5/25/2018 Winged Sprints Night
- Great Lakes Super Sprints: #85 Dustin Daggett
- Main Street Seed and Supply IMCA Modifieds: #79 Nate Jones
- Mueller’s Performance Engines Pro Stocks: #K11 Kendall Morrison
- Suspension MAXX Street Stocks: #50 Jake Thompson
- Thornton Brothers Sewer and Septic Service Bomber Stocks: #03 Josh Charbonneau
- Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini Wedge 6-9 Yr Olds: #27 Pierson DeShano
- Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini Wedge 10-14 Yr Olds: #24C Caden Anderson
Daggett charges through the field to win first winged sprint race of the season
5/25/2018 (Auburn MI) A packed house was on hand Friday night at Tri-City Motor Speedway to catch the winged sprints as the Great Lakes Super Sprints took to the 3/8-mile dirt track for the first time this season. Twenty-two sprint cars took to the track for the feature event, while fans were also entertained by six other classes of racing with a total of 111 cars on hand.
It took 16 laps of the 25-lap main event for the Great Lakes Super Sprints, but Grand Ledge’s #85 Dustin Daggett was able to come from a ninth-place starting spot to take the victory, keeping him undefeated early in the 2018 campaign after just the second race of the season. #19 Brett Mann brought the field to the green flag in the main event, leading the first several laps of the race until a caution for a spin by #6 Tyler Bearden. On the restart, #11R Chase Ridenour and Daggett were able to get around Mann. Ridenour would hold onto the lead until Daggett took over 16 laps in. With just four laps to go, #49T Gregg Dalman was able to get by Ridenour, moving into second where he would hang on, not able to catch Daggett. Ridenour would hang on for third place, followed by #77 Andrew Scheid in fourth and Mann in fifth. Schied was also the Engler Machine and Tool Hard Charger for the night, moving up 15 positions from his 19th-place start.
Prior to the sprint car main event, the Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini Wedge divisions kicked off feature action with two main events. In the 6-9 year old class, #27 Pierson DeShano would take the win in the six-car feature, sweeping the night after a win in the heat race as well. #54 Addison Clink took home second place, one sport short of her finish the week before, while #28 Kyron DeShano finished third, #80 Preston Mieske finished fourth and #5 Brennan DeShano rounded out the top five.
In the 10-14 year old class, #24C Caden Anderson capitalized on an outside front row starting position to take the win in the feature. #15 Cole Doty finished second in the feature after taking the win in the heat, while #1W Clay Lachcik and #36 Jeniffer Young rounded out the four-car field.
Next on the track was the Main Street Seed and Supply IMCA Modifieds, where #79 Nate Jones took home his third win in a row, battling through the field during the 20-lap main event from an eighth-place starting spot. #20W AJ Ward made his return to the Auburn track, methodically moving through the field and gaining 12 positions from his 14th-place starting spot to finish second. Ward would close in on Jones with just a few laps to go in the feature but would run out of time before the checkered flag. #4s Toby Steele would come home in third place. With 27 cars on hand for the evening, the feature was set through the heat races and the B-main. #27 Matt Szecsodi would take the win in the only B-main of the night to qualify for the feature after an eighth-place finish in his heat race. He was able to gain 12 positions in the feature to finish fourth. #42 Craig Vance would finish where he started in fifth place.
The Thornton Brothers Sewer and Septic Service Bomber Stocks would make their way to the track after the sprint car feature, where they would run the opposite direction around the track for the first time this season. #87K Scott Kloha and #01TK Brad Treichel would lead the field to the line, but both would struggle, finishing eighth and ninth respectively. Meanwhile, it was evident quickly that #03 Josh Charbonneau had his car set up nicely to go either direction, as he took the lead from his fourth-place starting spot. Charbonneau was able to pull out to a healthy lead to take the victory. #80 Daryl McBride would come home in second. #7 John Staszak was sent to the rear after contact early but was able to make his way back up to third. #9 Ethan Robarts moved up four spots from his starting position to take fourth and #17 James Antku came home fifth.
Next up was the Suspension MAXX Street Stocks, where 18 other drivers were hoping to unseat the dominant #50 Jake Thompson, who was undefeated on the season going into the night of racing action. Thompson was able to work his way through the field from his eighth-place starting spot and found himself once again pulling away. But a caution with six laps to go closed up the field, making things a bit more interesting. On the restart, #96 Shane Wright did his best to hold onto Thompson’s rear bumper, while #23 Garrett Laudenslager and #15.2 Robert Cunningham battled for third. In the end, Thompson was able to hold on for the win to remain undefeated, while Wright came home second. Laudenslager would win the battle for third, while #21 Kyle Thomas snuck in during the late stages to finish fourth. Cunningham rounded out the top five.
The Mueller’s Performance Engines Pro Stocks put on a show for the crowd as they finished off the night of racing. #316 Teri Lynn Murphy would jump out to the lead after starting third to lead her first laps of the season. In just six laps, #27 Rob Westergard had made his way up to fourth after starting 17th. Just past halfway, #K11 Kendal Morrison made his way into second place, where he started to hunt down Murphy for the top spot. But it wouldn’t come without a challenge, as #28 Jared Rizer made his presence known, battling with Morrison for second place. It would become a three-way battle for the lead, until with two laps to go Morrison would slip around the outside to take the lead and the eventual win. Murphy finished second and Rizer came home third. Final results would place #99 Rick Beauchamp into the fourth position, with #67 Ryan Fitzgerald coming home fifth.
Racing continues at Tri-City Motor Speedway this Friday night as the Suspension MAXX truck drags make their return by popular demand. It is also blood drive night. All blood drive donors will receive a free admission ticket to the races and will have the opportunity to win other prizes. The track will also present Drivers ED 111, where Project 111, the safe driving movement, will recognize their senior graduates. Fans will have a chance to enter to win a $100 gas card by testing their driving knowledge. A full slate of racing will be on tap as well, with dirt late models, IMCA modifieds, pro stocks, street stocks, bombers stocks and mini wedges all racing. Purchase your tickets online at www.tricityracetrack.com. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30-6:45 p.m. The national anthem kicks things off at 7:55 p.m. with heat race action starting immediately after. All details for the rest of the season can be found at www.tricityracetrack.com/schedule.
- administrator on May 27, 2018
- Article Date: 5/27/2018 by Eric Young