7/18/2021
RacinBoys
Axsom Aces USAC Midwest Midget Championship finale at Jefferson County
By Lonnie Wheatley (Fairbury, NE) -- Emerson Axsom picked a fine time to find his way back into USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series victory lane.
After all, a $10,000 winner’s share awaited the winner of Saturday night’s Fourth Annual Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship presented by Westin Packaged Meats and Schmidt’s Sanitation feature event winner atop the 1/5-mile Jefferson County Speedway clay oval that put the wraps on “Mid-America Midget Week”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Lonnie Wheatley
It wasn’t without a fair share of controversy that whipped the crowd into a frenzy however, as the 16-year-old from Franklin, IN, came into contact with race leader Logan Seavey in the closing rounds of the 40-lap main event to take command before securing his second series win of the year aboard the Petry Motorsports Toyota-powered FK Rod Ends No. 15 IronBorn Studio Bullet by Spike machine.
“I felt like the lapped car checked up and Logan (Seavey) cut down, I didn’t want to get into him at all,” Axsom explained afterward. “I just can’t thank everyone on this car enough that makes it go so fast, you have to go as hard as you can because nobody gives an inch in Midget racing.”
While disappointed with the ultimate outcome, Sutter, California’s Seavey stated a similar account of the incident after leading 32 laps of the event aboard Tom Malloy’s Ed Pink Toyota-powered Trench Shoring No. 25.
“That lapped car checked up more than I expected,” Seavey lamented afterward. “He (Axsom) got into me then, but I don’t think he tried to wreck me. It’s just frustrating, especially when there’s $10,000 on the line.”
After Axsom gunned into the lead from the third starting position on the opening round, Seavey battled back to the front the next time around and fought off a hornet’s nest of contenders that included Axsom along with Kevin Thomas, Jr., Chris Windom and Justin Grant among others.
The race-defining moment came as the leaders were battling through traffic in the closing ten laps with Axsom and Seavey coming together on the 33rd lap in turn two. A quick 360-degree spin brought out the automatic caution flag and sent Seavey to the tail of the field with Axsom back in command.
In the process, current series points leader Buddy Kofoid had rallied from 15th and sat third on the restart behind Axsom and Thomas, Jr. After making his way into second in short order, Kofoid made one last charge for the point after a final caution with a pair of laps to go but was forced to settle for runner-up honors aboard the Keith Kunz Motorsports Mobil 1 No. 67 behind a determined Axsom.
“I just needed laps to keep clicking off, on the long run my car was really good,” Kofoid explained after advancing 13 positions. “I think we were the better car, even after a mistake I could reel him back in within a lap. There’s a reason this is one of my favorite places to come to, it’s not often you can come from that far back.”
Chris Windom rounded out the podium for the second night in a row aboard the CB Industries NOS Energy Drink No. 89, commenting that, “The last eight or nine laps I got a little sputter in the middle of the corner that kinda hurt me and made it hard to run those guys down. We’ll take a top three.”
Justin Grant finished out the week with a fourth-place run while Daison Pursley raced from 14th to round out the top five. The balance of the top ten included Cannon McIntosh, Thomas, Jr., 20th-starter erry Coons, Jr., Brenham Crouch and Thomas Meseraull.
After a lap six caution for Hayden Williams in turn one and then one another half-dozen laps later for McIntosh and Meseraull in turn two, Jake Bubak went for a tumble on the backstretch on the 12th lap restart.
Meseraull, McIntosh, Zac Taylor and Bubak claimed heat race wins before Trey Gropp bested the “B” Main.
Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, Neb.
