6/3/2011
Mount Pleasant Speedway
Robinson, Olger big winners June 3
Mt. Pleasant, Mich. --- Clear skies and warm temperatures greeted fans Friday, June 3 at the Mt. Pleasant Speedway as the track hosted an Eastman Auto UMP Modifieds Special plus a full show of racing.
Before the regular night of racing began fans were treated to two “bonus” races with makeup features from the previous week in the Mt. Pleasant and Clare Automotive Stock Minis and NAPA UMP Modified Mini Stocks classes.
In the Stock Mini makeup race, defending Mt. Pleasant Speedway track champion No. 62 Steve Keeler Jr. of Vestaburg got his first feature win of the season holding off No. 7 Fred Parisian of Auburn, No. 52 Scott Boyd of Weidman, No. 15 Jeffrey McKenzie of Clare, and No. 63 Steve Keeler Sr. of Vestaburg in unofficial top five.
The Modified Minis came out next for their rescheduled race and No. 16 Joey Burch of Rosebush kept his hot streak going with the feature victory over No. 68 Trever Fedewa of Mt. Pleasant, No. 91 Nathan Carlon of Farwell, and No. 88 Mike Schnettler of Sanford.
With the makeup races out of the way the regular show began and saw heat race victories picked up in UMP Late Models by No. X1 Justin Robinson of Shepherd and No. 9R Curtis Roberts of Coleman; Chuck’s Discount Foods UMP Modifieds heat race wins went to No. 15 Rich Robinson Jr. of Mt. Pleasant and No. 81 Lawrence Sprague Jr. of Mt. Pleasant. Over in the Smokers Club UMP Stock Cars No. 10 ss Justin Gilland picked up his first-career Mt. Pleasant win and No. 49 Greg Tragis of Harrison got the other heat win. In the four cylinder classes, Burch and McKenzie got the heat victories in their respective classes.
The first main event of the evening was the Smokers Club UMP Stock Cars. Point leader and early-season dominator No. 10 Gary Vandermark of Lowell was absent this week and a season-high field of 19 cars took aim at the win. An early three-car pack including No. 77B Rob Brillhart of Crystal, No. 7 Mike Sparks of Otter Lake and No. 11 Jr Josh Loomis of Weidman pulled way. Taking aim on the lead, Loomis used the top side of the track to get the lead. At the checkered flag, Loomis got the feature win running on a flat tire. Following Loomis were Sparks, Brillart, No. 711 Chris Wiggins of Weidman, and No. 58 Mike Turner of Lake in the unofficial top five.
In the Mt. Pleasant and Clare Automotive Stock Mini feature event Parisian got his third feature win of the season over McKenzie, Keeler Sr., No. D7 Tasha Decker of Coleman, and No. 24 Bob Wright Jr. of Remus in the unofficial top five.
The Chuck’s Discount Foods UMP Modifieds were out next for their Eastman Auto sponsored $500 to Win Special. Starting in the front row, Robinson Jr. rolled to the lead over No. 22 Roger Flinn III of Ionia. Starting 17th and last in the field current point leader No. 0X Zack Olger of St. Johns didn’t waste any time in picking off cars early and often. Running in third place Sprague Jr. broke midway through the race and then more bad luck hit for another top runner as No. 75 Roy Harvey of Mt. Pleasant had car trouble while in third spot. Lapped traffic made an exciting finish as Olger made his move for second place, but came up short as Robinson Jr. got the win over Flinn III, Olger, No. 20D Dan DeLong of Ithaca, and No. 13 Andy Galgoci of Mt. Pleasant in unofficial top five.
The UMP Late Models were last on the docket and no sooner did he complete his spectacular Modified feature run, than No. 0X Zack Olger started out front in the Late Model main event alongside No. 13 Scott Baker of Ionia.
While he came up two spots short in the Modified feature, Olger showed his dominance in the Late Model race and came away with the main event victory over No.6M Dona Marcoullier of Houghton Lake, No. 23V Ryan VanderVeen of Six Lakes, No. M14 Brandon Thirlby of Traverse City, and No. 9R Curtis Roberts of Coleman in an unofficial top five.
This Friday, June 10 marks another big show with a Chuck’s Discount Foods UMP Modified Girls Special and the Lil’ Bud Shootout plus the Gift of Life Michigan on hand with information and signup possibilities for organ and tissue donations.
(Jeremy Dickman is the Mt. Pleasant Speedway Public Relations & Marketing Director and can be reached at jdickman@mtpleasantspeedway.com)
Article Credit: Jeremy Dickman
Submitted By: Anthony Boyd
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