GAS CITY, Ind., Oct. 4 – In the only late model race held this year at Gas City I-69 Speedway, Rusty Schlenk of McClure, Ohio won the 25-lap headliner Saturday night as the track closed its 2020 season with the “Tin Top Spectacular,” the second half of its two-day “Fall Festival of Speed.”
There were 128 open-wheel race cars on the grounds on Friday and 118 stock cars on Saturday.
Tim Wilber of Quincy, Mich., won the 25-lap UMP modified feature and also finished second in the street stock feature, which was won by 2019 and 2020 track street stock champion Andy Bishop of Gas City.
The final feature of 2020 at Gas City ended with a surprising bang, which seemed apropos for the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hornet champion James Headley of Marion, Ind. won the race with his son, 2019 hornet champion James Headley Jr. of Wabash, Ind. in second, but then they crashed on the frontstretch just after crossing the start-finish line.
Duane Chamberlain of Richmond, Ind., who won the late model portion of the first annual “Fall Festival of Speed” at Gas City last year, started fourth in that feature on Saturday night. “Insane Duane” got a great start and used the outside line to blast into the lead in Turn 1 on the first lap. But Schlenk got a good start too, rising from fifth to third on the first lap and then into second by lap two.
Driving a Domination Race Car powered by a Mullins-prepped engine, the 34-year-old Schlenk took the lead from Chamberlain on lap four and led the rest of the way. The three-time UMP national champion had a 1.999-second lead over Chamberlain by lap 15 and he stretched his advantage to 2.231 seconds at the checkered on lap 25. After that there was nothing to do but celebrate and promote his sponsors, which include Tom Finch Automotive, Velocita-USA, VP Racing Fuels and Lubricants and Buckeye Concrete Coatings.
Chamberlain finished second. Cody Bauer of Farwell, Mich. both started and finished third. Tristan Chamberlain of Richmond, Ind., the 13-year-old son of Duane, placed fourth and Rusty Smith finished fifth. Mason Covey of Seymour, Ind. started 20th and last but finished sixth.
Having already sewn up Gas City’s 2020 UMP modified championship with seven feature victories, Derek Losh of Rensselaer, Ind., wasn’t in attendance at the Grant County quarter-mile dirt track Saturday night. Many other modified drivers were anxious to step into the spotlight in Losh’s absence, but in the end the star of that show was Wilber.
Wilber started third in his Ruhlman Rocket, which is powered by a Scott Bailey engine. The beginning of the race was plagued by many cautions, but Wilber took command on lap two and led the rest of the way. His car is sponsored by his business, Buckshot Auto Sales, as well as Zero Graphics and Hoosier by Buckshot.
Bradley Jameson of Royal Center, Ind. spun in Turn 4 with four laps down while running second, which gave that position to Bobby Stremme of South Bend, Ind. But Stremme got too high in Turn 2 with five laps down, which allowed Bub Roberts of Warren, Ind. to move into the runner-up spot and eventually secure that excellent finish.
The second half of the modified feature went more smoothly than the first part. Stremme and Terry Sroufe of Huntington, Ind. had a good battle for third before Sroufe took control of the show position on lap 22 and went on to finish there. Stremme hung on for fourth and Jameson finished fifth. Bill Griffith of Van Buren, Ohio was that race’s hard charger, coming from 19th to sixth.
The 25-lap street stock feature was also a complicated contest with numerous crashes. Polesitter Kory Conner of San Pierre, Ind., led the first four laps before Jeff Matheny of Centerville, Ind. led laps five through eight. At that point Matheny and Beau Cooley of Wheatfield, Ind. tangled in Turn 4, which gave the lead back to Conner, with Bishop right on his tail.
Bishop passed Conner for the top spot with a move to the outside as the pair charged through Turn 4 on lap 14. As the laps ran down Bishop was able to pad his lead with his No. 14 sponsored by Thompson Trucking and R & R Transmission. Then the fight was for second between Wilber and Conner, with Wilber eventually getting the runner-up spot. Conner held on for third. James Williams finished fourth and Donovan Paskan of Clayton, Mich., placed fifth.
