(Bill W) Jefferson, SD (April 25, 2020) – Brock Zearfoss of Jonestown, Pennsylvania, outlasted a talented field in a much anticipated event Saturday night at the Park Jefferson International Speedway near Jefferson, South Dakota. The first sprint car action in nearly two months saw no fans in the stands, but plenty watching at home on SpeedShiftTV. The event, limited to 32 cars, was indeed surreal, as was the scene of those on hand wearing masks and keeping their distance, officials and competitors alike.
The track was blazing fast. Aaron Reutzel trimmed over seven-tenths of a second off Danny Lasoski’s five year old track record (13.396) on the 3/8-mile oval in time trials with a circuit of 12.692 seconds, despite drawing the last pill. In fact, eighteen of the 30 drivers who registered a time were under Lasoski’s old mark.
The feature took a while to get underway. Californian Kyle Offill spun on the first try, collecting Cody Ledger and Wade Nygaard. As the second attempt got underway, rain started falling. A twenty minute delay saw an open red.
The third start was the charm, and Kerry Madsen led Parker Price-Miller and Zearfoss early. Five laps in, Blake Hahn stopped on the backstretch and retired. Price-Miller was all over Madsen on the restart, and passed him for the point two laps later. Meanwhile, Reutzel looked to be shot out of a cannon as well, and took over third from Zearfoss.
Brendan Mullen got over the turn three berm, bringing another caution eight laps in. Reutzel shot by Madsen on the restart, and the leaders were in lapped traffic just four circuits later. With nine laps to go, Hunter Schuerenberg tipped over in turn four while running seventh. Cory Eliason, who was eighth at the time retired. The incident was costly for Reutzel, who had passed Price-Miller for the lead in turn two in heavy lapped traffic with a three-wide move.
Price-Miller led the exciting event back to green, with Reutzel, Madsen and Zearfoss in tow. Schuerenberg’s wing mounts would give on the restart, negating a move to third from Zearfoss. With just five laps to go, Price-Miller would slow the Phil Dietz owned #14P, with Reutzel assuming the point.
It was Zearfoss’s turn to make a move on this restart. He shot to the high side of turn three, circling both Madsen and Reutzel, who would slow and pull in the infield late. Zearfoss would jet to the checkers ahead of Madsen, Austin McCarl, Ian Madsen and Channin Tankersley. Anthony Macri, Kyle Offill, hard-charger Jake Blackhurst, Jody Rosenboom and Chad Boespflug rounded out the top ten.
Blackhurst won the B main, and his hard charge from 21st to eighth earned him a $750 bonus ($500 from Brandon Black and $250 from Capital Renegade). Colin Smith was the first Non-Qualifier for the feature and received $150 from OpenWheel101.com. Hahn, Offill, Scotty Thiel and Mullen won the four heat races. Carson McCarl tangled with Kerry Madsen in the second heat and scratched for the night. No injuries were reported on the evening.
The eclectic field of cars will most certainly never be seen in one place again. The 31 drivers represented 14 states and Australia.
Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order) 2 laps: 1. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (31) 12.692; 2. 2, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (22) 12.771; 3. 14P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (11) 12.840; 4. Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (16) 12.909; 5. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (4) 12.962; 6. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (15) 12.986; 7. 26, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (7) 13.025; 8. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (1) 13.058; 9. 39, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (3) 13.087; 10. 17G, Channin Tankersley, Arlington, TX (27) 13.120; 11. 2KS, Chad Boespflug, Hanford, CA (30) 13.280; 12. 55, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (28) 13.292; 13. 14, Jody Rosenboom, Rock Rapids, IA (23) 13.323; 14. 9N, Wade Nygaard, Grand Forks, ND (10) 13.326; 15. 91, Anthony Fiore, Manheim, PA (6) 13.350; 16. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (14) 13.359; 17. 73, Jake Blackhurst, Hanna City, IL (17) 13.359; 18. 88, Kyle Offill, Tracy, CA (13) 13.362; 19. 64, Scotty Thile, Sheboygan, WI (21) 13.401; 20. 44N, Dylan Norris, Hanover, PA (19) 13.470; 21. 47, Brandt O’Banion, Sioux Falls, SD (16) 13.500; 22. 21, Carson Short, Marion, IL (2) 13.512; 23. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (18) 13.528; 24. 11m, Brendan Mullen, Grand Forks, ND (29) 13.630; 25. 8, Jack Croaker, East Grand Forks, MN (24) 13.719; 26. 21K, Kameron Key, Warrensburg, MO (20) 13.761; 27. o5, Colin Smith, Sheldon, IA (5) 13.819; 28. 14R, Sean Rayhall, Woodstock, GA (25) 13.885; 29. 35L, Cody Ledger, Omaha, NE (12) 13.941; 30. 51A, Elliot Amdahl, Flandreau, SD (8) 14.618; 31. 35, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (9) NT.
Heat one (started), 8 laps: 1. Blake Hahn (2) 2. Anthony Macri (4) 3. Brandt O’Banion (1) 4. Aaron Reutzel (6) 5. Ian Madsen (5) 6. Jody Rosenboom (3) 7. Jack Croaker (7) 8. Cody Ledger (8)
Heat two (started), 8 laps: 1. Kyle Offill (2) 2. Carson Short (1) 3. Channin Tankersley (4) 4. Kameron Key (7) 5. Wade Nygaard (3) 6. Kerry Madsen (6) 7. Elliot Amdahl (8) 8. Carson McCarl (5)
Heat three (started), 8 laps: 1. Scotty Thiel (2) 2. Chris Martin (1) 3. Chad Boespflug (4) 4. Cory Eliason (5) 5. Parker Price-Miller (6) 6. Anthony Fiore (3) 7. Colin Smith (7) DNS – Skylar Prochaska
Heat four (started), 8 laps: 1. Brendan Mullen (1) 2. Brock Zearfoss (6) 3. Hunter Schuerenberg (4) 4. Austin McCarl (5) 5. Jake Blackhurst (3) 6. Dylan Norris (2) 7. Sean Rayhall (7)
B main (started), 12 laps: 1. Jake Blackhurst (2) 2. Cody Ledger (8) 3. Anthony Fiore (1) 4. Dylan Norris (3) 5. Kameron Key (5) / 6. Colin Smith (6) 7. Jack Croaker (4) 8. Elliot Amdahl (9) 9. Sean Rayhall (7) DNS – Skylar Prochaska
A main (started), 25 laps: 1. Brock Zearfoss (3) 2. Kerry Madsen (1) 3. Austin McCarl (8) 4. Ian Madsen (6) 5. Channin Tankersley (9) 6. Anthony Macri (5) 7. Kyle Offill (11) 8. Jack Blackhurst (21) 9. Jody Rosenboom (18) 10. Chad Boespflug (10) 11. Cody Ledger (20) 12. Chris Martin (16) 13. Dylan Norris (22) 14. Scotty Thiel (14) 15. Aaron Reutzel (4) 16. Parker Price-Miller (2) 17. Kameron Key (24) 18. Hunter Schuerenberg (12) 19. Cory Eliason (7) 20. Brandt O’Banion (19) 21. Anthony Fiore (23) 22. Brendan Mullen (15) 23. Blake Hahn (11) 24. Wade Nygaard (17) DNS – Carson McCarl, Carson Short. Lap Leaders: K. Madsen 1-6, Price-Miller 7-20, Zearfoss 21-25.