Greg Hodnett's 2013 Bob Weikert Memorial Trophy (On loan to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum from Sherry Hodnett)
Return to Hockett’s ATM!
(Bill W) July 22, 2020, Monroe, IA – Last Friday the ASCS visited US36 Raceway near Osborn, Missouri. Personally, the stars aligned to make my first visit there with lovely wife Ellen for the first time in several years for the former and the first time for the latter. Ellen likes a good bullring, and the high banks of US36 fit the bill.
For me, near as I can tell (according to my own website), I hadn’t been there since a Johnny Herrera triumph in 2013. Johnny was back as crew chief for Harli White, who finished fourth. Johnny was also racing when the All Stars thundered through the plains back in July of 2009. I was also there in the stands with notebook. I knew scorers upstairs that night were more than perplexed, when the lapped car of Ryan Bunton led one of the restarts back to green.
My suspicions were verified when Johnny beckoned me to the payout line. Asking me for my notebook, he threw it down in front of the person writing checks. “This is how we finished!” he said without looking at my scribbles. He then organized drivers in order of finish, starting with Randy Hannagan, who won, and the rest followed suit. Fortunately, I may have had it right that time! I did not beat traffic headed out the single gate.
When I crest the hill to the top of the bleachers at US36 and gaze at the track, there is one name that comes to mind…Jesse Hockett. He went where no one had gone before at that place! Back in the day one Mike Franks operated the facility and must have had stock in water, because there was plenty…every single time. Don't get me wrong, the fans loved it, including me. While drivers cowered to the low side, or kept their cars in their shops, the ledge would be built high and proud three-quarters of the way up, and carnage followed. Hockett defied them all, and the cushion!
Jesse would head into turn one above the ledge on the tackiest, muddiest place you’ve seen. When the car would try to veer right, he’d hammer it all the more, picking off car after car. How he had any suspension left defied all odds, but he’d come down the banks out of the cornfield one more time. The most entertaining of them all may have been one of the last nights he was there in June of 2009.
He left the shop without a wing. You see, he was heading east afterwards to run with USAC. Why bring one? You do need fuel if you’re heading east, so no excuse for running out of it on the way to US36…which he did! No matter, Mark Burch chipped in the wing, and Jesse put on a show from row seven (see my results and stories at the bottom of this page).
Last Friday, the track was fast, but smooth. I was surprised that a 30-car field assembled as the disdain and fear of the place still burns in many a driver. It was a great show that saw Sam Hafertepe Jr. win (check OpenWheel101.com) for my rundown. No cautions in seven modified heats. Little problems in the features.
There were two big shockers Friday. Ian Madsen and KCP Racing parted after seven years, and there was only one flip victim at US36 (Shayle Bade). Wayne Johnson, who one night spent a lot on wings in turn one, would most certainly agree the latter was the far bigger surprise. Ellen knew no different, and despite hot laps starting 40 minutes late, and a 20 minute unneeded intermission, we were back on the road at 10:30 p.m. I shared our fortune with her.
Truly two of the races of the year, in a year that has had a lot of great racing, took place over the last four nights. Rico Abreu went from third to first on the last lap at Knoxville, passing none other than Terry McCarl and Brian Brown. Last night, Donny Schatz took the Silver Cup after swapping spots with Brad Sweet and Kyle Larson to take home $25,000. Kyle settled for second after a $25,000 weekend of his own winning the Weikert Memorial at Port Royal. Exactly where are Kyle and Paul Silva keeping all these trophies?
I can attest to the Bob Weikert Memorial trophy. One sits in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum as part of the “Salute to Champion Greg Hodnett” weighing in at about 60 pounds. I believe they are still handed out to both driver and owner…and then there are the rest that they have to find space for!
Remember, if you miss a World of Outlaws, All Stars, USAC or ASCS event, you can find stories and highlight videos when available at www.OpenWheel101.com.
