speedway.The Buchel 10 was the fastest car on the speedway the last 5 laps.
When the GOAT of Slingshot racing,Brett Bieber, has the 2022 point champion Lindsey Garl shadowing him it came down to a final turn dash to the checkers with Bieber getting the win by a scant .14 seconds over Garl.It was a wild scramble for 3rd through 5th as Luke McCloskey,Tucker Cole and Colton Williams swapped those 3 spots every lap until race's end.It even came down to 6th through 10th as the cushion in turns 3 & 4 gave drivers an alternate groove for passing.Cole finished 3rd with Williams 4th and McCloskey in for 5th place money.Dan Lane,Jr. had a hard fought run for 6th over the Lineman team of Mason and Colton.
Mark Gray Racing teammates Richie Hartman and Chris Kurtz had to duke it out amongst themselves for race honors in the 600 micros.Not wanting to be left out were Trevor Kobylarz,Kaitlyn Swist and Adam Buchel.These 5 were turning the fastest laps on the 1/8th mile until the 1/2 way signal was given,then it was a determined Matt McAnally overtaking Swist on lap 9 and hoping to get closer to 4th place running Kobylarz.Hartman got the win by a 1/2 second over Kurtz with Buchel challenging Kurtz off of turn 4,but had to settle for 3rd.Kobylarz and McAnally rounded out the top 5.Swist stayed focused to just nudge out Dakota Barlet for 6th.
If there ever was a heartbreaking loss it was in the Stage 1 Modifieds as race leader AJ Gerhart,who at times had a 1/2 track lead,had his motor expire with 2 to go sending the S1 to the infield.The bad luck just moved back a few spots earlier as a 2nd running Johnny Fugelo had to call it a night on lap 14.Bryce Dodig had a strong car as he was a top 5 runner by lap 5 and made good use of Gerhart's misfortune to claim the top spot.Getting the 2nd place prize was Mark Mohr who got shuffled back to 9th in the early going,only to find the low line to his liking to get 2nd.Lawson Szerencits was a top 3 runner for the full 20 laps and did get the final podium spot.Colin Cox used a middle of a 3 wide to finish 4th ahead of Riley Wanamaker,who had enough corner speed to outlast Fabian Allaico-Cushman for 5th.Cushman was the winner of the Strapped In TV Show Driver of the Week Pit Pass.
Final checkered was thrown at 10:12.
Point leaders with 3 weeks left in the regular season are:
600 Micros / Richie Hartman.
270 Micros / Matt McAnally.
125 Micros / AJ Gerhart.
All Star Slingshots / Lindsey Garl.
Junior Slingshots / Hailey Eroh.
Stage 1 Modifieds / AJ Gerhart
