7/1/2018
Tri-City Motor Speedway
6/29/2018 Race Results
06/29/2018 Late Model Power Ball Night Presented by Midland Steel
- Melling Performance Late Model: #21D David Hilliker
- Mueller’s Performance Engines Pro Stock: #K11 Kendall Morrison
- Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini-Wedge 6-9 Yr Olds: #54 Addison Clink
- Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini-Wedge 10-14 Yr Olds: #24c Caden Anderson
- Suspension MAXX Street Stocks: #21T Kyle Thomas
- Thornton Brothers Sewer and Septic Service Bomber Stocks: #7 John Staszak
- Main Street Seed and Supply IMCA Modified: #615 Chad Wernette
- Suspension MAXX Street Stocks MAKE UP FROM 06/22: #x5 Eric Lake
- Thornton Brothers Sewer and Septic Service Bomber Stocks MAKE UP FEATURE: #01tk Brad Treichel
- Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini-Wedge 6-9 Yr Olds MAKE UP FEATURE: #28 Kyron DeShano
- Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini-Wedge 10-14 Yr Olds MAKE UP FEATURE: #15 Cole Doty
- Mueller’s Performance Engines Pro Stock MAKE UP FEATURE: #69 Nate Murphy
Hall Of Fame Driver Hilliker Nabs Big Win at Tri-City Motor Speedway
06/29/2018 (Auburn, MI) All season, Michigan race fans have been looking forward to the big late Model show that finally took place this past Friday at the 3/8 mile clay oval known as Tri-City Motor Speedway. Evening Sponsor, Midland Steel Sales, added to the excitement by putting additional money into the grand prize making the 51-lap event $5,000 to win. Fans were not worried about the exceptionally warm temperatures as they packed the grandstands in hopes that their favorite driver would end the night victorious. In addition to the scheduled Late Model feature, four additional features that had been washed out the previous Friday were also completed.
Thirty-Six Melling Performance Late Models towed to Auburn in hopes of taking the $5,000 top prize offered up by Midland Steel. With the biggest top prize and arguably the toughest field of LM competitors in the eight seasons TCMS has been dirt, the fans were in for fierce evening of race entertainment. Four qualifier races, locking in the top four finishers from each into the 21-car starting field for the main event, were run. Those qualifying races were captured by #16 Mike Staszak, #1 Mike Luberda Jr., #9 Isaac Wolfgang, and #19 Derrick Hilliker. Two 10-car Last Chance Qualifier races needed to be run in order to lock in the final four competitors that would tag on to the rear of the feature field. #94 Bill Bray and #0jr would outlast their competition to win those events. #21s Steven Hilliker would earn a Sponsor Provisional to start the main event 21st. Luberda Jr. and #3 Kyle Roberts drew front row starting spots for the feature and brought the talented field to the green flag. Roberts would quickly gain control of the race and walked away from the field. With the first 31 laps caution free, Roberts was faced with a tough task of maneuvering his way through lapped traffic. He had lapped up to the 10th place car before the first caution flag fell for a spun #04 Wade Witherspoon. With the field bunched back together, this allowed hard chargers like Six Lakes MI driver #23v Ryan VanderVeen, rookie #71 Timmy Near, Wolfgang, and David Hilliker to be within sight of the lead. On the restart, Roberts, again, would pull away. Hilliker, however, would search the track to find the grip he needed to reel in Roberts. Hilliker would follow Roberts’ tire marks until eight laps remaining. He dove to the bottom groove in turn four to make the winning pass and collect the big check. Roberts was able to hold on to second from Wolfgang, Near, and VanderVeen. The remainder of the top ten included #24 Alex Hupert, Patterson Jr., #76 Torrey Ahrens, Steven Hilliker, and Luberda Jr.
The Thornton Brothers Sewer and Septic Service Bomber Stocks had two features to run on Friday night due to rain washing away their show from the previous week. #01Tk Brad Treichel would motor his way from sixth on a very difficult track to capture his first TCMS feature win of his career. #80 Daryl McBride, #03 Josh Charbonneau, #5x Dakota Vennix, and #87k Scott Kloha took the top five spots at the end of fifteen laps. In the second feature, ten teams took the green flag with Kloha taking charge early before mechanical problems would force him out of the event. A majority of the field did not make it to the finish as it became a race of attrition. At the end, it was 10th place starter #7 John Staszak who would survive all fifteen laps and be the victor. Rookie #17 James Antku and #00 Ken Smith would be the only cars left at the finish. #80 Daryl McBride and Treichel still received finishing positions within the top five. McBride and Charbonneau were preliminary heat race winners.
