The Midwest Open Wheel Association (MOWA) Sprint Car Series saw its first action of the season Saturday night at 34 Raceway in Burlington. Twenty-two 410 Sprint Car drivers signed in to compete on the lightning-fast 3/8-mile oval.
After winning the fast dash, Ian Madsen of Knoxville, formerly of New South Wales, Australia, started the 30-lapper from the pole position.
Before the race even went green, the drama unfolded as third row starter Terry McCarl made a quick run to the pit area. As he reported after the race, McCarl was forced to replace the mag box on his ride earlier in the night, however a bolt apparently came loose prior to the start of the feature. Fearing the box would break loose, McCarl made an early exit to the pits for some quick repairs, then returned before the race went green to start at the tail of the 22-car field.
The race went two laps before second row starter Jerrod Hull was sidelined with a flat left rear tire. He made the quick tire change and rejoined the tail of the field for the ensuing restart.
Madsen, like he did on the initial start, quickly distanced himself from the field when racing resumed. He built a straightaway lead by the time he encountered lapped traffic on the sixth circuit. Fellow front row starter Lucas Wolfe was his nearest pursuer until Wolfe brought out the caution on lap 11 for a flat tire of his own.
On the restart, Madsen paced the field with AJ Bruns and Jimmy Hurley in pursuit. McCarl, meanwhile, blistered his way through the pack to restart the event seventh.
When the green flag waved, Madsen again powered away from traffic, putting a straightaway over the field in just two laps. His progress was slowed when he encountered lapped traffic on the 16th lap, allowing Bruns to close the gap. Just as Madsen hit the backmarkers, McCarl swept past Ben Wagoner to make his way into the top five.
With 11 laps to go, Madsen's advantage was a mere car-length over Bruns while McCarl pulled to within a straightaway after making his way around Hurley for third.
McCarl reeled in the leaders and dove to the inside of Bruns for second in turn two just before the final caution slowed action on lap 23.
Per MOWA rules, on restarts, all lapped cars realign where they were running at the time of the caution. That rule benefited Madsen as the lapped cars of Logan Faucon and Chris Urish were placed squarely between Madsen and second-running McCarl for what would be the event's final restart.
McCarl ran the low side quickly past the backmarkers before setting his sights squarely on Madsen's #18. The front-runners again encountered traffic with three laps to go as they pulled a straightaway ahead of the pack.
McCarl's charge to the front came up a few car-lengths short at the line as Madsen led the thriller in its entirety to take the win. Meanwhile, Wolfe made an impressive run through the pack following his lap 11 tire change to come home third ahead of Bruns.
In other action, a three-car battle at the front of the IMCA Stock Car feature kept the fans entertained in that 20-lapper.
Jim Lynch took the early lead over the 22-car field while Jason Cook pursued on the low side of the fast, smooth oval. The leaders exchanged the top spot numerous times while John Oliver Jr. joined the battle midway through the event.
The top three broke away from the field and ran in side-by-side and nose-to-tail formation throughout the latter stages of the event before Cook pulled away at the end to take the win. Oliver, Lynch and Brett Timmerman completed the top four.
A nice field of 26 Four Cylinders signed in and 25 of them took the green in the 12-lap feature.
Pole-sitter Chuck Fullenkamp enjoyed the early lead while second row starter Skip Dunker gave chase. Dunker worked the low side of Fullenkamp at the four lap mark, then squeezed ahead at the line to take the lead. He survived a pair of late cautions to take the win ahead of a hard-charging John Whalen. Fullenkamp and Wayne Noble rounded out the top four.
The Mod Lite feature also remained undecided until the final corner of that 15-lapper. Greg Rossell held the early lead while Chase Flatt ran the low groove into contention. Flatt took charge on the second circuit as Daniel Keltner chased him to the front.
The leaders remained unchanged until Keltner shot to the inside of the leader just past the midway point. He maintained the lead until Flatt returned the favor just prior to a lap 12 stoppage.
After Rossell snuck back ahead with two to go, Flatt powered around the leader as the white flag waved to drive to victory. Keltner crossed the line second ahead of Rossell, who made contact with the back stretch wall on the final lap. Evan Epperson ran fourth.
In addition to the circle track events, pit bikes and four-wheelers were also part of the night's action. They used the front straightaway, plus parts of the apron area and infield as their course. A great field of 40 quads and nearly 20 bikes were on-hand to add a unique twist to the event. Last year's event winners, Tanner Gipple in four-wheelers and Jody Steward in the pit bike division, both won Saturday night's opener.
Nick and Kali Eastin have put a lot of work into the pit bike and quad program, which is set to appear a few more times at 34 Raceway this summer. The addition provides a nice mix to the circle track events.
Up next for me is tonight's season points opener at Benton County Speedway. Although the weather has been questionable the past week, the races for tonight are on as scheduled. Here's hoping Mother Nature allows for a few more hours of dry conditions before she unleashes on us again.
I'll be filling in tonight for track announcer Bucky Doren, who is spending part of his spring and summer coaching his son's youth baseball team. Remember, due to the spring weather, gates will open at 3 p.m., with hot laps at 4:30 and racing to follow. I'll provide a complete recap of tonight's event right here at Positively Racing. I hope to see everyone there!
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