Rick Salem
GOODLAND, Kansas (August 9, 2020) – It had been thirteen years since the POWRi United Rebel Sprint Series Presented by Mel Hambelton Ford Racing took to Sherman County Speedway in Goodland, Kansas. Sunday night featured sixteen drivers and action-packed racing at the 3/8-mile western-Kansas dirt oval as Taylor Velasquez earned his second URSS victory of the season.
Howard Van Dyke and Nick Nichols set the pace for the 25-lap feature event. Series points leader JD Johnson took off with the early lead over Taylor Velasquez and Todd Plemons while Zach Blurton made a charge toward the front from a fifteenth starting position. A caution flew over the field on lap 8 for Howard Van Dyke and Aaron Ploussard. The restart saw Velasquez advance position to the lead over JD Johnson and Zach Blurton. The caution came out for the second time on lap 12. The restart would find Velasquez continuing the lead and Blurton with the charge to second over JD Johnson, Todd Plemons, and Nate Berry in the top-five.
Yellow lights came on again on lap 14. The restart saw a shake-up in the top-five, as Plemons would get by JD Johnson for third and Kyler Johnson would advance to fifth. The remaining 10 laps featured several battles for advances in position, however the top-five finishers would remain the same. Taylor Velasquez went on to win his second United Rebel Sprint Series victory of the season over fifteenth-starter Zach Blurton. Todd Plemons, JD Johnson, and Kyler Johnson rounded out the top-five finishers at Sherman County Speedway.
Plemons and Velasquez picked up heat race victories on Sunday night. Zach Blurton was the Keizer Aluminum Wheels hard-charger, starting fifteenth and finishing second.
Up next for the Mel Hambelton Ford Racing POWRi United Rebel Sprint Series is the Bob Salem Memorial on Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15 at Oberlin Speedway in Oberlin, Kansas.
A Feature (25 laps): 1) Taylor Velasquez, 2) Zach Blurton, 3) Todd Plemons, 4) JD Johnson, 5) Kyler Johnson, 6) Scott Cochran, 7) Nate Berry, 8) Mark Walinder, 9) Dalton Webb, 10) Jody Reeves, 11) Chuck Letters, 12) Nick Nichols, 13) Chad Salem, 14) Howard Van Dyke, 15) Aaron Ploussard, 16) Darren Berry (DNS)