USAC NOS Energy Drink Midgets “Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship presented by Westin Packaged Meats and Schmidt’s Sanitation” Results – July 17, 2021
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull (#7x RMS), 2. Buddy Kofoid (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Justin Grant (#2J RMS), 4. Tanner Thorson (#19T Reinbold-Underwood), 5. Austin Barnhill (#17B Johnson), 6. Travis Buckley (#7NZ BSL), 7. Keith Rauch (#27 Bourke), 8. Jason McDougal (#4 Klatt). 2:03.560
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Cannon McIntosh (#08 Dave Mac), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#5 Petry), 3. Tyler Thomas (#91T Thomas), 4. Logan Seavey (#25 Malloy), 5. Hayden Williams (#1NZ BSL), 6. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 7. Chase Randall (#19A Reinbold-Underwood), 8. J.R. Ewing (#2c Ewing). NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Zac Taylor (#71T Henry), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (#85 Central), 3. Brenham Crouch (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Chris Windom (#89 CBI), 5. Sam Johnson (#72J Johnson), 6. Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built), 7. Shannon McQueen (#7 McQueen). 2:06.96
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Bubak (#27B Bourke), 2. Daison Pursley (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Emerson Axsom (#15 Petry), 4. Kyle Jones (#7u Tri-Fecta), 5. Trey Gropp (#00 Mounce-Stout), 6. Kyler Johnson (#45x KJR), 7. Blake Spicer (#4s John). 2:02.97
ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Trey Gropp, 2. Chase Randall, 3. Ethan Mitchell, 4. Sam Johnson, 5. Keith Rauch, 6. Shannon McQueen, 7. Hayden Reinbold, 8. Austin Barnhill, 9. Kyler Johnson, 10. Blake Spicer, 11. J.R. Ewing, 12. Hayden Williams, 13. Travis Buckley. NT
FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Emerson Axsom (3), 2. Buddy Kofoid (15), 3. Chris Windom (4), 4. Justin Grant (2), 5. Daison Pursley (14), 6. Cannon McIntosh (8), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (20), 9. Brenham Crouch (13), 10. Thomas Meseraull (7), 11. Trey Gropp (12), 12. Tyler Thomas (19), 13. Chase Randall (16), 14. Logan Seavey (1), 15. Kyle Jones (18), 16. Sam Johnson (17), 17. Shannon McQueen (22), 18. Keith Rauch (21), 19. Tanner Thorson (6), 20. Zac Taylor (10), 21. Hayden Williams (23-P), 22. Jake Bubak (9), 23. Ethan Mitchell (11). NT
P represents a provisional starter
**Hayden Williams flipped on lap 7 of the feature. Jake Bubak flipped on lap 14 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Emerson Axsom, Laps 2-32 Logan Seavey, Laps 33-40 Emerson Axsom.
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MILLER AND RUESCHENBERG POST LUCAS OIL NOW600 VICTORIES
By Inside Line Promotions (Fairbury, NE) -- Gavin Miller and Corbin Rueschenberg capped Mid-America Micro Week by earning Lucas Oil National Open Wheel 600 Series presented by Hi-Plains Building Division feature victories on Saturday evening at Jefferson County Speedway.
Miller recorded his fourth Stock Non-Wing win of the year with the series, holding off points leader and 10th-starting Chelby Hinton to add to his division-leading win total. Jack Kassik hustled from 11th to third with Blayne Buntin maneuvering from 12th to fourth and Colby Sokol placing fifth.
Buntin, Miller, Rueschenberg, Tanner Holwerda, Trey Zorn, Sokol and Hinton each won a heat race as the division featured 55 drivers. Jacob Latta, Kyle Thompson and Talin Turner were the B Main winners.
Rueschenberg also garnered victory No. 4 in the Restricted 'A' Class division, which is tied for the NOW600 Series lead. Turner garnered a runner-up result with Justis Sokol rounding out the podium. Points leader Garrett Benson advanced from ninth to fourth and Jaxton Wiggs charged from 11th to fifth.
Justis Sokol, Cale Lagroon, Rueschenberg and Abigayle Lett captured heat race wins. Scout Spraggins picked up the B Main triumph.
The NOW600 Series will be off for the next few weeks before resuming competition Sept. 3-4 at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, Okla., during the Pete Frazier Memorial and Sept. 5 at Nevada Speedway in Nevada, Mo.