Headley started second in the 20-lap hornet feature and led the whole race with his No. 0, which is sponsored in part by Dudding’s Heating and Cooling, Garriott Electric, Edwards Automotive, TJR Trucking and Headley Tree Service.
Headley Jr. started fifth but moved up consistently until he was behind his dad on lap 12. The pair ran nose-to-tail as is their custom until the last-lap fireworks.
Kaleb Hinkley of Angola, Ind. finished third followed by polesitter Jason Wert and Kolton Sollars of LaFontaine, Ind.
Surprisingly there were three flips during the course of the event. Garrett McClain flipped in Turn 2 with two laps down in the third late model heat. Bill Peck flipped in Turn 4 with four laps down in the fourth street stock heat. Aaron Tatman flipped in Turn 4 with 12 laps down in the hornet feature. Luckily none required an ambulance ride afterwards.
Competitors and fans can watch the track’s website at GasCityI69Speedway.com for news about the 2021 season. They can also follow the track on Twitter: @GasCitySpeedway; Instagram: @GasCitySpeedway and Facebook: GasCitySpeedwayOnTheGas.
Gas City I-69 Speedway is located on State Road 22, approximately a half-mile west of I-69, exit 259. It is about halfway between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne.
The results:
Late Model Group 1 Qualifying: 1. Tristan Chamberlain, 12.885; 2. Josh Robertson, 13.913; 3. Michael Archer, 14.022; 4. Jeff Sommers, 14.064; 5. Rusty Smith, 14.130; 6. Jacob Gamber, 14.658; 7. Shane Coby, 16.768.
Late Model Group 2 Qualifying: 1. Rusty Schlenk, 12.303; 2. Adam Lantz, 13.239; 3. Brandon Moore, 13.308; 4. Terry Rushlow, 13.595; 5. Mason Covey, 13.619; 6. Dan Richardson, 14.118; 7. Harrison Oliver, 16.260.
Late Model Group 3 Qualifying: 1. Duane Chamberlain, 12.632; 2. Cody Bauer, 12.813; 3. Troy Worrick, 13.066; 4. Garrett McClain, 13.316; 5. Scott Robertson, 14.948; 6. Brad Eitniear, 14.976.
Late Model Heat 1 (8 laps, 2 to redraw): 1. Michael Archer, 2. Tristan Chamberlain, 3. Rusty Smith, 4. Josh Robertson, 5. Jeff Sommers, 6. Jacob Gamber, 7. Shane Coby.
Late Model Heat 2 (8 laps, 2 to redraw): 1. Rusty Schlenk, 2. Adam Lantz, 3. Terry Rushlow, 4. Brandon Moore, 5. Dan Richardson, 6. Harrison Oliver, 7. Mason Covey.
Late Model Heat 3 (8 laps, 2 to redraw): 1. Duane Chamberlain, 2. Cody Bauer, 3. Scott Robertson, 4. Garrett McClain, 5. Brad Eitniear, 6. Troy Worrick (DNS).
Late Model Feature (25 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Rusty Schlenk (5); 2. Duane Chamberlain (4); 3. Cody Bauer (3); 4. Tristan Chamberlain (6); 5. Rusty Smith (7); 6. Mason Covey (20); 7. Terry Rushlow (8); 8. Brandon Moore (11); 9. Josh Robertson (10); 10. Brad Eitniear (15); 11. Dan Richardson (14); 12. Jacob Gamber (16); 13. Jeff Sommers (13); 14. Shane Coby (19); 15. Harrison Oliver (17); 16. Michael Archer (1); 17. Scott Robertson (9); 18. Adam Lantz (DNS); 19. Garrett McClain (DNS); 20. Troy Worrick (DNS).
Margin of Victory: 2.231 seconds.
Lap Leaders: Laps 1-3, Duane Chamberlain; laps 4-25, Schlenk.
