From USAC
Haubstadt, Indiana…….Hunter Schuerenberg of Sikeston, Missouri backed up his win from last week by dominating most of a flag-to-flag 30-lap “Spring Showdown” Main Event on Saturday at Tri-State Speedway. The event was held in conjunction with the Midwest Sprint Car Series.
After polesitter Levi Jones grabbed the early advantage, Schuerenberg used a tall cushion to take the lead on lap four. He would never relinquish it, setting a torrid pace through traffic and establishing a 30-lap track record in his Hank Byram-owned Fatheadz Eyewear – R&B Trucker’s #35 Spike/Rider.
“Anytime you’re out front, you just try to keep your momentum up and keep clicking off laps. Once we got the track blown off a little, I could just run the top nice and went right by Levi. I was trying to keep my rhythm and with the car a little tight, I couldn’t be conservative, really. I like winning at Haubstadt – it’s a great track with a great crowd, and it’s always great to get another USAC win,” an excited Schuerenberg said after his seventh career win.
Jones started to reel in Schuerenberg late in the race, but he ran out of time to post his first win of the year. The five-time champion made up ground on the bottom in his Tony Stewart Racing – GM Performance #20 Maxim/Kistler Chevy before coming home second.
“I thought that the bottom would be pretty good. We finally cleaned it off after being a little too snug. We were definitely good at the end, better than we’ve been lately. We’ve made some changes and got our car feeling like a race car again, which is good with all the races we’ve got coming up,” Jones said.
The battle of the race unfolded behind the top-two as they stretched out a straightaway lead. Chase Stockon and Brady Short traded the third spot before Daron Clayton came calling. In the end, it was Cullman, Alabama driver Kevin Thomas, Jr. coming out on top of a duel with Clayton to notch his career-best finish of third in the Black Jack Oil Company – Indy Metal Finishings #9K DRC/Rider.
“It was great to battle with Clayton there at the end. This is only my second USAC top-ten ever, and for it to come at my favorite race track, it feels really good. Just being able to run up there with these guys is great for me,” the 20-year old Thomas, Jr. said.
Clayton took fourth in his first race of the season aboard the Chad Smith Motorsports – Cornwell Tools #92 DRC/J&D Performance. Stockon held on for the fifth spot in his Terre Haute First Financial Bank – Superior Tank & Trailer #32 DRC/Fisher.
Because of a short rain delay earlier in the evening, time trials were cancelled and heat races were run utilizing passing points. With the event varying from a traditional format, all teams in attendance were awarded appearance points only.
AMSOIL USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: May 12, 2012 – Haubstadt, Indiana – Tri-State Speedway – “Spring Showdown” – Co-Sanctioned by Midwest Sprint Car Series
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Hunter Schuerenberg (35, Byram), 2. Jerry Coons, Jr. (71P, Phillips), 3. Tracy Hines (4, Hines), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (9K, BlackJack), 5. Chet Williams (38w, Williams), 6. Casey Shuman (21, Pollock), 7. Jon Stanbrough (21x, Roberts/Tate), 8. Dave Darland (11, Walker). NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Levi Jones (20, Stewart), 2. Chase Stockon (32, Stockon), 3. Kyle Cummins (3c, Cummins), 4. Brandon Mattox (28, Mattox), 5. Braylon Fitzpatrick (3F, Fitzpatrick), 6. Robert Ballou (81, MPHG), 7. Jeff Bland, Jr. (38, Pottorff). 2:18.25
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Brady Short (7, CTR/BCI/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Dakota Jackson (3, Jackson), 3. Daron Clayton (92, Clayton), 4. Bobby East (2B, Benic), 5. Nic Faas (53, Fox), 6. Blake Fitzpatrick (10, Fitzpatrick), 7. Darren Hagen (69, Dynamics). 2:18.42
FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Casey Riggs (37, KKM/Indiana Underground), 2. Jonathan Hendrick (68, Hendrick), 3. Damion Gardner (71, DG), 4. Wes McIntyre (83, McIntyre), 5. Chase Briscoe (5B, Briscoe), 6. Chris Windom (5, Baldwin), 7. Donny Brackett (4B, Brackett). 2:20.22
SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Bland, 2. Shuman, 3. Stanbrough, 4. Briscoe, 5. Williams, 6. Faas, 7. Ballou, 8. Brackett, 9. Windom, 10. Darland. 2:48.53
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Hunter Schuerenberg, 2. Levi Jones, 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 4. Daron Clayton, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Brady Short, 7. Jeff Bland, Jr., 8. Jerry Coons, Jr., 9. Kyle Cummins, 10. Wes McIntyre, 11. Jon Stanbrough, 12. Damion Gardner, 13. Casey Shuman, 14. Casey Riggs, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Jonathan Hendrick, 17. Chase Briscoe, 18. Chet Williams, 19. Dakota Jackson, 20. Tracy Hines, 21. Brandon Mattox, 22. Nic Faas, 23. Bobby East. 9:33.03
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Jones, Laps 4-30 Schuerenberg.
NEW AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT POINTS: 1-Stanbrough-342; 2-Darland-324; 3-Hines-299; 4-Gardner-295; 5-Jones-295; 6-Hagen-275; 7-Clauson-273; 8-Shuman-255; 9-Schuerenberg-254; 10-Thomas-253.
NEXT AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT RACE: May 18 – Bloomington, IN – Bloomington Speedway – “Larry Rice Classic”