7/9/2018
Badger Midget Auto Racing Association
“Carrick edges Seavey to win Pepsi Midget Nationals” “Sixth event win for Kunz team”
Sun Prairie, WI, July 8---California’s Tanner Carrick scored an exciting last-lap victory winning " The 37th annual Pepsi Midget Nationals" Sunday Night at Angell Park Speedway. The event was co-sanctioned by the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League, and the Zimbrick Chevrolet of Sun Prairie Badger Midget Racing Series.
Ryan Robinson took the lead at the start from the outside front row to lead the opening lap. Defending race winner Zach Daum passed Robinson for the lead on the next circuit. By the completion of Lap 5 Daum held a one second lead over a trio of Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian team cars. Daum’s two second-plus lead was erased on Lap 11, when the events only caution appeared when Joe B. Miller stalled on the track. During the caution third place running Robinson stopped for repairs in the work area, rejoining the tail of the field.
Logan Seavey who was in third place on the restart, who used the upper groove to pass Daum for the lead before the completion of Lap 12. Seavey held a four-car length at the races midway point over: Daum, Tucker Kaasmeyer, and Carrick, with the four cars separating themselves from the rest of the field.
Seavey continued to increase his lead each lap. Seavey began lapping the tail of the field with eight laps remaining. Carrick began “cutting” into Seavey’s lead with five laps remaining. Carrick then closed to within two-car lengths, with two laps remaining. Seavey was in heavy lapped traffic when the white flag was displayed. Carrick moved up one groove above Seavey entering Turn 3 on the final lap and gained on Seavey as the pair approached the start/finish line. Carrick surged ahead in the final twenty yards to win the event.
The official margin of victory was 0.015 seconds for Carrick who drove the Kunz/Curb-Agajanian owned Bullet by Spike/Toyota No. 71K. It marked the sixth win for the Kunz team in the event. Daum finished in third place, followed by Jake Neuman who started in 23rd place, and Klaasmeyer. Nineteen cars finished the event.
" I was following Daum at the start, and then Logan (Seavey) passed me and I had to chase him down, the last lap fell perfect for me, it’s great to win this race again for the team” commented Carrick, made his debut at the track in last year’s event.
SUMMARY
30-lap Feature: 1. Tanner Carrick; 2. Logan Seavey; 3. Zach Daum; 4. Jake Neuman; 5. Tucker Klaasmeyer; 6. Holly Shelton; 7. Karter Schraff; 8. Kyle Schuett; 9. Bill Balog 10. Mike Hess; 11. Sam Johnson; 12. Ryan Robinson; 13. Ray Seach; 14. Andrew Felker; 15. Austin Brown; 16. Zach Boden; 17. Kevin Olson; 18. Tyler Baran; 19. Holley Hollan; 20. Ryan Probst; 21. Kurt Mayhew; 22. Cody Wesisensel; 23. Joe B. Miller.
12-lap Last Chance Race Winner: Klaasmeyer.
8-lap Heat Race Winners: Carrick, Shelton, Robinson, Mitchell Davis.
Fast Time: Carrick, 14.227 seconds.
Cars Present: 38 Feature Lap Leaders: Robinson 1, Daum 2-11, Seavey 12-29, Carrick 30.
EVENT NOTES
---It was Carrick’s second Nationals start, last year he finished in last place (24th position). When Carrick set fast time earlier in the evening, he became the 29th different driver to set fast time for the event.
---Car Owner Keith Kunz’s previous Nationals victories came in: 1993-Page Jones, 2000-Jay Drake, 2014-Christopher Bell, 2015-Rico Abreu, and 2016-Carson Macedo. Toyota has won nine straight Pepsi Midget Nationals events dating back to 2009.
---Fourteen drivers competed in their first Nationals event. Seventh place finishing Karter Schraff scored the best finish of the group.
---Five-time Nationals Champion Kevin Olson who competed in the first event in 1982 finished in seventeenth position.
---Two-time Badger champion Mike Hess made a rare series start. Driving the Chuck Johnson owned No. 82, Hess finished tenth in the feature race.
---Billy Balog before the start of the midget feature won the 20-lap Auto Meter Wisconsin Wingelss Sprint Car feature, becoming only the first driver in the track’s 72-year history to win in four different divisions. His previous Angell Park victories included: midget (Badger sanctioned), winged sprint car (IRA), and 600 micro (Badger). Balog finished ninth in the Nationals event driving for car owner Mark Ray, also collected the Howard Law Cash Draw, a bonus for a randomly selected feature finishing position.
Article Credit: Bryan Gapinski