Hard to believe August is flying in fast. COVID-19 has hit the Midwest Thunder Sprints presented by OpenWheel101.com point fund pretty hard. If you’d like to donate with all proceeds going to sprint car drivers running in the Midwest, drop me a line at sprntcar@hotmail.com. It can be anonymous, or you can get free advertising on my site…your choice! Thanks to all that have contributed so far!
Brian Brown maintains his lead in the series over Kerry Madsen, Parker Price-Miller, Bill Balog and Ian Madsen. MOWA and Knoxville action await this weekend. Rico won point races at Lincoln (IL) and Knoxville last weekend, as did Balog in Sunday IRA action at Wilmot. See points and current schedule below.
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Up Next for the Midwest Thunder Sprints…
Fri, July 24 – Jacksonville Speedway (IL) (MOWA)
Sat, July 25 – Knoxville Raceway (IA)
Thurs, July 30 – Plymouth Dirt Track (WI) (All Stars/IRA)
Fri, July 31 – Langlade County Speedway (WI) (IRA)
Fri, July 31 – 34 Raceway (IA) (All Stars)
Sat, Aug 1 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) (All Stars)
Sun, Aug 2 – Huset’s Speedway (SD) (All Stars)
2020 Midwest Thunder Sprint Cars presented by www.OpenWheel101.com Point Standings (Feature Wins)
1. Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO, 405 (3)
2. Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust., 356
3. Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN, 347 (1)
4. Bill Balog, Hartland, WI, 270 (2)
5. Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust., 267
6. Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA, 238
7. Tim Kaeding, Campbell, CA, 232
8. Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA, 231
9. Matt Juhl, Tea, SD, 215
10. Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK, 184
11. Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA, 174
12. Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA, 172 (2)
(tie) Justin Henderson, Tea, SD, 172 (1)
14. Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA, 164
15. Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL, 131
16. Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA, 124
17. Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN, 123
18. Scotty Thiel, Sheboygan, WI, 104
19. Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA, 100 (2)
20. Jake Blackhurst, Hanna City, IL, 87
21. Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA, 86
22. Blake Nimee, Oswego, IL, 74
23. Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA, 72
(tie) Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust., 72
25. Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA, 70
26. Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN, 59
(tie) Scott Neitzel, Beaver Dam, WI, 59
28. Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO, 56
29. Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN, 55
30. Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 54
31. Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND, 52
(tie) Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 52
33. Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX, 50 (1)
34. Jeremy Schultz, Beaver Dam, WI, 48
35. Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL, 47
36. Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA, 44
(tie) Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA, 44
38. Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO, 41
39. AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA, 39
40. Joey Moughan, Springfield, IL, 35
41. Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA, 34
42. Russel Borland, Kewaskum, WI, 30
43. Todd Daun, Pleasant Prairie, WI, 28
(tie) Brayton Lynch, Springfield, IL, 28
(tie) Sean Rayhall, Woodstock, GA, 28
46. James Broty, Lonsdale, MN, 26
(tie) Kyle Schuett, Philo, IL, 26
48. Zach Daum, Pocahontas, IL, 25
49. Dave Uttech, Kenosha, WI, 20
(tie) Matt VanderVere, Zion, IL, 20
(tie) Brian Bell, Gallaway, TN, 20
52. Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD, 18
(tie) Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA, 18
(tie) Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA, 18
(tie) Kris Spitz, Salem, WI, 18
(tie) Kameron Key, Warrensburg, MO, 18
57. Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA, 16
(tie) Terry Babb, Decatur, IL, 16
59. Bryce Schmitt, Plymouth, WI, 14
(tie) Jacob Patton, Bethalto, IL, 14
(tie) Corbin Gurley, Hebron, IN, 14
62. Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX, 10
(tie) Tony Kaus, Bloomington, MN, 10
(tie) Todd King, Sheboygan Falls, WI, 10
(tie) Chris Klemko, Bristol, WI, 10
(tie) Cory Bruns, Lincoln, IL, 10
67. Roger Crockett, Broken Arrow, OK, 8
(tie) Adam Miller, Plymouth, WI, 8
(tie) Wayne Modjeski, Oak Creek, WI, 8
(tie) Rob Pribnow, Lomira, WI, 8
71. Alan Gilbertson, Kasson, MN, 6
(tie) Steve Short, Farmington, MO, 6
73. John Fahl, Brown Deer, WI, 4
(tie) Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA, 4
(tie) Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Oh, 4
(tie) Jody Rosenboom, Rock Rapids, IA, 4
(tie) Jeff Swindell, Memphis, TN, 4
(tie) Jack Routson, Waterman, IL, 4
(tie) Hunter Custer, Chippewa Falls, WI, 4
(tie) Colton Fisher, Mediapolis, IA, 4
81. Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH, 2
(tie) Danny Schlafer, Sussex, WI, 2
(tie) Josh Walter, Plymouth, WI, 2
(tie) Korey Weyant, Springfield, IL, 2
Platinum World of Outlaws member wins…
5, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA
2, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA
1, David Gravel, Watertown, CT
Tentative 2020 Races that will be counted for points with the Midwest Thunder Sprint Cars presented by OpenWheel101.com
Fri, June 5 – Beaver Dam Raceway (WI) WoO (Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA)
Sat, June 6 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) (Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO)
Sat, June 6 – Beaver Dam Raceway (WI) WoO (Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA)
Fri, June 12 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) WoO (Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA)
Sat, June 13 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) WoO (Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA)
Sat, June 20 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) (Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX)
Thur, June 25 – Jackson Motorplex (MN) Nationals (Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA)
Fri, June 26 – Jackson Motorplex (MN) Nationals (Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA)
Sat, June 27 – Jackson Motorplex (MN) Nationals (Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA)
Fri, July 3 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) (Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO)
Fri, July 3 – Cedar Lake Speedway (WI) (WoO) (Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA)
Sat, July 4 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) (Justin Henderson, Tea, SD)
Sat, July 4 – Cedar Lake Speedway (WI) (WoO) (Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA)
Sun, July 5 – 141 Speedway (WI) (IRA) (Bill Balog, Hartland, WI)
Fri, July 10 – 34 Raceway (IA) (WoO) (Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN)
Sat, July 11 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) (Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO)
Sat, July 11 – Wilmot Raceway (WI) (WoO) (David Gravel, Watertown, CT)
Fri, July 17 – Lincoln Speedway (IL) (MOWA) (Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA)
Sat, July 18 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) (Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA)
Sun, July 19 – Wilmot Raceway (WI) (IRA) (Bill Balog, Hartland, WI)
Fri, July 24 – Jacksonville Speedway (IL) (MOWA)
Sat, July 25 – Knoxville Raceway (IA)
Thurs, July 30 – Plymouth Dirt Track (WI) (All Stars/IRA)
Fri, July 31 – Langlade County Speedway (WI) (IRA)
Fri, July 31 – 34 Raceway (IA) (All Stars)
Sat, Aug 1 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) (All Stars)
Sun, Aug 2 – Huset’s Speedway (SD) (All Stars)
Fri, Aug 7 – I-55 Raceway (MO) (WoO)
Sat, Aug 8 – I-55 Raceway (MO) (Ironman 55)
Mon, Aug 10 – Southern Iowa Speedway (Front Row Challenge)
Thurs, Aug 13 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) (WoO)
Fri, Aug 14 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) (WoO)
