It was opening night at LPS or the Big Curb as I call it and 39 sprints came to battle it out and it sure was a dandy. A 5 heat format taking the top 3 and 2 b mains taking the top 3 would set the first feature of the year for the 3 grand prize. The 5 heats were won by Anton Hernandez, Brandon Spencer, Ricky Lewis, Brayden Fox and Zack Pretorius. Each heat was loaded with talent as I think we are the most blessed people in the country to have this much talent in the great state of Indiana!! The 2 B mains were won by Matt Goodnight and Jake Scott. The A main was set and your front 3 rows were the heat race winners and Harley Burns in 6th. Wow the talent in these 10 rows were amazing on night 1. Anton and Brandon were on the front row and had a great battle the first 5 laps. Two drivers Tye Mihocko from 21st and Jake Scott from 17th were starting to pick spots up early. There was some attrition also as Anton had problems and Shane Cottle and Brandon Mattox had to go to the work area for flat tires. Ricky Lewis was really strong in 2nd place but the Black #53 of Fox was really good and would take the lead from his 4th starting spot. As a scorer I had to get use to the Black 53 after years of the white 53 but it looks really sharp. Brayden would run a very smooth race holding off some great moves by Ricky Lewis and Brandon Spencer at times looked as if he had the quickest rocket. Brayden Fox on the final 5 laps would hit his marks and pick up the big win to start 2024 at LPS. Following him at the finish it was Ricky Lewis, Brandon Spencer, Jake Scott and Tye Mihocko rounding out the top 5. An outstanding field for sure for the IOW Racing Fest opener.
Austin Cory won the 2nd feature over Josh Hodge, Austin Nigh and Cody Williams. Thanks so much to the 39 sprint teams that made an amazing show to start the year off!!
The UMP Mods had a strong 22 entries for night 1 and it was also 3 heats. The heat winners were Matt Cooley, Tyler Loughmiller and Derek Losh. This setup the A main with Matt and Tyler making up the front row and they both would attempt to hold off Derek who finished 3rd in the nation last year in points. Early in the 20 lap feature Tyler took the lead from Matt and looked really strong in his new Diamond Chassis. For 18 laps Tyler ran a smooth race for sure making the right moves. With just 2 to go Derek Losh was right there and took over the lead and went on to win the 1,000 bucks on night 1. Congrats to him and definitely to Tyler also because they both were what you could call in racing terms both flying in their new cars. Following Tyler in 2nd it was James Walters, Logan Mounce and Will Bennett.
The UMP Super Stocks had 20 in attendance. The 3 heat races were won by Justin Massie, Larry Raines and Jeff Allen. This was a stacked field of talent for night 1. We had 3 track champs and the national champ all battling it out. Justin Massie and Larry Raines started on the front row of the feature. A great battle early with the 55J taking the lead and looking really strong. There were many battles behind them and the low side and high side looked to be evenly fast as it appeared the moisture in the track was coming back up. Justin built a decent size lead early in the race. Josh Litton who started 6th and Wade Goodale who started 7th were starting to head to the front. Justin did not make many mistakes and looked strong for the 20 laps and would hold on to the big win to start the 2024 season. Wade Goodale made it from 7th to 2nd with Josh Litton rounding out the top 3. Definitely a great show to start the season among many guys that we know will battle it out on the national points level all season.
The Bombers had 17 strong entries for night 1. Gary Hayden started out the night showing a lot of speed as he came from 8th to win the 1st heat over Jordan Almanza and Megan Cavaness. Heat race 2 had Josh Foxworthy winning it with Randy Foxworthy and Tyler Rodgers running great behind him. Gary in the first heat we might have to nickname Bonzai because he made a sling shot type move in turn 1 and was able to pass 4 cars in 1 corner and looked as if he never lifted. This setup the feature and Gary on the pole with Josh right beside him would be 2 very fast cars battling it out. It was a battle between those 2 for 15 laps and the 24H of Gary Hayden picked up the big Night 1 win over Josh Foxworthy, Megan Cavaness, Cody Tate from 9th to 4th and Jordan Almanza. Thanks goes to all of the 98 teams and their crews who put on an outstanding show to open 2024 at LPS. Also thanks to our great fans who filled up the stands and enjoyed watching our heroes battle it out. See you next Friday where hopefully Mother Nature allows us to open the red clay and then next Saturday at LPS it is the 1st appearance of the IMCA Mod Lites!! Thanks again for joining us on a great opening night!!
- Jill Spiker on Apr 16, 2024
- Article Date: 4/16/2024 by Kenny Clark