By Rick Salem
Hays, Kansas – June 14, 2020 – Koby Walters took the lead just before the races midway point and never looked back to claim the Mel Hambelton Ford Racing POWRi United Rebel Sprint Series feature event at Rolling Plains Motor Speedway in Hays, Kansas on Sunday night to close out the two-day Mike Hughes Memorial/Sunflower Classic. Walters became the forth different winner in four outings for the Rebels this year.
Cale Cozad and Kyler Johnson started on the front row for the twenty-five-lap feature with Johnson taking the lead as the green flag fell. Sixth-starting Walters moved into the third position while Ray Seeman and Mike Woodruff made up the top five after the first lap was complete.
Johnson opened up a six-car length lead before approaching slower cars on lap seven when Walters would get past Cozad for the runner-up position. One lap later the first and only caution flag of the feature fell when Tom Belsky spun in turns three and four.
The final restart saw Johnson get pressure from Walters while Cozad would drive into turn one too hard and drove off the track. He would return to race action, not bring out the caution but fell back several positions.
Walters made his move for the lead on lap eleven when he drove low entering turns one and two and drove underneath the top-running Johnson and would take the lead down the backstretch and comfortably out front in turns three and four.
At the races midway point it was Walters followed by Johnson, Woodruff, Seeman and eighth-starting Zach Blurton the top five as Walters distanced himself from the rest of the field. He would reach slower cars again and lap fourteen but that didn’t detour him from picking up his first URSS feature win of the season and become the fourth different winner in the four events held thus far this season.
Johnson settled for second while Seeman, Woodruff and Blurton rounded out the top five.
The three, eight lap heat races for the twenty-one-car field were won by Woodruff, JD Johnson and Blurton. Nineteenth starting Nate Berry would bring home the Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Award moving up seven spots to finish twelfth.
Next up for the “Rebels” will be a two-night show at two different tracks. It all kicks off on Saturday night, June 27, at Thomas County Speedway in Colby, Kansas before a special Sunday night edition of 305 sprint car action at Wakeeney Speedway.
United Rebel Sprint Series
Rolling Plains Motor Speedway/Hays, Kansas
June 14, 2020
21 Cars
1st Heat (8 Laps): 1) Mike Woodruff, 2) Keith Rauch, 3) Cale Cozad, 4) Jordan Knight, 5) Fred Holz, 6) Zach Middleton
2nd Heat (8 Laps): 1) JD Johnson, 2) Ray Seeman, 3) Koby Walters, 4) Steven Richardson, 5) Taylor Velasquez, 6) ChadSalem, 7) Nate Berry
3rd Heat (8 Laps): 1) Zach Blurton, 2) Kyler Johnson, 3) Shane Sundquist, 4) Jed Werner, 5) Brady Skrdlant, 6) Howard Van Dyke, 7) Tom Belsky
A Feature (25 Laps): 1) Koby Walters, 2) Kyler Johnson, 3) Ray Seeman, 4) Mike Woodruff, 5) Zach Blurton, 6) Keith Rauch, 7) JD Johnson, 8) Cale Cozad, 9) Steven Richardson, 10) Shane Sundquist, 11) Jed Werner, 12) Nate Berry, 13) Fred Holz, 14) Taylor Velasquez, 15) Chad Salem, 16) Howard Van Dyke, 17) Brady Skrdlant, 18) Tom Belsky, 19) Jordan Knight, 20) Jeremy Huish, DNS: Zach Middleton.
Lap leaders: K. Johnson 1-10; Walters 11-25