9/8/2012
Gharst Grabs Richert Memorial Win At CLS
Gharst Grabs Win In Richert Memorial At CLS
New Richmond, WI
One of the most prestigious local area sprint car events held each year is the Jerry Richert Sr. Memorial at the Cedar Lake Speedway on the first Saturday after Labor Day. The 12th Annual edition this year saw a strong field of cars in both the UMSS and IRA sprint car divisions. Kaley Gharst of Decatur, Illinois was in search of his first career CLS victory, and when the final checkers had waved for the UMSS portion of the show, Gharst had etched his name in the record books along with Rob Kubli and Brooke Tatnell as previous winners of the 360 Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) sprint car feature at this traditional gathering.
The UMSS utilized its usual double-round of qualifying races with Ultimate Sprint Heat wins going to Jerry Richert Jr., Kaley Gharst and Brooke Tatnell. Tatnell was coming off an incredible time trial run in his 410 IRA sprint car, having tied the track record held by Terry McCarl. The Challenge Races were won by Scotty Thiel and Gharst. Thiel returned from his Sheboygan, Wisconsin home to try and make it four out of five wins with the UMSS in recent weeks.
Leigh Thomas and Richert comprised the front row for the 20 lap feature event. Mark Dobmeier, making his first-ever 360 sprint car appearance with the UMSS, was unable to start the feature due to engine woes. Dobmeier was driving for a brand new team spear-headed by Pat Donnohue and Ron Olson. When the green flag flew, it was Thomas blasting to an early lead over Richert. Gharst was on the move from his seventh starting spot and soon was in third by lap five. Two laps later Gharst was up to second and closing quickly on Thomas. Gharst took the lead on lap nine while Chris Graf and Richert battled for third behind Thomas.
The first caution blinked on with eleven laps scored when Graf and Richert made contact on the backstretch. Graf spun sideways and was narrowly missed by a couple of cars. Graf restarted at the tail, and he would be on a mission forward. One lap after the race returned to green, Richert got crossed up in turn two and collected his brother-in-law Brooke Tatnell along with Derrik Lusk. Tatnell and Lusk tipped over, as all three cars were out of the race. The final eight lap dash to the checkers saw Gharst pull away for the victory. Thomas turned in a solid second place finish followed by Thiel, Tony Norem, and Graf. Sye Anderson, Rick Kobs, Jared Goerges, Chad Patterson and Jordan Wilmes rounded out the top ten finishers. Gharst took home $1,000 for his win, as all competitors received increased pay thanks to many tremendous sponsors and the Richert family.
The UMSS winged sprints will take next weekend off and return to action on Sunday night September 23 for their first-ever appearance at the Granite City Speedway in Sauk Rapids. Winged sprints have not raced at the track, formerly known as Golden Spike Speedway, since 2002 when the WISSOTA 360 August Heat series ran an event there. Tony Hargrave not only won that race but also won a feature there when the IMCA Jackpot Junction Tour was on hand in August of 1998. Fans can keep tabs on the championship point races, race results and check out the remaining race schedule on the UMSS website at www.umsprints.com or become a friend of the UMSS on their Facebook page.
UMSS Race Results - Cedar Lake Speedway September 8, 2012 (Race #17) 12th Annual Jerry Richert Sr. Memorial:
Alpha Apparel & Promotions Ultimate Sprint Heat #1 (7 laps): Jerry Richert Jr. 63, Jason Tostenson 36, Mark Dobmeier 91, Leigh Thomas 29, Rick Kobs 34, Jordan Wilmes 20, Tony Norem 45.
Meeks Video Ultimate Sprint Heat #2 (6 laps): Kaley Gharst 6, Derrik Lusk 93, Sye Anderson 37, Jared Goerges 9, Tony Kaus 3TK, Chad Patterson 15.
Driverwebsites.com Ultimate Sprint Heat #3 (6 laps): Brooke Tatnell 14, Chris Graf 20G, Scotty Thiel 64, Anna Kouba 5, Kevin Bradwell 95, Dan Grams 13 DNF.
DMI Challenge Race #1 (10 laps): Thiel, Dobmeier, Lusk, Goerges, Kobs, Richert, Patterson, Bradwell, Tatnell DNF, Grams DNF.
Mastell Brothers Trailer Service Challenge Race #2 (9 laps): Gharst, Thomas, Graf, Tostenson, Anderson, Norem, Kouba, Kaus DNF, Wilmes DNF.
GRP Motorsports A Main (20 laps): Gharst, Thomas, Thiel, Norem, Graf, Anderson, Kobs, Goerges, Patterson, Wilmes, Tostenson DNF, Bradwell DNF, Lusk DNF, Tatnell DNF, Richert DNF, Kouba DNF, Kaus DNF, Grams DNF, Dobmeier DNS.
Lap Leader: Thomas 1-8, Gharst 9-20.
Cautions: (2)
Victory Lane Photo courtesy of Vince Peterson at Track Rat Photos.
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
