Racers and Fans Fill the Highland Speedway for Week Three of Racing
HIGHLAND IL (April 21, 2012) The hottest ticket this year to any area race track has to be one for the Highland Speedway. While the temperature this past Saturday night was cool, it didn’t stop the racing loyalist from packing the Speedway’s Grandstand, and they weren’t disappointed, as the amount of race cars in attendance required the use of the overflow pit area located off of turn one and the racers provided exciting side by side racing with some unexpected winners. The night’s activities were sponsored by The Huddle House in Highland and Greenville.
With having a week off due to rain, plus a week of cool weather, add in a nightlong rain the evening before, the condition of the Speedway’s racing surface had many wondering what to expect. Promoter Scott Kuhn’s crew did a masterful job in prepping the surface as the racing was exciting from the drop of the first green flag.
Becker Jewelers Late Models
Being a member of the United Midwest Promoters (UMP) family of race tracks you’ll never know on a given Saturday night who might come to do battle with the Highland Speedway regulars.
As theBecker Jewelers Late Model division rolled out for their Heat races, it brought with it some interesting scenarios. There was a driver looking to extend his winning streak, some of the drivers were hoping to avenge a string of DNQ’s, and some hoping to be a first time winner this season earn a visit to the Casey’s General Stores Victory Lane
The heat races determine the line ups for the feature. The winners and runner ups in the heat races advanced to the Quick Six Dash. The dash qualifiers lineup is determined by a pill draw. Advancing to the Dash, from heat one, winner, in the 30V, Mark Voigt, and runner up Dan Jacober in the 22, winner and runner up from heat two, UMP traveler, Kevin Cole in the 81C, and Matt Weidner in the Circle 7 and from the third heat, winner and runner up, Michael Kloos in the 6K and Brett “The Silver Fox” Helmkamp in the 31 respectfully.
The pill draw line up put Helmkamp on the pole and Cole along side, row two was Jacober and Kloos and filling the last two positions were Weidner and Voigt.
Helmkamp looked strong in his heat and he lead the dash for the first three laps until he drove up high into turn two giving the lead to Kloos, who held on for the win and a front row start in the evenings night cap, Cole finished second putting him along Kloos in the front row.
The Highland track crew spent a few minutes during intermission grooming the racing surface and to say it was bad fast would be an understatement.
By winning the dash Kloos, (looking to make it three wins in a row), had the option of starting the 25 lap main event from either the pole (starting in the low groove) or outside pole (the high groove).
Kloos choose the high grove putting Cole, looking for his first Highland win, on the bottom. At the drop of the green flag Kloos jumped to the lead, but it was all for naught as something let loose in the 27E of Mike Schulte causing the first of three quick cautions, the cautions flag again came out on lap 2 and again on lap 4.
Cole wasted no time to get around Kloos and on the third restart the lineup was Cole, Kloos, Weidner, Voigt and the 78 of returning Highland Speedway Champ Chad Zobrist.
As mentioned before the track was fast and it wasn’t long before the racers were stretched out around the ¼ mile Speedway and on lap six the leaders caught the rear of the field. This proved difficult for Cole working the lap traffic. On lap 12 Kloos shot back into the lead. The race pace was fast as Kloos and Cole dealt worked in and around the lap traffic. On lap 19 the caution flag waved after 15 laps of very fast green flag racing. Kloos took the point on the restart with several lap cars positioned between the top five runners. Kloos again jumped to a commanding lead on the restart but it was short lived as after 1 lap something let loose on the 6K and it rolled to a stop on the back straight away and with it the chance of a three pete.
This time the lineup was without the lap cars integrated into the lineup as we were now under 5 laps to go. Cole was put into the number one spot with Voigt looking to avenge his string of DNQ’s but under caution something broke on the 30V and into the infield he sat, and the string of bad luck continued for Voigt.
Now the line up brought some new faces into the top five, Cole was now the leader, Jacober second, then “Fast” Frankie Martin in the 25, Followed by Chad Zobrist and Kerry Gaultney in the 21.
Cole with a clear racetrack jumped out to a multi car lead until the last lap when a caution came out and ended the lead Cole had over the field. What happened on the restart was a bit confusing as on the green white restart Cole slowed coming out of turn 4 bring out yet another caution. Apparently Cole thought a corner working was trying to stop the restart as to why he slowed. Cole was given his position back and this time the race finished under green.
