By: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director, Stan Meissner photo
St. Croix Falls, WI
(9-17-11)
One win is nice but two is twice as nice. During the final weekend of the 2011 racing season for the UMSS Traditional Sprint Car Series (TSCS) at their home track, Tom Kamrath completed the weekend sweep during the “Final Showdown” event at the St. Croix Valley Raceway on Saturday September 17. Coming off a feature win in TSCS competition on Friday night, Kamrath took full advantage of his front row starting position to lead all 15 laps in the Mora Motorworks main event. For the veteran racer from Maplewood, it was his third TSCS victory of the season in one of the Reactor Racing team cars. Kamrath picked up $200 from GRP Motorsports for his victory.
Rob Caho, Jr. drove to a convincing win in the heat race, but Caho’s luck on the redraw saw him pull a full field invert for the feature race. This put Cody Hahn and Kamrath on the front row. Kamrath quickly cruised to the cushion and was never seriously challenged throughout the 15 lap affair. The real battle for position on the track was for second place between Kevin Bradwell and Caho. The two drivers had a good race for the runner-up spot for many laps with Bradwell holding the position and Caho mounting several challenges. A couple of times Caho was able to pull alongside Bradwell, but the “Rocketman” was able to hold him off. Following the lead trio across the finish line was Cody Hahn driving Jeff Pellersels TSCS sprinter for the third time this season and Johnny Parsons III. Parsons had experienced a broken rocker arm on his motor on Friday night, and the second Reactor Racing team car never really seemed to be up to full song on Saturday night following repairs. Jack Clark also experienced a similar problem during hot laps and was scratched for the remainder of the evening.
On Friday night it was a similar story, as Kamrath quickly grabbed the lead from his pole starting spot and went on to lead the full 15 laps to the checkers while riding the cushion. On Friday night, Kevin Bradwell kept close behind Kamrath but could not overtake him. Caho finished third followed by Aaron Wisch, newcomer Brad Nelson, and Jack Clark. Parsons, the leading feature winner in TSCS competition this season with five wins, was unable to start the feature race on Friday night due to engine problems.
With Brainerd driver Brad Nelson making his TSCS debut on Friday night, this gave the upstart series a total of eleven different cars who have competed so far during the initial season. One more car is reportedly ready while a couple of other cars should have new carbs in time for the final race of the season at Kasson on Saturday October 8. The Kasson show features a structured purse. More details will be released soon.
Traditional sprint car fans can follow the growth of the UMSS TSCS series throughout the course of its initial season on the UMSS website at www.umsprints.com by clicking on the blue logo to enter the TSCS home page. TSCS news and results are also on the UMSS Facebook page.
UMSS TSCS Race Results – St. Croix Valley Raceway Final Showdown September 16, 2011 (Race #13):
SprintSource.com Ultimate Exhibition Heat Race (8 laps): Tom Kamrath, Maplewood MN; Kevin Bradwell Luck, WI; Rob Caho Jr, Wyoming MN; Johnny Parsons III, Owatonna MN; Aaron Wisch, Arlington MN; Brad Nelson, Brainerd MN; Jack Clark, Knapp WI.
Mora Motorworks Exhibition A Main (15 laps): Kamrath #32, Bradwell #95, Caho #78, Wisch #73, Nelson #7N, Clark #41s, Parsons #22 DNS.
Lap Leader: Kamrath 1-15
No Cautions.
UMSS TSCS Race Results – St. Croix Valley Raceway Final Showdown September 17, 2011 (Race #14):
SprintSource.com Ultimate Exhibition Heat Race (8 laps): Rob Caho Jr, Wyoming MN; Kevin Bradwell Luck, WI; Johnny Parsons III, Owatonna, MN; Tom Kamrath, Mapledwood, MN; Cody Hahn, Minneapolis MN, Jack Clark, Knapp WI DNS.
Mora Motorworks/GRP Motorsports Exhibition A Main (15 laps): Kamrath #32, Bradwell #95, Caho #78, Hahn #1, Parsons #22, Clark #41s DNS.
Lap Leader: Kamrath 1-15
Cautions: (1)