8/24/2013
Grosz Sits In Viking Victory Lane
Lee Grosz Sits in Viking Victory Lane
Alexandria, MN
The Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) made their first-ever appearance at the Viking Speedway in Alexandria a good one on Saturday August 24. A strong field of 20 UMSS winged sprints signed into the pits on a warm and windy summer evening. When the final checkers waved, Lee Grosz raced to his second UMSS win of the season and put his name in the record books as the inaugural UMSS winner at the big half mile Viking Speedway. Grosz, who has won before in his career at Viking, drove a masterful race from his fourth starting spot top to pick up the $1,000 first place check.
Following Ultimate Sprint Heat wins by current UMSS point leader Chris Graf, Rick Kobs, and two-time UMSS Champion Jerry Richert Jr, Thomas Kennedy and Tony Norem topped the Challenge Races. Kobs, who was looking for his first sprint car feature win in his first full season behind the wheel of the Ron Olson sprinter, was the high point driver after the typical double-round of UMSS qualifiers and drew the zero pill for a straight-up feature race start according to passing/finishing points earned in the qualifiers. Outside of Kobs on the front row was young Thomas Kennedy of Winnipeg for the 20 lap feature.
Thomas Kennedy immediately bolted into the lead with Kobs a close second. Third starter Tony Norem slipped over the berm in turn four on the opening lap to bring out the first caution. On the restart, Mike Young of Hartford, SD went over the berm in the same spot as Norem did bringing out another yellow. The third time was the charm and the race went green with Norem and Young at the tail. Once again Kennedy grabbed the early lead, but Kobs was relentless in his pursuit and eventually took the top spot on lap 3 from Kennedy.
Kobs held the point until lap 8 when Lee Grosz, who had gotten by Kennedy for second a few laps earlier, made the winning pass. A couple of spins on laps 11 & 13 slowed the pace, but Grosz was up to the task on each restart. For several laps, Kobs and Lou Kennedy, Jr. put on a very good race for second before Kobs solidified the spot. Lou Kennedy, Jr. held off a charging Chris Graf in the final laps for third. Thomas Kennedy held on to fifth behind Graf. Completing the top ten finishers were 2009 UMSS Champion Leigh Thomas, Norem all the way from the back after his opening lap miscue, Jason Tostenson, Richert, and 2010 UMSS Champion Cody Hahn. Sixteen of the twenty starters were still running at the checkers in a show that several fans commented was the best sprint car show in Alexandria since the WISSOTA sprints ran their in 2005.
The UMSS sprints headed east to the Proctor Speedway the following night for a makeup race, as the season points battle continued to take shape in the waning stages of the 2013 racing season.
UMSS Race Results - Viking Speedway August 24, 2013 (Race #11)
Alpha Apparel & Promotions Ultimate Sprint Race #1 (7 laps): 20G Chris Graf, 9 Jared Goerges, 20K Thomas Kennedy, 29 Leigh Thomas, 23 Cody Hahn, 55Y Mike Young, 31 James Broty.
Meeks Video Ultimate Sprint Race #2 (7 laps): 34 Rick Kobs, 4J Lee Grosz, 5c Cam Schafer, 21K Lou Kennedy Jr, 36 Jason Tostenson, 3TK Tony Kaus, 5 Joe Kouba.
Driverwebsites.com Ultimate Sprint Race #3 (6 laps): 63 Jerry Richert Jr, B1st Tony Norem, 10x Jennifer Eriksen, 48 Neal Matuska, 37 Sye Anderson, 55 Joseph Kouba.
Mastell Brothers Trailer Service Challenge Race #1 (10 laps): T. Kennedy, L Kennedy, Grosz, Anderson, Hahn, Eriksen, Graf, Richert, Kaus, Broty.
Hoosier Racing Tire Challenge Race #2 (9 laps): Norem, Kobs, Thomas, Tostenson, Matuska, Young, Joseph Kouba, Schafer, Goerges, Joe Kouba DNS.
GRP Motorsports Feature (20 laps): Grosz, Kobs, L. Kennedy, Graf, T. Kennedy, Thomas, Norem, Tostenson, Richert, Hahn, Eriksen, Kaus, Matuska, Broty, Joseph Kouba, Young, Goerges DNF, Anderson DNF, Joe Kouba DNF, Schafer DNF.
Lap Leaders: T. Kennedy 1-2, Kobs 3-7, Grosz 8-20.
Cautions: (4)
Victory Lane photo courtesy of Scott Searcy at Cricket Prints.
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
