Terre Haute, IN – August 12, 2018 – Sunday evening the Hoosier Tire MSCS Sprint Car Series appeared at the Terre Haute Action Track for the Mountain Dew Family Night event. It was the first appearance at the track for the series since the 2015 season. Thirty drivers would register and take qualifying laps.
The 25 lap feature became a quick trip to victory lane for Robert Ballou of Tipton, IN. Ballou had started seventh in the main. He went to work moving forward! He was second to fast qualifier Chris Windom by lap five. By lap 8 there had been 3 restarts and he had the lead. The race and the $3,000 prize would be his. A weekend of fine tuning a sprint car paid off. A car that was second best the night before was the best at Terre Haute. Ballou was once again the Action Attraction. He led the remainder of the race. Ballou’s Boss sprinter is sponsored by Dickinson Farms and Deatons Waterfront Service.
There was about a seven second gap as the top three drivers crossed the finish line. Chris Windom was fast enough to hold second in the Baldwin Brothers entry. Chase Stockon was the third driver to take the checkered flag. MSCS points leader Carson Short and Stevie Sussex rounded out the top five. Justin Grant led the second five which included Jon Stanbrough in seventh followed by Daron Clayton, Isaac Chapple, and Koby Barksdale. Clayton was the last driver to finish on the lead lap.
Jon Stanbrough had announced that he would be retiring from the sport after the Terre Haute race. He chose Terre Haute as the place to wrap up a 38 year racing venture. The Brownsburg, IN, veteran was recognized at the track for his accomplishments. Among those were 20 feature wins with the Midwest Sprint Car Series and MSCS Driver Championships in 2012 and 2013. For this final run Jon was second fastest in his group during qualifying and also second in his heat race. Add a top ten feature finish.
Collin Ambrose was the Keizer Aluminum Wheels Hard Charger for the event. Ambrose used a provisional starting spot for the feature and moved up 9 places. Brandon Mattox finished 11th which provided him with the Wilwood Tuff Brakes Award. Earlier Mattox had won the first heat after starting on the pole. Justin Grant and Chris Windom won the other two heats. Both started fourth as a result of being the fastest qualifier in their groups.
Two drivers did not finish the feature. Garrett Aitken and Shane Cottle were not among the 19 that finished. Aitken’s car cleared the first turn wall on lap 7. He had just won the B Main to transfer to the feature. Shane Cottle’s car left the racing surface with a flat left rear tire. Travis Berryhill flipped in turn four on lap 2 but after some attention in the work area he returned to action and finished the race.
The preliminaries were also interrupted by red flags. Donny Brackett’s car contacted the wall between turns three and four and flipped during group qualifying. Dave Darland had the misfortune to flip during the first heat race.
The next event for the Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series will be coming up on Saturday August 18th. It will be the Return to Putnamville which has served as an annual appearance for the series at Lincoln Park Speedway. The MSCS Sprints will be battling for
$3,000 to win.
Provided as News and Information for MSCS.
SUMMARY
Terre Haute Action Track
Terre Haute, IN
August 12, 2018
Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series:
Overall Top Qualifier (30 Entries) – 5 Chris Windom, 20.071 seconds
First Heat – 28 Brandon Mattox, 21 Carson Short, 12 Robert Ballou, _________ 17gp Stevie Sussex, 52 Isaac Chapple, 24 Nate McMillin, _________ 20 Steve Thomas, 90 Patrick Budde, 36d Dave Darland, 11A Nevil Algie
Second Heat – 4 Justin Grant, 77 Jon Stanbrough, 5G Shane Cottle, ___________ 5X Tom Harris, 10 Aric Gentry, 32a Garrett Aitken, ___________ 5K Kent Schmidt, 74 Tony Main, 39 Matt Goodnight, 45 Eric Perrott
Third Heat – 5 Chris Windom, 5-o Daron Clayton, 32 Chase Stockon, _________ 77s Travis Berryhill, 22 Koby Barksdale, 98 Brandon Morin, _________ 11 James Lyerla, 36 Collin Ambrose, 27 Brian Wallace, Donny Brackett DNS
B Main – 32A Garrett Aitken, 24 Nate McMillin, 5K Kent Schmidt,
________11 James Lyerla, 74 Tony Main, 36 Collin Ambrose, ________ 39 Matt Goodnight, 20 Steve Thomas, 90 Patrick Budde, ________ 27 Brian Wallace, 11a Nevil Algie, 45 Eric Perrott, 98 Brandon Morin
Feature (25 Laps) – 12 Robert Ballou, 5 Chris Windom, 32 Chase Stockon, 21 Carson Short, 17GP Stevie Sussex, 4 Justin Grant, 77 Jon Stanbrough, 5-o Daron Clayton, 52 Isaac Chapple,
22 Koby Barksdale, 28 Brandon Mattox, 36 Collin Ambrose, 11 James Lyerla, 5X Tom Harris, 77s Travis Berryhill, 24 Nate McMillin, 10 Aric Gentry, 74 Tony Main, 5K Kent Schmidt, 5G Shane Cottle, 32a Garrett Aitken