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Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
E-mail: LKMRestart@gmail.com
Cell: (317) 201-0729
GAS CITY, Ind., June 1 — Thomas Meseraull of Waveland, Ind. closed the month of May with a flourish at Gas City I-69 Speedway by winning his third 25-lap sprint car feature in a row during the quarter-mile clay oval’s “Mayhem” program Friday night.
Polesitter Dylan Woodling of Warsaw, Ind. became the track’s third different 20-lap UMP modified feature winner so far this year. Andy Bishop of Gas City recorded his second street stock feature victory at Gas City in 2019 in that 15-lap main event. Bill Lewis of Lynn, Ind. is the one to beat in super streets, as he posted his third feature victory after 15 laps of competition. Gage Allen of Warren, Ind. was the third different victor in the hornet division in that 15-lapper. Chris Hicks of Fort Jennings, Ohio will go down in the record books as the first 15-lap feature winner at Gas City in the “tough trucks” division. The six-division program attracted 118 race cars.
Meseraull started sixth in Tom Eades’ Physical Medicine Consultants DRC with a Stensland-prepped Chevy engine and took the lead from Matt Westfall on lap six. He built up a straightaway lead, but it evaporated with 19 laps down when a yellow waved for Kyle Simon, who had a flat tire, and a bigger tire marking the inside of Turn 4 became dislodged.
Two more cautions kept the field close, but “T-Mez” was up to the challenge. Corey Smith dipped under Westfall in Turn 4 working lap 21 to bring the runner-up honors home to Kokomo, Ind. with his DRC, which is sponsored by Napa of Russiaville and Claxton Engines. Westfall, of Pleasant Hill, Ohio, finished third in the Ray Marshall Motorsports/Buckeye Machine/DPI Ink Maxim, which has a Hampshire-tuned engine. Travis Hery of Columbus, Ohio, who is a postdoctoral researcher at The Ohio State University, finished fourth in the Spiker Racing Products No. 21H. Scotty Weir of Marion, Ind. came from ninth place to round out the top five in Scott and Donna Pedersen’s DRC, which is sponsored by Red’s Racing Engines and Indy Race Parts and has a Pedersen powerplant.
Isaac Chapple of Wilkinson, Ind. flipped in Turn 4 in the first sprint heat while running second with one lap down. Luckily he got out of his sprint car under his own power, and even returned to compete in the B main.
Woodling led the initial start of the UMP modified feature but Bill Griffith wrestled the lead away from him on lap two right before a yellow flew for Todd Sherman, who was third when he was hit and spun in Turn 1. A red flew with six laps down for Percy Gendreau, whose 2018 Diamond with a Pace Performance CT525 caught on fire and stopped between Turns 1 and 2. Luckily the driver from Lima, Ohio was unhurt.
Griffith continued to lead until Woodling dipped under him coming out of Turn 4 working lap nine. Woodling was able to increase his lead, and Griffith held on for second. Dillon Nusbaum came from 12th to finish third. Shane O’Connor and Ryan Sutter rounded out the top five.
The street stock feature was highlighted by a battle of the 14s, as Bishop’s No. 14 led Chris Tippit’s No. 14T most of the race. Travis Nichols and Ervin Turner, who were fifth and sixth at the time, got together to bring out a yellow with 11 laps down. Two laps after the restart Mike Fincher got by Tippit for second in Turn 4, right before the last yellow flew when the fifth-place driver, Ron Flaugh, spun in Turn 4. Bishop’s Thompson Trucking-sponsored car had a comfortable lead over Fincher at the end. Tippit, Jeff Hinkley and Jeremy Stocker were next across the line.
Lewis, driving another Thompson Trucking-sponsored No. 14, led all 15 laps of the super street feature from the pole. Jeffery Jessup finished second. The best battle was between Jeff Matheny and Bill Bradley, who finished third and fourth, respectively. Tony Anderson rounded out the top five.
Josh Gamblin got a great start and blasted from fourth to the lead of the hornet feature on the first lap. Allen hit him in the rear so much that Gamblin’s rear bumper was dragging at the end, but Allen got by with a move to the outside in Turn 4 on the last lap for the victory. Gamblin hung on for second followed by James Headley Jr., Logan Easterday and Gerald Owens. The latter started way back in 12th in the 24-car field.
Hicks dominated the tough trucks feature, with Chris Bitters a distance second. The best battle was for third, which went to Devon Hower over Leslie Hurd. Dustin Ratliff rounded out the top five.
Defending sprint car track champion Clinton Boyles defeated defending UMP modified track champion Dillon Nusbaum in a best two-out-of-three bubble ball bout presented by Best One Tire of Marion, Ind., during intermission.
