By Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director, Stan Meissner photo
New Richmond, WI
With lightning flashing to the north and west of the track, Brooke Tatnell overtook race long leader Cody Hahn with less than two laps to go enroute to his second Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) feature win of the season on Saturday night July 30 at the Cedar Lake Speedway. Picking up where he left off last September, the talented driver from the “Land Down Under” now residing in Forest Lake recorded his second straight UMSS feature win at the legendary western Wisconsin 3/8 mile dirt oval on a warm and muggy summer evening.
Defending UMSS Champion Cody Hahn had led the race from the beginning, withstanding a yellow with five laps in for a spin and a red flag after eleven laps when Tony Norem got upside down in turn two. Just like the previous night, Brooke Tatnell found himself in second at the final caution with an opportunity to race for the win. Hahn held strong until lap 19 when Tatnell made the winning pass entering turn three with a little over a lap to go. Although he wanted to win the feature race, Hahn summed up the experience afterwards by stating “I got beat by a veteran racer tonight with a great deal of talent.” Tatnell had the chance to follow Hahn for several laps. Seeing he was strong on the bottom lane, Tatnell moved up the track a little bit and found some grip. Sometimes running a close second has its advantages.
Jerry Richert, Jr. maintained his point lead with a solid third place run. Fargo, ND driver Lee Grosz finished fourth just ahead of Brad Barickman. Friday night race winner Andy Jones was sixth followed by Scott Broty, Joseph Kouba, Tony Kaus, and Ronnie Erickson in the top ten. As the high point driver after the typical two rounds of UMSS qualifying races, Tatnell drew the #4 pill for the feature race invert. This put Grosz, Hahn and Tatnell’s brother-in-law Jerry Richert, Jr. in the top three starting positions for the 20 lap main event. It only took Tatnell a couple of laps to move into second, but it took him considerably longer to eventually gain the lead and feature victory over the seventeen car field.
The qualifying races saw Norem defeat Grosz in the Alpha Apparel & Promotions first Ultimate Sprint Race. The Meeks Video Ultimate Sprint Race was won by Richert. Tatnell topped the North Country Builders final Ultimate Sprint Race. Tatnell returned to race ahead of Hahn in the Driverwebsites.com first Challenge Race while Barickman held off Richert in the Mastell Brothers Trailer Service second Challenge Race.
In the on-going battle for the 2011 GRP Motorsports/BP Trading Company Rookie of the Year Award, Anna Kouba maintained her lead over Kevin Bradwell and Chad Patterson in the current standings. Anna Kouba raced to a 12th place finish just ahead of Chad Patterson while Bradwell did not finish. Tatnell earned a $200 bonus from GRP Motorsports for his feature win on his wedding anniversary night to give the Nelson Motorsports team a $1,000 victory. Hahn also earned $200 for the GRP Past Champion bonus. Justin Giddings from Kansas City, KS made a long drive only to have his car break a motor in hotlaps. The 2010 UMSS Rookie of the Year Jared Goerges was unable to compete due to engine issues in his sprint car and was relegated to being a spectator for the evening.
The UMSS will take a couple of weekends off before returning to action in their first-ever appearance at the Hibbing Raceway for the “Rumble on the Range” event scheduled for Saturday August 20. An increased purse awaits UMSS competitors for the drive north into Minnesota’s Iron Range country. Fans can follow the UMSS on their website at www.umsprints.com, become a friend of the UMSS on their Facebook page, keep tabs on series action with the free UMSS Report newsletter available at each event, or check out the UMSS on various other media outlets. Near the midway point of the season, Andy Jones has three wins along with Chris Graf, while Richert and Tatnell have two wins each.
UMSS Race Results – Cedar Lake Speedway July 30, 2011 (Race #10):
Alpha Apparel & Promotions Ultimate Sprint Race #1 (6 laps): Tony Norem, Lee Grosz, Scott Broty, Brad Barickman, Cody Hahn, Chad Patterson.
Meeks Video Ultimate Sprint Race #2 (6 laps): Jerry Richert Jr, Andy Jones, Joseph Kouba, Anna Kouba, Mike Luks, Justin Giddings DNS.
North Country Builders Ultimate Sprint Race #3 (6 laps): Brooke Tatnell, Dean Brown, Ronnie Erickson, Tony Kaus, Kevin Bradwell DNF.
Driverwebsites.com Challenge Race #1 (8 laps): Tatnell, Hahn, Broty, Jones, Norem, A Kouba, Erickson, Bradwell DNS, Giddings DNS.
Mastell Brothers Trailer Service Challenge Race #2 (8 laps): Barickman, Richert, Grosz, J Kouba, Brown, Luks, Kaus, Patterson.
GRP Motorsports A Main (20 laps): Tatnell, Hahn, Richert, Grosz, Barickman, Jones, Broty, J Kouba, Kaus, Erickson, Luks, A Kouba, Patterson, Brown DNF, Norem DNF, Bradwell DNF, Giddings DNS.
Lap Leaders: Hahn 1-18, Tatnell 19-20
Cautions: (2)
Victory Lane Photo courtesy of Stan Meissner from Minnesota Dirt Track Racing.