MACON – Racing fans flocked to the Friday night special event at Macon Speedway to see something a little different. The USAC National MiniSprint series and POWRi Midget series dared the challenging 1/5 mile that is Macon Speedway. These unique cars visit Macon Speedway only a few times this year, but are a must-see when it comes to dirt track racing. The extra-small cars fit perfectly on a track like Macon and gave the eager crowd exactly what they wanted, some intense four-wide, short track racing.
There was no rest for the weary during a long and grueling qualifying session as nearly 100 cars fought side by side to get into the main show. Midgets, MiniSprints and BARBECK Communications Modifieds ran a total of 13 qualifying heats and 3 semi-features in which drivers battled for their racing lives. There was at least one friendly face on the scoreboard as Riverton’s own Justin Allgaier won heat #2 of the Midget series. Other Midget class heat winners were Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jay Hollingsworth, Dave Darland and Brad Kunz. MiniSprint heat winners included Jason Harms, Anthony Malpocker, J.B. Miller and Keith Garner.
Jim Leka and Roger Drake have won a few heat races in their racing careers, and you can tack on another. The seasoned pros stuck to the bottom of the track and blew away the competition in their respective heats. Decatur’s Aaron Burcham held on to win heat #3, just barely staying in front of Randy Myers of Springfield. Myers started seventh out of seven and worked through the field all the way up to the leader’s rear bumper in just nine laps.
Jim Leka won the BARBECK Communications Modified feature race but it was far from comfortable. Randy Myers was on the bumper of Leka through every restart. Leka and Myers are both known for hugging the bottom of the track, and the veteran Leka wasn’t about to give Myers any opportunities to pass inside. Aaron Burcham had to be looking out his right side a lot in this race because Al Crawley was moving up fast. Crawley spent the whole race slinging through the outside of every turn, passed a few cars, but settled into fourth.
The USAC National MiniSprint feature ended on an electric 5 lap shootout. Ryan Leek and Daniel Robinson traded the lead on every turn until Leek made a tremendous outside move on the last turn and used that momentum to pass Robinson and win the race. “We got a little rough there at the end.” Leek remarked after Robinson congratulated him in the post-race interview. Tyler Robbins, whose MiniSprint career began at Macon Speedway, finished third. “I feel like we won.” Robbins said after starting in 20th place and passing 16 cars in 20 laps.
Brad Kunz took the checkered flag in the POWRi Midget feature. It was obvious that all the traction was down low in the turns and Kunz’s midget was no exception. Second place finisher, Brad Lovet, couldn’t keep pace with the leader coming out of the turns but did stay ahead of third place finisher Jay Hollingsworth from Indianapolis.
There was no rest for the weary during a long and grueling qualifying session as nearly 100 cars fought side by side to get into the main show. Midgets, MiniSprints and BARBECK Communications Modifieds ran a total of 13 qualifying heats and 3 semi-features in which drivers battled for their racing lives. There was at least one friendly face on the scoreboard as Riverton’s own Justin Allgaier won heat #2 of the Midget series. Other Midget class heat winners were Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jay Hollingsworth, Dave Darland and Brad Kunz. MiniSprint heat winners included Jason Harms, Anthony Malpocker, J.B. Miller and Keith Garner.
Jim Leka and Roger Drake have won a few heat races in their racing careers, and you can tack on another. The seasoned pros stuck to the bottom of the track and blew away the competition in their respective heats. Decatur’s Aaron Burcham held on to win heat #3, just barely staying in front of Randy Myers of Springfield. Myers started seventh out of seven and worked through the field all the way up to the leader’s rear bumper in just nine laps.
Jim Leka won the BARBECK Communications Modified feature race but it was far from comfortable. Randy Myers was on the bumper of Leka through every restart. Leka and Myers are both known for hugging the bottom of the track, and the veteran Leka wasn’t about to give Myers any opportunities to pass inside. Aaron Burcham had to be looking out his right side a lot in this race because Al Crawley was moving up fast. Crawley spent the whole race slinging through the outside of every turn, passed a few cars, but settled into fourth.
The USAC National MiniSprint feature ended on an electric 5 lap shootout. Ryan Leek and Daniel Robinson traded the lead on every turn until Leek made a tremendous outside move on the last turn and used that momentum to pass Robinson and win the race. “We got a little rough there at the end.” Leek remarked after Robinson congratulated him in the post-race interview. Tyler Robbins, whose MiniSprint career began at Macon Speedway, finished third. “I feel like we won.” Robbins said after starting in 20th place and passing 16 cars in 20 laps.
Brad Kunz took the checkered flag in the POWRi Midget feature. It was obvious that all the traction was down low in the turns and Kunz’s midget was no exception. Second place finisher, Brad Lovet, couldn’t keep pace with the leader coming out of the turns but did stay ahead of third place finisher Jay Hollingsworth from Indianapolis.
