By Ray Cunningham
Butler, Missouri (May 15, 2026)………Lone Jack, Missouri’s Jack Wagner grabbed the win under the Friday night lights at Butler, Missouri’s Electric City Speedway.
Aboard the Jesse Hockett Racing/Wagner Boys Racing No. 77, Wagner reigned victorious in the first ever Butler Brawl in USAC Wholesale Batteries MRA Sprint Car competition.
Wagner was so excited afterwards with his first place trophy (a wrestling style championship belt), he stated, “I’m wearing this baby to work on Monday morning!”
Fellow Lone Jack chauffeur Braydon Cromwell ran second after leading the first two thirds of the race in the BCR No. 4. Just one day before his graduation from Pittsburg State University, Luke Howard (Overland Park, Kansas) brought home the Brent Lewis Racing No. 2 in third to round out the podium after advancing six spots in the feature.
Completing the top five on a beautiful night for racing at Mike Parker’s ECS speed plant were Chase Howard (Nesbit, Mississippi) at the wheel of his “Lucky Number 13” in fourth, and Topeka, Kansas gasman Wyatt Burks in fifth. Burks was the high point man after heat race action, but started sixth following the redraw.
Dakota Earls (Independence, Missouri), in the DER 15E, fought his way from 12th to sixth. Farmington, Minnesota’s Jake Kouba ran seventh, and Taylor Walton (Odessa, Missouri) won the hard charger award after starting scratch in the 25-lapper after gremlins plagued him in qualifying and the heat race. Walton rebounded in the feature, advancing seven spots to finish eighth. Justin Johnson (Parkville, Missouri) and Tyler Burton, (Independence, Missouri) rounded out the top ten, respectively, to finish in positions nine and 10.
Following his win in the first heat race, Samuel Wagner (Lone Jack, Missouri) ran in the top five of the feature until just past the halfway mark when he flipped between turns one and two. Samuel was okay, but his car was done for the evening.
The USAC Wholesale Batteries MRA Sprint Cars are in action next weekend, Saturday, May 23, at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Missouri.
USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: May 15, 2026 – Electric City Speedway – Butler, Missouri
FIRST QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Braydon Cromwell, 4, Cromwell-14.377; 2. Jack Wagner, 77, Hockett-14.419; 3. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-14.606; 4. Samuel Wagner, 73, Wagner-14.825; 5. Luke Howard, 2, Lewis-14.837; 6. Dakota Earls, 15E, Earls-14.873; 7. Tom Curran, 11x, Curran-14.974; 8. Taylor Walton, 93w, Walton-17.128.
SECOND QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Wyatt Burks, 11w, Burks-14.437; 2. Justin Johnson, 27, Johnson-15.390; 3. Tyler Burton, 03, Burton-15.395; 4. Junior Parkinson, 93, Weld-15.596; 5. Jake Kouba, 6, Kouba-15.602; 6. Taylor Forbes, 48, Forbes-15.692; 7. Jared McCarty, 44, McCarty-16.662.
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Samuel Wagner (1), 2. Jack Wagner (3), 3. Braydon Cromwell (4), 4. Chase Howard (2), 5. Luke Howard (5), 6. Dakota Earls (6), 7. Tom Curran (7), 8. Taylor Walton. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Wyatt Burks (4), 2. Tyler Burton (2), 3. Junior Parkinson (1), 4. Justin Johnson (3), 5. Taylor Forbes (6), 6. Jake Kouba (5), 7. Jared McCarty (7). NT
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Wagner (5), 2. Braydon Cromwell (2), 3. Luke Howard (9), 4. Chase Howard (7), 5. Wyatt Burks (6), 6. Dakota Earls (12), 7. Jake Kouba (10), 8. Taylor Walton (15), 9. Justin Johnson (4), 10. Tyler Burton (3), 11. Taylor Forbes (11), 12. Junior Parkinson (8), 13. Jared McCarty (14), 14. Samuel Wagner (1), 15. Tom Curran (13). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Braydon Cromwell, Laps 18-25 Jack Wagner.
USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MRA SPRINT CAR SERIES POINTS: 1-Braydon Cromwell-290, 2-Jack Wagner-289, 3-Wyatt Burks-280, 4-Chase Howard-278, 5-Justin Johnson-262, 6-Jake Kouba-258, 7-Tyler Burton-254, 8-Luke Howard-248, 9-Samuel Wagner-248, 10-Dakota Earls-240.
NEXT USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE: May 23, 2026 – Valley Speedway – Grain Valley, Missouri