This coming Wednesday night, June 5, is one of the biggest shows of the year at Gas City as the track is part of “Indiana Midget Week” for the USAC NOS Energy Drink national midgets. Sprint cars and 600cc non-wing mini-sprints are also on the schedule for the mid-week program. An adult general admission ticket costs $25; tickets for students are $10 with their school IDs and children 12 and under are free. A pit pass costs $30. The pit gate is slated to open at 3 p.m. and the grandstands at 5 p.m. Hot laps start at 6:30 p.m., time trials are at 6:45 p.m. and the racing begins at 7:30 p.m. The speedway is located on State Road 22 or exit 259 off Interstate 69 in Gas City.
There won’t be any races at Gas City on Friday, June 7, but the action resumes on Friday, June 14 with the second annual “Jack and Jiggs Classic” named in honor of track owner Jack Himelick and former promoter Jiggs Thomason. Sprint on Dirt (SOD) winged sprint cars, USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 midgets, UMP modifieds, street stocks, super streets, and hornets (paying $400 to win) are on the schedule. Last year 106 race cars were in action at this show. The Midwest Oldtimers Vintage Race Car Club will also present an exhibition of race cars from the past.
Fans can see the 2019 schedule and get additional information on the track’s website at GasCityI69Speedway.com. Fans can also follow it on Facebook (@GasCitySpeedwayOnTheGas), Twitter (@GasCitySpeedway) and Instagram (@GasCitySpeedway).
The results:
Non-Wing Sprint Heat 1 (8 laps; 5 transferred): 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Corey Smith, 3. Lee Underwood, 4. Cody White, 5. Parker Fredrickson, 6. Adam Byrkett, 7. Brayden Fox, 8. Isaac Chapple.
Non-Wing Sprint Heat 2 (8 laps, 5 transferred): 1. J.J. Hughes, 2. Travis Hery, 3. Jarett Andretti, 4. Kyle Simon, 5. Tyler Hewitt, 6. Brandon Rose, 7. Paul Dues, 8. Tyler Kendall.
Non-Wing Sprint Heat 3 (8 laps, 5 transferred): 1. Cole Ketcham, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Scotty Weir, 4. Clinton Boyles, 5. Max Adams, 6. Justin Owen, 7. Brayden Clark, 8. Dallas Hewitt.
Non-Wing Sprint B Main (10 laps, 5 transferred): 1. Justin Owen, 2. Brandon Rose, 3. Dallas Hewitt, 4. Adam Byrkett, 5. Brayden Clark, 6. Isaac Chapple, 7. Brayden Fox, 8. Paul Dues, 9. Tyler Kendall.
Non-Wing Sprint Feature (25 laps): 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Corey Smith, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Travis Hery, 5. Scott Weir, 6. Cole Ketcham, 7. Tyler Hewitt, 8. J.J. Hughes, 9. Justin Owen, 10. Adam Byrkett, 11. Dallas Hewitt, 12. Max Adams, 13. Jarett Andretti, 14. Brandon Rose, 15. Lee Underwood, 16. Clinton Boyles, 17. Cody White, 18. Brayden Clark, 19. Kyle Simon, 20. Parker Fredrickson.
UMP Modified Heat 1 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Shane O’Connor, 2. Ryan Cripe, 3. Derek Losh, 4. Bub Roberts, 5. Clayton Bryan, 6. Riley Misch, 7. Ryan Stocker, 8. Daniel Russell, 9. Josh Lolmaugh.
UMP Modified Heat 2 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Dylan Woodling, 2. Percy Gendreau, 3. Troy Cattarene, 4. Aaron Rearden, 5. Brad Craig, 6. J.J. Butler, 7. Tony Anderson, 8. Luke Timmerman (DNS).
UMP Modified Heat 3 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Todd Sherman, 2. Bill Griffith, 3. Scott Orr, 4. Andy Bishop, 5. Jessica Sroufe, 6. Aaron Orr, 7. Drew Smith, 8. Travis Nichols.
UMP Modified Heat 4 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Zeke McKenzie, 2. Ryan Sutter, 3. Dillon Nusbaum, 4. Frank Paladino, 5. Jesse Strange, 6. Cameron Head, 7. Garrett Rons, 8. Rick Swartout.
UMP Modified B Main 1 (8 laps, 2 transferred): 1. Clayton Bryant, 2. Riley Misch, 3. Daniel Russell, 4. Jessica Sroufe, 5. Aaron Orr, 6. Josh Lolmaugh, 7. Travis Nichols, 8. Drew Smith, 9. Ryan Stocker (DNS).
UMP Modified B Main 2 (8 laps, 2 transferred): 1. Cameron Head, 2. Tony Anderson, 3. Garrett Rons, 4. J.J. Butler, 5. Rick Swartout, 6. Luke Timmerman, 7. Brad Craig, 8. Jesse Strange.