Sat, Aug 15 – Knoxville Raceway (IA) (Capitani Classic)
Fri, Aug 21 – Wilmot Raceway (WI) (IRA)
Fri, Aug 21 – River Cities Speedway (ND) (WoO)
Sat, Aug 22 – Wilmot Raceway (WI) (IRA)
Sun, Aug 23 – Angell Park Speedway (WI) (IRA)
Sun, Aug 23 – Red River Valley Speedway (ND) (WoO)
Fri, Aug 28 – Knoxville Raceway (IA)
Sat, Aug 29 – Knoxville Raceway (IA)
Sun, Aug 30 – Dirt Oval Route 66 (IL) (IRA)
Sat, Sept 5 – Plymouth Dirt Track (WI) (IRA)
Sat, Sept 5 – Huset’s Speedway (SD) (WoO)
Sun, Sept 6 – 141 Speedway (WI) (IRA)
Sun, Sept 6 – Huset’s Speedway (SD) (WoO)
Fri, Sept 11 – Knoxville Raceway (IA)
Sat, Sept 12 – Cedar Lake Speedway (WI) (Jerry Richert Memorial)
Sat, Sept 19 – Beaver Dam Raceway (WI) (IRA)
Fri, Sept 25 – Knoxville Raceway (IA)
Sat, Sept 26 – Knoxville Raceway (IA)
Fri, Oct 16 – Lakeside Speedway (KS) (WoO)
Much TBD…
2019 Midwest Thunder Sprint Cars presented by www.OpenWheel101.com Final Point Standings (Feature Wins)
1. Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust., 954 (2)
2. Bill Balog, Hartland, WI, 947 (7)
3. Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO, 731 (5)
4. Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA, 713 (2)
5. James McFadden, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust., 592 (2)
6. Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA, 505 (1)
7. Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN, 484 (1)
8. Jeremy Schultz, Beaver Dam, WI, 471 (3)
9. Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL, 427 (5)
10. Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA, 400 (2)
2018 Midwest Thunder Sprint Cars presented by www.OpenWheel101.com Point Standings (Feature Wins) Top Ten
1. Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust., 866 (7)
2. Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO, 686 (7)
3. Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA, 602 (5)
4. Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA, 565
5. Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust., 420 (1)
6. Scotty Thiel, Sheboygan, WI, 398 (4)
(tie) Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN, 398
8. Bill Balog, Hartland, WI, 390 (2)
9. Cory Eliason, Selma, CA, 386 (1)
10. Matt Juhl, Tea, SD, 365 (1)
2017 Midwest Thunder Sprint Cars presented by www.OpenWheel101.com Final Point Standings (Feature Wins) Top Ten
1. Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust., 1086 (5)
2. Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust., 1031 (7)
3. Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND, 800 (6)
4. Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO, 760 (6)
5. Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA, 760 (2)
6. Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust., 533 (1)
7. Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK, 529 (2)
8. David Gravel, Watertown, CT, 481 (3)
9. Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA, 437 (1)
10. Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA, 425 (2)
6/19/09
US36 Raceway
Osborn, MO
Bud Shootout
ASCS-M/WOW
34 cars
Heat one (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Brian Brown 21 (2*) 2. Chad Humston 1m (1*) 3. Josh Fisher 86 (5*) 4. Mike Boston 88 (3) 5. Jesse Hockett 13 (8*) 6. Jack Dover 24A (7) 7. Mitchell Moore 19 (9) 8. Frank Brown 43 (4) 9. Jeff Lowery 2D (6)
Brown led this stacked heat all eight laps with Humston in tow. Fisher worked around Boston. Hockett made early moves forward as the tacky/rough 1/3 mile oval tried to swallow him a couple of times. Dover was caught behind some traffic, but eventually got as far as he could in Gary Swenson's machine.
Heat two (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Jonathan Cornell 28 (1*) 2. Bronson Maeschen 96 (3*) 3. Randy Hibbs 2A (2) 4. Rusty Potter 3P (6*) 5. Jay Russel 76 (9*) 6. Mark Shirshekan 3 (7) 7. Jeff Heffner 14 (8) 8. Tim Newman 18 (5) 9. Terry Hinck 21H (4)
Cornell led flag to flag. Hinck was following him on lap two, when he slowed, then exited. Cornell led Maeschen, Hibbs, Potter, Shirshekan and a surging Russel. Russel gained another spot before a lap three restart for Heffner who came to a stop against the frontstretch wall.
