6/30/2017
Chris Graf Gets Off To Good Start At Britt In Defense Of Title
The Midwest Power Equipment/GRP Motorsports first race of nine in the series had to weather a rain delay at the beginning of the program, but when the final checkers flew on the UMSS feature, a familiar face graced Rock Auto Victory Lane at the Hancock County Speedway in Britt, Iowa during the inaugural appearance by the UMSS sprints at the northern Iowa black dirt track. Chris Graf of Glencoe, the 2015 and 2016 Midwest Power Series champion, got off to a good start in search of his third consecutive title. Graf led all 25 laps of the feature for the $1,500 payday. It was Graf's third UMSS win of the season.
Graf's victory did not come uncontested though. 2015 and 2016 UMSS champion Ryan Bowers of Ham Lake actually got by Graf on lap 16, but a caution for Reed Allex in turn four nullified the pass. The yellow turned into a red when Bowers suddenly pulled to a stop on the front stretch and bailed out of his sprint car on fire. After trying to extinguish the flames on the pants legs of his driver suit by rolling on the ground, Bowers jumped up just as the firemen arrived and sprinted towards a large water puddle where Allex had parked his sprint car. Bowers executed a perfect slide into the water to put out the fire. His car was also on fire from a fuel leak that had apparently developed earlier in the race but did not ignite until he slowed down under caution. The fire crew quickly extinguished the fire. The dramatic turn of events saw Graf still in the lead when the race restarted. Graf led the remaining ten laps caution-free for the win. Derrik Lusk of Jackson finished second. Mark Toews of Spirit Lake, John Schulz of West Burlington and Austin Johnson of Pleasant Hill rounded out the top five. For Toews, the evening had its share of good fortune and not-so-good fortune. In order to avoid Reed Allex, Toews ended up doing a complete 360 spin but kept going. With scoring reverting back to the last fully completed lap, Toews, who was running fourth, ended up restarting third when Bowers dropped out. That's were he crossed the finish line, but an issue developed in post-race tech. He was paid for last place and all drivers behind him moved up one pay spot. The matter is still under review, so for scoring purposes at this time he is listed in third where he finished.
The weather and other area races kept the field down, but several strong competitors were on hand. Lusk and Graf won the 8 lap heat races. Given the rain delay at the beginning of the evening and the late start at 8:30, no challenge races or any other type of preliminary race was run, as the top four drivers in passing and finishing points following the heat races drew for starting positions in the first two rows of the feature.
A pair of former UMSS champions, Graf (2013) and Bowers (2015-16), drew the front row. Graf blasted into the lead early on and put some distance between himself and Bowers. On lap 10, Graf lapped Allex and one lap later put Kevin Bradwell a lap down. Graf closed in on Chase Viebrock, but Viebrock was fast and Graf had some difficulty lapping him. Bowers quickly closed the margin and by lap 14 was right behind Graf ready to challenge for the lead. Graf held off the challenges until Bowers bolted by on the outside exiting turn two and shot into the lead down the backstretch on lap 16, but the aforementioned caution flew and dramatically changed the complexion of the race. Midwest Power Equipment and GRP Motorsports added $1,500 to the purse making for a decent payout. Allex, Bradwell and Jared Goerges also earned $100 GRP Motorsports Tow Money bonuses for competing in all five of the season point shows so far and for being at the rained out event at Proctor on June 18.
Following a non-point show at the Knoxville Raceway on July 1, the UMSS sprints return to action on Saturday night July 8 at the Cedar Lake Speedway for the second race in the Midwest Power Equipment/GRP Motorsports Series. It's the second night of the popular World of Outlaws sprint car weekend at CLS, as the UMSS Traditional sprints will be racing on Friday night and the UMSS winged sprints run on Saturday with the WoO sprints racing full shows each night. It should be a great two nights of sprint car racing at the famous western Wisconsin dirt oval. Keep tabs on all of the UMSS winged sprint car action by visiting our website at www.umsprints.com and clicking on the red logo or by following us on Facebook.
UMSS Race Results - Hancock County Speedway June 30, 2017 (Race #9)
Midwest Power Equip & GRP Motorsports A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 20G-Chris Graf, [1]; 2. 2-Derrik Lusk, [3]; 3. 5T-Mark Toews, [4]; 4. 99-John Schulz, [5]; 5. 81-Austin Johnson, [6]; 6. 9-Jared Goerges, [7]; 7. 50-Chase Viebrock, [8]; 8. 77-Kevin Bradwell, [10]; 9. (DNF) 64-Ryan Bowers, [2]; 10. (DNF) 91A-Reed Allex, [9].
Lap Leader: Graf 1-25. Cautions: (1) yellow for 91A turn 4 on lap 16. Turned into a red flag when 64 caught on fire (fuel fire). 64 had just passed 20G for the lead coming off turn two down the backstretch. Scoring reverted back to last fully completed lap 15. 64 & 91A out. 5T post-race tech issue under further review.
Hoosier Racing Tire Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 2-Derrik Lusk, [1]; 2. 5T-Mark Toews, [3]; 3. 81-Austin Johnson, [4]; 4. 9-Jared Goerges, [5]; 5. 91A-Reed Allex, [2].
Lap Leader: Lusk 1-8. No cautions.
Hoosier Racing Tire Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 20G-Chris Graf, [1]; 2. 64-Ryan Bowers, [5]; 3. 99-John Schulz, [3]; 4. 50-Chase Viebrock, [2]; 5. (DNF) 77-Kevin Bradwell, [4].
Lap Leader: Graf 1-8. No cautions.
Rock Auto Victory Lane photo courtesy of Scott Swenson.
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
