4/22/2017
Jeremy Kerzman Tops Traditional Sprints at CLS
Following a rain out the previous Saturday night, the UMSS Traditional sprints were back in action on a pleasant spring evening at the Cedar Lake Speedway on April 22. Jeremy Kerzman was making his 2017 season debut, and it proved to be a successful one. Kerzman dominated the 25 lap feature race for his fifth career Traditional Sprint Car Series win. Kerzman celebrated with his crew in Rock Auto Victory Lane for the fourth time in a sprint car at Cedar Lake. Kerzman took the lead from former modified racer Brad Peterson on lap three and drove to a commanding victory over Mike Mueller.
Sixteen Traditional sprints were on hand with Kerzman and Peterson topping the heats. Brian VanMeveren actually led all 10 laps in the second heat, but he was docked two positions at the finish for jumping the start, handing the win to Peterson. The top four drivers in passing and finishing points after the heats redrew for starting positions in the first two rows of the 25 lap main event. The redraw would see them start exactly as they earned points with Peterson and Mueller on the front row while Scott Brandt and Kerzman would go from row two.
Racing for just the fourth time behind the wheel of a Traditional sprint car, former modified racer Brad Peterson from Lake Elmo led the opening two laps of the feature race before Kerzman blasted by. After that, it was all Kerzman. Mueller got by Peterson on lap six for second and settled in a good distance behind the leader. The race ran green all the way until the final lap. With Kerzman and Mueller already across the finish line, Hunter Custer tagged the turn four wall with his right rear and climbed up and over, landing upside down in the grass area just behind the wall. As the leaders had taken the checkered flag, the race was deemed over and the remaining positions from third on back reverted back to a lap 24 finish in what would be a checkered/red finish. Custer was okay following the crash. Peterson turned in an outstanding run in third ahead of VanMeveren. Scott Brandt finished fifth and was the first car one lap down, as Kerzman really had a dominating run. Inaugural TSCS Champion Kevin Bradwell rode him in sixth with Johnny Parsons III, rookie Trevor Serbus from 14th, Bryan Roach and Neal Matuska rounding out the top ten. Fifteen cars started with only one car dropping out. Jon Lewerer was scratched for the night after hot laps when he encountered fuel pump/fueling system issues.
The Traditional sprints will return to the Cedar Lake Speedway next Saturday April 29. With three nights in the books, three different drivers have found their way to Rock Auto Victory Lane in this competitive division. More cars are expected to be race-ready for the season in the upcoming weeks. Keep tabs on all of the UMSS Traditional sprint car action by visiting our website at www.umsprints.com and clicking on the blue logo or by following us on Facebook.
UMSS TSCS Race Results - Cedar Lake Speedway April 22, 2017 (Race #3)
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 3K-Jeremy Kerzman[4]; 2. 87-Mike Mueller[2]; 3. 93-Brad Peterson[1]; 4. 24-Brian VanMeveren[6]; 5. 7-Scott Brandt[3]; 6. 95-Kevin Bradwell[8]; 7. 12-Johnny Parsons III[7]; 8. 10S-Trevor Serbus[14]; 9. 99-Bryan Roach[5]; 10. 48-Neal Matuska[9]; 11. 29-Hunter Custer[12]; 12. N1-Ty Sampair[10]; 13. 34-Denny Stordahl[11]; 14. 90-Tony Klose[13]; 15. (DNF) 00-Kyle Finnegan[15]; (DNS) 69S-Jon Lewerer.
Lap Leaders: Peterson 1-2, Kerzman 3-25. Cautions: None but race finished under checkers/red when 29 flipped over turn 4 wall into grass after the leaders had taken the checkered flag. Scoring reverted back to lap 24.
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 3K-Jeremy Kerzman[3]; 2. 87-Mike Mueller[6]; 3. 95-Kevin Bradwell[1]; 4. 12-Johnny Parsons III[5]; 5. N1-Ty Sampair[2]; 6. 29-Hunter Custer[4]; 7. 10S-Trevor Serbus[7]; (DNS) 69S-Jon Lewerer.
Lap Leader: Kerzman 1-10. No cautions.
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 93-Brad Peterson[4]; 2. 7-Scott Brandt[3]; 3. 24-Brian VanMeveren[2]; 4. 99-Bryan Roach[6]; 5. 48-Neal Matuska[7]; 6. 34-Denny Stordahl[5]; 7. 90-Tony Klose[1]; 8. (DNF) 00-Kyle Finnegan[8].
Lap Leader: VanMeveren 1-10, but was docked 2 positions at the end of the race for jumping the start handing the win to Peterson. Cautions: (1) yellow on opening lap for 99 spin.
Rock Auto Victory Lane photo courtesy of Vince Peterson at Track Rat Photos.
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
