6/28/2014
Prochaska & JSTS Rule At Redwood
The first-ever cooperative effort between the Upper Midwest SprintCar Series (UMSS), the Jackson Speedway Touring Series (JSTS), and the Minnesota Mafia saw a field of 25 winged sprints on hand at the Redwood Speedway on Friday night June 27 for Round 1 of the UMSS vs. JSTS. Racing in their “home territory” JSTS cars took the top five finishing positions in the 25 lap feature race while UMSS cars finished sixth and seventh. Pole sitter, Skylar Prochaska from Lakefield, led the whole way for a popular win and parked his #35 sprint in the Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup/Rock Auto Victory Lane. Gregg Bakker of Sioux Falls made it interesting near the halfway mark, as the current MN Mafia point leader challenged Prochaska during the mid-point of the race. An untimely red flag for Bakker when Derrik Lusk got upside down hampered his efforts during the remainder of the event.
The usual double-round of qualifiers utilized by the UMSS gave the Redwood Speedway fans a chance to see the 360 winged sprints on three different occasions under competitive racing action (heats, challenge races, and the feature). Heat races were won by Bakker, Scott Winters and Kaley Gharst. Challenge race victories went to Casey Heser and two-time UMSS Champion Jerry Richert, Jr. of Forest Lake. Following the preliminary racing events, Scott Winters was the high-point driver. Winters had a young race fan draw the invert pill for him during the popular driver autograph session at intermission. The invert pill was a lucky #7 for Prochaska and Gharst, as they would occupy the front row for the feature ra
With 22 of the 25 cars on hand able to start the feature on the ½ mile dirt oval, it was pole sitter Prochaska powering to the early lead over Gharst and Heser. Eighth starter Bakker was on the move forward, racing up to third on lap 8 and then to second on lap 12. With 13 laps scored, the red flag appeared when Derrik Lusk got upside down in turn four while Brandon Halvorson and Isaac Schreurs tangled in turn two. All three cars were out of action. The red flag was not what Bakker wanted to see, as he was challenging Prochaska for the lead just prior to the stoppage. During his winner interview, Prochaska commented that he saw Bakker just prior to the red flag. Prochaska resumed command up front on the restart, as he certainly knew who was right behind him.
The feature was slowed for the second and final time with 20 laps scored when rookie UMSS competitor Jamey Ogston looped his car. Prochaska was just too strong up front during the remaining five lap dash to the checkers. Bakker finished second ahead of Winters, Gharst and Dusty Ballenger. Rounding out the top ten finishers were Richert, 2013 UMSS Champion Chris Graf, Jody Rosenboom, Heser and Mark Toews. Seventeen cars finished the race with fifteen of them on lead lap.
Minnesota Mafia bonus awards went to Jamey Ogston for Hard Charger and Long Tow and the Tough Luck award went to Derrik Lusk. Additional money from GRP Motorsports was added to the top three finishers in the feature, as Prochaska earned $1,200 for his win. If Prochaska is able to win the feature at the Jackson Speedway during Round 2 of the JSTS vs. UMSS Challenge, he will pick up a $450 2 out of 3 Sweep Bonus from GRP Motorsports. GRP will also have a Highest Finishing UMSS car bonus in effect at Jackson.
UMSS Race Results – Redwood Speedway June 27, 2014 (Race #6):
UMSS vs. JSTS Round #1
GRP Motorsports A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 35-Skylar Prochaska[1]; 2. 11X-Gregg Bakker[8]; 3. 23W-Scott Winters[7]; 4. 7-Kaley Gharst[2]; 5. 2D-Dusty Ballenger[6]; 6. 63-Jerry Richert Jr[3]; 7. 20G-Chris Graf[11]; 8. 14-Jody Rosenboom[12]; 9. 75C-Casey Heser[4]; 10. 32-Mark Toews[14]; 11. 10X-Jennifer Eriksen[16]; 12. 17B-Ryan Bickett[13]; 13. 9-Jared Goerges[5]; 14. 03-Jamey Ogston[21]; 15. 48-Neal Matuska[20]; 16. 199-Ryan Bowers[15]; 17. 91A-Reed Allex[22]; 18. (DNF) 5M-Troy Manteufel[19]; 19. (DNF) 93-Derrik Lusk[10]; 20. (DNF) 13MJ-Brandon Halverson[17]; 21. (DNF) 612-Isaac Schreurs[18]; 22. (DNF) 75-Tommy Barber[9]; DNS 7-Dave Becker; DNS 77-Brandon Allen; DNS 6-Eric Lutz.
Lap Leader: Prochaska 1-25.
Cautions: (2)
MN Mafia Hard Charger: Jamey Ogston +7
MN Mafia Long Tow: Jamey Ogston, Duluth MN
MN Mafia Tough Luck: Derrik Lusk
Mastell Brothers Trailer Service Challenge 1 (12 Laps): 1. 75C-Casey Heser[2]; 2. 17B-Ryan Bickett[1]; 3. 75-Tommy Barber[4]; 4. 35-Skylar Prochaska[5]; 5. 199-Ryan Bowers[3]; 6. 93-Derrik Lusk[7]; 7. 7-Kaley Gharst[9]; 8. 11X-Gregg Bakker[10]; 9. 10X-Jennifer Eriksen[6]; 10. 13MJ-Brandon Halverson[8]; 11. 03-Jamey Ogston[12]; 12. 91A-Reed Allex[11]; DNS 6-Eric Lutz
Lap Leader: Heser 1-12. No Cautions!
Hoosier Racing Tire Challenge 2 (12 Laps): 1. 63-Jerry Richert Jr[2]; 2. 2D-Dusty Ballenger[6]; 3. 23W-Scott Winters[9]; 4. 32-Mark Toews[3]; 5. 14-Jody Rosenboom[5]; 6. 612-Isaac Schreurs[1]; 7. 9-Jared Goerges[7]; 8. 5M-Troy Manteufel[10]; 9. 48-Neal Matuska[4]; 10. 20G-Chris Graf[8]; 11. (DNF) 77-Brandon Allen[12]; 12. (DNF) 7-Dave Becker[11]
Lap Leader: Richert 1-12. Cautions: (1)
Alpha Apparel & Promotions Heat 1 (9 Laps): 1. 11X-Gregg Bakker[2]; 2. 20G-Chris Graf[7]; 3. 93-Derrik Lusk[1]; 4. 14-Jody Rosenboom[4]; 5. 75-Tommy Barber[3]; 6. 63-Jerry Richert Jr[8]; 7. 17B-Ryan Bickett[6]; 8. 7-Dave Becker[9]; 9. (DNF) 77-Brandon Allen[5]
Lap Leader: Bakker 1-9. Cautions: (1)
Track Rat Photos Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 23W-Scott Winters[2]; 2. 13MJ-Brandon Halverson[1]; 3. 2D-Dusty Ballenger[6]; 4. 35-Skylar Prochaska[5]; 5. 32-Mark Toews[4]; 6. 75C-Casey Heser[8]; 7. 5M-Troy Manteufel[3]; 8. 03-Jamey Ogston[7]
Lap Leader: Winters 1-8. No Cautions!
Driverwebsites.com Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 7-Kaley Gharst[2]; 2. 9-Jared Goerges[8]; 3. 10X-Jennifer Eriksen[3]; 4. 48-Neal Matuska[1]; 5. 199-Ryan Bowers[4]; 6. 612-Isaac Schreurs[5]; 7. 91A-Reed Allex[6]; 8. 6-Eric Lutz[7]
Lap Leader: Gharst 1-8. No Cautions! DQ: Lutz light at the scales. Had crossed line in 2nd.
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
