7/18/2015
Confidence Booster, Jamey Ogston Wins First UMSS Feature at Brainerd!
Confidence in yourself, your car and your team are huge factors for any racer. On Saturday night July 18 young Jamey Ogston from Duluth got a huge confidence boost when he won his first-ever sprint car feature race at the North Central Speedway in Brainerd during the makeup program for the Upper Midwest Sprint Car Series event originally scheduled for back in May. Ogston, who is in his second season behind the wheel of a winged sprint car, is now the holder of a WWE North Central Speedway trophy belt and is $1,200 richer for his strong performance. Shortly after pulling into Rock Auto Victory Lane, Ogston jumped out of his car and climbed atop the wing to celebrate his inaugural UMSS win. Ogston defeated the likes of current UMSS point leader Ryan Bowers, three-time and defending series champion Jerry Richert, Jr. and 2013 UMSS champion Chris Graf in the nonstop 25 lap feature race. Commenting following the race, Ogston stated, "I needed this. It is absolutely a fantastic feeling to win my first sprint car feature. I'm so excited for my team and everybody who has helped me." Indeed, with renewed confidence and the thrill of victory fresh in his mind, the "Iceman" is back on his game. Ogston will look for his second win next weekend.
Although the sprint car field was on the skinny side with just ten cars on hand for the May 16 Auto Value WWE Night makeup event, there were certainly some strong competitors. The weather on this mid July night was outstanding! The track had received a lot of rain earlier in the week during a big storm that hit the Brainerd area and again overnight leading up to race day, but the NCS crew was able to get the track ready. Turn one proved to be a bit of a rough spot throughout the evening, as the racing surface was anything but dry. On more than one occasion, a sprint car would bicycle a bit in turn one but everybody stayed upright.
The 25 lap feature race saw Ogston and Bowers draw the front row following a heat race win for Bowers and a Challenge race victory for Ogston. 2010 UMSS champion Cody Hahn won the other heat while Graf won the other Challenge race. The first few laps in the feature saw Bowers trying to get the lead up top while Ogston ran low. Each driver led at various points during the opening couple of laps, but Ogston would narrowly edge past Bowers at the line for the official lead each lap. Ogston finally was able to pull away a bit from Bowers as the race continued under the green flag. Near the midway point, the leaders were approaching a few of the cars running near the back of the field. Ogston was able to carefully get around those cars, although he had to change his line on several occasions. This allowed Bowers to slowly close the gap on the leader. Bowers closed to within several car lengths during the latter stages of the race, but Ogston drove a great race and picked up his first-ever sprint car feature win! Bowers finished second ahead of Richert, Graf and Anna Hippe. Chad Patterson, Joseph Kouba and Reed Allex were the other finishers.
Cody Hahn dropped out with steering issues early in the feature race. Hahn had been involved in a crash in his Challenge race, and several teams thrashed on his car so he could start the feature. Tony Norem experienced motor problems all night long and the B1st team finally reported the engine had blown, so he was unable to start the feature. Despite a shorter than usual field of cars, the payout was very strong. A huge thanks to John Franzen Stucco for adding $500 into the purse along with a $500 contribution from GRP Motorsports. North Central Speedway also boosted the purse above the normal amount. John Franzen is a former sprint car racer residing in the Brainerd area, and it was good to see him strolling through the sprint car pits before the races.
Up next for the UMSS is another double-header weekend on July 24-25. Friday night July 24 the UMSS winged sprints will join with the Traditional sprints at their home track, the St. Croix Valley Raceway, for the 3rd Annual Dan Grams UMSS Memorial paying $1,300 to win for the winged sprints. Former winners of this race include Davey Heskin and Brooke Tatnell. The series then makes its second and final appearance of the season the following night July 25 at the Rice Lake Speedway with $1,000 going to the winner. The Traditional sprints will also join the winged sprints for the Rice Lake program. Back on May 23, Lee Grosz won the UMSS feature at Rice Lake.
UMSS Race Results - North Central Speedway July 18, 2015 (Race #11)
GRP Motorsports & John Franzen Stucco A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 03-Jamey Ogston[1]; 2. 199-Ryan Bowers[2]; 3. 63-Jerry Richert Jr[3]; 4. 20G-Chris Graf[5]; 5. 5-Anna Kouba[6]; 6. 15-Chad Patterson[4]; 7. 55-Joseph Kouba[7]; 8. 91A-Reed Allex[8]; 9. (DNF) 23-Cody Hahn[9]; DNS B1ST-Tony Norem
Lap Leader: Ogston 1-25. No cautions.
Hoosier Racing Tire Challenge Race 1 (8 Laps): 1. 03-Jamey Ogston[2]; 2. 15-Chad Patterson[5]; 3. 55-Joseph Kouba[1]; 4. 91A-Reed Allex[3]; 5. (DNF) 23-Cody Hahn[4]
Lap Leaders: Ogston 1-2, Kouba 3-6, Ogston 7-8. Cautions: (2)
Mastell Brothers Trailer Service Challenge Race 2 (8 Laps): 1. 20G-Chris Graf[1]; 2. 199-Ryan Bowers[4]; 3. 5-Anna Kouba[2]; 4. 63-Jerry Richert Jr[3]; DNS B1ST-Tony Norem
Lap Leader: Graf 1-8. No cautions.
Meeks Video Ultimate Sprint Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 23-Cody Hahn[1]; 2. 63-Jerry Richert Jr[4]; 3. 03-Jamey Ogston[2]; 4. 20G-Chris Graf[3]; DNS B1ST-Tony Norem
Lap Leader: Hahn 1-6. No cautions. B1st with engine issues ended up being done for the night.
Driverwebsites.com Ultimate Sprint Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 199-Ryan Bowers[1]; 2. 91A-Reed Allex[2]; 3. 5-Anna Kouba[4]; 4. 55-Joseph Kouba[3]; 5. 15-Chad Patterson[5]
Lap Leader: Bowers 1-6. No cautions.
Victory Lane Wing Dance Photo courtesy of Ben Kruchten at Dirt Race Central.
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
