(Bill W) April 23, 2011 – Danny Lasoski put his name in the record books when he took home the first Monster Energy™ Sprint Series presented by the Midwest Open Wheel Association feature in history Saturday night at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. The native of Dover, Missouri topped 39 sprinters on a lightning fast racetrack that produced thrill after thrill, taking home the winner's share of $2,500!
Lasoski led the 30-lap main event early on, while Craig Dollansky and Kerry Madsen quickly found themselves in second and third. Madsen looked fast and challenged Dollansky on lap six. The two made contact and Dollansky broke a front end in the melee. Madsen smacked the frontstretch wall, which would disable him later. Robbie Standridge had nowhere to go behind the two and tipped over after contact.
Lasoski led Madsen, Jerrod Hull and a charging Joey Moughan back to green flag racing. Moughan took care of Hull to move into third. Up front, Madsen asserted himself and moved into the lead on lap 10. It would be short-lived, however, as two laps later he would retire with a flat right rear.
Lasoski inherited the lead again, ahead of Joey Moughan, Hull, Brandon Wimmer, and Kaley Gharst, up from his 18th starting spot. The final 18 laps went non-stop. Moughan challenged for the lead briefly, but Gharst was on the move as well. Both were using the high side of turns one and two trying to catch the leader. After Moughan slipped up, Gharst grabbed second with a handful of laps to go. He pulled up on Lasoski's bumper and made a last ditch effort on the final lap, but fell just short.
"My car was working really well tonight," said Lasoski. "My Eagle Chassis and Kistler power were just awesome. I have to thank Asa (South) and the other guys who helped out tonight. Without them, we wouldn't even be racing."
Gharst emerged from his car to hear the cheers from an appreciative crowd that enjoyed his charge from 18th to 2nd. "I have to kick myself in the butt for not qualifying through the heat race and starting more towards the front. If you got way up on the edge, it was pretty smooth. That was a spot we could go and there weren't too many other cars."
Third place driver Joey Moughan talked about his bid at the leader with ten to go. "We were gaining on him and we had our shots. To be honest, we lost our brakes and I fell out of the seat. Not bad for our first sprint car race of the year. We were able to shake the cobwebs off."
He went on to mention what a success this event was. "It was amazing. My hat is off to everyone at 34 Raceway for getting this run despite the weather. Everything that has gone into this event the last two months…it was great with everything that was thrown our way. It was a great way for the Midwest Open Wheel Association to get started."
The night saw two rain delays, but the 34 Raceway staff stepped up each time to get racing going again. The first delay was between the second and third heat race, and the second came between the two B mains.
Lasoski set quick time at 12.548 seconds on the lightning fast 3/8 mile oval. Joey Moughan took the first heat in exciting fashion, while Matt Sutton rode his 360 engine to a popular win in heat two. Dollansky and Madsen took the other two heats.
Josh Schneiderman took B main one and Gharst took the second B to set up his charge in the feature. The Dash was scrapped in favor of moving the event along. Jordan Goldesberry lost his right rear and flipped in the first B, and Brian Rieck tumbled in the second B. Neither driver was injured.
Sutton took home another $500 for winning the "Wheelie Contest" conducted at the end of the night.
The next Monster Energy™ Sprint Series event will take place on Friday, May 13 at the Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, Illinois.
Monster Energy™ Sprint Series Main Event (started), 30 laps: 1. 33, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (2) 2. 14P, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL (18) 3. 21x, Joey Moughan, Springfield, IL (8) 4. 7TW, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (4) 5. 12H, Jerrod Hull, Sikeston, MO (1) 6. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (7) 7. 3s, Mark Shirshekan, Farmington, MO (10) 8. 55, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (5) 9. 83, Korey Weyant, Springfield, IL (15) 10. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (11) 11. 3, Matt Sutton, Macomb, IL (14) 12. 1m, Jim Moughan Jr., Springfield, IL (9) 13. 81, Austin Johnson, Shakopee, MN (13) 14. 44, AJ Bruns, Lincoln, IL (12) 15. 84, Ben Wagoner, Emden, IL (19) 16. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (17) 17. 51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (16) 18. 92, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary's, NSW, Aust. (3) 19. 7, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (6) 20. 22, Robbie Standridge, Springfield, IL (20) 21. 77u, Chris Urish, Elkhart, IL (21, prov.). Lap Leaders: Lasoski 1-10, Madsen 11-12, Lasoski 13-30. Bulldog/DMI Hard Charger: Gharst.
