By Zack Krueger
Lincoln, IL (April 7, 2023) – Patrick Bruns would collect the checkered flag and win the first Midget Auto Racing Association feature event at Lincoln Speedway in Illinois.
The Midget Auto Racing Association kicked off their season at the iconic ¼ mile Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln, IL on April 7th, 2023. Fourteen cars signed into the first race of the brand-new series. Twelve drivers from Illinois and two from Wisconsin would all be vying for the coveted first win of the season.
Two AgVenture/Wehmeyer Seed hot lap and qualifying sessions would await the drivers as their first challenge with the 10C of Mark McMahill taking the first group’s quick time and the overall quick time with a 13.753. Jace Sparks’ 14.589 was the fastest for group 2 which was good enough for 5th place overall.
Heat racing would be next with two heats of seven cars each ready for racing. Tommy Colburn would lead AgVenture/Wehmeyer Seed Heat 1 to the green. On the initial race start, the #19E of Dalton England got the jump and would take the race lead but the #55 car of Chuck Walker would slow in turn 1 and force the only yellow flag of the heat to get him back going. The field would reset, and Dalton England would retake the lead, but the #12D of Patrick Bruns would make some big moves and take the lead by the end of lap two. Bruns would go onto win AgVenture/Wehmeyer Seed Heat 1 with England and Walker finishing in the top 3.
Tim Siner would be on the pole of Simpson Race Products heat 2. The #77 of Siner would get a great start and lead almost every lap. Mark McMahill would be the big mover in the #10C moving up five positions and had a battle with Jace Sparks in the #40. McMahill and Sparks would make their way back up to the front and McMahill would make a pass for the win on the last lap going high above the 77. McMahill would win Simpson Race Products Heat 2, with Siner second, and Jace Sparks third.
Tim Siner would be the pole sitter for the very first MARA feature with Greg Ross outside of him. The 25-lap feature would start with Siner leading the field in and out of the first corner with Dalton England and Chuck Walker right behind him. England and Walker would fight for a few laps before Patrick Bruns and Mark McMahill caught the back of the fight for second. Bruns would be the first to get past Walker but got stuck behind England running the bottom. McMahill would work past Walker while Bruns would make his way past England on lap 10. With Siner catching lap traffic out front, Bruns started to close and by the end of lap 15, Bruns worked past Siner on the top. The only caution of the race would come out on lap 16 as Walker came to a stop with a flat tire in turn 1. The yellow would put Bruns in the lead with Siner 2nd and England 3rd. The field would restart the race with 9 laps to go and McMahill would make the most of it pulling a 2 for 1 out of his pocket and jumping from 4th to 2nd. Sinner and McMahill would battle it out for 2nd for the remaining laps going back and forth past each other. During all that fighting Bruns would run away with the lead and wouldn’t look back as he took the win in the first-ever Midget Auto Racing Association feature, with Mark McMahill finishing 2nd and Tim Siner 3rd. Both Bruns and McMahill would be up +8 positions from where they started. When asked about the race, Bruns said, “Man that was a ton of fun coming from the back like that!” He would also go on to thank his car owner Matt Durbin for all he has done to get the car prepped and ready to race.
The Midget Auto Racing Association’s next race is scheduled for April 28th back at Lincoln Speedway. For more information visit the MARA series online at www.mararacing.com.
Summary:
Lap Leaders: Siner 1-15, Bruns 16-25
MARA Midgets 14 Entries
A Feature 1 25 Laps
1. 12D-Patrick Bruns[9]; 2. 10C-Mark McMahill[10]; 3. 77-Tim Siner[1]; 4. 19E-Daltyn England[3]; 5. 42-Kevin Battefeld[5]; 6. 40-Jace Sparks[7]; 7. 10A-Tommy Colburn[4]; 8. 29-Harrison Kleven[11]; 9. 17-James Boyd[13]; 10. 55-Chuck Walker[6]; 11. 7X-Corey Weyandt[8]; 12. 6B-Andy Baugh[12]; 13. 51R-Greg Ross[2]; 14. 43-John Heitzman[14]
AgVenture/Wehmeyer Seed Heat 1 8 Laps | AgVenture/Wehmeyer Seed
1. 12D-Patrick Bruns[6]; 2. 19E-Daltyn England[2]; 3. 55-Chuck Walker[4]; 4. 10A-Tommy Colburn[3]; 5. 7X-Corey Weyandt[5]; 6. 29-Harrison Kleven[1]; 7. 17-James Boyd[7]
Simpson Race Products Heat 2 8 Laps | Simpson Race Products
1. 10C-Mark McMahill[6]; 2. 77-Tim Siner[1]; 3. 40-Jace Sparks[4]; 4. 42-Kevin Battefeld[3]; 5. 51R-Greg Ross[7]; 6. 6B-Andy Baugh[5]
Group Qualifying | 00:00:45.000
1. 10C-Mark McMahill, 00:13.753[2]; 2. 12D-Patrick Bruns, 00:13.921[4]; 3. 6B-Andy Baugh, 00:14.085[3]; 4. 7X-Corey Weyandt, 00:14.257[5]; 5. 40-Jace Sparks, 00:14.589[8]; 6. 55-Chuck Walker, 00:14.710[11]; 7. 42-Kevin Battefeld, 00:14.863[9]; 8. 10A-Tommy Colburn, 00:14.887[7]; 9. 43-John Heitzman, 00:14.928[1]; 10. 19E-Daltyn England, 00:14.931[6]; 11. 77-Tim Siner[13] 12. 29-Harrison Kleven, 00:17.186[12]; 13. 17-James Boyd, 00:21.116[10]; 14. 51R-Greg Ross, 00:22.897[14]; 14.