Kevin Cole collected his first win of the season sending him to the Casey’s General Stores Victory Lane. Jacober, Martin, Zobrist and Gaultney were your top five finishers.
Steve Schmitt Modifieds
Two Highland Speedway drivers from two different divisions have found a home in the Steve Schmitt Modifieds. Darrell Hewlett came from the Street Stock ranks and Aaron Kleine moved down from the Late Models. Both have shown incredible improvement and Saturday night was no exception. Hewlett in the number 75 captured his heat win and also claimed the Dash victory. Kleine in the 13 won his heat and ran second to Hewlett in the dash. UMP traveler Brandon Roberts won the other heat.
The feature line up pitted Hewlett and Kleine on the front row and at the drop of the green flag Kleine looked as if he was shot out of a cannon. At one point he had as much as a straight away lead on the second place car.
But what looked like easy sailing on the white flag lap to the checkered flag nearly turned into disaster for Kleine. The 24J of Jacob Steinkoenig spun in front of the number 13 in between turns 3 and 4. Quick thinking from Kleine avoided the spinning racer. The resulting yellow allowed for the rest of the field to catch up to him. On the restart it was Klein, Roberts in the 35, Brett “The Kid” Korvis in the 25, Steve Lach in the 42 and Chad Sellers in the 11.
Kleine still had more than any of the other competitors as he held on for his first trip to the Casey’s General Stores Victory Lane in 2012. The finishing order didn’t change from the restart.
Hewlett who looked so good in the early part of the race fell out about midway with car trouble.
Miller Lite Pro Late Models
The Miller Lite Pro Late Models are in their second season at the Speedway and if this past Saturday night was any indication to their popularity it looks like this class is here to stay. The class utilizes a Late Model chassis and a GM Crate 350 cu. In. motor I an affordable way to learn the inner workings of a late model without the expense of a 750 hp motor.
The heat races were won by DJ Cygan in the 10, Steve Cole in the 37 and in the 14 Jason Suhre. The consolation race was won by Drew Marshall in the 18.
Cygan was the early on favorite taking the lead at the drop of the green flag. A late race caution bunched the field. Cygan was the leader, followed by Casey Montague in the 01 and Rick “The Salty Dog” Salter in the USA 1.
On the restart you could see Salter was on a mission working on the high side Salter passed the 01 and then set his sights on the leader. Driving harder on each turn Salter made a hard charge coming out of turn four and just passed the 01 of Cygan for a trip to the Casey’s Victory Lane. Cygan was second, Montague third followed by Cole, and Jason Suhre in the 4.
Sport Mods
Marty Smith Jr spent most of the race in the lead but unfortunately on lap 15 of the 20 lap feature the number 55 broke and Rob Lee who started deep into the field took the point and the eventual win for the second time in the young 2012 season. Tyler Deibert, Rick Johnson, Brett Page, Curt Loddeke rounded out the top five.
Sport Compacts
Kenny Elliot made it to the Casey’s General Stores Victory Lane for the second time this year; following him to the finish line were Bobby Funderburk, Christian Lee, Zach Schantz and Rob Shaw.
Factory Stocks
Due to the tremendous total number of cars for the evening the Factory Stock feature will run next Saturday. Heat winners were Jake Hewitt, Justin Leichsenring, and Austin Isaak.
Coming Events:
Next Saturday April 28th it’s Truck Centers Night at the races.
For more information about the Highland Speedway visit the tracks web site at highlandspeedway.com or on Facebook. You can also get up to date race information on your phone by texting “highland” to 91011.