Modified Group 1 Qualifying: 1. Bub Roberts, 13.676; 2. Tony Anderson, 14.102; 3. Tim Wilber, 14.107; 4. Josh Lolmaugh, 14.167; 5. Andy Bishop, 14.360; 6. Garrett Jameson, 14.360; 7. Ryan Sutter, 14.378; 8. Darren Mallery, 14.483; 9. Doug McLauchlain, 15.464.
Modified Group 2 Qualifying: 1. Cole Sink, 13.885; 2. Daniel Sanchez, 14.059; 3. Josh Betts, 14.327; 4. Jimmy Haager, 14.355; 5. Jimmy Watters, 14.375; 6. Adam Noonan, 14.493; 7. Craig Dippman, 14.529; 8. Nick Richards, 14.660; 9. J.J. Butler, 16.114.
Modified Group 3 Qualifying: 1. Drew Charlson, 13.679; 2. Todd Sherman, 13.783; 3. David VanGuilder, 13.966; 4. Percy Gendreau, 14.120; 5. Bill Griffith, 14.169; 6. Scott Orr, 14.302; 7. Jason Jones, 14.499; 8. Chris Anstead, 14.796; 9. Tim McCafferty, 15.168.
Modified Group 4 Qualifying: 1. Weasel Philpot, 2. Bradley Jameson, 13.906; 3. Ryan Ramseyer, 14.051; 4. Logan Beckwith, 14.204; 5. Braxton Strait, 14.259; 6. Terry Sroufe, 14.262; 7. Brandon Jacobs, 14.844.
Modified Group 5 Qualifying: 1. Josh Morton, 13.429; 2. Stevan Hogue, 14.034; 3. Bobby Stremme, 14.149; 4. Mike Miller, 14.231; 5. Jim Henson, 14.653; 6. Brian Przepoira, 14.864; 7. Robby Henderson, 14.935; 8. Brian McFeeters, 15.066.
Modified Heat 1 (8 laps, 3 transferred): 1. Tim Wilber, 2. Tony Anderson, 3. Bub Roberts, 4. Josh Lolmaugh, 5. Garrett Jameson, 6. Darren Mallery, 7. Andy Bishop, 8. Ryan Sutter, 9. Doug McLachilan.
Modified Heat 2 (8 laps, 3 transferred): 1. Jimmy Haager, 2. Daniel Sanchez, 3. Cole Sink, 4. Nick Richards, 5. Jimmy Watters, 6. Craig Dippman, 7. Adam Noonan, 8. Josh Betts, 9. J.J. Butler.
Modified Heat 3 (8 laps, 3 transferred): 1. Percy Gendreau, 2. Todd Sherman, 3. David VanGuilder, 4. Drew Charlson, 5. Scott Orr, 6. Bill Griffith, 7. Jason Jones, 8. Scott Orr, 9. Tim McCafferty.
Modified Heat 4 (8 laps, 3 transferred): 1. Bradley Jameson, 2. Terry Sroufe, 3. Ryan Ramseyer, 4. Tom Jacobs, 5. Weasel Philpot, 6. Logan Beckwith, 7. Braxton Strait, 8. Brandon Jacobs.
Modified Heat 5 (8 laps, 3 transferred): 1. Bobby Stremme, 2. Josh Morton, 3. Stevan Hogue, 4. Mike Miller, 5. Brian Przepoira, 6. Robby Henderson, 7. Jim Henson, 8. Brian McFeeters.
Modified B-Main 1 (10 laps, 3 transferred): 1. Josh Lolmaugh, 2. Bill Griffith, 3. Andy Bishop, 4. Jimmy Watters, 5. Josh Betts, 6. Brian Przepoira, 7. Brian McFeeters, 8. Tim McCafferty, 9. Tom Jacobs, 10. Braxton Strait (DNS).
