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Miller Jr. and Freeman Win Challenge Series Events at TCMS

07/9/2021 (Auburn MI) It was another great night of stock car racing at Tri-City Motor Speedway this past Friday. All of the house divisions were in action along with Merrit/TCMS Challenge Series events for the XLT Engineering 4-6 cylinder class as well as the Auto House Factory Stocks.

The Auto House Factory Stock feature had an increased top prize of $2000 to whoever was the first driver to complete the 25-lap feature. Factory Stock heavyweights Jake Thompson (Birch Run) and Jim Miller Jr. (Clio) lead the field of 21 to the initial green flag of the feature. Miller, who had just missed a feature win a few weeks earlier, immediately took the lead around the very bottom of the track. Those behind him searched different grooves to try to catch Miller. Eric Lake (Montrose) was the first to find some speed running the rim of the track and was able to obtain the lead on lap fourteen. Miller took the lead back on the next circuit while the two battled next to each other until a caution slowed the field. Once the race restarted, Miller pulled away and was never caught as he cruised to the $2000 payday. Last week’s winner, Nick Putman (Kawkawlin), finished runner-up with Jim Miller Sr. (Lake City), Kyle Andrzejewski (Bay City) and Lake took positions in the top five. Miller Jr., Thompson, and Ryan Nethers (Mount Pleasant) won their earlier heat races.

The XLT Engineering 4-6 Cylinder division was the second class to run their Challenge Series events on Friday night. Chris Wassmann (Whittamore), Brad Wassmann (Mikado), Herb Freeman (Prescott), and Ryan Hamm (Muskegon) all proved themselves as legitimate feature contenders by winning their qualifying races earlier in the evening. Freeman, however, had the best starting spot in the 20-lap main event with his outside front row position. He took full advantage of the position as he immediately jumped to the lead at the drop of the green flag. Hamm was the only driver to give Freeman any sort of a challenge for the top spot. Freeman led all 20 laps to capture the win over Hamm, Chris Wassmann, Chad Freeman (Alger), and Ethan Robarts (Whittamore). A B-main was run for those that did not qualify for the main event. Craig Cummings (Owosso) won that event over Nick Bullock (Bay City) and Troy Miller (Standish).

The Troll Smokehouse IMCA Modified feature had Dale Kaake III (Cass City) lead the opening four circuits in the feature event. Former track Champion Kody Johnson (Vestaburg) took his turn at the front climbing there from his fifth place starting position. He held onto the lead until just past the halfway point of the event when point leader Collin Thirlby (Traverse City) officially took over the race on lap thirteen. The tenth place starter held on for the final dozen laps to grab another TCMS feature win. Chad Bennett (Caro), who had won the previous week’s feature, could only muster a second place finish. Craig Vance (Midland), Johnson, and Matt Szecsodi (Clio) completed the top five finishers. Kaake III and Szecsodi took home heat race gold.

This upcoming Friday night will feature the Auto Value Pro Stocks with a $2500 to win Challenge Series race. Last week was a good time for drivers to dial in their cars to figure out some way to beat Nate Murphy (Coleman) and Andrew Steele, who have been the only feature winners in this class so far in 2021. Murphy took home the win in his heat race while Tim Murphy (Holland OH) won the other heat race. Nate Murphy would start alongside Danielle Robinson (Mount Pleasant) on the front row of their 20-lap main event. Murphy jumped to the lead for the first four laps before Steele, coming from fifth place, took the top spot. Steele ran away with the race and was the first to the checkered flag. Multi-time Champion, Jared Rizer (Freeland) muscled his way to a runner-up finish ahead of a fading Nate Murphy, Adam Erickson (Mesick), and Robinson.

The Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort feature saw Chad Finley (St. Johns) run a masterful race as he led all 30-laps from his front row starting position. With long green flag runs, Finley was near perfect as he maneuvered through lapped traffic to stay ahead of the tough field. Hall of Fame driver David Hilliker (Midland) put up a strong run to finish in second place ahead of Eric Spangler (Lake City), Curtis Roberts (Coleman), and a hard charging Tyler Norton (Midland). Roberts and Spangler won their respective heat races.

The Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini Wedge classes kicked off the evening with their pre-race events. Restricted Mini Wedge heat race winner was Cason Murphy. Murphy could only get as far as second place it the feature as it was Lincoln Hughey who picked up his first TCMS win of the season. In the Unrestricted Mini Wedge class Brennan DeShano (Kawkawlin), who had finished runner up in the previous week’s feature, got the feature this week over heat race winner Ella Gradowski.

Next week, all the house divisions including the Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini-Wedges, Auto House Factory Stocks, Auto Value Pro Stocks, Soaring Eagle Late models and the XLT Engineering 4-6cyls are all a part of the race card. The Auto Value Pro Stocks will make up one of their previously rained out Challenge Series races. Their main event will pay $2500 to the winner. The first green flag waves at 7:30. Be sure to come early to claim your seat for another exciting show you won’t want to miss! For updated and instant results, season and Challenge Series point standings and the 2021 race schedule, visit the TCMS website at tricityracetrack.com or download the MyRacePass app.

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