5/28/2017
Tri-City Motor Speedway
5/26/2017 Race Results
05/26/2017 Shirt Works Racewear Night
Melling Select Performance Late Models: #1 Mike Luberda Jr
Mueller’s Performance Engines Pro Stock Shootout: #69 Nate Murphy
Suspension Maxx Street Stocks: #50 Jake Thompson
Thornton Brothers Sewer and Septic Service Bomber Stocks: #18 Nick Putman
Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini Wedge: #7 Dakota Vennix
Main Street Seed and Supply IMCA Modified” #71 Timmy Near
First Time Victors Highlight Memorial Day Weekend Kick-off at Tri-City Motor Speedway
5/26/2017 (Auburn MI) The extended holiday weekend started last Friday night with some of the most intense and nail-biting racing action of the young 2017 season at Tri-City motor Speedway. 112 drivers and cars were on hand to entertain a packed crowd at the Auburn speed plant in hopes of beginning their Memorial Day weekend with a checkered flag and bragging rights for the upcoming week.
This night, it was the Elgin Pro Stocks that were the featured division as they would compete in the 37-lap Mueller’s Performance Engines Pro Stock Shootout. With the increased pay guaranteed to the winner of the event, drivers from across Michigan and Ohio were on hand to vie for the prize money. #69 Nate Murphy and #10 Brent Reil would lead the field of twenty to the initial green flag of the main event. Murphy would take the early advantage over a hard charging #27 Rob Westergard. Both drivers had yet to earn a feature win at TCMS and both drivers drove hard to best one another. While they continued to battle for the lead #99 Rick Beauchamp would begin gaining positions from his initial sixth place starting spot. By lap eight, he made it a three car battle for the lead. Contact between Westergard and Beauchamp would cause Beauchamp to exit the race with a cut tire. Point leader and defending champion #14 Nate Jones had quietly moved his way up from ninth and would wrestle the lead away from Murphy by lap 24. Caution would bunch the field back up with Jones leading the field back to the restart. However, a mechanical failure on the left front of Jones’ car would send him off of turn two and hand the lead back to Murphy. Murphy, who had flipped his car two weeks ago, would go on to hold off Westergard at the finish for his first ever TCMS victory. #M65 Rick Spencer, #44 Jeff Haley, and #50 Chad Bennett would complete the top five finishers. #9 Marc Super would win the Last Chance qualifier. Spencer, Jones, and #K11 Kendall Morrison would win their respective qualifying heat races.
03 JC Witherspoon, #1 Mike Luberda Jr., and #21 David Hilliker were dominant in their qualifying heats for the Melling Select Performance Late Model division. While #3 Kyle “Fireball” Roberts would earn his way to the main feature by winning his last chance qualifier. The heat race wins helped earn Witherspoon and Luberda the opportunity to start on the front row for the 30-lap feature. Luberda would jump out to a lead he would never relinquish as the AuGres driver would cruise to his first ever Late Model win by a half lap over Roberts, Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame driver #34 Frank Sedar, #21 Steven Hilliker, #14 Tyler Norton.
The Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini Wedge also provides some exciting action as the 6-14 year olds competed during their 10 lap feature race. #15 Cole Doty and #36 Jennifer Young brought the field of six to the green flag. Within a few laps, sixth place starter #7 Dakota Vennix would race to the lead. He would lead to the finish unchallenged to claim his first ever feature win. The Linwood driver would be followed by Doty, Young, Clements, and #80 Preston Mieske.
Main Street Seed and Supply IMCA Modifieds needed three heats and a last chance race to narrow down their field to twenty that would start the 20-lap main event. #71 Timmy Near, #4s Toby Steele, rookie #22 Mike Mosier, and #03 Chris Cohoon would win their qualifiers and earn spots in the final event. Mosier and #776r Rusty Zeigler would bring the field to the green flag with Ziegler taking the lead until lap three. Near would take over the top spot on lap four and would survive a number of cautions to capture the win over #20 AJ Ward, #615 Chad Wernette, #19 Joey Fowler, and #187 Gavin Hunyady.
Twenty-Eight Suspension MAXX Street Stock drivers were at TCMS on Friday night competing to earn one of the 20 starting positions in the 20 lap feature. #x5 Eric Lake, who had won the previous two Street Stock features, #73 Don Stuck, #3 Mitch Clements, and point leader #13d Andrew Fidler would capture qualifying heat gold. #50 Jake Thompson, who had a mechanical failure in his heat race, would win the Last Chance Feature to start seventeenth in the feature. #67 Ryan Fitzgerald and #17 David Doty brought the field to the green flag of the feature event with Doty leading the first pair of laps. Midland driver #31 Bob Robinson would try his hand at the front of the field until lap seven when Eric Lake took over the lead. His lead would last until lap 14 when Thompson, via the top groove, passed Lake for the final lead change winning his first of 2017. Lake would have to settle for second and was followed by Stuck, Fitzgerald, and Fidler.
The final event of the night was the Thornton Brothers Sewer and Septic Service Bomber Stock division. #08 Richard Mielens would lead the opening lap over #21 Andy Koczenasz. There were some great battles amongst #66 Mike Schnettler, #18 Nick Putman, and #03 Josh Charbonneau. Putnam, running only 4-cylinders compared to the rest of the field’s six-cylinder cars, would keep the momentum and take over the lead in the final few laps for his second win of 2017. Schnettler, Charbonneau, #7 John Staszak, and #5 Jesse Collinge would finish in the top five. Schnettler would win his heat.
Another exciting night of racing is in store this upcoming Friday courtesy of Valley Electrical Contractors. In addition, we will have our annual blood drive. Come out early and donate blood to receive a free general admission to the evening’s show! Don’t wait in line on race days anymore! Purchase your tickets online at www.tricityracetrack.com !! The gates open at 5:30pm with practice beginning at 6:30. Family Fun Friday action begins at 7:55 with our preliminary races. Make plans now to attend the special Father’s Day Monster truck show while tickets are still available. All the details for this event and the rest of the 2017 schedule are online now at www.tricityracetrack.com/schedule.
Article Credit: Roger Williams
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