8/18/2022
Tri-City Motor Speedway
Mike Vandermark Jr. Takes ALLSTAR Performance Challenge Series Win at Tri-City Motor Speedway
08/12/2022 Auto House Factory Stock Allstar Performance Challenge Series
Feature Winners:
Rowleys Tires & Automotive Services - Bay City and Great Lakes Motorsports IMCA Modified: 50t Jake Thompson
XLT Engineering 4-6 Cylinders: #88 Chad Freeman
Auto House Factory Stock ALLSTAR Performance Challenge Series: #26 Mike Vandermark Jr.
Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort Late Models: #27 Eric Spangler
Allstar Performance Mini Wedge Restricted Motor: #69 Cason Murphy
Allstar Performance Mini Wedge Unrestricted Motor: #26 Brennan DeShano
Mike Vandermark Jr. Takes ALLSTAR Performance Challenge Series Win at Tri-City Motor Speedway
08/12/2022 (Auburn MI) With just four more race nights at Tri-City Motor Speedway before the end of the 2022 season, the fight for the championships are starting to heat up amongst those still close enough to earn the annual accolades. Not only are the track championships at stake, but also the TCMS/Merritt ALLSTAR Performance Challenge Series championships. This week, it was the Auto House Factory Stocks competing in the series for a $1000 top prize. 100 drivers came to Auburn to compete throughout the five car classes.
The evening’s first features were in the ALLSTAR Performance Mini Wedge classes for the 6-14-year-olds. Rookie Lucas Lanphierd and last year’s Champion Cason Murphy are the two that have been battling all season long for the 2022 restricted motor Mini-Wedge Championship. Both drivers watched Bowen Jaynes capture the heat race win. Lanphierd, who finished the heat race in the runner-up position, had to watch Murphy start the feature in the front row while he had to start inside row three. The front row start helped Murphy overtake rookie front row starter Bryson DeShano at the drop of the green flag in the 10-lap race. Murphy would never give up the lead cruising on to win his sixth feature of the year. Jaynes finished second with Kylie Watz, Lanphierd, and DeShano completing the top five. The unrestricted motor Mini Wedge class has been a battle amongst the three DeShano boys all year. 2020 Champion and 2021 Co-Champion Kyron DeShano captured the heat race win. In the feature, it was current point leader Brennan DeShano that kept the other two well behind him as he led all the laps and won by a half-lap over Kyron and Pierson. This was the also the sixth win for Brennan as he extended his season-long point lead.
The point’s battle in the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort Late Model has come down between two former track Champions. 2019 Champion Derrick Hilliker came into the night with a slim three-point advantage over defending Champion Eric Spangler. Spangler, who just came off a $34k win at the annual Merritt Speedway Woodtic the previous weekend, started the evening by being the fastest in qualifying of the twenty competitors. He would also beat Hilliker in their heat race. The win put Spangler on the front row with Ryan Lanphierd. Lanphierd held the lead for the initial three laps before Spangler snagged the lead on lap four. Despite having to deal with slower traffic for the majority of the race, he was able to hold back a late race charge by Chad Finley for his second TCMS regular season feature win over Finley, Logan Nickerson, Rusty Schlenk, and Lanphierd. Hilliker finished sixth. The win moves Spangler ahead of Hilliker by four points heading into next week’s action. Joe Pomeroy and David Hilliker also captured heat races wins.
The Auto House Factory Stocks had the spotlight of the night as they were the ALLSTAR Performance Challenge Series class of the night. Their feature was extended by five laps and paid $1000 to win. Mike Vandermark Jr. held a three-point advantage in the series points coming into the nights events. Vandermark captured one of the qualifying heat races, which locked him into the main event. Michael Vandecar, Eric Lake, and regular season TCMS track point leader Dale Kaake III also captured the heat race wins. Both Vandermark and Vandecar started on the front row of the main event. Vandermark jumped out front immediately at the drop of the green. He was untouched throughout the 25-lap affair and picked up his third ALLSTAR Performance Challenge Series feature of the year. Nate Murphy moved up ten positions to finish in second. Lake, Vandecar, and Ryan Nethers rounded out the top five. Ty Papkey had to win the Last Chance Showdown in order to race in the feature and ended up with a ninth-place finish.
The XLT Engineering Championship chase has come down to the defending champions Chad Freeman and Chris Wassmann. Wassmann ended up seeing a lot of the rear bumper of Freeman throughout the night. In the heat race, Wassmann finished second behind Freeman. In the feature, Wassmann led the opening two laps before Freeman once again took the lead from him. Freeman was once again untouchable in the main event as he motored on for his seventh feature win of the year ahead of Wassmann. Blake Gokee, Jay Bradsher, and heat race winner Herb Freeman completed the top five. Jason Parks captured the win in the other heat race.
After having multiple winners in the previous divisions, it was a first-time winner gracing victory lane in the Rowley’s Tire and Great Lakes Motorsports IMCA Modifieds. Most eyes were on the point battle between former Rookie of the Year Kendall Morrison and Chad Bennett. Bennett, along with Brenten DeYoung and Tanner Pray were victorious in the preliminary heat races. However, the win didn’t put Bennett any farther in the feature starting lineup than outside of row five while Morrison started in front of Bennett in row four. Gavin Hunyady took the early lead in the 20-lap main race before conceding that lead to Kevin McFarland on lap four. That lead was short-lived as McFarland spun in turn four which forced him to restart at the tail of the field and handing the lead to Morrison. Morrison looked to be untouchable for a majority of the race. However, the track changed immensely during the race and Morrison was not able to hold off the field in the late laps. Leading rookie driver, Jake Thompson, gained speed in the lower groove and charged by Morrison on lap seventeen, and held the field behind him over the final three laps to win his first ever IMCA feature. He finished ahead of hard-charging Chad Bennett, Morrison, Loren Short, and Austin Harnick. Bennett now holds a scant one-point advantage over Morrison ahead of next week’s races.
Join us next Friday as TCMS thanks our loyal fans with our Fan Appreciation Night. For just $8, come enjoy a full night of stock car racing including the ALLSTAR Performance Challenge Series for the Auto Value Pro Stocks. The path to the 2022 TCMS Championships are as hot as ever and you won’t want to miss the excitement!! Visit our Facebook page for updates as well as our website tricityracetrack.com. Of course, you also check out instant results and point standings all season long by downloading the MyRacePass app on your smartphone or other e-devices.
Photo Credit: Randy Ellen
Article Credit: Roger Williams
Article Media
