4/21/2024
Midwest Wingless Racing Association
Smith Wins Shootout at I-70!
Odessa, Mo: Nixa, Missouri’s, Wesley Smith won a old fashioned shootout at I-70 Speedway Saturday night for a 3,000 dollar to win payday as the Wholesale Batteries USAC MWRA Sprint Cars joined up with POWRi WAR, and the WINS Series, for the 2nd annual Open Wheel Classic Sponsored by Rod End Supply.
Smith showed he was ready from the get go on this night as the WSR Racing 44 was on a rail setting the fastest lap in hot laps with 16.354-second time.
The Nixa gasman however, had plenty of competition to navigate in the 25 lapper as he had to deal with eventual second place finisher Xavier Doney of Odessa, (Mo) racing the Doney & Lawson 74, and third place Samuel Wagner of Lone Jack, Mo. who led the first half of this barn burner in his Jesse Hockett Racing/ Wagner Boys 73. With Bonham, Texas, chauffeur, Kobe Simpson advancing seven spots to fourth after starting eleventh, to win hard charger, and defending race winner Wyatt Burks of Topeka, Kansas, running fifth.
Up front from “choose cone” restarts, to navigating traffic, and the hard charging of Doney and Wagner, Smith was challenged repeatedly before taking a hard fought victory, his eleventh with the MWRA in points paying races, and his 13th with WAR all-time.
Wesley described the racing surface which allowed multiple groove passing, and a slide for your life situatuation, as a “Bad fast race track, slick all the way around to the wall!”
While the top five certainly came to race on this night, drivers who raced to positions 6th through 10th also shined bright led by Little Canada, Minnesotas, Cam Schafer, the defending WINS Series champ, who earned high points honor for the night after impressively winning the first heat race, and then finished sixth in the feature, with Nesbit, Mississippi’s, Chase Howard, Odessa, (Mo’s), Taylor Walton, Overland Park, (Ks) racer Luke Howard, and veteran Chad Goff of Spring Hill rounding out the top 10.
Earlier in the evening, besides Schafer taking the first heat win over Riley Kreisel advancing from 7th to 2nd in spectacular fashion. Samuel Wagner, would hold off Smith for heat race win number two after Smith charged from last to first only to be collected after another car spun in front of him, and then restarted last again with four laps to go too finish second. While Wyatt Burks dominated the third and final heat racing at I-70 Saturday night.
The MWRA will next be in action for a points paying double-header weekend on Friday May 10th at Lakeside Speedway, in KCK, and Saturday night, May 11th, at Valley Speedway, in Grain Valley, Missouri.
Article Credit: Ray Cunningham
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