9/13/2018
Bloomington Speedway
Bland Edges Kinser in Bloomington Sprint Car Championship
Bedford’s Jeff Bland Jr. captured the Tom White & Company Real Estate Non-wing Sprint Car Championship at Bloomington Speedway by only five points over Bedford’s Jordan Kinser. Each of the rainouts we experienced this year was on a Friday when the Tom White non-wing machines were scheduled to race, reducing their schedule to just eight nights. Of those, neither of the two USAC events counted toward points, so only six events are included in the totals. In earning his second Bloomington sprint car crown, Bland put the Waltz 18w, sponsored by Tom White & Company, into victory lane in early May, and added three other top-5 finishes. In what turned out to be a critical result, Bland notched a strong third place finish during the IU Surplus Doubler, capturing valuable doubled points.
Trailing by only 5 points, Kinser score two wins, the first in mid-June, and following that up with a fireworks Independence Day event victory two weeks later. It was a rear-end failure in his Hurst Brothers 70 machine, during his heat race at the Josh Burton Memorial, that kept him from running the feature, which gave him one less point-paying event than Bland. A second place run on opening night put him in a strong position early, but his eighth place finish in the Doubler hurt, in what turned out to be the final point event of the season.
Third place turned out to be a tie in points, with Jasonville’s Brandon Morin and Troy, Ohio’s Lee Underwood both scoring 340 points. Improving rapidly with each year he has competed at Bloomington, Morin notched one top-5 finish, and only two runs outside the top-10. With a strong car each time he pushed off, Underwood’s record was similar, with a single top-5 finish. Bland, Morin and Underwood were the only drivers to compete in all six sprint car features. Fifth place in points was also a tie, with Daylan Chambers and Josh Cunningham matching totals. Kyle Cummins pair of victories is also notable, the first coming on opening night and the second in the Doubler.
Tom White & Company Non-Wing Sprint Cars
Car Driver Hometown Points
1 18W Jeff Bland Jr Bedford, IN 378
2 70 Jordan Kinser Bedford, IN 373
3 98 Brandon Morin Jasonville, IN 340
3 24L Lee Underwood Troy, OH 340
5 4C Daylan Chambers Bowling Green, IN 286
5 63 Josh Cunningham Spencer, IN 286
7 3C Kyle Cummins Princeton, IN 261
8 18 Kevin Chambers Bloomington, IN 253
9 14J Jaden Rogers Worthington, IN 227
10 77 Hunter O'Neal Gosport, IN 176
Submitted By: Mike O'Leary
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