Just as the week before, the SuspensionMAXX Street Stock feature from a week ago was run on Friday. In the make-up feature, competitors that started at the back of the field provided a thrilling show for the fans as Defending Champion #x5 Eric Lake would come from 16th to capture the win from #21 Kyle Thomas, #15.2 Robert Cunningham, #41n Ryan Nethers, and co-point leader #7r Kevin Newcomb. In the second feature, numerous drivers would take their turn at the front of the field before Thomas took the lead for good. #72 Bobby Kosha, who had terrible luck and was unable to finish the first feature, muscled his way to a runner up finish. Lake, once again, found a top five finish with a third place effort. Newcomb and #41 Nate Schmitter finished closely behind. Thomas also won his heat as did #96 Cade Schafer.
The previous week in the Walker Ideal Trophies Mini Wedge class, #15 Cole Doty and #28 Kyron DeShano took the checkered flag in those events. The postponed feature for these 6-14 year olds would finish in the same fashion with Doty and DeShano obtaining the big trophies for their first place efforts. The second features did not end up as rewarding for those two drivers as they had hoped. Point leader #54 Addison Clink, once again showed that the girls can beat the boys on the track as she edged out DeShano at the finish for the win. #80 Preston Mieske, #5 Brennan DeShano, and #23 Mason VanderVeen were top five finishers at the end of their 10-lap main event. #12 Morgan Bujarski won the heat in her 6-9year old class. In the senior division (10-14 year olds), Doty, who won his heat race, quickly took the lead in the feature and threatened to sweep the evenings events. #24c Caden Anderson took a bit of time to obtain second position. Once he was there, he quickly caught the leader. The two would have another epic battle as they were alongside each other taking the white flag for the final lap. Anderson was able to get just enough of the car in front of Doty to take home his fifth feature of 2018. #26 Bryant VanderMark, #36 Jeniffer Young, and #2e Easton Murray were the top five.
The Mueller’s Performance Engines Pro Stocks had been cancelled after rain fell eight laps into the 20-lap race. With the rule book being clear that the race would need to be restarted from the beginning. #93 John Robbins had early control of the race until a red flag for a flipped #94d David Lester (he was ok) stopped the field. Once the race resumed, #69 Nate Murphy, who received heavy damage to the right side of his machine, was still able to fight the ill-handling car to the front. He took his third feature win of the season and beat #K11 Morrison, #27 Rob Westergard, #39 Chad Spencer, and #14 Andrew Fidler. Fates would not be the same for many of those top drivers in the second feature later in the evening. The stress on the cars suspension parts from the first feature would force many drivers to retire from the 20-lap race before the finish. Murphy and Westergard were early favorites but ended up in the pits with finishes outside the top fifteen. Morrison was able to keep all his parts and pieces on the car to win his second feature of the season. #77 Chris Malek, from 18th, took the runner up spot ahead of #36 Jeremy Spencer, Fidler, and #10 Brent Reil. Morrison, #50 Chad Bennett, and Jeremy Spencer also flexed their muscle by winning their respective heat races.
The Main Street Seed and Supply IMCA Modified division was one of the few classes that did not need to complete their events from the prior week and could, instead, focus on the day’s events. TCMS regulars, #79 Nate Jones and point leader #27 Matt Szecsodi showed why they have been the ones to beat each night as they, along with visiting #38 Mitchell Hunt, dominated their heat races. All 22 drivers started the 20-lap money race with #13 Garrett Bennett leading the opening lap before Greenville MI Hunt took his turn at the point. Hunt led the majority of the event, but #615 Chad Wernette would not let Hunt get away. For numerous laps Wernette and Hunt would swap the lead position. With just a few laps remaining, the Sheridan MI driver cleared Hunt to earn a victory lane visit for the first time this season. Hunt, Szecsodi, Jones, and defending track Champion #19jr Kody Johnson managed to hold on to top five finishes.
This Friday at TCMS is another packed show with all six different race car divisions in action! If that wasn’t enough, Friday will also host the first and only Figure-8 feature race of the season for Street Stock type race cars. Who will survive the intersection, beat the field, and collect the top prize of $888?? Come see the best and most competitive car racing in the State of Michigan this and every Friday night through Labor Day weekend!! Why stand in line on race day when you can get your tickets online today at www.tricityracetrack.com? We look forward to having you and your family joining us for the best dirt racing Michigan has to offer!!
Article Credit: Roger Williams
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