6/25/2018
Brandt Parks it in VL during night 2 of the North-South Challenge
Ashland, WI (June 23, 2018)
Part two of the “Tango on the Tundra” for the Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series/Northern Renegades north-south challenge was settled under chilly but racy conditions at the ABC Raceway in Ashland, Wisconsin, on Saturday. Like the previous night, a total of 15 POWRi Lucas Oil sprinters were on hand for the territorial tussle – but with a remix in the north-south balance. With Tyler Wass and Paul Schultz tending to personal obligations, the Renegades were left with just Harry Hanson and Caley Emerson defending the northern turf against 13 southern invaders. Joining the south team for Saturday’s tango were the Stordahl racing teammates of Ryan Buck and Denny Stordahl.
The PIRTEK Fluid Transfer Solutions heat race #1 went to an exuberant, fist pumping Al Stettner, who snagged his first ever win in a sprint car, while reigning UMSS champion Mike Mueller claimed the Rock Auto heat race #2. Stettner racked up the most passing points for the top-six feature line-up redraw, with Scott Brandt and Stettner draw the prime pills to start the 25-lap main event in the front row.
As the green flag waved over the 14-car starting field, Brandt staked an early claim to the top spot with the field generally staying in their side-by-side starting formation. Brandt was strong and comfortable running the catfish line as Mueller and Brad Peterson engaged in a high-low duel for second. As the caution-free laps clicked off, the field had shuffled itself into mostly the lower groove with Peterson being the notable exception surfing a higher groove.
With only moderate shuffling occurring mid-pack, the top three remained unchanged with Brandt methodically stretching his advantage over the Mueller/Peterson battle. In the later laps, Peterson’s high groove was losing momentum as he began drifting back from Mueller while the now fourth running Bryan Roach began to creep closer to Peterson for third. Roach had pulled away from a scrum that included Northern Renegades Hanson and Emerson as well as Jon Lewerer. At the double checkers it was Brandt claiming his first win of 2018, and third in his UMSS career. Mueller was a comfortable second while Peterson scrambled to hold off Roach for third. Hanson crossed the line in fifth, but missed post-race inspection, awarding fifth to the #69s of Jon Lewerer.
With the challenge even at one win each for the north and the south, the southern salvo of the two weekend north/south challenge is scheduled for this Friday and Saturday, June 29 and 30. “The Tussle in the Tropics” will see the southern UMSS contingent will defend against the Northern Renegade invaders on Friday night, June 29 at the Granite City Speedway near St. Cloud, MN. The series finale takes place at the UMSS home track, Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, WI, on Saturday, June 30. The last stanza of the series also includes Cedar Lake’s legendary annual fireworks display – a family friendly event worth the trip, in and of itself. The POWRi Lucas Oil sprinters of the UMSS resume action the following weekend at CLS, as the Traditional Sprintcars join the July 6 portion of Cedar Lake’s World of Outlaw sprint event, while the 360 Winged UMSS racers are on the card for the Saturday, July 7 date of Outlaw weekend.
RACE RESULTS:
POWRi Lucas Oil UMSS Traditional sprints, North/South challenge race #2
Feature – Scott Brandt, Mike Mueller, Brad Peterson, Bryan Roach, Jon Lewerer, Caley Emerson, Denny Stordahl, Cam Schafer, Neal Matuska, Al Stettner, Gary Mueller, Anna Hippe, Kevin Lear, Harry Hanson (DQ), Ryan Buck (DNS)
PIRTEK Fluid Transfer Solutions Heat #1 – Al Stettner, Brad Peterson, Neal Matuska, Caley Emerson, Jon Lewerer, Cam Schafer, Gary Mueller, Ryan Buck (DNS)
Rock Auto Heat #2 – Mike Mueller, Harry Hanson, Scott Brandt, Bryan Roach, Anna Hippe, Denny Stordahl, Kevin Lear (DNF)
Article Credit: Terry Lehnertz