Time Trials: 1. Danny Lasoski, 12.548; 2. Josh Schneiderman, 12.640; 3. Craig Dollansky, 12.648; 4. Kerry Madsen, 12.656; 5. Brandon Wimmer, 12.740; 6. Jerrod Hull, 12.956; 7. Terry McCarl, 12.978; 8. Brian Brown, 13.078; 9. Joey Moughan, 13.196; 10. Jim Moughan Jr., 13.243; 11. Mark Shirshekan, 13.385; 12. Robbie Standridge, 13.433; 13. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN, 13.441; 14. Kaley Gharst, 13.454; 15. 65, Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL, 13.506; 16. 47, Brett Samonds, Springfield, IL, 13.516; 17. Austin McCarl, 13.579; 18. AJ Bruns, 13.583; 19. 12AU, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA, 13.659; 20. Austin Johnson, 13.692; 21. 53H, Matt Harms, Lacon, IL, 13.888; 22. Matt Sutton, 13.949; 23. Korey Weyant, 14.008; 24. Ryan Jamison, 14.162; 25. 95, Tommy Rockwell, Towanda, IL, 14.197; 26. Chris Urish, 14.316; 27. 16HD, Donnie Steward, West Burlington, IA, 14.327; 28. 10s, Jeremy Standridge, Springfield, IL, 14.365; 29. 35, Jimmy Hurley, Springfield, IL, 14.375; 30. 52F, Logan Faucon, Elkhart, IL, 14.385; 31. Ben Wagoner, 14.538; 32. 14, Tony Daniels, Galesburg, IL, 14.565; 33. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA, 14.650; 34. 10V, Matt Vandervere, Zion, IL, 14.677; 35. 96, Nathan Charron, Lincoln, IL, 14.874; 36. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL, 15.749; 37. 12, Brian Rieck, Troy, MO, 15.758; 38. 28, Justin Springer, Pekin, IL, NT; 39. 42, Cory Bruns, Lincoln, IL, NT.
Super Shox Heat one (started, top four to A, 8 laps): 1. Joey Moughan (4) 2. Brandon Wimmer (5) 3. Austin McCarl (2) 4. Danny Lasoski (6) / 5. Davey Heskin (3) 6. Matt Harms (1) 7. Jimmy Hurley (8) 8. Bob Weuve (9) 9. Tommy Rockwell (7) 10. Brian Rieck (10)
RaceBumpers Heat two (started, top four to A, 8 laps): 1. Matt Sutton (1) 2. AJ Bruns (2) 3. Jerrod Hull (5) 4. Jim Moughan Jr. (4) / 5. Kaley Gharst (3) 6. Josh Schneiderman (6) 7. Chris Urish (7) 8. Matt Vandervere (9) 9. Justin Springer (10) 10. Logan Faucon (8)
GPC Race Products Heat three (started, top four to A, 8 laps): 1. Craig Dollansky (6) 2. Terry McCarl (5) 3. Mark Shirshekan (4) 4. Korey Weyant (1) / 5. Jordan Goldesberry (3) 6. Ben Wagoner (8) 7. Donnie Steward (7) 8. Lynton Jeffrey (2) 9. Nathan Charron (9) DNS – Cory Bruns
Heat four (started, top four to A, 8 laps): 1. Kerry Madsen (6) 2. Brian Brown (5) 3. Austin Johnson (2) 4. Ryan Jamison (1) / 5. Brett Samonds (3) 6. Jeremy Standridge (7) 7. Jimmy Davies (9) 8. Robbie Standridge (4) 9. Tony Daniels (8)
Kreitz Oval Track Products B Main one (started, top two to A, 15 laps): 1. Josh Schneiderman (1) 2. Ben Wagoner (6) / 3. Donnie Steward (4) 4. Tommy Rockwell (5) 5. Davey Heskin (2) 6. Justin Springer (10) 7. Jimmy Hurley (7) 8. Bob Weuve (9) 9. Jordan Goldesberry (3) 10. Jimmy Davies (8) DNS – Lynton Jeffrey, Nathan Charron
Kreitz Oval Track Products B Main two (started, top two to A, 15 laps): 1. Kaley Gharst (2) 2. Robbie Standridge (1) / 3. Chris Urish (5) 4. Jeremy Standridge (6) 5. Logan Faucon (7) 6. Matt Vandervere (9) 7. Matt Harms (4) 8. Tony Daniels (8) 9. Brett Samonds (3) 10. Brian Rieck (10) DNS – Cory Bruns
Ratewin.com Wheelie Contest Winner: Matt Sutton