7/10/2015
James Giossi With Thrilling Last Lap Pass For First Victory
James "Nitro" Giossi of New Richmond had only driven in eight Traditional sprint car races prior to coming to his home track on July 10, but his debut at the Cedar Lake Speedway in a non-winged sprint car was spectacular! Giossi went from third to first in little over a lap, making a last lap pass of race leader Johnny Parsons III for a thrilling victory. You only have to lead one lap, that being the final lap. Giossi did just that to bring the crowd to their feet. The young Giossi has previous kart racing experience and raced one year in a Midwest Modified last season. His Traditional sprint car debut at St. Croix Valley Raceway near the end of May ended early when he contacted the wall, but Giossi and his crew worked all night long to make repairs and they were ready to race the following night. Since then, "Nitro" has made steady and impressive improvement to set the stage for his first career sprint car win in just his ninth race in the division. On Saturday night, Giossi will be gunning for the GRP Motorsports Clean Sweep Bonus in the Traditional sprint division.
The Traditional sprints set a series car count record when 24 non-winged sprints signed through the back gate at CLS, breaking the previous record set at SCVR on June 5. Three 10 lap heat races were won with Parsons, Jimmy Kouba, and Giossi the victors. Passing and finishing points following the heats saw the top four drivers redraw for their starting positions in the 25 lap feature. The top four starters saw Parsons, Giossi, Kouba and Mike Mueller occupying the first two rows. Parsons shot out to the early lead, as the race stayed green for the first 16 laps. During this run, Parsons was not seriously challenged. That changed for the ensuing nine lap dash to the checkers!
In the closing laps, a three car battled developed for the top spot between Parsons, Giossi and Jimmy Kouba. Giossi slipped back to third as Kouba applied the pressure on Parsons late in the race. Giossi saw an opening develop coming to the white flag and took advantage for second. A daring move down the back stretch and into turn 3 on the final circuit saw Giossi take the lead and eventual victory. Kouba tried to get past Parsons for second but came up a bit short at the finish line. Rob Caho, Jr. and Joseph Kouba completed the top five, but those two drivers along with the remainder of the field moved up one position in the final rundown when Jimmy Kouba failed to go to the tech area after exiting the scales and was DQed. This moved Chase Viebrock up to the fifth finishing position. Rounding out the top ten were Jake Kouba, Jon Lewerer, Mueller, Jeremy Kerzman from 21st in his Traditional sprint car debut, and 2011 Champion Kevin Bradwell from 17th.
Earning GRP Motorsports bonuses on the opening night of the big open wheel WoO weekend at CLS in the Traditional sprint car division was Rob Caho, Jr. for the highest finishing past TSCS Champion/Rookie and Kerzman for the Hard Charger with a plus 12. Those bonuses along with the Clean Sweep will be in effect on Saturday night, as the Traditional sprints join with the UMSS winged sprints again to welcome the first night of the World of Outlaws to Cedar Lake Speedway in an all open wheel racing program.
TSCS Race Results - Cedar Lake Speedway July 10, 2015 (Race #11)
GRP Motorsports A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 11-James Giossi[2]; 2. 12-Johnny Parsons III[1]; 3. 78-Rob Caho Jr[6]; 4. 55-Joseph Kouba[11]; 5. 50-Chase Viebrock[8]; 6. 6-Jake Kouba[7]; 7. 69S-Jon Lewerer[12]; 8. 87-Mike Mueller[4]; 9. 3K-Jeremy Kerzman[21]; 10. 95-Kevin Bradwell[17]; 11. 27-Mike Walters[9]; 12. 7B-Scott Brandt[14]; 13. 81-Dan Peper[20]; 14. 13K-Katrina Sautbine[13]; 15. 34-Denny Stordahl[15]; 16. (DNF) 24-Brian Vanmeveren[10]; 17. (DNF) 14-Cam Schafer[19]; 18. (DNF) 23-Wes Hendrickson[18]; 19. (DNF) 48-Neal Matuska[5]; 20. (DNF) KA1-Blake Anderson[22]; 21. (DNF) N1-Tony Duran[23]; 22. (DNF) 21J-Jori Hughes[16]; DNS 16-Anna Kouba; 24. 2K-Jimmy Kouba[24]
Lap Leaders: Parsons 1-24, Giossi 25. Cautions: (1) for N1 stopped inside turn 4 with broken LF. Note: 2K Kouba finished third but failed to go to the tech area after exiting the scales and was DQed.
Meeks Video Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 12-Johnny Parsons III[1]; 2. 6-Jake Kouba[2]; 3. 50-Chase Viebrock[4]; 4. 24-Brian Vanmeveren[5]; 5. 69S-Jon Lewerer[7]; 6. 7B-Scott Brandt[3]; 7. 21J-Jori Hughes[6]; DNS 23-Wes Hendrickson
Lap Leader: Parsons 1-10. No cautions.
Track Rat Photos Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 2K-Jimmy Kouba[1]; 2. 48-Neal Matuska[3]; 3. 78-Rob Caho Jr[5]; 4. 3K-Jeremy Kerzman[6]; 5. (DNF) 16-Anna Kouba[2]; DNS 14-Cam Schafer; DNS KA1-Blake Anderson; DNS 81-Dan Peper
Lap Leader: Jimmy Kouba 1-10. No cautions. Note: Schafer flipped turn 2 while hot lapping prior to heat race lineup.
Hoosier Racing Tire Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 11-James Giossi[3]; 2. 87-Mike Mueller[6]; 3. 27-Mike Walters[4]; 4. 55-Joseph Kouba[5]; 5. 13K-Katrina Sautbine[1]; 6. 34-Denny Stordahl[2]; 7. N1-Tony Duran[8]; 8. (DNF) 95-Kevin Bradwell[7]
Lap Leader: Giossi 1-10. No cautions.
Victory Lane Photo courtesy of Scott Swenson.
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