Modified B-Main 2 (10 laps, 3 transferred): 1. Nick Richards, 2. Scott Orr, 3. Darren Mallery, 4. Mike Miller, 5. Jim Henson, 6. Chad Bower, 7. Chris Anstead, 8. Doug McLauchlain, 9. Logan Beckwith, 10. Adam Noonan (DNS).
Modified B-Main 3 (10 laps, 3 transferred): 1. Garrett Jameson, 2. Weasel Philpot, 3. Drew Charlson, 4. Jason Jones, 5. Brandon Jacobs (DNS), 6. J.J. Butler (DNS), 7. Robby Henderson (DNS), 8. Craig Dippman (DNS), 9. Ryan Sutter (DNS).
Modified Feature (25 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Tim Wilber (3); 2. Bub Roberts (11); 3. Terry Sroufe (9); 4. Bobby Stremme (5); 5. Bradley Jameson (4); 6. Bill Griffith (19); 7. Daniel Sanchez (8); 8. Weasel Philpot (21); 9. Stevan Hogue (15); 10. Garrett Jameson (18); 11. Josh Lolmaugh (16); 12. Tony Anderson (7); 13. Nick Richards (17); 14. Josh Morton (10); 15. Scott Orr (20); 16. Percy Gendreau (2); 17. Cole Sink (12); 18. Jimmy Haager (1); 19. Todd Sherman (6); 20. David VanGuilder (13); 21. Ryan Ramseyer (DNS).
Lap Leaders: Lap 1, Haager; laps 2-25, Wilber.
Street Stock Group 1 Qualifying: 1. Tim Wilber, 14.815; 2. Beau Cooley, 15.173; 3. Robert Pardo, 15.204; 4. Mark Wooten, 15.824; 5. Reece Harkinson, 16.282; 6. Larry Persinger, 16.302; 7. Raigen Rich, 16.712;8. Dalton Iffland, 17.038.
Street Stock Group 2 Qualifying: 1. Jeff Matheny, 14.507; 2. Bill Bradley, 14.685; 3. David Fritz, 14.776; 4. James Williams, 14.960; 5. David Short, 15.178; 6. Dustin Marcum, 15.191; 7. Justin Long, 15.198; 8. Shawn Bone, 17.668.
Street Stock Group 3 Qualifying: 1. Andy Bishop, 14.237; 2. Darren Wireman, 14.254; 3. Kory Conner, 14.816; 4. Jeff Hinkley Jr., 15.234; 5. Mike Fincher, 15.297; 6. Jeffery Jessup, 15.689; 7. Rob Price, 15.992; 8. Russ Lagneau, 17.278.
Street Stock Group 4 Qualifying: 1. Andrew Short, 14.887; 2. Dalton Bishop, 15.183; 3. Donovan Paskan, 15.227; 4. Bill Peck, 15.526; 5. Steve Kidney Jr., 15.824; 6. Sam Casko, 16.444; 7. Jacob Wilber, 18.788.
Street Stock Heat 1 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Beau Cooley, 2. Tim Wilber, 3. Mark Wooten, 4. Robert Pardo, 5. Raigen Rich, 6. Reece Harkinson, 7. Larry Persinger, 8. Dalton Iffland.
Street Stock Heat 2 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Jeff Matheny, 2. James Williams, 3. Bill Bradley, 4. Dustin Marcum, 5. David Fritz, 6. David Short, 7. Justin Long, 8. Shawn Bone.
Street Stock Heat 3 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Kory Conner, 2. Andy Bishop, 3. Jeff Hinkley Jr., 4. Darren Wireman, 5. Mike Fincher, 6. Rob Price, 7. Russ Lagneau, 8. Jeffery Jessup.
Street Stock Heat 4 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Andrew Short, 2. Donovan Paskan, 3. Dalton Bishop, 4. Steve Kidney Jr., 5. Jacob Wilber, 6. Sam Casko, 7. Bill Peck.
Street Stock B Main 1 (10 laps, 2 transferred): 1. Mike Fincher, 2. Jeffery Jessup, 3. Raigen Rich, 4. Larry Persinger, 5. Reece Harkinson, 6. Rob Price, 7. Russ Lagneau, 8. Dalton Iffland.