Heat three (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Chris Walker 18w (1*) 2. Jason Danley 82 (2*) 3. Derrik Ortega 35 (3*) 4. Lee Grosz 4J (8*) 5. Cody Forshee 3x (6*) 6. Bobby Becker Jr. 8B (5) 7. Eric Lutz 5 (7) 8. Mallory Armfield 5MA (4)
While Walker led the duration, the entertainment came from row four starters Lutz and Grosz, who battled toward the front. Lutz got the advantage and surged forward to fourth before his motor grenaded on the white flag lap, ending his night.
Heat four (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Trevor Grossenbacher 35ab (1*) 2. Don Droud Jr. 2 (6*) 3. Chris Morgan 7K (3*) 4. Jon Corbin 15 (4) 5. Austin Alumbaugh 33 (7) 6. David Brown 48 (2) 7. Curtis Boyer 72 (5) 8. Tony Crank 9c (8)
Grossenbacher dominated this one, pulling away to almost a half-lap win, despite having a bit of trouble lapping cars. Droud was the prime mover.
B main (started): 1. Boston (4) 2. Alumbaugh (2) 3. Moore (7) 4. Dover (5) / 5. F. Brown (13) 6. D. Brown (10) 7. Becker Jr. (8) 8. Armfield (14) 9. Shirshekan (6) 10. Crank (11) 11. Hibbs (1) 12. Heffner (9) 13. Corbin (3) 14. Boyer (12) 15. Lowery (15) DNS - Lutz, Newman, Hinck
Contact and a tangle occured on the frontstretch following the green flag. Corbin got the worst of it, getting sideways and tipping over. He collected Boyer, who had heavy damage, Lowery, who looked to break a front axle and Dover, who restarted at the tail. Once green, Boston took over teh 12-lapper until a lap five slowdown for Hibbs who was running fourth. Boston led Alumbaugh, Moore, Shirshekan and Dover, who had worked his way back up to fifth from the tail back to green flag racing. Shirshekan, who was passed by Dover for the final transfer, spun in successive laps, ending his night. Dover was able to secure the final transfer.
A main (started): 1. Hockett (13) 2. Humston (10) 3. Boston (17) 4. Brown (1) 5. Fisher (3) 6. Dover (20) 7. Grosz (14) 8. Droud Jr. (2) 9. Grossenbacher (7) 10. Danley (5) 11. Walker (4) 12. Alumbaugh (18) 13. Potter (11) 14. Morgan (16) 15. Russel (9) 16. Cornell (8) 17. Maeschen (6) 18. Moore (19) 19. Ortega (15) 20. Forshee (12)
The high-banked track saw many cars get all four wheels off the ground, and had more bicycles than the Tour de France. Brown led the crazy 25-lapper at the outset, and the first seven laps went green. By the seventh lap, Hockett had surged from 13th to 3rd. Ortega contacted the wall breaking his front axle on the eighth go-around setting up a restart that saw Brown leading Fisher, Hockett, Droud Jr. and a surging Humston. Moore flipped on the restart, and Maeschen exited with mechanical problems as well. Two laps later, Hockett went to the far reaches of turns one and two and came down with second after getting by Fisher. On lap 12, he was all over Brown, and made his winning move. Humston also ran a higher line than most in turns one and two and overtook second on lap 20. Morgan flipped on lap 22, setting up one final dash. Hockett led Humston, B. Brown, Fisher, Droud and Boston back to green flag racing. Boston completed a great run from row nine to third by moving up three spots in the last four laps to grab hard-charger honors, shared with Dover who went from 20th to 6th. Hockett's car looked different after borrowing a wing from the Mark Burch Motorsports #1m (the chocolate bananawagon version). Hockett's transporter also ran out of fuel on the way to the track. It was filled as he is in transit now to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he will compete with USAC on Saturday.
Bill Wright
Bill W Media
sprntcar@hotmail.com
Twitter: @BillWMedia
Website: www.OpenWheel101.com