8/25/2013
Timely Cautions For Tatnell At Proctor
Timely Cautions For Tatnell Equal Win #6 Of The Season At Proctor
Proctor, MN
In his 25 years of racing, Brooke Tatnell has certainly seen the outcome of races change based on timely or untimely cautions. On Sunday August 25 at the Proctor Speedway, two timely cautions and two perfectly executed slide jobs on the restarts were to his benefit as Tatnell won for the sixth time this season in Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) competition and for the 24th time in his career. The UMSS sprints makeup date at Proctor after getting fogged out in early July saw some decent weather and a very well-prepared racing surface.
Topping the Ultimate Sprint Heats were Jason Tostenson and Cody Hahn. Jerry Richert, Jr. and Tony Norem bolted to the top spots in the two Challenge Races. When the points had been tabulated following the usual double round of qualifiers, Tatnell was the high point driver. Tatnell drew the #6 pill for the feature race invert, putting a pair of Glencoe residents on the front row. Current UMSS point leader Chris Graf was on the pole flanked by Jason Tostenson. Graf immediately blasted into the lead and began to stretch the margin on second place runner Tostenson. The first of two cautions slowed the pace with nine laps scored when Tony Norem slipped over the berm in turn 4. Tatnell ducked under Tostenson entering turn one on the restart and slid up in front of him for second, but Graf was pulling away up front again.
For Graf, the untimely second caution proved to be his undoing with 13 laps scored. Tatnell did an instant replay of his first slide job and successfully completed a second one to grab the lead from Graf exiting turn two on the restart. For the remaining 12 laps, Tatnell was in control up front. Tostenson got by Graf as did Cody Hahn. Graf held on to fourth at the checkers ahead of Richert. Rick Kobs, Leigh Thomas, Neal Matuska, Mike Young and Norem completed the top ten.
The UMSS sprints will head into the long Labor Day Weekend on a bit of a roll in the month of August with five straight shows and no weather cancellations. You can keep tabs on the UMSS by checking out our website at www.umsprints.com or by becoming a friend of the UMSS on Facebook. Chris Graf leads Jason Tostenson, Tony Norem and Cody Hahn in the current point standings, as Graf looks to win his first UMSS point championship.
UMSS Race Results - Proctor Speedway August 25, 2013 (Race #12)
Alpha Apparel & Promotions Ultimate Sprint Race #1 (7 laps): 36 Jason Tostenson, 25 Brooke Tatnell, 20G Chris Graf, 55Y Mike Young, 48 Neal Matuska, 5 Joe Kouba, 5W Ryan Wilson DNF.
Meeks Video Ultimate Sprint Race #2 (6 laps): 23 Cody Hahn, 34 Rick Kobs, 29 Leigh Thomas, 63 Jerry Richert Jr, B1st Tony Norem, 37 Sye Anderson.
Mastell Brothers Trailer Service Challenge Race #1 (8 laps): Richert, Kobs, Graf, Tostenson, Matuska, Anderson, Wilson DNS.
Driverwebsites.com Challenge Race #2 (8 laps): Norem, Tatnell, Hahn, Thomas, Young, Kouba.
GRP Motorsports Feature (25 laps): Tatnell, Tostenson, Hahn, Graf, Richert, Kobs, Thomas, Matuska, Young, Norem, Anderson DNF, Kouba DNF, Wilson DNF.
Lap Leaders: Graf 1-13, Tatnell 14-25.
Cautions: (2)
Victory Lane photo courtesy of Proctorspeedway.com (Wes Vork).
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
