6/13/2015
Ryan Bowers Rumbles on the Range at Hibbing Raceway
Ryan Bowers continued his winning streak in UMSS competition when he passed Chris Graf on lap 3 and led the remainder of the 25 lap nonstop feature race at the Hibbing Raceway during the 5th Annual Rumble on the Range. For Bowers, it was his sixth career UMSS feature win and first at Hibbing. Bowers celebrated his third straight triumph in RockAuto.com Victory Lane, as he earned $1,100 for the win.
With the usual double round of UMSS qualifying races, Ultimate Sprint Heat wins went to Bowers and Lou Kennedy, Jr. The Challenge Races saw Jerry Richert, Jr. and Thomas Kennedy lead all the way in each. Leigh Thomas earned the top spot in passing and finishing points and drew the #3 pill. Chris Graf was second in points and pulled the pole position. Richert started outside front row with Bowers outside of Thomas. Graf was driving the 34D sprinter for Pat Donnohue, as the 20G team discovered an issue with their engine only a few days before the weekend.
Graf grabbed the early lead up on the cushion. On lap 3, Graf moved to the bottom where Richert was running. This opened the door for Bowers, who had worked his way to second right away. Bowers took full advantage and had the lead at the end of the lap, a lead he would never relinquish. Graf returned to the cushion but was not able to make a serious bid for the lead and ended up finishing second. Thomas Kennedy came from sixth to third at the checkers. Seventh starter Lee Grosz finished fourth. Richert rounded out the top five. Kevin Bradwell, who rolled his sprinter during his heat race, was able to start the feature and was the only car not to finish the race.
All four UMSS champions were on hand at Hibbing with Chris Graf earning a $100 GRP Motorsports Bonus for being the highest finishing past champion in the feature race. Bowers was able to take over the top spot in the current point standings six shows into the season. Near the end of the season, the two lowest scores are thrown out in order to determine the GRP Motorsports UMSS Champion. As always, the UMSS driver autograph session was once again a huge success at Hibbing with young race fans getting a chance to meet the drivers and receiver a signed driver photo card. Several drivers were interviewed by Hibbing Raceway track announcer Mark Fleischer.
With absolutely fantastic weather continuing to hang around in the Northland, the UMSS headed south on Sunday June 14 to the Proctor Speedway to see if Ryan Bowers could tie Jerry Richert, Jr. with four consecutive UMSS wins. Richert set the mark back in the inaugural season when he won four straight at the Kopellah Speedway in May and June of 2009.
UMSS Race Results - Hibbing Raceway June 13, 2015 (Race #6)
5th Annual Rumble on the Range
GRP Motorsports A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 199-Ryan Bowers[4]; 2. 34D-Chris Graf[1]; 3. 20K-Thomas Kennedy[6]; 4. 4J-Lee Grosz[7]; 5. 63-Jerry Richert Jr[2]; 6. 21K-Lou Kennedy Jr.[5]; 7. 29-Leigh Thomas[3]; 8. 03-Jamey Ogston[12]; 9. 23-Cody Hahn[11]; 10. 19-Ryan Wilson[8]; 11. 5-Anna Kouba[9]; 12. 87-Mike Mueller[13]; 13. 37-Sye Anderson[10]; 14. 91A-Reed Allex[14]; 15. (DNF) 95-Kevin Bradwell[15]
Lap Leaders: Graf 1-2, Bowers 3-25. No cautions...25 laps nonstop!
Hoosier Racing Tire Challenge Race 1 (8 Laps): 1. 63-Jerry Richert Jr[2]; 2. 4J-Lee Grosz[3]; 3. 5-Anna Kouba[1]; 4. 21K-Lou Kennedy Jr.[5]; 5. 23-Cody Hahn[6]; 6. 87-Mike Mueller[7]; 7. 37-Sye Anderson[4]; DNS 95-Kevin Bradwell
Lap Leader: Richert 1-8. Cautions: (1)
Mastell Brothers Trailer Service Challenge Race 2 (8 Laps): 1. 20K-Thomas Kennedy[1]; 2. 29-Leigh Thomas[2]; 3. 19-Ryan Wilson[3]; 4. 34D-Chris Graf[4]; 5. 199-Ryan Bowers[5]; 6. 03-Jamey Ogston[7]; 7. 91A-Reed Allex[6]
Lap Leader: Kennedy 1-8. No cautions.
Meeks Video Ultimate Sprint Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 199-Ryan Bowers[4]; 2. 34D-Chris Graf[6]; 3. 4J-Lee Grosz[1]; 4. 29-Leigh Thomas[8]; 5. 5-Anna Kouba[7]; 6. 91A-Reed Allex[3]; 7. 87-Mike Mueller[5]; 8. (DNF) 95-Kevin Bradwell[2]
Lap Leader: Bowers 1-8. Cautions: (1) red for 95 flip turn 2 on lap 3. 95 made repairs and started the feature.
Driverwebsites.com Ultimate Sprint Heat 2 (7 Laps): 1. 21K-Lou Kennedy Jr.[1]; 2. 37-Sye Anderson[2]; 3. 19-Ryan Wilson[3]; 4. 63-Jerry Richert Jr[4]; 5. 20K-Thomas Kennedy[5]; 6. 23-Cody Hahn[6]; 7. 03-Jamey Ogston[7]
Lap Leader: L. Kennedy 1-7. No cautions.
Victory Lane photo courtesy of Vince Peterson at Track Rat Photos.
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