UMP Late Models
Heat 1
Finish Car No Driver
1 30V Mark Voigt
2 22 Dan Jacober
3 27S Mike Schulte
4 10 Daryn Klein
5 8 Bob Geaschel
6 11K Shannon Kuhn
7 94 Larry Copeland
Heat 2
Finish Car No Driver
1 81C Kevin Cole
2 CRCL7 Matt Weidner
3 1S Rick Salter
4 21 Kerry Gaultney
5 77 Clay Baumann
6 25 Frankie Martin
7 85 Ed Pursell
Heat 3
Finish Car No Driver
1 6K Michael Kloos
2 31 Brent Helmkamp
3 78 Chad Zobrist
4 49 Steve Leach
5 87 Jason Zobrist
6 76 Kellen Conover
Dash
Finish Car No Driver
1 6K Michael Kloos
2 81C Kevin Cole
3 31 Brent Helmkamp
4 CRCL7 Matt Weidner
5 30V Mark Voigt
6 22 Dan Jacober
Feature
Finish Car No Driver
1 81C Kevin Cole
2 22 Dan Jacober
3 25 Frankie Martin
4 78 Chad Zobrist
5 21 Kerry Gaultney
6 87 Jason Zobrist
7 1S Rick Salter
8 77 Clay Baumann
9 49 Steve Leach
10 31 Brent Helmkamp
11 11K Shannon Kuhn
12 76 Kellen Conover
13 85 Ed Pursell
14 30V Mark Voigt
15 6K Michael Kloos
16 CRCL7 Matt Weidner
17 8 Bob Geaschel
18 94 Larry Copeland
19 10 Daryn Klein
20 27S Mike Schulte
UMP Modifieds
Heat 1
Finish Car No Driver
1 35 Brandon Roberts
2 15 Chris Smith
3 45 Trista Stevenson
4 42 Steve Lach
5 55V Brad Venhaus
6 101 Jeff Buss
7 18G Dave Groves
8 33 Sean Choat
9 40 Steven Ellison
Heat 2
Finish Car No Driver
1 25 Brett Korves
2 75 Darrell Hewlett
3 56 Dane Gundaker
4 4UW Bobby Regot
5 84 Tyler Deibert
6 1 Brett Cygan
7 24J Jacob Steinkoenig
8 1Z Zach Hoffman
9 6 Justin Ketrow
Heat 3
Finish Car No Driver
1 13 Aaron Kleine
2 11 Chad Sellers
3 9 Terry James
4 2 Justin Hall
5 71 Lynn Tidwell
6 99K Dustin Knerrer
7 1D Dean Hoffman
8 24 Kyle Steffens
9 66 Tommy Shepherd
Consi
Finish Car No Driver
1 1 Brett Cygan
2 101 Jeff Buss
3 1Z Zach Hoffman
4 99K Dustin Knerrer
5 24J Jacob Steinkoenig
6 6 Justin Ketrow
7 40 Steven Ellison
8 18G Dave Groves
9 24 Kyle Steffens
10 66 Tommy Shepherd
11 1D Dean Hoffman DNS
12 33 Sean Choat DNS
Dash
Finish Car No Driver
1 75 Darrell Hewlett
2 13 Aaron Kleine
3 25 Brett Korves
4 35 Brandon Roberts
5 15 Chris Smith
6 11 Chad Sellers
Feature
Finish Car No Driver
1 13 Aaron Kleine
2 35 Brandon Roberts
3 25 Brett Korves
4 42 Steve Lach
5 11 Chad Sellers
6 45 Trista Stevenson
7 84 Tyler Deibert
8 4UW Bobby Regot
9 9 Terry James
10 1 Brett Cygan
11 24J Jacob Steinkoenig
12 15 Chris Smith
13 56 Dane Gundaker
14 75 Darrell Hewlett
15 99K Dustin Knerrer
16 2 Justin Hall
17 1Z Zach Hoffman
18 71 Lynn Tidwell
19 101 Jeff Buss
20 55V Brad Venhaus
UMP Pro Late Models
Heat 1
Finish Car No Driver
1 10C DJ Cygan
2 1 Casey Montague
3 3 Craig Bessinger
4 1 Kyle McMahon
5 24 Dick Taylor
6 11S Andy Scoles
7 C14 Cameron Brown
8 21 Trevor Thornton
9 96 Matt Koch
Heat 2
Finish Car No Driver
1 37 Steve Cole
2 USA1 Rick Salter
3 48 Bobby Martintoni
4 44 Tait Davenport
5 18L Brent Lewis
6 83 Drew Marshall
7 55 Aaron Heck
8 6P Jose Parga
9 15K Robert Vandenbergh
Heat 3
Finish Car No Driver
1 4 Jason Suhre
2 52 Billy Knebel, Jr
3 6E Ray Emling
4 9T Travis Horner
5 20 John Cory
6 15 Jordan Suhre
7 67 Mark Oller
8 9* Jordan Bauer
Consi
