From Eldon Butcher
PUTNAMVILLE, Ind. (August 6, 2016) — The Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series completed its annual August “Return to Putnamville” Saturday night with a strong field of 28 cars present. Twenty-one drivers would start the 30 lap feature. The lineup was packed with competitive drivers, some rows back with a long way to go! The race to the front was on but up front there were 5 starters whose intention was to stay there. Brent Beauchamp and A.J. Hopkins started in row one. Beauchamp led the first 4 laps before Hopkins could pass him. A.J. Hopkins had all the speed he needed at the top of the 5/16 mile oval and Beauchamp moved up to give chase. The race stayed green all 30 laps.
The feature win was a first in MSCS competition for Danville, IN, driver A. J. Hopkins. In five seasons of racing sprint cars he has been one of the regular participants at the Lincoln Park Speedway. The DRC he races is owned by Fred and Sandy Hopkins. Sponsorship includes Nalon Racing Engines, Banning Engineering, CSI Shocks, and Dan Pace Dyno.
Chad Boespflug would finish third behind the two leaders. Kyle Cummins was fourth and C.J. Leary ran fifth. The top five remained formidable. Robert Ballou moved up through the pack to finish in sixth. Ballou, Jon Stanbrough, and Carson Short along with Brandon Morin, Kevin Thomas Jr., and Jimmy Light formed a string of drivers that made substantial gains after starting in the back half of the field. Ballou earned the Keizer Aluminum Wheels Hard Charger of the Race Award for MSCS.
Jon Stanbrough moved up to seventh after starting thirteenth. Brady Short, Max McGhee, and Kevin Thomas Jr. rounded out the top ten. Thomas was the night’s overall fastest qualifier with a run of 12.669 seconds in the second group. Carson Short took the Wilwood Tuff Brakes Award with an eleventh place finish in the A. Short did not complete his run in heat two. He would start in the last row of the B Main and transfer by finishing second to winner Jimmy Light.
The three heat races were won by C.J. Leary in the Amati Racing sprint, Shane Cottle in the Hazen sprint, and Chad Boespflug in his Nine Eight Motorsports ride. In the second heat race Jadon Rogers started last. He then moved up two more positions looking for a fifth place transfer before flipping to bring out a red flag. Repairs were made in time for Jadon to report for the B. Brandon Morin brought out a yellow flag earlier in that same heat. The B Main brought out three yellow flags. A poor initial start was recalled. Then there were two spins. One was by Jadon Rogers and the other by Jacob Henderson.
The Midwest Sprint Car Series will race twice the weekend of August 13th and 14th. First up on Saturday is the 12th annual Hoosier Sprint Nationals at Tri-State Speedway which pays $5,000 to the winner. Sunday evening MSCS will have an opportunity to make up the Spring Fling at the Terre Haute Action Track which was rained out and rescheduled for August 14. The Fling will pay $3,000 to win and $300 to start.
Midwest Sprint Car Series
Lincoln Park Speedway
Putnamville, IN
Saturday August 6, 2016
(28 Entries)
Top Overall Qualifier – 4J Kevin Thomas Jr., 12.669 seconds
First Heat – 66 C.J. Leary, 3R Kyle Cummins, 17GP Jeff Bland Jr., 17 Max McGhee, 81 Jon Stanbrough, 5m Matt McDonald, 17G Michael Gass, 24 Nate McMillin, 8 Jacob Henderson, 52c Jared Chastain
Second Heat – 57 Shane Cottle, 14H A.J. Hopkins, 97x Tyler Hewitt, 28 Brandon Mattox, 4J Kevin Thomas Jr., 98 Brandon Morin, 22v Shelby Van Gilder, 66J Jadon Rogers, 21 Carson Short,
Third Heat – 98E Chad Boespflug, 34 Brent Beauchamp, 11P Brady Short, 1 Robert Ballou, 4B Donny Brackett, 23 Jimmy Light, 11 James Lyerla, 26 Lukas Smith, 38 Chet Williams
B Main – 23 Jimmy Light, 21 Carson Short, 24 Nate McMillin, 5m Matt McDonald, 98 Brandon Morin, 38 Chet Williams, 11 James Lyerla, 22v Shelby Van Golder, 17G Michael Gass, 66J Jadon Rogers, 26 Lukas Smith, 52C Jared Chastain, 8 Jacob Henderson
Feature (30 Laps) – 14H A.J. Hopkins, 34 Brent Beauchamp, 98E Chad Boespflug, 3R Kyle Cummins, 66 C.J. Leary, 1 Robert Ballou, 81 Jon Stanbrough, 11P Brady Short, 17 Max McGhee, 4J Kevin Thomas Jr., 21 Carson Short, 23 Jimmy Light, 28 Brandon Mattox, 57 Shane Cottle, 98 Brandon Morin, 24 Nate McMillin, 4B Donny Brackett, 17GP Jeff Bland Jr., 5m Matt McDonald, 97x Tyler Hewitt, 52c Jared Chastain