UMP Modified Feature (20 laps): 1. Dylan Woodling, 2. Bill Griffith, 3. Dillon Nusbaum, 4. Shane O’Connor, 5. Ryan Sutter, 6. Todd Sherman, 7. Zeke McKenzie, 8. Scott Orr, 9. Bub Roberts, 10. Clayton Bryant, 11. Tony Anderson, 12. Frank Paladino, 13. Aaron Rearden, 14. Cameron Head, 15. Andy Bishop, 16. Percy Gendreau, 17. Riley Misch, 18. Ryan Cripe, 19. Troy Cattarene, 20. Derek Losh.
Street Stock Heat 1 (7 laps): 1. Andy Bishop, 2. Chris Tippit, 3. Mike Fincher, 4. Ervin Turner, 5. Jeremy Stocker, 6. Garrett Bradley, 7. Josh Neal, 8. Larry Persinger, 9. Kyle Wright.
Street Stock Heat 2 (7 laps): 1. Jeff Hinkley, 2. Ron Flaugh, 3. Travis Nichols, 4. Jacob Owens, 5. Kevin Conley, 6. Bob Byrley, 7. David Norman, 8. Shane Hillman, 9. Ray Richardson.
Street Stock Feature (15 laps): 1. Andy Bishop, 2. Mike Fincher, 3. Chris Tippit, 4. Jeff Hinkley, 5. Jeremy Stocker, 6. Ron Flaugh, 7. Kyle Wright, 8. David Norman, 9. Jacob Owens, 10. Ervin Turner, 11. Travis Nichols, 12. Shane Hillman, 13. Bob Byrley, 14. Kevin Conley, 15. Garrett Bradley (DSN), 16. Josh Neal (DNS), 17. Larry Persinger (DNS), 18. Ray Richardson (DNS).
Super Street Heat 1 (7 laps): 1. Bill Lewis, 2. Bill Bradley, 3. Jeff Matheny, 4. Jeffery Jessup, 5. Daniel Sanchez, 6. Nathan Terrell, 7. Jeremy Creech.
Super Street Heat 2 (7 laps): 1. Tony Anderson, 2. Dan Wooten, 3. Andy Welch, 4. Mason Stewart, 5. Rob Trent, 6. Corey Wooten.
Super Street Feature (15 laps): 1. Bill Lewis, 2. Jeffery Jessup, 3. Jeff Matheny, 4. Bill Bradley, 5. Tony Anderson, 6. Dan Wooten, 7. Daniel Sanchez, 8. Andy Welch, 9. Rob Trent, 10. Mason Stewart, 11. Nathan Terrell, 12. Corey Wooten, 13. Jeremy Creech.
Hornet Heat 1 (6 laps): 1. Jason Spencer, 2. Josh Gamblin, 3. Stevie Clark, 4. Jacob Beard, 5. Billy Beard, 6. Brad Evans, 7. Donnie Huddleston, 8. Leslie Clark.
Hornet Heat 2 (6 laps): 1. Logan Easterday, 2. Alyssa Clark, 3. Frankie Weigt, 4. Kaleb Hinkley, 5. Dustin Franks, 6. Abbey Werling, 7. Jeff Young.
Hornet Heat 3 (6 laps): 1. Gage Allen, 2. James Headley Jr., 3. Randy Brommer, 4. Gerald Owens, 5. Jesse Arenas, 6. Joey Eastes, 7. Charlie Teegarden (DNS).
Hornet Feature (15 laps): 1. Gage Allen, 2. Josh Gamblin, 3. James Headley Jr., 4. Logan Easterday, 5. Gerald Owens, 6. Frankie Weigt, 7. Kaleb HInkley, 8. Jacob Beard, 9. Alyssa Clark, 10. Billy Beard, 11. Randy Brommer, 12. Dustin Franks, 13. Abbey Werling, 14. Joey Eastes, 15. Brad Evans, 16. Leslie Clark, 17. Donnie Huddleston, 18. Jesse Arenas, 19. Stevie Clark, 20. Jason Spencer, 21. Jeff Young (DNS), 22. Charlie Teegarden (DNS).
Tough Truck Heat (6 laps): 1. Kevin Knittle, 2. Chris Hicks, 3. Frank Paladino, 4. Andy King, 5. Devon Hower, 6. Chris Bitters, 7. Leslie Hurd, 8. Dustin Ratliff, 9. Gaige Slaven (DNS).
Tough Truck Feature (15 laps): 1. Chris Hicks, 2. Chris Bitters, 3. Devon Hower, 4. Leslie Hurd, 5. Dustin Ratliff, 6. Gaige Slaven, 7. Frank Paladino, 8. Andy King, 9. Kevin Knittle.
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Owner, Restart Communications, RestartCommunications.com
