4/15/2023
Bloomington Speedway
CJ Leary Holds On For The Big Win Over Jake Swanson To Start The 100th Season At Bloomington Speedway
The Usac Sprints had a strong field of 34 at Bloomington Speedway. The fast time for the night went to Kevin Thomas Jr. at an amazing pace of 11.263. Mitchell Moles along with Chase Stockon and Brady Bacon made up the top 4 all in the 11.2 second bracket. This setup the 4 heat races. Both Brandon Mattox and Jadon Rogers had to make quick repairs after flipping during the hot lap and qualifying sessions. Heat race 1 Jordan Kinser would lead the first 2 laps but at the half way point Robert Ballou took the lead and would win it over Jake Swanson, Jordan Kinser and Logan Seavey making it into the A main. Heat race 2 would be led early by Tim Creech with a strong run until the high bank in turn 1 got him and he gave up the lead to Justin Grant for the win over CJ Leary, Daison Pursley and Mitchell Moles. Heat 3 would be led the whole way by Bloomington Champ Geoff Ensign over Chase Stockon, Jadon Rogers and Brent Beauchamp. The final heat would be won by Brady Bacon in a strong run to the front over Sterling Cling, Kyle Cummins and Brady Short. This setup the B main with KT Jr winning it over Matt Westfall, Dalton Stevens, Emerson Axsom, Tim Creech and Harley Burns putting it in the show. This setup the Larry Rice Classic A main with the front row of Logan Seavey and CJ Leary. With the rain shower just before qualifying the red clay was definitely fast all night. On the start Seavey said he got in the moisture too much down low and CJ Leary took the early lead. This would be a good strong mover early because the #15 of CJ was definitely on a mission trying to get his new team their 1st Usac win with him as the pilot. At the halfway point it was CJ over Jake Swanson and Logan Seavey. They were getting into lapped traffic and at times Jake looked as if he was going to have a chance to take the lead. With just 3 laps to go a right rear on the #69 of Brady Bacon exploded ending his night. On the final restart with no lap traffic ahead CJ Leary was able to hold on for the big win over Jake Swanson, Logan Seavey, Justin Grant and Emerson Axsom rounding out the top 5. Notables that passed the most cars Jordan Kinser went from 20th to 12th and Jadon Rogers went from 22nd to 14th. It was an outstanding show put on by the Usac teams. Congrats to CJ Leary for his Larry Rice Classic win.
The MMSA mini sprint group brought a strong field of 29 to open their 2023 season and their top 4 in qualifying all in the 11 second bracket were Mike Larrison, Bryan Brewer, Kayla Roell and Cody Knieriem . They had 4 heat races and they were won by Eli Wilheimus, Bryan Brewer, Kayla Roell and Cody Knieriem. Shane McCray won their B main to put it in the A main. The 21 car field was set and definitely the racers were giving 100% because we had a couple wild flips to start the A main and thankfully all the drivers were okay. Mike Larrison would have a great start to the feature but him and the other front runners would get into lapped traffic just after the 5th lap. This was good for Bryan Brewer as he started 5th but once they got into lapped traffic he seemed to get faster starting to pick up spots and eventually making a pass for the lead and then growing a very good lead for the win. Following Bryan at the finish was Kayla Roell, Mike Larrison, Cody Knieriem, Cody Trammell and Justin Davis. Brewer was definitely flying because he lapped 7th place on the final lap. Thanks to all the MMSA teams and crew for putting on a great show.
The Ump Super Stocks had 14 entries for opening night. There were some really fast cars from all the Southern Indiana tracks meeting up to do battle at the red clay to start the 2023 season. The 2 qualifying groups were led by Matt Boknecht (13.282) and Zach Sasser (13.473). The invert was drawn for the heats and it was a 1 which put those 2 on the pole for their heat races. Heat race 1 Matt would take the early lead and look strong on the bottom holding off Derek Groomer and Justin Massie for the win. Heat race 2 Zach also looked very strong in his heat holding off Brad Cummings and Jordan Almanza for the win. This setup the A for 20 laps and the #22 machine of Boknecht's from Seymour would take the early lead. Zach Sasser would run 2nd for the first half of the race but then things started to get wild. A couple cautions for drivers over the bank and some spinning their new rides set up the finish. Justin Massie had a great battle with Zach for 2nd with about 7 laps to go which let Matt Boknecht grow his lead and start getting into lapped traffic. He really did a good job with the lapped cars and was able to hold on for the win over Justin Massie, Jordan Almanza, Ralph Groomer and Josh Litton. It was a great night to start the 100th season at the red clay and we hope you join us next Friday night April 21st for the great show of our Non Wing 410's along with Racesaver 305's and Ump Hornets. Thank you to all the Usac teams, MMSA teams and Super Stock teams for putting on an outstanding show and to our great fans who filled the beautiful hill of the red clay.
Submitted By: Jill Spiker
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