8/23/2021
KC Sparks
Minnesota Missile Monday: Strong Finish at ECS Championship Night
Minnesota Missile Monday: Strong Finish at ECS Championship Night
English Creek Speedway, Knoxville, IA
August 23, 2021
By : Stephanie Sparks
A strong field of 28 Box Stock drivers signed in for competition in the final event of the 2021 season at English Creek Speedway. Nikki Ballard came into the night with a 53 point lead over Tommy Tanner and 105 over Nolan Freeman. KC Sparks and Jaden Alexander were separated by only 16 points in a battle for fourth in the season point standings.
KC was determined to overcome his struggles through the season and pulled onto the track 17th out of the 28 karts and laid down the quick time of the night for the class with a 12.335, edging Aidan Leingang by 0.040 seconds.
Qualifying set Sparks up on the pole of heat one alongside Freeman. The lead duo pulled away from the field and Freeman used his momentum from the high line to take the advantage through turns three and four to lead the opening lap. Sparks remained close but couldn’t find the opening to take the lead and settled for second place behind Freeman.
The other heat race winners were Leingang, Knox Peterson, and Taver West. B Feature transfers were Nikki Ballard and Paxton Benge from the first B and Jaden Alexander and Oliver Sackett from the final last chance qualifier.
The fourteen-kart field hit the track for the scheduled 15 lap A Feature event with heat winners lining up in the first two rows. The initial starts saw troubles in the pack so officials determined that a single file start was necessary. Freeman pulled ahead of Leingang and led the opening circuit before the action was stopped.
On the restart, Freeman battled challenges from Leingang but was unable to hold him off as Leingang took the top spot from Freeman down the back stretch. West made an aggressive move to advance past Peterson into third position. West was able to make his way around Freeman on the third circuit.
The top four raced single file through a couple restarts with KC Sparks moving ahead of Freeman to a podium position as the field crossed the line before a final caution flew.
In a final green-white-checkered dash to the finish with only 4 laps logged, Leingang held off challenges from West. As the leaders drove through turn two, West’s kart broke loose and he got crossed off just ahead of Sparks who quickly adjusted his line to avoid contact. Sparks motored around to the checkered flag in second with Freeman moving back into a podium position. Cameron Bowling also took advantage of the West incident to advance up from fifth with West rejoining the field and crossing the line in fifth.
Unofficially, Nikki Ballard is the 2021 Box Stock track champion with 1300 points, winning over Tommy Tanner by 37. Freeman, Sparks, and Alexander are the top five in season points. Kinzley Sly used a sixth place finish to secure sixth in season points ahead of West who missed the first week’s event in the season after changing classes. Trayton Brown just held off Knox Peterson with Lauren Pfoltner holding off Paxton Benge by one point for 10th place.
Upcoming Schedule:
8/28: Golden Spike Speedway
1KC Motorsports Upcoming Schedule:
8/28; Golden Spike Speedway; Blue Earth, MN
2021 Partner/Sponsor Appreciation
Autoland; Sioux Falls, SD
Furby’s Auto Repair; Sioux Falls, SD
GRP Motorsports; Stillwater, MN
Last Deck LLC; Jackson, MN
Heser Auto and Detailing; Jackson, MN
DRE Horsepower; Boyden, IA
Jared Bailey Photography; Carlisle, IA
MyRacePass; #TeamMRP #GetTheApp
TL Racing; Jackson, MN
Red Camel Racing
YTD Stats:
Shows: 44
Wins: 8
Top 3: 19
Top 10: 39
Heat Wins: 14 out of 55
Quick Times: 1 out of 14
Article Credit: Stephanie Sparks