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Brad Barickman Doubles Up At Elko Dirt Nationals

Elko, MN
By: Greg Parent

With heavy storms in the late afternoon staying just north of the track, the UMSS-IMCA sprint cars were able to complete their fourth and final night of racing at the AMSOIL Elko Dirt Nationals on Saturday July 17 before the rains came. The eighth event of the Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series season saw the field of cars pared down to 17, but some exciting feature race action was in store for the fans. Brad Barickman charged from his sixth starting spot at the drop of the green, followed Cody Hahn for 17 laps, and then made the winning passing entering turn one on lap 18 to record his third UMSS sprint car feature win of the season in a race that ran nonstop. Barickman doubled up at Elko Speedway, as he completed the clean sweep for the weekend. The end result on Saturday night was the same for the top two finishers, but the manner in which it was accomplished was much different from the Friday night feature race.

Cody Hahn got a great start from his outside row two starting spot and grabbed the early lead with Barickman right behind him. Just six laps into the race, the leaders began working lapped traffic. Hahn, in his second year behind the wheel of a sprint car, did a very good job of working traffic with Barickman close behind him. As Hahn approached 2010 rookie candidate Ronnie Erickson with about five laps to go, he was unable to put him a lap down. With Barickman applying the pressure, Hahn was able to fend off the challenges until coming out of turn four to complete lap 17. Hahn bobbled just slightly, and that was the opportunity Barickman had been waiting for. Barickman got past Hahn at the end of the front stretch and went on to lead the final two circuits around the 3/8 mile temporary dirt oval. Barickman was very pleased with his efforts, as he commented afterwards. "This is the first time in my career I have won back-to-back sprint car features. It feels great. The track was really to my liking tonight. There was some bite early on up top, and I used that to my advantage on the opening lap. Cody ran a great race, but he might have not been aggressive enough with that final lapped car."

Cody Hahn agreed with Barickman's assessment of those final laps. "I should have been more aggressive and stuck my nose under Ron. Ron was running a nice, smooth consistent line just a little bit slower than me. I could hear Brad right behind or along side of me several times. I really wanted to win my first sprint car feature, but two second place finishes to Brad this weekend isn't bad at all." Completing the top five finishers were front row starters Bill Johnson and Alan Gilbertson followed by eighth starter Jerry Richert Jr. Rounding out the top ten was Brandon Allen, Danny Lee driving the Stien sprinter, Joseph Kouba, Shannon Eriksen and Ronnie Erickson.

With track officials moving the program along quickly due to approaching bad weather, three heat races were run instead of the usual UMSS format. In the first Ultimate Sprint Heat sponsored by The Dirt Show, Bill Johnson defeated Brandon Allen. The second Driverwebsites.com heat race saw Joseph Kouba get under early leader Jordan Wilmes enroute to victory. Cody Hahn topped a strong field in the Sprintsource.com third heat race. Dave Becker was the only car unable to start the 20 lap feature race, as motor problems from bad fuel the previous night caught up with him in his heat race. A total of six cars experienced problems due to the fuel they purchased at the track during the four race series.

Current UMSS point leader Brad Barickman will bring his two race winning streak along with him, as the series races next Saturday at the North Central Speedway near Brainerd. The Kouba Memorial race, which rained out following the heat races back in June, will pick up with the two Challenge races and then conclude with the 25 lap feature. Following the Kouba Memorial, a complete new UMSS program will be run with heats, challenge races and another feature event giving North Central Speedway the opportunity to be the first track to run twin features in UMSS history. Keep up with all the UMSS action on the web at www.umsprints.com or check in on the UMSS Facebook page. The UMSS Report is also distributed free of charge at all UMSS racing events, detailing the previous races, point standings, upcoming schedule, and other news. Race results and point standings are also available on Speednet on the internet.

UMSS Race Results - Elko Speedway July 17, 2010 (Race #8):

The Dirt Show Ultimate Sprint Heat #1 (6 laps): Bill Johnson, Brandon Allen, Shannon Eriksen, Jesse Smith, Dave Becker DNF, Richard Smith Jr DNF.

Driverwebsites.com Ultimate Sprint Heat #2 (6 laps): Joseph Kouba, Jerry Richert Jr, Jordan Wilmes, Ronnie Erickson, Dwain Wilmes, Terry Anderson DNF.

Sprintsourece.com Ultimate Sprint Heat #3 (6 laps): Cody Hahn, Alan Gilbertson, Brad Barickman, Danny Lee, Kevin Nickel.

Metro Air UMSS-IMCA A Main (20 laps): Barickman, Hahn, Johnson, Gilbertson, Richert, Allen, Lee, Kouba, S. Eriksen, Erickson, Anderson, J. Smith DNF, D. Wilmes DNF, J. Wilmes DNF, R. Smith DNF, Nickel DNF, Becker DNS.

Lap Leader: Hahn 1-17, Barickman 18-20.
No cautions.

GRP Motorsports/BP Trading Company Rookie of the Race: Ronnie Erickson

Current UMSS Top Five Point Standings: Barickman 1884, Allen 1811, Hahn 1806, Becker 1654, Parsons 1542.

Current GRP Motorsports/BP Trading Company Top Three Rookie Contenders: Jones, Erickson, Goerges.

Photo courtesy of Stan Meissner.

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