Finish Car No Driver
1 83 Drew Marshall
2 15 Jordan Suhre
3 15K Robert Vandenbergh
4 11S Andy Scoles
5 21 Trevor Thornton
6 55 Aaron Heck
7 96 Matt Koch
8 6P Jose Parga
9 C14 Cameron Brown
10 67 Mark Oller DNS
11 9* Jordan Bauer DNS
Feature
Finish Car No Driver
1 USA1 Rick Salter
2 10C DJ Cygan
3 1 Casey Montague
4 37 Steve Cole
5 4 Jason Suhre
6 48 Bobby Martintoni
7 20 John Cory
8 18L Brent Lewis
9 24 Dick Taylor
10 6E Ray Emling
11 52 Billy Knebel, Jr
12 11S Andy Scoles
13 83 Drew Marshall
14 15 Jordan Suhre
15 15K Robert Vandenbergh
16 21 Trevor Thornton
17 44 Tait Davenport
18 3 Craig Bessinger
19 1 Kyle McMahon
20 9T Travis Horner
SportMods (UMP Limited Modifieds)
Heat 1
Finish Car No Driver
1 55 Marty Smith, Jr
2 84 Tyler Deibert
3 63 Brett Eilerman
4 18 Jerry Thompson
5 65 Brad Crawford
6 35 Mark Stolle
7 70 Jeff Yates
8 43 Mike Bourland
Heat 2
Finish Car No Driver
1 92J Rick Johnson
2 88 Rob Lee
3 11L Curt Loddeke
4 5 Brett Page
5 33L Caleb Lintezenich
6 1G Len Garson
7 21 Dan DuBree
8 1S Steve Stevenson
Feature
Finish Car No Driver
1 88 Rob Lee
2 84 Tyler Deibert
3 92J Rick Johnson
4 5 Brett Page
5 11L Curt Loddeke
6 70 Jeff Yates
7 1S Steve Stevenson
8 21 Dan DuBree
9 18 Jerry Thompson
10 35 Mark Stolle
11 55 Marty Smith, Jr
12 1G Len Garson
13 43 Mike Bourland
14 63 Brett Eilerman
15 33L Caleb Lintezenich
16 65 Brad Crawford
Bombers (UMP Factory Stocks)
Heat 1
Finish Car No Driver
1 6 Jake Hewitt
2 9X Trevor Isaak
3 8T T J Eilers
4 0 Ryan Emig
5 441 Cody Ventimiglia
6 2 Brian Handegan
7 88T Travis Raterman
Heat 2
Finish Car No Driver
1 53 Justin Leichsenring
2 54 Shaun Hortsmann
3 36 Eric Harris
4 1G John Gili
5 13 Tim Fulkerson
6 30* Wade Carson
7 15F Kyle Foutch
Heat 3
Finish Car No Driver
1 6I Austin Isaak
2 15 Michael Ripperda, Jr
3 112 Bryan Barker
4 29H Cale Hartnagel
5 M16 Jeremy Embrich
6 32T Jacob Tompkins
7 23 Ryan Timmons DNS
Feature to be run 4-28-2012
Hornets (UMP Sport Compacts)
Heat 1
Finish Car No Driver
1 18 Kenny Elliott
2 63 Brett Eilerman
3 18R Robert Shaw
4 2 Vince Shehorn
5 18X Trent Workman
6 51 Jeff Santel
7 81LE Lacey Egbert
8 22 Duane Dubree
9 91 Matthew Dunaway
Heat 2
Finish Car No Driver
1 97 Bobby Funderburk
2 23 Eldon Hemken
3 21 Evan Gaultney
4 19* Josh Bauer
5 555 Derek Reeves
6 21M Willy Myers
7 89 Alex Heine
8 2B Sean Boyce
Heat 3
Finish Car No Driver
1 47L Christian Lee
2 55J James Southers
3 128 Zach Schantz
4 7S Kate Smith
5 72B Bernie Bernhardt
6 121V Rick Viviano
7 8B Robbie Bindrim
8 R8 Jack Rogers
Feature
Finish Car No Driver
1 18 Kenny Elliott
2 97 Bobby Funderburk
3 47L Christian Lee
4 128 Zach Schantz
5 18R Robert Shaw
6 2 Vince Shehorn
7 19* Josh Bauer
8 21 Evan Gaultney
9 23 Eldon Hemken
10 63 Brett Eilerman
11 55J James Southers
12 21M Willy Myers
13 555 Derek Reeves
14 51 Jeff Santel
15 72B Bernie Bernhardt
16 121V Rick Viviano
17 8B Robbie Bindrim
18 2B Sean Boyce
19 18X Trent Workman
20 22 Duane Dubree
21 7S Kate Smith
22 91 Matthew Dunaway
23 89 Alex Heine
24 81LE Lacey Egbert
25 R8 Jack Rogers