Street Stock B Main 2 (10 laps, 2 transferred): 1. David Fritz, 2. David Short, 3. Justin Long, 4. Jacob Wilber, 5. Shawn Bone, 6. Bill Peck (DNS), 7. Sam Casko (DNS).
Street Stock Feature (25 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Andy Bishop (6); 2. Tim Wilber (8); 3. Kory Conner (1); 4. James Williams (7); 5. Donovan Paskan (5); 6. Jeffery Jessup (19); 7. Beau Cooley (4); 8. Jeff Hinkley Jr. (11); 9. Mike Fincher (17); 10. Andrew Short (2); 11. David Short (20); 12. Jeff Matheny (3); 13. Bill Bradley (10); 14. Dalton Bishop (12); 15. David Fritz (18); 16. Robert Pardo (13); 17. Steve Kidney Jr. (16); 18. Mark Wooten (9); 19. Darren Wireman (15); 20. Dustin Marcum (14).
Lap Leaders: Laps 1-4, Conner; laps 5-8, Matheny; laps 9-13, Conner; laps 14-25, Bishop.
Hornet Group 1 Qualifying: 1. James Headley Jr., 16.753; 2. Brady Hines, 17.156; 3. Jeremy Wilber, 17.662; 4. Jason Wert, 17.772; 5. Charlie Teegarden, 17.927; 6. Jesse Arenas, 18.150; 7. Kolton Sollars, 18.505; 8. Tracy Runyon, 18.884.
Hornet Group 2 Qualifying: 1. Cole Sink, 16.737; 2. James Headley, 16.859; 3. Kaleb Hinkley, 17.064; 4. Brandon Lines, time unknown, 5. Joey Eastes, 17.672; 6. Steve Owens, 18.127; 7. Trevor Adams, 18.164; 8. Steve Hall, 18.395.
Hornet Group 2 Qualifying: 1. Gage Allen, 16.566; 2. Eddie Tucker, 17.052; 3. Sam Landis, 17.464; 4. Allison Butler, 17.656; 5. Robbie White, 17.791; 6. Seth Trissel, 17.885; 7. Greg Marlow, 18.254.
Hornet Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. James Headley Jr., 2. Jason Wert, 3. Brady Hines, 4. Cory Gumm, 5. Charlie Teegarden, 6. Kolton Sollars, 7. Jeremy Wilber, 8. Jesse Arenas, 9. Tracy Runyon.
Hornet Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. James Headley, 2. Brandon Lines, 3. Cole Sink, 4. Joey Eastes, 5. Steve Owens, 6. Steve Hall, 7. Trevor Adams, 8. Kaleb Hinkley.
Hornet Heat 3 (8 laps): 1. Gage Allen, 2. Eddie Tucker Jr., 3. Tyler Ray, 4. Sam Landis, 5. Robbie White, 6. Allison Butler, 7. Seth Trissel, 8. Greg Marlow.
Hornet Feature (20 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. James Headley (2); 2. James Headley Jr. (5); 3. Kaleb Hinkley (4); 4. Jason Wert (1); 5. Kolton Sollars (16); 6. Jeremy Wilber (19); 7. Charles Teegarden (13); 8. Steve Hall (20); 9. Brandon Lines (8); 10. Robbie White (15); 11. Sam Landis (12); 12. Joey Eastes (14); 13. Steven Owens (17); 14. Seth Trissel (21); 15. Brady Hines (7); 16. Cory Gumm (10); 17. Gage Allen (3); 18. Aaron Tatman (26); 19. Trevor Adams (23); 20. Tracy Runyan (25); 21. Allison Butler (18); 22. Cole Sink (11); 23. Eddie Tucker Jr. (6); 24. Jesse Arenas (22); 25. Tyler Ray (9); 26. Greg Marlowe (DNS).
Lap Leaders: Laps 1-20, Headley.