By Lonnie Wheatley
McCOOL JUNCTION, Neb. (June 30, 2011) – Chad Humston kicked off the Fourth of July weekend racing festivities by wiring the field in Thursday night’s 25-lap Speedway Motors ASCS Midwest main event at Junction Motor Speedway.
Humston gunned into the lead at the outset and kept Brian Brown and Danny Lasoski at bay in the waning laps to secure his fifth career ASCS Midwest triumph aboard Mark Burch’s Engler Machine & Tool No. 1m Wolfweld.
The 24-year-old Giltner, NE, shoe outgunned fellow front row starter Tyler Drueke at the drop of the green flag, with fourth-starter Lasoski sliding into second by the second lap. As Humston and Lasoski approached the tail of the field, eighth-starter Brian Brown made his way to third by the fifth circuit.
Working traffic by the seventh round, Humston found clear track again when the race’s only caution flew after nine laps for a Lee Grosz spin in turn four. Under the caution, fourth-running Drueke stopped on the track and was relegated to the tail of the field with seventh-running Billy Alley’s night coming to an early end when he pulled to the infield.
“I really needed that yellow, I was having a little trouble concentrating and was just kind of struggling with traffic,” Humston explained. “That caution gave me a chance to settle down and get focused.”
With Lasoski and Brown chasing, Humston was flawless the rest of the way around the 3/8-mile dirt oval. Back in traffic by the 17th round, Lasoski and Brown tried to close in on Humston as the laps clicked off. Brown finally disposed of Lasoski for second with a handful of laps remaining and kept the heat on Humston, who rode the top side of the track to perfection to finish off the win.
“I was afraid if I went down low I’d spin my tires too much and give it up,” Humston explained of the final rounds. “I figured it was best to stay on the top and make him earn it if he wanted it.”
Brown settled for runner-up honors behind Humston, with Lasoski in the show position. Current Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National points leader Shane Stewart slid past Don Droud, Jr., in traffic for fourth on the lap ten restart and chased the lead trio to the stripe.
Droud, Jr., rounded out the top five, with current ASCS Midwest points leader Wayne Johnson, 16th-starter Scott Winters, Jack Dover, Logan Forler and Mark Pace completing the top ten.
Alley, Drueke, Brown and Dave Glennon topped heat race action for the 28-car field, with Jordan Boston winning the “B” Main.
Speedway Motors ASCS Midwest Results from Junction Motor Speedway:
First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 22-Billy Alley, 2. 1m-Chad Humston, 3. 57-Shane Stewart, 4. 4-Jordan Boston, 5. 47-Brandt O’Banion, 6. 44-Doug Lovegrove, 7. 18-Ryan Roberts.
Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 12-Tyler Drueke, 2. 33-Danny Lasoski, 3. 82-Jason Danley, 4. 17-Gage Dorr, 5. 0-Jeff Osborn, 6. 3-Julee Jamison, 7. 51-Gary Paulson.
Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 53-Jack Dover, 3. 38-Wayne Johnson, 4. 2L-Logan Forler, 5. 24a-Scott Winters, 6. 9m-Ricky Montgomery, 7. 36-Rick Hansen.
Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 5-Dave Glennon, 2. 31-Mark Pace, 3. 2-Don Droud, Jr., 4. 4j-Lee Grosz, 5. 6g-Bryan Gossel, 6. 21x-Ryan Kitchen, 7. 1-Ty Williams.
“B” Main (10 Laps): 1. 4-Jordan Boston, 2. 24a-Scott Winters, 3. 17-Gage Dorr, 4. 47-Brandt O’Banion, 5. 6g-Bryan Gossel, 6. 0-Jeff Osborn, 7. 18-Ryan Roberts, 8. 44-Doug Lovegrove, 9. 9m-Ricky Montgomery, 10. 21x-Ryan Kitchen, 11. 36-Rick Hansen, 12. 1-Ty Williams. DNS: 3-Julee Jamison, 51-Gary Paulson.
“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 1m-Chad Humston, 2. 21-Brian Brown, 3. 33-Danny Lasoski, 4. 57-Shane Stewart, 5. 2-Don Droud, Jr., 6. 38-Wayne Johnson, 7. 24a-Scott Winters, 8. 53-Jack Dover, 9. 2L-Logan Forler, 10. 31-Mark Pace, 11. 5-Dave Glennon, 12. 82-Jason Danley, 13. 12-Tyler Drueke, 14. 47-Brandt O’Banion, 15. 6g-Bryan Gossel, 16. 0-Jeff Osborn, 17. 17-Gage Dorr, 18. 4-Jordan Boston, 19. 22-Billy Alley, 20. 4j-Lee Grosz.
Speedway Motors ASCS Midwest Points (Top Ten): 1. Wayne Johnson 917, 2. Jack Dover 906, 3. Brian Brown 842, 4. Jordan Boston 713, 5. Don Droud, Jr. 702, 6. Bryan Gossel 696, 7. Lee Grosz 657, 8. Danny Lasoski 643, 9. Ryan Roberts 589, 10. Jeff Osborn 565.