By Linda Mansfield
GAS CITY, Ind., Aug. 6 — Max Adams of Marion, Ind., the 2020 non-wing sprint car champion at Gas City I-69 Speedway, became the sixth different sprint car feature winner at the Grant County quarter-mile dirt oval so far this year during the “Beach Night Bash” program Friday night.
Derek Losh of Rensselaer, Ind., recorded his second consecutive 20-lap UMP modified feature victory. Bill Lewis of Fountain City, Ind., rebounded from some bad luck a week ago to win the 15-lap street stock feature, and Landon Arcaro of Brookville, Ind., snagged his fifth 15-lap Gas City hornet feature victory of the season.
The program also included a display and exhibition by the Midwest Oldtimers Vintage Race Club.
Non-Wing Sprint Cars
Polesitter Scotty Weir of Marion, Ind., the defending track sprint car champion and current point leader, led the first 10 laps of the 25-lap sprint car feature. Except for the first two laps, Adams, who started fourth, was right behind him in Scott Adams’ black Spike No. 5X, which has a Felker-prepped engine and is sponsored by Datacom Promotions, Benic Enterprises and Goodnight Racing.
Adams passed Weir for the lead on lap 11 and led through lap 18, but then the plot thickened.
Colin Grissom of Anderson, Ind., spun at the top of Turn 4 with 18 laps down to bring out the race’s first yellow flag. Before another lap was complete Jack Hoyer of Frankfort, Ind., spun in Turn 2 and Sterling Cling of Indianapolis got very high off Turn 2 but kept going.
On the restart working lap 19 Weir passed Adams low in Turn 2 for the lead, but seconds later three cars collided on the backstretch with a fourth one flipping to bring out a red flag. It all started when Anton Hernandez of West Lafayette, Ind., who was fourth at the time, had the uneasy experience of getting sideways on the backstretch in front of the rest of the field. Brayden Clark of Tipton, Ind., and Kyle Shipley of Lebanon couldn’t avoid him. Brandon Morin of Jasonville, Ind., didn’t have anywhere to go either, and he flipped. Morin suffered an ankle injury but was not transported to the hospital, while the other three climbed out of their cars under their own power.
Following the restart, Weir’s car biked and bounced badly in Turn 2 on lap 20. Somehow he regained control, but he dropped from first to fifth during his wild ride. Adams regained the lead followed by Saban Bibent of Cincinnati; Cole Bodine of Rossville, Ind., and Colten Cottle of Kansas, Ill.
On the next lap Bodine’s possible podium finish disappeared when he flipped in Turn 4. He was disappointed but unhurt.
That moved Weir to fourth place, and he passed Cottle on lap 23 for third. The checkered and the yellow waved simultaneously when Travis Hery of Hilliard, Ohio spun between Turns 1 and 2 on the last lap.
Bibent, who started sixth but ran in second or third place for all but the first two laps, recorded his best finish of the season when he took the checkered flag in second place, 1.852 seconds behind Adams. The 17-year-old high-school student was driving the Wedgewood Motorsports Triple X No. 98, which has a J&D Chevy engine. It’s sponsored by Glenn Farms, Fatheadz Eyewear, Cressman Sanitation, Epoxy Systems International, and Anthony Conty’s Lawn Service.
Weir finished third in Scott and Donna Pedersen’s No. 4P, which is a DRC with a Pedersen Chevy. He’s sponsored by Red’s Racing Engines, Indy Race Parts and AFCO.
Cottle placed fourth in the Paul Hazen No. 57 sponsored by Physical Medicine Consultants, and Tye Mihocko of Phoenix, Ariz., finished fifth in Jamie and Michelle Paul’s DRC Foxco sponsored by High Asspirations Farm, Rumpke and the Olde Schoolhouse Winery.
Modifieds
Losh started on the pole and led every lap of the modified feature, but Dylan Woodling of Warsaw, Ind., who started beside him, threw everything he had at him. At times Woodling would edge ahead or be beside Losh’s No. 21, which is a Longhorn by Loenbro chassis with a Mullins engine sponsored by Superior Sales and Service, R&R Transmission, Aggressive Graphics and Rensselaer Iron and Metal, but he could never make a pass stick.
There were two cautions that gave Woodling opportunities on restarts, and he unsuccessfully tried both the high and the low line to get by. The first was for debris in Turn 2 with 13 laps down, and the second yellow flew on lap 15 when Dan Snyder of LaFontaine, Ind., a retired teacher and football coach, went off the track in Turn 1 while he was running ninth.
Losh prevailed each time. He had a 1.468-second margin of victory over Woodling’s No. 3X, which is a WR Customs chassis with a Pace Performance crate engine. Woodling is sponsored by WR Customs, Bishop Farms and Rocket Suspension..
Nick Richards of Anderson, Ind. finished third after a heated battle with Terry Grilliot of Versailles, Ohio.
Andy Bishop of Gas City passed Grilliot on lap 15 and went on to finish fourth, while Grilliot placed fifth.
Street Stocks
Last week Lewis started on the pole and led two-thirds of the street stock feature before he was forced to retire. On Friday night he started on the pole and led all 15 laps of the street stock feature in Sam Thompson’s No. 14, which is powered by a Houge-prepped engine and sponsored by Thompson Trucking and R&R Transmission.
