Scotty Thiel in victory lane. -
Victory Lane Photo courtesy of Stan Meissner at Minnesota Dirt Track Racing.
Scotty Thiel in victory lane. – Victory Lane Photo courtesy of Stan Meissner at Minnesota Dirt Track Racing.
From Greg Parent
St. Croix Falls, WI — (May 24, 2013) — With an extremely strong field of 27 Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) winged sprints on hand, Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan, Wisconsin battled race leader Jason Tostenson for a good share of the 20 lap feature race. It wasn’t until lap 18 that Thiel was able to make the winning pass in turn one to take home top honors at the 2nd Annual Davey Tabor Memorial at the St. Croix Valley Raceway on Friday night May 24. The win paid Thiel $1,034, as many of the top ten finishing positions pay ended with the number “34” in honor and memory of the Tabor Motorsports entry. The Tabor family along with GRP Motorsports added extra money to the purse making the total feature race payout $6,634. It was Thiel’s fifth career UMSS feature win.
The largest field of UMSS winged sprints ever to assemble at the St. Croix Valley Raceway, and one of the larger turnouts in UMSS history, helped set the stage for a busy evening of racing. Sunny skies during the afternoon gave way to cloudy conditions with the threat of rain coming in from the west later on in the evening. On this night, the weather would cooperate allowing the UMSS to complete their first show of the 2013 season. The usual double round of qualifying races was in effect with three heats and two challenge races on tap before the feature event. The feature race was initially scheduled for 25 laps, but with rainy weather heading towards the track, it was decided to reduce the distance to 20 laps prior to the start of the race.
Heat race winners included 2009 UMSS Champion Leigh Thomas, Thiel, and Tony Norem. Jennifer Eriksen was taken to the hospital for observation following a hard crash into the turn one large tractor tires protecting the beginning of the concrete wall at the opening to the pit exit. Challenge Race wins went to brother-in-laws Jerry Richert Jr. and Brooke Tatnell.
Following the two rounds of qualifiers, Tatnell was the high point driver. Tatnell drew the number six pill, inverting the first three rows. This put Rick Kobs, in just his second season behind the wheel of a sprint car, and Jason Tostenson on the front row. A few moments after the parade laps had been completed, Kobs’ car suddenly came to a halt on the back stretch and was pushed into the infield with possible ignition issues. Chris Graf moved up to the pole position, putting a couple of Glencoe, Minnesota drivers up front. Tostenson grabbed a slim advantage over Graf to lead the opening lap. Tatnell’s night was done early, as the Nelson Motorsports entry slowed entering turn three and coasted off the track with just one lap completed. The field was slowed under caution.
On the restart, Tostenson maintained his lead over Graf. Thiel moved from third to second on lap 3. One lap later, Lee Grosz stalled in turn 4 after what appeared to be contact with Thiel in turn 2. Grosz was pushed to the infield and done for the night. Again Tostenson was able to maintain a slim lead when the race went green, as Thiel looked for a way to get past. The third caution waved with eight laps in when Davey Heskin spun in turn 4. Thiel tried on a couple of occasions to duck underneath Tostenson in turns 1-2 during the next several laps, but Tostenson held off each attempt. The final yellow blinked on with 16 laps scored when 2010 UMSS Champion Cody Hahn spun in turn 4. This set the stage for a four lap dash to the checkers.
Tostenson was under serious pressure from Thiel on the restart, and two laps later he succumbed to that pressure when Thiel dove low in turn one and Tostenson bobbled just slightly up top, allowing Thiel to slide up in front of him by a few car lengths. Thiel went on to record the victory, his second win at St. Croix Valley Raceway, having won at the 1/4 mile bullring last August. Tostenson, who was looking for his first-ever UMSS win, had to settle for second ahead of Graf, Kurt Davis from 10th, and Tony Norem from 12th. Rounding out the top ten finishers were 2011 & 2012 UMSS Champion Jerry Richert Jr, Cam Schafer, Neil Matuska racing for the first time with the UMSS, Jared Goerges, and Davey Heskin. Sixteen of the twenty starters were still racing at the conclusion of the event with all cars on the lead lap.
It ended up being an entertaining and memorable evening of racing. A nice tribute for Davey Tabor, written by his wife Margaret, was read by track announcer Terry Lehnertz during the intermission. Also of interest was a first in UMSS history, as female driver Katrina Sautbine won the non-winged Traditional sprint car feature race. With the 2013 season finally underway, racers and fans can follow the UMSS on their website at www.umsprints.com or become a friend of the UMSS Facebook page.
UMSS Race Results – St. Croix Valley Raceway May 24, 2013 (Race #1)
2nd Annual Davey Tabor Memorial:
Alpha Apparel & Promotions Ultimate Sprint Race #1 (8 laps): 29 Leigh Thomas, 14 Brooke Tatnell, 34 Rick Kobs, 6k Kurt Davis, 37 Sye Anderson, 77 Brandon Allen, 33 Scott Broty, 10 Kevin Nickel, 7 Dave Becker DNS.
Meeks Video Ultimate Sprint Race #2 (9 laps): 64 Scotty Thiel, 4J Lee Grosz, 36 Jason Tostenson, 9 Jared Goerges, 55 Joseph Kouba, 5 Anna Kouba, 91 Davey Heskin DNF, 34TW Gunner Cummings DNF, 10X Jennifer Eriksen DNF.
Driverwebsites.com Ultimate Sprint Race #3 (9 laps): B1ST Tony Norem, 5 Cam Schafer, 23 Cody Hahn, 20G Chris Graf, 63 Jerry Richert Jr, 48 Neil Matuska, 20 Jordan Wilmes, 31 James Broty, 91A Reed Allex.