LUCAS OIL NOW600 NATIONAL MICRO SERIES PRESENTED BY HI-PLAINS BUILDING DIVISION RESULTS AT JEFFERSON COUNTY SPEEDWAY (July 17, 2021) -
NOW600 Stock Non-Wing
A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 71M-Gavin Miller (1); 2. 28-Chelby Hinton (10); 3. 33K-Jack Kassik (11); 4. 75-Blayne Buntin (12); 5. 24S-Colby Sokol (2); 6. 1F-Jason Friesen (19); 7. 7K-Kenton Brewer (6); 8. 26-Corbin Rueschenberg (4); 9. 3Z-Trey Zorn (9); 10. 2F-Jadyn Friesen (13); 11. 88G-Garrett Hulsey (14); 12. 5K-Kelbie Volkman (3); 13. 77E-Cole Esgar (7); 14. 51K-Kaimron Schoonover (21); 15. 10T-Talin Turner (17); 16. 25S-Justis Sokol (20); 17. 7J-Jacob Latta (15); 18. 22-Jesse Pate (18); 19. 9T-Tanner Holwerda (8); 20. 26T-Kyle Thompson (16); 21. 71-Daison Pursley (5).
B-Main 1 (12 Laps): 1. 7J-Jacob Latta (2); 2. 22-Jesse Pate (9); 3. 3-Cale Coons (1); 4. 5A-Ava Gropp (4); 5. 33T-Maddie Fritz (3); 6. 98-Ed Libonati (12); 7. 12J-Colton James (7); 8. 52J-Corey Joyner (6); 9. 14-Tyler Hendrickson (5); 10. 10D-Domnick Crocker (10); 11. 74X-Brandon Herrick (11); 12. 81-Brandon Lucking (8); 13. 2B-Garrett Benson (13); 14. 4Z-Zane Woodman (14).
B-Main 2 (12 Laps): 1. 26T-Kyle Thompson (5); 2. 1F-Jason Friesen (1); 3. 29-Trevor Cohn (3); 4. 51K-Kaimron Schoonover (12); 5. 14M-Tristan Mikesell (11); 6. 1-Zach Middleton (7); 7. 91-Alec Frisell (14); 8. 6D-Daryl Gates (6); 9. 63-Todd Odle (2); 10. 34J-Alan LeDuc (10); 11. 34X-Bill Mikesell (8); 12. 3W-John Kilmer (4); 13. 53-Graham Hamilton (9); 14. 33-Hayden Holt (13).
B-Main 3 (12 Laps): 1. 10T-Talin Turner (2); 2. 25S-Justis Sokol (3); 3. 1B-Brian Bennett (1); 4. 2N-Dawson Nunnenkamp (11); 5. 37-Josh Halte (4); 6. 17E-Kaylee Esgar (7); 7. 04-Kormick Linner (9); 8. 74-Blake Mikesell (5); 9. 51W-Jason Trosper (6); 10. 58-Treyton Kindel (13); 11. 35-Gaige Weldon (8); 12. 14X-Kyle Kugel (10); 13. 8-Cody Berkenmeier (12).
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 75-Blayne Buntin (1); 2. 5K-Kelbie Volkman (7); 3. 77E-Cole Esgar (8); 4. 37-Josh Halte (5); 5. 34X-Bill Mikesell (3); 6. 35-Gaige Weldon (6); 7. 2N-Dawson Nunnenkamp (4); 8. 4Z-Zane Woodman (2).
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 71M-Gavin Miller (7); 2. 63-Todd Odle (1); 3. 29-Trevor Cohn (3); 4. 52J-Corey Joyner (2); 5. 26T-Kyle Thompson (6); 6. 22-Jesse Pate (5); 7. 98-Ed Libonati (4).
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 26-Corbin Rueschenberg (4); 2. 10T-Talin Turner (1); 3. 88G-Garrett Hulsey (5); 4. 1F-Jason Friesen (7); 5. 33T-Maddie Fritz (8); 6. 10D-Domnick Crocker (2); 7. 74X-Brandon Herrick (6); 8. 58-Treyton Kindel (3).
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 9T-Tanner Holwerda (3); 2. 71-Daison Pursley (6); 3. 25S-Justis Sokol (2); 4. 1B-Brian Bennett (7); 5. 12J-Colton James (4); 6. 14X-Kyle Kugel (1); 7. 14M-Tristan Mikesell (5); 8. 51K-Kaimron Schoonover (8).
Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 3Z-Trey Zorn (3); 2. 7K-Kenton Brewer (6); 3. 5A-Ava Gropp (2); 4. 6D-Daryl Gates (1); 5. 51W-Jason Trosper (5); 6. 17E-Kaylee Esgar (7); 7. 53-Graham Hamilton (8); 8. 33-Hayden Holt (4).
Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 24S-Colby Sokol (6); 2. 2F-Jadyn Friesen (3); 3. 3-Cale Coons (5); 4. 7J-Jacob Latta (7); 5. 1-Zach Middleton (4); 6. 34J-Alan LeDuc (2); 7. 04-Kormick Linner (8); 8. 91-Alec Frisell (1).
Heat 7 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Chelby Hinton (3); 2. 33K-Jack Kassik (4); 3. 3W-John Kilmer (2); 4. 14-Tyler Hendrickson (5); 5. 74-Blake Mikesell (6); 6. 81-Brandon Lucking (7); 7. 2B-Garrett Benson (1); 8. 8-Cody Berkenmeier (8).
NOW600 Restricted 'A' Class
A-Main (20 Laps): 1. 26-Corbin Rueschenberg (1); 2. 10T-Talin Turner (3); 3. 25S-Justis Sokol (4); 4. 2B-Garrett Benson (9); 5. 71-Jaxton Wiggs (11); 6. 9-Abigayle Lett (2); 7. 33-Jett Nunley (6); 8. 13C-Christopher Counters (13); 9. 59-Evan Semerad (16); 10. 8Z-Kasen Zorn (7); 11. 24C-Cale Lagroon (5); 12. 15V-Cole Vanderheiden (12); 13. 38X-Riley Osantowski (19); 14. 6-Brylee Kilmer (17); 15. 21L-Rayce Lockman (10); 16. 11D-Dominic White (18); 17. 22J-Eli Burbach (14); 18. 21-Keegan Osantowski (20); 19. 10S-Scout Spraggins (15); 20. 64G-Gery Lockman Jr (8).
B-Main (12 Laps): 1. 10S-Scout Spraggins (1); 2. 59-Evan Semerad (2); 3. 6-Brylee Kilmer (3); 4. 11D-Dominic White (7); 5. 38X-Riley Osantowski (4); 6. 21-Keegan Osantowski (9); 7. 38-Jackson Kounkel (11); 8. 67JR-Waylon Phillips (10); 9. 62K-Kaden Fritz (12); 10. 14-Kamden Gossard (5); 11. 11-Trevin Frye (8); 12. 30-Kyler Bearce (6); 13. 1-Remmi Butolph (13); 14. W2-Kashus Wenske (14).
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 25S-Justis Sokol (2); 2. 10T-Talin Turner (5); 3. 22J-Eli Burbach (1); 4. 6-Brylee Kilmer (4); 5. 10S-Scout Spraggins (7); 6. 67JR-Waylon Phillips (3); 7. 38-Jackson Kounkel (6).
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 24C-Cale Lagroon (1); 2. 33-Jett Nunley (2); 3. 2B-Garrett Benson (4); 4. 71-Jaxton Wiggs (6); 5. 59-Evan Semerad (7); 6. 11-Trevin Frye (5); 7. 1-Remmi Butolph (3).
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 26-Corbin Rueschenberg (7); 2. 8Z-Kasen Zorn (1); 3. 21L-Rayce Lockman (4); 4. 15V-Cole Vanderheiden (6); 5. 11D-Dominic White (3); 6. 21-Keegan Osantowski (5); 7. W2-Kashus Wenske (2).
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 9-Abigayle Lett (5); 2. 64G-Gery Lockman Jr (1); 3. 13C-Christopher Counters (2); 4. 38X-Riley Osantowski (3); 5. 14-Kamden Gossard (6); 6. 30-Kyler Bearce (7); 7. 62K-Kaden Fritz (4).
Submitted By: Kirk Elliott
