7/8/2016
Lee Grosz Wins Earl Kouba Memorial at Cedar Lake Speedway
Despite a light rain shower during hot laps that caused a 40 minute delay to the start of the racing program, the sun reappeared and a pleasant evening followed for the running of the 24th Annual Earl Kouba Memorial race at the Cedar Lake Speedway on Friday night July 8. Becoming just the third driver to win this prestigious race more than once in its 24 year history, Harwood, North Dakota racer Lee Grosz led the entire 25 lap distance in the UMSS winged sprint car feature and parked in Rock Auto Victory Lane for his eighth career UMSS win. Grosz had previously won the Kouba Memorial back in 2008. Thanks to the tremendous support from several sponsors, Grosz earned $2,000 for his first victory in just his second UMSS race of the season.
A very competitive field of (21) UMSS winged sprint cars were on hand for the opening night of the big two-day World of Outlaws weekend at the popular western Wisconsin dirt oval. That number was immediately pared down to 20 cars, as 2013 UMSS Champion Chris Graf had an engine failure in the CT525 crate motor while putting heat in the engine in the pits prior to the racing program. Jeff Pellersels offered his car to Graf, so Chris jumped in the 1DOC ride for the evening and competed in the full program. Graf's team was heading home after the races to get their other car for Saturday night.
The UMSS ran their usual double round of qualifying races. Inaugural UMSS Champion Leigh Thomas won the first heat while three-time UMSS Champion Jerry Richert, Jr. picked up the win in the second heat and eventual race winner Lee Grosz topped the third heat. Challenge race victories went to 2010 UMSS Champion Cody Hahn and 2015 UMSS Champion Ryan Bowers. Bowers defeated Thomas Kennedy in the second Challenge race by 1/1000th of a second in a photo-finish at the line. The top four drivers in passing and finishing points redrew for starting spots in the first two rows of the feature. Grosz drew the pole with Hahn outside. Richert and Kennedy would go from row two. All five previous UMSS Champions were on hand.
Grosz blasted into the lead at the start of the 25 lap Earl Kouba Memorial feature and immediately established his line up on the cushion. Grosz drove to a comfortable lead while a group of cars battled for the second through fifth positions behind him. The lone caution of the race waved with 12 laps scored when Thomas Kennedy slid sideways in turn two and came to a stop near the bottom of the track. Kennedy restarted behind the lead lap cars. Kennedy had been racing with Brooke Tatnell for the fourth spot. Tatnell began his move forward following the caution, as the laps clicked off under the green. Grosz was long gone up front. Tatnell, the all-time leading UMSS feature winner, moved to third on lap 14 and passed his brother-in-law Richert for second on lap 17. Tatnell slowly began cutting into Grosz' lead, but without the aid of another caution Grosz never had to fend him off for the top spot. Tatnell finished second ahead of Richert, Bowers and Hahn. Driving the DDR #2 sprinter in his first-ever UMSS race, Fresno, California driver Dominic Scelzi finished sixth. Kennedy recovered for seventh. Mark Toews, driving Anna Hippe's winged sprint, rode home in eighth in his first race of the season. Cam Schafer came from 20th to finish ninth. Jared Goerges rounded out the top ten. Seventeen of the twenty starters were still running at the finish with eleven cars still on the lead lap.
The UMSS winged sprints return to Cedar Lake Speedway on for the second night of the all-sprint car racing weekend on July 9. A separate race report will follow to recap night number two. The opening night saw 34 WoO sprints, a record 27 UMSS Traditional sprints and 21 UMSS winged sprints in the pits for a total of 82 sprint cars! Fans can keep track of all the UMSS action on our website at www.umsprints.com or on the UMSS Facebook page.
UMSS Race Results - Cedar Lake Speedway July 8, 2016 (Race #5)
24th Annual Earl Kouba Memorial
GRP Motorsports Earl Kouba Memorial Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 4J-Lee Grosz[1]; 2. 14-Brooke Tatnell[6]; 3. 34DD-Jerry Richert Jr[3]; 4. 199-Ryan Bowers[7]; 5. 34-Cody Hahn[2]; 6. 2-Dominic Scelzi[5]; 7. 21K-Thomas Kennedy[4]; 8. 5T-Mark Toews[10]; 9. 5C-Cam Schafer[20]; 10. 9-Jared Goerges[11]; 11. 1DOC-Chris Graf[13]; 12. 1D-Dean Brown[12]; 13. 29-Leigh Thomas[8]; 14. 52-Jake Lempelius[14]; 15. 91A-Reed Allex[16]; 16. 77-Kevin Bradwell[15]; 17. 7M-Bob McVitty[17]; 18. (DNF) 74-Roger McVitty[18]; 19. (DNF) 03-Jamey Ogston[9]; 20. (DNF) 5G-Dave Glennon[19].
Lap Leader: Grosz 1-25. Cautions: (1) for 21K spin turn 2 with 12 laps scored while battling for 4th.
D&D Motorsports Challenge Race 1 (8 Laps): 1. 34-Cody Hahn[4]; 2. 14-Brooke Tatnell[5]; 3. 4J-Lee Grosz[8]; 4. 2-Dominic Scelzi[6]; 5. 1DOC-Chris Graf[1]; 6. 29-Leigh Thomas[7]; 7. 52-Jake Lempelius[2]; 8. 77-Kevin Bradwell[3]; 9. 91A-Reed Allex[9]; (DNS) 5C-Cam Schafer.
Lap Leader: Hahn 1-8. No cautions.
Midwest Power Equipment Challenge Race 2 (8 Laps): 1. 199-Ryan Bowers[2]; 2. 21K-Thomas Kennedy[6]; 3. 34DD-Jerry Richert Jr[7]; 4. 9-Jared Goerges[3]; 5. 03-Jamey Ogston[5]; 6. 5T-Mark Toews[4]; 7. 1D-Dean Brown[8]; 8. 7M-Bob McVitty[1]; 9. 74-Roger McVitty[9]; 10. (DNF) 5G-Dave Glennon[10].
Lap Leader: Bowers 1-8 (margin of victory .001 seconds) No cautions.
Leigh Thomas Construction Heat 1 (7 Laps): 1. 29-Leigh Thomas[2]; 2. 03-Jamey Ogston[3]; 3. 34-Cody Hahn[4]; 4. 199-Ryan Bowers[5]; 5. 1DOC-Chris Graf[1]; 6. 1D-Dean Brown[6].
Lap Leader: Thomas 1-7. No cautions. Note: Chris Graf 20G had a motor issue while warming up and scratched for the night, so Chris jumped into Racedoc's 1DOC car.
Donnohue Designs Heat 2 (7 Laps): 1. 34DD-Jerry Richert Jr[2]; 2. 2-Dominic Scelzi[5]; 3. 5T-Mark Toews[7]; 4. 77-Kevin Bradwell[1]; 5. 7M-Bob McVitty[3]; 6. 91A-Reed Allex[4]; (DQ) 5C-Cam Schafer[6].
Lap Leader: Richert 1-7. No cautions. Note: Cam Schafer crossed the line in 2nd but was DQed at the scales for an illegal left rear tire.
Protofab Engineering Heat 3 (7 Laps): 1. 4J-Lee Grosz[4]; 2. 21K-Thomas Kennedy[5]; 3. 14-Brooke Tatnell[3]; 4. 9-Jared Goerges[2]; 5. 52-Jake Lempelius[6]; 6. 74-Roger McVitty[1]; (DNS) 5G-Dave Glennon.
Lap Leader; Grosz 1-7. No cautions.
Victory Lane Photo courtesy of Vince Peterson at Track Rat Photos.
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
