6/27/2014
Caho Takes Traditional 40
Mother Nature threatened all afternoon to put a damper on the annual UMSS Traditional 40 event held at St. Croix Valley Raceway on Friday, but the threats proved empty as the entire race program was completed with only a very short, light sprinkle during the feature races. Rob Caho claimed the headlining sprint car main event in a thriller over Jake Kouba, with other feature wins going to Damon Roberts, Krysta Swearingen, Jack Berger, Cory Crapser and Buzzy Adams.
A total of seventeen Traditional Sprint cars from the Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series checked in for the biggest event on their annual calendar, the UMSS Traditional 40. Only sixteen started the marathon finale, as Tommy Kamrath was a pre-race mechanical scratch. Heat race winners Rob Caho, Jr. and Jimmy Kouba paced the field to green with Caho showing the way early. It took less than two laps for Cam Schafer to rip the lead away from Caho, and it looked as if Schafer might continue his dominance at SCVR and win his third consecutive TSCS feature at The Valley. Schafer, while fast, wasn’t able to leave behind an exciting battle for second between Caho and fifth starting Jake Kouba. Caho was running his usual line on the cushion while Kouba was powerful in a middle-low groove in his #2k mount. After a caution for the stalled ride of Tom Porter, Kouba gained the upper hand in the battle for second on the restart and really came to life. Turn after turn, Kouba was hanging within striking distance of Schafer as the lead duo started to pull away from Caho, Chase Viebrock, Jimmy Kouba, Kevin Bradwell and Mike Haseltine.
As the leaders caught the rear of the pack – disaster struck. Exiting turn three, a lapper spun as the leaders powered through the turn. Both Schafer and Kouba jumped on the binders but slid helplessly through the marbles creating a three-card pile up. Schafer was unable to continue and Kouba tacked on to the back of the field, handing the lead back to Caho. Back under green, Caho pushed his sprinter to the limit while fending off Viebrock and Haseltine. As the laps clicked off, most eyes in the grandstands gravitated to Kouba’s royal blue and gold #2k, who passed Mike Mueller for sixth on lap 23. Bradwell pulled to the infield on the 27th circuit, moving Kouba up to fifth, and a lap later, he passed his father Jimmy Kouba to crack the top four. Caho was making it look deceptively easy in his ill-handling car up front, but he didn't yet know about the charging Kouba. With ten laps to go, Kouba dispatched Haseltine for third. In another handful of laps, it was the rookie Chase Viebrock who gave up his position to Kouba. Once Kouba gained second, he immediately took to reeling in Caho. Kouba showed himself down low while Caho continued to will his #78 sprinter onward in the high groove. The cars were in a dead heat, and Kouba narrowly gained the lead with just two laps remaining. Traffic would again come into play as the crafty Caho set up the pick perfectly to regain the lead and hang on to claim the win in the mega-thrilling forty lap feature event. An exhausted Caho parked his winning ride in the Anderson’s Maple Syrup victory lane, barely besting Kouba. Viebrock, Haseltine and Jimmy Kouba made up the rest of the top five finishers.
This Friday, July Fourth, features dual WISSOTA Race of Champion qualifiers as both the Midwest Modifieds and Modified will attempt to earn a spot in the prestigious WISSOTA post-season event. All other regular divisions will also compete along with the vintage racers from Northern Vintage Stockcar Racers. To help celebrate the nation’s birthday, St. Croix Valley Raceway is offering another Free Food night, with buy one, get one free specials on selected menu items and $1 beer. More information may be found on the track’s website, www.SCVRaceway.com, as well as their Facebook page.
RACE RESULTS:
UMSS Traditional Sprints:
UMSS Traditional 40 Feature – Rob Caho Jr., Jake Kouba, Chase Viebrock, Mike Haseltine, Jimmy Kouba, Mike Mueller, Mike Walters, Jon Lewerer, Denny Stordahl, Kevin Bradwell, Alex Peper, Brad Nelson, Cam Schafer, Scott Brandt, Tom Porter, Johnny Parsons, Tommy Kamrath.
Heat 1- Caho, Haseltine, Parsons, Peper, Porter, Kamrath
Heat 2- Jimmy Kouba, Mueller, Viebrock, Bradwell, Walters, Mueller
Heat 3 – Schafer, Jake Kouba, Lewerer, Bradwell, Walters
Article Credit: Terry Lehnertz