The real battle was for second, and on lap six four drivers were contesting for the spot: James Headley Jr. of Wabash, Ind.; his father, James Headley of Marion, Ind.; Andy Bishop of Gas City, and Matthew Baker of Kouts, Ind.
Their fight came to a head on lap eight when Bishop charged under Headley for second while Headley Jr. dropped from second to fourth.
Bishop was 1.068 seconds behind Lewis at the checkered, with Headley third, Headley Jr. fourth, and Baker fifth.
“It’s been a year and a half since we pulled one of these off,” said the happy winner in victory lane.
Hornets
After polesitter Brandon Lines of Marion, Ind., stopped in Turn 2 to cause a complete restart, Heisman Skeens, also of Marion, led the first lap of the 15-lap hornet feature after starting third. Arcaro, who started fourth, passed him on lap two and led the rest of the way.
Once the race started it ran non-stop, and Skeens hounded Arcaro incessantly. He only trailed Arcaro by 0.324 of a second at the checkered.
Brady Hines of Denver, Ind., started sixth but got a good jump and ran in third place the entire race. Jeremy Jones of Gas City started fifth and finished fourth, while Alexes Spaudling of Roanoke, Ind., started second and finished fifth.
Arcaro’s car is sponsored in part by Gilman’s Home Center, Remax Preferred Choice, and Smith Landscaping and Lawn Care.
Red Flag
In addition to the two flips in the sprint feature, Matt Goodnight of Muncie, Ind., and Zack Pretorius of Yorktown, Ind., flipped in Turn 2 with six laps down in the first sprint heat. Both climbed out of their cars.
What’s Next?
On Friday, Aug. 12 the program showcases non-winged sprint cars, USAC SpeeD2 Midwest Thunder midgets, winged 600cc micro-sprints, and an appearance by the Dirt Track Truck Series. Hornets will be permitted to run with the dirt trucks.
The track will be dark on Friday, Aug. 19 to prepare for the “Night of Destruction” on Saturday, Aug. 20. It features monster trucks, a minivan demo derby, trailer races, a rollover contest and more.
For more information see the track’s social media outlets, as the track’s website is undergoing some changes. It is on Facebook (GasCitySpeedwayOnTheGas) and Twitter (@GasCitySpeedway).
Gas City I-69 Speedway is located on State Road 22, approximately a half-mile west of exit 259 of Interstate 69, about halfway between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Ind.
The results:
Non-Wing Sprint Group 1 Qualifying: 1. Matt Goodnight, 12.217; 2. Zack Pretorius, 12.377; 3. Harley Burns, 12.613; 4. Saban Bibent, 12.630; 5. Anton Hernandez, 12.686; 6. Dallas Hewitt, 12.697; 7. Brandon Morin, 12.846; 8. Jadon Rogers, 12.869.
Non-Wing Sprint Group 2 Qualifying: 1. Jack Hoyer, 12.244; 2. Kyle Shipley, 12.284; 3. Colten Cottle, 12.362; 4. Sterling Cling, 12.484; 5. Dustin Ingle, 12.579; 6. Brayden Clark, 12.7 17; 7. Aaron Davis, 12.740; 8. Colin Grissom, 13.253.
Non-Wing Sprint Group 3 Qualifying: 1. Max Adams, 12.038; 2. Cole Bodine, 12.140; 3. Travis Hery, 12.290; 4. Scotty Weir, 12.351; 5. Tye Mihocko, 12.445; 6. Derek Crane, 12.773; 7. Larry Kingseed Jr., 12.968; 8. Korbyn Hayslett, 17.883.
Non-Wing Sprint Heat 1 (8 laps, 5 to qualify): 1. Saban Bibent, 2. Harley Burns, 3. Anton Hernandez, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Brandon Morin, 6. Dallas Hewitt, 7. Zack Pretorius, 8. Matt Goodnight.
Non-Wing Sprint Heat 2 (8 laps, 5 to qualify): 1. Colten Cottle, 2. Kyle Shipley, 3. Jack Hoyer, 4. Sterling Cling, 5. Dustin Ingle, 6. Brayden Clark, 7. Aaron Davis, 8. Colin Grissom.
Non-Wing Sprint Heat 3 (8 laps, 5 to qualify): 1. Max Adams, 2. Scotty Weir, 3. Cole Bodine, 4. Travis Hery, 5. Tye Mihocko, 6. Derek Crane, 7. Larry Kingseed Jr., 8. Korbyn Hayslette.
Non-Wing Sprint Feature (25 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Max Adams (4); 2. Saban Bibent (6); 3. Scotty Weir (1); 4. Colten Cottle (5); 5. Tye Mihocko (15); 6. Jadon Rogers (10); 7. Sterling Cling (11); 8. Harley Burns (3); 9. Korbyn Hayslette; 10. Jack Hoyer (8); 11. Colin Grissom (21); 12. Dallas Hewitt (16); 13. Brayden Clark (17); 14. Dustin Ingle (14); 15. Travis Hery (12); 16. Anton Hernandez (7); 17. Derek Crane (18); 18. Cole Bodine (9); 19. Kyle Shipley (2); 20. Brandon Morin (13); 21. Aaron Davis (19); 22. Larry Kingseed Jr. (20).
Lap Leaders: Laps 1-10, Weir; laps 11-18, Adams; laps 19-20, Weir; laps 21-15, Adams.
Margin of Victory: 1.852 seconds.
Fastest Race Lap: Adams, 12.894 seconds, lap 4.