Hull builds points lead, works toward third series championship
PONTOON BEACH, Ill. (Oct. 4, 2013) - Terry McCarl was the one constant in a night of craziness for the Midwest Open Wheel Association (MOWA), as he won every race he entered en route to his first MOWA win of 2013 and his first career win at Tri-City Speedway.
While McCarl seemed to be on cruise control out front, the battles and events behind him made for an exciting evening, as the field saw 360s both in the air and on the ground, slide jobs and more throughout the night.
McCarl led every lap of the feature event, but behind him, Christopher Bell, Brady Bacon and Brad Loyet were putting on a passing clinic as the trio worked hard to settle into position.
Following a lap 12 red flag for Kory Bales, who got on his side in turns one and two after riding the wall, the before mentioned trio spent the next seven laps battling for the runner-up spot. Eventually Bell, would settle into second, followed by Bacon and Loyet.
Bell then attempted to real in McCarl, and closed about a third of a track advantage to less than a half a straightaway at the checkered flag as Bell appeared to be the fastest car on the track over the last five laps.
Ian Madsen, who has two MOWA wins on the season including one at Tri-City early this year, started inside row two and ran in the top five early in the event, but got into the outside wall on the front stretch at the start of the race. On lap seven, he got into the wall in turns three and four and got upside down. It was unclear if the incident on the front stretch had anything to do with the crash, but his night was over.
Lyton Jeffrey, who was driving the Hetrick Racing 35H for the first time in 2013 with the MOWA series, made a hard charge early in the race and was battling for fourth when he looped the car in turn 4. He stayed on the gas and lost only four spots do to the 360 spin. The red flag for Bales brought the field back to Jeffrey, and he was able to rebound to finish sixth.
Current MOWA point leader Jerrod Hull exploded a motor at the checkered flag of his heat race win, leaving his night in question, but Jimmy Davies came to his aid. Davies scratched himself from the B-Main and allowed Hull to run the 99 car in the feature event. Hull started 20th for the feature and finished 11th.
A.J. Bruns, second in MOWA points, was not able to qualify for the main event, after finishing sixth in the B-Main, which only took four.
With two races left for the series this season, Hull now holds a commanding lead as he attempts to take his third straight series title.
Heat race action saw a pair of amazing incidents that left people saying "Did you see that?" John Dines got into the turn one wall in heat three, with the entire car coming off the ground and spinning like a top. He did a 360 spin in the air without flipping, to bring out the caution, in fact he never stopped and drove the car to the pits. After the races he said he actually thought he flipped, but when he didn't see the red he just kept the car rolling.
Jimmy Bridgman had the other did you see that moment, when tried to dive inside Kory Bales in turn one in a battle for third and hit a mine tire nearly head on. The car abruptly spun a pair of 360 spins, but Bridgman stayed in the gas, and lost only two spots. He eventually battle back to finish fourth and qualify for the A-Main.
The final weekend of the season for the MOWA series is on tap next weekend, as it travels to Lincoln Speedway, Lincoln, Ill., Friday, Oct. 11. The $2,000 to win show, also has Late Models on the card. Then Saturday, Oct. 12, the series holds it season championship night at Jacksonville Speedway, Jacksonville, Ill. The Shaheen Blast from the Bast has a $4,000 payday to the winner and is part of an all day event at Jacksonville Speedway.
For more information on these final two events, visit http://www.midwestopenwheel.com/ or http://www.jacksonvillespeedway.com/.
Feature: 1. Terry McCarl, 2. Christopher Bell, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Brad Loyet, 5. Paul Nienhiser, 6. Lynton Jeffrey, 7. Joey Moughan, 8. Bryan Clauson, 9. Jimmy Hurley, 10. Ryan Kempin, 11. Jerrod Hull, 12. Parker Price-Miller, 13. Andy Baugh, 14. Jimmy Bridgeman, 15. Robbie Standridge. 16. Kory Bales, 17. Ian Madsen, 18. Chris Urish, 19. Tommy Worley, 20. Cory Bruns.
Dash: 1. Terry McCarl, 2. Ian Madsen, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Brad Loyet, 5. Parker Price-Miller, 6. Paul Nienhiser, 7. Jimmy Hurley (DNS), 8. Jerrod Hull (DNS).
B-Main: 1. Joey Moughan, 2. Chris Urish, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Andy Baugh, 5. Jeremy Standridge, 6. A.J. Bruns, 7. Korey Weyant, 8. Logan Faucon, 9. Matt Harms, 10. Ben Wagoner, 11. Caleb Wankel, 12. Vinny Ward, 13. Joe B. Miller, 14. John Dines (DNS), 15. Jimmy Davies (DNS).
Heat 1: 1. Terry McCarl, 2. Parker Price-Miller, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Cory Bruns, 5. Jeremy Standridge, 6. Andy Baugh, 7. Jimmy Davies, 8. Vinny Ward.
Heat 2: 1. Jerrod Hull, 2. Ian Madsen, 3. Christopher Bell, 4. Chris Urish, 5. Joey Moughan, 6. A.J. Bruns, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Ben Wagoner.
Heat 3: 1. Paul Nienhiser, 2. Brad Loyet, 3. Lynton Jeffrey, 4. Tommy Worley, 5. Ryan Kempin, 6. Caleb Wankel, 7. Korey Weyant, 8. John Dines.
Heat 4: 1. Jimmy Hurley, 2. Robbie Standridge, 3. Kory Bales, 4. Jimmy Bridgeman, 5. Logan Faucon, 6. Joe B. Miller, 7. Matt Harms.