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CLOUSER BECOMES FIRST POWRI PAVEMENT REPEAT WINNER IN 2018

By: Michael Guglielmucci

Morris, IL—With a full moon shining bright in the Grundy County sky, Mario Clouser did not let that superstition bother him as he was able to capture his second consecutive Lucas Oil POWRi Pavement Midget feature of the 2018 season. The recently engaged Auburn, Illinois native capped off a memorable week by taking the checkers in just his second start of the season. The 20 lap main event was plagued by two blown engines, both by Rookie of the Year contenders, Ryan Shilkuski and Timmy Megenbier. Megenbier was making his first career midget start for long time car owner Dennis Jones.

Clouser picked up where he left off last week by setting quick time in practice and in qualifying in his Guess Racing/Clouser Trailer Sales/Shorewood Animal Hospital/Beast/Speedway Mopar. Clouser set a quick time of 14.968, just .017 seconds quicker than Tom Schnabel. Billy Hulbert, Rich Corson and Tom Eyman rounded out the fast five. In the 8 lap heat race, it was all Hulbert as he wasted no time getting to the point from the 6th starting position to take the checkers.

When the 20 lap feature event rolled around, Clouser and Hulbert found themselves with a little extra work ahead of them as they started from the 4th and 5th positions, respectively. Rookie Timmy Megenbier would lead the field to the green flag and lead the first 8 laps. A yellow on lap 7 saw Ryan Shilkuski parked next to the turn 3 wall after his engine let go for the second week in a row. Megenbier would lead the field down to green on the restart but would relinquish the lead to Clouser one lap later. Hulbert quickly followed suit, getting by Megenbier to file in behind Clouser. For the next four laps Clouser and Hulbert were nose to tail for the top spot until a caution flew for the second blown engine of the night, this time it was Megenbier’s. A lengthy oil cleanup was completed and the 99 of Clouser led the way until the race’s final caution flew on lap 15 when Tom Schnabel ran out of fuel. With Schnabel running out of fuel, the eyes turned to the leaders to see if they may have the same issue. When the final green flag flew, Hulbert gave it all he could to get around Clouser but could not seal the deal. Clouser pulled away on the final lap when Hulbert’s car started to sputter. There was just enough fuel in the tank for Hulbert to finish but it wasn’t enough to catch and get by Clouser for the checkers.

The next Lucas Oil POWRi Pavement Series race will take place at the Grundy County Speedway on Saturday August 11th. The POWRi Pavement Series would like to thank the following sponsors for their support; Lucas Oil, MAVTV, Hoosier Tire, Toyota Racing, and Heroes West Sports Grill.

LUCAS OIL POWRI PAVEMENT MIDGET SERIES RACE RESULTS: GRUNDY COUNTY SPEEDWAY JULY 27, 2018

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Mario Clouser, 99, Guess- 14.968; 2. Tom Schnabel, 21S, Schnabel- 14.985; 3. Billy Hulbert, 88, Hulbert- 14.991; 4. Rich Corson, 15, Corson- 15.529; 5. Tom Eyman, 2, Eyman- 15.550; 6. Timmy Megenbier, 5, Jones- 15.635; 7. Ryan Shilkuski, 10A, MWR-16.019; 8. Taylor Fenske, 11, Fenske- 16.150; 9. Danny Pens, 10B, MWR- NT; 10. Aaron Willis, Jr., 121, Ballinger- NT

HEAT ONE: 1. Hulbert 2. Clouser 3. Corson 4. Eyman 5. Megenbier 6. Shilkuski 7.Fenske 8. Schnabel 9. Pens

FEATURE: 1. Mario Clouser 2. Billy Hulbert 3. Rich Corson 4. Tom Eyman 5. Tom Schnabel 6. Timmy Megenbier 7. Taylor Fenske 8. Ryan Shilkuski

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